How Fintech Advancements Streamline Financial Processes and Empower Money Management Across Generations

Fintech truly caters to our evolving needs in the digital era. Whether we necessitate enhanced accessibility, efficiency, lower costs, greater security, better financial literacy and economic growth, fintech innovation helps democratize financial services, improve convenience and drive our digital transformation.

Technological advances have revolutionized countless industries — and the banking and financial services sector is no exception. Advancements in financial technology, or fintech, significantly transform how we manage our money, make investments and access financial services. As technologies like the Internet of Things, blockchain, artificial intelligence and cloud computing evolve — and unexpected innovations emerge — fintech advancements effectively bridge the gap between traditional institutions and forward-thinking millennials and Gen Zers.

Latest Guest Post: When the Sanctions Stakes Keep Rising, Conventional Solutions Don’t Work

Convenient Access Granted

Known for their digital proficiency, millennial and Gen Z individuals can now leverage various user-friendly fintech platforms and applications that provide easy access to a wide range of financial services. Mobile banking technology is progressing, enabling users to access their accounts, deposit checks, transfer funds and manage finances anytime and anywhere — straight from their smartphones.

Fintech advancements streamline financial processes, reducing paperwork, manual tasks and lengthy procedures to save consumer time and effort. Some solutions even leverage contactless payment technology to enable users to pay with just a tap of their smartphones or smartwatches, eliminating the need for physical cash. With just 29% of Americans preferring in-person banking and calls for convenience growing louder, fintech solutions help eliminate the need to visit physical bank branches by providing around-the-clock access to banking services anywhere worldwide, enhancing customer experiences and satisfaction.

Investing Made Simple

Traditionally seen as a complex and formidable endeavor, investing is simplified by developing fintech solutions. From digital advisors acting like personal bankers to automated investment solutions powered by algorithms and artificial intelligence with minimal human intervention, investment landscapes can be complicated. Advances in fintech help untangle the chaos, making them more accessible to younger generations.

Fintech platforms help millennials and Gen Zers overcome barriers to entry and jumpstart their investment journey. These platforms provide personalized investment advice, portfolio management and access to professionally managed exchange-traded funds, or EFTs. Fintech apps also provide these services at a fraction of the cost of a traditional financial advisor.

Latest Guest Post: Why Decentralised Storage is a Game Changer for Data Privacy

Intelligent Money Management

Effective money management demands visibility and understanding. Some of today’s fintech solutions harness AI and machine learning to analyze data, pinpoint patterns in how you and your family spend money and identify areas where expenses can be minimized. Fintech advancements also introduce intelligent money management tools that cater to the specific needs of young people. Equipped with intuitive interfaces, helpful budgeting features and personalized recommendations, mobile banking apps and digital savings tools help users track their expenses, set financial goals, and monitor their financial health in real time.

While money management still isn’t taught in schools, some fintech solutions even help drive an understanding of how to maximize our money by boosting our collective financial literacy. Knowing how to start investing and other important concepts helps individuals across generations develop healthy financial habits. By providing valuable insights and actionable recommendations, modern fintech tools equip millennials and Gen Z individuals with the resources and information to achieve their long-term goals, whether paying off student loan debt, buying a car or moving to a new home.

Fintech Advancements: Empowering Access, Convenience and Financial Control

Embracing fintech innovations empowers millennials and Gen Z to navigate personal finance complexities and thrive in the digital economy. As more technologies and trends become increasingly intertwined and integrated, the companies most adept at harnessing technological innovations to create solutions and generate value will shape the competitive landscape.

By promoting accessibility, efficiency, convenience, customer-centricity, financial education and smart money management, fintech advancements transform the financial landscape, empowering younger generations to take control of their money.

An Interview With Jason Hartman

Jason Hartman

The desire to be a lifelong learner. The pace of technological advancement is ever-increasing. To succeed, we all need to have the willingness and capacity for change as a constant in our lives. Predictions for the future have always underestimated the pace of technological change, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. When we went into COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, I immediately registered to take virtual classes from Harvard to use that lockdown time to continue challenging myself.

The way we bank has changed dramatically over the last decade. It was not too long ago when you had to wait in line in a bank to deposit money. Today things are totally different. You can do your banking without ever walking into a bank. In addition, the whole concept of money has changed. In the recent past, money usually meant bills and coins. But today, the concept of money has expanded to include digital currency and NFTs. What other innovations should we expect to see in banking in the short and medium term?

