Banking sector is the backbone of our economy but is it enough to support the technology of tomorrow? Let’s discuss this issue with the CEO of Initium group Mr. David Spier who has over 20 years of solid financial services experience.Let’s start.
Q1. We would like to know about INITIUM Group and what is your mission with this project?
Ans. We’re looking to provide necessary corporate banking services to strong players in the new digital economy – an often underbanked segment. The INITIUM Group intends to be a multi-jurisdictional banking group for this segment, providing all the core services these companies need in a transparent and efficient and dedicated manner.
Q2. What are your thoughts on the current state of the corporate banking industry and the future?Ans. Banking is a conservative industry by definition. The existing big players focus on the biggest market segments, which is fair enough. They’ll come to the new digital economy eventually, but not soon enough for many very interesting companies. We intend to seize the moment, and secure first-mover advantage in this potentially lucrative and rapidly growing market.
Q3. What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve experienced while working on the project?Ans. Honestly, we’ve faced the same issues as many other players in the new digital economy – reluctance to participate from the banking sector. However, we’ve found strong interest in our target market and secured our seed funding – so we have confidence that INITIUM will succeed.
Q4. We are an official media partner of UCIM, what are your expectations from the UCIM event?
Ans. We want to meet with investors who have a clear and forward looking view on the potential of the new digital economy, and share our vision as to its potential.
Q5. There’s currently a lot of talk about private and centralized blockchains. What do you think is the future of these blockchains, and how will they be used?
Ans. We believe in blockchain as a game-changer, and blockchain can exist without decentralization – and many companies will want this, at least in the short/medium term. But for us, what it is used for is less important than it being used, and the project being successful. We’re not changing the world at INITIUM – we’re trying to bank those people who are.
Q6. As per your website “INITIUM Group is a multi-jurisdictional banking group being built from the ground up to serve the new digital economy.” Could you please explain this sentence?
Ans. Banking is very traditional, which means it comes with a lot of weight. Things are the way they are because of the past, and this can lead to a lack of agility and a lot of unnecessary silos and processes. We’re building our bank from the ground up to reflect the best learnings and practises of the banking industry while discarding all the obsolete, embedded processes that have evolved in traditional banks.
Q7. What are the upcoming missions you have for this quarter & year?
Ans. We are currently focused on three core priorities: First, we are working on finalising our next round of funding. Second, we are building the executive team that will drive the build up of our banking operations. Last but not least, we are in discussions with the regulatory instances, in order to secure our first banking license.
Q8. Would you link to share anything with our audience?
Ans. The new digital economy is coming. That’s a certainty. Now’s the time to help and be part of it, or risk missing out on the opportunity. We made our choice to be part of it, and we hope they do too.
