Insight: A day in the life of Tink’s Michaela Lähn

Michaela Lähn is a senior delivery manager at Tink, a Visa solution, and was highly commended in the Women in Open Banking Rising Star category at the Open Banking Expo Awards 2024.

Based in London, Michaela shares a snapshot of her life as a delivery manager in the world of Open Banking payments, and some of the groups she’s been involved with to champion women in the industry.

Why Open Banking

The sector of the financial industry is one of the most innovative, allowing newer companies to grow and compete alongside some of those older ones who shaped the industry to where it is today.

One thing I particularly like about Open Banking is that it brings increased financial inclusion. Better access to data allows more informed decision making – such as in credit scoring, and making lending decisions based on up-to-date, rather than legacy, information. Having a wider variety of payment methods also helps provide underserved populations with access to financial services that were previously unavailable to them.

A typical day

Michaela Lähn, senior delivery manager at Tink, a Visa solution

Rarely do I have ever two days the same. From helping companies mould our Tink products to their needs, getting them live in various markets, to discussing strategic expansions and managing large enterprise projects, I have a good deal of variety in my job.

Currently, my focus is on working with big enterprise and payment service provider (PSP) customers, helping them to integrate our Open Banking payment (Pay by Bank) and data solutions into their wider portfolio and product suite. Educating them on best practices and user behaviour to make Open Banking successful is important in my role.

At Tink and Visa, I value collaborating with our product teams, discussing customer feedback to shape roadmaps and future features. The impact and difference that we can have and make for our customers is really rewarding.

Championing women at Tink and in the wider industry

Championing women at Tink and Visa is close to my heart. Working in a male-dominated industry can sometimes be quite intimidating and frustrating at the same time, as women can feel overlooked or not heard. Empowering women to bring diverse opinions and perspectives to the table can be beneficial, not just for the individuals, but also for companies as innovation, equality and performance is driven by it.

As a UK ambassador for women at Tink and now also part of Visa’s women’s network, I have organised and helped to organise various events to support and foster network opportunities to create a platform where women can connect and exchange valuable insights into how they tackle challenges at work.

For International Women’s Day last year, we organised a panel discussion at Tink. We had inspiring colleagues discuss their ideas on improving inclusion for women in the fintech industry. As part of the initiative, and with the help of Visa, we also raised funds throughout the whole of March for three female-focused charities.

What keeps me motivated

Tink has a positive workplace and company culture, and I’m lucky to be surrounded by many brilliant colleagues every day at work.

In my role, solving complex problems for our customers is one of the best parts of the job. Sometimes we won’t have encountered a particular issue before and working out how to best fit our solutions is always a good challenge.

Michaela Lähn is senior delivery manager at Tink