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00:00AND PROVIDES ACCESS TO CHECKING AND SAVINGS ACCOUNTS, PERSONAL LOAN, AND CREDIT CARDS. FORGIVE MY INTRODUCTION. THIS IS A LOT OF MONEY SITTING WITH CONSUMERS. I WONDER HOW YOU GET THEM TO COME TO YOU, AN ONLINE BANKING FORUM? > > THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME ON THE SHOW TODAY. FOR US, WE ARE ONE OF THE LARGEST DIGITAL BANKING PLATFORMS IN THE COUNTRY AND ONE OF THE FIRST FIN BANKS TO GO PUBLIC. WE WERE WELL POSITIONED FOR GROWTH BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE STUFF YOU SHARED WHERE THERE HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS ACCELERATION IN TECHNOLOGY AND IN THE USE OF DIGITAL BANKING. AS WE'VE SEEN THE SAVINGS RATE SKYROCKET, WE SAW A DIP IN CONSUMER SPENDING EARLY IN 2021 -- SORRY, 2020 -- WHICH DID REBOUND. WE SAW THIS IN OUR PORTFOLIO. FOR VERTICAL WE SELL 40% YEAR-OVER-YEAR GROWTH IN DEPOSITS IN OUR PORTFOLIO. 200% YEAR-OVER-YEAR GROWTH IN CONSUMER SPENDING. WE ARE SEEING THIS TREND CONTINUE INTO 2021 WITH A LOT OF CONSUMER OPTIMISM GARNERED BY THE STIMULUS, BY THE CHANGE IN ADMINISTRATION, THE ROLLOUT OF THE VACCINATION, ETC. WE HAVE SEEN THE AVERAGE SIZE OF EACH TRANSACTION A SPENDING INCREASE YEAR-OVER-YEAR IN JANUARY BY 20%. THE PERSONAL BALANCE SHEET OF AMERICANS IS DEFINITELY INCREASING AS WE ARE SEEING SAVINGS MORE OFTEN. GUY: GOOD MORNING. OUT OF CURIOSITY, HOW DID IT GO? WOULD YOU HAVE DONE ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY? DID IT WORK OUT IN THE WAY THAT YOU HOPED? WE HAVE SEEN A HUGE SURGE SINCE THEN. I'M CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THE EXPERIENCE WAS LIKE. > > IT WAS A TREMENDOUS EXPERIENCE, A GREAT WAY TO SEPARATE OURSELVES FROM OUR PARENT COMPANY, CUSTOMERS BANK, AND BECOME ONE OF THE FIRST NEO-BANKING SYNTAX IN THE COUNTRY. -- FINTECHS IN THE COUNTRY. AND BEING ABLE TO RIDE ALONGSIDE A PIPE AND ANCHOR INVESTOR. SOON AFTER WE CLOSED ON JANUARY 4, WE ANNOUNCED THEY WOULD BE GOING PUBLIC. WE HAD MONEY LINE. OUR BUSINESS MODEL IS VERY SIMILAR TO THESE NEO-CHALLENGER BANKS, AND WE ARE PROUD THAT WE WERE THE FIRST OF MANY TO COME. ALIX: ON THAT, SPECIFICALLY IN YOUR INDUSTRY DO YOU SEE A LOT OF COMPETITION? WHAT IS THE BARRIER FOR ENTRY? > > WE ARE DEFINITELY SEEING THE WORD FINTECH AND THE EXCITEMENT AROUND IT BECOME MORE FRONT AND CENTER. YOU'RE SEEING IT AS THE FLAVOR OF THE MONTH AND SEEING DIGITAL BANKING ACCELERATE THROUGH COVID AND THE PANDEMIC. OUR DIFFERENTIATION IS WE BUILT A DIGITAL BANK AS A SERVICE, WHICH ALLOWS US TO ACQUIRE BANK CUSTOMERS AT VERY HIGH VOLUMES AT LOW COST. TODAY WE ARE ACQUIRING A BANK CUSTOMER AT LESS THAN $10. A TRADITIONAL BANK IS ACQUIRING A CUSTOMER AT $300 TO $1500. TO SUBSIDIZE THAT THEY ARE CHARGING AMERICANS $34 BILLION A YEAR IN OVERDRAFT FEES. THAT IS A MODEL THAT WE DON'T