Nigel ‘Detail’ Dean (as he is known in the motoring press!) joins us in this GlobalFinTechSeries interview to talk about the growing adoption of SPoC (Software-based PIN entry on COTS) and CPoC (Contactless Payments on COTS) solutions across the globe while also sharing his thoughts on how crucial it is for the fintech discipline to focus on need rather than technology alone.
Read on to catch more of his tips, insights and predictions on finance tech:
______
Can you tell us a little about yourself Nigel (including your hobbies!, what a typical day at work is like for you) and what your fintech journey has been like so far. How have you seen the fintech segment evolve over the years?
I have been involved with payments since I left university in 1989. As an engineer I developed some of the first POS terminals to be deployed in Europe and the Middle East. Over my 30 year career I have been involved in bringing instrumental technologies to the payments market: remote terminal deployment, terminal management, EMV Chip and PIN, mPOS, SmartPOS, and most recently in my capacity as Head of Marketing at MYPINPAD, PIN on Mobile. As for the fintech space in the 80s, 90s, and 00s, the technological progression was steady, but over the last 8 to 10 years evolutionary technologies such as mPOS, SmartPOS, and now PIN on Mobile have accelerated technology adoption. Outside of work, my passion is both building and writing about high performance sports cars (as a technical editor). Having had over 1.5 million words published to date in the specialist sports car arena, I’m known in the motoring press as Nigel ‘Detail’ Dean. A typical evening for me would be in my garage or penning an automotive feature with a gin and tonic.
We’d love to know what some of your top FinTech predictions for 2020 are?
I have one overriding prediction for 2020 and that is the adoption of SPoC (Software-based PIN entry on COTS) and CPoC (Contactless Payments on COTS) solutions across the globe. Compared to all the other technologies I have been part of introducing to the ecosystem, there has been no other which offers so many benefits. The overwhelming desire from the entire payments value chain is the replacement of dedicated hardware by virtualising software based services located in the cloud. This is the approach of MYPINPAD’s SPoC and CPoC solutions, and also our sister company MYHSM, who offer payment Hardware Security Modules in the cloud.
Read More: GlobalFintechSeries Interview with Griffin McGahey, President at HC3
Can you talk about some of the most innovative secure authentication solutions today that according to you are set to create new benchmarks for the fintech segment, especially for the B2B sphere?
The protection of data associated with payments has, and continues to be, one of the cornerstones of the payments industry. Traditionally, in the face-to-face payment environment, this has been reliant on expensive, single use point of sale hardware. The challenge with this approach is cost, complexity, and the need to continually replace aging equipment to meet the ever-increasing PCI standards. As mentioned previously, the game-changing technology being introduced into the market by MYPINPAD is PIN on Mobile. Leveraging PCI’s SPoC and CPoC standards, everyday smartphones and tablets can replace traditional POS and mPOS solutions. This revolutionary capability not only reduces the cost of the entire face-to-face payment value chain, but allows the ever-increasing PCI security standards to be met by software updates alone. Compared to an aging hardware-centric POS estate, this approach delivers best-in-class security at all times to protect customer and merchant payment data.
Given the changing dynamics and changing needs of users/businesses from finance technology, how do you foresee the secure payments and secure authentication segment shape up, what will be some of the key features that will become the need-of-the-hour with time?
The fintech discipline needs to focus on need rather than technology alone. Yes, it’s true, technology is important to deliver solutions but if need is not the primary driver it will fail. This has been demonstrated time and time again over the past four decades. In addition, different market sectors and geographies have varying needs which make this an incredibly complex landscape. For example, emerging card payment markets require low cost, mobile payment capability. In advanced card payment markets, larger retailers strive to own the payment experience so they can add value to the customer proposition at check out. For example, endless aisle and loyalty.
Read More: GlobalFintechSeries Interview with Raymond Wyand, CEO & Co-founder at gini
Given the changes in demands and changing needs of users from fintech, how has the MYPINPAD product evolved over the years; It would be great to also know more about the recent certification MYPINDPAD achieved for its innovative PIN on Mobile solution.
MYPINPAD finds itself at the forefront of one of the most revolutionary fintech technologies ever considered. The concept of everyday smartphones and tablets being able to accept PIN based card transactions was proposed by MYPINPAD’s founder, Justin Pike, in 2012. The industry saw this as impossible at the time, but in 2018 the PCI SPoC standard was published and in 2020 MYPINPAD gained SPoC certification for its MPP mPOS solution. In late 2020 PCI published its CPoC standard and MYPINPAD is positioned to be one of the first to gain this certification also. At last, Justin’s vision has become reality; it took just 8 years. So today we are working with multiple customers across the globe to imminently deploy both SPoC and CPoC solutions.
Tag (mention/write about) the one person in the fintech industry whose answers to these questions you would love to read!
I appreciate you are looking for a single person for me to mention, but I will go against convention and suggest anyone entering the fintech space would find the sentiment behind my words useful. Focus on need, understand this varies depending on market vertical and geography, and finally, never give up. These last three words were Justin’s answer when I asked what advice he would give anyone entering the fintech space with a non-conventional idea.
Read More: GlobalFintechSeries Interview with Tim Kelly, CEO & Founder at BitOoda
Your favorite FinanceTech quote
Again, I would like to answer this slightly differently and use a quote from outside the fintech space. The reason being, I believe solving problems is the key to adding value in any technology sphere. And no other person than Albert Einstein encapsulated this more than with his quote:
“If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.”
Thank You, Nigel, for answering all our questions. We hope to see you again, soon.
MYPINPAD is a global leader in payments software authentication solutions. Their patented technology creates a trusted and hardened environment to protect sensitive consumer data on devices such as smartphones and tablets enabling bank grade, multifactor authentication through the use of card PIN and Biometric credentials for financial transactions, secure sign-in and consumer on-boarding. Available as a service, the solutions allows for rapid and simple integration into an Acquirer’s, Issuers or PSP’s existing technology stack.
Nigel is an exceptional marketing and product management professional who approaches the disciplines from a unique perspective. Utilising his 25+ years’ experience within the fast-moving payments and automotive ecosystems, Nigel has the ability to connect with any audience using the written and spoken word. Leveraging his management experience, technical depth, commercial prowess, and communication skills, he has the ability to author thought leadership content, facilitate strategic vision, enable product management and sales teams, while also establishing himself as a well-respected key note speaker. Subsequent to his Masters degree in engineering, Nigel has accumulated an exceptional breadth of knowledge within product management, industry consulting, and marketing disciplines.
