In this 149th episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews Mahima Poddar, the Senior Vice President of Digital Banking Strategy at Equitable Bank and head of EQ Bank!
Episode Highlights:
- 0:40 – Mahima Poddar introduces Equitable Bank and EQ Bank.
- 1:15 – How did Mahima get to her current career?
- 2:10 – What was the genesis of the decision to move to a Challenger bank?
- 5:05 – Jason breaks down the banking system in Canada.
- 6:55 – Mahima discusses the problems with lending/depositing with big banks.
- 10:15 – Jason and Mahima vent about the dark patterns that big banks have with their accounts.
- 15:30 – Challenger banks could have made the COVID-loan processes much simpler.
- 17:02 – How does EQ collaborate with other players in the Challenger space?
- 21:07 – Jason and Mahima dive into the willingness of the Canadian people to make a banking change.
- 24:08 – What are the biggest concerns with open banking in different countries?
- 29:37 – Mahima talks about EQ Bank’s efforts to cause changes within the big banks.
- 33:12 – What are all the ways that EQ Bank provides great value to its customers?
- 33:43 – If Mahima could change one thing in banking, what would it be?
- 35:25 – What has been the biggest challenge in EQ Bank’s growth?
- 38:30 – What motivates Mahima to battle the glaring issues of big banking?
3 Key Points
- Equitable Bank chose to never be a brick-and-mortar organization and to go the route of a digitized Challenger bank.
- EQ Bank offers zero monthly fees, free check deposits, bill-pay, interest-earning checking accounts, and more as ways to differentiate itself from the big banks.
- For the benefit of the Canadian people, EQ Bank aims to go beyond bringing people to its doors and cause real change in the banking system.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “We are trying to develop lending products that are serving needs that are underserved by the big banks.” – Mahima Poddar
- “They don’t make it easy. They don’t understand it, but Equitable does.” – Mahima Poddar
- “There’s no business account that doesn’t have a larger-than-life fee attached to it.” – Jason Pereira
- “Friction is not a way to keep your clients. Friction is a way to piss them off and guarantee that when they see a better way, they’re going to leave.” – Jason Pereira
- “Canadians are starting to become more value-conscious and realize that there are better options available.” – Mahima Poddar
Resources Mentioned:
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