In the latest episode of the Financial Marketing Insights podcast, we interviewed Amanda Werth Stewart, CMO, The Clearing House on her career and the importance of trust and innovation in financial services marketing.

From her decades of experience at Deutsche Bank to her current role as CMO of The Clearing House, Amanda shared valuable insights into how financial institutions can balance technological advancements with deep customer trust.

Learning to Navigate Ecosystems

Before stepping into financial services, Amanda worked at the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, where she gained early exposure to industry-wide collaboration.

"That role laid the groundwork for a lot of what I do today," she explained. Her work involved educating stakeholders, managing industry partnerships, and shaping public awareness - all essential skills that later proved invaluable in the payments sector.

In both lottery systems and financial services, success depends on interconnected networks, with government entities, corporate players, and consumers all influencing adoption. Amanda’s experience in ecosystem marketing helped her understand the complexities of driving engagement across financial institutions.

Building Trust in a Rapidly Changing Industry

Trust has always been the cornerstone of financial services marketing. As new technologies emerge, maintaining confidence and reliability among clients remains a top priority.

"Above all else, we need to ensure we’re providing the right products and services, supporting clients through change, and helping them improve their businesses," Amanda explained. At The Clearing House, maintaining client trust is central to every marketing initiative.

With real-time payments revolutionizing transaction speed, financial institutions must ensure that new systems are secure, transparent, and positioned as trusted solutions rather than disruptive replacements.

The Clearing House’s Role in Innovation

The Clearing House serves as both a Banking Association and Payments company, clearing $2 trillion in transactions daily. In 2017, it launched the Real-Time Payments Network, the first new payments network in 30 years in the U.S.

"Our mission remains the same - to keep the U.S. payment system safe and secure," Amanda emphasized. Achieving ubiquity in real-time payments adoption is a key focus, requiring education, outreach, and industry-wide collaboration.

Educating Financial Institutions on the Value of Instant Payments

With instant payments transforming liquidity and cash flow for businesses, The Clearing House focuses on ensuring financial institutions understand where and how real-time payments fit into their services.

"We work closely with financial institutions to help them educate their customers - from small businesses, to corporations and consumers alike," Amanda explained. Rather than replacing traditional payment methods like checks, wires, and ACH, instant payments provide strategic advantages where speed is essential.

The ability to cash out earnings immediately, as with gig workers like Uber drivers, demonstrates the real-world benefits that financial institutions must communicate effectively.

Balancing Innovation with Security in a Digital Age

With advancements in AI and large language models (LLMs), financial marketers now have new tools to optimize engagement, but responsibility and security remain paramount.

"There are pilots that can be done in a closed environment to ensure safety before rolling out new innovations," Amanda noted. This thoughtful approach to innovation ensures that financial marketers can explore new technologies without compromising security.

One notable case study from Amanda’s career was her work at Deutsche Bank on a virtual world conference for Sibos, the global event hosted by SWIFT, during the COVID-19 pandemic. With in-person gatherings impossible, Amanda and her team embraced an interactive digital platform that recreated an avatar-driven financial conference.

"At our conference, we were basically playing a video game," Amanda explained. The platform, reminiscent of Second Life, allowed attendees to network as avatars, explore breakout rooms, and engage in discussions, making virtual participation more immersive.

The initiative wasn’t without challenges - marketing the concept to participants and ensuring the technology scaled smoothly required careful planning. However, it proved to be a refreshing alternative to standard video calls.

"It was so fun to watch people fly around the virtual world, embracing the experience like kids," Amanda recalled. The Sibos event demonstrated how financial marketers can innovate, adapt, and create engaging client experiences even in the most unpredictable circumstances.

Lessons from Sailing: Strategy, Risk, and Adaptation

Beyond financial marketing, Amanda draws inspiration from her father, a retired philosophy professor and solo sailor who has crossed the Atlantic alone multiple times.

"Sailing is an allegory for life," she shared, explaining how vision, courage, and meticulous planning allow sailors - and indeed marketers - to navigate uncertainty.

Just as a sailor adjusts course based on changing winds, financial marketers must remain adaptive while maintaining trust.

"That’s the beauty of digital marketing - unlike a printed piece that’s final, now we can continually adjust in real time through A/B testing and refined strategies to achieve business goals," Amanda noted.

Looking Forward: Trust as the Future of Financial Innovation

For financial marketers, balancing technological advancements with deep client trust is the key to long-term success. Amanda believes that maintaining strong content, curiosity, and adaptability are essential as financial services evolve.

"Marketing is a fun industry because it’s constantly evolving," she said. As payments technology advances, the ability to educate, inspire trust, and refine strategies will define the leaders of tomorrow.