Using a wider range of sources than ever before, Qorbis transforms data into deep insights, delivering rich 360 customer profiles that are the ‘secret sauce’ of successful brands.

Understanding your customers is no longer a mere advantage - it’s a necessity. Brands and businesses that harness comprehensive data to build 360 customer profiles are not only surviving but thriving. These profiles provide a holistic view of customers, gleaned from multiple data points, and can significantly impact how organizations engage, retain, and grow their customer base.  

What Are 360 Customer Profiles? 

A 360 customer profile is an all-encompassing view of a customer, built using a wide range of data sources. Unlike traditional customer profiles that may rely solely on demographic or historical purchasing information, 360 profiles integrate behavioral, transactional, and engagement data, giving businesses a richer and more detailed understanding of their audience. 

Instead of just knowing a customer’s age, gender, or purchase history, this allows a business to understand when a customer is most active online, the types of content they prefer, how they respond to promotions, and even their payment behaviors. The result is a deeper, more actionable insight into customer preferences and potential future behaviors. 

How Are 360 Customer Profiles Built? 

The creation of 360 customer profiles involves collecting and analyzing data from multiple touchpoints. These can include: 

Web and app engagement data. Tracks how users interact with content, what they view, share, or react to. 

Transaction data. Monitors purchase behaviors, including the frequency of purchases, payment methods, and spending patterns. 

Customer service interactions. Insights gained from communications, feedback, and support inquiries. 

Social media activity. Analyzes likes, shares, comments, and follows. 

Email and direct marketing response rates. Evaluates how recipients interact with marketing campaigns. 

The more data points integrated into these profiles, the richer and more detailed the insight becomes. This is where the power of technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), comes into play. AI algorithms can process massive amounts of data efficiently, identify trends, and generate actionable insights that would be impossible to derive manually. 

Qorbis: Revolutionizing 360 Customer Profiles 

Qorbis’ Fan Engagement Platform takes the concept of 360 customer profiles to the next level. By integrating data from an unprecedented range of sources—including content engagement and payment transactions—Qorbis provides organizations with unparalleled insights into their audiences. 

1. Content Engagement Analysis. Qorbis tracks user interactions with various types of content, such as articles, videos, and promotions via the Fan Engagement Apps it rolls out for clients. This helps brands understand what resonates with their audience, enabling them to tailor future content and marketing campaigns for maximum impact. 

2. Payment Transaction Data. Unlike other platforms, Qorbis incorporates payment data as a core component of its profiling. This allows organizations to gain a deeper understanding of purchasing behavior, such as average spend, transaction frequency, and preferred payment methods. These insights can help refine product offerings, identify high-value customers, and develop targeted loyalty programs. 

3. AI-Powered Insights. The platform’s AI capabilities are designed to track, analyze, and learn from data across multiple channels. This approach builds comprehensive, real-time customer profiles that businesses can leverage to make informed and timely decisions. Whether it’s adjusting the timing of campaigns, offering personalized promotions, or identifying potential churn risks, Qorbis’ technology ensures brands are one step ahead. 

Benefits of Rich 360 Customer Profiles 

Enhanced Personalization. By having an all-encompassing view of customers, businesses can offer highly personalized content, offers, and recommendations that resonate on an individual level. 

Improved Customer Retention. With deeper insights into customer preferences and behaviors, brands can anticipate needs and provide value at key touchpoints, improving loyalty and long-term retention. 

Optimized Marketing Strategies. Access to a wealth of data enables more precise segmentation and targeted campaigns, reducing ad spend waste and boosting ROI. 

Better Product Development. Understanding customer preferences helps businesses refine existing products and develop new offerings that meet actual demand. 

Increased Revenue Opportunities. The ability to track transactional and behavioral data opens up new possibilities for cross-selling and upselling, ensuring that organizations maximize each customer relationship. 

The Qorbis Advantage 

Qorbis’ world-first Fan Engagement Platform connects the dots to reveal the bigger picture. By merging content engagement data with transaction data and using AI to track and analyze these sources, Qorbis delivers a comprehensive ecosystem that goes beyond conventional analytics. This means businesses can drive merchandise sales, enhance sponsorship ROI, and deepen fan engagement with a level of insight previously unattainable. 

In a market where consumer attention is fragmented across numerous channels, having access to holistic and actionable insights is crucial. Qorbis empowers businesses to understand their audience like never before and to make decisions that foster growth, loyalty, and innovation. 

Find out how the Qorbis Fan Engagement Platform brings your fans closer to your brand and unlocks your data's true potential to transform your business strategies and outcomes – talk to us today. 

Imagine instantly getting the best deal on a loan or credit card tailored to your spending habits—no more jumping through hoops or hidden fees. Open banking puts users in control, delivering faster, smarter financial options right when and where they're needed.

The landscape of banking and financial services is transforming rapidly, with open banking at the forefront of this revolution. While Open Banking regulations have been fully established in Europe through initiatives like PSD2 (the Revised Payment Services Directive), the United States has moved at a slower place with relevant rules unveiled in October, 2024. With the rise of fintech solutions and increased consumer demand for better control over personal financial data, this news is long overdue.

But what exactly is open banking, and how will it benefit users in the US?

Understanding Open Banking

At its core, open banking refers to the practice of banks sharing financial data with third-party service providers (with users' explicit consent) through the use of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). This allows fintech companies, payment apps, and other financial services to offer innovative products and services that cater directly to consumers' needs.

Currently, many American consumers are already familiar with some open banking-like experiences, such as linking their bank accounts to apps like PayPal, Venmo, or budgeting tools like Mint. However, full-fledged open banking would make this process more secure, standardized, and far-reaching, offering numerous benefits for users.

