Month: August 2023

Digital Bank(s)/Bank(ing)/Fin-techs & The People Who Lead The Charge In 🇵🇰

As a consumer who is marred by sub-par digital banking services, let alone delightful experiences. I always wonder(ed) who are the anonymous faces that gather on our behalf and come up with experiences in the digital realm? Also why are most, if not all of these experiences so shitty? And why has not one single bank/fin tech etc really done any thing significant in the space. I have tried very hard to like the apps, services, user experiences, digital journeys, but they are generally illogical, badly thought out, detached from good user experience design and then some.

Look every one has a right to build their APPs/Online services the way they want to but given that these ones specifically impact the way individuals and arguably SMEs do business, they are helping no one. I would argue that the reason SMEs really don’t scale in this country is because of the horrendous lack of focus by the Incumbent banks and really consumer-intellect heavy products, that are neither intuitive nor shelf-stable.

Why did I add SMEs to the bucket, because that is the real value unlock of any of these players and their organizations understood stuff besides receiving trophies and accolades from circle jerk clubs of peers and attending paid conferences to evangelize the 1996 level websites & services they continue to crank out. No hard feelings, if any one took an objective look they would tend to agree.

Let’s start by identifying who the players are first. It took Some time, but it had to be done. *If you’d like an interactive copy of the file, subscribe to my newsletter or engage with the post here/retweet the original post

Incumbent CDOs/Leaders

So looking at the incumbent banks and their Digital Chiefs/Custodians, I decided to look at their digital footprint and their digital engagement.

The exam question being:

“Can some one who is not really digitally first/native, them selves, (based on cursory information online) lead/develop/build/guide/manage, the best digital experiences for their banks audiences?”

You can be the judge of the answer to that question & if you agree or disagree that their designed experiences come up to par with your basic expectations. Some of it has to do with the culture of the banks, some of it has to do with the background and experiences of the people leading the charge.

This data cant be used as statistically accurate; as its part, fact, part opinion part conjecture, part wishful thinking part frustration with the shoddy services as an end user that I have to endure daily.

In the spirit of generalizations, barring a few of these folks at incumbents, most have been moving around between banks locally, some, arguably have foreign experience, some in relevant fields, whilst others not. The issue is, when banks locally continue to hire people who have been learning only from “vendors” & their so called “conferences” in Dubai, the collective sum of the output is in front of us.

Please recognize that person with the latest IPhone or the tightest jeans or turtle neck , pinstripe blazers or socksless shoes is not the only or ideal CDO candidate. Nor the ones who talk the loudest or make the most noise are those who are the most ruthless politically at the bank(s) either. Its these traditions that have continued to F**k the consumers and continued to challenge the central bank who really wants to support digital first services and products, but they get disappointed by their babus of digital at commercial banks. Interestingly the regulator has more gravitas with digital vs the incumbents. So really need to highlight their efforts and digital stewardship. Good on you SBP…You know who you are.

Show me one key player in this list and show me some thing of value, significance, they built in this role or their former roles working domestically or abroad that can be attributed to being a local, regional or a global success in the digital space? Most if not all follow the same mentality, how many people report to me? How many days will I take to respond back to vendor/client emails? How busy am I pretending to be this week?

These digital leaders cant be faulted alone for the way things are, they are just victims of their own roles and self perceived success. Some humble pie would go a long way.

The issue is, what new “doodad, thingamajigy” is the flavor of the month that some one forwarded the CEO of the Bank.. The way that journey works is; the Banks CEO or Sponsors rely on some thing called the “down ward shit-sandwich” which is essentially to reign in the stooges, they find some thing from an other market, send a Whatsapp forward to the person in charge, and then ask “do we have this” (DWHT). This is how most strategies come about at Banks. Pleasing upwards..

Fu** the customer essentially, what the F**k does the customer know they want… Let’s build what the CEO or the Saith is asking for. So can you really fault the employees?

Job security, brown nosing, one-upmanship , big titles with no execution gravitas, zero technical and infrastructure understanding, is what brings us to this. This is not an attack on the employees of the incumbents, but more of an empathetic stance, “I understand your plight bro(s)” Also missing in no small part, is the fact that not one BANK in PK has a Female CDO or Tech Leader. Please do point me in their direction if I missed some one.

