Smiley Technologies’ Elizabeth Glasbrenner on the Growth of Fintech

Smiley Technologies Inc. employs almost 100 people, most of them in Arkansas. (Jason Burt)

The Smiley name is synonymous with banking software. What products and services does Smiley Technologies sell?

The Smiley name has a rich history in banking software dating back to the 1960s. The true partnership between a bank and its core processor modeled by my father is something we seek to emulate in the industry. Smiley Technologies, as we know it now, started with a customer, not a product, in 2002. We are focused on great banking technology coupled with great customer experience. We offer comprehensive core, digital and analytics products with application programming interface-first integration, all centered around what we can help our bank partners provide to their customers. A strong support structure in Service With a Smiley and IT Services teams focused on data security and uptime round out our suite of products. We see a real need for high-touch service coupled with competitive software in the community bank space.

Your company employs almost 70 people in Arkansas. What skills do you seek and how do you find good candidates?

We have close to 100 employees, of whom 45% are female. Bank data processing as a whole is not something that is taught in schools. It takes individuals who understand and thrive under the pressure of getting it right — every day. After all, we deal with people’s money and that must be right. We need everything from skilled programmers, IT professionals, service-centric professionals, data analytics professionals and more. Above all, these candidates must understand and believe in our mission to be the trusted voice at the table for our partners. They must live and breathe our CORE IS values: collaboration, optimism, respect, empathy, integrity and service. You can have the most skilled employees, but if they don’t perform in a way that fits the company culture, then it will never work.

Fintech has become its own business sector. Where do you see the most growth potential for financial technology?

There is a lot of noise in our industry right now in many areas — faster payments, APIs, digital-first, side-cores, artificial intelligence, and the list goes on. When I think of the most growth potential for financial technology, I think of automation. However, most people would say that you automate to take people out of the equation. I say you automate to help make people more efficient. We believe people should always be a part of decision-making.