More Financial Control for Consumers

One of the most significant advantages open banking brings is increased control over personal financial data. In today’s environment, consumers are often limited to the services and tools offered by their own banks, which may not always suit their financial habits or goals. Open banking allows users to access a variety of services from fintech companies and other financial institutions, enabling them to make more informed decisions.

For example, instead of being locked into one bank’s savings account, open banking allows users to compare interest rates across various institutions and switch accounts more easily. Consumers are no longer tethered to their bank’s limited offering of services; instead, they can explore the best financial products available across the market.

This reflects a growing appetite for better access to personalized financial services, which open banking could readily provide.

Personalized (and Hyper-Personalized) Financial Services

Open banking creates the foundation for more tailored financial experiences. When consumers grant third-party providers access to their financial data, fintech companies can aggregate that information to create highly personalized services. For instance, budgeting apps can track spending patterns, analyze transaction data, and offer actionable advice on saving, debt management, or investment opportunities. 

AI-driven solutions could use this data to recommend the best credit cards, loans, or even investment strategies based on a user’s financial behavior. For example, someone with recurring expenses on travel might receive targeted recommendations for travel rewards cards with low interest rates. 

Open banking creates the infrastructure for this kind of personalization, enabling better user experiences through intelligent, data-driven recommendations.

A More Competitive Financial Ecosystem

Traditionally, the banking sector has been dominated by a few large institutions. However, open banking levels the playing field by allowing smaller fintech companies and challenger banks to compete directly with larger incumbents. This increased competition ultimately benefits the end user, as financial institutions are forced to innovate, reduce fees, and offer more user-centric products to stay competitive.

For example, many users are frustrated by hidden fees and high account maintenance costs from their current banks. Open banking allows fintech startups to offer more transparent and low-fee options, which could prompt larger banks to do the same. As more third-party providers enter the market, consumers can expect a broader selection of better-priced financial products.

This increased competition has the potential to lower costs for users. 

Enhanced Security and Data Protection

When it comes to personal finances, security is paramount. One concern often raised about open banking is the potential for data breaches or unauthorized access to sensitive information. However, open banking is built with robust security protocols designed to protect consumers.

Currently, many Americans give fintech apps access to their financial data through screen scraping, where the app uses a consumer’s login credentials to access the data. This process is inherently risky as it requires users to share sensitive information with third-party providers, potentially exposing their accounts to fraud. Open banking replaces this with API-based access, which offers far greater security by eliminating the need to share passwords.

With open banking, consumers maintain full control over which data they share and with whom. Regulations mandate that third-party providers must obtain explicit consent from users to access their financial information, and users can revoke this access at any time. This gives users more confidence in sharing their data securely.

Additionally, banks and fintech companies involved in open banking must comply with rigorous security and privacy standards. For example, all data sharing must be encrypted, and providers must be registered with regulatory bodies to ensure they adhere to best practices. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rules regulate data access and protection within the open banking framework, enhancing trust and security for users.

Faster, More Efficient Services

Another major benefit of open banking is the speed and efficiency of financial services it enables. With direct access to financial data, fintech apps can process transactions, verify identities, and approve loans much faster than traditional banks. 

For example, consider the often tedious process of applying for a mortgage. Typically, this involves providing banks with a mountain of financial documentation, which then needs to be manually verified. Open banking could simplify this by allowing lenders to instantly access a potential borrower’s financial data, cutting down the approval process from weeks to days.

This kind of seamless integration is particularly important as more consumers demand real-time banking services. 

Open banking enables exactly that, helping users avoid delays and streamline their financial lives.

The Path Forward for Open Banking in America

While the US. is still in the early stages of fully adopting open banking, there is clear momentum building. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s new rules will govern consumer financial data rights,  with open banking likely to become more widespread rapidly, offering consumers all the benefits of a more competitive, personalized, and secure financial ecosystem.

The adoption of open banking in America represents a massive shift toward consumer empowerment. From increased control over personal finances to better access to tailored services, reduced fees, enhanced security, and faster transactions, open banking holds the potential to revolutionize the way Americans manage their money. While the regulatory framework continues to evolve, the benefits of open banking for US consumers are undeniable, making it a promising development for the future of financial services.

Find out how Qorbis will use open banking to deliver seamless and efficient banking for consumers and businesses - talk to us today.

Connecting with fans across fragmented digital channels is increasingly challenging. For sports teams, music artists, and influencers, Qorbis has emerged as a groundbreaking solution to this challenge, allowing brands in this space to not only engage, but also monetize their fan bases.

Combining loyalty, payments, and fan engagement, Qorbis offers organizations a unique platform to drive meaningful interactions, deepen loyalty, generate valuable insights, and drive ROI.

What makes the Qorbis Fan Engagement Platform unique?

At its core, the Qorbis Fan Engagement Platform is an all-in-one solution that unites content, data, and payments into a single app. Unlike traditional fan engagement tools, which often struggle with fragmented interactions spread across various channels, Qorbis provides a cohesive, centralized experience. This open platform aggregates a brand’s social channels, integrates a card program, and captures both engagement and transaction data. The result? Richer customer insights that enable hyper-personalized offers, deals, and discounts.

Another key differentiator is the platform's 360-degree customer profile capability. By combining content engagement data with payment transaction data, Qorbis creates comprehensive profiles that reveal not only how fans interact with content but also how they spend money. This data-driven approach allows organizations to make informed decisions, deliver personalized experiences, and maximize fan loyalty.

How does Qorbis deliver a win-win-win for brands, fans, and sponsors?

The Qorbis Fan Engagement Platform delivers powerful advantages for all stakeholders involved.

