Wire Alert:

Victor Trokoudes

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Plum

Co- Founder and CEO

Former head of international at TransferWise a fintech unicorn - joined the company when there were 6 in London and left when they were 500+. Victor built and led a team of 25 who launched TransferWise in 25 new markets. Previously he founded and led PoS terminal reseller BlueBird in Europe as well as worked as a trader at Morgan Stanley. He studied economics at Harvard and has an MBA from INSEAD.

Event Sessions Featuring Victor Trokoudes


Roundtable (Breakout)

Making the Marketplace ‐ Round Table Discussion

London Summit 2018 - 26th March 2018

  • 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.



Articles Featuring Victor Trokoudes

Money management chatbot Plum raises $4.5m

2nd May 2019 | Roger Baird

Chatbot money app links with Monzo and Starling using Open Banking

11th July 2018 | Ryan Weeks

Fintech trio launch campaign to fight hidden FX fees

23rd May 2018 | Emily Nicolle

Plum adds investment tool to Facebook chatbot

27th March 2018 | Daniel Lanyon

Banks took more than £9.9bn in fees last year, says Plum

2nd February 2018 | Emily Nicolle

AI savings startup Plum launches crowdfunding campaign

3rd July 2017 | Ryan Weeks

Plum announces partnership with Ratesetter

22nd February 2017 | Lisa Walls-Hester