Debbie Gamble - 2 Years Later

Summary

In a follow-up interview, Debbie Gamble from Interac discusses the significant changes over the past two years in digital transactions and payment systems. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift towards contactless payments and digital verification, pushing Interac to innovate and adapt. With transformation initiatives focusing on agile principles, increased fraud management, and expanded digital solutions, Interac is actively engaging with various industries to enhance secure and efficient transaction ecosystems. Debbie also shares insights on adapting to technological advancements and encourages curiosity and exploration among future tech professionals.

Highlights

• Debbie highlights the massive shift towards digital payments post-COVID. 📱
• Interac is focusing on data privacy as Canadians demand more control. 🔒
• A significant expansion in Interac's workforce reflects their growth and adaptation efforts. 💪
• Interac's transformation is centered on agile methods to swiftly meet market needs. 🚀
• The launch of Interac Verified marks a leap in secure digital verification services. 🔍

Key Takeaways

• Digital engagement accelerated rapidly due to COVID-19! 🚀
• Interac's workforce grew by 50% to embrace new challenges and opportunities. 🌟
• Data privacy and security remain top priorities as digital threats evolve. 🔐
• Agile methodologies are central to Interac's transformation for faster service delivery. ⚡
• Interac Verified aims to revolutionize how Canadians manage digital identities. 🔄

Overview

Debbie Gamble revisits her discussion from two years ago, reflecting on the profound changes driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. She notes the acceleration of digital payments and the need for businesses like Interac to rapidly adapt to remain relevant in a changing world. Interac responded by focusing on agile transformation, expanding their workforce, and enhancing digital services to ensure secure transactions.

The conversation also delves into the broader landscape of technology's impact on society. Debbie emphasizes Interac's commitment to data privacy and trust, detailing their introduction of Interac Verified to facilitate secure digital engagements across various sectors. The company is embracing agile principles to quickly bring innovative solutions to market, thereby maintaining their competitive edge.

