Banking Transformed with Jim Marous

Most banks still treat lending as a point-in-time decision. Pull a score. Make a call. Wait. In today’s environment, that model limits growth and weakens earnings durability. In this episode of Banking Transformed, I speak with S. P. “Wije” Wijegoonaratna, Co-Founder and CEO of Aliya, about how AI-powered operational intelligence is transforming lending from episodic approvals into continuous, governed opportunity exploration. Aliya’s platform connects bank-account data, marketing intelligence, risk decisioning, and post-origination monitoring into a closed loop designed to improve efficiency without increasing balance-sheet risk. Are you operating episodically — or intelligently? #Banking #Lending #DigitalTransformation #AI #CustomerExperience

For the past decade, financial institutions have poured billions into improving customer experience. Digital journeys. Frictionless onboarding. Personalization. Higher satisfaction scores. But according to Joe Pine, that era is over. In this episode of Banking Transformed, I sit down with Joe, the author of The Transformation Economy and co-author of the landmark Experience Economy, to explore what comes after customer experience in banking. If experiences are now expected rather than differentiating, where should banks compete next? Joe argues that the next stage of value creation is transformation. Not better moments, but better outcomes. Not engagement metrics, but measurable progress in customers' financial lives We discuss what transformation really means for banking, why most institutions are still optimizing for the wrong thing, and why banks that fail to evolve risk becoming irrelevant in the most important conversations their customers are actually having. If your strategy still centers on CX as

Credit unions entered 2026 with more digital ambition than any segment of the banking industry. Yet 60% are still in early stages of transformation or lack clear goals. That’s not a strategy issue. It’s an execution issue. In this episode of The Experience Factor, sponsored by Q2, Jim Marous sits down with Jesus Garcia, Chief Experience Officer at OceanAir Federal Credit Union, to examine what the 2026 Retail Banking Trends and Priorities report reveals about the credit union sector and how one institution is moving beyond ambition to measurable results. This conversation covers: * The execution gap * The branch expansion paradox * The talent contradiction * Fintech partnerships that actually drive impact * The open banking blind spot * AI: substance vs optics This discussion isn’t about strategy decks. It’s about what’s actually working and what must change. The Experience Factor is sponsored by Q2. Download the 2026 Retail Banking Trends and Priorities Report here.

If your bank is still competing on features, you don’t have a strategy. There was a time when products and features made a difference. That time is gone. Digital is now expected. Rates are aligned. Features are replicated. And AI can compare them instantly. If you're leading with just what you offer, you're competing in a race where everyone looks the same. Allison Netzer's "Think Like a Brand, Not Like a Bank" Version 2 shares three years of implementation data from banks and credit unions that stopped competing on features. Her framework explains why leading with product specs is mistaken. Customers first decide emotionally, then justify rationally. This edition includes a reflection on which principles have remained valid and which ones need rethinking. The institutions winning today treat brand as their strategic operating system, not a marketing exercise. They solve customer pain through counterintuitive thinking that violates industry patterns. In this episode, we discuss what’s changed since 2022,

For decades, banks have forced customers into frustrating phone trees and rigid IVR systems—all in the name of efficiency. But what if automation could actually strengthen customer relationships instead of eroding them? In this episode of Banking Transformed, Jim Marous speaks with Isaiah Granet, Co-Founder and CEO of Bland, to explore how voice AI is transforming banking relationships, modernizing call centers, and delivering measurable operational results. They explore which workflows truly reduce call center costs, how to automate without sacrificing trust, what compliance guardrails must be in place before scaling voice AI, and what community and regional banks can realistically implement in the next 12 months. If your institution wants to modernize call center operations, improve service quality, and increase conversion opportunities, this discussion outlines a practical, defensible path forward. #Banking #ConversationalAI #Chatbots #VoiceAI #DigitalTransformation #CustomerExperience #AI This episod

About 25% of Americans can’t get a credit card from a major bank, and more than half are one or two missed paychecks from a credit crisis. Yet most financial institutions still design their products for prime borrowers and pretend the rest of the market doesn’t exist.In this episode of Banking Transformed, I sit down with Steve Min, Chief Credit Officer at Credit One Bank, who has built a business around the customers most banks would rather turn away. We talk about why two-thirds of consumers don’t understand the basics of how their credit score is calculated, why the stigma around imperfect credit keeps people from getting help, and what it actually takes to rebuild a credit profileSteve explains how Credit One approaches risk differently, why its Credit Wreckers program teaches people what not to do with their credit, and how building financial momentum can help borrowers qualify for better products over time. If your institution claims to serve the underserved, this conversation will challenge whether you

Liquid Death reached a $1.4 billion valuation selling water in cans. Meanwhile, banks spent $500 billion on transformation last year and still struggle to stand out. The gap isn't money - it's courage. Most banks are still designed to protect the status quo. Risk avoidance dominates, small changes are called progress, and true creativity rarely makes it through the internal process to reach customers. Challenger brands like Liquid Death don’t win because they spend more or market louder. They win because they decide who they’re for, what to stand for, and how to build a culture that supports being a challenger, even when it creates discomfort. I’m joined by Eric Fulwiler, co-founder and CEO of Rival. We discuss their recent study of the top 50 challenger brands and what makes them distinctive. We also uncover what has to change if financial institutions want to stand out instead of blending in.

