AttainX’s CEO on Breaking into U.S. Lending

Fraud prevention, dealer innovation, and go-to-market tips

From a £10 Levi’s ecommerce campaign to fighting $9.2 billion in auto lending fraud, Jill Robb’s journey into U.S. fintech is as unique as it is insightful. As CEO of AttainX and a seasoned fractional CMO, Jill joins GDS Link’s Nicolas Kendall, Growth Marketing Director, to unpack how synthetic and first-party fraud are pushing lenders to rethink risk strategies and embrace AI-powered tools like income validation.

The conversation covers how Point Predictive leads the charge in identifying evolving fraud patterns and why platforms like Ottomotto are transforming access to capital for independent auto dealers. Jill also shares a sharp perspective on what European fintechs often miss about the U.S. market, the regulatory curveballs that can derail expansion, and how strategic event sponsorships and partnerships are the new growth currency.

Whether you’re building a demand gen engine or navigating market entry, this episode offers a blueprint for modern lending innovation in an increasingly complex market.

 

Episode Transcript

Nick Kendall: Welcome to the latest episode of The Lending Link, where we cut through the noise and simplify the conversation around modern lending. I'm Nick Kendall, Growth Marketing Director for Europe here at GDS Link, and in today's episode we're going to cover an interesting mix of topics including auto lending, innovation, fraud and new preventative tools, some of the fintech market contrasts between the US and Europe, and even a little sprinkling of demand gen marketing and partnership strategies to help us make sense of it all. I'm delighted to be joined by Jill Robb, CEO and founder of AttainX. Jill's a fractional CMO and rev ops leader with deep experience across e-commerce, fintech and financial services. She's helped US-based firms like Point Predictive and OttoMoto develop their propositions to tackle fraud, scale up pace, and drive measurable growth. And she's got a sharp lens on what's working and what isn't across both sides of the Atlantic. Whether you're working in lending, risk, fraud or fintech, there's something here for you. Let's dive in. Welcome Jill.

Jill Robb: Thank you so much Nick. I'm happy to be here.

Nick Kendall: Really happy to have you on the episode. Jill, I'd love to start with your background and your journey as a fractional CMO. It'd be great to explain maybe to some of our listeners what a fractional CMO is, and really your journey from leading e-commerce brand strategies for retail brands to, you know, to the world of fintech in the US. I'd love to hear a bit about your background.

Jill Robb: It's a bit of a varied background Nick, that's for sure. So I actually started off in the world of retail at the very start of my career and that transitioned into a career in e-commerce in London, working for an agency there and working for some of the tier 1 sort of e-commerce retailers like Levi's Europe, Toys R Us that did exist back then. I gradually got into more of, I think, a holistic view of the marketing on the marketing side, specifically in digital, and that actually led me to set up my own agency. And I grew the agency and merged it then in 2014 in Northern Ireland with a company that previously built websites and apps, and I brought to that then the strategy and the marketing side to provide almost like a full service agency. But I was fortunate enough, I say that when I was a student sort of coming up through, I always worked two or three jobs, and so I actually had a bit of a history in FCA compliance and a bit of a knowledge around that because I actually worked in a call centre for what is now Santander back in the day, and I learned a lot about the compliance side of things when speaking with customers and so on. And that actually worked really well for me in terms of a career because what I ended up doing then was working with insurance companies and banks on the marketing side and on sort of marketing strategy and marketing implementation and running their marketing initially within the UK, Northern Ireland and the UK, and then I expanded that during the COVID phase into working with US companies, specifically more in the fintech and the insurtech side because of that knowledge. I suppose I would say that I have a love of those industries and I really enjoyed working in the US space, and I'd gathered a lot of knowledge because I'd studied briefly in the US as a student after winning a scholarship. So I already had an understanding of the culture and so on, and that led me to really have this drive to set up and market companies within the US, and that ultimately it sort of led me into the career of a fractional CMO. And to those listeners that are unaware of what that is, it's basically a chief marketing officer who works a fraction of the time for a number of different organizations.

