JEFFREY SMITH: SETTING BENCHMARKS FOR INNOVATIVE BANKING-AS-A-SERVICE PRODUCTS IN CANADA

The financial industry in Canada is through a period of change, demonstrating adaptability and innovation potential. A fine example of this is how the sector collaborated with the Canadian regulators to guarantee a seamless and coordinated reaction to the effects of the country’s financial crisis during the pandemic. While their banks were already making progress towards automating, virtualizing, and digitising their services in an effort to cut costs, the pandemic saw a sharp increase in the usage of digital channels. Data is becoming more accessible thanks to the growing digitalization, which will increase transparency and improve user experiences. To make the underlying payment process credible and give consumers direct access to data, new technologies are replacing antiquated ones.

The scenario has carved a space for banking-as-a-service to thrive. Over the last decade, the country has seen the advent of various BaaS platforms that provide more financial transparency options for bank account holders. Among them, Digital Commerce Bank (DCBank) is becoming a force to reckon with. Starting in the 1990s, the bank has a strong legacy of providing reliable financial services. Working with emerging technologies, it has ranked high in digital payment solutions for corporate online banking, empowering financial institutions and FinTech entrepreneurs to effectively scale their businesses.

We are heading into a new age thanks to advancements like these. As such, for the edition “Top 10 Visionary CEOs to Watch in 2023,” we got in touch with Mr. Jeffrey Smith, co-founder and CEO of Digital Commerce Bank. In a holistic conversation, he discussed how the firm has been making waves in digital payment solutions and his contribution as its leader. Read on to learn more.

A DESIRE TO MAKE ITS OWN MARK

While DCBank was predominantly engaged in financial services, it had to rely on established financial institutions and large payment processors to provide its services. As their business grew, so did the competition in the market; hence, having agility and an edge over others became a priority. Things became more difficult as they had to persuade these big financial institutions and large payment processors to make quicker decisions. “Because these entities took so long to decide and frequently either did not see or had no interest in the potential we saw, we felt as though we were losing out on significant opportunities,” says Jeffrey.

The scenario catalyzed the development of their proprietary payment processing solutions. Instead of partnering with payment processors, this allowed them to carve their own space and set themselves apart from competitors. Jeffrey and his team had a straight vision – they sought to make quick decisions and act on them; and control delivery, resources, and technology stack of their services so that their clients could get to market quickly. With a vision to work closely with clients and meet their needs, the team sought to provide customized services that embed knowledge and technology to help them with business success.

Surely, the products and services they wanted to offer were difficult to bring forth. Nevertheless, Jeffrey and his teammates were confident in what they were bringing to the market. And that is how DCBank carved its own destiny. Today, the firm offers extended functionality through its best-in-class API developer tools so that clients can have total control over the services they provide.

SOLVING PROBLEMS

With their vision to provide fast and tailored services, they have made the majority of their services available via a public API, allowing clients to integrate their services directly into theirs. DCBank’s offering offers a public sandbox so that clients can be flexible with the changing demands of the business world. DCBank typically works with FinTech and businesses that have a payment need for its clients to receive or send funds. Their BaaS platform operates on an active-active basis across geographically diverse data centers and in the cloud, making it available 24×7 with high availability and excellent response time. Some of its notable features include:

• Multiple channels: Online payment platform, SFTP, API, and Webhooks.

• Developers API sandbox with a dedicated team of professionals that help clients as they need, develop competent, secure, and fast integrations with our Payment APIs.

• Reporting and data dump through API and SFTP exports. Sometimes it is necessary to receive nicely formatted reports, other times you just need the data, so you can reconcile the information with your system.

• Access a secure, fast, and 24×7 monitored, API production environment to manage your customers and perform actions such as the following channels: Bill payment, e-Transfer, EFT, Card Services, Digital Wallets.

• Connect easily via secure API or SFTP channels. Access our documentation online, use Postman, or download help guides to make development easy.

• DCBank has also developed custom solutions and integrations for client bespoke needs.

