Rashee Pandey

Marketing and Communications Manager at Bankable

London, England

@rasheepandey | LinkedIn Profile

Can you please tell us a little about your role at Bankable.

At a start-up, no day is the same! I work within the Product Strategy and Commercialisation team, where I am responsible for defining Bankable’s communication strategy and executing all internal and external communication activities such as participating in events, preparing periodic investor newsletters etc. I ensure that Bankable’s reach is far and wide in the fintech community and the financial services industry both online and offline. I am also responsible for designing and coordinating the creative development of the corporate and consumer website, and delivering marketing collateral.

How does your family background define you as an individual and how does it influence you in your role?

I grew up in a multicultural environment, and therefore embrace diversity and change with open arms. I find that I can have a conversation with practically anyone and I enjoy meeting new people.

I believe that this is my biggest strength as a marketer, as communications and building a rapport comes naturally to me.

You’ve worked for a variety of companies in multiple regions before starting your career in FinTech, all at a relatively young age. How does this diverse background help you in marketing Bankable?

Prior to joining Bankable, I worked in marketing and communications roles in various industries as I was curious and wanted to explore what different industries had to offer. It all taught me one thing - there is no silver-bullet strategy; it is all about recognizing what works, and implementing the tactic at the right time.

This has definitely helped me in my role at Bankable, as I realize that there isn’t one conventional way of marketing our transactional Platform-as-a-Service because we are capable of powering bespoke payments solutions. My goal is to always ensure that we tailor our message to suit the business needs of our clients as much as possible.

What made you decide to join Bankable and the FinTech community?

Initially it was a difficult decision as I had an offer from a multinational FMCG firm as well. It was down to either joining a fintech start-up or going through a regular graduate scheme.

The more I read about fintech, the more it fascinated me. At Bankable, a rebranding effort was taking place with the entire marketing and communications strategy being revamped. Bankable wanted to finally “come out of the box” and express itself in the fintech community. It was an exciting time to join Bankable, to play a pivotal part in the new strategic positioning process and to contribute to the ongoing fintech revolution.

Above all, I instantly clicked with everyone at Bankable which definitely made the decision easier.

It was challenging, and that is what excited me. And now here I am, having spent over a year at Bankable, extremely happy with my decision and looking forward to more.

When asked to describe the London tech scene you used the term ‘energy’. Can you expand on this?

Globally, the fintech industry is bubbling with a lot of energy, with global investment in fintech start-ups tripling from 2013 to 2014. In particular, Europe’s growth has been phenomenal as it has been the fastest growing region within this sector. The UK and Ireland have captured a major chunk of the fintech investment in Europe, and that is definitely visible in the fintech scene in London.

With David Cameron backing the FinTech Manifesto, the government is encouraging the UK to lead innovation in financial services and London becoming the global fintech capital. This, along with trade bodies like Innovate Finance and technology accelerators like Level39, creates a very encouraging and vibrant ecosystem, attracting even more start-ups, investments and an exceptional talent pool.

London’s network is also crucial in keeping the momentum going in the fintech industry. The close proximity of established financial institutions headquartered in London (thanks to its geographic location) provides a great financial services and technology network.

Come along to one of the fintech events in London and you’ll be able to experience the energy for yourself!

What are the challenges in marketing a B2B and B2B2C solution with respect to Bankable’s multiple market regions?

Currently, Bankable’s focus is Europe. We target organisations with a large consumer base and large financial institutions to act as distributors selling our solutions. Thus, more than anything, the challenge is to market our solutions to the established players in various industries. This is definitely challenging for a start-up as lead generation can be difficult. The key is to continuously put your solutions in front of key decision makers and create awareness in every way possible – from events and direct marketing to online and brand journalism.

However, marketing is not just about that. The challenge is also to continuously provide a smooth experience to our clients as they are our brand ambassadors. We have been fortunate enough to have been referred by our existing clients, and would like to continue working towards keeping up the positive word-of-mouth.

What has your personal experience as a Millennial woman in FinTech been? Do you find the ecosystem accepting to you in your role?

It has been fantastic! Yes, there have been times when I have walked into a meeting room with only men, but it has never bothered me – also because I have never received an unwelcoming vibe.

Besides, I let my work do the talking, present my thoughts confidently and communicate effectively which I believe is of utmost importance as a marketer.

I have also been very fortunate to have extremely encouraging people around me. For instance, when I had first joined Bankable I was skeptical of my own credentials as I was not from the industry. My manager then, Sophie Guibaud, assured me that she wanted someone who brought in a fresh perspective. That truly motivated me.

Since then I have worked hard, and I have had amazing mentors at Bankable where I am encouraged to speak my mind and where no idea is considered a ‘bad idea’.

Regarding the ecosystem in general, everyone in the fintech community is passionate about revolutionising financial services. As long as you share that passion and have that motivation level, regardless of your gender or the generation you belong to, you will make a lot of friends.

Who(m) do you believe has had the most influence with respect to your own career?

It would be my mother, my brother and my grandfather. From pursuing communication studies to moving to London for postgraduate studies and joining a fintech start-up, they have not only supported my decisions but have also always encouraged my ambitions. I have always been a dreamer, and they have taught me that nothing is impossible if you work hard.

My mother is the most important person in my life and is my greatest inspiration as she has always been a strong, independent and very well-read woman. She is also my biggest critic, because at times, it so happens that she knows more about what is happening in the fintech industry in London whilst sitting in Bangkok than I know here. She never ceases to inspire me to keep working on myself and to never stop learning.

I have also been privileged enough to have been surrounded by extremely encouraging people who always believed in me more than I believed in myself, taught me the value of hard work, to be independent and to be unafraid of pursuing my goals. This includes all my mentors throughout my entire education and work experiences who have always supported me along the way.

Who do you consider to be strong women leaders in the FinTech space?

I personally admire Eileen Burbidge and Claire Cockerton for their exceptional work. However, I would also like to say that every person working in the fintech industry is a visionary and a leader. It requires a lot of courage and determination to disrupt the heavily regulated, dinosaur of the financial services industry and I respect all fintech leaders for their spirits.

What do you see as the 3 leading future trends for FinTech?

Banking as a Service – To sum it up, it would be white-labelled and API-based niche financial services to provide personalised and consumer-centric digital banking and payments experiences. It is also what Bankable is capable of powering.

Artificial Intelligence – AI is capable of increasing efficiency, reducing human errors and providing front end, customer service and operations excellence at financial institutions.

Blockchain Technology – Its full potential is yet to be unlocked, but it definitely holds the ability to provide low-cost and transparent payment services along with significantly reducing fraud.

 

More about Bankable:

Bankable is a global architect of innovative payment solutions that provides “Banking as a Service”. Our core platform is available in white-label or via APIs allowing dominant financial institutions and disruptive fintech players to develop bespoke payment solutions tailored to business needs.

The Bankable platform enables a range of payment solutions including e-wallets, m-wallets, remittance services, P2P money transfers, light banking, virtual accounts, cash management and virtual and plastic prepaid card programmes.

What makes Bankable unique is the fact that we have existing partnerships with schemes, processors, banks and card manufacturers making it very convenient for our clients to deploy bespoke payment solutions and accelerating time-to-market.