Nick Kendall: In terms of AttainX, see some of the customers that you support and work with Jill, US predominantly based, specifically on the kind of auto lending side seems to be a real kind of niche of expertise. Could you kind of maybe give a couple of examples? I know with Point Predictive and OttoMoto, some of those customers that certainly reside in that area. What specifically brought you to the space of auto lending and the areas of innovation I guess that you maybe identified for those business to pursue?

Jill Robb: I guess you could say I almost fell into the space in many ways. So the lending space was familiar to me because I'd previously worked with Danske Bank in Northern Ireland on the mortgages side, and so lending wasn't new to me. And a colleague of mine actually had recommended me to Point Predictive and that's how I ended up working with Point Predictive as part of their marketing team, and I soon became a large part of their marketing team, you know, very, very quickly. And it was through word of mouth really that I get most of my clients actually. It's through word of mouth and through the results that I deliver. And in that auto lending space, I think the one thing that really got me hooked in many ways is the auto lending space in the US is really, I was going to say ripe for disruption. It's going through disruption right now. And so there's a lot of change in that overarching lending space. All consumer lending actually in the US is kind of undergoing this sort of period of rejuvenation. There's lots of innovation going on and that environment I really thrive in, I really enjoy that sort of innovative approach. But what really hooked me in particular with the Point Predictive side of things was that they are fraud fighters to their core. And that sort of aspect of for the greater good is very important for me whenever I'm working with clients and seeing what they can do. The fact that they are able to sort of match that sort of speed of innovation that is happening within, within the auto lending space to, I guess, curb the flow of fraud in many ways that is actually innovating at the same sort of speed. It's quite scary, you know, on that aspect of things, how fast that world operates. And so it's so important to work with organizations that are open to that sort of level of speed and innovation and agility really in terms of dealing with what is thrown at you as a lender in the US market.

Nick Kendall: In terms I guess of Point Predictive's analysis of the market and the state of play really regarding fraud and the increased spotlight that is now on the exposure potential losses for a lot of lenders, and importantly how they can take measures to, you know, to remedy kind of and act against a lot of sophisticated new fraud techniques. That just feels crazy, right? You know, last 12 months, 18 months, the very sophisticated cases that are mainstream press. But in terms of those losses, I mean, Point Predictive released the report a few weeks ago around, you know, the size of that exposure, particularly in the US, and you know, some pretty frightening statistics in there around, you know, up to kind of $9.2 billion estimate of fraud loss exposure in this year alone in the US. Could you talk through some of that, you know, that kind of research? The, I guess, the objective around kind of presenting the true state of play and, you know, the, I guess, the future ahead to try and remedy some of that for some of the lenders.

