New banking technology and fintech applications are opening up more opportunities to serve sections of the underbanked while the ongoing Covid19 pandemic is changing how customers are expecting their banks and financial institutions to interact with them. Johanna Pugh, Managing Director at Mambu comments on these changing trends while also discussing Mambu’s product and journey.
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 Hi Johanna, please tell us about your role and the team/technology at Mambu…
 I am the managing director of Mambu, North America. In this role, I am responsible for growing and strengthening Mambu’s U.S. and Canadian presence and operations. I am heavily focused on strategic investments in partnerships along with building out first-class commercial and operational teams in the North American market.
Can you tell us about Mambu and how does it fit into the modern Neo-banking landscape?
Mambu is a cloud-native, pure SaaS banking platform for banking and lending businesses. Our core technology enables customers, including the largest financial enterprises, leading fintechs and digital banks, to build new banking and lending experiences for clients more quickly.
As neobanks and big techs are entering the market with innovative, fully digital offerings, customers are increasingly demanding digital services. Leading neobanks, such as OakNorth and N26 utilize Mambu’s technology engine for its ease of integration, flexibility and time to market, all of which enable them to provide their customers with an unrivalled, technology-driven banking experience.
Tell us more about your cloud banking platform and the markets you are currently targeting.
Since launching in 2011, we’ve aimed to bring banking technology into the digital-first world and to make it accessible for any market opportunity. We currently work with companies in 56 countries worldwide and are dedicated to making a bigger push in the North American market due to growing customer demand. We will continue to work with banks but also are focused on partnering with lending businesses as well.
In the middle of the pandemic, how did you handle your internal communications and brand marketing strategies?
We are a geographically dispersed team so we have always been geared to operate remotely. We have several different platforms such as Slack for our internal communications and our continued monthly townhalls both globally and regionally. As the pandemic kicked off earlier this year, we had to take a look at the roadmap we laid out and completely flip it on its side. Realizing that many of our marketing programs now had to become virtual.  Our brand marketing strategies rely heavily on PR, interviews, thought leadership and in-person events now leverage webinars that educate the market on what is Mambu and what are the trends we are facing in the new normal.
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What tools and technology platforms do you use to work from your remote location and coordinate directions to the team?
We are a global team and constantly use technology to stay connected to colleagues and also to clients. We use communication platforms, such as Slack, and a host of video conferencing tools to ensure we as an organization are fostering strong connections, keeping employees engaged and are maintaining open and ongoing communication with clients.
Tell us about your recent alliance with Veritran. How does it jointly help your customers?
With digital transformation playing an increasingly critical role in today’s global environment, financial institutions recognize the need to leverage technology to remain at the forefront of competitive innovation. This strategic partnership with Veritran provides a solution that allows global customers and traditional banks to innovate and achieve a fully digital experience in record time without the need of programming.
What does your ideal customer profile look like? Which markets and titles are you currently targeting to grow your business?
Traditional banks, leading fintechs, challenger banks and lenders
How are you helping businesses deliver the experiences their customers want?
The core banking market demand is rapidly increasing underpinned by the overall digital banking transformation. New financial technology is opening up previously unserviceable markets and is raising consumer expectations. But legacy banking technology is not well suited for today’s market – Institutions simply aren’t able to build, launch and change products fast enough.
Mambu recognizes this issue and is driving the way for change. Customers’ expectations are constantly evolving, and as such, banks need to constantly evolve in order to meet their needs – the customer experience is top of mind for banks and lending businesses alike. As a cloud-first, SaaS banking engine, we help financial institutions rapidly deliver business value in today’s constantly changing market. As the evolution to a digital-first banking world continues to increase in importance, we enable our clients to build any financial product allowing them to expand into new markets, start-up new ventures and transform existing operations, in a fraction of the time.
What metrics do you use to measure the success of your products, solutions and customer success?
Regular customer surveys to determine Net Promoter Score – level of satisfaction with product, service, delivery, Gain feedback from customer advisory board meetings and annual customer events.
How according to you do modern security and privacy measures impact any company’s reputation and customer retention?
It’s make or break! Many of our customers operate in highly regulated environments as a large number are banks, which means the highest levels of security and privacy have to be in place. In this context, security and privacy measures can allay fears and help win customers or if executed poorly, it can ruin a reputation. Transparency with customers and strict internal processes is often seen as non-negotiable and in place to keep customers and their data safe.
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Johanna is a fintech evangelist and MD of Mambu, North America region
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