Debbie concludes with advice for future tech enthusiasts, urging curiosity and involvement in tech hubs and accelerators. She highlights Canada's thriving technological landscape and encourages students to explore opportunities within the robust framework of companies and institutions driving innovation in the country.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Interview Purpose The chapter titled 'Introduction and Interview Purpose' begins with the interviewer thanking Debbie for participating in the conversation. The primary aim of the interview is to follow up on a previous discussion held two years ago. The focus of this session is to explore changes that may have occurred since that time. The interviewer mentions having three main questions prepared, with a possibility of delving into more detailed exploration based on Debbie's responses.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Debbie Gamble's Update Debbie Gamble discusses the progress and experiences over the past couple of years since the last update. She reflects on the tumultuous nature of recent times and details the implementation developments she has been involved in. The conversation aims to uncover what has changed and what has been achieved, acknowledging the shifts in the world that have influenced these aspects.
• 01:00 - 02:00: Impact of COVID-19 and Digital Engagement The chapter explores the rapid changes occurring globally, emphasizing geopolitical, economic, and cultural shifts. The conversation touches on current events, like the unusual winter weather, indicating a broader context of change. The focus then pivots to the corporate world, suggesting a discussion on how companies are adapting to these transformations, possibly in relation to COVID-19 and the rise of digital engagement.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Corporate Lens on Changes The chapter titled 'Corporate Lens on Changes' discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the corporate landscape. It highlights the accelerated changes and adjustments in business practices following the pandemic. The conversation reflects on the time that has passed since the pandemic started, noting a period of almost two years and the ongoing effects and adaptations businesses are still experiencing as a result.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Transformation at Interac The chapter titled 'Transformation at Interac' discusses the acceleration of digital engagement and the necessity for advancements in the digital transaction and payment sectors. This transformation was significantly driven by increasing demands for contactless payments and secure verification methods, highlighting the shift as a vital requirement in contemporary digital transactions.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Expanding Digital Transactions and Payments The chapter discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated various digital initiatives within organizations, primarily focusing on digital transactions and payments. With many people working remotely, the need for contactless and digital payment solutions became more pronounced. These circumstances pushed organizations to enhance their digital infrastructure and capabilities to accommodate the new normal of remote work and limited in-person interactions.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Technology's Impact on Lives The chapter discusses the impact of technology on our lives, focusing particularly on how digital engagement has transformed payment methods. It highlights the acceleration of alternatives to cash, a trend that companies like inter have been studying for years.
• 04:30 - 05:30: Agile Transformation and Company Growth This chapter discusses the pervasive impact of technology on all aspects of life, transcending age and geographical boundaries. It highlights how this technological revolution is a reality for various types of organizations, be it educational institutions or corporations focused on providing secure payment solutions, illustrating the universal necessity of embracing technology in modern operations.
• 05:30 - 06:30: Post-COVID Adaptations and Agile Principles The chapter discusses how small businesses, like a 'Mom and Pop Shop,' are adapting to changes in the marketplace and emphasizes the significance of technology for students considering a career. It highlights how organizations, including the speaker's own, are undergoing significant transformations as a result of recent global events, like the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus is on embracing agile principles to navigate these changes effectively.
• 06:30 - 08:00: Maintaining Security and Trust The chapter titled 'Maintaining Security and Trust' focuses on the concept of agile transformation and its principles. It emphasizes leveraging these principles alongside technology to improve efficiency and speed in operations. The chapter also highlights significant changes within the company, noting substantial growth over the past few years.
• 08:00 - 09:30: Focus on Data Privacy and Consumer Trust The chapter titled 'Focus on Data Privacy and Consumer Trust' discusses the importance of maintaining data privacy and consumer trust, particularly in the context of digital engagement and secure transactions. It highlights the significant changes in these areas, noting a 50% improvement, while emphasizing the ongoing commitment to ensure secure transactions for Canadians.
• 09:30 - 11:00: Fraud Management and Designation by Bank of Canada The chapter discusses changes in fraud management and designation by the Bank of Canada, emphasizing the shift from a pre-COVID to a post-COVID world. Key themes include the need for agility, adaptability, and a transformation in approaches and strategies in managing network and payment systems.
• 11:00 - 12:30: Growth of Digital Verification The chapter titled 'Growth of Digital Verification' discusses the evolving nature of the world, focusing on the significant changes that have occurred over time. It emphasizes the importance of understanding these changes, particularly in the context of digital verification. The speaker hints at exploring specific themes related to this transformation, suggesting a deep dive into the pivotal role that digital verification now plays in our modern, digitally-driven society.
• 12:30 - 14:00: Products and Technology Focus The chapter titled 'Products and Technology Focus' discusses the primary function of the network, which is to provide secure transaction capabilities predominantly for Canadians. It highlights the network's long-standing history of over 40 years in operation. Furthermore, the chapter touches on the global advancements in technology and how these developments are influencing changes not just in Canada, but worldwide. This reflects a broader trend of technological growth and its significant impact on secure transactions.
• 14:00 - 15:30: Generative AI and Future Challenges Generative AI is becoming a crucial part of our lives, but it also brings significant challenges. The focus is on maintaining security, safety, reliability, and resilience amidst these challenges.
• 15:30 - 18:00: Advice for Students The chapter titled 'Advice for Students' discusses the importance of maintaining uncompromised services to Canadians, ensuring that the services both meet and exceed evolving expectations. It highlights recent participation in the annual data privacy week, emphasizing activities related to data privacy and security.
• 18:00 - 19:10: Conclusion and Debbie's Final Thoughts This chapter addresses the concerns of Canadians regarding economic challenges, which are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical issues. Additionally, there is a growing mistrust in traditional institutions. Canadians are increasingly worried about various socio-economic factors affecting their day-to-day lives.