For brands:

• Boosts Revenue: By integrating a branded card program, brands can drive increased merchandise sales and sponsorship ROI.
• Deepens Engagement: The platform encourages ongoing interactions through personalized content, offers, and exclusive deals.
• AI-Driven Insights: Qorbis uses AI to track and analyze data across all channels, providing actionable insights that enable hyper-personalization and more broadly, better business decision-making and forecasting.
• Quick to Market: With its custom-branded platform, Qorbis ensures a fast, efficient launch without the need for lengthy development processes. Custom card programs are also fast to roll out, ensuring that brands can help their fans support a cause or charity in a timely manner.

For fans:

• Exclusive Content: Fans gain access to unique and shareable content, keeping them engaged even during off-seasons.
• Personalized Deals: Hyper-personalized offers and discounts create a tailored experience that keeps fans coming back.
• A Single Hub for Engagement: No more switching between social apps, Qorbis aggregates a brand’s social channels into one easy-to-use app, with dynamic and interactive features like our video wall. 
• Unique Ways to Share Their Fan Status: Virtual card art is interchangeable, allowing a user to choose a still or video image from a brand’s library that will then show in their wallet.

For sponsors and partners:

• Sponsorship Uplift: Qorbis acts as a vehicle to enhance sponsorship metrics, making it easier for brands to launch new products and services.
• Cross-Channel Visibility: Sponsors benefit from the platform’s ability to unify audience engagement across multiple touchpoints, providing greater insight into how fans interact with sponsored content.

A Data-Driven Future for Fan Engagement

Qorbis is leading the next generation of fan engagement propositions with its broad data sources. Brands get visibility of the complete user journey: from content engagement to transactions, allowing them to build far richer 360 customer profiles than ever before. 

Organizations leveraging Qorbis can also tap into new revenue streams, minimize operational costs, and provide a superior fan experience—all while capturing deep, actionable insights. Whether it’s sports, music, or other entertainment sectors, Qorbis empowers brands to maximize fan engagement and loyalty like never before.

In a world where consumers with emotional brand connections have a 306% higher lifetime value, Qorbis is a powerful tool for transforming casual fans into loyal, high-spending "fanatics."

Qorbis is more than just a fan engagement platform; it’s a new marketing channel that combines the power of loyalty programs, payment data, and AI-driven insights to create limitless experiences for fans and endless opportunities for brands. 

Book a demo and see how we can help transform your relationship with your fans.

First we unbundled. Now, we’re rebundling. The latest evolution of banking is here and fintechs are ensuring it’s a better solution for businesses and consumers.

When fintech unbundled the banking industry in the 2010’s it signaled the start of change the likes of which the industry had arguably never seen. Rather than rely on the entrenched relationships they had with traditional incumbents, customers suddenly had a choice. A choice of products and ultimately, better value.

Like any major change in an industry, however, it became apparent that there were shortfalls in what this new way of banking could deliver. Unbundling meant customer service was disjointed and opportunities for brand loyalty for almost non-existent. 

It was time for the next phase of fintech. A new phase that built on lessons learned from unbundling that delivered its benefits, overcame the downsides and more. 

Enter: rebundling. 

The Problem With Unbundling

In the past, success as a fintech meant being a master of a single solution. A solution to a financial challenge that was better and cheaper than the solutions offered by a bank.

“Unbundling: the shift from department stores to boutiques.”

International Banker

By unbundling traditional bank services, fintechs could specialize in singular areas: savings or mobile payments, for instance. It was the very opposite of the jack-of-all-trades approach that banks had been operating under. Retail analogies abounded:

“For decades, the bank has been a ‘supermarket’ for our financial needs. The bank pays once to acquire you as a customer but can cross-sell multiple products over the course of your relationship. The hub of it all was the ‘free’ current account – one of the great customer acquisition tools of all time. Of the above services, the bank can give you one to three for ‘free’ and seek to make revenue from doing the other jobs. Because you spend a lot of time engaging with your bank, when you need something else related, they are the natural starting point.”

Deloitte

Unbundling allowed users to rethink this natural starting point. A proliferation of ‘compare’ websites helped, offering an easy way to look outside the traditional bank box and at fintech-driven options. While this had benefits for customers – and the fintechs taking advantage of the changes – it also had significant downsides. 

Huge competition meant the market was dispersed. The result was poor value proposition and an often disjointed customer experience. The convenience of a one-stop-shop was lost as was the opportunity for brands to develop a deep understanding of their customers and offer products and services accordingly. 

Banks and fintechs were at war. Collaboration was a dirty word. 

Now, thanks to an evolved and highly competitive market, fintechs are rebundling it all back up again and cooperation is back on the menu. This isn’t a movement back towards the original banking model, though. It’s a complete rethinking. 

The Next Phase: Rebundling

Unbundling may have had some downsides but overall it meant a realisation that change was possible. That better banking was possible, and that fintechs were the most likely vehicle for driving this change. 

“[Fintechs] have grown from a sideshow to the elephant in the room for banks. By engaging customers in their daily lives to solve specific financial needs with a distinctive experience while delivering back useful customer insights with advanced analytics, these digital companies have gained customers by the millions and a rapt audience of investors attracted to their compelling growth story.” 

S&P Global Research

And true to their entrepreneurial roots, fintechs are now leading the rebundling of the industry.

Instead of challenging singular verticals, fintechs have rebundled and are focussed on offering products and services that offer value as well as a seamless user experience and the benefits of brand loyalty. 

Shopping for a whole product suite (and more – we’ll delve into that later) in supermarket-style was originally popular for a reason. Convenience and one source of trust are powerful aspects of the decision-making process. There’s a strong case for this style of banking – but we now know that this doesn’t have to be in the form of a traditional bank. Evolved fintechs can offer all of this while still offering the type of innovation and value that drove the unbundling phase in the first place.

