5 questions with … John Frerichs of JPMorgan Chase

Chase for Business is innovating to meet the evolving needs of its small- to medium-sized business clients, John Frerichs, head of global SMB payments at JPMorgan Chase, told Bank Automation News. 

“One of the biggest changes in small business that we are continually adapting to is the need for a digital-centric ecosystem of payments products,” Frerichs said. “Customers want to onboard with Chase once, as seamlessly as possible, and then gain access to multiple payments products across mobile, web browser and physical hardware.” 

To keep up with the digital demands of its clients, the bank rolled out its data-driven business decisioning tool, Customer Insights, to nearly 5 million small-business clients at the end of October. 

In an interview with Bank Automation News, Frerichs discussed how he approaches demand for innovation through client feedback and what payments trends he is closely monitoring. What follows is an edited version of that conversation. 

Bank Automation News: What digital payments trends do you have your eye on as you look ahead to 2025? 

John Frerichs: As we head into 2025, the financial sector continues to embrace digitization, and digital payments have become a business staple. I’m keeping my eye on the following: 

• Security. Biometric authorization is increasingly stepping up as a go-to solution for small-business owners to address security and fraud concerns. 

• AI. Small-business owners are simultaneously curious and cautious about AI. Our Mid-Year Business Leaders Outlook survey at Chase found that 47% of small-business owners are a bit worried about AI, while 48% are ready to integrate AI into their operations within the next year. 

• Omnichannel payments. More businesses are embracing omnichannel payments — whether it is offline, online or a mix of both. Our launch of Tap to Pay on mobile is a great example of a new payments use case taking off. 

• Software. Small businesses are finding their payment providers through software they already use such as point of sale software, scheduling software and accounting tools. This helps make managing a small business more seamless. 

BAN: When it comes to payments, what are Chase for Business small-business clients most concerned about? 

JF: Each month, we closely track what small-business owners are thinking and the big economic factors impacting this. This year, their top concerns have been cash flow, staffing and revenue growth. That’s why Chase has introduced new services to make payments easier. We’ve got tools to help businesses create and send invoices electronically, speed up payments, and gain useful and actionable insights from their payment data. 

Running a small business means juggling a lot, from managing operations, to paying  employees and tracking inventory. Understanding customer needs is crucial, but making sense of all that payment data can be overwhelming. Determining the where, when and how of collecting insights can be time-consuming and costly.  

BAN: Chase for Business has launched several new digital solutions recently. Is there a standout product you helped bring to market? 

JF: Within the past year we have rolled out a series of new product innovations — including Tap to Pay, a new Chase Card Reader, a set of new Chase Point of Sale terminals, a digital invoicing tool, faster payment capabilities and payroll partnership with Gusto. 

Most recently, Chase for Business expanded access to its Customer Insights tool, now available at no additional cost to nearly 5 million business checking clients. This powerful platform offers simple, actionable insights to help business owners connect with their customers, run their business more efficiently and make smarter strategic decisions. 

It provides them with data-backed intelligence to boost marketing, optimize staffing during peak hours and suggest expansion based on their customer location.  

BAN: How does Chase for Business stay ahead of small-business owners’ changing needs and expectations? Where does innovation fit in? 

JF: We are always thinking about and talking to our customers. For example, we regularly survey small-business owners and use their input to design business solutions that can address their greatest pain points. 

We also spend significant amounts of time talking directly to our customers. Chase for Business hosts several events throughout the year that give us the opportunity to hear from hundreds, if not thousands, of small-business customers at once. I also invite small-business customers to our All Hands meetings. We talk to owners about the story of their businesses, what Chase does well as their banking partner and what we could be doing better. 

All of this input, as well as our original design and product thinking, serves as the foundation for our innovation agenda. 

BAN: As the needs of small-business owners change, how do you lead your team to adapt to changing needs? 

JF: Change is a constant, both in the small-business operating environment as well as the internal environment at Chase for Business. We are always thinking of how we can adapt and evolve to serve our customers better. 

Leading through change is not a perfect science, but I have a few principles that I consistently use to be as effective as possible. The first principle is to gather and acknowledge the facts in a changing environment — whether those facts paint an unsettling picture or not. Next, I try to create a limited set of priorities that the team can rally around. Simplifying focus increases the likelihood of delivery. Finally, I aim to provide the maximum amount of transparency into how the team is doing through quantifiable metrics. With clear yardsticks, we know where we are hitting the mark for our customers — and where we need to change course. 

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