GlobalFintechSeries Interview with Dr. Marlene Wolfgruber, Director of Product Marketing, ABBYY

Dr. Marlene Wolfgruber, Director of Product Marketing at ABBYY joins us in the interview to share some thoughts on the importance of digital intelligence and how it enables better processes for financial services. Catch the complete story to uncover tips on running effective marketing and sales processes in time of a pandemic (while everyone is home!) besides learning a thing or two about the evolving fintech segment.

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Can you tell us a little about yourself Dr. Wolfgruber? We’d love to hear about some of your greatest highlights as well as challenges you’ve faced as a product marketer in the ever-evolving finance / fintech space.  

My background is in computer linguistics and sentiment analysis. As Director of Product Marketing at ABBYY, I lead marketing strategies for our mobile portfolio. My greatest highlights include delivering innovative mobile solutions that help organizations across all industries, including FinTech, reach their customers in new ways and provide accessible, engaging and convenient digital customer experiences. One challenge I’ve faced as a product marketer was addressing the initial hesitation in the market to accept artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) technologies. While there was some skepticism at first, AI and NLP are now indispensable across virtually every industry, especially in the FinTech space.

Read More: GlobalFintechSeries Interview with Garima Shah, President at Biller Genie

Could you tell us a little about how ABBYY’s Digital Intelligence and mobile portfolio help enable finance management and optimize the customer experience?

ABBYY’s Digital Intelligence solutions helps financial services enhance the value of their two greatest assets: their processes and their data. By understanding how processes operate, across every department and back-end system, FinTechs, banks and other financial organizations can obtain a much clearer view into the end-to-end customer journey. Leveraging accurate process information, organizations can implement more tailored customer experiences and data-driven operational strategies.

Our mobile offerings are a key component of our overall digital intelligence portfolio. We provide solutions for the digital-first consumer, which is quickly becoming the new norm in the finance industry as a result of the pandemic. With many banks having to restrict their physical operations as a result of widespread social distancing measures, consumers are turning to their phones to complete everyday banking transactions.

We have extensive experience delivering innovative mobile apps and capabilities and providing solutions that make your smartphone an extension of your photographic memory. Our content intelligence solutions, powered by OCR, support effortless user experiences when capturing documents and information, enabling seamless experiences for important financial transactions including depositing a check via a mobile device, submitting a loan application, and completing a mobile on-boarding process.

Read More: Leveraging Automated Accounts Payable Solutions for Business Continuity

Can you provide examples of how Digital Intelligence plays a key role for financial services companies?

Digital intelligence enables financial service companies to streamline processes, enhance efficiencies, and better serve customers. Digital intelligence helps power successful automation, which is becoming increasingly indispensable for financial service companies. Take the recent Small Business Association Paycheck Protection Program. Many banks are leveraging content intelligence solutions to process both structured and unstructured content, including application forms and supplemental documents. Utilizing intelligence automation solutions, many financial service organizations were able to streamline and accelerate the processing of their clients’ loan applications – helping save jobs. Speed and efficiency was especially critical for these processes given that funding for the program ran out in just 14 days. Digital Intelligence solutions fuels high-value automation initiatives and accelerates digital transformation for financial service companies.

What role will Digital Intelligence play in helping financial organizations navigate the discontinuation of the widely used LIBOR reference rate?

The discontinuation of LIBOR as a reference rate – one of the most widely used interest rates in the world – will fundamentally disrupt financial organizations around the globe. Every bank, financial institution, and asset manager that utilizes LIBOR in any of their financial offerings will need to transition to an alternate reference rate by December 2021. That might seem like a long way away, but for financial organizations with hundreds or thousands, even millions, of LIBOR contracts, the time to act is now.

Digital intelligence technologies are critical to helping banks manage the complex transition process in a manner that maintains customer satisfaction, reduces legal and regulatory risk, and enhances competitive advantage. Technologies such as OCR and NLP are indispensable for understanding unstructured content and identifying all contracts and clauses that reference LIBOR. If done manually, sorting through and reading volumes of documents to identify LIBOR references would be cumbersome, costly and error-prone – not to mention very lengthy. Managing complex document processes accurately and swiftly is imperative for a successful transition. Digital intelligence technologies help streamline complex document workflows and enhance processing accuracy, leaving banks well-positioned to navigate the transition successfully.

Read More: The Impact of COVID-19 on Broker Dealers (And Where It Hurts)

How does Digital IQ impact how newer fintech innovations are built and developed? Can you also talk about how this affects demand for fintech products? 