To address this, we are talking to leaders in the banking, finance, and fintech worlds, to discuss the future of banking and money over the next few years. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Timothy Rooney.

Timothy Rooney is the President of Marygold & Co. Timothy has spent 30 years building new businesses for large financial corporations, including exchange-traded funds, mutual funds and retirement plan organizations, and is excited to bring his experience to the next generation of financial innovation at Marygold & Co. His educational background includes a Master’s Degree from NYU’s Stern School of Business and executive education coursework at Harvard and The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started in this industry?

I’ve been in financial services my entire career. After obtaining my master’s degree from New York University way back in the 1990s, I started a consulting firm. That firm specialized in helping large financial institutions launch new businesses. For over 20 years, I’ve provided specialized assistance to numerous ventures in navigating the complexities that mutual fund companies, retirement plan businesses and exchange-traded funds (ETF) companies pose.

Working closely with players across the financial sector allowed me to witness the ever-evolving nature of the industry and stay abreast of the emerging trends, technologies and regulations that sparked us to create Marygold & Co. That in-depth industry knowledge enables me to offer relevant and valuable guidance as our talented team works to empower people to take control of their money via our unique digital banking and financial services solution.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Oh my, where do I begin? In my mind, most of the interesting things that happen involve the people you meet along the way. Two of the most interesting I have met are John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach, and Harry Markowitz, the creator of modern portfolio theory. These two men were both exceptional in their chosen fields; one was perhaps the greatest sports coach in American history, and the other a Nobel Prize winner in economics. Yet both of these exceptional men showed incredible humility — impressive given their stature. Both of these individuals had a greatness that was palpable.

I first met Dr. Markowitz when I was an undergrad student in New York City, but this was before he won the Nobel Prize and the flood of attention that comes with it. Years later, when I was helping a firm in California start a mutual fund business, I called him up. This was after he won the Nobel Prize and lived in San Diego. I had the opportunity to hire him to give presentations for the company I was working with. He was quick to give other people credit for his success and said that he never envisioned how his Modern Portfolio Theory would become so important to the world of modern investing.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Coach Wooden famously said, “Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Character is what you really are; reputation is merely what others think you are.”

Making business decisions, even significant decisions in high-pressure situations, becomes easy when we focus on what is right. Within Marygold & Co., we always bring the conversation back to this basic question, which usually simplifies the discussion.

Ok wonderful. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell our readers about the most interesting projects you are working on now?

We just launched our company, Marygold & Co., after building it over the past four years. Marygold & Co. is a full-service financial firm that provides banking, investments and a debit card — all through one simple-to-use mobile app.

Now available for download in both Apple and Google app stores for iOS and Android devices, our cutting-edge application allows users to manage their finances anywhere, anytime — right from their smartphone! With no banking fees, minimums or credit checks, our transformative solution offers real-time payments, Money Pool investment accounts, goal-setting functionality and automated funding options to organize financial lives in one simple place.

We are very excited about our launch!

How do you think this might change the world?

We have all been conditioned in the past to believe that managing our financial lives is complicated and difficult. Our goal at Marygold & Co. is to show our clients that personal financial management can be really straightforward! Ask yourself a few questions, and the answers are apparent. The whole process can be simple.

Access to banking services is a fundamental right, yet many people around the world lack access to traditional banking infrastructure. Traditional banking systems often involve time-consuming processes, physical branch visits, various fees and confusing procedures. Our solution bridges these gaps to equip individuals with a convenient, easily accessible platform that effectively reduces the barriers to smart financial management.

What most excites you about the banking or payments industry as it is today? Can you explain what you mean?

What most excites me about today’s banking or payments industry is the technology available that allows us to truly simplify our financial lives. In other parts of the world, people commonly use one app to meet all of their financial needs. With the help of our app, this level of integration and convenience is increasing in popularity in the U.S., and seeing people in America start to learn about — and embrace — these possibilities is very exciting.

What most concerns you about the banking or payments industry as it is today? What would you suggest needs to be done to address that?

Unfortunately, bad actors can also harness technological advancements to compromise the security of individual accounts, digital marketplaces and the industry as a whole. At Marygold & Co., we work with more than half a dozen companies behind the scenes to protect our clients against fraud. Using best-in-class technology partners for things like know-your-customer concerns is important.

