Webit 2026: Rebuilding banking around customer lifestyles, not legacy journeys

This talk explores the transformation of banking from legacy systems to user-centric approaches that prioritize customer experiences. Peter Baron, CEO of TBI Bank, discusses how innovative financial platforms are adapting to people’s lifestyles rather than forcing customers to conform to traditional banking processes. He highlights how technologies like AI and digital platforms facilitate seamless, personalized financial interactions that feel intuitive and unobtrusive. The conversation covers the growing importance of hyperpersonalization in banking and the need for a culture shift within organizations to successfully integrate these advancements. Baron emphasizes that effective communication in user-friendly language and the balancing of regulatory requirements with customer needs are crucial for the future of the banking industry.

For decades, banking asked people to adapt to the bank. Today, the smartest financial platforms are doing the opposite. They are adapting to people because customers no longer compare their banking experience to another bank. They compare it to the best digital experiences they have anywhere. The best shopping experience, the best travel experience, the best mobile experience, the best experience, period. Our next conversation explores what happens when financial

services are redesigned around real human behavior, lifestyles, and everyday needs rather than legacy banking processes. Joining us is one of Europe's most innovative banking leaders, Peter Baron, CEO of TBI Bank, in conversation with Anila Rousa, CEO of Webbit. Together, they will explore how AI, data, and digital platforms are helping create a new generation of financial experiences that are more personal, more intuitive, and increasingly invisible because the

future of banking may not feel like banking at all. The best banking experience of the future may be the one you never notice because it simply works. Let's invite again on stage Rousa for Fireside Chat with Pa Baron. Perfect. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. >> Peter, even though as you saw I already have the digital paste, you need to be with the real character on the stage. >>

I will do my best. So for our session the topic is rebuilding banking around customer lifestyles not legacy journeys. From your perspective what is broken in the traditional banking journey today? There are broken things definitely. >> Uh where where do I start? I mean look in in reality I think uh you know we are well we we we're today all uh spoiled uh on one side right?

But I I think that's exactly what drives um innovation in terms of customer experience. We all now treat banking as a necessary evil right in majority of cases. wireless uh in order I think kind of for you know the next the next step change in the industry it has to be something that uh well at least brings you a certain pleasure of an experience you know wow

kind of you know and and and that wow is we see that already uh you know through our different platforms that that we operate and we're used to already as kind of as a standard now banking is still catching up right I mean you you will see still many banks you know from paper to offices to where I mean even you just asked me when I took

took you to the stand and I said hey you know download >> right I mean and you're like oh I don't need to go anywhere I'm like of course you don't right but that kind of you know that that's reality that you know some banks >> are operating in space where you know they still old school right and and others are understanding the trend right and that

trend is constantly constantly changing and I think what is what is now at the forefront is is really when you are having a a financial service experience doesn't have to be necessarily banking right I mean payments doesn't always have to be banking or insurance doesn't always and so on and so on but wherever you're using financial services you know whenever you it should be seamless right and

in some cases then when then it's more of kind of a habit thing I don't know payments right that you need to do regularly right that's just going to be has to be super easy right whether you just you know tell your agent to to make a payment or program your agent to to to make payments uh whilst others that are more um uh let's say usually

time consuming and longer term uh issues like savings for example taking taking uh taking a loan uh they should be you know almost dopamine banking right so whenever you're doing something whenever you're making an investment right it should it should bring a certain excitement to you should give you a positive positive vibe right because otherwise um you know basically the industry is just getting so disrupted and

uh clients don't have the time or patience anymore for anybody who drops a ball, right? So, you have to be constantly thinking of that next step. Uh how do you take that customer experience, right? Holistic customer experience uh to the next to to the next level. So, that's why there's been so much disruption I think in finance over the last you know kind of decade. But TBA

has grown into broader digital banking and commerce ecosystem built around customers everyday needs. What value does this create for customers and which products or experience do they appreciate the most? So I mean our business model is u relatively unique right there are not too many banks actually who uh you know had the same vision as as as we have or the same roots from which we're coming

and building build building upon. So uh our story was always more about what has now become a very common term buy now pay later. >> Yeah. >> Right. And that's you know core of our service proposition to the to to the consumer but also to the merchant because on one side you know consumer is able basically to finance multiple purchases through splits and which become very transparent

