Me & My Career: This ‘plumber’ of the financial world ensures that money flows smoothly

Mr Tom was retrenched last April amid the pandemic.

SINGAPORE – Using financial technology, or fintech, to disrupt traditional models may seem “cool”, but Mastercard executive Joseph Tom believes it is as much about solving seemingly mundane problems.

Fintech, he notes, has begun to improve access to remittance services for migrant workers, who otherwise could spend up to 10 per cent of their savings on transfer fees and poor exchange rates.

“It might not look all glamorous compared to global investing, cryptocurrencies and roboadvisory, but a lot of the value of fintech lies in solving these unsexy problems in traditional banking such as financial inclusion and access to credit,” says Mr Tom, a director for business development at Mastercard.

“A senior executive told me fintech professionals often consider themselves the plumbers of the financial world, fixing the pipes and infrastructure that lead to more efficient flow of payments, investments, remittances and so on.”

Mr Tom, who has spent 11 years in banking, fintech start-ups and venture capital investing, hit a roadblock en route to his current “dream job” after being retrenched last April amid the pandemic.

The MBA-holder faced multiple disappointments in his job search, often reaching the last stage of interviews just to be “ghosted” by firms that stopped responding.

Mr Tom, 34, eventually approached Workforce Singapore. A coach at one of the statutory board’s career matching providers, Ingeus, sent him job opportunities and helped him prepare for interviews and salary negotiation.

The free programme also included use of a shared working space at the Lifelong Learning Institute, a professional headshot and business cards.

He secured his current role within a month, at a higher pay than his previous job, and started work last December.

“I am keen to pay this forward in whatever way possible, such as volunteering to mentor young job seekers and hiring talent through this programme in future,” he says.

Q What do you do at work?

A I work with our country teams to improve access to digital payments in the Asia-Pacific region. We find ways to achieve faster and cheaper payments, efficient accounting, improved fraud detection and better reach for our clients.

I spend a lot of time talking to clients and prospective clients, to understand their pain points and how we can build scalable solutions. I also talk to product teams to give them customer insights and coach and learn from team mates.

Q How much do you earn?

A A director at Mastercard in Singapore earns $120,000 to $250,000 annually, according to career site Glassdoor. We also get generous performance-based bonuses and stock grants annually.

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Q Why did you pursue this career?

A Fintech marries my engineering education and financial aptitude. It was my business finance professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) who recognised this aptitude and I am deeply indebted to her and other mentors throughout my career.

I started as a graduate trainee at JP Morgan in Singapore. Starting in traditional banking helped me understand how financial products work, how money moves and what it means to price a particular financial instrument.

While living in New York, I invested in and consulted for start-ups in fintech and enterprise SaaS (software as a service). This experience drove my decision to work in a start-up when I returned to Asia, so I joined Xendit, a payments start-up. One of my tasks was to build a lending business from the ground up for Indonesian SMEs – another exciting challenge.

Q What is your educational background and how have you upgraded your skills along the way?

A I have a bachelor’s degree from NTU in electrical and electronic engineering with a minor in entrepreneurship, as well as an MBA from Columbia University.

I have constantly tried to upgrade my language, technical and professional abilities, such as through attending the Business Mandarin programme at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I also attend free online courses from top universities, and recently completed a venture capital bootcamp.

Q What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced so far in your career? How did you overcome them?

A Graduating into overheating economies followed by recessions, in 2008 and 2019. I also lost my job in the early part of the pandemic.

There are things that are outside our control, we just have to make the best of the situation. For me, it meant spending extra time with my loved ones and volunteering.

Speaking more broadly about the fintech industry, it is important to listen to the market and understand where the demand is and where it overlaps with your skills.

Chasing the hype will very often lead to high burn rate to achieve growth amid competition.

记住华沙犹太起义，81 年后

记住华沙犹太起义，81 年后