How to make it in fintech | Richard Davies, Allica Bank and Revolut

Searching for Mana with Lloyd Wahed

Richard Davies (CEO of Allica Bank, Non-Executive Director at Revolut) joins Lloyd to discuss the state of SME lending post-COVID and what it takes to succeed at the UK’s biggest fintechs.

And he should know. Throughout his career, Richard has moved seamlessly between major incumbent banks and innovative digital challengers. He served as a Managing Director at Barclays and as COO at HSBC, but he has also thrived as a banking CEO at both OakNorth and Revolut. Recently, Richard took the first step on the next bold phase in his career: launching Allica Bank, a digital challenger that hopes to disrupt the underserved world of SME lending.

In this episode, Richard and Lloyd talk about Richard’s path from tree surgeon to executive at Europe’s fastest growing fintech, as well as the importance of achieving both scale and profitability. Plus, they tackle the big question: are salary deposits the best sign of success amongst digital challengers?

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Episode Highlights:

02:20: Explaining SME lending and the issues incumbents face in this sector

10:22: From tree surgery to KPMG: how Richard got into banking

21:50: Do you have to drive a Jaguar to succeed in banking?

29:22: Richard's experience with Revolut

32:05: Why profitability has become catnip for investors

37:26: The traits you need to thrive at the UK’s biggest fintechs

40:15: Revolut as super app: why getting salary payments is no longer objective number one.

52:48: Fixing the UK post-COVID and Brexit: what Richard wants to do with Allica.