Meet Team finby: Interview with Milan Freibold, Head of Account Management

To start off, could you introduce yourself and tell us about your role at finby? How would you describe your position as Head of Account Management?

Our team is taking care of our existing portfolio of clients, as well as bringing new business in. Basically, we are making sure that each client is happy, and we make money at the same time. 🙂

How did you get into finby and the world of online payments? Was it a planned career path or something that developed naturally over time?

Nothing planned, I stumbled upon finby randomly when looking for a job and started working here as customer support. Over time, my role developed into account management, which felt very natural to me, as I enjoy solving problems and communicating with people at the same time.

What do you enjoy most about account management, and what continues to motivate you after so many years in the field?

I enjoy the relationship part of my role – the situation is not always good but as long as you have some level of connection and trust with people you work with, even the more difficult topics can be solved more easily. At the same time, the world of fintech is ever changing and developing, so you are learning some new practically every day, which pushes you forward.

Many people think of account management mainly as client communication. What does the role involve behind the scenes?

Lot of internal talks with other departments, as we are fighting on behalf of our clients. Sometimes the requests from our clients are demanding, so we need to find a way to push them through. Also, the job would not be possible without having a great account management team – we help and discuss things with each other daily, which is tremendous help.

What do clients today expect from an account manager in the fintech industry, and how does client care at finby differ from competitors?

You need to be there for clients, so I would say trust and expertise (meaning actually know what you are talking about) are most important things our clients expect and get from us. Given that our team has multiple members, we approach each client individually, so I would say that the care is tailored-made for every partner we have.

“The situation is not always good, but as long as you have some level of connection and trust with the people you work with, even the more difficult topics can be solved more easily.”

finby operates in a fast-paced and constantly evolving industry. In your opinion, how has the online payments landscape changed in recent years?

Centralization – especially in Europe, we have many local methods, which may seem quite fragmented. What we see recently is aggregation of solutions to bigger schemes, providing one solution for all regions.

What do you think is the key to building long-term and trustworthy relationships with clients?

Understanding their business, needs and where they want to go, and making sure that it also aligns with our vision. Knowing them on a personal basis is a must too.

What does a typical day in your role look like?

Checking emails, having calls, updating myself about what my team members are dealing with and helping them with solving problems as they come.

Working with clients often brings unexpected situations and challenging moments. Which achievement or moment in your career are you most proud of, and why?

It is impossible to be specific here, but the most important moments are where there is a difficult situation ahead of you, with no vision of clear “win-win” outcome, but you still manage to make the most of it and both sides are happy at the end.

What qualities or skills should someone have if they want to work in account management or the fintech industry?

You need to be eager to learn every day and care about what you learn and do. Also, it is very important to have people skills, as the main part of the role is relationship building.

How would you describe the team culture and cross-department collaboration at finby?

Quite relaxed but depends on which department you are dealing with. For example, we are in constant fight with our compliance team, as they don’t want to let us bring as much business in as we would like to :D. But jokes aside, since the company is not that big, we are lucky to have the environment where you know your colleagues and are able to cooperate even in difficult situations.