This month we had the opportunity to talk with Joanne Sebby, Chief Risk Officer at Fiserv to discuss the success of the company and their investments in the betterment of the Greater Omaha area.
Fiserv is a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology. The company was founded in 1984, however many Nebraskans know Fiserv through their history with First Data, founded in Omaha in 1971, which Fiserv acquired in 2019. The combination of Fiserv and First Data has been extremely transformative and allowed the combined company to bring together a set of assets to help customers in ways neither company could do by themselves. Globally, Fiserv enables commerce for millions of merchants, provides core banking technology to tens of thousands of financial institutions, and has programs that support the world’s largest card issuers. Fiserv helps ensure financial transactions across the ecosystem are completed in a safe and secure manner.
Three particularly innovative projects Fiserv is working on include the Fiserv Small Business Index, a first-of-its-kind indicator for assessing the performance of small businesses in the US, from retailers in New York to restaurants in Nebraska. Because Fiserv enables payments for millions of businesses globally, the company is able to provide insights to help other organizations better understand the health of small businesses in various verticals. The second innovative project is Clover, a point-of-sale platform and business management platform that helps more than 700,000 small businesses across the US run their businesses. Clover can help small businesses do everything from accepting payments in-store and online to streamlining back-office operations like payroll and accounting. This provides the small business owner the opportunity to focus on their business and simplify day-to-day operations. A third innovative project is Embedded Finance, which, “brings together capabilities across Fiserv to help us deliver financial services via non-bank channels, such as enabling financing for purchases via a merchant’s app or wallet, to streamline the customer journey. This is really the future of money movement,” says Sebby.
Not only are they making money movement easier, Fiserv is also investing back into the Omaha community. They are committed to hiring veterans and are often recognized as a great place for them to work in Nebraska. In addition, the Fiserv Back2Business program provides diverse small businesses with financial support, community connections, technology and business coaching. Through Back2Business, they have helped over 1,800 business owners. Fiserv is also investing in the future techies of the world through its 12-week STEAM program, FIN Future Techies, alongside Omaha Public Schools. This program is an after-school education designed to inspire middle school students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
Fiserv is an active member and significant investor in the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce because it provides them with the right platform for networking, professional development and community involvement. “Getting to learn more about the Chamber, it really feels like the more we invest in each other, the stronger community we’re going to have,” says Sebby.
To learn more about Fiserv, please visit fiserv.com.