FintekNews is pleased to offer our readers our “3 Questions With…” column, where we chat with a thought leader within a unique sector of fintech and ask them to answer just 3 questions for our audience in their vernacular. This week, we’d like to introduce you to Sid Yenamandra of Entreda, Entreda — the leading provider of comprehensive cybersecurity software, systems and training to the independent financial advice industry.
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Sid YenamandraTITLE:
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https://www.entreda.com/What do you believe the next major innovation in financial technology will be and why?
The next major innovation in financial technology is the merger of human and machine. This is not science fiction and cyborgs. I’m referring to investment and wealth management professionals using automated tools in every aspect of their jobs to supply stonger data, analysis and protections at faster rates with fewer errors.
Whereas now financial professionals still do a lot of manual clicking and typing for repeatable tasks, like entering the same customer information into multiple systems or documents, soon different software will communicate with each other well enough that such data will only have to be entered once.
Along the same lines, user interfaces will become much more intuitive. So once you enter that data, software will begin crunching numbers and preparing reports and sending files to various stakeholders as needed, both on regular schedules or when specific events occur.
For example, an advisor could automatically receive daily and weekly account-by-account asset breakdowns while a client could automatically receive a birthday or anniversary message — without the advisor having to configure many settings.
What are the biggest problems facing the fintech industry in the future?
Nonsensical and unsubstantiated claims. (I know that’s a bold statement, given my above prediction.) But in all seriousness, fintech has a big problem with vendors pushing misleading and dangerous claims about their services. That confuses financial professionals, makes it hard for them to know which tools they need, and potentially hurts both their firms and their clients.
In general, think twice if fintech vendors rest their entire value proposition on things like “seamless, at scale, onboarding” or that the platform has “passed the highest levels of due diligence review” or that it is “designed specifically for large enterprise firms.”
Those first two claims are table stakes; any vendor lacking them is subpar. The third claim is silly because in finance, many firms with huge budgets have lean teams. There are quite a few multibillion dollar teams with under a dozen employees.
One claim to run from is that the software “cannot be circumvented” by users. This creates an adversarial dynamic between management and staff while fostering suspicion and fears of Big Brother. Worse still, it’s unrealistic because technology only works when people use it.
Take my field, cybersecurity. My software protects financial firms from digital data breaches. But if an investor uses a pen to write their name, address, Social Security and bank account numbers on a sheet of paper — then leaves it around strangers — that investor may encounter a data breach that has nothing to do with a technology fail.
How do you feel consumers (or if more relevant for your firm – businesses) are adapting to the facet of fintech that your company operates within?
Businesses in the independent wealth management space are starting to wake up to the need for strong, unified cybersecurity tools and processes that meet regulatory standards without alienating users. Mind you the industry as a whole is not being as proactive as it should be.
That’s due to viewing cybersecurity as a cost center instead of a value-add. Younger clients and advisors will change that. They know that in the digital age, it’s a real joy to have data protection you can trust and let operate largely on its own.
As Co-Founder and CEO of Entreda, Sid Yenamandra oversees all aspects of software production, user experience and education, client onboarding, staffing and vendor management, regulatory compliance, and thought leadership. Mr. Yenamandra is a recognized industry expert on cybersecurity strategy, issues management and risk assessment who is exceptionally well versed in the independent advisory landscape.