Looking further down stream on why some ones digital foot print beyond LinkedIn namely on Twitter/X is a good representation of their digital credentials, I couldn’t possibly point you to a scientific reason.

No less if you aren’t even some one whose end users/product participants cant even tag online, are you really proud of what you are building or leading? Or are you hiding from the work behind layers of obfuscated handles, company accounts, call centers etc. Basically if the buck doesn’t stop with you on digital journeys, where does it really stop? So you want the title, recognition, awards, salaries but not the responsibility? Again more a systemic issue than a role/person based one.

There are serious exceptions to the rule, none that I’ve seen at the incumbents but many at the upcoming fintechs/new banking product leaders etc. We will get into that list shortly.

So coming back to Twitter or even LinkedIn perhaps, the only thing most of these executives are experts in doing, from a community engagement perspective is taking stylized images of their business class flights, expensive wrist watches and the occasional “How do we fix IT exports” type debates. Clearly focusing on the wrong KPIs.

There is zero building in public, zero public apologies, zero feedback, just hyperbole and bullshit posts/copied from other places and most recently completely mindless ChatGPT output. Yes I’ve spent some time reading their posts last weekend. The most interesting ones are those where they write posts on GenZ and Millennial POVs, and you have 50-60yr old bankers & internal employees commenting on their posts, “great boss”. Talk about the Irony…

If you were a large share holder of these banks, a board member, a saith, a sponsor, or even the CEO, you should be asking: “How qualified are these people really to lead the single most important factor in your future growth as the challenger banks and fintechs come to town?”

You are about to be toast if either your banks goals aren’t aligned with your digital leaders skill set or you do not empower them, all the faults don’t lie with them, they are the output of a highly politically astute chess match that typically got them to where they are. But human instinct is survivalist at best and these guys have perfected it.

Digging further down, since we are being honest, some of these guys have re-branded their failed mis-adventures in to juicer titles/roles in their new companies and roles. My favorite example from some years ago is that every one in every bank who ever worked at EasyPaisa was “founder team member” of easy paisa or head of payments or “chief some thing”, I identified 7 of them at various banks using LinkedIn. Not my data or analysis just what their titles state. Gross inflation of designations leading to sub-par journeys for customers and no real traction in the digital realm. Forget financial inclusion, these folks cant even have a cohesive online conversation on the functions they are allegedly leading.

So far we have identified 5 Core issues

  1. Lack of Digital Channel Engagement on part of the CDOs/Leaders
  2. Title Inflation & Celebrating Fake Former Milestones
  3. Pleasing Upwards
  4. Being first for all the wrong reasons & products
  5. Limited Exposure (domestic market job cycling) or horizontal movement from the region

We move along to the challengers next and their CDOs/Leadership.

New-co Banks/Fintech Digital Leaders

There is some traction in this space(Thankfully). Whilst these were the only folks who showed up on minimalistic LinkedIn searches, before you come at me, that there are many more fintechs and many more new licensees. Trust me I am not getting paid to dig out the folks here but genuinely interested in comparisons. With Sadapay and Zindigi we have seen the leaders engage heavily with the community online tackling questions answers, complaints. both Omer + Noman take to public engagement and hence I am aware of their community first approaches because it’s online. With Hugo, Atyab is seen as trying to build in public so thats a +1 for some one entering the market and clearly a lost opportunity for incumbent digital leaders who have insane brand recognition and distribution. So Kudos to these folks for trying as new-cos and new brands. But time will determine how successful they end up being, from the looks of it, they are trying a different approach and being mindful of their audiences.