Debbie Gamble - 2 Years Later Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 okay so Debbie thank you again for for talking to me uh we're going to follow up on the interview that uh we conducted two years ago and really the focus is on how things may have changed and uh I've got three basic questions that are focused on that and and we might explore uh you know those a little bit further
• 00:30 - 01:00 as we go on but my first question really is to ask in the couple of years that it's been what have you been doing and how has your implementation progressed and and what might be different uh from what we talked about uh yeah um first of all thanks for thanks for reaching out and and having me back on um you know the past few years have been quite tumultuous for everybody right are world
• 01:00 - 01:30 is changing rapidly um you know uh geopolitically economically um I guess culturally especially you know we were just talking about the weather and the very mild winter so um I think um you know as a as a population we're we're probably just bombarded with everything that's going on so but if I kind of switch to you know a a a corporate lens um at
• 01:30 - 02:00 Interac uh the past couple of years since we chatted last you know we were kind of coming out uh is it two is it two years I can't remember now almost almost two years yeah um you know we're we were coming out of of covid um I think we're all still kind of reeling from that but the one thing that the reason why I mention covid is um covid really accelerated
• 02:00 - 02:30 uh the digital engagement uh for very obvious reasons and so for people like me that you know spend a career thinking about what's next um in a digital transaction space or a payment space it was almost that the the acceleration of all of the the need for things like contactless payments um you know secure verification those things were just a a requirement um as a result
• 02:30 - 03:00 of covid and you know many of us working uh out of the office um and not having the the tools or the ability to you know meet face to face so I would say just coming out of Co that really um accelerated and excelled a a a number of of initiatives that that our organization were already working on and I I I can touch on that but I you know I'd say just that the reality of our
• 03:00 - 03:30 digital engagement and what that has meant even for the way we pay um you know that it really has um accelerated uh alternatives to to cash for example um that that companies like like inter have been looking at for for many years um so that's that was kind of the first and foremost um I I think also just in general the kind of the impact
• 03:30 - 04:00 of technology on our lives um you know regardless of our age and regardless of where we live is also now um a reality for any Corporation um you know whether it's an educational institution like your own or or whether it's a a corporation looking at um enabling Canadians to pay securely like mine uh or even if it's you know
• 04:00 - 04:30 your small Mom and Pop Shop um and that I I think for for your students thinking about technology and maybe getting into a career here um there are lots of things going on in the marketplace um as a whole um but I can also touch on yeah my organization um has has gone through some massive changes and we're actually we're in the thick of the those changes
• 04:30 - 05:00 that that um you know maybe we can touch on which is uh the weave coin transformation but it really is all about the notion and the principles around agile um and how we can Leverage The those principles and the technology to you know get better and faster at what we do um so so some huge changes our our company um actually over the past couple of years our company has um grew almost
• 05:00 - 05:30 by 50% so you know that in itself is is a a a huge change um but we're still very focused on some of the themes that um that we touched on in our last chat around digital engagement and we're obviously still very focused on making sure that Canadians can transact securely so that kind of as a backdrop but I can I can kind of touch a little bit more around what that means to us as
• 05:30 - 06:00 a as a network and a payment provider if that would help yeah I mean what I'm hearing and what uh seems like a useful direction for our discussion is you're describing the changes that happened during covid and the difference in the preco world and the postco world right and as you described the postco world you you've mentioned agile uh you've mentioned the need to be more adaptive able and and the changed nature of the
• 06:00 - 06:30 world basically the the sense that we all have that things are changing and are very different than they used to be H and that and so to me as you focus on what's important now it it's the nature of that changed world that that that that's Forefront in your mind yes absolutely and um so yeah let me let me touch on a few of those themes I'd say
• 06:30 - 07:00 first and foremost for us um you know we are a network um primarily we provide Canadians with the capabilities to transact securely and we've been doing that um for you know 40 odd years now um but the reality uh of you know the kind of the changes across not just Canada but around the world of of that kind of the growth in technology and the impact