Fighting technology with technology can help address these pressing industry-wide concerns. Whether leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze oceans of information to identify patterns and anomalies or robust encryption, secure authentication mechanisms and secure communication protocols to help protect sensitive customer data and transactions conducted through mobile devices, harnessing the latest and greatest in fintech helps proactively detect and respond to threats, ultimately building a robust and secure financial services industry.

How would you articulate how the concept of money has changed in recent times? Is it really a change? How is it still the same? Can you explain what you mean?

I think the concept of money is always changing, but these changes certainly accelerated with the pandemic in 2020. As a society, we very quickly moved into a time when using cash is becoming obsolete. As more of us get used to using digital solutions to power most of our daily lives, cash and checks will become a novelty. Just a few years ago, you would see people on social media complaining that schools didn’t teach basic finance skills, like writing a check. But now, that need to write a check is disappearing. My children will probably never own a checkbook. And, of course, cryptocurrency is its own topic that we will save for another day.

Part of the motivation behind Marygold & Co. is to help younger generations adapt to the constant evolution within the finance industry. The Marygold & Co. app incorporates features like PayAnyone™, where users can send payments directly from their accounts to anyone they want, as long as they have their mobile phone number or email address. No more asking friends if they have a specific app on their phone to receive a payment.

Based on your vantage point as an insider in the finance industry, what innovations should we expect to see in banking in the short and medium term?

In the short term, we will see greater acceptance of people using their phones for financial tasks that used to be considered complicated and often demanded in-person assistance. Taking loans, preparing a will, and other to-dos will all be done on your phone.

As more of us embrace using financial apps instead of old-school banks, we will likely see another wave of banking consolidation similar to the one we experienced a few decades ago. This shift will take a bit of time because inertia is strong when changing banks or brokerage firms, but fintech solutions are already driving significant change across the finance sector.

How has the pandemic changed the way banks interact and engage with their customers?

Most large banks were slow to react during the pandemic. They were unprepared for full-time work from home, so I think many institutions focused more on personnel issues than customer success. That is why we saw fintech firms fill the void. With more people now understanding that they can do their banking while sitting at home in their pajamas, why would they ever go back to the old way?

In your particular experience, how has the pandemic changed the way you interact with, and engage your customers?

Our business model focuses on client engagement via our app. Users can connect with us at any time from anywhere in the world, and we can connect with them on their mobile devices. We were already working on this app that provides all of your banking, investments and payments in one place when the pandemic started, so for us, it reinforced the very real need for the tool we were building.

I’m very interested in the importance of user experience. How much of your interactions have moved to digital such as chatbots, encrypted messaging apps, phone, or video calls? How has this shift impacted the user and customer experience? What challenges do these apps present when used as a customer engagement tool?

The user experience drives everything we do at Marygold & Co.

I don’t see any challenges with these tools — I just see opportunities. As a full-service financial company, meeting our clients where they expect us to be is very important to our success. Very few clients want to call a toll-free number and wait to speak with a person. We offer our clients a chatbot, email and a notification feature that allows us to send a note to all of our clients, or a subset, in a flash. While the vast majority of clients prefer these digital tools, we also have a toll-free number for those that appreciate the old-school approach.

If you could design the perfect communication feature or system to help your business, what would it be?

We think we already have that in our notification system within our app. The unique communication feature allows us to communicate with our clients in an instant, 24/7, as needed.

Fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The Modern Finance, Banking and Fintech industries?

  1. The desire to be a lifelong learner. The pace of technological advancement is ever-increasing. To succeed, we all need to have the willingness and capacity for change as a constant in our lives. Predictions for the future have always underestimated the pace of technological change, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. When we went into COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, I immediately registered to take virtual classes from Harvard to use that lockdown time to continue challenging myself.
  2. Emotional intelligence. Some people still call these “soft skills,” but that is misleading. Emotional intelligence is much more important than IQ! When I started in fInance, you never heard the word empathy. Now we know that empathy is a skilled leader’s most important character trait. Empathy can be learned and improved upon if you make it a strategic focus.
  3. Character. With many things in business, there are grey areas, but not character. Character is a binary trait — you either have it or you don’t.
  4. Positivity. History is written by the optimists!
  5. Perspective. Experience is not always necessary, but with experience comes perspective.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

The democratization of financial services. Big banks still offer “private banking” departments to their wealthy clients. You get special treatment and services if you have a million dollars with the bank. We believe that those special services should be available to everyone! At Marygold & Co., we like to say that using our app is like having a private banker on your phone.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Download the Marygold & Co. app!

