Faraz Amjad: Disrupting Payments in Dubai & London

Faraz Amjad, the Co-Founder and Partner at HypeFin – a community of specialist consulting partners who support fintech and paytech programs from ideation to launch – has left an indelible mark on the London and Dubai fintech space.

With an impressive track record as a go-to-market specialist, Amjad’s journey began in 2002, when he landed his first gig as a Technology & Business Consultant with ESP-GITS, a European tech company (formerly owned by ABN AMRO GITS), in Lahore. From thereon, Amjad held positions at the Cupola Group in Dubai, apart from standing as the Director for ME Markets at Oberthur Technologies.

With over two decades of hands-on experience in the realm of global expansion, Amjad currently resides in London with his wife and three children. Specializing in the fintech and digital banking space, the entrepreneur’s passion and expertise, both, lies in delivering exceptional value through global expansion, digital payments and fintech growth.

Having worked closely with some of the biggest names in the industry, this financial wizard has continued to provide expert guidance and support to startups in key performance areas that deliver real value. With a keen eye for spotting opportunities and a knack for taking new initiatives to new growth markets, Amjad has helped numerous clients transition their tech and services to their markets of interest!

How do you see the payments industry evolving in the next 5 years, and what role do you think embedded finance will play in that evolution?

Payments shall remain an integral part of our digital lifestyle - something that we're all living today. And the future of fintech will remain in growth mode until it continues to deliver value to the digital lifestyle driven by hybrid (AI + human) banking, which is around the corner.  

Can you talk about a successful example of a startup in the fintech space, and what made it successful?

A large UK-based challenger rolled out a prepaid product in its initial days and the company soon began signing up 20k customers a week! Their success has been their strength in engaging a wider community from the start; they were able to build trust and credibility very quickly within their user community, which continued to strengthen over the years due to the digital value they continued to deliver. 

With the rise of challenger banks, how do you think traditional banks will need to adapt to stay competitive in the market?

I believe technology driven by data-driven intelligence - supported by human intellect - is the next step for any business...whether traditional or hybrid. 

What do you think sets successful fintech companies apart from those that fail to gain traction in the market?

Fintech companies focusing on delivering instant, seamless and secure experience to any consumers or businesses today are certainly thriving and also continuing to command respect and support from investors, angels and VCs.

Given the shrinking wallets of the wider community of investors, it would remain imperative to sustaining fintechs to continue to deliver higher value, at a more optimal cost of services delivery to sustain the upcoming turbulent turns of the global economy, and its larger impact. 

How can fintech startups leverage the growing trend of embedded finance to create new revenue streams and reach new customer segments?

Fintechs must work closely with merchants to innovate and create a new and sustainable model of engagement. An engagement model that is viable and translates into more effective economies of scale for both, which can ensure viability and profitability for each other, while servicing the end consumers with instant digital lifestyle banking choices. 

How can established financial institutions work with fintech startups to innovate and stay relevant in an increasingly digital world?

I believe there is a much stronger co-opetition at play for both fintechs and traditional institutions to optimise their time to market, which would mean faster time to deliver value to end users, resulting in retention and growth. This in turn is to their own benefit, as it will enable them to service their own merchants and consumers with wider product choices, while helping them re-define user experiences. 

Can you talk about an interesting or innovative application of fintech that you have seen recently, and what makes it unique?

I'm waiting to see some real fintech innovation that will sweep the market. I'm very optimistic. Something in the space of credit optimisation, digital lifestyle banking and driven by hybrid-built services would be super interesting!

What was the best advice you ever received?

It's important to first add real value to your own venture before committing to deliver its value to the market. 

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Photo supplied by: Faraz Amjad