The benefits don’t just lie with customers though. 

Being a single source for multiple points of products and services means new, evolved fintechs can build a wealth of customer data. Data that they and the brands they partner with can use to gain insight into the financial behavior of their customers and make decisions accordingly. 

A rebundled future

The most competitive fintechs in the future will be those that offer the elements of a bank – loans, savings accounts etc. – as well as additional and complementary products and services. We’re entering a time in which users might sign up for a credit card through the same brand that might shop for energy deals, secure insurance or receive bespoke offers. 

Traditional banking is still on the rebundling journey, thanks to cooperation with startups as they optimize internal processes and customer journeys, launch joint products, and create an ecosystem of financial services around the bank. 

A study by Cornerstone Advisors found that nearly two-thirds of banks and credit unions had partnered with at least one fintech in the past three years. Of those who hadn’t, 37% planned to partner with a fintech in the next year.

Many agree though that the horse already has bolted. That the incumbents have been too slow to change and that the gap is now too wide for them to close. That naturally agile fintechs will outpace banking in this new phase of rebundling, a position that will be emphasized as digital-native generations like Gen Z reach decision-making age.  

One thing is for sure: it’s good news for customers. 

“The overriding driver in all of this innovation is how the experience can be improved (securely) for the customer.”

The Payments Association

Want to find out how rebundling allows Qorbis to deliver better banking? Contact us today.

We pride ourselves on cutting out the jargon and communicating in simple, easy-to-understand language. But fintech is a jargon-heavy sector - even the word fintech (that’s shorthand for financial technology) is jargon.

Get to grips with what everyone else is really saying with our insider’s glossary - updated regularly.

Application Programming Interface (API). A set of protocols that facilitates communication between two applications. APIs allow the creation of applications that access data from and the features of third parties.

API economy. The ecosystem of APIs. In an API economy, businesses leverage and monetize APIs to create new services, integrate with partners, and enhance their offerings.

Banking as a Service (BaaS). A model that allows a licensed provider to integrate financial products and services into a non-financial service brand’s own environment. This is done using APIs and a white-labeled front end.

Bank Identification Number (BIN). Also referred to as an Issuer Identification Number (IIN). This is the initial four to six numbers on a payment card that identifies the institution that issues the card. BINs are vital to the process of matching transactions to the issuer of the charge card.

Blockchain. A shared database or ledger that collects information into digital blocks. This decentralized approach means the sharing of these blocks of information is easier and cheaper.

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). A short-term financing product that allows consumers to make purchases and pay for them later. BNPL is one of the fastest-growing digital financial products. This is in part due to the speed of approval, term flexibility, low-to-no-interest, and no credit impact if paid on time.

Cross-border payments. Transactions involving individuals, banks, companies, and other entities in which the payee and the recipient operate from different countries. These could be wholesale, retail, or recurring transactions.

CX. Shorthand for customer experience. CX refers to a customer’s entire experience of a brand. It includes the journey from marketing to post-sales service and everything in between.

Cybersecurity. The practice of protecting computer systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, attacks, or damage.

Digital identity. The electronic representation of an individual's personal information. This is used for authentication, verification, and access to online services.

Digital wallet. An electronic device or software that allows individuals to store, manage, and make electronic transactions. Examples include Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal.

Electronic Funds Transfer (eFt). Any transfer of funds initiated electronically. This includes card payments, cash machine/ATM withdrawals, point-of-sale (Pos), and debit transfers without requiring the intervention of bank staff.

Financial inclusion. The effort to provide access to affordable and quality financial services to all. Some individuals and businesses who are traditionally underserved or excluded from the mainstream financial system benefit most from financial inclusion.

Fintech as a Service (FaaS). When any company uses fintech APIs to embed financial capabilities into their existing applications, products and services. Sound familiar? FaaS is pretty much interchangeable with BaaS, but is fast becoming the preferable term in this fast-growing industry.

Know Your Customer (KYC). Standards used within the financial services industry to protect all parties from risk. This is done through the mandatory verification and authentication of a customer’s identity. All legal and financial institutions must validate their customers’ Proof of Identity (POI) and Proof of Address (POA) to prevent illegal or fraudulent activities.

Metaverse. The next iteration of the Internet. The metaverse is a digital, immersive 3D world that mimics aspects of the physical world using technologies like virtual reality (VR). Research suggests that 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in a metaverse for work, shopping, education, social media and/or entertainment by 2026.

Open banking. The practice of sharing customer financial information securely. This information is shared with third-party financial service providers through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs).

Payment gateway. An interface between a merchant and the acquirer that allows the acceptance of credit/debit transactions. The technology behind a payment gateway validates card details, ensures sufficient funds, and then enables merchants to get paid.

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). A set of standards that protect consumers’ sensitive data. It is applicable to organizations that store/process/transmit cardholder data either as clear or in an encrypted manner.

Point-to-Point Encryption (P2P). Payment encryption. Specifically, customer account data is encrypted at the swipe and decrypted at either a retailer’s switch, a payment gateway, or by the processor depending on the scheme. 

OS financing. Also referred to as point-of-sale financing. This is an increasingly popular style of financial product that offers customers flexible, pay-over-time installment options when completing a sale via e-commerce. BNPL is an example of POS financing. 

PSD2. A European regulation for electronic payment services that aims to make payments more secure, boost innovation, and help banking services adapt to new technologies. 

Regulated sandbox/Regulatory sandbox. A controlled environment provided by regulatory authorities. This environment allows fintech startups to test and experiment with innovative products and services under relaxed regulatory conditions.