Thank you for your time, and your excellent insights!

About The Interviewer: Jason Hartman is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Investor. Jason has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. Empowered Investor helps people achieve The American Dream of financial freedom by purchasing income property in prudent markets nationwide. Jason’s Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ is a comprehensive system providing real estate investors with education, research, resources and technology to deal with all areas of their income property investment needs. Through Jason’s podcasts, educational events, referrals, mentoring and software to track your investments, investors can easily locate, finance and purchase properties in these exceptional markets with confidence and peace of mind.

Starting with very little, Jason, while still in college at the age of 19, embarked on a career in real estate. While brokering properties for clients, he was investing in his own portfolio along the way. Through creativity, persistence and hard work, he earned a number of prestigious industry awards and became a young multi-millionaire. Jason purchased a California real estate brokerage firm that was later acquired by Coldwell Banker. He combined his dedication and business talents to become a successful entrepreneur, public speaker, author, and media personality. Over the years he developed his Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ where his innovative firm educates and assists investors in acquiring prudent investments nationwide for their portfolio. Jason’s sought after educational events, speaking engagements, and his popular “Creating Wealth Podcast” inspire and empower hundreds of thousands of people in 189 countries worldwide.

While running his successful real estate and media businesses, Jason also believes that giving back to the community plays an important role in building strong personal relationships. He established The Jason Hartman Foundation in 2005 to provide financial literacy education to young adults providing the all-important real world skills not taught in school which are the key to the financial stability and success of future generations. We’re in a global monetary crisis caused by decades of misguided policies and the cycle of financial dependence has to be broken, literacy and self-reliance are a good start. Visit JasonHartman.com for free materials and resources.

The Silicon Review

thesiliconreview-timothy-rooney-president-marygold-co-23.jpg

“We like to say that the ‘& Co.’ in Marygold & Co. stands for community.”

Imagine if you had the opportunity to incorporate all of your life experiences to build the ideal banking and investment management company. That is exactly what the Marygold & Co. team has been doing since 2019. They have been in the “lab”working to build a financial services firm that incorporates, in their opinion, the very best options for helping people at all stages of life manage their finances by simplifying the process, all within one app. Marygold & Co. is building a community of like-minded people to create a fintech that brings together high-touch service with high-tech financial management.

Within banking and investment management, the pace of change is accelerating at a tremendous rate. The fintech market is experiencing extraordinary growth, partly because this sector is best poised to take advantage of the latest cutting-edge technology to bring sophisticated products and services to market. According to Market Data Forecast, the global FinTech market is projected to reach $324 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 23.4%. Fintech firms can create the very best solutions by accessing cutting-edge technology or partnering with firms that have already built the solution.

The Marygold team is focused on simplifying the financial lives of their clients and providing the most user-friendly experience possible to send, receive, spend, and save money. They do this within their full-service app by providing the tools to allow the client to simplify the process. For example, why have only one account where you save when everyone has many financial goals that they hope to achieve? Wouldn’t it be better to have an account for every goal? This way, the client can track their progress toward each goal with a tap of the finger. Marygold & Co. offers a highly flexible feature called “Money Pools,” which allows for an unlimited number of accounts to track each financial goal independently. Each Money Pool can be invested differently  since short-term goals should be handled differently from long-term ones. Money Pools give the client the sophistication of bespoke investments tailored to each of their financial goals, with the ease of answering a few questions on the app.

Marygold & Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Marygold Companies (NYSE: MGLD), was established in the U.S. in 2019 as a development stage company. Marygold is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and has a presence in the United Kingdom as well. Plans are underway to launch the company in other markets in Europe and Asia.

The Marygold leadership team is accustomed to the start-up environment and has experience launching various businesses. Timothy Rooney, Marygold & Co.’s president, has spent the majority of his career launching financial enterprises, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and retirement plan operations.

