‘Future-Proofed’ Technology is the Focus of Episode Six

One of Episode Six’s goals is to help companies around the world with digital transformation, enabling them to easily adapt to shifts in market demand. 

This goal is accomplished through the company’s next-generation financial technology platform, which creates innovative and differentiated financial and payments products for businesses and consumers. The platform is designed to be a future-proofed solution for companies that license it, offering unparalleled product customization and on-demand product management capabilities. 

During the latter part of 2019, Episode Six expanded its operations into three of the world's largest financial hubs: Japan, Southeast Asia and Europe, and the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). It also was selected by Visa as a partner in its Fintech Fast Track program for hosted financial and payments product solutions in Asia Pacific (APAC). 

The company was founded by a trio of entrepreneurs: CEO John Mitchell, CTO Futeh Kao, and CFO Chermaine Hu.

What trends are you keeping an eye on in the payments space? Broader financial services?

John Mitchell, CEO: As our system has a wide range of use cases, from fintech and payments to broader banking and financial services, and beyond, we are watching the ever-increasing and accelerating move towards digitization. 

Futeh Kao, CTO: What started out as “fintech” is being adopted not only in financial services but in insurance and health care. As more and more companies reinvent themselves, our addressable market grows.

Chermaine Hu, CFO: We’re also keeping an eye on how quickly consumers and businesses are adapting to new financial products. End customers are becoming increasingly tech-savvy and expect best-in-class user experiences and services. With our technology, our clients can stay ahead of the competition by offering innovative, customer-centric products that satisfy evolving market demands.

What should financial institutions and companies looking to undergo digital transformation keep in mind before taking the leap? 

Mitchell: In order to effectively “future proof” a business, institutions should consider system architecture that is extensible and easily exposes logic via an API-centered approach.

Kao: With open APIs, companies can seamlessly integrate the latest technologies or products and services their customers are looking for without having to start from scratch.

Hu: By enabling faster deployment of new products, FIs and companies can react and respond more quickly to changes, not just based on customer demands but also based on rapidly evolving market dynamics. Our current environment is an example of where digitization is crucial.

How is COVID-19 going to affect digital banking moving forward? What impacts can we expect to see in the payments space?

Mitchell: COVID-19 should accelerate digitization everywhere. If one thing is clear, current capabilities around the transfer of value are dated and lack the robust capabilities of providing proper support during a crisis.

Kao: In 2005, we enabled a Red Cross initiative that saw a local MSB stand up a card issuing center in 24 hours. This allowed evacuees from Hurricane Katrina to receive immediate funds. Today, there seem to be more hurdles associated with deploying such services, and the move toward digitization is part of the solution.

Hu: Even before COVID-19, there was already a focus on increasing availability and acceptance of cashless, contactless payments. The effort to drive those initiatives will most likely increase in a big way in the post-COVID world. 

THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE SEEN THE RISE OF AI AND THE BROADER USE OF MACHINE LEARNING. WHAT LARGER INSTITUTIONS ARE LEARNING IS THAT THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS THE DATA THAT IS FED INTO THEM. BECAUSE OF THIS, LEGACY SYSTEMS — THE PLUMBING, IF YOU WILL — HAS BECOME A BIG BOTTLENECK.

What does the next big wave of fintech innovation in the U.S. look like? And what about globally?

Mitchell: The last few years have seen the rise of AI and the broader use of machine learning. What larger institutions are learning is that these new technologies are only as good as the data that is fed into them. Because of this, legacy systems — the plumbing, if you will — has become a big bottleneck.

Kao: The next few years will see a focus on the “plumbing,” with IT teams across the country turning their attention to increasing access to data while continuing to support high transactional volume.

How has the relationship between banks and fintechs evolved?

Mitchell: Increasingly, banks are realizing that they need to offer similar types of conveniences and innovations that fintechs provide. We are seeing more M&A activity and investment, which is locking in more partnerships.

Hu: Banks are beginning to realize the benefits of partnering with nimble fintechs, and fintechs reap the benefits of tapping into a bank’s customer base. The relationship can be a win-win.

When we think of co-founders, many people envision a duo team. How do you make it work with three co-founders? What strategic role does each of you play when it comes to Episode Six’s success?

Mitchell: Between the three of us, we provide a unique and complementary combination of skills in system architecture, finance and banking, and sales and business development. As CEO, my role is to drive the overall growth of the company across our different geographic regions.

Kao: As CTO, my primary focus is on the long-term strategies and overall vision of our technology and our development philosophy. I also serve as the chief developer and architect.

Hu: My primary role as CFO is overseeing global finance and accounting functions, investor and financing activities, overall corporate development, as well as development of our organizational infrastructure.

What does Episode Six hope to achieve in the next year?

Mitchell: While COVID-19 brings uncertainty to the market, our pipeline continues to grow. We believe that Episode Six will be well positioned to assume a leadership position in fintech over the next year and beyond.

Kao: Today, close to 2.5 million end customers use applications that rely on us. The coming year should see many more, especially as the push to digitize becomes front and center.

Hu: With the foundation of Episode Six and our leadership team firmly in place, in the next year, we will continue to expand our team across all key regions and, together, step up and drive significant growth globally.