and understandable for him in terms of repayments and he can manage his budget or buy you know more than he would have you know kind of would have done otherwise or had to save up to buy uh uh goods or services whereas to merchants it helps you know ultimately to sell more right so kind of so it's so here there's a very good bridge between the business

right the merchant proposition and and and a consu consumer need so that's at the core of really what we do and um that's our most popular let's say proposition today but that's a very at the same time you know it's a very good uh hooking product right to bring in the customer in order to for him to try other services and products that we offer for which

the market still doesn't know us well enough because honestly we haven't been investing in enough into advertising this uh uh this these services. So market still knows us mainly for buy now pay later. Whilst our app which way you start managing your your buy now pay later loan or you can increase your limit or whatever you need to do repay extend anything you need to do has

multiple other services that are available and this hoop product then brings in the customer to the next part of his life cycle inside inside a bank and depending what product it is because it doesn't always have to be by now it could be a saving proposition our kasichka has been very popular uh in Bulgaria specifically Um then the customer has other needs of course right and and

we already today offer instant payments uh uh great saving proposition in four four currencies available in Bulgaria shopping right inside the app where you can use your credit functionality what we call shopping limit in order to be able to finance other goods get cash back on that and then go on and on and on and the most important thing is that we truly believe that uh you

know everyday banking kind of daily banking for daily banking or payments account card they should be free and uh of course you know if you want to go for higher you know tiers and blah blah blah have you know other experiences but basic banking today should already be free and majority of banks don't do that we do that that was right from the start our model fremium

model and and that's >> yeah but today we talk a lot about trust balance and basically now people already expect that financial services as you've already said need to be instant, simple and highly personal but at the same time banking finance are strictly regulated and trustbased businesses. So where is the balance and how basically the customer needs and the regulation is >> I I hear you. Yeah,

it's a it's a it's a everyday uh everyday constructive battle, right? because I think that there's there is definitely a lot of you know value in regulation uh and in protecting the customer and and making sure that you know the right guys get to do the right job right rather than any bad actor can uh can can can do something because when it comes about money right

I mean at the end of the day final banking is u you know it's kind of veins of economy right so the whole whole system operates uh on banking trust uh so it's fundamental Now the way to deal with it is of course through organization and that organization whether we're talking about just purely organizational setup where banks need to change their you know way they designed and

kind of organizations designed from silos right that don't tend to talk to each other and build walls between themselves to building what we have seen most technology company have have done is really moving into a much more agile setups where you of you know basically the tribes or squads where all the resources are pulled around the customer need. So then you'll have people from product from data

from engineering at the same time you have people from compliance right >> in order to make sure to advise that the product is fit for purpose from a compliance perspective but ultimately is competitive and and solves a problem for for the customer. But in order to even get there, first you need to make sure that your organizational culture is is is is right because that does require

change uh especially for banking people right u it does require to infuse talent from from you know technology industry FMCG industry um and so on and so on so so that you're able to really be open-minded to the fact that the banks of tomorrow are very far from the banks of the past right and and you know that is a you step switch that not everybody is

able to kind of you know process right and and and be happy in such environment but people who are they flourish because they really see the results of their work uh and how they re solve real problems rather than how they need to battle inside their corporate minutia right that unfortunately still exists in you know majority of regulated environments and the bigger they get the more harder

it is right to be honest >> but what will separate the banks that simply digitize exciting products from the ones that become truly living digital experiences. You said banks from the past. What do you mean? >> Well, I I think look it's pe I I always bring it down to the fact that it's it's it's it's culture of organization, right? Because at the end of the day,

anything what gets done in any company is done by people, right? Yes. Enabled of AI, right? For sure. >> So, it's more culture than technology. >> It's it's it's much more culture than technology, right? Because it's only through the culture that you're a you will be open-minded enough to try different things. And actually majority of it is, you know, pilot test. >> If it doesn't work, fail

it, right? Learn on the lessons, reiterate, reiterate, reiterate, right? >> And that's really very far away from banking culture, right? Banking culture, you failed, get out, right? And that's the usual, oh, we blame everything on you. You burned the budget. You are the idiot. I get my job. And and we blame everything on you. that that's usual culture, right? Um, now we've been very focused on this

in TBI and making sure that we're uh we we we don't punish our mistakes. We're uh you know, we're really I won't say we celebrate them, right? Even though you take Spotify for example, you know, they celebrate mistakes, right? Literally, right? Uh in our case, you know, it should be a learning, right? So, we need to make sure to take away the learnings and then move ahead.

