JPMorgan Taps HSBC Innovation Head To Lead FinTech Division

J.P. Morgan Chase has hired ex-HSBC executive Jeremy Balkin as the head of FinTech and Innovation for Wholesale Payments, Reuters reported.

In addition to overseeing FinTech and innovation for wholesale payments, Balkin will be involved in the bank’s decisions to invest in or partner with companies in his new role, according to Reuters.

Balkin served as head of Innovation and Strategic Digital Partnerships at HSBC. He led a team responsible for improving digital customer experience and looking into new products and services. That team also deployed of Pepper, a humanoid robot, in the HSBC Fifth Avenue flagship New York branch, Reuters reported.

As Balkin settles into his new role, larger banks will continue to invest in innovative financial technologies, looking to improve their digital offerings for business and retail clients alike, according to Reuters. Digital payments have seen a massive boost as more commerce moves to the internet, especially last year as the pandemic made it a necessity.

J.P. Morgan’s wholesale payments division has also recently recruited Brad Brodigan, formerly of BlueVine and PayPal Holdings, to be global head of small- to medium-sized business (SMB) for Merchant Services. Brodigan will handle the sales and partnerships, Reuters reported.

J.P. Morgan has been eyeing payments modernization, PYMNTS reported. Takis Georgakopoulos, global head of Wholesale Payments at J.P. Morgan, said there’s been a list of insights treasury departments took away from 2020, including a paramount urgency to move toward digital payments and focusing on getting through the volatility of the current times.

He said it is about a larger issue than simply making things faster; the digitization is about transforming the entire business.

He said J.P. Morgan had set about a digitization strategy even before the pandemic, which had helped with the transition as the company had already been investing heavily in new technology.