Niamh Lenaghan, Marketing Assistant at DIGISEQ, tells us how she went from knowing nothing about the world of fintech to one of its most enthusiastic proponents thanks to an apprenticeship – and how one of the perks of the job will see her flying the flag for DIGISEQ at the 2023 UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul…

What is your current job title?

I started at DIGISEQ as an apprentice on the 24th of January 2022. During my apprenticeship I was a junior content producer. I got my apprenticeship through the Juice Academy and the training provider was Apprentify.

My apprenticeship at DIGISEQ mostly involved working on the company’s social media channels and posting blogs on the website. As time went on, I got involved in a lot more behind-the-scenes administrative processes like updating spreadsheets and events calendars. I was given more responsibilities, like planning content. And earlier this year, I was thrilled when I got promoted to Marketing Assistant.

Did you know much about DIGISEQ before you joined the company, wearable tech, or about fintech in general?

I applied to the Juice Academy for my apprenticeship, and the Juice Academy linked me up with DIGISEQ.I’d never seen anything like DIGISEQ’s products before. But once I joined and began to learn more about the company and what it was doing, it seemed like such an interesting and exciting area to work in.

Everybody at DIGISEQ was really friendly and were happy to answer all the questions I had, like how their wearable tech works, how and where it can be used, and how payments are so important to society.

Is there a specific client challenge or problem that you’re really proud of working on or helping to solve? Can you give an example of a project you worked on from start to finish that you really enjoyed?

I love working on the DIGISEQ podcasts. Those happened quite early in my apprenticeship, and it was a really useful experience to be involved in, especially as an apprentice where I learned about how to plan, arrange and structure podcast recordings. I learned how to source the relevant guests, and got some valuable insights and knowledge about fintech industry trends in general.

Just being able to listen and watch how podcasts are recorded was a really valuable and exciting learning experience. I also got involved in the editing process afterwards and learned about how podcasts are produced behind the scenes, how they’re launched onto different content platforms and so on.

Right now, the DIGISEQ podcasts are available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube and on the DIGISEQ website. I also make sure that we use our social media channels to link to them, so that people are aware of them and are encouraged to watch. The number of listeners is really starting to pick up as interest in wearable tech takes off, which is great to see.

I really enjoyed the whole podcast process from end to end.

How do you see the fintech and payments industries evolving over the coming years? And what role would you like to play in that with DIGISEQ?

I definitely think that what DIGISEQ is doing with wearable tech is a real game-changer in the payment industry. Like I said, when I applied I didn’t even know it was a thing. And I think that’s still what it’s like for a lot of people. But as people see it in action and learn how secure, quick and convenient it is, wearable tech is definitely going to take over more traditional ways of paying.

I definitely want to be there for when that happens, to watch it grow with DIGISEQ and to see the impact that they’re making on the payments landscape. It’s cool to grow with the company personally and professionally, with my apprenticeship developing into a full-time role too.

How do you think wearables will benefit banks, businesses and customers moving forward?

I think we’ll see sustainability definitely becoming a big part of why wearable tech will take off as wearable items can help banks cut down on the amount of plastic cards they need to produce. DIGISEQ’s wearable tech was used at the French Open Roland Garros tennis tournament in 2022, with fobs made from recycled apple waste. Innovations like these give banks and businesses a way to combine cool payment technology with sustainable and eco-friendly materials, which are really appealing to lots of customers across all demographics.

Seeing how wearable tech can improve people’s payment data security too is great to see too. With a wearable object that goes wherever the customer goes, it’s far less likely to be lost as easily as cards or phones can be.

What are your future plans with DIGISEQ?

At the moment, I’m really enjoying what I’m doing, and I’m very grateful to have been taken on by DIGISEQ. I’m also very excited to be going to the UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul on 10th June in Istanbul! DIGISEQ’s wearable tech will be in use in the stadium in partnership with Champions League sponsor Mastercard, with some VIPs receiving our fobs to gain stadium access. That’s one of the ways DIGISEQ’s tech is helping to speed up venue access, with fobs that can store digital event tickets and can be used to quickly and securely verify people’s ID and entry details.

I’ll be doing some blogging while I’m at the event and updating our social channels, taking photographs and meeting guests there who will be using DIGISEQ fobs. It will be fantastic to see our tech in use at such a high-profile event like this, and a great advert for us on the world stage.