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The new podcast series Under the Hood season 2 continues. In this newly released season, we explore topics that range from design and architecture to regulatory and policy challenges.
Episode 2 is a deep dive into global banking, and Sankaet Pathak, CEO of Synapse, is joined by Lucas Vargas, CEO of Nomad, a Brazillian US banking company, and Colton Seal, founder and CEO of Routefusion, a global remittance company. They examine what global banking means, what pattern of customer behavior seems to be fueling it, and the challenges and opportunities for driving scale.
Here are some of the high points from this episode:
What is global banking?
The guests agree: “being able to transact anywhere in the world as if you're a local resident.” In emerging markets, global banking is about establishing long-term financial security and making their financial lives more efficient.
“And there is this dimension, which is the cross border dimension that's still extremely, extremely inefficient and costly.”
What is the focus of customer demand?
Sankaet shared that customer demand seems to be three-dimensional: customers want to be able to custody funds, move money effortlessly, and invest, all outside the country that they live in.
“...the money's just moving as fluently and as easily as possible. It seems like that's what the customers want. It doesn't matter which market you go into…”
Are we moving to a U.S. bank account federated globally?
Sankaet shared the idea that for global banking, the central clearinghouse and custodian needs to be America because of the overall economics, the consumer funds being protected, and the regulatory regime being far more solid than in other regions.
“Not necessarily from a technical standpoint, but from a compliance and regulatory perspective, you've got to really be able to put together a solid case.”
What’s the hardest thing about global banking?
Colson shared that the hardest part is how we form the right relationships. How do we get the best opinions from moving into these countries and working with these regulators, and how do we do it in the fastest way possible?
“But I think the core of it is building a healthy relationship with government regulators in different countries and then learning the lay of the land and not upsetting people.”
Where will global banking be in 5 years?
Lucas believes that we will see a need for a product that provides seamless global banking for global citizens traveling, spending abroad, and preserving wealth for global investing.
“We also see globally, this momentum, in terms of regulation, to adopt technologies that may take some of the inefficiencies out of the international money flows.”
