On 26th April our community of innovators and industry practitioners, including retailers, manufacturers, financial institutions, insurers, telcos, fintechs and tech providers, gathered at FTT Embedded Finance & Super Apps. We delved into the technologies, innovations and trends that are re-defining the future of how financial services are devised and distributed. During an exciting day packed with content, our Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder, Lisa Moyle, took the opportunity to interview Michael Callas, SVP and Global Head of ElloU at Talenthouse to talk about The Creator Economy.

Talenthouse is a technology platform working with the largest global community of creators (over 14 million members).  Their community produces digital content for some of the largest companies in the world, including Facebook, HBO, Disney, Adidas, Nike and Netflix.

Their community of creators face some significant challenges when it comes to accessing financial services that meet their particular needs. For freelances, slow payments, high foreign exchange charges, insufficient access to credit or investment services, can be a real struggle. Built on an understanding of the community’s unique needs, Talenthouse has recently announced the launch of ElloU, a money management platform for creatives.

ElloU is not a bank, but the money management platform will offer banking services in collaboration with third party providers. Their initial offering consists of a bank account, debit card, domestic and international payments that will be rolled out in Europe over the coming months, looking ahead, in the UK and US markets in the summer of 2022.

Through his extensive and expansive international experience of working with innovative fintechs, Michael has delivered transformative products to end consumers. He is truly excited by the power of technology when applied to helping people realise their financial goals.

Michael combines his passion for fintech with another passion, creativity. He got drawn in by the power of the community that Talenthouse is nurturing “Having the opportunity of creating with the amazing brands we get to work with, while being able to create an embedded finance proposition for 14.7 million creatives and counting was like Christmas over and over again”.

“Getting people paid it’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s about building trust and understanding the creative’s unique needs” He refers to accessing other financial services in line with someone’s goals or lifecycle, eg access to a mortgage, or financial planning when starting a family. There is so much opportunity to do better.

Michael notes that the broader opportunity around The Creator Economy is in democratizing the way in which people are able to do what they love. “Creatives in this sense are very similar to entrepreneurs” He says “It is very hard to separate them from their work. They are what they do.” The magic is in including more people in the creator economy. “These people are taking their heart, mind and skill sets and delivering beauty that we live around, so there is an extra level of responsibility, and this is what we are trying to get right.”

ElloU by Talenthouse helps creators access financial tools truly informed by an understanding of their needs, empowering them on their life journey and ambitions and creating the working life to which they aspire.

To learn more about The Creator Economy and Talenthouse, watch the video below:

The next edition of FTT Embedded Finance & Super Apps will take place virtually on 21st September 2022 (North America) and live as part of the Fintech Talents Festival on 14th and 15th November 2022 at The Brewery, London. Save the dates!