Strong Customer Authentication (SCA). The use of two authentication factors for bank operations that were not previously required. This includes payments and access to accounts online or via apps. It also includes a stricter definition of what counts as an authentication factor.

Tokenization. The process of replacing cardholder data with a random string of characters called Tokens to move sensitive data. This minimizes the threat of fraud or identity theft.

Virtual card. A payment card that exists digitally, rather than as a plastic, physical card. Virtual versions still offers users the same capabilities, though. This includes contactless payments via a smartphone.

White-Label platform. Also referred to as a cleanskin platform. A software platform that can be rebranded by a third party, allowing a bank or lender to put their stamp on a platform. These platforms are generally developed by a third party (often a fintech).

Remember, this glossary provides a brief overview of common terms. There may be more detailed definitions and variations within each term.

Regulatory and compliance measures in digital banking have become increasingly important as technology continues to transform the finance and banking industry. With the rise of online banking, mobile payments, and financial technology (fintech) innovations, regulatory bodies are faced with a crucial task: to adapt and develop frameworks to address the unique challenges and risks associated with digital financial services.

This framework serves as the foundation for maintaining a secure and transparent financial system, protecting businesses and consumers, and preventing illicit activities.  

Regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Dodd-Frank Act, and Bank Secrecy Act are in place to prevent fraud, money laundering, and illegal activities. Governments and regulatory bodies put these in place to ensure fair and ethical practices, protect the interests of consumers, and maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system.  

This article explores the main pillars of regulatory and compliance measures in American banking and finance, with a focus on the evolving fintech and digital banking sectors. 

Cybersecurity and Data Protection 

Digital banking brings with it a heightened need for robust cybersecurity measures and data protection. Regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), have established guidelines and requirements for financial institutions. First and foremost this is to safeguard customer data and protect against cyber threats. Compliance measures, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), provide additional frameworks for ensuring the privacy and security of customer information. 

Digital Identity Verification and Authentication 

As digital banking expands, the challenge of verifying the identity of customers and ensuring secure authentication becomes crucial. Regulatory bodies are working on establishing standards and guidelines for digital identity verification processes, such as Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. These measures aim to prevent identity theft, fraud, and money laundering by implementing robust identity verification procedures and multi-factor authentication protocols. 

Regulatory Sandboxes and Innovation 

To foster innovation in the digital banking space while maintaining regulatory oversight, some jurisdictions have introduced regulatory sandboxes. These sandboxes allow fintech companies and startups to test new products and services in a controlled environment, while regulatory authorities monitor their operations. This approach encourages innovation, facilitates collaboration between regulators and industry players, and helps strike a balance between innovation and compliance. 

Consumer Protection and Dispute Resolution 

In the digital banking realm, consumer protection is of paramount importance. Regulatory bodies, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), enforce regulations that ensure fair practices, transparency, and effective dispute-resolution mechanisms. These measures help protect consumers from fraudulent activities, unauthorized transactions, and unfair practices in digital financial services. 

Cross-Border Regulations 

With the global nature of digital banking services, cross-border regulatory cooperation is vital. Regulatory bodies across different jurisdictions collaborate to establish frameworks that facilitate international transactions, mitigate risks associated with money laundering and terrorist financing, and promote regulatory harmonization. Initiatives such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision work towards aligning international standards and promoting consistency in regulatory approaches. 

The financial industry is extremely highly regulated in the USA and globally. As digital banking continues to reshape the finance and banking industry, regulatory and compliance measures must keep pace with technological advancements. By addressing cybersecurity risks, enhancing data protection, establishing identity verification protocols, fostering innovation through regulatory sandboxes, ensuring consumer protection, and facilitating cross-border cooperation, regulators play a crucial role in creating a secure and trustworthy digital banking environment. Striking the right balance between innovation and compliance is key to unlocking the full potential of digital banking while safeguarding the interests of consumers and maintaining the stability of the financial system. 

Qorbis and its partners adhere to the highest standards of regulatory and compliance measures so you can be confident your money is in safe hands. Talk to us about how the FDIC protects your Qorbis account, today. 

A wealth of actionable insights into customer behavior are increasingly the common factor among the most successful brands

The transition to digital has meant that the amount of customer data available to brands has increased exponentially in a short time.

But huge volumes of raw data aren’t helpful to anyone. Instead, brands are turning to data analytics to break down vast amounts of information into bite-size pieces for analysis. This more-manageable data then becomes actionable.

The result? In-depth insights into consumer behavior, the ability to predict future outcomes of campaigns, and more accurate business decision-making.

Successfully leveraging data analytics for competitive advantage is a long-term game. Rather than focussing on short-term conversions, the most successful companies use data analytics to establish a connection with customers that has the ability to stand the test of time.

The importance of customer connection

A customer’s experience with a brand throughout their buying journey is one of the biggest determining factors in their repeat business.

80%

Of customers say that the experience a company provides is as essential to them as a brand’s products or services.

The good news is that assessing key customer service metrics to understand a customer base and then using these insights to improve customer retention, deliver on or exceed expectations and proactively identify opportunities for improvement are all possible with data analytics.

Forrester previously predicted that organizations either need to learn to leverage customer insights and quantify the business impact of customer experience (CX) initiatives or find themselves in a vulnerable position. Another report from Adobe revealed that companies considered “CX leaders” were three times as likely to have exceeded their business goals. While many forecasts are little more than an alternate reality, Forrester, Adobe, and others are spot on about CX. Customer experience is a competitive advantage in every industry, from finance and insurance to healthcare, logistics, and retail.

35%

Of ‘high performing’ organizations worldwide rate themselves as effective users of analytics.

