J-9 Was a Whole Mood - Fintech with Soul by Dr Elsa Lycias Joel
It’s been more than a week since I returned from a two-day Fintech Summit in Dubai hosted by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Two days of intellectual extravaganza of Fintech minds from all over the world is straight-up unforgettable.
Dubai Fintech 2025 was an attempt to energize the people-to-people relationship by focusing on exchange of ideas in addition to creating a resource pool of the world’s most influential fintech leaders, top- tier investors, policy architects, innovators, and startups. Nothing lacked a buzz with 8000 attendees, around 300 speakers and hundreds of exhibitors. The sea of possibilities and opportunities was too deep and promising to explore. This was yet another transformative summit to strengthen business-to-business-linkages and people-to-people contacts, which also provided a broader underpinning to the overall global relationship and economy seemed to include collaborative services, joint product development, market expansion and distribution partnerships, Strategic investments and Mergers & Acquisitions and many more. Right from the red carpet welcome and grand buffet to the plenary sessions and the closing ceremony, this two-day event set a global benchmark for financial technology gatherings.
The stalls I visited, the plans we made as a team, the potential partners we met, the lively discussions that sometimes turned into brainstorming sessions, and the Duchenne smiles along with the delightful handouts now sitting in my study remind me of the business interactions that, with a few detours along the way, blossomed into lifelong friendships. They still make my mind fly across the seas to that land of opportunities. Some take-away gifts came with hugs too. The cafeteria, right opposite our booth numbered J-9, overflowed with baked goodies that made mouths water in addition to spreading a Christmas aura. Even though I concluded that J-9 meant nothing but ‘JUST 9 steps ahead of everybody else’, the smell of coffee, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger that wafted from the cafeteria relaxed me into a pleasant non-competitive mood.
to adopt me
Until I jumped ship to ECS Fin, numbers never bothered me. Somewhere between deciphering banking fees, I delved into the SWIFT MT 0-9 series, developing my own interpretation for better recall. So, J-9 assigned to our booth hit the spot. Given Jacob Aruldhas’ persona, number 9 came to represent visionary ideas and the will to effect change. With a career that spanned some of the most respected names in global finance, Jacob brought both depth and dimension to the world of financial technology. He embarked on his career as a middleware consultant at HSBC, evolved into an IT architect at Chase, and honed his skills as a software engineer at Deutsche Bank. He later served as a middleware architect at Franklin Templeton Investments, a senior architect and business analyst at Vanguard, and even stepped into academia as a visiting faculty member at Columbia University. What tied all these roles together was not just technical expertise, but a relentless fire in his belly to optimize processes, to reimagine complex systems in ways that would not only enhance efficiency but ultimately ease financial lives and business operations.
Indeed, it takes a humane mind to architect change at this scale. One that envisions technology not just as a tool, but as a bridge to better living. Thus, he knew what he must build, how it should work and what measurable impact it must deliver to banks, corporates and investment managers who relied on department-centric applications that never prioritized transparency, compliance and secure infrastructure. The products, services and solutions were all about user value, scalability, modernizing and digitalizing pro-stable institutions, beyond the ledger, deeper connectivity across the financial ecosystem, better cyber security, real-time visibility and settlements and speed. If not for the adoption of the integrated platform built by his team, many big names in the industry might still be navigating inefficiencies caused by fragmented, department-centric applications from multiple vendors—struggling to pinpoint the root cause each time a transaction hit a roadblock. As I munched over these thoughts, I resolved to talk about ECS Fin at every stall I stopped byand just as importantly, take time to hear their experiences too since every person carries something worth sharing. When that story is one of triumph, it becomes a beacon of hope. Meanwhile, my heart hummed with gratitude for Shreya and Reena, my colleagues holding the fort at J-9.
and Rafal Kittel
As for me, factual narratives never grow old, like the nightan ACH file missed its moment. It was late. Systems had closed. Timelines had slipped. For most, that file, a critical batch of payments from a Tier-1 bank seemed as good as lost in the queue until the next business day, prolonged by Chinese New Year holidays. But for ECS Fin, the night was just beginning.The file was ingested into the IMS Payment Platform. What followed wasn’t just processing but orchestration. Overnight, field values were remapped, compliance checks run, and validations performed. And then, like clockwork, the transformed file surged through the RTP rail-faster, smarter, and perfectly aligned with the client’s specifications.The next morning, the bank called it a miracle. For ECS, it was just another night of doing what we were built to do. With us, mission-critical transactions don’t wait for a second chance because in a world that moves in milliseconds, timing isn’t everything, it's the only thing.
The booth to our right, Walnut Technologies, was hosted by Siddharth and Anjie, both so adorably in sync that even gravity seemed to ship them as a couple. After some classic pleasantries, and a socially acceptable amount of eye contact, I smoothly transitioned into chat mode, which, I believe, came pre-installed at my birth itself. Even though I know that the wrinkled appearance of a walnut to the cerebral cortex has got nothing to do with the formation of folds and ridges, I knew my neighbors had a tale to tell. Bingo! This three-year-old fintech arm branched from Walnut Medical that manufactures therapeutic and robotic neurorehabilitation devices to treat brain and spine injuries. To know that Paytm was their first customer wasn’t surprising enough because seconds earlier I discovered the hosts were a real couple. Wishful thinking turned serendipitously perfect.
Inside the booth, to our immediate left, sat a demure woman. Her eyes shone with intelligence and determination. I requested her to click some photos of us and she gracefully obliged. In my mind I read AML watcher as ‘A Magical Land Watcher’ yet I chose to have a light conversation with her to thank her for her kindness. When I grasped that AML Watcher is a banking grade Anti Money Laundering screening and transaction monitoring solution backed by 100,000+ data sources all updated and maintained in-house, I renamed it as All Monsters’ Lurking Watchdog. Me being me, the small talk lasted for more than an hour during which I browsed the entire brochure, received an invite to stay with her during my next visit, we exchanged numbers hoping for a future collaboration, she regaled me with some mummy anecdotes and shared photos and tiny tales of her two-year-old son Mustafa.
