Jacques Pütz (LUXHUB): an answer for the financial sector

LUXHUB is a company accompanying financial institutions in the application of the PSD2 directive through innovative application program interface. Interview with its CEO Jacques Pütz.

Could you describe LUXHUB in a few words?

LUXHUB was born by combining an extensive banking knowledge with the agility of a start-up. "We imagined a company which gathers credibility, know-how and the power to sustain all the actors of the new digital era". Created by 4 major retail banks, LUXHUB aims at providing an innovative answer to the upcoming PSD2 European Directive and therefore at offering new solutions and services to the many actors of the financial sector. In the future, innovation will be achieved through defining new digital interfaces: APIs. LUXHUB is taking on this role of smoothing out the operational integration of the financial institutions with the main mission of acting as a facilitator for Fintechs, notably helping them connect to banks.

"Innovation and flexibility are the words that define LUXHUB."

How do you adapt to your clients’ needs?

Innovation and flexibility are the words that define LUXHUB. LUXHUB increases the speed of innovation. Our uniqueness is that we focus on the complexity of the new open banking era and act like a service company and an accelerator. The marketplace designed by LUXHUB advocates innovation and collaboration between traditional banking players and Service Providers, all participating together in the new API economy. The goal is to find innovative solutions together, so that Financial Institutions can choose an easy and secure way the services they need, allowing them to act faster. These solutions, available to all the players within the ecosystem, do not confer a specific competitive advantage but rather help them in the creation of new offers. LUXHUB innovates to find common solutions in the new pace of change, which is already fast and will get even faster.

How do you foresee the fintech sector evolving in the next five years?

In the following years the Fintech Sector will strongly evolve, and innovation and change will be the words of the day. The market will see a lot of technology rising and many new products that will put the final banking customer back in the centre of interest will appear. The technical transformation in the financial industry will continue and banks will be stressed to keep up the pace with Fintechs on one side and BigTechs on another side. The PSD2 regulation fosters European Financial Solution. The Luxembourgish financial sector will be challenged by European Solutions in the upcoming years. The new regulated Entities AISP (Account Information Service Provider) and PISP ( Payment Initiation Service Provider) have the possibility to passport their solution in 1 month to the whole European Market. AISP and PISP have now the unique chance to develop “fit for future” products and services in 1 European Country and attack, in the case of success, in an easy and very quick way the whole European financial Market. So a lot of short term surprises will probably appear out of nothing in the next months…