Whoever acquires knowledge and does not practice it remembers him who plows his land and leaves it unknown ~ Sa’di Gulistan

What could possibly entice Rick Fiorito, a just-retired, financially secure, new Floridian, and renowned payments-guru to even consider leaving the beach for an opportunity to disrupt the financial services landscape? Rick, at least, let the dust settle from your recent industry-wide retirement announcement from Mastercard.

“Joining RIBBIT.ai as their COO is an opportunity I simply couldn’t miss,” Rick knowingly smiles.

RIBBIT, a poised, pioneering data provider and financial decisioning company is rocking the foundation of the financial world. Six months ago, RIBBIT shook up the lending space by dramatically changing and improving the methodology behind lending decisions. Their scientific formula, analyzing bank account activity, examines and connects thousands of complex data points to reveal a much deeper, broader, and more accurate picture of a consumer’s ability to purchase goods/services. RIBBIT’s bleeding-edge technology decreases fraud, promotes payment affordability for consumers and safeguards payment protection for lenders. More consumers are approved with a much higher percentage of payback. Fairness has finally arrived in the credit world.

Enriching RIBBIT’s executive team with Fiorito’s talents and decades of payments experience helps support their alternative data-driven model that is currently disrupting financial services. “RIBBIT is strategically positioned to channel the convergence of innovative data analytics, integration technology, and open banking to improve access to quality financial services,” Fiorito announces. He adds, “By harnessing the power of open banking and behavioral analytics, RIBBIT is driving financial wellness and economic growth.”

In the article, Disruptive Innovation by Alexander Twin, the transformation occurs when “innovation transforms expensive or highly sophisticated products or services—previously accessible to a high-end or more-skilled segment of consumers—to those that are more affordable and accessible to a broader population.”

Twin explains when a new service/product disrupts, it usually replaces or moves established competitors from their comfort zone. Twin comments that disruptive innovation “simplifies and makes more affordable products and services to undesirable or ignored markets. Established companies typically strive to improve their products and services for the profitable customer base largely ignoring the needs and desires of untapped segments.”

And yes, knock, knock, RIBBIT and Fiorito hear you!

In the financial services industry, disruptive innovation uses technology to reconfigure existing business foundations to better meet the needs of consumers, while creating value for service providers, banks, and lenders. The RIBBIT team says, “presenting our game-changing analysis to clients is an adrenalin rush because no one believes it until we prove it with our numbers.”