At the PSCU Co-op Solutions Member Forum, CU Broadcast’s Mike Lawson hosted Kinective CEO Stephen Baker at his studio lounge to chat about innovations and connectivity in banking. They discussed how Kinective serves both the physical and digital space, helping credit unions stay competitive and meet the expectations of their members.
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Read the full transcript:
Mike Lawson:
Mike Lawson here with CU Broadcast. Welcome back to our continued coverage of the PSCU Co-op Solutions Member Forum here in beautiful San Antonio, Texas. Look who we have in the studio lounge: Steven Baker from Kinective. How are you sir? Good to see you again.
Stephen Baker:
Good to see you, man. I’m happy to be here.
Mike Lawson:
Good to see you live in person this time.
Stephen Baker:
I know. Yeah, first time. I know a little different than over the small screen.
Mike Lawson:
Yeah, I think I like the live stuff much better. So I think a lot of people here do as well. This conference is bursting at the seams here, so what are your first impressions here?
Stephen Baker:
I mean, first of all, it’s enormous. It’s huge. I think they said there’s 1400 people here.
Mike Lawson:
Is that all? Oh my gosh.
Stephen Baker:
I felt like more at breakfast this morning. But yeah, but what a great event. Great energy. I think there’s something about a almost it’s a co-op and a community of credit unions, which are themselves, member driven, co-op communities. So it’s a bit of a different energy than you get, at least at the industry events that I’m used to. It’s nice.
Mike Lawson:
Yeah, it’s a good vibe for sure, for sure. Good way to start. I mean, before we dive into the topic here, what do you guys at Kinective, what do you guys want to achieve here or any expectations for the conference?
Stephen Baker:
Yeah, so one of our big objectives, of course, is to let everybody know what Kinective is and what it’s doing because our brand is still relatively new. We’re not quite a year old and talking about all the different ways that we support institutions. And what I always tell people as the name implies, we connect things, right? Connective tissue. And so one of the main reasons we’re here at PSCU is that we’re helping the partnership by connecting the members to the new solutions, the Juniper solutions, the Amount solutions, which is great and we’re thrilled to do that. But of course we also connect branch hardware, right? The teller cash recyclers and other branch hardware at the hardware level. And then of course we drive all the documents that connect everything and drive transactions through document automation. We’re the largest provider of e-signature and document automation that’s just focused on the financial industry. So I like to say we’re an operating platform. We drive the hardware interfaces, we drive the software interfaces, and then we drive the documents that make it all work and frankly help the wheels turn in terms of providing service to members and driving services that the institutions make their money from.
Mike Lawson:
I should have asked you, what don’t you guys do? Because you guys are everywhere.
Stephen Baker:
We don’t do payments, we don’t do loan stuff. We just connect all those things, right?
Mike Lawson:
Exactly! That’s a beautiful thing.
Stephen Baker:
We’re that glue. And one of the things Chuck said in the opening session is we’re here to help be an advocate and a supporter. I mean, at the heart of it, that’s really what we’re doing, right? Because we’re not providing many of those end services. We’re helping people take advantage of that and get the value.
Mike Lawson:
And that’s what they need right now. Especially in today’s super fast paced environment where there’s new shiny red ball syndrome.
Stephen Baker:
Yeah, a lot of shiny balls, a lot of competition, right? Competition from big major banks, digital challengers. We’ve got to help our institutions, our members stay at the forefront.
Mike Lawson:
It’s important. Lot of distractions out there, but you guys are connecting it all together. So let’s talk about, obviously the topic here, connectivity, connecting your credit union to the technologies that create the best member and team outcome. So just reiterate what you just said there, but this is so important in today’s world, especially credit unions see these great fintechs out there like, “Oh, we’ve got to check that out!” So share with me how that all works.
Stephen Baker:
Like I mentioned, I think one thing that’s very unique about us, well number one is that we’re all about connecting. And number two, that we do serve both the physical and the digital space. I think one of the things that’s really interesting that’s happening is the emergence of how those things are intertwining. So I’m going to start something in the digital and maybe I’m going to come to the branch to finish it, or I’m going to start it in the branch and I want to go home and finish completing it online or whatever. One of the things in that vein that we’re really excited to roll out that supports the branch workflow proposition–it’s funny, we initially had this idea to do this to help solve the drive thru problem as it’s called. You go through the drive thru, you get a receipt, you got to sign it with a pen, put in the tube, shoot it through, or the pad at the branch, the Topaz pad. Nobody likes those. So we launched this solution where you can get the receipt for a transaction on your phone and sign it with your finger. I mean, it sounds great. It sounds convenient, sounds easy. Here’s what’s interesting: When you are sending a receipt to someone’s phone and you know that’s their phone number and you know they’re in the branch and they’re on your IP address and they’re signing it, you have just kind of eliminated a lot of the fraud potential in branch fraud.
Mike Lawson:
It’s right there.