Jill Robb: So the team at Point Predictive, I would have to say, are top of their game in terms of that, and under I guess the direction of Frank McKenna, who is a co-founder at Point Predictive and Chief Innovation Officer. Frank actually has his own, I want to say fraud following. He has his own website called Frank on Fraud, very well known in that space. He recently actually won a lifetime achievement award. And under the guise of sort of his direction in that front, and also worked with the other co-founders' direction, Tim Grace, who spotted that the fraud was increasing in the auto lending space and decided to do something about it. And Frank and the team of engineers that they have at Point Predictive are just world class. And the Point Predictive tools are actually based on a data risk repository with proprietary data included, but it's based on almost a consortium data of 260 million auto loan applications. And off of the back of that, the team at Point Predictive were able just to glean a lot of insight, which they then use AI and machine learning to identify fraud patterns and then can use that in real time and to develop their tools. And that's exactly what they've done. But one of the things that Frank actually recognized early on was that this information was so interesting to people, and not only so interesting, it was so valuable to lenders in the US that he decided to start producing this report. So all kudos to Frank and his team at Point Predictive. They've now been producing this report for a number of years. The 2025 auto lending report was actually based on 2024 data covering that full year. And you're right in terms of the numbers there. So it was $9.2 billion in risk loss exposure was identified or estimated by Point Predictive in 2024. That was actually more than 16% increase in the previous year where it was only $7.9 billion. I say only $7.9 billion. That's a huge amount. And actually what's really quite interesting about that is there are very different types of fraud. A lot of, when we talk about fraud, I guess the one thing that jumps into people's minds is, oh, synthetic identity fraud, definitely a buzzword, definitely something that has gained a lot of attention and rightly so because it is increasing and we have lots of tools now that are happening and we've got, you know, deepfakes and all sorts of things that are really resulting in that synthetic fraud becoming more and more sophisticated. However, when it comes to first-party fraud, that actually in itself is a whole other ball game. So first-party fraud is when an individual misrepresents their information. So for example, they misrepresent what they're actually earning, what their income is, what their true income is, or who their true employer is, for example. And first-party fraud is way more difficult to spot. You know, how do we know that Jill Robb isn't earning what she says she's earning and is earning $20,000 less? And so that is actually quite difficult for lenders to spot, and quite often actually many lenders only spot that once the loan has defaulted and maybe don't even recognize that as a loss at that time until they start to dig into it. But income, employment misrepresentation accounted for 42% of that overall fraud risk, while synthetic ID and credit washing only accounted for 27% of that total fraud risk. So there's a big difference between those two sort of sides of it. But you know that data and the sort of digging into that valuable report, all kudos to the Point Predictive team, and it's one of the reasons why I'm so passionate about working with them.

Nick Kendall: Fantastic. Yeah, I think the report reading through, full of some great insights obviously based on that huge data set that resides within Point Predictive software in terms of and getting closer personally to the different types of fraud across different use cases, lending business lines. We're talking about auto, but the rise across kind of wide set of consumer products, retail mortgages, you know, even on the kind of SME side in terms of then the income. And this is where I need to kind of get it right in terms of the verification versus validation I think is the key bit here. Again, the sophistication of understanding the accuracy of an income. Can you just talk through maybe a couple of those differences given probably the validation piece is fairly new really when we're looking at the spotlight on kind of fraud prevention.

Jill Robb: Yeah. And there's also very significant differences in how that works in, for example, the UK versus the US. The US lending market is more reliant on things like FICO scores, you know, the big players, the big credit bureaus, and that makes it more standardized in many ways. That is, I suppose, the income verification piece where if you have high risk loans, so for example a home loan or mortgage verification, you know, if income is absolutely required. However, there's a lot of friction with that process. In the UK market there's a lesser reliance on those credit bureaus. They're still used, don't get me wrong, they still are part of that process. But the UK lenders tend to take a more holistic view, so they will look at a wider view of that individual's financial blueprint, if you want to say, rather than just a credit score or, you know, what the information from the bureaus. So there's that significant difference. But when you consider in the US side, you've got your huge bureaus, that information typically comes from employer-based or HR payroll information. Let's say there is a few issues with that. Number one, what happens if you are not working with a well-known employer? I mean typically if you are self-employed, if you're working for a very small employer, your payroll system is unlikely to actually report into those big credit bureaus. And so in effect you become an invisible person and it becomes more difficult for you to get a loan then whenever that happens. And so the coverage of those credit bureaus sometimes doesn't really give that. Although it's more standardized and therefore can be seen as less risky to use, it may not be always as accurate or up to date. And so there are other methods of validating that income. And Point Predictive recently actually produced a new product called IEValidate, which uses their raft of proprietary data and actually then provides much greater coverage. And it also provides less friction for lenders because, for example, if they know that they have seen somebody that looks like me before, that has a similar job title to me before, they've seen that person, that I'm on a similar income than other people that are very similar in nature to me, then they're able to actually reduce the amount of stipulations that the lender may require for that individual. So for example, pay stubs may not be required. So there are other methods that help reduce, as I guess, the consumer friction. Because actually if I wanted to get access to a loan, it's a bit of a drag to be asked to go and get all my pay, you know, pay slips, all my pay stubs. And actually I know that Frank McKenna had done a piece of research where I think he had worked out it takes about 10 minutes to get a pay stub. It takes about 7 minutes to generate a fake one. So that's a big difference.

