An outstanding boutique management consultancy focused on converting strategic vision into business reality: Further Advisory

The Silicon Review

At Further Advisory, “boutique” doesn’t mean limited. It means that the company is focused on client service, with deep relationships grounded in trust and fostered over many years. This intimate level of engagement, combined with a high degree of flexibility, world-class talent, objective perspective, and bias toward results, is what sets Further apart from others. The payments industry is more competitive, dynamic, and open than ever. Traditional card-based economics are being disrupted; while the pandemic has decimated T&E spend and is challenging customer loyalty programs. Further Advisory’s depth of experience in this sector has helped clients reinvent payment and credit models, enabling them to rethink experiences for consumers, small businesses, large enterprises, merchants, and B2B suppliers. Further Advisory partners with payments institutions to accelerate their time-to-market for new products, facilitating faster and greater capture of customer wallet share. The advent of Real-Time Payments in the US is already causing disruption, just as it has abroad. The ability to marry – and then apply – academic perspectives with pragmatic experience will help payment providers stay ahead of the competition. Further team members have served previously as members of the Fed’s Faster Payments Task Force and are currently serving as members of the US Faster Payments Council to help chart the path ahead. Traditional card issuers want to expand into the growing B2B space but are often limited by economics, e.g., cost of cash. Opening non-card pathways for payment has created new opportunities for value. It’s not enough these days to offer the ability to safely send payments to recipients across borders and across currencies; rather, one must do so faster, more efficiently, seamlessly within other payments journeys, and of course, cheaper.

Banks have never seen more disruption, from unprecedented market and regulatory challenges to intense competition from both BaaS and challenger. Today’s customers expect personalized and streamlined digital experiences in our fast-paced, always-on world. Further Advisory works with financial services firms to establish transformational strategies, build new digital capabilities, and accelerate launches, all while modernizing core business operations. FinTech companies are eager to carve out bigger and bigger pieces of the Financial Services ecosystem. Where some see threats, others see opportunities to partner or integrate, thus unlocking ways of accelerating new and exciting capabilities. With the transactional element of payments commoditized, clients have recognized that greater value comes from financing transactions or their associated payables or receivable. Commercial underwriting has woefully lagged consumer when it comes to digitization and automation. FinTechs and customer expectations are rapidly changing this, and the ability to seamlessly integrate underwriting with onboarding and bill pay processes is critical for maximizing spend. The healthcare landscape continues to face tremendous change and regulatory scrutiny, and the demand for digital engagement in the current environment has never been greater. Further Advisory partner with healthcare insurers and providers to realize their visions of seamless digital experiences, while also modernizing decades-old legacy infrastructure and enabling new operational efficiencies.

Hospital Price Transparency: This new regulation requires payers, providers, and self-insured group health plans to either furnish the patient with out-of-pocket cost information or make the costs associated with their procedures available. This has the potential to transform the patient experience when it comes to elective procedures, and Further Advisory’s clients are looking to be leaders in defining that new digital experience. There are also massive impacts on compliance, pricing strategies, and tech innovation that must be assessed and demand thoughtful strategic planning.

IT Infrastructure Interoperability: In a fractured healthcare landscape, the ability to exchange information safely, securely, and easily is critical to support patient outcomes, value-based reimbursement, and telehealth. Such data is especially important for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services programs such as VBP, HRRP, and HAC. Further Advisory’s payer and provider clients have therefore been prioritizing infrastructure and data initiatives such as cloud migrations and new data management & governance strategies, as well as an increased focus on cybersecurity.

Insurance

The insurance industry is experiencing unprecedented challenges from multiple fronts. Customers are at the forefront, demanding streamlined digital experiences, easy-to-understand product features, and competitive pricing. In response, traditional carriers are escalating much-needed investments in digital transformation, while InsurTech startups pour in billions in funding to expand the competitive landscape. Constant prioritization and an agile strategy have never been more needed by all. The rise of InsurTechs has accelerated change throughout the insurance landscape, from plug & play technology partners to full-stack carriers. Both insurers and InsurTechs have to embrace partnerships as a path to growth. Further Advisory help clients define, cultivate, and monetize these evolving go-to-market ecosystems.

Meet the leader behind the success of Further Advisory

Jeff Catalina, CEO and Founder has over 20 years of experience and deep insight into the Financial Services industry, working extensively across the B2B, consumer payments, and merchant value chains. He has expertise in developing pragmatic, execution-ready strategies that leverage technology, data, and operational capabilities to unleash business value for clients. Jeff excels at bringing go-to-market planning and execution rigor to clients’ largest and most challenging programs, helping to maximize value realized through effective management, as well as the strategic application of information technology.