James Gibson

• All in attendance were in agreement: marketplaces are something we can expect to see coming out of every digital bank, sooner or later. But will the model become a money maker? Clark doesn't think so, suggesting that Tandem prefers to see its marketplace as simply a "benefit to the customer" over a tool for profitability. Myatt also pointed out that we have yet to determine an exact and widespread definition of what we mean by 'marketplace': does it refer to only third-party products being sold by a bank, or will banks eventually sell their own services and products within their apps too? 
• In essence, the marketplace model should be about "putting the customer's data back in their hands" and allowing them to get the most out of it, said Barbosa. Indeed, both Chisell and Magliulo added that a marketplace should be about "giving way" to those who are specialised, in order to create the most value for their customers. Campbell mentioned that Bud has found higher traction from users sits on non-core products and services: things like energy-switching, travel perks and insurance. 
• However Plumb warned that at times the marketplace has become a "sexy term" for a bank's partnership strategy, when what they're really offering is not a true marketplace at all. Often we speak about marketplaces as if they are just one generic product, but as in the case of robo advisors, not all marketplaces will be a good fit. Bibas suggested that each bank should develop a specific strategy for different partners, allowing them to create true customer value.
• For the future, Moreni highlighted the need for banks to be focusing on what value in a marketplace really means to their customers. Whether you give a customer 10 or 3 choices for a service, "it doesn't matter unless you know what it is your customer needs from you," said Dallas. Muis agreed, sayng that if you want people to give up their data, banks will have to show them the value they're going to gain as a result. While a partnership strategy is a no-brainer for most, it'll be the new categories that come out of the marketplace model that will be the most exciting to watch.

• Gibson believes the best way to describe Revolut at the moment is a "global money app", with interbank exchange rates accessible via debit cards, the ability to hold multiple currencies at once and exciting new features. Its business offering, Revolut for Business, was born out of users wanting to use those appealing exchange rates for larger amounts of funds. However one thing Revolut would not describe itself as is a "marketplace": it aims to curate an offering for its users, instead of create one. 
• One of the things that Gibson has found is that often business users "aren't aware" of the charges incumbent banks levy on card usage, FX or online pyaments. Once they realise how much it costs them, Revolut then becomes a very easy sell. In the next few months, Revolut hopes to launch "Revolut Connect": a marketplace for different business products and services, such as accounting and payroll solutions.
• But will the marketplace model last forever? "Definitely," says Gibson. There's no fintech out there "just purely working by themselves", and Revolut has no plans to be underwriting its own insurance or offering its own peer-to-peer lending service any time soon. Open Banking and PSD2 have increased the marketplace model's potential ten-fold, but Gibson notes that the slow release of the incumbents' APIs has hindered the ability of neobanks to establish a secure timeframe.

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