Stephen Baker:
It’s right there. I know I’ve got your signature. I know you were in the branch, it went to your phone. It’s like MFA for the physical in-branch. So that’s really exciting because you imagine–we were talking about fraud in the opening session–you can imagine really putting a stop or making it so much harder to perpetrate some of that fraud. So that’s really exciting. But I think what we’re really here to celebrate and dive into is connecting these solutions coming from these new partners at PSCU. And so Juniper’s got their real time payments integration and we’re I think the leaders of connecting that type of functionality to the cores and to FIs. Of course they do all the other payment methods, so we’re excited to support that too. And then Amount–it’s funny that the use case they showed was: a guy’s got to buy concert tickets so he can propose to his fiance and then buy the ring. He’s going to do this all really quick. He’s got this approval process that’s incredibly tight, slick, and we’re excited we can power all that stuff and make it reality. So we’re making connections. Apparently we’re going to help people get married.
Mike Lawson:
Congratulations on that!
Stephen Baker:
So that’s the ultimate connectivity.
Mike Lawson:
Put that on your website.
Stephen Baker:
But that’s exciting because what they’re doing, I think it’s the cutting edge of what’s available in these digital solutions and it’s the cutting edge of what our financial institution clients need to stay competitive and maybe a step ahead. I think frankly too, every time I look around and I join a new credit union where I live in Chicago, and it’s just a better offering in terms of the benefits you get as a depositor, the solutions they’re offering, the way that they kind of focus on the community. And I think a lot of people just don’t know about that offering. But the more you can kind of offer the modern digital–I think that might be the perception, that, “I’m going to go to a big institution that’s going to have better modern digital stuff.” But the reality is I don’t think that’s true, and we’re helping power that. Everything else, they kind of win. And so hopefully we’re helping connect the dots that allow all of these institutions to stand proud in terms of how they compete with some of the larger mega institutions and they can retain and hopefully win their fair share of deposits.
Mike Lawson:
Completely. Well, and we’ve all heard, and we all know very well that technology is the great equalizer. And so what you guys are doing, you’re connecting that technology that will help equalize. You mentioned earlier that this allows credit unions to be competitive and being able to implement a lot of these technologies that the bigger guys have. But now this is the question in my head is like, why is this so important? I mean, from your perspective, you just said it there. It helps them be relevant, competitive, and a step ahead as well.
Stephen Baker:
It helps them meet the expectations of their members–especially the young emerging generation of members.
Mike Lawson:
Where that is expected.
Stephen Baker:
It’s expected and it helps them offer the–let’s retain and attract new members, and then let’s be able to offer them the services, the best in market services so that we can get additional business with them. And so they’re not going to some buy now pay later solution offered through a merchant or some digital banking solution. Let’s offer them all those things in the state of the art without having to have an army of engineers, which nobody has. And so obviously the big guys have it, these big digital institutions have it, but we can help them leverage the solutions, the innovative cutting edge stuff without making it complex. It’s just works. It’s simple. That’s one of our mantras, right? At Kinective, we provide solutions as opposed to tools. Anybody can take a tool, but now what? I got to build something, right? So we provide solutions that just work. And I think that’s the big difference.
Mike Lawson:
And that’s what a lot of credit unions are looking for today, especially even the mid-size ones, maybe even the smaller ones. They’re looking for something like this to help them get those technologies connected to them so they can remain relevant.
Stephen Baker:
And they know they need them. But then it’s intimidating to even start the process and think about it. And most people think, “Well, geez, that’s going to be a complicated thing. It’s going to involve investment, complex connecting, engineering.” And the reality is it’s not. We can make it very simple. Turnkey, if you will.
Mike Lawson:
So what’s the outlook for 2024 to kind of wrap up here? I know a lot of folks out there you want to talk to.
Stephen Baker:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, 2024 is an exciting year for Kinective. This is the first full year all of the legacy businesses that came together to form Kinective. this is our first full year. IMM e-signature, NXTsoft, CFM. We will clock our first full year together this year and we’re just starting to see all the possibilities of that. The different ways the solutions compliment each other, frankly, the different ways that the clients of one of our solutions find value in other solutions. And also the kind of partnerships we’re opening up because each of those solutions had its own deep partnerships and together we’re able to amplify the depth and the breadth of those partnerships. And so all those things are starting to click on all cylinders and the growth from that’s really exciting. The engagement from the market’s really exciting. And frankly, the amount of value we can provide any one of our customers is expanding. But it’s a challenge, I will tell you, to educate everybody. So we’ve encountered many of our existing clients here and we’re letting them know about all the things Kinective means. That’s a long process. So appreciate the help of folks like you to help us tell the story.
Mike Lawson:
Anytime. Well, I just see it’s opening the doors for opportunity for credit unions. I see what you guys are doing. This is what you guys are doing. You’re allowing this to happen and connecting with these technologies that allow them to better serve their members and grow. And be better connected to their community.
Stephen Baker:
That’s it. We want to be a force multiplier for good.
Mike Lawson:
Alright, Steven, anything else to add before I unleash you onto the show here, sir?
Stephen Baker:
No, Michael, really appreciate it. Always enjoyed the conversation with you.
Mike Lawson:
Anytime, sir. Keep coming back. This is good stuff. Keep up work.
