Tyler Craft on digital banking
From Ep21: Leaders in Lending w/ Tyler Craft - SVP, Head of VirtualBank & Fintech at First Horizon Bank · · Upstart for Lenders
“We kept VirtualBank as a separate brand and digital-only because it allows us to control variables and clearly understand what we're learning without confusion from legacy systems or branch interactions.”
On , Tyler Craft, Head of Investor Relations at FIRST HORIZON CORP, spoke about digital banking during Ep21: Leaders in Lending w/ Tyler Craft - SVP, Head of VirtualBank & Fintech at First Horizon Bank on Upstart for Lenders.
About Tyler Craft
In a September 2021 podcast appearance, Tyler Craft, then SVP and Head of VirtualBank & Fintech at First Horizon Bank, discussed the bank's digital strategy. He described VirtualBank as a separate, digital-only brand that has existed for over two decades and is designed to serve as an online liquidity tool, develop future infrastructure for the bank, and create a digital-only vertical for customers. Craft stated that the bank structured VirtualBank under an oversight board including the CEO, CFO, and Chief Digital Officer to ensure alignment. He noted that the bank went from its first meeting with fintech partner Finzac to going live in 370 days, and from contract signatures to go-live in 227 days. Craft outlined the bank's fintech strategy as including venture investments, partnerships to solve problems, and banking-as-a-service offerings. He said the bank shares learnings from VirtualBank with the broader organization to inform strategy. Craft predicted that consumer lending would become more point-of-sale oriented, with processes shortened so that, for example, people might buy a house by scanning a QR code. He also stated that customers sometimes want "a little friction" in processes to help them make better decisions, rather than friction from approval processes. Craft said the best advice he received was to listen to customers and apply those lessons rather than imposing what the bank thinks customers should want.