A New Era of Financial Innovation Ft. MX [Podcast]

Welcome back to another episode of Fintech, What the Heck?. The best podcast for financial professionals, everything fintech, and the future of data! In this episode, we had the pleasure of interviewing David Whitcomb, Vice President of Product, and Crystal Anderson, Vice President of Product Management of MX. MX offers open finance APIs to enable companies to do more with financial data.

Highlights

Meet the Vice President of Product, David Whitcomb and the Vice President of Product Management, Crystal Anderson of MX (:45)‍

We open the interview with Crystal explaining to listeners why MX exists. She shares MX’s mission statement- creating experiences of financial well-being and financial strength by creating opportunities for someone to be resilient in the face of financial shock and they do that by thinking of things that drive that financial wellness: spending, paying bills on time and in full, saving, credit scores, affording emergencies.

David adds to Crystal’s thoughts with two underlying themes that guide what MX builds and how they build: access and action. He goes on to explain how open finance shows access to user’s financial data. Access is one of the biggest and most important pieces of open finance, explaining how more people can access their data as banks are turning on APIs and more secure services to do that. He also touches on action, MX provides clean, useable, vetted data making it actionable for consumers.

Andrew asks the MX team for examples of data MX is enabling on the platform. David shares with listeners a simple use case of open finance such as making a mortgage payment. He goes on to explain how open finance can provide secured access to your financial data and get personalized insights in the consumer’s best interest.

Andrew poses the question, “What is it like when you are connected? What does it feel like to have a better handle on your financial health?” Crystal answers that question by explaining the connection should feel seamless. When done correctly, and the connection is stable consumers should receive actionable insight that is guided and personalized. MX is provided to consumers through one of their partners such as financial institutions and credit unions.  

David explains in detail to listeners the definition of open finance. Open finance gives consumers the secure ability to access and act on their financial data. Crystal adds to David’s thoughts by explaining the difference between open finance and open banking, with open finance being much broader. This leads to the next discussion on the trends they see between generations, how they view their finances and the differences in sharing their financial data.  

The three of them discuss the exciting automation MX currently offers and projects in the works – such as budgeting and creating opportunities to save, because planning ahead equals financial strength mentions David. It is important to note that open finance is bringing a different level of engagement to financial institutions around the country. David and Crystal also share with listeners other benefits they deliver such as their fully web-based widget and enabled web API. MX’s quality of data sets them years ahead of other competitors. Their machine learning, AI (Artificial Intelligence), and manual approaches create much higher levels of outcome for clients and the data they provide.

Lastly, the guys wrap up the episode by Andrew asking where open finance industry is headed – how is it evolving? Crystal responds by saying this will show up in every aspect of your life and goes further by giving an example of an exercise bike. And David concludes the interview by reiterating literacy vs. advocacy.

‍Where to watch previous episodes of Fintech, What the Heck?

Catch up on both seasons of Fintech, What the Heck? at youtube.com/intrinio, and all our episodes are available wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify! If you would like more information on our podcast or are interested in being on the show, email us at communications@intrinio.com. And if you would like more information on our financial services please request a consultation today. Our data experts are here to help and find a solution for your business.