SoFi Is Building the ‘Banking Model’ of the Future

Relationship-banking is top-of-mind for financial institutions, but in many cases, that does not translate into real actions.

That’s according to Mike Cagney, CEO of SoFi.

“We don’t think of ourselves as a finance company, we are a relationship company,” Cagney said during TechCrunch Disrupt yesterday. “[Traditional] FIs have been resistant to this model, but in 10 to 15 years, every financial institution will look like this.”

SoFi, as the name suggests, is known for being very social with its customers: the lender holds regular networking events, including happy hours, cooking classes, and even “singles” brunches. The company is currently in the midst of Raise Week — a series of events, videos, Twitter chats, and other activities to help millennials “ace” the raise negotiation.

When asked if all those initiatives are too much of a deviation from SoFi’s core operations, Cagney emphasized that the mentorship and networking events “are massively popular for us, people want to interact, and we want to give them the ability to do that.” In other words, it may be a deviation, but it’s a deviation in the right direction.

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Giving consumers the option to interact is also the underlying principle behind the company’s newest wealth management product, SoFi Wealth, Cagney added. The new platform, launched yesterday, combines online and mobile platforms with an unlimited access to SoFi’s licensed financial advisors — a hybrid model, adopted by many players in the robo industry.

Cagney noted that, as SoFi continues to grow, the company will look into expanding into non-profit operations. “There is a tremendous opportunity to bring financial literacy to students and to empower them with it,” he added.