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  • Arthur Goldstuck heads up Sasfin’s digital advisory council

Arthur Goldstuck heads up Sasfin’s digital advisory council

By Dieketseng Montsi, Senior news journalist
Johannesburg, 20 Jun 2019
Arthur Goldstuck, head of World Wide Worx.
Arthur Goldstuck, head of World Wide Worx.

Financial services provider Sasfin Bank is in the process of establishing a digital advisory council that is set to start implementing its mandate next month.

The objective of the council is to provide the financial services sector with industry-leading expertise and insights on trends shaping the use of technology in the financial sector.

Speaking in an interview with ITWeb on Wednesday, Sasfin CEO Michael Sassoon said while there were a lot of 'exciting' developments happening in South Africa in the digital space, including fintech, big data and cloud computing, there was a lack of information-sharing.

"What we've learnt is that there are really interesting insights and great expertise throughout the country, but, often, they work independently of each other, which means people can't learn from one another and share common experiences to ultimately create businesses and services that will benefit clients when it comes to digital services," said Sassoon.

The digital council, which will be chaired by Arthur Goldstuck, the founder of high-tech research consultancy World Wide Worx, will consist of three or four Sasfin executives appointed to the council and five or six independent candidates.

“There are people we have earmarked for the council and we’ve started the selection process, but we haven’t finalised it yet. We expect to have 10 or 12 members on the council,” said Sassoon.

While he would not reveal the names, he said the team appointed to the digital advisory council was selected for the breadth and range of knowledge they would bring to the table. He added that there would be room for the council to co-opt specialist expertise as it was required.

In a statement released earlier, Goldstuck said: “My role will be, partly, to curate the wide spectrum of fintech and digitalisation knowledge and insights that the members will bring to the digital advisory council and help create scenarios that businesses and policymakers may use to navigate the future – both inside and outside Sasfin.

“The idea at this stage was for the council to issue analysis pieces with insights to the financial services sector.”

Sassoon said while the financial digital market was competitive, Sasfin has found a way to stay ahead of the competition.

“Sasfin has been involved in fintech investing for many years and we are leveraging this experience as well as the experience of independent experts such as Arthur to provide insights and guidance to interested stakeholders in this space.”

Last year, the company launched its digital platform for SMEs called B\\YOND and in February this year, bought a stake in fintech lender Payabill. It’s also been working with third parties such as Hello Paisa.

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