• 07:00 - 07:30 that it it has on on you know every aspect of Our Lives now um has also kind of raised um the bar because there are significantly more challenges um you know for us to consider and how we maintain the security how we maintain the safety Reliance resilience of of those services so first and foremost that's our Focus right is that we can ensure that
• 07:30 - 08:00 um that that's not compromised and that the services that we offer Canadians every day um meet those the and exceed that that kind of um that bar uh that continues to to evolve really um we just finished uh last month is the annual data privacy week um and you know we participate in that and we we uh just finished some some of our activities and and I can kind of share that you know not
• 08:00 - 08:30 surprisingly Canadians um really are a little bit worried about you know in addition to the kind of economic challenges that everybody is facing partly because of you know covid but also geopolitical aspects Etc um you know we're also kind of you questioning our level of trust in in traditional institutions and we are worried about um you know things like
• 08:30 - 09:00 our data um and so we're we're very focused on on things like that so you know in in that work that we did um for the recent privacy week 80% of Canadians that were ped said that uh they want greater control over their online information and both in you know how they control it but also how it's shared um 75% uh believe that companies have too
• 09:00 - 09:30 much of our information and 87% want the ability to be able to delete that information when they feel like so I mean that is very very logical isn't it um and we're not unlike other other uh countries around the world as we become more and more digitized and the threat of you know whether it be fraud or cyber becomes more and more evident then we start to to feel um you know less confidence so our Focus as a as a an
• 09:30 - 10:00 institution servicing Canadians is that we can deliver that trust we continue to deliver that trust and that confidence and that our services and our offerings to the market also address um you know some of those challenges so that we're we're relevant which is what every organization wants to be right is that we're relevant um so I would say first and foremost that there are table stakes
• 10:00 - 10:30 and those table Stakes keep can keep um becoming more and more challenging as things like fraud grows around the world you know cyber threats Etc um so that's our that's kind of core to who we are um one of the things we've done over the certainly over the past year is to help us better address not just those challenges but also the growing opportunities of of
• 10:30 - 11:00 uh what Canadians need to go about their business every day conduct their lives in this you know digital reality is we um we started a journey just over a year ago on an initiative that we called um transformation internally for us um and that was for us to become more agile both on a on a methodology and a technical perspective but also as an organization um you know as our Industries are blaring and consumer and
• 11:00 - 11:30 and business expectations continue to to kind of evolve we talked about you know some of the threats in the marketplace but also growing number of um organizations looking at um you know trends like embedded payments so so organizations that you typically wouldn't think of from payments now looking at payments so we have to think about all of those things and how we're able to address both the challenges but also the opportunities that they bring to us so um we've been on this kind of
• 11:30 - 12:00 notion of how do we reimagine our organization and maybe in the last time we chatted I think I said that um I'm not sure your students realize that interact although many of us use intera every day multiple times a day this is actually uniquely Canadian institution uh unlike other um parts of the world um where there's international players who took over various domestic entities that
• 12:00 - 12:30 happened less so here so we have a very privileged role of servicing Canadians um every day but we are we punch above our weight and when I I kind of mentioned a little earlier we um we doubled our work force in the past couple of years we're still under 800 people um so you know we take pride in the fact that we can maintain those capabilities and offer new services in a way that um uh kind of reacts to the
• 12:30 - 13:00 changing Market Dynamic so we we we went on this journey of transformation we've embraced agile um and it really has been a massive change to our organization but one that we're very proud of and um and that we're excited about because you know as we get this right uh which is an evolution it means that you know our goal is that we get faster at being able to bring things to mark Market
• 13:00 - 13:30 um but I'm happy to touch on some of the some of the products and the technology if if that's where you you'd like us to direct the combo sure and I think that is a good direction because what you've mentioned so far is that you're focused on ensuring the stability the safety uh of of around interact and at the same time being a agile to respond to
• 13:30 - 14:00 Opportunities right and of course that does raise the question okay what are your priorities now for what you will actually do and and that was what you were leading into so let's yeah let's go there great uh you know I think when we ched last time I mentioned this notion of uh verification so we we'd been on um again a bit of a journey looking at how could we apply some of our technology that we um brought to Market for payments things like um tokenization for
