The FinTech Report Podcast: Episode 54: Alexandre Chavotier, Co-Founder & CEO, Upworth
Why don’t people switch banks?
ACCC Retail Deposits Inquiry shines light on banks approach to deposit accounts; insights in ACCC Report influences Upworth to create ‘Savings Account Scanner’
The FinTech Report Podcast: Episode 54: Alexandre Chavotier, Co-Founder & CEO, Upworth:
https://fintechsummit.com.au/the-fintech-report-podcast/
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1643860/15609567
According to Alex Chavotier, the ACCC Report key points are:
- Limited competition, interest rates not shown
- Entry is hard
- Product complexity (active pricing strategy)
- Segmentation, price discrimination (introductory rates, bonus rates; ACCC report found 70% of account holders did not achieve the bonus rate)
- Household deposits matter
- Comparison websites
- People generally don’t switch banks – why? Can CDR help solve this?
In this episode we discuss:
- ACCC Report – top issues/key chapters (and Upworth’s interpretation)
- Deposit accounts: limited competition, interest rates not shown
- Many banks offer retail deposit products, but the sector is concentrated with barriers to entry and expansion; There are 4 major banks and 6 mid-tier banks which supply 89% of retail deposits, and a long tail of smaller banks supplying the remainder
- Open Banking in Australia is slow – why?
- Chapter 7: Strategic pricing strategies lead to greater complexity for consumers and, for some, poorer outcomes – why?
- Opportunities for Upworth? Savings Account Scanner; how does it work?
- What do users / customers need to connect? Eg bank accounts. And how do they do this?
- Tech behind the new product? Platform, APIs, open banking, who do you partner with?
- Results so far?
About Alex Chavotier:
- Started career in investment banking in Europe before working at McKinsey and Quantum Black in Sydney
- Was at the forefront of McKinsey´s work in AI, including the development of a trading solution that secured internal VC funding
- Consulted to all the large Australian banks on an array of strategic topics and projects
- Came back to Australia 2 years ago to start Upworth after a 3-year stint in Mexico as right-hand to the Founder and CEO of ZeBrands, a successful scale-up comparable to Koala here (mattresses sold online)
About Upworth:
- Upworth is the wealth superapp.
- A one-stop-shop for personal finances where you can connect all your accounts to track your net worth, access unique and personalized insights and apply for financial products in a few clicks