Nick Kendall: Yeah, yeah. And I think it's interesting to think about these blind spots of information that is required at certain points in, say, an origination journey, and balancing that from a customer experience that may be more in tune now with having a frictionless journey in terms of engaging with financial products. But from a lender's perspective, ensuring that these blind spots are covered effectively while still, you know, streamlining that journey of engaging with the customer, onboarding them, continuing customer management from GDS Link perspective, you know, that's a key area that we're developing a lot of innovation around in terms of credit risk models through to orchestrated data, but being absolutely mindful of the lenders' requirements of having processes that stand up and ultimately will mitigate potential risk and allow them to provision then for potential losses, right? You know, but yeah, it's an interesting double-edged sword really when you're thinking about this data access and then, you know, the customer journey piece. So if we just change tack slightly, Jill, still within the auto lending space, but it'd be great to learn a little bit about OttoMoto. It's a business that you're also working with in that space and how they're supporting some of the independent dealers in that market when we're looking at accessing lending options. Could you tell us a little bit more about that business? Had a quick look online and super interested in terms of their proposition and thinking about kind of one eye on kind of UK space, how these kind of propositions can work maybe across different markets.

Jill Robb: Yeah, sure. OttoMoto I actually met because they're a partner of Point Predictive, and I met initially Carol Dukalovich, who's the COO, and the CEO, Paul Nicholas. So again, another business that I'm hugely passionate about, the greater good aspect. So Paul himself is still to this day an independent dealer in the US. He has, I don't want to say grown up in the dealer space because he originally was a pilot as well. So he has a really interesting background. But Paul has actually functioned in a number of different roles in both the independent and the franchise dealer space. And so he was involved in that sort of lending, financing side of things as well. And one of the things that he found extremely difficult, and it seems to be ubiquitous across the US market, is that when you're an independent dealer, particularly when you are a new independent dealer, it's very, very difficult to get access to lending for your customers. And so of course if your customer comes in and they like a vehicle, but you can't help them finance that vehicle, then that's the huge point of friction and you could potentially lose that sale. And so I think the initial idea for OttoMoto was born by Paul to really help those independent dealers get a leg up. I mean they have a bit of a bad rap in the market. Actually independent dealers, there are way more independent dealers in the US than there are franchise dealers. And it's a huge segment of the market that lenders have typically avoided because they tend to be, or they're seen as being, higher risk. However, OttoMoto, the intention behind that was to really help independent dealers prove their worth and prove their creditworthiness, to basically fund those applications that they were getting through. And so OttoMoto actually was then put in, supposed to be almost like this middleman in many ways, but that functions in two separate roles. It has benefits on both the lender side and on the dealer side, as you've mentioned. So on the dealer side, the OttoMoto platform is way more accessible than some of the larger platforms in the US market. So traditionally, yes, there are huge, you know, platforms in the US market that quite often independent dealers can't afford to access. And so they don't necessarily have access to all of those tools that would give them, for example, compliance checks or access to fraud checks, you know, and I mean, there's, there's quite a lot of sort of issues around that space. And so getting access to that is a bit of a hurdle. OttoMoto gets them over that because it actually actively gives them access to that at an affordable price. But in the midst there, what it does is it ensures that the apps that are coming in through OttoMoto are fraud checked, that the vehicles are checked, the title is guaranteed of that vehicle. In effect, what it does is it de-risks the applications that come into that portal for lenders. Now, on the lender side, what's quite interesting is the integrations on that side. So from a lender's perspective, dealer onboarding is a pretty difficult task. There's a lot of paperwork involved. In the US you have to ask for things like ACH details, you need paperwork on licenses, you need paperwork on EINs. There's a lot of paperwork involved. That in itself can be a bit of a pain. And so on the lender side, what it does is it facilitates the lenders in onboarding dealers much faster. And so in effect, it provides a link to lenders that they can pass on to dealers. The dealers themselves complete that information. They upload all of the paperwork in a digital format. That all goes back to the lender. If it meets with the lender's criteria, they then say, yeah, I'll accept you on as a dealer. That's pushed back and a digital agreement is generated for the dealer to actually sign and accept. So that cuts that process down and those pain points that lenders have quite substantially. Meanwhile, on the dealer side, as dealers are operating and learning how to become good dealers in that process, what they are told by the platform is, okay, this application, then lender A will possibly lend to you because they'll get a green light, but lender B is a red light. So actually you shouldn't submit your application through to them because you don't meet their lending criteria for that particular lender. And so OttoMoto is this marketplace that really brings together the needs of those independent dealers. But it also gives lenders access to that huge network of independent dealers, but de-risks it in the process.

