Fintech has been part of the Serbian and Eastern European development community for at least two decades with firms ranging from very large global players to regional employers.
M&I Systems Group is an innovation-driven leader in business software and consulting, with 30 years of experience in projects across Europe and the USA and business hubs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Austria. In his interview for Diplomacy&Commerce, Vladan Balaban, President of M&I Systems Group, talks about technological development, successful business endeavors and a stronger presence of global fintech services in Serbia.
Technological development has brought significant changes in the business of the financial market, and fintech is today considered one of the fastest-growing branches in the world. Has the potential of introducing new technologies in the financial sector been recognized in our region (Southeast Europe), and if it has, to what extent?
Fintech has been part of the Serbian and Eastern European development community for at least two decades with firms ranging from the very large global players such as FIS, with a 55 billion Euro capitalization, to M&I Systems Group, a regional employer providing fintech services on a global scale. Having said that, the full potential of fintech has not been fully recognized in our region, there is a lot of opportunity in both emerging technologies such as blockchain and RPA, to traditional systems.
The fact that M&I Systems Group has been developing projects in this field for almost a decade shows that there are local companies that are prepared for the “fourth industrial revolution”. What impact did the partnerships with foreign companies that are leaders in this field today have?
M&I Systems Group works with firms such as Sterling Trading Tech, a US-based provider of financial technology. STT’s products handle over 10% of the US daily equity volume and provide risk management services to firms on a global basis. M&I also provides teams to Lightspeed Trading, a leading Brokerage firm for active traders majority-owned by Wedbush and Wedbush Capital, the west coast based financial firms. The collaborations have created a deep pool of talent in Novi Sad and shown that M&I Systems Group can work both with technology firms and as an outsourced tech department for non-tech firms. This work has resulted in other engagements.
As an extension of successful endeavors in the fintech sector and a partnership with STT, M&I Systems Group announced the opening of the Centre for the Development of Financial Technology in 2022. What tasks will the Centre employees have?
Blockchain work, crypto trading platforms, working on global capital market projects to name a few. More importantly, our employees will be exposed to and part of the innovative changes and developments in the rapidly developing world of fintech. It is an amazing opportunity for those that are only starting within the development as well as the more senior colleagues to collaborate with our partners from around the world.
How much will the opening of this centre contribute to the development of the fintech industry in Serbia?
A great deal! The large financial capitals of the world such as New York and London depend on getting a critical mass of people together. The M&I Systems Group Centre will seek to duplicate this by having a space in which fintech teams can get to gather to share ideas and best practices. Talks will be focused around technology- and finance-related topics.
Is a stronger presence of global fintech services expected in Serbia?
Absolutely! For instance, M&I Systems Group will likely more than double its fintech staff to support the growing need that we witness on a daily basis. Market conditions are good for the Serbian technology sector with views to keep growing.
