Alessandro Serena is a Fintech enthusiast and a Senior card issuing specialist in Delivery Hero where he is deepening his knowledge in the Payments Industry, from both the Issuing and Acquiring perspective.
“I had the opportunity to interact with some of the companies mentioned in the courses and evaluate with them possible collaborations: it was easier to get along because I already knew the type of work they were doing.”
Alessandro Serena, Senior card issuing specialist in Delivery Hero
His journey with CFTE started with curiosity. Over the past years, he has felt like the payments and Fintech world are carefully guarded by those who work in it, which made him motivated to learn about the detailed aspects of the industry, from regulation to technical architecture.
CFTE: As a professional in the banking industry, what prompted you to learn more about Open Banking and Platforms? Were there any insights you have gained that have led you to explore this topic?
Alessandro: Open Banking was rather unknown at my latitude. It has been a reality in the Baltics for years but in Italy, the majority was still focused on retaining full ‘ownership’ of customers. Therefore when PSD2 came out I perceived it as a sort of revolution and I started to imagine all the different business scenarios it would open. The most vivid was the chance to give customers banking, insurance, utilities etc. through a single subscription managed by a sort of relationship layer, able to collect information from the different areas.
CFTE: What were the main takeaways for you? Have you been able to implement any of your learnings in your career, if so, how?
Alessandro: This course helped me to better frame and understand the different areas of Open Banking and its challenges. Today, I find myself with a number of authoritative sites and personalities that allow me to stay up-to-date. Similarly, as I progressed with my studies, I drew up a list of topics that I did not know before and that I can now explore independently. Finally, I had the opportunity to interact with some of the companies mentioned in the courses and evaluate with them possible collaborations: it was easier to get along because I already knew the type of work they were doing.
CFTE: What was the most enjoyable part of the course and why?
Alessandro: The most enjoyable part of the course was the module on incumbents transformation. We relate almost every day with these entities and we may spend years working for them, therefore I found it fundamental and compelling to understand the challenges of major incumbents and have a glimpse at how they’ll transform in the years to come.
CFTE: Finally, if you had to describe yourself in 3 words or less, what would they be?
Alessandro: Enthusiast lateral thinker.