Nick Kendall: So more choice but less risk from all parties.

Jill Robb: Right.

Nick Kendall: I mean that from the UK side, thinking about these kind of price comparison sides are probably long standing. Maybe the space is still right for these probably broader marketplaces where, probably speak from personal experience in the last few months of going to a dealership and you've just got the option of one kind of finance provider which they've got kind of wrapped up across the whole network. So it's an interesting, really interesting proposition when you think about this efficiency then of access to the finance product, digitizing of a lot of that manual paperwork from both parts, and because it can still take days, weeks. And this is a product that is not like buying a house, right, in terms of the kind of bricks and mortar. But it sometimes feels like conventionally or historically it has been a very cumbersome process.

Jill Robb: There are benefits there for the consumer as well because the OttoMoto platform actually gives the consumer the opportunity so that the dealer can send the consumer links to upload their own information. So it would be a bit like going into a car lot, Joe's Corner car lot, but getting an experience that typically you would only get at huge franchise dealers because you can do everything in your mobile phone. And that's kind of the, it's almost like a three-way, like a trinity approach where the consumer is also incorporated into that in terms of improvement of the experience as you've touched on.

Nick Kendall: Yeah, absolutely. And what's next for OttoMoto in terms of broader expansion within the US? Looks exciting kind of phase for the business.

Jill Robb: Yeah, I mean OttoMoto very much in that growth phase. I mean the leadership team are formidable actually. Both Carol and Paul are, I'm huge fans of both of them with skill sets in different areas. I mean the OttoMoto, I suppose product isn't just available in auto, it's also available across other asset classes, so motorcycles, power sports, aircraft even. And so, you know, that's a pretty unique proposition and that's quite exciting that actually the car or the auto space isn't the only space that they exist in. So yeah, I mean that's really exciting in terms of the approach there and just making sure that the company is represented in the US sort of lending and dealer space.

Nick Kendall: And Jill, I think kind of tying into your role with these businesses that we've talked around and bringing your expertise in terms of the kind of rev ops, CMO, obviously in a fractional capacity, I'd love to just maybe talk about probably some of the differences when you've operated, worked, supported businesses across different markets, different sides of the Atlantic. You've seen both sides. What would you say is common mistakes that you see? Maybe some businesses, established new entrants, that are trying to crack the market in the US, right? You know, the size of the prize is big. What, yeah, what, what was your kind of observations on, you know, the common kind of mistakes or wins, right, for some of those businesses?