McKinsey

How Data Drives CX

Data analytics are key to ensuring the type of personalized and seamless experience customers expect - at scale, without friction, and with the human element intact.

“With analytics, organizations can develop detailed intelligence about their customer needs. With analytics, organizations can process feedback from multiple sources at scale. With analytics, organizations can tailor offerings specific to customer needs. With analytics, organizations can improve customer satisfaction.”

According to MIT.

Investing in smart CX tools powered by AI and machine learning is booming as brands look to understand customers - through how they shop and what they buy - to improve the customer experience.

Data analytics like those powered by BaaS models allow brands to review multiple sets of data points in real-time that help them understand their customers in context. For example, AI-enabled analytics tools can reveal why some products are more popular with millennials vs. baby boomers, or to identify leaks in the sales funnel.

Data’s role in creating a smooth customer journey might include:

• Tracking why visitors don’t go on to make a purchase
• Identifying gaps in user experience.
• Understanding why people connect with a brand the way they do.
• Identifying similarities between repeat and high-value customers.
• Identifying similarities new visitors have.
• Highlighting what messaging resonates most.
• Pinpointing the best ways to communicate with your customers.
• Highlighting speedbumps in a customer’s journey, including specific pain points and challenges.

Big Data = Big Benefits

Data that is insightful enough to inform you and your team of practical strategies to boost your business is invaluable. Arguably the biggest benefit to your bottom line comes from the ability to personalize a customer’s experience.

According to McKinsey, personalization can increase revenue by 5 to 15% and marketing efficiency by 10 to 30%. Data analytics allows brands to use online behavior insights to create customized landing pages, email campaigns, and offers, and to serve up personalized recommendations to drive more purchases. For instance, checkout abandonment emails or messages highlighting an offer or event specific to the recipient's geographic area are going to feel much more relevant and engaging.

6x

Studies have found that personalized marketing emails result in six times as many transactions as non-personalized messages.

A recent Forbes Magazine article reports that market leaders share a common approach to using data to improve customer experience: they focus on “personalization at scale starting from customer touchpoints back.” Great customer-centric brands recognize that when employees and systems know everything about every customer interaction over time, they can provide better service and support.

Striking the right CX balance

Such is the quest for the most optimal customer experience that the relationship between CX and financial gains can hit a point of diminishing returns.

For example, companies often overspend on efforts to attract or delight customers, which typically costs more than improving retention rates or taking advantage of upselling and cross-selling opportunities.

Data analytics helps to find a balance by assisting brands in making sure they allocate their resources where they will have the most significant impact. McKinsey reports that effective use of data analytics can improve customer satisfaction (with an increase of 10 to 20 percent) while unlocking a lower cost to serve (cost savings of 20 to 30 percent in some cases). For these reasons, companies are seeking to step up their customer service offerings to meet the heightened expectations of customers.

Take Amazon, for example. Those constant price changes on their website are not random, nor are they merely an algorithm set to try different prices at different times with no informational underpinning. Instead, those price changes are heavily data-driven and personalized, enticing customers to purchase items they have looked at in the past but not bought, or to consider new items that match their previous purchases on the site. By leveraging big data to analyze customer interest, competitor prices, and inventory, Amazon can price its products in ways that attract and retain customers.

There’s no doubt - knowledge is power. Data analytics provides valuable insight into customers that brands can use to boost a wide range of metrics - including their bottom line.

Customer success drives business success. Talk to us today about how we can help you know more and deliver more.

Better payments benefit everyone in the value chain. Meeting customer expectations for a seamless experience is important now - but will be a non-negotiable for successful brands in the near future…

In the past brands, were constrained by what they could practically offer customers. Now the internet, mobile, cloud, and financial technology have combined to open up a new wave of possibilities for companies to serve customers better.

First and foremost in the delivery of the ultimate in CX (customer experience) is embedded finance - and it’s not just end-users who benefit.

The freedom of friction-free payments

The convenience of embedded finance - in particular, embedded payments - is invaluable to customers. Instead of having to find their wallet or credit card, a customer can just tap a few buttons and the purchase is complete.

A 2022 study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco noted that in-app embedded payments increased as a percentage of total consumer purchases from 11% in 2019 to 15% in 2020, to 29% in 2021. Conversely, 7% of abandoned online carts are due to not having a credit card handy or the same credit card accepted by the merchant.

A smoother buying journey means less shopping cart abandonment and customer dissatisfaction, resulting in a win for businesses via increased revenue and customer loyalty.

The ultimate goal of embedded finance is to make it easier for consumers to access financial services in a seamless and convenient way. For example, a brand might offer its customers the option to pay for their purchases using a digital wallet or a mobile payment app, or a technology platform might offer its users access to financial tools such as budgeting and investment tracking.

“Embedded finance is the new ‘norm’ in banking.”

Finance Digest

Changing demographics and behavior, increasing internet penetration, technological advances, and growing trust in the digital ecosystem are helping make embedded finance the norm among consumers.

New research reveals the size of the embedded finance market was $43 billion in 2021, with growth set to skyrocket to $138 billion by 2026.

215%

The CAGR of the embedded finance market from 2021 to 2026.

It’s not just the B2C market seeing this transformation, though. KPMG flags the B2B embedded finance sector as being on the move, in order to “facilitate trade flows and supply chain efficiency”.

Long after B2C moved online, B2C transactions are finally digitizing at speed. Over half of business buyers already rely on web stores for frequent purchases, so it’s safe to say that there is set to be a high increase in merchants and marketplaces offering these seamless options alongside more traditional payment methods like credit cards and Direct Debit.

