Business Transformation | 07.17.24
Creating a Platform for Education and Connection — Technology Innovation Award Spotlight: Maggie Wall, Citizens Executive Vice President of Wealth Management
by: BISA Staff
The BISA Technology Innovation Award recognizes leadership in the advancement of the financial services industry’s products, services and platforms. Maggie Wall, executive vice president of wealth management, developed a social finance app with a design target of Gen Z/millennial women to help them build confidence in investing. The Wellthi app focused on three key priorities; getting started, community and access to advice.
BISA: Tell us about your project. What specific challenges or opportunities in the financial services industry were you aiming to address?
Maggie Wall (MW): The specific challenge I was trying to address is the lack of confidence women have when it comes to investing. Women, as it is widely known, are underserved in financial services. Data from Citizens customers showed that men leaned into investing much sooner than women, putting behind the curve in building their wealth. I held several focus groups and learned women often hesitate when it comes to investing, citing a need to “think about it some more” or gather more information. On the other hand, men are more likely to jump in and invest. These focus groups also showed women would like to come together in a community setting to learn about a finance with like-minded individuals so they could build their confidence.
BISA: How did you and your team approach the development and implementation?
MW: I secured funding from the Citizens Innovation Board and partnered with a fintech called Wellthi. They believe in the power of community, which aligned well with my objectives. We built a digital platform for Gen Z/millennial women to connect, learn from each other and discuss investment topics. It was designed as an extension of the bank and allowed access to educational content to build users’ confidence in investing. We tested it for a six month period and learned that when people became more confident in investing, they were willing to act on their plan to invest.
BISA: Collaboration often plays a crucial role in innovation. Could you tell us about any partnerships or collaborations that were instrumental in bringing your idea to fruition?
MW: Absolutely. It takes a village to innovate and pilot something new. It’s essential to have the right partners at the table sooner than later. Partnering with Wellthi was key. They had the technological expertise to build the platform and listened carefully to what we wanted. It was also important to collaborate with internal teams — risk, legal, compliance and marketing — who helped us navigate the regulatory environment and promote the program effectively. I learned a lot from the process.
BISA: Were there any challenges you faced during the development process? If so, how did you overcome them?
MW: The biggest challenge was working in financial services’ highly regulated environment while staying true to the spirit of innovation. There were many necessary guardrails and restrictions, especially around communication between financial advisors and clients. We had to adapt the platform's features to comply with regulations while still achieving our goals.
BISA: What advice would you give to other professionals or teams looking to drive technological innovation within the financial services industry?
MW: Number one: Make sure you have the data to support your innovation idea and objective. Number two: Focus on the customer. If your idea is centered around improving their experience, then everything else will fall into place. Keep checking in with customers as you’re building the prototype. Constantly ask: Do you like it? Do you think it’s good? There were many times where they said, “I don’t see the value in that.” Their response told me if an approach was a waste of time.
BISA: What did receiving the BISA Technology Innovation Award mean to you?
MW: Receiving this award was an incredible honor and a significant milestone in my career. It validated the hard work and dedication that my team and I put into developing an innovative solution to address an industry opportunity. Women are an important and rapidly more active client segment, and I am proud of how we focused on their needs.
As Maggie Wall retires from Citizens, BISA wishes her well!