• 14:00 - 14:30 example for you know for your technical students that understand the notion of tokenization and and how that applies so you know every time you might use your mobile device to buy a coffee at a point of sale um you you know those credentials are being tokenized so we looked at how how can we use um that kind of Technology beyond the payment space and we expect Ed we anticipated
• 14:30 - 15:00 that digital verification was going to become a huge factor in in you know the way we engage and obviously um Co accelerated that so um in uh May last year may 2023 we um we introduced interact verified that's the brand and that's as a result of a couple of uh transactions and some work we did internally we acquired a company out of Ottawa uh in
• 15:00 - 15:30 2019 excuse me called tuis and their expertise was all around authentication various Flav flavors of security and authentication that they provided to uh to the marketplace um and then a couple of years later we did a transaction with another Canadian tech company called secure key um to augment our capability secure keid had since been um Acquired and are now part of a company called gen digital which um some of your your
• 15:30 - 16:00 students might know from a company like Norton LifeLock uh or of us that provide um that provide anti- mile workare kind of services um those actually both of those companies of as and n and medge together to become a huge entity and secure key was acquired by them and so they're our partner in in uh in uh and Supply some of the capabilities that go into the offering that we introduced branded last year as inter verified so
• 16:00 - 16:30 we're super excited about that um that obviously augments our payments business as a a key component to you know uh if you kind of think about the analogy of if you can check in once without you know and then do whatever you need to do in a vig virtual digital realm without having to go and authenticate in multiple places and that's a much better experience so um so we're excited about
• 16:30 - 17:00 that and and that also allows us to service not just Canadians on the payment space but to do it across various different Industries so we're partnering with uh many of the the government agencies uh at the federal and at the provincial level but also different corporations and businesses in the health care in the insurance industry Etc to really help them um ensure that they can provide a seamless service to their customers around verification so we're super excited
• 17:00 - 17:30 about that that's a biggie um in support of the the topic I mentioned around you know uh resiliency safety and soundness um we continue to evolve our fraud management capabilities um you know frauds Fraud's a big issue around the world uh given continued digitization and we provide fraud services across our participants um because Network and we
• 17:30 - 18:00 work with the broader ecosystem um and law enforcement actually uh to to help that so that's a big Focus I'd say for every organization um particularly for us um we're excited to announce um we've broadened access to our services so some of the the smaller institutions um like the wealth simple so started as a Canadian startup you know uh uh kind of we announced that
• 18:00 - 18:30 they're they're joining uh our services and uh we're continuing to drive uh our abilities to bring that to M many more organizations um and then two big things that happened to us for the you know any of your students that might be payments Geeks like myself uh because of the growth in our services um we both our debit and our ER transfer which is the money movement
• 18:30 - 19:00 service are now designated by the Bank of Canada um and so you know that's actually as an acknowledgement just to the importance of these but services to the day-to-day lives of Canadians but it also means you know we kind of come under the um the jurisdiction and the oversight of Bank of Canada for that so so you know the they're there're some of the biggies that um uh has happened over the last couple of years is and uh we've
• 19:00 - 19:30 got a number of of big initiatives that we're working on um around uh wallet capability how how Canadians pay uh working with the big and the small guys and the ecosystem as a whole in the market and and this work is building on your core strengths allowing you to expand into other areas and grow as an organization because you've grown your
• 19:30 - 20:00 employees significantly and that no doubt reflects uh growth in other you know metrics around about your business so yeah clearly successful application of technology and successful adaptation so far to the new world yeah that that world continues to evolve right it keeps us on our toes which is I mean you know one of the big things probably since we last talked was you know the growth of of generative AI right and how it's
• 20:00 - 20:30 right you know now for for many organizations like ourselves we've been using AI from a machine learning perspective you know back to fraud right a lot of our fraud processes are are um you know leveraging machine learning of course and and delivering some amazing Data Insights um but I think just the general growth of um and the kind of the way generative Ai and what um you know what's happened