Benefits for businesses

When a brand embeds financial services into its own products, the key benefits are threefold:

• An additional source of revenue: Via a share of the income from the financial products sold to customers within their brand.
• Competitive advantage and customer trustworthiness: Delivering on customer demand (and indeed, expectation) for easy, secure, and efficient online payment options is more attractive to customers than a business that doesn’t provide these options.
• Higher order value: Flexible payment options like BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) reduce barriers to purchase, resulting in customers buying more high-value products than they usually would.

88% of companies that offered some type of embedded finance reported increased engagement, and 85% said it helped them acquire new customers.

These figures are of particular importance because happy customers are engaged customers. The more emotionally invested a customer is, the stronger their connection with a brand will be and so brand loyalty and an engaged community are established.

"Online retailers can leverage embedded finance to tap into contextual financial services that offer customised, real-time insights about how each customer interacts with their brand. By creating more personalised touchpoints, online retailers can connect with customers through specific micro-moments during different points of their payment journey.”

David Feuer, chief product officer at Galileo Financial Technologies

The Fintech Times

Innovation amidst challenging economic times

2022 saw embedded finance move into the mainstream. While 2023 is predicted by many to be the year it moves into the spotlight to power consumer-facing applications, it has already revolutionized core payments operations.

How? In short: more revenue, less churn. By embedding payments, businesses of all sizes can provide seamless cash flow that’s hard to replicate by a third party. And as a potential recession looms, this type of ‘bread and butter’ embedded finance use case is expected to see huge uptake. After all, dramatically improving the efficiency of back-end processes will deliver significant savings and productivity benefits for fintechs and brands - which is more important than ever right now.

Unlocking the next wave of growth

Businesses ranging from retailers and travel to software companies are working to tailor their payment services for increased accessibility. As a result, embedded finance will become firmly interwoven into more industries, acknowledging e-commerce as the driving force in business growth and revenue streams.

The next step in payment innovation also lends itself to the metaverse, and how the digital world can help shape how financial services offer their products.

The more immediate future is likely to see the rise of embedded finance within the world of social media. Many platforms have shown an interest in plugging in their own payment services to embed a seamless end-to-end experience, something which Instagram has trialed with its ‘Shop’ function.

Elon Musk has also recently filed papers to the US Treasury for Twitter to become a financial service.

Embedded finance is not just for the Twitters of the world, however - businesses of any size can benefit from seamless payment functionality.

Qorbis delivers an embedded finance experience that's fast, flexible, compliant and future-proofed - for big and small businesses. Ask us how.

Digital transformation is in full swing and yet - people still want people. Meeting the challenge of delivering an online experience that matches an in-person one might rely on the very opposite of the problem it's solving: technology.

As bank branches across the country - and indeed, across the globe - close their doors, it would be fair to assume that we’ve evolved beyond the days of banking requiring a personal element.

In the place of brick-and-mortar branches, digital banking platforms have evolved to reach customers in entirely remote environments and ensure that customers could receive the same level of service as when they were able to visit a bank branch.

The convenience and ease of digital banking cannot be underestimated, and yet, people still want people.

But that doesn’t mean it’s one without the other.

“It's actually not a case of human vs digital. It's about human and digital. Humans need digital enablement to deliver successful, personalized experiences, meanwhile, digital tools and techniques augment the human-delivered customer service.”

UK Finance

The key is to meet somewhere in the middle, with all the perks of digitization and a personal touch. To succeed, banking providers must be able to offer the same high level of service digitally to a customer as they would receive in person. So how best to navigate this tightrope?

A Balancing Act

“A strong digital strategy requires a human element.”

Customer experience experts Majorel. 

The appetite for a human touch amidst the plethora of data, apps, and APIs is still strong. Without this personal element, the traditionally commoditized banking and financial service industries risk losing out on the benefits of customer trust and loyalty.

A digital banking experience that drives conversion, creates loyalty, and improves brand reputation needs to embrace the best practices in technology and humanization.

It’s this position that’s driving the development of the metaverse, a reality designed to combine the best of digital-physical worlds. In the future, this could pose a real solution to the challenge of giving banking a human touch - but it’s one that’s still years away from actuality. In the meantime, the most successful players are embracing personalization.

70%+

Of consumers from all age demographics said personalization was “highly important” to their banking experience.

Another study found similarly.

72%

Of respondents said they expect the businesses they buy from to recognize them as individuals and know their interests.

Analytics-powered digital solutions enable intelligent personalization based on context. For example location data that offers a “Good Morning!” or “Good Afternoon!” prompt depending on the time zone where the customer is located.

“Find ways to be proactive and show them that you care about their financial well-being. Celebrate with your customers (e.g., birthdays, anniversaries, financial accomplishments) – think of it as digital confetti.”

Analytic decision-making platform FICO

Data derived from the technology that powers digital banking can bring back the human element that used to be part of local banking relationships. Collecting, analyzing, and generating actionable insights with machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) from that data can give rise to alerts and notifications that help consumers on their self-serviced financial journeys.

“Using personalization data is central to building humanized digital banking CX that extends across an entire experience from app to chat to phone.”

The Financial Brand

But as with most business practices, there are potential downsides to personalization. Even a single irrelevant message can torpedo consumers’ faith in how well you know them, leading to decreased conversions and tanking loyalty.

Leveraging Data to Delight - Not (Necessarily) Sell

Customers want brands to meet them where they are, know their tastes, give them targeted offers and check in to make sure they’ve been fully taken care of.

76%

Of customers are more likely to purchase if their experience is personalized.

Use the data used to personalize with caution, though, experts warn. Personalization is about making intelligent and meaningful offers and isn't necessarily about selling products. It’s a long game - and making customers feel comfortable and valued during every interaction is the key to a competitive advantage.

When asked to define personalization, consumers associate it with positive experiences of being made to feel special.