Move ahead because only through iteration you can improve. You get customer feedback, you improve your product and on and on and on and on, right? Until it works well, and then you can move on to some and then you can move on to something else. >> One personal question, not that personal though we are on the stage, but which are the banking or fintech apps that you

use? If you now have to open your phone, besides the TBI one, >> what are the others that you use? >> Well, to be honest, TBI now does pretty much everything that I need. I I wouldn't call myself a super >> So what do you >> super super super difficult user uh but uh look I uh I still have bank of HSBC with whom I opened my

account when I was a student. I'm very loyal person. Um, I have a Monzo account as well just because it's interesting for me, you know, to see how they do things because I think Monzo is one of the best examples in terms of really being able to communicate banking in a very simple way to the consumer and I think that that is just a musth have you

know and and I think you know they've really been pioneers in terms of u making banking simple right and I think that's really fundamental to what's going on. So I I I use Monzo a lot. >> if it's invisible, it works what the robot says >> pretty much. Yes, pretty much. But but look before it becomes invisible. Yeah. >> Right. Still I think that because when we

talk about people's money, they want to understand, right? But they also tired of of banks always explaining things to them in a banking term and terms in you know 100 pages of terms and conditions hidden somewhere that nobody can read and probably nobody in the bank has read. I mean except somebody who's prepared it and legal and compliance just to make sure that all the risks are

covered. they should be covered but they should be also communicated in a way that the customer really understands right and that I think open dialogue I think it's become very important now with with mobile breakthrough because mobile's really put where kind of the controls in the hands of a consumer right so so before where you would get pretty much locked in in your banking relationship for life

right now you download any app and you you know you're you're a customer in three minutes right so download TBI you know you have a you have you have you have your account you have your card >> you you you're you're free to go, right? So you're you can switch much much easier, right? So that now that the customer has that power, right? I think it's in

order to retain that customer, you need to build that trust and the trust can only be built through through through through when you communicate in human language, right? No language that customers understand. And of course, hyperpersonalization is next step where you're able to correct the language to each individual and that's and that's happening, right? I mean AI is is powering that and that's for sure works. But

to finish answering your question, sorry long answer. Uh I also use e Toro for my you know trading. I don't do it kind of because we at TBI don't yet offer it. Maybe you know we will do it a bit later. >> Um uh but this you know really I don't need anymore right? So for me this is you know this is enough uh uh accounts right

and uh I'm not you know I kind of I don't yet use open banking you know to aggregate it honestly purely because at the moment still all solutions are pretty ugly >> right and then they require you relogging in and so on where regulation is still hampering the innovation let's say so so I'm using >> as a final message based on AI because we talk about AI

today how do you see the banking industry in five years from now. >> Uh look, I I think that uh the velocity of delivery is going to seriously increase. I think that there's going to be um you know, majority of communication the customers will be doing with banks will be through AI, right? It will be through chats uh or you know audio but but at the end

of they will be all powered by by the same uh by by the same engine. I think apps will start playing a slightly smaller role than they they do today. Okay. So we had this transition from you know branch kind of banking right to then to mobile. mobile will still stay but in five years time for sure you'll do much more your interaction through you know through

uh through AI uh whether through through the app itself right and you will just communicate through the chat >> or you know just through other platforms because banking ultimately is becoming more and more embedded uh into other services right so whether we're talking from e-commerce services lifestyle travel doesn't matter right so kind of so so you want that that that blood to flow through the veins almost

seamlessly right as much as possible and banks have been using AI for a long time right at the back but customers never really understood that right we've been using it for AI probably in different forms for over 10 years right maybe even longer right uh but now more and more customers will start you know interacting just like you do now when you know when you have an

issue you go to talk to Gemini charge GPT cla etc etc etc so more that interface will start appearing ing >> Peter, thank you so much for this visionary discussion and hope that now we know more about what we will expect in the banking industry in the next five years. Thank you so much for being with us. >> Thank you. Thank you.