• 20:30 - 21:00 with chat GPT Etc has really changed the way many organizations think about generative Ai and we've got lots of initiatives around how can we better use Genai to you know provide more Automation and efficiencies but also embed them um within some of the the offerings that we bring to the market as well makes sense and of course you know most organizations are considering what the implications are for them of artificial intelligence today yeah so
• 21:00 - 21:30 those are my two main questions were around what you're doing now what how you see the future now uh compared to how we had talked about it before and your answers to those have been very full uh I I I was going to conclude by asking about the advice you'd have for the people who are watching you had advice before it particularly focused on being curious and trying things out uh
• 21:30 - 22:00 which may continue to be your advice but I'd like to ask you about that but at the same time maybe before I do just uh is there anything you'd want to add in terms of you know what you've learned from the last couple of couple of years how you would whether you see the world any differently now is there anything else there that would basically be of value for the people watching to know um I I I think you know your
• 22:00 - 22:30 students who are very intimate with various types of Technology um I think the learning for me is that an accelerator for those use cases that you know may come out of the blue right they and and you may not you may not realize you know we all work on various hypotheses around okay great piece of technology how can you how can we use this and you you know whether you're looking at it from a uiux perspective or
• 22:30 - 23:00 whether you're looking at it from a design or an architectural perspective I'd say um you know one of the great learnings for me is that again if you think about just the digitization and on a personal note I've been I have spent a lot of my career um working on replacements for cash for example right whether that be card or mobile or um uh cbdc or alternative digital
• 23:00 - 23:30 currency and it really took a pandemic um to actually change the way people you know interacted and thought about um about payment uh and and you know not that I'm advocating for a pandemic at all but you know the the that is an accelerator for some of these Downstream um kind of use cases it it
• 23:30 - 24:00 can H it can come from lots of different places so I'd say you know one of the the the learnings here I think is when you're looking at opportunities for application of the technology make sure you're also looking at the adjacent SE it's not you know it's not always that obvious which usually not that obvious right um so that that would be one um you mentioned the Curiosity I think for me that's that's the
• 24:00 - 24:30 priority in pretty much and it you know it wouldn't come as a surprise as a chief Innovation officer that's the thing that I encourage my team and you know it's the way I kind of live my life um I think we're very lucky um well we're very lucky to live in Canada um for many different reasons but I think we're also very lucky of you know if you're if you're studying um anything related to technology whether it be purely at the
• 24:30 - 25:00 development um or the scientific level or the actual kind of UI ux The Experience kind of side there are amazing um there are amazing uh organizations around the country whether that be you know the tech hubs or the accelerators that um that your students can get involved in and listen in in in your part of the world um I be kind of remiss if I didn't
• 25:00 - 25:30 mention communitech um you know and and the people there so um I I think that Curiosity um whether it be both at a you know you've got an idea you want to know how you can start your own business um from a fintech perspective most students have a side hustle somehow right you know they've got a great idea why not um those hubs and their their kind of relations to um VCS investment bankers the government
• 25:30 - 26:00 Etc are great um places to go and explore that uh so so I'd say you know actually it's a great time uh for us to you know in Canada to be able to kind of Leverage some of those uh Arenas and um and there's some amazing companies working on different technology here well Debbie thank you for your time
• 26:00 - 26:30 again today I I do really appreciate it it is valuable the the the initial video has been viewed by lots of people I don't have a number but there have been lots that worked at it and I've read the assignments that they've based on it so uh so they ask questions around things that you mentioned in your video H and they give their responses to that so so there is a great value to many people of what you've done so thank you for doing that thanks Peter my my my pleasure and
• 26:30 - 27:00 privilege and um you know if any of your students want to reach out interact. ca we have a hub um where they can find out more information on some of the the you know some of the data on the research some of the things we're working on and um we run an everyday trust Series where we talk to experts in different Arenas around the industry um but uh inters are a uniquely and very proud Canadian institution so uh we we'd love to hear
• 27:00 - 27:30 from you