“They respond positively when brands demonstrate their investment in the relationship, not just the transaction. Thoughtful touch points such as checking in post-purchase, sending a how-to video or asking consumers to write a review generate positive brand perceptions.”

McKinsey

The Quest for the Best Support

Advisory firm Genpact recently released an analysis indicating that consumers’ continuing preference for traditional channels continues in the Age of the App because this is still where they receive the best customer support and personalized advice.

“If the same quality of service were available through digital channels,” the report states, “consumers wouldn’t choose to travel to a branch or phone a customer service center.”

Far from suggesting that digital alternatives will never entirely replace traditional banking incumbents though, the firm maintains that it’s not a matter of forgoing digital but instead, supercharging its abilities.

“It’s not going to be digital only and it’s not going to be human only.”

Raja Bose, consulting and transformation services leader, Genpact.

Bose thinks digital channels can begin to mix in some of the advantages of human interaction by blending human-machine collaboration through artificial intelligence.

The human becomes augmented by the technology, but not wholly replaced, he explains, drawing a parallel with GPS service. This technology tells a human how to get from point A to point B - but the human still does the driving (for now).

Want to meet the people behind the platform? Our team is available when you are to answer any of your questions - chat to us.

Traditional cross-border payment methods are rife with pain points, with B2B solutions lagging behind innovations in the B2C space. Not for long, though - new entrants are challenging incumbents with innovative business models that offer fast, secure, more efficient, and cost-effective cross-border payments.

Money is zipping across the world like never before. Borderless e-commerce, cross-border B2C payments, and web-centered businesses are all contributing to a boom in cross-border payments.

This type of digital jet-setting is far trickier than standard domestic payments, though. Cross-border payments lag domestic ones in terms of cost, speed, access, and transparency. Some cross-border payments can take several days and can cost up to 10 times more than a domestic payment.

It’s no surprise then that the demand for fast, secure, cost-effective, and efficient cross-border payments is an opportunity that fintechs have seized. While there are plenty of choices when it comes to solutions within the B2B sector, there are distinctly fewer within a B2C environment.

The value of cross-border payments is estimated to increase from almost $150 trillion in 2017 to over $250 trillion by 2027, equating to a rise of over $100 trillion in just 10 years. B2C represents a significant chunk of this. The global cross-border B2C e-commerce market was valued at $794 million in 2021, with that figure forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25.1% to $3,042 million by 2028.

$3,042 million

The forecasted value of the global cross-border B2C e-commerce market by 2028.

For businesses looking to expand into global markets, cross-border payments matter. Friction in the form of time delays or currency confusion put serious dampeners on business success and customer loyalty. Easing these common pain points with B2B payment solutions that include features like competitive, real-time rates and corporate and virtual payment cards is essential.

How do cross-border payments work?

“International banks provide accounts for foreign counterparts and have their own accounts with their foreign counterparts, which enable banks to make payments in foreign currency. The funds are not sent across borders; instead, accounts are credited in one jurisdiction and debited the corresponding amount in the other.”

Bank of England

Cross-border payments are financial transactions in which the sender and recipient are in different countries. Fintechs and money transfer agents use the interbank network detailed above to process these payments for businesses and individuals.

They’re not simple, though, because of a variety of reasons.

Cross-border payments: the downsides

The traditional payment process leaves incumbent banks that are on the receiving end of a transaction with little predictability of when payment will arrive or what the amount will be after currency exchange calculations and fees. Compliance and anti-money laundering regulations can result in transaction delays, which only grows uncertainty in an already uncertain process.

It’s not all doom and gloom though…

New solutions driving global growth

Increasing demand is driving innovation. Innovation within fintech that’s seeing a new wave of cross-border payment providers emerge, including within a B2B space.

By harnessing advancements in AI, APIs, blockchain, cloud, and robotic process automation, new payment providers are helping businesses send and receive cross-border payments rapidly, cheaply, transparently, seamlessly, and securely.

This transformation is set to have a major impact on not only corporates but small- to medium-sized businesses (SMEs), too. Traditionally, SMEs have comprised a lower share of cross-border payments than their share of GDP would indicate. But this is expected to change as their access to affordable international payments improves.

APIs: providing access to better rates

The key to new cross-border solutions is APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). Fintech platforms that use cross-border payment APIs help businesses scale their capabilities quicker, by streamlining their payment processes and ultimately, growing revenue.

Under this model, users can securely send, receive, manage, and spend dozens of currencies, with better exchange rates, more transparent fees, and faster delivery times than traditional high street banks.

Instead of using the traditional SWIFT network, cross-border APIs allow access and visibility to competitive FX rates in real time. This means payments with better exchange rates than banks, as well as access to multi-currency account solutions to send, spend, and get paid as if in-country, from all over the world.

Improved transparency

New cross-border payment solutions also offer an increased amount of data related to transactions, allowing faster, more seamless settlement.

In traditional cross-border payments, much of the associated data does not ultimately make it through to the beneficiary. Without this information, bank clients struggle to reconcile payments efficiently.

The wealth of data that accompanies payments throughout their lifecycle within a digital platform means being one step closer to the ultimate goal of frictionless, straight-through reconciliation.

This is in part due to the growing adoption of ISO 20022, which is an international standard for relaying electronic messages between financial institutions that enables up to 10 times more data to be sent than previously.

International payments fuel the cross-border trade and investment that’s key to the emergence of today’s global economy. Friction-free cross-border transactions are crucial for businesses to enjoy the commercial benefits associated with connection to the global economy - whether they’re large corporates or SMEs.

Qorbis gives you access to major payment schemes for easy, secure cross-border payments. Join us today and enjoy borderless banking.