For years the discourse on technological innovation in banking and financial services favored the fintechs. But is it possible that the ones best positioned to take advantage of the biggest technological revolution in decades—artificial intelligence—aren’t bold, new fintech startups, but are instead banks and credit unions?
In this fascinating conversation with Rob Rooney, Co-Founder and CEO of Hyperlayer, we discuss what banks and credit unions can do to overcome the disadvantages of legacy technology, and how these financial institutions can leverage trust and community relationships to “win the future” of agentic finance and the agentic economy.
“Incumbents are very well positioned. They have the customers. They have the regulatory approvals. They have the breadth of products and, critically, they have the trust. They have to leverage those advantages and lean into the agentic economy. It’s coming, but with the trust factor they can really be winners here.”
Rooney is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hyperlayer. He is also CEO of Hyperjar, an intuitive digital account with a prepaid debit card that bills itself as the “spending super-app.” Previously, Rooney spent more than 30 years as an executive at Morgan Stanley, serving in multiple roles including CEO of Morgan Stanley International, Global Head of Technology, Operations, and Firm Resilience, and Senior Advisor for Technology and Innovation. He is a graduate of Columbia University.
Hyperlayer is a programmable banking platform that enables financial institutions to innovate at pace without replacing the core systems that provide stability. The platform’s configurable design allows banks, credit unions, wealth managers, and merchants to launch innovative financial products—including agentic solutions—quickly and cost-effectively while maintaining control and remaining compliant.