The technology available today allows the Marygold & Co. team to focus on the goal of simplifying all areas of personal financial management. According to Mr. Rooney, managing our financial lives can be straightforward if we ask the right questions and have access to the right information. For example, is borrowing money good or bad? Neither, according to him. Taking on debt is a tool that is sometimes used effectively for overall financial advantage and other times not. Borrowing money to buy a house is typically a sound decision, but running up credit card debt at high-interest rates is usually a last resort decision that we can all learn to minimize.

In addition to Money Pools, another Marygold innovation allows their clients to “PayAnyone”. This feature allows clients to send money to anyone in the United States with just an email address or mobile phone number. The payee does not need to be a client of Marygold, and they are given options on how they want to receive the money. “Features like ‘PayAnyone’ allow us to move the market forward,” says Mr. Rooney. “We should be able to send money to friends or family without first having to ask them if they have the app necessary to receive it. We have already heard from a client who had a family member tell them to ‘Marygold me some money’.”

As the big banks and investment firms attempt to provide these types of services to their clients, they are adding layers of complexity for their clients to navigate. Marygold’s app simplifies money management by providing a single app and dashboard for all their clients’ financial needs. Ease and transparency allow clients to see their financial profile and growth in real-time. They no longer need to navigate multiple apps or link accounts manually to see how their portfolios are performing.

And what if a client has a question or needs help? Marygold took the unprecedented step, for a fintech company, of forming a department dedicated to ensuring the happiness of its customers. If a customer needs assistance, they have the option of contacting Marygold using the chat feature found inside the app, sending an email, or calling the Marygold Customer Care Number. “White Glove Service” is a phrase you hear a lot when talking with Marygold leaders.

Despite the attention surrounding the growth of the fintech market and new company launches, Mr. Rooney does not see other fintech companies as his competition. “Many fintechs are moving the industry in the right direction. Fintechs have an advantage over standard banking and brokerage models in that they can provide better efficiency, which results in better products and services for the client,” he says.

“Marygold is providing clients with increased efficiency and transparency. We focus on helping our clients reach their financial goals by showing them how to organize their financial lives. The real competition is the old school model of exclusivity and opacity, firms that have banking or investment minimums or are charging their clients fees such as overdraft charges. We are helping our clients leave the big banking mentality behind. Our goal is to create a community of people who want financial accessibility and simplicity. We like to say that the ‘& Co.’ in Marygold & Co. stands for community.”

Timothy Rooney | President

Timothy Rooney has spent 30 years building new businesses for large financial corporations, including exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, and retirement plan organizations, and is excited to bring his experience to the next generation of financial innovation at Marygold & Co. His educational background includes a master’s degree from NYU’s Stern School of Business and executive education coursework at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

“Features like ‘PayAnyone’ allow us to move the market forward.”

“Marygold & Co. offers a highly flexible feature called “Money Pools,” which allows for an unlimited number of accounts to track each financial goal independently.”

Hi Timothy, please tell us about your fintech journey so far. 

Combining my career-long love of finance with a passion for innovation, I am so excited to be on this fintech journey! After spending many years building and launching new businesses for major corporations, leading Marygold & Co. into the digital future is a tremendous honor. The opportunity to take Marygold from concept to launch is extremely fulfilling! We are in beta testing now, and the feedback from our testers is thrilling as we look forward to launching in the Apple and Google app stores in the next few months. 

Could you share any two fintech applications/products which you consider as the best of the Marygold ideas to redefine the private banking experience?

At Marygold & Co., we aim to help clients think differently about managing their finances. Instead of thinking about products, they should be thinking about their financial goals. Our unique app teaches our clients the right questions to ask to achieve their financial goals — whether that’s buying a new home, going on vacation or a date night fund. Of course, we all have different plans and aspirations, so we start by asking the right questions. 

Instead of having one investment/brokerage account, we encourage our clients first to define their goals and then set up a Money Pool savings account for each goal. People can define as many goals as they want and create a Money Pool for each, gaining clarity on progress toward achieving each goal while streamlining and simplifying money management

Also Read: Global Fintech Interview with Lisa Loud, CEO & Co-founder at FLUIDEFI

Marygold & Co. has announced plans to release its app, which promises financial education, assistance and a platform to invest and save smartly from phone. What are your expectations? 

If you look overseas, this idea of using apps to provide all of your financial needs is much more prevalent. Europe and Asia are further along than the U.S. in this regard. But younger Americans see the value and ease of utilizing apps to meet their needs. The fintech business model is very efficient, utilizing cutting-edge technology, and we can pass those savings on to the end client. 