As I made my way around, I remembered my shorts trips to banks holding a cheque or DD or a passbook, long queues, friends from the neighborhood who let me jump the queue, some man or woman who would lift me up so that I could pass whatever I have with me to the teller at the counter, the sound of typewriter keys and ticking clocks, piled up dusty files and classic bank personalities worn by endless routines. Some casual banters resulted in giving and receiving goodie bags, keepsakes and souvenirs. Every booth was a small world, proof of the financial landscape undergoing a remarkable renaissance, a testament to what humans can build when they refuse to settle for ‘the utterly dull way it's always been’. Along my way, a rotary phone caught my attention and so did 6 faces that put me at ease. They called themselves the Pays Solutions team. One of them, Carlos Rosada shared how $950 he sent from Europe to India was blocked by a bank, an experience that pushed him to seek a modern alternative to the outdated 50-year-old cross-border payment system. The idea was born in his village Radojewo Ulica Piolunowa, that was his grandfather’s home and business hub, where people from the city came for fresh vegetables, fruits, and meat. Surrounded by this legacy of local trade and connection, the vision for a new financial solution took root in this magical place with three musketeers at the helm namely Carlos, Filip Bloch and Adam Larsson. To many others, that rotary phone rightly represented the lame burdensome system but to me it brought back memories. No kid of 80s and 90s can deny the excitement the moment the pulse took the place of the tone and patiently waited till the dial rolled back to its original place. Who could deny the fact that we cursed a number with more than a zero in it and never had the inkling of something called a ‘redial’! Still, it was considered a mark of luxury and affluence for all the snail-paced procedures one must go through for acquiring a connection in less than a year if you know a who’s who. Then, I bade goodbye with some off-the-cuff shots, two shades from ECS Fin to Adam Jenkins to match his jacket and endearing remarks from Olga and Rafal Kittel.
Booth-hopping was a blast. I got to talk endlessly about everything J-9 offers for financial institutions, investment bankers, brokers, and custodians. Around the corner I stumbled upon hugging koalas in all sizes and colors and Jermey Burton, who seemed to be a mentalist too. No sooner had I said “hi” he said he was giving away koalas to those who danced. It was a whimsical offer that felt as unexpected as it was delightful. I loved Koalas and dancing too. In just a few moments, we seamlessly shifted into discussing business, and I understood what Boston Trading Co had to offer. It had just launched the world’s first Shariah-compliant Halal Crypto Fund RAFAH, that offers Muslim investors a faith-based gateway into the booming cryptocurrency market. No sooner had I donned the Koala than Jeremy’s booth was Accioed a growing crowd, drawn in with surprising momentum. Among them was Rishabh Dhir from Luna PR, who returned disappointed to ask me if I had a Koala to spare since I was the one who directed him to Jermey. Apparently, the koalas had already flown off the shelves.
I took a slight detour, one that led into the wing bustling with Tier-1 banks. It was there, amid the suited crowds and polished booths, that I unexpectedly crossed paths with one of our clients. Fazil Badrudeen and Aalia greeted me warmly and conversed in Tamil. For a few golden minutes, we weren’t business minds or C-suite executives but friends speaking our mother tongue in a foreign land. And when that moment is paired with the simple joy of holding a café latte in hand, the comfort doubles. A small privilege, yes, but one that lingers long after the talkfest ends. Thanks to Jacob Aruldhas, the Latte-aholic in tow.
Manu Jacob Mathew and Rony from GCC Business News and the Emirati Times swept in like a breath of fresh air. Their brief presence reignited the journalist in me. Discussions weaved around solutions journalism, opinion & analysis, interactive print and the ways in which people can invest in the right exposure in a market that is tightly curated and commercially driven. Praveen Kottapallam from Safe Software and Integrated Solutions Pvt Ltd was a regular visitor who always made sure we had our food and drinks on time, making him feel more like a longtime friend than just a visitor. Beyond managing over 350 banking and financial clients, leading a team of more than 100, and overseeing 7,500 projects with AI-powered test automation solutions, he spun a yarn about Malayalam movie actors, their unique accents and the authenticity they bring both on and off screen.
At the heart of this revolution called Fintech 2025 were trailblazers who dared to ask, "What if finance could be better?" What if processes could be streamlined without sacrificing security? What if managing money could be intuitive, even joyful? What if access to financial tools wasn’t a privilege, but a right? The 50 odd booths weren’t just about innovation for innovation’s sake.
Stanley Mathew was one of those intriguing chance encounters that still stays with me. His stall header Rupeeseed Technology Ventures instantly caught my attention. It sounded like a secret farm where fintech ideas are planted, watered with code, and grow into money trees. Strangely enough, instead of me walking him through what we had to offer, our interaction flipped into a rapid-fire Q&A with Stanley on the answering end. Curious and clearly hooked, he decided to swing by our booth for a deep dive into our post-trade settlement capabilities. Before long, we found ourselves at his office in Dubai, continuing what turned into a dynamic exchange of ideas and possibilities. My brain was screaming: “Yasss queen, this is how you connect, with rizz, flair and follow-through!”
The myriad souls that flood my mind are simply too many to capture within the confines of these pages.To our good fortune, the tradition of exchanging cartes de visite remains alive to keep us connected, allowing us to stay in the loop, nurture relationships, and grow stronger together.
P.S. Rishabh Dhir, I owe you a Koala.
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