The platform can be used for incentive payments, restaurant tip distribution, eTransfer (payments and collections), digital wallets, and to manage KYC/KYB needs. The integrated solutions show the bank aligns its commitment and standards to enhance clients’ ability to scale payments and banking services from their platforms and for their clients. Given that the vast majority of its services are about data delivery and system response time, DCBank has significantly invested in performance monitoring. Being active and responsive guarantees clients can access payment and banking solutions with an emphasis on security, system uptime, and performance.

ENDEAVORING TO SET BENCHMARKS

While DCBank’s products are fundamentally based on BaaS technology, it’s important to remember that technology doesn’t make them who they are. Jeffrey explains that their ability to embed their technology into clients’ businesses, applications, and platforms puts them in the middle of organizations that are revolutionizing the industry. This inspires a continued willingness to invest in new techniques, technologies, solutions, intellectual property, and performance to polish their niche. “We are not the type of organization that solves a problem once and doesn’t feel the need to keep enhancing our performance,” says Jeffrey. The firm is constantly benchmarking their performance, response and solutions to meet client’s expectations every time. 

However, in its constant endeavor to step up to new heights, the bank faces several challenges. One of them is investing in talent and resources. Jefferey imbibes the mindset that yesterday’s excellence is tomorrow’s mediocrity and drives its people to improve themselves. Over the past few years, there has been a significant focus on new regulations, regulatory guidelines, etc., in the payments and banking sectors. These make it difficult to understand the requirements and figure out how to resource them. Jeffrey, being the leader on top, welcomes these necessities with open arms. After all, these regulations are simple adjustments to what they already do.

THE MAN GOVERNING THE EXCELLENCE OF DCBANK

“The capacity to turn a vision into reality is what makes a leader.”

The quote perfectly encapsulates Jeffrey’s leadership style. As previously indicated, DCBank has a long history in the payments industry. They introduced cost-effective and lucrative ATMs to the market while operating under the brand DCPayments at first. With time, reliable financial results, creative solutions, agility, and a customer-focused approach allowed DC Payments to broaden the scope of its operations, introducing new products and solutions while expanding its reach on a national and global level. The shift to integrated digital solutions and an international presence shows Jeffrey’s leadership abilities. 

Under his guidance, DCBank has grown organically. As a leader, he has always inspired his team to meet client needs and build proactive offerings. Initially, this journey began with a limited resource base. But now, they are a team of 70 professionals, including a strong tech team and processing infrastructure that is cohesively functioning to provide payments and banking services to clients. The team is full of smart people, along with a strong management team working to create a solid business plan. The cohesiveness of this team brings out the best in each other, which increases the overall output.

Long story short, Jeffrey has kept this team together, focused on performance, and deliberate about meeting what they preach. “We believe our customers are our partners, not our competitors.” “Saying “no” is easy, but we make it our mission to say “yes” and embrace the challenges that come our way,” opines Jeffrey.

LEADING A TEAM OF LEARNERS

As dedicated as Jeffrey is as a leader, he believes in bringing out the best in others. In light of this, he has onboarded learners who are always working to set new standards. Jeffrey believes a person who is willing to learn can build anything. It is people like them who have kept the firm sailing strong through tough times. Jeffrey keeps the team inspired and pushes them to excel, which keeps them together in one place.

ACCALAIMED AND RECOGNIZED BY ALL

With innovative offerings and a team dedicated to exceeding clients’ expectations, DCBank stands as one of the most innovative banking solution providers in Canada. According to Jeffrey, they are the first bank in Canada to publicly publish their APIs with a complete testing platform, enabling clients to swiftly integrate their technology. The bank has helped numerous businesses and entrepreneurs build revolutionary products and earn their place in the market. Digital Commerce Bank is typically the frontrunner in innovation and enabling payments and banking services for its clients.

These are the achievements that keep them on their toes as they reach new heights. “I see us continuing what we do best, which is enabling clients to make their payment needs easier, and pushing the boundaries of banking and payments in Canada,” concludes Jeffrey.

A NOTE FROM THE CEO

“Listen, listen, listen… And talk less. Develop a business plan and execute your plan with a focus on profitability and sustainability.”

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