For Marygold & Co., an important goal is helping clients understand what information they should consider when making financial decisions. Consumer education is core to who we are as a company. At Marygold, we understand that if we ask the right questions, we’ll get better outcomes! Realizing the future of mobile banking will be a multiyear journey, we expect a gradual transition as people grow increasingly comfortable with managing their finances straight from their smartphones. Some of the helpful financial information will come straight from us, and some of it will involve teaching our clients the right questions to ask in any situation. 

How is AI and ML playing their role for the banking and financial services app?

AI and ML will be important to most Fintech providers

Utilizing the latest technology helps provide more robust data and information and often does so cost-efficiently. Greater utilization of machine learning means providing clients with the information they need to make good decisions — how they want to receive it. But there will always be a human component to helping people achieve their financial goals. Managing our financial lives is important to us all, whether we are just out of school or getting ready to retire. But the information we need to make good decisions at each stage of the financial journey changes. AI and ML unlock the ability to provide clients with the information they need, when they need it and in the manner they want to receive it. 

Could you talk about some of the other innovative fintech apps and platforms in the industry that according to you are set to be new game-changers for this niche? 

Most of the fintech apps I’ve looked at do excellent work. The fundamental business model of fintech allows for more cutting-edge products and services — at lower price points — ensuring the fintech pie will continue to grow. The old-school bank and brokerage firm business model does not allow traditional players to compete in the same manner, so fintechs will continue to take market share from these companies. 

Also Read: Global Fintech Interview with Cristina Ceban, Founder at Women Do Crypto

What tech are you using for customized money pool and automated funding for your clients?

We built the majority of our technology platform in-house. Agile engineering is important , so we built our state-of-the-art solutions from scratch. But we do work with a few excellent partners for custody and banking. The build vs. partner decision is important for every fintech. 

What are some of the biggest challenges you face when marketing your new fintech product and trying to better the overall customer experience for them? 

Much of our marketing will be through social media. Our content will initially focus on teaching and providing information that clients need to make good decisions to manage their financial lives. There will always be value in that. As a startup in the booming fintech space, perhaps the biggest challenge will be reaching the right audience with the right message. 

Also Read: Global Fintech Interview with Lorien Gamaroff, CEO at Centbee

What are some of the top FinTech trends you’re seeing get more attention in 2023? 

As I stated earlier, the fintech pie is growing, and for a good reason: The value provided by fintech companies is clear. One of the trends I’m excited about is to see people in their 40s, 50s and 60s discover the value of digital banking and working with fintech firms. This transition will take time since inertia is a powerful force in finance, but people will discover that they are getting more value, with much more client-friendly pricing, in the fintech space. We are in the early innings of that evolution, so it is exhilarating to see! 

Thank you, Timothy! That was fun and we hope to see you back on globalfintechseries.com soon.

We live in an increasingly on-demand world. Electronic payment methods are quickly becoming the norm. It is leading to a new generation of users enjoying the convenience of instantly managing their money and payments on their phones or computers. Ordering your favorite products online, skipping the line at the store and immediately paying friends back for a night out has become second nature for many.

Real-time payments (RTP) allow the immediate transfer of funds. Unlike traditional automated clearing house (ACH) transactions which can take days to process. Or same-day ACH transactions that still take several hours. The RTP network is a separate and new infrastructure built for the digital age. RTP network payments clear and settle individually in seconds with immediate finality. The technological innovations enabling real-time payments are shaking up the payments industry. However these bold new solutions require advanced security features to protect against ever-evolving scammers attempting to compromise accounts and steal money before the victim knows what happened.

Unlike ACH, which supports “push” and “pull” transactions, RTP only supports push transactions. You cannot debit or pull from another person’s account via RTP. It is ultimately up to the payer to initiate a push payment to the requestor. Which eliminates the exposure to fraudsters “pulling” money from your account. However, if a scammer compromises your account, they could “push” money out of it. It is underscoring the importance of protecting account access with modern technologies like biometric and multifactor authentication.

SECURITY IS LIFE

Secure digital payments are the backbone of everyday life. As more and more people use digital devices to make payments, these transactions must be protected from these bad actors. Criminals are evolving their methods to conduct more sophisticated attacks. And financial institutions continue to see many breaches resulting in the loss of valuable customer data. In a world where people make payments in real time, financial institutions must ensure that their processing systems are up to the task.