BELIEVE IN. WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LOWER OUR CUSTOMER ACQUISITION COSTS AND ARE ABLE TO GIVE AMERICANS A MORE AFFORDABLE, TRANSPARENT, AND CONSUMER-FRIENDLY BANKING EXPERIENCE. GUY: WHAT IS THE AVERAGE AGE OF YOUR CUSTOMER AND WHAT DO THEY THINK ABOUT ALTERNATIVE PAYMENTS? WE HAVE BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT BITCOIN. > > ARE AVERAGE AGE IS ABOUT 27. WE HAVE A BEAUTIFUL BUSINESS WHERE WE TOUCH ONE IN EVERY THREE COLLEGE-BOUND STUDENTS THE RELATIONSHIPS WE'VE BUILT WITH 725 CAMPUSES. THEY LOOK TO US AS THE DIFFERENTIATOR IN THE SPACE TO HELP THEM WITH MANAGING THEIR MONEY, BUILDING THEIR CREDIT, SETTING THEMSELVES UP FOR SAVINGS. THEN WE WORK WITH REALLY GREAT BRANDS. WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH T-MOBILE. THEY ARE PROBABLY ONE OF THE FEW WIRELESS CARRIERS PEOPLE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT. WE HAVE BUILT TREMENDOUS GROWTH IN THAT PORTFOLIO. WE RECENTLY LAUNCHED AND ANNOUNCED WE WILL BE PARTNERING WITH GOOGLE'S LAUNCH OF VANKE MOBILE GOOGLE PLUS ACCOUNT THROUGH OUR STUDENT POPULATION. WHEN YOU HAVE THOSE BRAND YOU DEFINITELY HAVE THE MOMENTUM TO GAIN A LOT OF CUSTOMERS WHO WANT TO BANK WITH BRANDS THEY HAVE AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION WITH. ALIX: I'M INTERESTED HOW IT BREAKS DOWN DIVERSITY WISE. ONE THIRD OF YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE SINGLE MOTHERS, AND ABOUT TWO THIRDS ARE MINORITIES. WHAT KIND OF PRODUCT MAY BE DIFFERENT FOR THEM THAN A TRADITIONAL BANKING SYSTEM THAT YOU CAN PROVIDE? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT AS YOU MOVE FORWARD? > > FOR US, IT IS ABOUT AFFORDABILITY. IT IS CRAZY TO ME THAT LARGE BANKS ARE PAYING THEIR CUSTOMERS ON A CHECKING AND SAVINGS ACCOUNT IN THIS ENVIRONMENT. WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT OUR COST INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN PLACE WHERE ON OUR T-MOBILE MONEY ACCOUNT WE ARE OFFERING 4% ON BALANCES UP TO 3% AND 1% THEREAFTER. WE ARE ABLE TO PASS THAT ON TO CUSTOMERS.HOW DO WE HELP THEM MANAGE MONEY TO CREATE SAVINGS AND BE ABLE TO SET ASIDE AND MAKE SURE THEY REACH THEIR GOALS? WE ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE INCENTIVES FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE SHOWING GOOD FINANCIAL BEHAVIOR AND REWARD THEM WITH DISCOUNTS AND CASH BACK REWARDS FOR DEMONSTRATING SOLID FINANCIAL BEHAVIOR. WE ARE LOOKING AT OFFERING CREDIT-BUILDING EDUCATION,

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Savings Rate in January Jumped to 20.5%

BM Technologies CEO Luvleen Sidhu speaks with Bloomberg's Alix Steel and Guy Johnson about how the personal balance sheet of the average American is improving on "Bloomberg Markets". (Source: Bloomberg)

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