Jill Robb: Yeah. So, you know, I guess even the role itself, so that the role of fractionals in the US has been around a lot longer than it has been in the UK and EMEA as a whole. And I think just because of that maturity, because those roles have been around a bit longer, businesses in the US are more comfortable with that type of role. In essence, you know, there's a major difference, I think, that I would point out. So in the UK and EMEA, we would initially jump to try and make a comparison between, for example, an agency and a fractional, or a consultant on a fractional. But actually it's very, very different proposition. Whilst yes, you operate in many ways like an agency or a consultant, you're fully ingrained within that organization to carry out your role, which does mean that you get access to those nuances, almost like those water cooler moments that, you know, virtually, that you wouldn't necessarily get as an agency or a consultant because you're always treated as external to the organization. So there is like a, the way that you're treated is different and it actually does have a huge impact in terms of the results that you can deliver. And, you know, I find that, you know, just having access to what, what it is that, you know, that they, that their business really needs, you start to really get a fuller understanding of that when you're speaking with different teams across the board, rather than just being pigeonholed to only work with the marketing team, if that makes sense. So there's a big difference there in terms of that approach. I think that as well as that, you know, in terms of other differences between two markets, there's a huge difference. And I personally believe it all stems down to the sort of regulatory aspect. The US would actually be more, more like EMEA on a whole than it would be like the UK on its own, if that makes sense. So by that I mean from a regulatory framework perspective. I mean the US effectively has, you know, all of the different states, they more or less are different countries because they all have different regulations. And so, you know, one of the mistakes that I do, you know, and I have seen many times is companies that are wanting to enter into the US, you know, tend to assume that that regulatory framework is similar. It's really not. And actually depending on the type of organization that you are, you may need to obtain licenses state by state, which is obviously going to hinder your entrance into that market. And that's something that, you know, maybe initially there's not a huge amount of knowledge about, perhaps the right way of putting it. Now don't get me wrong, of course there are fintechs that have huge pockets and very deep pockets and have all that tied up. But for smaller companies that are wanting to go and work in the US market, it's a very different sort of culture landscape, regulatory landscape, and even from a marketing perspective the compliance landscape is hugely different. So in the UK I did have that background in the FCA side of things, also GDPR, you know, that doesn't exist in the US, so I had to relearn a lot of the marketing compliance on that side of things. And so even for marketeers it's a very different landscape.

Nick Kendall: Yeah, I'd certainly agree on observations, new entrants in the US, you know, the web of complexity, regulation, cost, you know, around the licensing. And I think that's probably been evident in a few probably well-established UK fintechs, neobanks trying to enter the market and having to move out fairly quickly because of the headache, the pain, the complexity of trying to replicate what's probably being achieved whilst being domestic leaders in the markets. They're distinctly different. It's really interesting on the marketing piece as well around, and great to kind of maybe move on to some of the demand gen piece as well and some of the marketing principles. But certainly, you know, it still staggers me to be honest, to be quite frank, for how maybe loose some of the data protection rules are in the US when it comes to marketing. And obviously the GDPR piece is coming up to must be nearly 10 years now that that's been enforced. But in terms of, yes, I'd love to kind of learn a bit about the, I guess the kind of wins certainly within the US on the marketing side, thinking about obviously we're working with different businesses in an embedded role within those kind of marketing functions, commercial functions. When it comes to deciding where, in terms of go-to-market strategy, where that investment and the marketing dollars are going to be kind of put, how do you kind of weigh that up given I think in this space that we're talking around, there's so many events, there's so many different kind of campaign options, there's so, you know, there's a lot of choice that carry a lot of costs. So maybe as a, you know, as a business that's scaling, how would you, yeah, how do you kind of approach that and weigh up where the bang for buck, as it were, in the market?

