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volume 8 • fall 2015
When the Center for Finan- cial Services Innovation (CFSI) was founded in 2004, there wasn’t much emphasis on serving consumers outside the financial mainstream. And outside of the prepaid industry, no one believed prepaid cards could be
a better choice for consumers than a bank account. Eleven years later, the picture looks quite a bit differ- ent because of CFSI and its leader Jennifer Tescher.
“Our work has led to so many interesting initiatives, products and programs—there’s a field and a market targeting consumers outside the financial mainstream ... that’s been a huge success,” says Tescher, who’s most proud of CFSI’s ability to shine a spotlight on the millions of Americans who are struggling financially, and the fact that the financial services industry can be part of the solution in a way that also makes money.
An Odd but Necessary Duck
One reason CFSI continues to be successful is because it brings disparate groups together—indus- try, nonprofits, consumer advocates, regulators—to promote high-quality financial services that are good for consumers and profitable for business. Through this network of financial services innovators, CFSI works to improve financial health in America by conducting research, investing in startups and hosting the annual Emerge Forum, among other activities. “Trust is the opera- tive word,” says Tescher, who was trained as a journalist. “It’s taken us
a long time to get to this point, but now people see us as a credible, independent partner that creates
a safe space to come together.”
When you look at the growth of the organization, it’s clear that CFSI filled a void. What began with a staff of six has ballooned to nearly 60 employees in Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York and San Francisco.
Much of the group’s work, particu- larly early on, focused on prepaid. “We brought together a broad array of stakeholders to develop guide- lines and best practices for high- quality prepaid products—“The Compass Guide to Prepaid”—and the industry has continued to shift its practices as a result,” she says. In addition to the growth of the prepaid industry, consumers
Best Advice
“I read a quote in a book a few years ago that said, ‘Your feet take you where you want to go.’ It’s so easy to feel like life is controlling you, but that’s a fallacy. We get to choose what we spend our time doing.”
now have more options. But Tescher believes there’s more to do. “While prepaid has a role as a standalone product, the real opportunity is in the interconnections—how it’s go- ing to connect up with mobile, sav- ing and credit,” Tescher predicts.
Unplugging
A New York native who grew up
in Miami and has spent 25 years braving Chicago winters, Tescher spends her non-working hours with her family—and avoiding email as much as possible. Her husband, Jonathan Eig, is an author and they have three children—6, 12 and 25. “Being able to raise happy, healthy kids is a big point of pride for me. And whenever one of my husband’s new books comes out, I feel incred- ibly proud even though I’m just a tiny cog in the machine.”
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Jennifer Tescher
President and CEO, Center for Financial Services Innovation