Identity Fraud

security features
Photo by Dom J on Pexels.com

According to security experts, it’s safe to assume that nearly every adult in America and millions of children have been breached at least once. That is based on the massive breaches and the compromise of trillions of records in the last few years.

Identity fraud awareness and protection is vital in this digital payments age. From breached credentials and stolen credit or debit card numbers to fraudsters opening a new account using your stolen identifying information or pretending to be someone you know to steal your money. Compromised information, including card numbers, date of birth, Social Security numbers and passwords, is unfortunately easily purchased on the dark web. And social engineering schemes are around every corner of the internet. Along with the convenience of real-time payments, we must demand enhanced security to protect against these sophisticated impersonations. So that we’re not real-time scammed out of our money.

You have to assume the worst and assume your information has been exposed.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS FOR PROTECTING YOURSELF:
  1. Use unique passwords for every online account. If there is a breach of one of your accounts, this won’t expose any others. Use a password manager to keep track.
  2. Monitor your accounts regularly and report any suspicious transactions.  
  3. Use financial applications that provide enhanced security features. For instance biometric login, freeze or unfreeze account capabilities, transaction alerts and other customized security features that you control for your individual use.
  4. Don’t click on links in email or text messages unless you are 100% certain who it is from and why they are directing you to a link. Only log into your accounts directly via the secure website or application associated with your account.
  5. Be cautious of any direct contact claiming to be a government official, bank representative or law enforcement instructing you to pay money. Hang up and contact that company, agency or office directly.

What Fintechs Can Do to Protect Consumers

security consumers
Photo by Mike B on Pexels.com

Facing modern-day cybercrime is a complex challenge that financial institutions face on multiple fronts. By adopting advanced transaction monitoring and account security technologies, fintechs can block fraudsters from accessing accounts and detect suspicious activities quickly and with greater accuracy.

AI technologies and machine learning algorithms can process and analyze millions of transactions at machine speed, uncovering trends that reveal fraudulent activity in real time. When fraud is suspected, the AI and ML models flag suspicious transactions for further investigation or reject them entirely. These technological advances can also assess the likelihood of fraud, enabling investigators to focus on the most promising instances. 

While it’s impossible to predict when a cyberattack will occur, banks and fintechs should be ready for the challenge of blocking these attacks at the gate. And ultimately protecting their customers. In the face of relentless attacks, customers will demand enhanced protection of their accounts coupled with the convenience of real-time payments.

The Fintech space is using technology to democratize financial services. Find out how MaryGold & Co. is thrusting this democratization even further!

Technological advancements will continue because of AI and ML, as with many other industries.  The key is to use innovation to improve the client experience and bring down the cost.

https://fintecbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Timothy.jpg
Timothy Rooney, President at Marygold & Co

1. Kindly brief us about yourself and your journey as the President at Marygold & Co.
I am part of the founding team at Marygold. Marigold & Co. was incorporated in 2019, but corporate development began in 2020. I was hired to create, launch and manage the investment company for Marygold, which we call Marygold Advisory Services.

2. Please share with us your source of inspiration for venturing into the Fintech space.
Large corporations in the U.S. are not keeping up with technological innovation, and they are falling behind. The Fintech space is using technology to democratize financial services.

3. Brief us about Marygold & Co. and give us an overview of its standout services. 
We’ll start with one: our Money Pools concept. Instead of just having one bank or brokerage account, we encourage our clients to define all the goals they are saving for with individual Money Pools for each savings goal. This way the client always knows how close they are to meeting that individual financial goal.

4. What are the core values on which the company is formed and how is it introducing secure ways to send, receive, spend, save, and invest with no banking fees or minimum balance requirements?
Providing ‘white glove’ service is central to everything we do. If you’re familiar with the concept of the Private Bank operation for wealthy customers in large banks, our goal is to give all of our clients the private banking experience regardless of how much money they have in their Marygold account. We work with cutting-edge companies to provide a secure environment, and we use the latest technology, so we do not need to charge banking fees.

5. Being a thought leader, how do you plan to strategically fulfill Marygold & Co.’s mission and vision?
We have had this vision for many years to provide a high-touch experience in managing the financial lives of clients cost-effectively. We just needed the technology to catch-up to the vision.

