Defining FinTech Innovation — Outside The Box

There’s no surefire way to approach innovation — especially in the fast-paced, ever-evolving world of FinTech.

That means merging multiple visions, finding inspiration virtually anytime and everywhere. And that means shaking up the status quo. Or as John Best, President and CEO of Best innovation Group, mused in a recent conversation with PYMNTS: “True innovation is to be willing to completely burn the forest and start over.”

To gain a better understanding of how his company defines innovation, where they find their inspiration, and what advice they’d give for others in the ecosystem, PYMNTS caught up with Best to get his take. Below are the answers from that Q&A session.

PYMNTS: How would you define your company’s approach to innovation?

JB: We have several approaches to this. First, we like to say that we live in a peanut butter and chocolate world. We believe there are many more combinations to be found in the FinTech world. The key is to start with a vision of user experience and try to make it happen. For instance “ I want to be able to pay without using my hands” … boom we invent Shoe Pay … no more putting down your stuff to get your wallet out, just step on the sensor. We have brainstorming sessions wherever we are — in a hotel, in a car, at a conference. Anything we see anywhere can become inspiration; there are no boundaries. We will try to apply anything to a problem to see if it works. It’s mostly about having fun, finding things that we would use in our everyday lives and solving problems for people.

PYMNTS: What is the most innovative thing that you have introduced into the market and what value did it deliver to the stakeholder group that was its target?

JB: For BIG, the FIVE platform that supports the Echo device will be the first innovation that we have introduced to the market.  However, the members of BIG have been in the finance world for a long time. We continue to have the pleasure of working with the father of Internet Banking and Digital Insight founder, Paul Fiore, on his very innovative CU Wallet platform. Working with Paul to deliver his vision of a branded wallet has been a highlight of the last two years. Also, we are continually looking for new companies doing amazing new things, we have recently partnered with Timothy Ruff and his blockchain/shared ledger Identity company Evernym to work together to add their groundbreaking blockchain technology to our innovations, including the Amazon Echo project. While I would like to take credit for these things, we have had the good fortune of working with amazing and innovative groups like CU Wallet, OnApproach, Evernym, Jack Henry and Associates, Symitar and our many Credit Union clients who give us great support and great ideas. It takes a village …

PYMNTS: Where do you look for innovative ideas and why?

JB: Everywhere. As I said before, anything or anyone can be an inspiration. Many of us are members of the IEEE. I watch my kids and my nieces and nephews to see what they do. I love to see things in games and movies that inspire me. Most things you see in fantasy media are self-fulfilling prophecies in the sense that they are visions of people’s desires in many spaces. One of the BIG partner’s sons has cerebral palsy and yet nothing stops him. I am always inspired by his ingenious ways of getting around his disability. To this end, we have also been innovating in the special needs space. BIG has a sister not-for-profit company with a mission to help families with special needs children. Look for our first ECHO skill coming soon that will help disabled kids learn to talk and interact with home devices.

PYMNTS: What do you think that most people underestimate about innovating in payments?

JB: I think the biggest issue is that people think it has all been done or that there is some sort of status quo. True innovation is to be willing to completely burn the forest and start over.

PYMNTS: What person or company do you think “gets” innovation and why – and, conversely, who or what has missed it and why?

JB: I really like Netflix and what they are doing, I feel like they “get” it. They are constantly focusing on the next round of devices and bringing new features and functionality, as well as new content. I don’t think I have ever bought a device that didn’t have Netflix on it. They have excelled in analytics, technology, sales and marketing.

I believe many of the major retailers have really missed out on an amazing opportunity in terms of disrupting the online giants in the last year as things like beacons and IoT have started to take off. There is still an opportunity to connect the physical with the digital in a much more meaningful way.

PYMNTS: What advice would you give a young innovator in this space and why would you tell her to heed it?

JB: My dad, a former NASA engineer, had a mantra. I remember him saying it frequently. I would say something like, “What if we could do <insert crazy idea here>,” and if someone said “that’s impossible.” My father would immediately say, “Nothing is impossible.” He was a fan of Edison, Tesla, Bell and all of the great inventors. He believed if you could dream it, you could do it. I would tell the young innovator to dream. Go ahead, no holds barred — come up with the most awesome thing you can think of, write it down and share it. We live in a connected world now where things can happen faster than you think. Surround yourself with creative and gifted people who aren’t afraid to challenge you. Harness the power of collaboration, and the world will beat a path to your door. None of this is magic, or a miracle from heaven. As it turns out, it’s all about good old-fashioned hard work. One of my favorite quotes is from Jim Lovell during the Apollo 13 mission.

“From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the moon. And it’s not a miracle, we just decided to go.” – Jim Lovell

What world does the next generation want to live in?