Jill Robb: I mean one of the things that I would say is you touched on cost. So there's a very different cost structure or cost landscape I think with regards to, you know, access to market within the US when you consider scale, you know, that's of course, you know, part and parcel of that, but I would even say down to the types of events. So typically within the UK and Europe, our events tend to be very heavily focused on the knowledge transfer value of those events, you know, building really deep relationships with people, building very deep knowledge in certain things. That's not necessarily the case, or that, sorry, it is the case, but it's not necessarily the main focus of events in the US would probably be the correct way of putting it. And having been to a number of different events, you know, in both locations, the sponsorship side of things, you know, within the US is just, you know, it's eye-watering to many, to many UK and EMEA-based companies. So there's a degree of take a deep breath, you know, it is, it is a requirement, you have to do it, but you have to think strategically about, you know, where you're going to put your dollars then to your point. And I think that realistically what you really need to do is your homework. You know, reach out to people that have attended those events, reach out to counterparts, colleagues, you know, try and understand as much as you can about those events. And the other side of things is the events, the structure themselves. You know, events in the US are very much focused around widening your network, growing your network and selling, getting those contacts to help move things along. So there is much more of a return on investment type focus of a lot of those events. And so treat it that way. You know, make sure that whenever you're setting up your planning that you know how much you're spending, that you put a goal on the people that you want to speak with. One thing that does happen to your point in the US is typically when attendees are attending an event, if you're a sponsor at that event, you will typically get an attendee list that quite often will be sent to you two to three weeks in advance of that event to allow you to utilize that. Now typically they will be opted-in contact details. So if those attendees haven't opted in, you will not get their information. So there is a little bit of the, you know, the sort of similar approach to GDPR there, but you are actively, as a sponsor, given that information for you to use or not use, whatever way you want to do that. So from a demand gen perspective, vendors are given a lot more access to sell and to engage with the audience. And that's something that's really, really important for people that are wanting to go to the US and sell and to really leverage, you know, those events and leverage, you know, the events that are going on around that, whether they be networking, drinks, you know, nights out, dinners, you know, try and do as much as you can in advance. So preparation for those events is absolutely key. So when you're deciding, you know, do your homework, ask your partners, and partners is a key part of this game as well. One of the things that I have found is that partnerships are definitely more important and are leveraged more within the US market. And it makes sense. I mean it gives you access to a wider network, it allows you to, you know—so I'll just touch on Point Predictive, for example, has a partnership with GDS Link. It allows for co-branded events, it allows for webinars. You know, that type of approach really helps strengthen both brands. You know, as they say in Ireland, you know, a rising tide lifts all boats. So, you know, that type of approach can really strengthen and get you access to a market or a network that you maybe previously didn't have. So a lot of what I'm saying in the demand gen side of things is really focused on thinking strategically about how all of the dots join together and then leveraging your marketing tools after that, you know, rather than these, you know, short, sharp tactics. A one-off email here. It's not about that, it's about making sure that your whole focus is built around that. So if you're investing in an event, then you make sure that you have a marketing campaign in many ways around that event to really leverage the most out of that. And that's really, really key to making sure that you're kind of leveraging the difference and getting into the US, absolutely.

Nick Kendall: Yeah. I think there's probably a similar saying in Yorkshire, Jill, which is around spending the brass buttons, right? You know, in the end, which, yeah, is something I've grown up with. But I could not agree more in terms of the opportunity cost when you're thinking about cutting through a lot of the noise. I mean there are so many new events that have been, that are popping up, they will carry huge costs, they will profess to deliver more results than the other, you know. I think the piece around being actively engaged with that community, which is maybe more of a, you know, the kind of community growth, European property objective for events attendance, I think there's, you know, those lines have been blurred I think a lot, you know, because vendors are asking for that, you know, in order to repeat, you know, repeatedly kind of undertake these events year on year, there has to be a level of ROI against it. But yeah, I think from what we're seeing, certainly having gone through a brand refresher earlier in the year, actively engaging with a community that is engaged with content, but equally having that face-to-face time when you're, you know, you're at these events, you will, you know, you're there, you're present, you're having similar conversations, sharing very similar, you know, kind of challenges, right. And the partnership piece, really interesting I think on ecosystem where, you know, you look at the fintech space and the size of the market, the size of different players that offer very intertwined solutions, crucially important, you know, to align and, yeah, strength in numbers, right, you know, when you've got, you know, kind of complementary propositions.

