Keep Austin Weird…. And Financially Tech Savvy!
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Austin’s such a great place to explore the latest trends and innovations – and that was definitely true at the Capital One House @ Antone’s in the heart of SXSW where I spent a day immersed in learning about some of the latest digital, tech and design innovations in banking. I left the House to get some additional equipment twice and had a hard time getting back in – the true sign of a successful event! If you weren’t able to make it to Austin, I’ve put together a roundup of some of the best financial innovation highlights that were announced on location as another year of SXSW wraps up!
Chat with Eno about Your Finances
The first announcement of the week was all about the new way to manage your money with a chatbot. Imagine being able to get answers from your bank to questions like “What is my balance?” or “When is my payment due?” all via text messages. Meet Eno, (that’s ONE backwards), Capital One’s new intelligent assistant who ALWAYS texts you back right away. Heck, this bot even understands certain emojis. It makes sense that your bank conforms to your most popular mode of communication – via text. The team behind Eno was super fascinating to chat with (stay tuned for my podcast) they even hired a Pixar, Lucas Films alumni to make sure the chat-bot had personality!
Save More with Capital One Wallet
Capital One Wallet for Android announced some pretty sweet digital features for savings. As a money saving obsessed individual, I was all over this one. Capital One now aggregates the data to know where you shop most and the very best deals that store offers online. So, when you are out shopping Capital One Wallet actually alerts you in store so that you can cash in on the discount by showing the coupon on your phone. I never thought that my bank would work to save me money. Yes, please!
Robo-advisors
One of my favorite conversations over the weekend was with Yvette Butler, who leads Capital One Investing and its work to deliver digital-human investing tools. I was surprised to learn that while robo-advisors are of interest to investors of all ages, most still crave human advice during uncertain markets. Yvette explained that according to Capital One Investing’s 2017 Financial Freedom Survey, 69 percent of millennial investors want to talk to financial advisors when the markets are volatile. It was good to hear from Yvette that the success of “hybrid” advice depends not only on the robo component but the human element, too. A robot can crunch data like no other and offer output, but the human relationship with the advisor may still be key to making the best financial decisions.
Capital One Project Elements
I always think it’s pretty cool to show people how I’ve customized my Capital One credit card with a photo that I uploaded. It’s my friend diving in Bermuda, a picture I took underwater. If you count the number of times that you that you pull out your card in a day, you realize that it gets a lot of exposure. I was excited to learn about Project Elements, a project that is reimagining what a credit card could be. It showcased 8 unique materials Capital One is testing, including copper, brushed metal and sea-foam green (see my FB live video below). A custom-designed card like this will certainly be a stand out. This was a cool inside look for SXSW attendees, to see one of the many fun projects that Capital One is working on behind the scenes.
Automatic Card Updates for Netflix
If all this weren’t enough, the developers at Capital One shared with me with some cool behind-the-scenes tech that’s going to make my life easier. They worked with Netflix to reimagine subscription-based payments. You know how annoying it is to have to update your card information when you get one reissued ore replaced? All of a sudden, services like Netflix stop working – just at the exact moment you’re getting ready to settle down a glass of wine and enjoy the latest episode of Black Mirror. Now, with Capital One’s Netflix Account Updater technology, eligible Capital One cardholders can rest assured that they won’t experience disruptions when they are reissued a new card. Sweet!
Well, that's a wrap for SXSW 2017! Capital One continues to stay ahead of the curve and if this just the announcements from SXSW, I can't wait to see what's next!