Narinder is a Senior Account Director and Fintech Leader at Google, evangelizing among the Fintech community on how best to leverage Cloud while also helping small and medium emerging businesses “scale up and accelerate multinational, regional and global expansion.” Narinder comes with a strong background in the Financial services industry which means she’s well versed with regulatory obligations of being a Fintech and how best to be prepared for upcoming regulatory changes.
***
She is the recipient of many notable awards, including the Great Person Great Achievement Global Award, presented by Bill Gates himself. Narinder is passionate about current digital solutions that grow and enhance the financial sector responsibly, which is evident in her professional multimodal approach: “I help start-ups who partner with Google in several ways,” she shared with us: “Firstly, enabling the core engineering teams in terms of skills and competency and providing opportunities to meet & work with product experts at Google Cloud.. We also offer several programs whether it be training or funding options to enable startups getting started and bring ideas to reality without worrying about entry barriers. We also nurture a very vibrant Fintech community and have lots of community events targeted at Fintechs where we provide them with knowledge to help business acceleration by encouraging them to speak there, reaching many potential customers.
Google is a great platform for elevating business brands and we’ve had some great success stories such as Monzo Bank who started their journey with us in 2017. We are happy to be part of their journey, shaping their expansion into the US. We often leverage the Alphabet business to provide a seamless experience. Finally, we align the technical solutions that will enable scalability and futureproof the growth and long-term performance of start-ups as the scope of the work from launching a product to the end can change drastically along the way. We want to address the gap in the market, how to solve it and do the relevant research. This can include connecting them to traditional institutions such as HSBC who have both the thorough-bred knowledge and credibility behind them with whom experience can be leveraged.”
In short, Narinder helps better facilitate new enterprises so that they may thrive in an increasingly digital competitive space. This is a microcosm of the world of Fintech itself which the expert summarized as “a solution, usually software, that makes financial services and processes easier, faster and more secure.” Narinder is also socially conscious which is interestingly synonymous with the definitively contemporary aspect of her industry. She has completed the Fintech Programme at Oxford University, Said Business School, where she learned much about emerging technologies shaping the financial landscape, from digital money to CBDCs, blockchain, cryptocurrencies and AI, and commented on the latter:
“I see it being adopted in many ways. There is a lot of opportunity to enhance customer experience, for example, with quicker response to FAQ’s , and call summarisation for call center agents. There are complex functions too. However, currently AI is an area which has not been regulated while Fintech is. As a result, these new technologies do need to be controlled when introduced to be trusted with interactions with individual finances. The EU is soon going to pass legislation on the regulation of AI and when there is a clearer idea of this, there will be much faster intake of it into financial businesses, in my opinion. In terms of commercial growth and business, this could be a gamechanger. The best outcome would be regulations that benefit both the enterprise and end-user.”
Ethics and the evolution of strong business then go hand in hand. Indeed, Narinder works closely with Innovate Finance who “are a membership body who work with the FCA and lobbying the government as the voice of Fintechs in the UK where the nation is the largest hub in the world for financial services.” The leader in her field has run her own Fintech company prior, drawing from a wealth of both personal and industry expertise to inform her uniquely aware niche. “I learned the importance of planning long-term and future proofing a burgeoning business firsthand when managing my business back in Africa.” Narinder concluded by discussing the prevalent yet divisive topic of cryptocurrency:
“I am a fan of it where there are a lot of Fintechs providing solutions that incorporate the offerings. Regulating Crypto would make the phenomenon less volatile and reduce the skepticism around it, in my opinion. There would be a de-risking of crypto so fraud, money laundering and tax evasion which are connected to crypto would be completely counteracted. The platform holders will be held responsible to be compliant or face consequence. Therefore it will be a more secure way of trading: essentially the exchange of digital assets would be de-risked. Stable Coins are also being introduced where Bank of England has done this as a common digital currency to combat the instability sometimes associated with cryptocurrency– so as we move more into a digital era, we will see digital currency being used more and more rather than paper money.” Not only does Narinder conscientiously help start-ups access a fast-developing global platform, but also champions the transformative impact of wider economic regulation moving forwards.
What have been some highlight moments in your career?
Receiving the award from Bill Gates while I was working at Microsoft. The second highlight was when I started to work at Google, and being able to drive diversity and inclusivity.
You are also a thought leader: what are the innovative ideas you enjoy exploring?
How we can change and shape regulation, and address the challenges that our customers are facing – how can we as a collective drive change that makes it easier for the next wave of start-up owners? Another area of interest here is providing women in Fintech a voice and platform. Women are still far from being at the helm of leadership although are more Asian and female-owned businesses. There is a huge lack of diversity at the senior position. As a result, women have stepped out of the industry to start their own businesses. As a response to this, I am the founder and leader of Google's 'Women in Fintech Community' which have afforded just under 30 job placements and mentorships within the community over a 12 month period – we can help illuminate the path towards becoming a non-exec or exec directors aswell as other skills. If you provide the guidance and are willing to stand together with other women as opposed to being competitive, it is possible to make a bigger change together. I have two daughters and do not want them to go through what I did – having my voice silenced. When there is diversity at the top, it does lead to more grounded representation at the grassroots.
What, for you, makes a strong Fintech business?
Having done your research, and really connecting with the ecosystem; know your values and have a mission statement at the ready. Do academic research specifically – this gives you the deep knowledge that allows you to understand whether your idea is viable or not. Think about who will be your investors and invest time in future proofing your foundation technology.