6. In your opinion, how beneficial is it to align technological advancements like AI and ML with the finance industry?

Technological advancements will continue because of AI and ML, as with many other industries. The key is to use innovation to improve the client experience and bring down the cost.

7. How has the integration of these technologies transformed the face of the finance industry?
Regarding AI and ML, we have just scratched the surface.

8. Having an extensive experience of 30 years, we would like to know how the finance industry has disrupted traditional financing to a new generation of financial innovation.
The innovation we are starting to see in the fintech space is the most dramatic innovation I have experienced, but the large banks and brokerage firms don’t have the incentive to change their models. Smaller and more nimble firms in the fintech space will continue to be the drivers.

9. What advice would you give budding entrepreneurs and leaders aspiring to venture into the fintech niche?
We are still in the early stages, so just start!

10. How do you envision scaling both–Marygold & Co.’s and your growth curve in the year 2023?
We are in beta testing now and will be launching soon. We don’t worry about scaling, we just focus on giving our clients the best experience possible! Everything else will take care of itself. 

Rooney will utilize his visionary leadership to help the company pioneer the burgeoning digital financial sector as it completes the development of and introduces its innovative mobile banking app.

DENVER, Jan. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Marygold & Co., a fintech company that seeks to offer a secure way to send, receive, spend and save money through a customizable mobile banking and financial services app, today announced Timothy M. Rooney as its new president.

Timothy Rooney joined the team to create and lead Marygold & Co. Advisory Services, LLC, a registered investment advisor. In his new role as president, he will drive Marygold & Co.’s vision and strategy, passionately help clients reach their goals and spearhead the launch and growth of the full-service financial app.  

“I am humbled and honored to be leading Marygold & Co. as we prepare to introduce what we believe will be the most innovative financial services app on the market,” Rooney said. “The Fintech sector is using cutting-edge technology to simplify our financial needs. Our new app will truly enable clients to simplify and organize their financial lives in a secure manner, all on their phone.” 

Rooney is a global leader in financial services with over 20 years of experience building and launching successful mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, retirement plans and other financial service organizations and products. 

Having previously led the strategy team for Pacific Life Insurance Company and served as the vice president of product development for Nationwide Investment Management Group, Rooney’s career path combines his love of finance with a passion for innovation. He earned his master’s degree in finance from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Baruch College.

“Timothy is a visionary leader with experience, drive and motivation for success. He has been intimately involved with the development of the app from the beginning, and his behind-the-scenes knowledge puts him in the ideal position to lead the organization and assume the role of president as our mobile banking app enters beta testing and we near the finish line,” said Nicholas Gerber, CEO of The Marygold Companies.

The Marygold & Co. app has been in development and is currently in beta testing. With more than 10,000 potential users on a waitlist to download and use the app, some of its unique features include:

  • Convenient and secure “PayAnyone™” capability.  
  • Customizable savings goals through interest-bearing FDIC-insured accounts without banking fees or minimum requirements. 
  • Money Pools investing, with diversified portfolios in accordance with user-selected goals and time-based objectives. 

For more information about how to sign up for the Marygold & Co.waiting list, please visit marygoldandco.com.

About The Marygold Companies, Inc.

The Marygold Companies, Inc., which changed its name from Concierge Technologies, Inc. in March 2022, was founded in 1996 and repositioned as a global holding firm in 2015. The Company currently has operating subsidiaries in financial services, food manufacturing, printing, security systems and beauty products, under the trade names USCF Investments, Tiger Financial & Asset Management Limited, Gourmet Foods, Printstock Products, Brigadier Security Systems and Original Sprout, respectively. Offices and manufacturing operations are in the U.S., New Zealand, U.K., and Canada. For more information, visit www.themarygoldcompanies.com

About Marygold & Co.

Marygold & Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Marygold Companies, was established in the U.S. in 2019 as a development stage company that today is nearing completion of an innovative fintech mobile banking app. Offices are in Denver, Colorado. For more information, visit https://marygoldandco.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may” “will,” “could,” “should” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, completing the development and launch of the Company’s fintech mobile banking app, involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expected results and, consequently, should not be relied upon as predictions of future events. These forward-looking statements, including the factors disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 28, 2022, and in the Company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are not exclusive. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.