Enablement, Financial Services, Sales
How partnerships are powering the future of financial services
By John Rivers — On 13 October 2025
In today's fast-evolving financial landscape, partnerships aren't just strategic — they're transformative. That's the central theme of this episode of Seismic Sessions: Enabling Financial Services. Hosts Rachael Rowe and Gemma Livermore sit down with Esra Demir, Group Digital Partnership Director at HSBC, and Marcus Martinez, Financial Services Industry Advocate, EMEA at Microsoft to discuss how banks and tech companies are creating new value through deep collaboration.
Listen to the full episode:
Where innovation meets integration
Esra and Marcus explore how collaboration between banks and tech companies is reshaping the sector through practical, scalable, and client-focused transformation.
They discuss key industry challenges like open banking regulation, the rise of cloud computing, and mobile-first expectations — all of which have made traditional, in-house development models less effective. In their place? Strategic, long-term alliances built on transparency, speed, and shared innovation.
From friction to fluidity
Marcus offers a compelling vision of financial services becoming "invisible" — seamlessly woven into the way people live and work. From AI-powered fraud detection to context-driven mobile banking, he explains how tech is making finance smarter and more integrated.
Esra highlights the shift from siloed experimentation to open innovation, where banks and startups co-create solutions at scale. Legacy infrastructure is no longer a barrier — it's an opportunity for reinvention through the right partnerships.
Why this matters for your enablement strategy
Whether you're navigating digital transformation, modernising the tech stack, or improving front-line efficiency, the message is clear: enablement must go beyond internal process. It should power ecosystems.
That means:
- Simplifying complexity through unified data and platforms
- Accelerating onboarding with embedded systems and insights
- Driving compliance and innovation simultaneously
Above all, it means preparing every client-facing team to deliver value in a connected, always-on world.
Take the next step towards smarter enablement
As Esra put it: "We can't keep slicing the same pie — we need to grow it together." Now's the time to scale smarter, partner deeper, and enable faster.
Want to improve your own partnership strategy? Schedule a demo to see how the Seismic Enablement Cloud™ makes it happen.