| 
Lamont Young
Title: Executive Vice President and Head of Digital, Citizens Bank
Age: 43
Industry experience: 13 years
Citizens Bank has been at the forefront of creating great digital experiences for its customers, forming several partnerships with various fintech companies. Lamont Young has been at the center of these efforts, leading the bank’s team overseeing digital technology, mobile and online banking, e-commerce, social media, digital analytics, innovation and fintech relationships. Young’s 20-year career has taken him from the fashion industry to founding startup organizations to directing digital, content and marketing for Fortune 500 companies in the consumer goods and financial services industries. Before Citizens, Young also worked at Bank of America, where he oversaw several significant programs within the company including the publishing of the bank’s small business magazine, Business 24/7. He was also on the core team that launched Bank of America’s small business help forum, Small Business Online Community. Banker & Tradesman caught up with Lamont to discuss the necessity of fintech and efforts Citizens Bank has taken to integrate fintech into its business.
Q: How did you get into banking and fintech?
A: After graduating from Penn State, I knew I wanted to work in the fashion industry, specifically in marketing, so I moved to New York to start my career. Initially I worked at Lugz, an urban footwear and apparel brand and it was there by sheer dumb luck that I fell in love with digital. At the time I started, the firm didn’t have a web presence, so I asked the president of the company if he thought it was a good idea to create a site. Not only did he think it was a good idea, he said I should lead the project, and that is how I found my calling. As a marketing manager for Lugz, I launched Lugz.com in 1999 and the rest is history. Less than two years later, I launched a startup dedicated to web development and digital branding for small and emerging businesses. I’ve always had a bit of an entrepreneurial streak and my current role at Citizens Bank has been a natural extension of that.
Q: Why is fintech crucial for banks to embrace these days?
A: Some banks have viewed fintechs as disruptors, but Citizens has been smart to integrate them into its offerings. Fintechs are an opportunity to partner with – or even acquire – cutting-edge models. Mostly they represent a chance for traditional banks to learn and innovate. As our customers increasingly expect the same functionality in managing their money as they enjoy ordering things on Amazon or organizing a playlist on Spotify, the lines between products, services and physical space are blurring for banks. Today, the imperative is a seamless customer experience, tapping into the best digital technologies and business models to offer customers exactly the products, solutions and advice they want the way they want it. We feel so strongly about fintechs as partners that we have invested in several accelerator relationships including Plug and Play in Silicon Valley, QC FinTech in Charlotte, North Carolina and MassChallenge in Boston, where we are a founding partner.
Q: What are some of the recent fintech deals/partnerships Citizens has made and how will they help the bank?
A: Citizens Bank has struck several partnerships with fintech and tech firms, and there are more on the way, but here are two examples. Recently, we were recognized by FinXTech for our small business digital lending platform, launched last year in collaboration with Fundation. The initiative, which makes it easier for business customers to apply and receive approvals for as much as $150,000 in loans, combined Citizens’ small business banking expertise with Fundation’s digital solutions and has created an incredible platform, providing a frictionless, end-to-end customer experience. Our work with Fundation won the 2018 “Best of FinXTech Partnership” award. Last year, we also began using an investing platform for our wealth management clients that was built in partnership with the Silicon Valley startup SigFig.
Q: How is artificial intelligence helping Citizens provide more value to customers?
A: In our bid to enhance security and privacy for our customers, we have rolled out several new innovations including initiatives featuring artificial intelligence. However, what I am really excited about is our new partnership with IBM on a virtual career coach for our colleagues, known as “Myca,” which uses artificial intelligence to help employees set career goals and determine what kind of training they need to develop new skills. One of the highlights of this summer for me was when we held our first-ever public hackathon where AI was a key component of several of the entrants’ submissions.
Q: Fintech regulation is obviously still in its early days. What do you think is still the biggest unknown when it comes to fintech regulation?
A: Over the summer, the Treasury Department and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency both released guidelines framed around encouraging innovation, the structuring of partnerships and regulation of consumer data. Both documents hinted at some of the larger conversations around fintech regulation: What is the correct regulatory approach, especially as these new companies seek to protect themselves and their customers from financial crime?
Young’s Five Favorite Albums:
- “What’s Going On,” Marvin Gaye
- “Me Against the World,” Tupac Shakur
- “Appetite for Destruction,” Guns N’ Roses
- “Off the Wall,” Michael Jackson
- “The Low End Theory,” – A Tribe Called Quest
