BM TECHNOLOGIES ( BMTX )
“ We can bring BaaS technology to bear without the huge uplift and regulatory burden that would otherwise exist ”
JAMIE DONAHUE CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER , BM TECHNOLOGIES ( BMTX )
The higher-education business is the backbone of BMTX ’ s partner ecosystem , and the company believes that it is exceptionally well-placed to serve the student market . “ It all stems from our experience in the higher ed business , having approximately 750 college and university campuses that all have different needs and different wants ,” Donahue says . “ We think we are one of the few in our industry that are uniquely positioned to handle all of the banking needs for our clients .”
An ‘ obsession ’ for customer service It ’ s not just speed-to-implementation that ’ s important for the brands that BMTX partners . BaaS has made finance accessible for nonbanks for the first time , lowering the cost of entry for brands launching financial services aimed at their customers .
BMTX previously worked with Oliver Wyman to establish the cost benefit to businesses of utilising a BaaS provider . It found that brands and businesses can realise some 95 % cost savings , mainly due to the lower barriers to access including regulatory hurdles and not needing to acquire a bank charter . As well as saving their clients years in development time , BM Technologies can help them save millions of dollars in the process , too .
“ In this industry , everyone is a banker ,”
Jamie Donahue says with a wry smile . “ You must have some kind of a banking background . I have my Series 7 from my brokerage days , so I can understand finance but be a technician as well . We bring all that . And so , by partnering with us , it ' s a significant saving over trying to go it alone .”
Once the initial integration with the partner brand has been implemented and rolled out , the relatively low barriers to launch mean that BMTX can turn its attention to keeping customers engaged . The company is not afraid to admit that it has an “ obsession ” with the customers who ultimately benefit from its technology – and specifically , in creating long-lasting relationships that lead them to become “ customers for life ”.
Our customer obsession manifests itself in the features we launch ,” Donahue continues . “ It manifests itself in the ease of deployment , no-downtime releases , things that I can do as CTO to help bring that vision to life . We do blue-green deployments as an example . We ' ve evolved to that level . Traditional banking systems , when you do an upgrade , you could take them down for the whole weekend . Being customer obsessed , that ' s my lens that I can apply . And then we ' re continually looking for partners and features that really bring a frictionless experience for folks managing their money .”
60 December 2022