From Stockholm to Amsterdam - for a flourishing fintech
Although Tink has been around since 2012 (and yes, we'll soon be celebrating our tenth anniversary) - our Amsterdam office and its team have been based in the beautiful capital since 2018. Since then so much has happened - we’ve continued to grow our relationships with existing clients and we’ve also signed exciting new partnerships. With this interview - we introduce you to David van Damme, Business Development Manager at Tink since October 2021.
What is your favorite color? Blue
Which country would you want to visit most? Japan is at the absolute top of my list!
What is your favorite type of food? Some version of italian food - from sicilian pastas to pizzas ‘Napels style’
First of all, could you please introduce yourself in just a few words?
My name is David van Damme, a Dutch-Hungarian European citizen - I consider myself to be quite international and I’ve been happily living in Amsterdam since 2014. I just recently joined Tink in October 2021 as a Business Development Manager for the Benelux region.
Can you tell us a bit about what you were up to before joining Tink?
After my studies in Spain and Sweden, I did an internship in London then moved to Brussels where I started my career in brand management and sales at an FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) company. This was followed by a business development and partnerships role at a neobank in the Netherlands. In 2017 I decided to start my own business, focusing on international business development of SaaS and Open-Source Software companies. After a while I realised that I missed being part of a bigger team.
Why choose Tink and the open banking movement?
The thing I didn’t realise about starting my own business is that very often you sit in the audience, unless you grow big enough to start your own theatre. What I mean to say is that I missed being ‘backstage’, where most of the innovation and magic happens.
So when Tink reached out to me last year - being at the forefront of the open banking movement - I was excited to be part of a fast-paced, innovative & growing team again.
I first heard about PSD2 in 2014 and then Tink a couple of years later when I was asked to investigate open banking solutions by my employer at the time. I was very intrigued by ABN AMRO’s Grip app - in partnership with Tink - more specifically by the user journey and the customer insights Grip could offer. Tink has since done some great things over the years, with many new partnerships, such as Dyme and Serrala Solutions in the Netherlands and across the region. And there is still so much to do…I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the journey and help drive these user journeys into a new digital finance age.
What would you say are the main advantages (and inconveniences) of collaborating with a partner such as Tink?
With Tink more specifically - we have an amazing group of people working on connectivity across Europe, with the sole purpose of improving user journeys. By providing this enriched data, we allow our customers to have access to this structured information (across Europe) in order to create innovative solutions for the end consumer.
There is however still a need to educate more on the benefits of open banking – especially in terms of creating an understanding for organisations and financial institutions, and also by showing consumers its advantages. All players in the open banking space will play a strong part in helping to convince consumers and businesses of the benefits – with the optimal goal of creating excellent user experiences.
Overall, the market in the Netherlands and the Benelux region definitely recognises the potential in open banking, and is getting more and more ready to adopt it in a multitude of new initiatives.
In your opinion, what are the key use cases arising from open banking in the Benelux region currently?
Open banking can help many ‘types’ of businesses - from a scale-up to an enterprise company. There are many different use cases that can apply. From KYC (Know your Customer) for an amazing user journey, to categorising transactions and providing the end consumer alternatives to some of their current suppliers.
Budget insights and personal finance management are tools that some players in the space have been tackling, however these aren’t as prevalent as in the United Kingdom for instance. Consumers in the Netherlands and Belgium are getting more accepting of these journeys - and I believe there is still so much that could be done here. Additionally, anything that involves getting a better picture of spending habits and income to facilitate new services that make it easier to get credit, or personal loans is definitely something that I see growing in the years to come.
And, what about the use cases of tomorrow?
We are seeing some of these use cases already in other countries and I think we could do more around consumer behaviour in the region - in retail for instance with frictionless checkout. There is also a massive potential for account initiated payments – by optimising cost structures, and allowing a customised payment flow for specific use cases. Such as, recurring payments (VRP), and scheduled payments.
Additionally, measuring carbon footprint and sustainability are major trends that we will see more of in the future - seeing what impact one's day-to-day transactional behaviour has. This is something consumers are interested in and are pushing more towards.
Any last (wise) words you’d like to share?
As regulations continue to support innovative open banking solutions - we will be able to see more and more of the benefits that it can bring. That’s something I’m very excited to be a part of!
In conclusion
Many more use cases will arise from the evolution of the industry; with businesses being increasingly creative, and more consumers providing consent to access their financial data – we will see an irreversible continued transformation. If you have any questions or would like to know more - please contact us.