The Easy Fix:

  1. Bring in teams with digital transformation, expertise hire from adjacent industries
  2. Build real talent on your boards with folks who have multi vertical digital experiences
  3. Shed the sahabs/babus/relatives of the sponsors or their touts in positions that can change the fate of the banks Vis-à-Vis the real potential of real digital rails
  4. Stop hiring McKinsey
  5. CEO of banks need to really really really hire digital advisors or board members not just internal committee members. CEOs understanding of digital is really superficial barring 2-3 banks. Sorry guys, you may not agree but it’s the truth.
  6. CEOs of Banks Need to Focus on SME/SME solutions think growth $s
  7. Be very careful, that your brightest talent is going to be, and is already being hired by regional players. If you do not promote the right talent from within they will leave because they are sick and tired of working for your non-digital, digital leadership
  8. For the CEO/Boards/CDOs, please start using your own apps vs relying on your CDOs for feedback
  9. Take action vs making claims(CEO/Digital Leaders)
  10. KPIs are your friends, not fake awards

What is really missing?

I continue to feel that the intent to build truly digital solutions is missing. Apps, websites, hardware, etc do not replace intent. Since 2007, I believe, when branchless banking regime came about, has any one really put out a comprehensive digital banking product, experience? Bi-weekly the industry continues to do MOUs, drive FOMO at their leadership cadres and the most successful digital pundits continue to get outsized internal funding allocations. Till there is intent nothing will change. With this, I wish the new-comers to really make a difference and lead with intent & for the incumbents to try one last time.

Net, net stop talking about digital and start innovating and putting in the right talent, leadership and KPIs with a view that most of your future customers are going be in their 20s & 30s and they are brand agnostic, only service will determine the success across your digital platforms and dreams so lead with intent or these new audience will move along.

This is a consumer driven view, I feel every time I write an opinion piece some one comes out of the woodworks and threatens legal action. Consider this a free audit instead. Focus on using litigation dollars for bringing about change instead. Consider this a public service for our collective growth. No CDOS were harmed during field research.

The ‘real cost’ of the 2+ Part Canadian Dream & Everything in between.

Canada is a fantastic place. It has great public infrastructure, friendly people, amazing natural beauty, and a wide variety of cultures and traditions. It’s a safe country where you can live a peaceful life if you follow the rules. But Canada is not immune to the economic pressures that the world is facing. Food inflation is above average, and the real estate market is completely unhinged. Rental prices are high, interest rates are high, and there is a shortage of housing.

As migration trends increase, the supply of resources like housing is being stretched to its limits in major cities. Public infrastructure is also being taxed.

If you are thinking about moving to Canada, you need to be aware of these challenges. You need to do your research and make sure that you are prepared for the practical realities of Canadian life. But don’t let these challenges discourage you. Canada is still a great place to live. It’s a country with a lot to offer, and it’s worth making the effort to overcome the challenges.

This is not an economic break down or a political one. This is a reality check for those who need to understand the facts and need to get their house in order before they embrace the Canadian life.

Because the minute they land they will face some thing called :

“The Canadian Experience”


“Canadian experience” for job seekers refers to the experience gained by working in Canada, specifically within the Canadian job market and professional environment. Many employers in Canada often mention “Canadian experience” as a requirement or preference when hiring new employees, especially for certain roles and industries. But a lot of folks are compelled to ask, after 20 yrs of global experience, how hard really is to do the same thing in Canada?? But let me clarify:

Having Canadian experience demonstrates that a job seeker is familiar with the Canadian workplace culture, norms, communication styles, and industry practices. Ive worked in over a dozen countries, trust me, Canada has its own pace, norms, quirks and assimilation criteria.

In part, just my observation alone, it is a small economy thing. With 38M people and being the 38th most populous country, it is not as Large as the US, (some thing most immigrants confuse it with), it’s also neither as ambitious as America as a homogenous population group (if i can take the liberty of saying as much) nor is it in any race to create millionaires and billionaires. Don’t get me wrong it will give you every opportunity if you want it so.

The drive in Canada for most Canadians from a work perspective is to “break even” on the effort and reward. It took me years of living there to understand this. It is not a bad thing, it makes the people happy, it drives them to doing other things in life. Their measure of growth, success and happiness is not related to work place success, some thing that at least I feel in over a decade spent in the US, as being part of most peoples identity. Not the same in Canada by a long shot.

It’s not just about the technical skills and qualifications, but also about understanding how things work within the Canadian context. This can include understanding workplace etiquette, customer service expectations, teamwork dynamics, and more.

