Millions of people remain excluded from mainstream financial services despite living in economies that depend on digital money movement. Technological solutions exist, but have often failed to reach those who need them most.
FinTech Magazine speaks exclusively with Steve Round, Co-founder and President of SaaScada, about concrete ways banks can expand access to quality financial services while maintaining commercial success.
Merging Profit and Purpose
Banks have long maintained that serving certain demographics simply isn’t profitable, relegating financial inclusion to corporate social responsibility departments rather than integrating it into core business strategy.
Steve challenges this separation, arguing that technological advances have made it possible to achieve both commercial success and social impact simultaneously.
“Balancing commercial imperatives with financial inclusivity is key to driving both business success and social impact,” he says.
“At SaaScada, we believe that recent advances in technology can serve both purposes simultaneously, increasing share of wallet and improving the customer experience, while delivering tangible social value.”
SaaScada’s platform emerged from a desire to build a low-cost, agile solution that allows banks to quickly and cost-effectively launch optimal products for diverse audiences.
Steve’s work with the Big Issue Foundation directly informed his approach to banking technology.
During his tenure there, he observed how conventional banking systems failed to accommodate the needs of people experiencing homelessness and financial hardship.
“Our core banking platform allows financial institutions to develop personalised, feature-rich products that deliver value to the widest base of customers,” Steve explains.
“Customers who don’t meet single-metric measures of eligibility in traditional banks still deserve access to quality financial services, rather than being relegated to second-class products.”
Reimagining Accessibility
The shift to digital banking creates risks of excluding those with limited tech access or comfort. Steve identifies practical solutions to this challenge, focusing on design principles that reduce barriers to entry.
Rather than expecting customers to adapt to complex financial interfaces, he proposes rebuilding these systems with accessibility as a core principle.
“The key to improving access to finance is to demystify the complexities that are often associated with it,” he says.
“Part of this is ensuring that the onboarding process for any financial product is as easy as possible for users.
“New financial products need to be mobile-friendly, even taking the form of gamification – moving it away from a pure financial activity to reduce digital exclusion and encourage re-engagement with the service.”
Preventative Support Through Data
Banks typically see vulnerability only after it manifests in missed payments. Steve believes better data usage can transform this approach, moving from a reactive model to a preventative one where potential difficulties are identified and mitigated early.
This shift requires technical capabilities that many legacy banking systems simply cannot provide.
“Real-time data is the key differentiator for fintechs in delivering meaningful change to people’s financial well-being,” he emphasises.
“Many financial institutions only address the issue of vulnerable customers when a payment is missed or delayed – but, in most cases, this is too late.”
Steve offers a telling example: “If a customer had £1000 left at the end of the month one year ago, £500 six months later, and £250 this month – what is this telling the bank?
“Right now, very little, as financial institutions are not accessing that information from their core systems.”
By transitioning to cloud-native platforms, banks can offer proactive advice and tailored support, shifting from a purely transactional relationship to one that instinctively addresses customer needs.
“Understanding customers’ financial health in real-time allows banks to help them make informed financial decisions before they reach a point of vulnerability,” Steve explains.
“While acquiring new business is important, the real value for financial institutions lies in customer retention—and that comes from genuinely understanding and supporting their financial journey.”
Creating Instinctive Banking
For Steve, modernising core banking infrastructure will give financial institutions access to real-time data and a 360-degree view of the customer, allowing them to monitor spending behaviour and uncover real customer needs.
“Looking ahead five years, cloud-native core banking platforms will be pivotal in advancing financial inclusivity,” he predicts.
“These insights enable financial services firms to accurately assess the eligibility of customers and quickly develop personalised solutions that truly meet their needs.
“By better understanding customers, banks can move beyond simply offering basic ‘inclusive’ products to driving real inclusivity, inciting positive social change.”
He adds: “Instinctive organisations will be able to marry AI-driven insights with the context and knowledge of their teams to ensure their relevance.
“To be successful, these organisations will need connected internal and external ecosystems to encourage cross-functional information sharing, harnessing real-time data to deliver predictive insights that are fast and accurate.”
Bridging Global Divides
Steve sees particular potential for cloud technology in emerging markets, where both financial and technological infrastructure gaps persist.
In contexts where conventional banking infrastructure is limited, cloud platforms offer a technological leapfrog opportunity, enabling financial institutions to deploy advanced services without first building extensive physical infrastructure.
“In emerging markets, where access to financial services—and infrastructure, such as broadband—is often lacking, cloud-native platforms will help bridge the gap,” Steve explains.
“Financial institutions can build feature-rich, personalised solutions that serve underserved populations and take advantage of existing infrastructure to deliver high-quality experiences.”
For SaaScada, the goal isn’t creating second-tier products for underserved communities, but using technology to make premium financial services economically viable for all customer segments.
This approach allows banks to make informed lending decisions, improving access to finance for vulnerable consumers and underbanked communities, such as immigrants and those with limited credit histories, while simultaneously reducing default risks for lenders.
“By rearchitecting how core banking services are delivered,” Steve concludes, “we can provide banks with the tools they need to better understand customer needs, identify when a customer is at risk of vulnerability, and create tailored offerings that will support them through challenging times.”