Jill Robb: Yeah, you're right. And I think again the regulatory aspect or the differences between the US and the UK, for example, do mean that that landscape and who you potentially might partner with is very, very different actually. So if you think about the fact, so open banking in the UK has really helped, I guess those standardized APIs, you know, has really helped, you know, provide fintech with an opportunity to almost compete on an even keel. But because of that data is that those APIs are standardized and they're regulated, it means that there is less flexibility. If you reverse that then and look at the US side of things where you don't have that sort of standardized access to data, and actually lots of different organizations—banks, credit unions, auto lenders, different fintech—they all potentially have different types of data that are accessed in different ways. And so you do get more flexibility and agility, but you also get a much wider spread of potential partners. Now again, the benefit of that sort of flexibility means that you can almost customize your LOS by adding different partners into your loan origination system, whereas things are more standardized, potentially, you know, less risky. In the UK that's maybe controversial. Controversial. But, you know, I guess it's that sort of difference where, you know, traditional sort of British, you know, even-keeled and quite, quite sort of standardized approach, where in the UK, in the US that sort of flexible agility really allows those individual lenders to customize things for them. And that's a big thing, you know, especially if you look at the difference between credit unions and banks, for example. I mean credit unions are all about maximizing the member experience, you know, that's what they're about. And so that allows them to customize that for their members in the way that they want. And they have a lot more, I suppose, agility, you know, and ability to do that. Whereas that's not necessarily the same within the UK, but we do have more standardized access to help facilitate that sort of fintech approach in the innovation.

Nick Kendall: Yeah, and I think it's certainly this ecosystem is growing and that's only a good thing. And with that, obviously new entrants, new competitors, but new partners as part of it, and certainly offering that solution or additional solutions for lenders of all shapes and sizes, particularly that are focused on, you know, that improved member, customer, borrower experience. Jill, I think that'd be a good place to kind of close on podcast episode of The Lending Link. Jill, thanks so much for your time. It's been fantastic to hear about AttainX and your journey and equally how you're supporting US fintechs and partnering with GDS Link as well. So thank you so much Jill and all the best.

Jill Robb: Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time and I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

Nick Kendall: To keep the conversation going, follow GDS Link and Jill on LinkedIn. You'll also find a link in the show notes to download Point Predictive's latest auto lending fraud report and GDS Link's eBook on synthetic fraud, which takes a closer look at how lenders are spotting red flags earlier, tightening controls and rethinking how they tackle identity risk. If you're working in lending, fraud, fintech or risk and want to share your perspectives on a future episode, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out at [email protected], and of course make sure you subscribe to The Lending Link on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts. More great conversations are coming soon. Thanks for tuning in. See you next time.

About Jill Robb

Jill Robb is a dynamic, purpose-driven leader known for driving growth at fintech scale-ups through a mix of strategic vision and hands-on execution. As Founder and CMO of AttainX, she brings over two decades of experience helping digital startups and disruptive fintechs evolve into high-performing, revenue-generating businesses. Jill delivers results-focused marketing strategy and deep Revenue Operations expertise to clients across the North American fintech sector. Follow Jill on LinkedIn here.

 

About AttainX

AttainX is not your average marketing agency. As an embedded partner, they focus on driving revenue, not just impressions. While others chase aesthetics, AttainX focuses on strategy, building full-funnel growth engines, sharpening sales enablement, and securing PR that positions their clients as industry leaders. Their mission is to move the needle where it matters most: the bottom line. Follow AttainX on LinkedIn here.

 

About GDS Link

GDS Link makes modern lending simple. Our real-time decisioning platform integrates over 200 data sources with advanced analytics, enabling lenders to make fast, data-driven credit decisions while mitigating risk. From loan origination to collections, GDS Link provides seamless automation, policy monitoring, and AI-powered insights to help financial institutions optimize lending strategies, stay agile in a competitive market, and drive better outcomes. Follow GDS Link on LinkedIn here.

 

Resources Mentioned:

Download GDS Link’s Synthetic Fraud eBook

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