For newcomers to Canada, this can sometimes present a challenge. They might have relevant skills and experience from their home country or other places, but employers may still prefer candidates with Canadian experience. This can create a catch-22 situation where newcomers struggle to get their first job in Canada due to the lack of local experience. The expectation of most employers due to immigration programs etc, is the fact that most people coming are either low(er) skilled, or without relevant (contextual experience) or both. This really skews opportunities for those who do not fall in that category.

Part 1.

If you are highly skilled and under 40 you have a fighting chance to make a good living which would entail that your skills translate directly, that there is no major waiting period to find work or re-certifications or the “Canadian Experience” ** requirement. That you can start plugging away to a 100 to 150k CAD$ role in sub 3 months from when you arrive or can actually start work remotely.

In my experience this can happen in a host of professions but typically Ive seen it happen for (Not a comprehensive or exhaustive list or perhaps even accurate)

  1. Digital Transformation & Strategy Consultants who have global experience as part of say a big four role in their home country
  2. Software developers with command over the english language and a Github repository and equal parts community advocacy that is searchable online
  3. Specialists in Mining, Oil Production, Chemical Engineers and wait for it…..
  4. Folks who have extensive freight, logistics, 3PL Chinese shipping lane experience
  5. Lucky few who work for Global Companies and can do an internal role search and swap out to Canada
  6. Free lancers who are solopreneurs who already make 5 to 10k USD a month who do not need local employment but can now access domestic payments, credit etc infrastructure to grow their own business and or add remote workers whose front end they become
  7. Specialist consultants who have direct experience in Energy + Distribution business, folks who have industrial and mechanical experience in large public infrastructure roles on standardized plant equipment etc.
  8. Automotive engineers who have hands on manufacturing experience with globally recognized certifications and work experience at a Toyota, Honda, BMW etc.
  9. Entrepreneurs who use Canada as a new base of operations to target the US as an export market if their products and services allow
  10. Influencers who can work from any where (never thought this would be some thing, but its real, I know a few influencers who have moved across and continue to produce content for completely different markets but use the Canadian backdrop and access to professional studios etc to 2X their business)
  11. Digital Marketing specialists ala — Paid Search + SEO + SEM + Influencer Marketing, b2b, DTC + agency background is a god send especially if you have relevant platform level certifications and a demonstrable portfolio where you have been directly responsible for hands on execution and growth.
  12. Cyber security specialists with modern tools + hands on experience
  13. Industry specific Client relationship specialists (like hazardous waste handling or nuclear medicine etc).
  14. Low code, no code specialists with demonstrable automation projects + platform certifications
  15. AI, ML + Data science folks with demonstrable application of their work, models or outcomes.

Part 2

You are in the low income category without any directly relevant skills today and can take full advantage of government benefits or can stay happy even if you don’t earn a lot.

This is both a mind set and a reality. I am not listing this to expose some scam you can run to take advantage of Canada. On the contrary, this is for those, who feel that they are able bodied, they are willing to go the extra % and in any shape or form take their god given ability to do any thing, to get out of their present circumstances.

Canada will welcome you so long as you are willing to work hard. Canada continues to need folks with emerging skills, but recognizes that they may not pay enough beyond a working wage. That is off set by the government programs, access to public services and infrastructure. A roof over your head, and typically having the safety and security you did not have access to where you migrated from.

The world is a tough place, people have varying degree of circumstances so there are always going to be folks who are just starting off. If you find your self in that category, you are definitely going to be in a better shape in Canada. But you must understand the reality of that. It is going be hard, it is going to be no savings, not much entertainment but it will lead to you building the life you want, need, deserve and work towards.

The government will give you a hand for sure, but you need to come prepared that it is going to be a tough, taxing, mental and physical ride. There will be dozens of assimilation challenges, work challenges, lots of good bad and ugly people, lots of sleepless nights, lots of lost opportunities, lots of missed memories with loved ones, but if you have a goal in sight, you have the ability to do well for your self. Nothing will come to you, you will have to identify, enlist and avail the government support made available whilst working towards the goals you have setup for your self,

At every step of the way, what you will discover is the beauty of Canada, be it access to fair education, certifications, placements, subsidized programs, access to government backed loans for business etc. But this is a privilege not a right, use it wisely.