FinTech organizations, by their very nature, have a digital-first approach. Digital Intelligence solutions enable FinTechs to fulfill their digital-first model and deliver innovative digital offerings such as mobile onboarding, photo check deposits and contactless document submission. Consumers will evaluate their experience with a FinTech offering by how easy and effortless processes are and how seamless the customer journey is.

Consumer demand for digital banking, contactless payment, and finance applications will continue increasing. Integrating innovative solutions that can process all types of unstructured data – including customer ID documentation, pay stubs, and applications forms – is key to developing FinTech innovations that best meet consumer expectations.

Digital Intelligence also enables FinTechs to deliver customer experiences that are personalized, responsive, and targeted. By leveraging solutions that provide context for valuable customer data, FinTechs can create innovative product offerings that meets customer needs and delivers impactful digital experiences.

Can you also share your thoughts on other finance technologies and fintech apps in the marketplace that are game changers?

Radio-frequency identification technology, also referred to as RFID, is a real game changer. RFID powers contactless payment technology that allows consumers to complete entire payment transactions without having to swipe their credit card or insert a chip. Consumers can submit in-person payments simply by placing their card in front of a terminal. In conjunction with other technologies like mobile capture and OCR, RFID is transforming the way data is exchanged. With today’s social distancing measures, RFID and OCR will likely become more widely adopted. Leveraging this technology, businesses can support their customers that are taking extra precautionary measures by offering easy contactless in-person payment solutions.

Read More: The Rise of Contactless Payments

Given the current world situation, what are your top tips for B2B / Global tech companies to better secure their transactions and prevent fraud or identify theft during this time?

Identification verification technology is vital for enabling secure transactions. By authenticating and verifying customer identification, these solutions ensure secure consumer transactions while helping support regulatory compliance for Know Your Customer scenarios.

Additionally, when applied to certain use cases, content intelligence technologies can help organizations detect fraud. Our FineReader Engine was utilized by the Reserve Bank of Australia to power a check verification system that successfully identified fraudulent checks. We helped the RBA save thousands of dollars by preventing fraudulent transactions.

What are some of your thoughts on how the current world situation will impact the use of (and development) of the fintech segment?

I believe the pandemic will kick off a new wave of digitization. With many banks reducing physical operations or even temporarily closing their store front altogether, digital financial services have become indispensable. Previously, many financial institutions saw digital offerings as something primarily geared towards younger generations. Now, however, consumers across all generations are utilizing mobile and digital financial services. Many financial organizations were at the very early stages of digital transformation when the crisis started. As consumer patterns and demands have changed, I think more companies are seeing the benefits of being independent and flexible by leveraging digital offerings.

Could you share your thoughts from a product marketer’s point of view – when it comes to the launch and development of new innovations in fintech, what are the top 5 factors and features that matter most to organizations that fintech innovators should keep in mind?

A few must-have features come to mind. I think the key is to always have your finger on the pulse with regard to your target customer’s expectations and patterns. Right now, people want experiences that are easy, accessible and seamless.

(1) Technology needs to be very easily consumable.

(2) Where relevant, integrate contactless submission utilizing OCR technology. Consumers right now want low-touch options.

(3) Implement solutions that are easy and quick to set up.

(4) Utilize pre-built components that guide consumers in leveraging technology in the best way.

(5) Leverage digital and mobile channels.

How can FinTechs enhance the customer experience?

The onboarding process is one of the most important customer processes for FinTechs. It sets the tone for a consumer’s experience with your brand and can substantially impact customer retention and loyalty. Utilizing mobile channels is vital for creating onboarding processes that are seamless, convenient and frictionless. It’s also important to make the onboarding process as low touch as possible. Keep manual typing requirements to a minimum and integrate OCR and AI technologies, where relevant, to enable easy and contactless submission of any onboarding or application documents.

Your favorite FinanceTech / Tech quote

“If your plans don’t include mobile, your plans are not finished.”

Would you like to share specific finance or business tips for Marketing and Sales teams struggling through uncertain times due to the current pandemic?

Meet customers where they are. Right now, customers are staying in their homes more than ever before. It’s especially important that financial organizations leverage mobile and digital capabilities to meet customers where they are and help them navigate the crisis as safely as possible from their own homes. Digital is indispensable for enabling businesses to continue providing the services that many consumers depend on. This is especially true for banks and FinTechs – with record unemployment rates and a disrupted economy, customers need you now more than ever.

For organizations in the very initial stages of their digital transformation journey, diving head first into digital innovation may seem overwhelming. A good place to start is to assess your organization’s Digital IQ. Knowing where you stand on the digital transformation continuum, and what areas may need improvement, is a good first step. While times may seem uncertain right now, supporting your customers with accessible and convenient digital offerings will go a long way in building customer trust and loyalty, leaving your organization well-positioned to continue thriving long after the crisis is over.