People of Asuwere - James McEniery
In this edition of People of Asuwere, we sit down with Asuwere member James McEniery, co-founder of Dosh, the money app that helps you spend, save, and borrow money.
After a 15-year career at Lion, James made the bold move from the world of beers to banking, inspired by the seamless digital payment apps he experienced while living in Singapore. Alongside his co-founder Shane Marsh, James saw an opportunity to disrupt the traditional banking landscape in New Zealand with a fresh, tech-driven approach.
- Transitioning from Beers to banking is quite the shift! What inspired you and Shane Marsh to go on this journey and start your own bank after 15 years at Lion?
I was working up in Singapore with Lion, and really enjoyed using all these cool apps that made my life easy. Apps like PayLah and GrabPay, where you could pay anyone using their mobile phone, never carry a physical banking card for payments, and you could receive loyalty rewards and scan to pay for anything.
So during covid Shane (who was my neighbour and running a bank up there) and I were in the condo pool talking about what I will miss when I leave Singapore. And I mentioned that I can’t wait to go back to NZ and use these apps, this new tech I had adopted. Obviously naive to the fact that NZ was years behind the rest of the world in terms of digital banking and / or open banking.
So Shane explained to me how things were back home and we decided to leave our corporate jobs, head home to NZ and start dosh, a fintech which ended up been NZ’s first ever instant digital payments app. We started out launching payments to find out product market fit (MVP), moved into money management tool / savings end of last year, and now focusing on lending, all with a digital first customer mindset.
- Dosh promotes itself as 'banking made freak’n easy.' There must be a massive amount of red tape in starting a bank, what has been one of the biggest hurdles?
The biggest hurdle is getting started. For us when we launched (as a non-licensed bank) the law states we must hold client monies in a registered bank in NZ. To get banked by one of the top 4 banks is very very difficult as a fintech start up, as they all have their own priorities, strategies, and risk appetite. So for dosh to start we needed a bank account, and Kiwibank helped us get going.I will forever be grateful to them for giving us a chance.
Then to apply to be a licensed bank is a very structured, formal and long process that has very little room for flexibility as it stands. So one of our jobs is to inform the RBNZ and policy makers that there are different ways now for banking. There needs to be the opportunity for new digital banking tech and banking models to co-exist in NZ which the other banks in NZ.
- What are we missing out on as kiwis when it comes to banking that Dosh wants to disrupt?
As we experienced in Asia, NZ is missing out on better value, better digital products and better banking experiences. Due to our model having no branches and no high overheads, we can provide value back to kiwis. We can give easier banking products via the latest tech to the next generation of digital natives growing up in NZ. We can use tools like AI to remove any friction you may experience today when you open an account, or apply for a loan today.
- Looking ahead, what are your big aspirations for Dosh? How do you see the platform evolving to meet the changing needs of Kiwis?
Over the last 3 years. We have built the foundations of a bank. Spend (dosh card, google / apple pay and instant payments, split bills), Save (budgeting tools and easy to use savings accounts), Borrow (easy to apply personal loans and mortgages coming soon). Our aspiration is to provide the best banking services to a digital generation, not necessarily be the biggest, just be the best in NZ. Our core customers are aged between 18 – 34 today, and they are highly engaged. They tell us what they want and don’t want or like. So our roadmap will continue to evolve based on the customer needs. Investment products, FX, KiwiSaver, AI products are just a few things we are exploring. However, this all takes investment and capital, so choosing the right partners to deliver this is key.
How does Asuwere suit your lifestyle?
Asuwere is great. It takes away the hassle of thinking. I have built up my staples over the last year, so I now don’t need to stress. I have a range of clothing products that suit my social and business life. Some days I am presenting to a board of investors or need to be more formal, then the next day we are in the office or socialising so more casual. For me Asuwere also makes me feel my fashion choices are relevant. I like the digital element that I can manage my account online and on the go choose items.
For every Asuwere member who signs up to dosh they'll get $15 added straight to their account. Check details in the Directory.
As you were!