René, you have been acquainted with TWINT for a long time. Tell us your story:
That’s right. I first came across TWINT when I was working for Zürcher Kantonalbank as a Business Project Manager and was responsible for the mobile banking apps. I was therefore able to supervise and help shape the Paymit project, as it was known at the time, from the very beginning – from the first workshops in an artist’s studio to the go-live in May 2015. You know what happened next: the TWINT and Paymit systems merged under the name of TWINT. At the beginning of November 2018, I switched sides and became a member of the Executive Board of TWINT, assuming the role of Chief Product Officer (CPO).
Which tasks and duties are you responsible for at TWINT?
I head up the “Banks” vertical. This means that I am primarily responsible for the interests of our banks and for providing assistance to them. Working together with my team, I ensure that the communications about and knowledge of TWINT in the banking world are constantly on the up. Sometimes, you need a lot of patience and to put in a great deal of effort to help banks make the move into the new digital world. Many people just see TWINT as a new payment method, but we hope that this will no longer be the case. Our aim is to show them TWINT and how many advantages there are for banks when they work together with TWINT.
Which TWINT function do you use the most? What is the reason for this?
In terms of what I use, definitely paying at the cash register. As I never carry any cash and I do not use any other payment methods (only in extreme circumstances), this is the function I use the most. This is closely followed by paying for parking fees and online shopping. Transferring money between friends is also a frequently used function.
When you are not working at TWINT, what do you like to do?
I have a great many interests and I pursue most of them quite actively. These range from 3D printing and drone flying to passions such as snowboarding. When I get the chance in the summer, I also like to go wakeboarding every now and then. Something I would particularly like to mention here is my passion for restoring motorcycles. Together with five other “nitroheads”, I have a workshop in which we take old beat-up motorcycles and make them roadworthy again. I really enjoy this and it helps balance out my daily work routine of sitting at the computer. We get our hands dirty and it is a really creative hobby. You might think I love touring around on my motorcycle, but I definitely don’t. I prefer to tinker with the bikes.
What would you like to happen in TWINT’s future?
It would be great if we could further raise the awareness and popularity of TWINT in Switzerland , and hopefully in other countries too. I think that the bigger we become, the harder it will be to maintain the agility and cool groove of our work, but this is precisely what I would most like to happen.