& Everything in between

If you have say, 20+ yrs of experience, or are in your late 40s , or mid-career or in a profession that needs; re-certification, local accreditation, additional degrees, very specific Canadian experience, licensing from trade bodies, associations, consumer groups etc. Let me be honest, you are perhaps in the toughest spot from a work perspective in Canada. Your initial time will be hard, it will go slow, the Canadian winters will make it harder. There is no other way to cut it.

Not because you cant achieve those but because the time value of money needed to go through this journey would typically mean that unless you are a 2 income household, where one income at least falls in Part 1 , only then will you have the ability, stability and mental wherewithal left to pursue the things you need/require to become a contributing member of society from a financial earn out perspective. Not to say that is the only way this can come about, it just gets easier if that is the case.

Heres my list of professions, professionals and trades that really need to understand and research what it takes to re-certify, re-apply and be recognized locally to be able to pursue their professional careers because it will take from months to years to be able to do this at a level that most established folks would like to see them selves at:

  1. Teacher
  2. Social worker
  3. Therapist
  4. Doctor
  5. Clinical Researcher
  6. Pharmacist
  7. Dentist
  8. Radiologist
  9. Professor
  10. Electrician
  11. Plumber
  12. Car Mechanic
  13. Veterinarian
  14. Accountant
  15. Lawyer
  16. Tradespeople
  17. Building & Construction specialist
  18. Private Investigator
  19. Financial Advisor
  20. Wealth Manager
  21. Food Technician
  22. Lab Technician
  23. Law Enforcement
  24. Human Resource Professional
  25. Traditional Marketer
  26. Supply Chain Professional
  27. Shipping + Logistics Professional
  28. Truck Driver
  29. Chefs
  30. Barbers
  31. Risk Management Professional

+ Real Costs

Beyond finding work, finding sustainable housing and being aware of the many costs, that most of us/some of us may not be accustomed to is a key thing to figure out upfront. Whilst this may not be a scientific post, its definitely a realistic post from the point of view of the reality of what to expect as some one who has seen both ends of the spectrum.

Happy candidates for migration, (typically) become un happy migrants because the reality distortion field at the time of their acceptance to relocate was so high, their (relocation) objectivity suffered.

This is my plea to all those considering availing any migratory process to dig deep; deeper than hearsay, friends, associates, friends of friends, neighbors and least of all touts/ ala immigration consultants that have never lived in Canada or are not Canadian citizens nor are their firms operating from there.

Most people only see the YouTube accounts from people who are pushing to get views vs helping people out, whilst others are too deep and entrenched that they provide little to no value to a new comer who does not have an objective over view to benchmark against.

Heres a beginners guide to Real Costs as shared by my good friend Aizaz.

This is neither scientific nor arbitrary, it’s some where in between based on experience and prevailing market dynamics for the Extended GTA Suburbia.

The prospect of a better life gets better with planning and with the least amount of surprises. If you do your home work, if you understand what it takes, the likely hood that your outcomes will be far better than those who went without a plan is higher. Much higher.

The declining state of play in many countries and regions is definitely fueling migration globally. Migration may not be for every one, but for those who have decided that this is a step they must take and are about to go across, I hope these are things they consider carefully as they kick off what will perhaps be the biggest transition and commitment they have made in their life.

The parting advice I have is 3 fold:

Be willing to start at the bottom. If you don’t have Canadian experience, you may have to start at a lower-level job than you would in your home country. Be mentally ready for this, if you are not, it will not be pleasant.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are many resources available to help immigrants find jobs in Canada. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help if you need it as there are dozens of government programs, services and aids available. If you do not ask you will not receive.

Bring a transferable skill that allows you to build an export oriented business. Imagine if you were in the business of processed food before you migrated. Now think about all the raw ingredients that went into making your product. Evaluate how many of them were Canadian origin. Since you already know the business it becomes much easier for you to source those products in Canada and export to similar businesses globally.

If you want to enhance your outcomes and move towards those in the list shared in Part 1: Subscribe to and read my weekly news letter on personal transformation and entrepreneurship at https://faster.beehiiv.com/