IFGS 2023: Jaidev Janardana, Zopa

How fintechs can evolve and scale, the importance of real face-to-face time and why ESG is top of the list, as Jaidev Janardana, chief executive officer at digital bank Zopa, reveals ahead of his sessions at IFGS 2023

Jaidev Janardana, chief executive officer at digital bank Zopa, previews his talks at the Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS) 2023 in London this week.

Can you give a preview of the sessions you’re speaking at?

The first session is The FinTech CEO Series: Disruption Then, Now and Tomorrow, taking place this morning at 9.55am.

In this headline session with Lisa Jacobs, chief executive officer of Funding Circle, and Katie Derham, a broadcast journalist, I will be charting the evolution of fintech as we know it.

We will dissect how fintech revolutionised the financial services sector, offering tremendous value to the UK’s economy and its consumers.

As well as looking at the sector’s success, I will also illustrate Zopa’s unique journey to become a fully licenced digital bank as a case study for how fintechs can evolve and scale.

Finally, I will provide brand new data on how Zopa is supporting consumers during the cost of living crisis through its products and the 2025 Fintech Pledge, an industry-leading ESG scheme that we launched with ClearScore last year.

My second session is The Power of Proactivity: Why Regulation Now Will Pay Off Later, which is taking place at 12.35pm this afternoon.

Despite widespread adoption, buy now, pay later users are still at risk of overextending themselves with debt and are not entitled to forbearance or compensation.

In this one-to-one fireside chat, we will discuss how BNPL needs to evolve and Zopa’s vision for BNPL 2.0, a safer and more sustainable version that is closely aligned with the UK government’s proposals for regulation.

This follows Zopa’s recent acquisition of BNPL provider DivideBuy, which is a steppingstone towards our move into this space.

What are you looking forward to most at the event?

IFGS is one of the UK’s biggest fintech events. In today’s hybrid working environment, I’m looking forward to some real face-to-face time with our industry peers and the wider ecosystem. 

Which topics or talks are top of your list to attend at the conference?

There will be many great topics and talks at IFGS, though for Zopa we’ll be particularly interested in anything related to ESG as we recently launched the 2025 Fintech Pledge to support consumers in the cost of living crisis.

The pledge aims to drive 10 million positive consumer actions that build up financial resilience by 2025.

Any fintech looking to get involved should reach out via join@pledge2025.org.

We’ll also be interested to hear how other digital banks are managing in the fintech winter and how they’re prioritising sustainable growth in this shifting economy.

Image: Zopa

Josh Poyser Josh Poyser is an editor at FinTech Intel. He has written about fintech for several years and appeared at FinTech Connect 2023 on the 'Unlocking Success: The Art of Fintech PR' panel.