Download the free 2026 Retail Banking Trends and Priorities sponsored by Q2: https://tinyurl.com/2yrce223 Retail banking leaders have never had more clarity about what needs to change, yet execution continues to lag. In this video, discussing the most critical insight from the 2026 Retail Banking Trends and Priorities research, Jim Marous examines where transformation efforts stall across digital experience, payments, AI, and partnerships, and why incremental progress is no longer enough to keep pace with customer expectations or non-bank competitors. This discussion challenges leaders to move beyond pilots and roadmaps, confront the trade-offs they’ve been avoiding, and focus on the few decisions that actually drive meaningful change. If you’re responsible for strategy, digital transformation, or growth in 2026, this discussion offers a clear-eyed look at what’s holding the industry back and what it will take to move forward.

With over $2 trillion in deposits already lost to digital banks and fintechs, incremental banking improvements are no longer a strategy; they’re a liability. Today, I'm joined by Benjamin Conant, Chief Product Officer at Alkami and Co-founder of MANTL, to discuss insights from their new 2026 Banking Predictions Report and what it reveals about why banks and credit unions are quietly falling behind. The discussion focuses on unifying systems that have operated in silos for decades, turning branches into profit engines, finally making AI deliver results, and consolidating vendors who can create solutions at speed and scale. Institutions that endure the next three years won't be the ones making minor updates to failing systems. They'll be the ones willing to take bold actions and operate with the urgency and resilience that the future demands. This isn’t a debate about following trends. It’s about how you execute.

Your Gen Z strategy is putting your organization’s growth at risk. New research from Primax, shows that only 12 percent of Gen Z consider a community or regional bank their primary financial institution. Will these Gen Z consumers move their parents' relationship out of your institution? By 2035, Gen Z will be the largest and wealthiest generation in history. And 72 percent say they face financial challenges unlike those of any other generation. They're seeking a financial partner who understands their reality far beyond a simple transaction. The bottom line is that customer loyalty is thin, opening accounts at new institutions is easy, and growth is no longer guaranteed. Today on Banking Transformed, I'm joined by Carrie Stapp, Vice President of Marketing at Primax. We're unpacking what the Banking in Focus research report reveals about what's broken in how banks approach Gen Z – and what you need to fix now before future growth moves elsewhere. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by Prim

Banking executives know their industry is being disrupted. What they don't know is how much of their balance sheet they've already lost control of. According to Accenture, more than $200 trillion in global bank deposits and loans are now at risk, and that threat isn’t coming from another bank. It’s coming from stablecoins, AI agents that can automatically optimize finances, and platforms that can quickly move cash, often outside the traditional banking system. Today's guest is Mike Abbott from Accenture. His team's new report on the top banking trends for 2026 reveals some uncomfortable truths. Seventy percent of IT spending still goes to maintaining outdated systems. Margin compression could reduce US bank pre-tax income by 22%. And many of those loyal customers who've stayed with their bank for seven years? The research calls them "lazy loyalists." The real question for banking leaders isn’t whether this shift is happening, but how much of the balance sheet they’ll still control when it does. Mike joins

Banks have spent billions building digital customer experiences. But most are doing it on top of back-office infrastructure built for a different era. That gap has quietly become one of the biggest drags on growth, pricing power, and profitability in banking. Today's competitive edge isn't just about what customers see upfront. It's about how efficiently a bank operates, how smartly it prices on an individual basis, and how quickly it can turn data into action. That's why modernizing the back office has moved from an IT discussion to a strategic imperative. I'm joined on the Banking Transformed podcast by Richard Ullenius and Brandon Sailors from CSG International to discuss what modernization truly means, how banks can progress without tearing everything down, and how smarter infrastructure is becoming the key to efficiency, engagement, pricing, and risk management. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by CSG CSG delivers banking and financial services solutions to help banks reimagine pr

From Walmart and Amazon to banks and credit unions, stablecoins are accelerating a banking reset that is already reshaping how payments move. In this episode of Banking Transformed, I’m joined by Dr. Lamont Black, Associate Professor of Finance at DePaul University. We will break down why stablecoins represent a fundamental shift in financial infrastructure, not another crypto cycle. We will also explore how emerging payment rails challenge traditional card networks, what this means for deposits, data, and interchange revenue, and how financial institutions of all sizes should prepare for what comes next. This conversation is essential listening for banking executives, payments leaders, and fintech professionals who want to understand the real impact of stablecoins, the strategic risks of waiting, and how the banking reset is already unfolding.

