The rise of open banking means that banks and other financial institutions have an opportunity to reassess their relationships with FinTechs. Most agree that there needs to be customer-focused collaboration which draws on the strengths of both bank and FinTech to provide a better experience. </p> This type of collaboration is at the heart of Sibos. Following a successful debut at Sibos 2017 in Toronto, the Discover Zone</a> will be back in Australia on a larger scale.</p> One element of the Discover Zone is the FinTech Marketplace, which will feature cutting-edge FinTech companies from around the world, enabling them to connect with delegates to showcase their solutions and forge new partnerships. </p> There will be returning FinTech companies exhibiting alongside some exciting new names. As Sibos draws closer, some of the returnees have spoken about why they are coming back and the value that the Discover Zone adds to a changing industry.</p> An arena for networking</strong></p> One of the returning FinTechs is Belleron</a>, which was founded in 2012 by a team of experienced compliance and cybersecurity consultants. The fast-growing company provides financial crime compliance and anti-terrorist funding solutions to banks. </p> </p> </div> </div> </div> “While attending over 10 editions of Sibos individually, we decided to exhibit and launch CAPTURE at Sibos 2017 in Toronto,” said Bas Uildriks, Belleron’s managing director. “When the product was market ready, we considered other events but Sibos stood apart because our audience was there – senior bankers and decision makers. Sibos is so valuable for networking and meeting the right people.”</p> Trulioo</a> is a leading global identity and business verification company. Last year in Toronto, Trulioo demonstrated GlobalGateway, an online electronic identity verification (eIDV) service that aligns well with the Sibos programme: it’s a compliance technology that improves customer verification processes for banking and securities customers.</p> Kim Hong, vice president of marketing, Trulioo, also picked up on networking when explaining why they are coming back in Sydney. “We were overwhelmed by all the interest, and the amount of delegates from the banking industry who sought us out. We got the lay of the land, and this year we’re investing in a more effective partnership strategy.”</p> “The Discover Zone is a good opportunity to network, connect and listen,” said Hong. “It’s a safe haven where banks and FinTechs can have an open dialogue about challenges and opportunities, starting partnerships that will enrich the customer experience.” </p> A focus on education</strong></p> Pendo Systems</a> has been providing software solutions to the financial services industry since 2007. The company’s machine learning platform turns unstructured data into artificial intelligence (AI)-ready structured datasets.</p> Pendo Systems’ chief executive officer Pamela Cytron feels that education, and sharing learnings, is a big part of the Discover Zone. She points out that, for AI to have an effective impact on processes, you need to feed it structured data. But around 80% of data in financial institutions is currently unstructured. </p> “We established credibility in Toronto”, said Cytron. “We’re now going back to Sibos to further build on that momentum to showcase a much more in-depth set of use cases to the banking sector. We want to show the industry how we’ve been helping transform companies into more digitally-focused institutions.” </p> Deep technology company FNA</a> helps financial market infrastructures and central banks to model liquidity and operational risks, evaluate alternative system designs and carry out stress tests. </p> Founder and chief executive officer Kimmo Soramäki said that they are returning to help the financial community better understand SupTech (supervisory technology), which is supporting regulatory agencies as they look to digitise their institutions and the regulatory process.</p> “SupTech was coined at last year’s Singapore FinTech Festival and is making a big impact. With FinTech, the customer is usually the end consumer. RegTech helps the banks to comply, and now there is SupTech to support central banks and payment systems by drawing new insights on liquidity, credit and operational risks from vast amounts of payment data,” explained Soramäki. </p> “Our goal is to position ourselves as the leader in SupTech and Sibos presents an opportunity with the right audience.” </p> Geographical reach</strong></p> Sibos travels the globe and brings together attendees from all around the world. Uildriks believes that this presents a unique opportunity to meet a wider range of people and build partnerships in new markets.</p> “We’re based in the Netherlands, so we usually go to the Benelux and UK market first, then the surrounding EU countries and lastly the rest of the world. But Sibos helps to create business in areas you wouldn’t necessarily think of at first. Following Sibos 2017, we now have new customers in Zurich and Basel, but also in the US,” he said. </p> “As a yearly global event with a strong banking audience, Sibos helps us to continue conversations as we continue our development. We’re now approaching prospects in the APAC region, chatting with the big five Australian banks and financial institutions from Hong Kong.” </p> Pendo Systems is based in the US, and Cytron agrees that Sibos helps to extend their international footprint. “We now do a lot of work with European banks who we otherwise wouldn’t see. The awareness we created at Sibos has opened a lot of doors,” she said.</p> At Sibos 2017 Toronto, FNA took advantage of the location and took to the presentation stage in the Discover Zone with their customer Payments Canada to discuss how to design a better payments system using simulations, drawing on Canada’s ongoing payment system modernisation.</p> “This year, we have more capacity and will be looking to liaise with APAC prospects and contacts”, said Soramäki. </p> Why should you visit the Discover Zone? </strong></p> Trulioo’s Hong recognises that delegates are busy whilst at Sibos but believes it’s important to set aside time to visit the Discover Zone to invest in new long-term partnerships.</p> “If you want to go fast, go on your own. If you want to go far, go together. The Discover Zone removes barriers and provides the quintessential setting for how banks and FinTechs can work together. It’s a win-win for everybody,” she said.</p> “We’re the new guys on the block with fresh ideas,” added Uildriks. “Look outside of the box and work with us to get a better experience for your customers. Grab a sandwich, wander through and chat to us.”</p> According to Cytron, delegates can’t afford to miss the opportunities on offer: “SWIFT has carefully curated this set of companies, so you know that they have something valuable to offer delegates and that they are doing things worthy of being communicated to such a high-level audience.”</p> “The future will be there,” concluded Soramäki. “If you’re interested in what’s happening next, come to the Discover Zone and we’ll show you new solutions and new analytical technology based on AI and machine learning.”</p> </p>