Sofia Sundström – Our obsession with quality in connectivity
One aspect of the Tink operation that is absolutely crucial to our success, but arguably a little unsung, is our connectivity. Overseeing our ever-growing network of connections to banks is Sofia Sundström – we spoke to her to find out more about what sets Tink apart in this area, and why it’s so important to be a 'data nerd'.
Sofia Sundström, SVP Connectivity & Platforms at Tink, credits our focus on quality and data analysis for our market-leading success rates.
Tink's uniqueness also lies in its knowledge from four acquisitions which collectively bring about 50 years of open banking experience.
"How often do you get to build a global platform, transform an industry, and enable new financial innovation? It's incredibly challenging, but also incredibly rewarding."
When it comes to connectivity, what makes Tink unique?
Our obsession with quality sets us apart. We're relentless about improving success rates, and we're all true data nerds, not just me. We start every day looking at dashboards, hunting for opportunities to improve. Every percentage point matters because it's someone on the other end, a consumer connecting their bank account or initiating a payment. We don't just do it for ourselves – it's for our customers, end-users, financial innovation, and the industry as a whole. Open banking is still relatively in its infancy, and to win the trust of consumers and achieve mass adoption, it must work flawlessly every time.
"We’re also pretty unique because of the acquired knowledge at our fingertips. Tink has been going for over 10 years, but when you add in the accumulated experience from our four acquisitions (Eurobits, Instantor, FinTecSystems, OpenWrks) it’s nearer 50 years."
These companies were leaders in their respective fields and local markets. We've been able to pick and choose the best ideas, tools, and experiences from these acquisitions. Anyone can build a connection to a bank but it takes a lot of skill to get that connection to work as well as it possibly can – and sustain high success rates over time. You need a broad tool kit – spanning local knowledge on market specifics, consumer behaviour/UX, smart tooling and rapid API upgrades – deep-rooted relationships with banks, regular communication with local regulators, and a culture of hunting every single percentage point.
Tink is uniquely positioned here as our accumulated experience, combined with a market-leading position and extensive volumes across many markets, helps us continue to elevate our success rates. We’ve invested significantly in the field for years – and now with Visa as a strong backer, these things that set us apart will only improve.
Tell us a bit more about you and your time so far at Tink…
I've been at Tink for four years now. I joined just after the intense days of PSD2 implementation, where banks had to offer compliant APIs across Europe. Back then, it was a frantic rush – we were building connections everywhere as quickly as possible and it was uncharted territory for third-party providers and banks alike. That's where I come in, with my background in operational excellence (gained from years in management consulting and at Bambora, a Payment Service Provider and acquirer where I had various roles), along with an engineering degree in industrial economics and management.
My speciality is to improve and optimise things - whether at work or at home, it's a state of mind and I’ve always been passionate about it. At engineering school I even took extra mathematics courses on top of the curriculum (that was already maths-heavy) on optimisation and I found great pleasure from mathematically honing various flows.
These experiences and traits have served me well, when leading and shaping our connectivity organisation. Going from the hectic early days to a structured, high-performing machine that has a high readiness to build new connections, take on more volume, customers, and markets. People sometimes react negatively to the word ‘machine’ but I think it’s a beautiful thing. That’s the engineer in me talking.
We like to finish these interviews by asking people what their favourite thing about working at Tink is – what’s yours?
I know this is a bit cheesy but it's just so much fun. How often do you get to build a global platform, transform an industry, and enable new financial innovation? It's incredibly challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. We're breaking new ground, making a difference, and even our failures matter. It's inspiring to be part of building a global platform and tackling all the challenges that brings, from the technical to the organisational.
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