Most financial institutions say they are data-driven. Far fewer can prove it in customer acquisition and relationship growth success. At a time when marketing costs are rising, response rates are under pressure, and every institution has access to the same channels, data is often the difference between growth and wasted spend. Today’s conversation is about how data actually drives results, not dashboards, not buzzwords, but measurable connections with the right consumers at the right time. We are going to talk about how modeling, channel orchestration, and analytics are reshaping direct marketing for banks and credit unions, and why doing this well is becoming a competitive necessity. I am joined by Preston Carroll, Director of Data and Analytics, and Eddie Tu, Principal Statistical Analyst at Franklin Madison Direct. Together, they work at the intersection of data science, marketing strategy, and financial services growth. Today, we will unpack what actually works, where institutions get it wrong, and how

Thirty to fifty percent of your fraud losses don't come from hackers or organized crime rings. They come from your own customers disputing legitimate transactions under their own names. This is first-party fraud, and it's a $100 billion problem that most financial institutions don't even track as a separate category. While banks use advanced tools to detect external fraudsters, their own account holders are taking advantage of long-standing dispute processes meant to protect consumers, turning chargebacks into weapons against the very institutions that serve them. The math is staggering: this single category now accounts for up to half of all fraud losses and keeps accelerating while most executives stay focused on threats from outside their customer base. Joining me on the Banking Transformed podcast is Shanthi Shanmugam, CEO of Casap, who developed products at Robinhood and Chime before founding a company to address this crisis. We're going to examine why first-party fraud has surged, how manual dispute

Banking is no longer competing with the branch down the street. It is competing with every digital experience your customers have before they ever open your app. Expectations around speed, simplicity, and trust are being set by big tech, fintechs, and embedded finance, not by traditional financial institutions. And for many banks, that gap is growing. That is why today’s conversation matters. I am joined by Phil Tomlinson, Senior Vice President of Global Offerings at TaskUs, and Pragya Agarwal, Vice President of Financial Crimes and Risk Operations. They sit at the intersection of customer experience, advanced technology, and financial crime prevention, where speed and trust have to coexist every day. In this episode of Banking Transformed, we unpack what next-generation banking really looks like, where AI is delivering real value right now, and how banks can move faster, innovate responsibly, and still protect customers in an always-on, app-driven world. This episode of Banking Transformed is spons

Nearly half of the skills banking leaders rely on today will be obsolete within five years. In this episode of Banking Transformed, Jim Marous explores why continuous learning has become the most critical leadership skill in financial services, and why failing to adapt is the fastest path to irrelevance. Jim shares the personal transformation that reshaped his career, explains how AI is accelerating the divide between learners and laggards, and outlines the daily habits leaders must embrace to stay relevant in a world where change will never be this slow again.

Banks love to claim they are high-tech and high-touch. The truth is, most are neither, and the gap between what institutions promise and what customers experience is widening fast. It is costing banks billions in lost trust, slower growth, and missed opportunities, especially as expectations accelerate across the rest of people’s financial lives. At Fintech NerdCon in Miami, I sat down with two leaders who are actually closing that gap. Siya Vansia, Chief Brand and Innovation Officer at ConnectOne Bank, and Suzan Chaffin, EVP of Solutions at LoanPro, are showing what modern banking looks like when technology, culture, and leadership come together with clarity and purpose. Our Banking Transformed conversation dives into the real work behind transformation. Not the marketing language, but the decisions, processes, and organizational alignment needed to deliver both speed and empathy. These leaders expose why retrofitting new technology onto old processes always fails, and how banks can rebuild for a future wh

What if the biggest myth in banking is that customers don’t need branches anymore? Because every time Bank of America opens a new financial center, digital sales in that market jump by 50 percent. Physical presence isn’t competing with digital — it’s accelerating it. Now, Bank of America is putting $750 million behind a bet the rest of the industry walked away from too soon, opening 150 new financial centers across 60 markets by 2027 at more than $5 million per location. Bold? Yes. Contradictory? Maybe. But the timing suggests something deeper: after shrinking from 6,000 branches to about 3,700, they now believe the future isn’t fewer branches… it’s smarter ones. These next-generation centers aren’t transaction factories. They’re advisory hubs staffed by 12,000 relationship bankers, designed to anchor communities and handle the conversations digital can’t — at least not yet. My guest on the Banking Transformed podcast, Will Smayda, leads this transformation. He’ll explain why Bank of America is expanding

Every bank today is trying to appear modern. But you can’t operate a digital institution with a core system that hasn’t been updated since the iPhone was introduced. After years of adding new features on top of outdated infrastructure, the limitations become clear: legacy cores slow innovation, hinder personalization, and make it nearly impossible to compete in an AI-driven world. Modernization is no longer just a tech project. It’s a strategic choice for whether a bank can stay competitive. Banks adopting unified, modern architectures aren’t doing it for appearances; they’re doing it because it provides the speed, flexibility, and resilience that legacy systems cannot match. The good news? Modernizing no longer requires years of planning and implementation. Progressive methods are giving banks safer, lower-risk options to move forward. Today on the Banking Transformed Podcast, I’m joined by Sai Rangachari, Chief Product Officer at Temenos, to explore what modern core banking really entails, why it’s impo