The Galileo Financial Technologies Podcast Galileo Financial Technologies

The fintech industry is at an inflection point. We explore the future of fintech through the lens of Galileo’s VP of Revenue, Scott Johnson. We unpack real world use cases, discuss product launches, and share strategies for this rapidly evolving market.

In the final episode of our three-part series, we tackle what you need to do after your card is launched, detailing the key support steps you must take to promote and grow your nascent program. From choosing a rollout format, to designing a marketing campaign to incorporating customer feedback, these efforts are key to ensuring a new card product’s long-term success, so we’ve rounded up some expert advice to help guide your strategy. 

Launching a successful card program involves a strategic approach to selecting the right partners, and this podcast series provides valuable insights into ensuring a fruitful collaboration. Here are key takeaways to help ensure you work with the right partners for a card program launch:
Long-Term Vision and Commitment:
Approach partner selection with a long-term mindset, akin to a marriage. Contracts often span three to five years, making it crucial to choose partners who align with your organization's future goals. Vet potential partners for cultural fit, product breadth, and cost considerations. This diligence upfront can prevent challenges down the road and contribute to a successful, enduring partnership. Experience and Understanding:
Prioritize partners with experience in the specific use case relevant to your card program. Understanding your partner's experience upfront ensures they can support your needs from technical and compliance perspectives. Collaborate with banks and processors that are willing to work closely with you, comprehending your unique requirements and offering ongoing support. Avoid surprises by thoroughly vetting potential partners before committing to a collaboration. Efficiency and Speed to Market:
Leverage partners with existing integrations and relationships in the industry. This can significantly accelerate your program's speed to market, providing a plug-and-play solution with reduced integration times. Consider working with established technology and processing platforms, like Galileo, that have pre-existing relationships with numerous banks. This can streamline the launch process and minimize the time required for integration. Holistic Planning and Education:
Take a holistic approach to partner selection by considering the entire ecosystem involved in your card program, including banks, emboss and fulfillment vendors, processors, and other third parties. Engage in a collaborative selection process with potential partners, ensuring alignment between your goals and their capabilities. Use education and support from experienced partners, like Galileo, to enhance your understanding of the industry and program requirements. Clear Technical Requirements and Communication:
Clearly define technical requirements upfront to avoid complications during the launch phase. Collaborate with partners who can support your specific technical, compliance, and operational needs. Communicate openly and transparently with potential partners, ensuring a shared understanding of program expectations, responsibilities, and potential challenges. Learn more at https://www.galileo-ft.com/lp/the-path-to-card-launching-with-galileo-and-tearsheet-studios/

Launching a card is a fundamental aspect of today's financial services landscape, serving as a cornerstone product for both incumbents and fintech companies. Despite the availability of new technology platforms, banking-as-a-service models, and experienced program managers, there remains a notable gap in understanding the intricacies of launching and managing a card effectively.
In an effort to shed light on this process and make it more accessible, we've gathered insights from leading fintech and financial services firms with extensive experience in launching and scaling card products. Our contributors include industry giants like Wise and Dave, as well as prominent platforms and banks such as Cross River Bank and First National Bank of Omaha.
Special recognition goes to Galileo, the technology and processing platform powering cards for many of today's popular fintechs. We extend our gratitude for their steadfast support throughout this project.
This podcast mini-series aims to guide you through the intricacies of launching a card successfully. Throughout our conversations with industry leaders, a common theme emerges – the importance of thorough planning. While perfection may not be achieved on the first attempt, strategic planning provides a clear path forward. Our goal is to equip you with insights from seasoned professionals who have launched cards used by millions, sharing both their challenges and triumphs.
This first installment of a three-part series focuses on the planning phase of ideating, creating, and launching a card. Topics covered include:
Introduction to the significance of launching and managing cards in financial services. The imperative need for understanding the card launching process and fostering collaborations with partners. Planning and the underlying motivations for launching a card, with a focus on solving customer problems. Diverse approaches to launching cards, whether as strategic differentiators or complementary add-ons. Case studies featuring insights from Wise, Bluevine, Dave, and the motivations behind their card launches. Understanding the distinctions between debit and credit cards and their implications. Forward-looking strategies for the evolution of card programs and ecosystems. Emphasizing the importance of testing, avoiding rushed market entries, and continuous iteration. The role of a value proposition in aligning with a company's mission. Achieving differentiation through card-related features that address customer needs. For a more in-depth exploration, we encourage you to download our comprehensive guide, incorporating insider information and more, available at https://www.galileo-ft.com/lp/the-path-to-card-launching-with-galileo-and-tearsheet-studios/.
Stay tuned for the upcoming parts of this series, delving deeper into the nuances of successfully launching and managing card products.

To shed some light on what banks and credit unions in the Americas should do with BaaS, Dharm from the Dave & Dharm Demystify Podcast has invited two esteemed guests from Galileo Financial Technologies – Miguel Santos, chief strategy officer, and Dave Feuer, chief product officer. 
Between them, Dave and Miguel give real-life examples of several innovations only made possible by a modern core. The key message is that there is no future for a monolithic core or large software suites; the future is granular banking capabilities consumed and paid for on demand. 
Miguel also shared his views that, “The era of differentiation on customer experience is a thing of the past." He explains how banks can distinguish themselves by designing products that cater to specific customers, using the example of a truck business that uses embedded banking.
Additionally, Dave highlights his team's extensive experience in generative AI, revealing that Galileo has been developing a processing platform based on this technology for several years.

Banking as a Service is booming. For licensed financial institutions, BaaS offers key short-term benefits such as enhanced revenue and customer acquisition, and also serves as a pathway to the long-term transformation that will be necessary to remain relevant as the financial industry evolves. Tune in to this episode to learn how banks can get in on the BaaS boom.