John Waupsh

For more than a decade, John Waupsh has pioneered integrated financial technology and marketing solutions. His innovations give community financial institutions the edge against megabanks, new industry players, and ever-changing consumer behavior.

John is Strategic Advisor at Kasasa®. Prior to this, he led the team that architects the company’s products, including Kasasa, a suite of nationally branded products and rewards checking accounts offered exclusively at select community financial institutions. In his 11 years as Chief Innovation Officer, John oversaw Product Management, UX, and R&D.

As Chief Creative Officer from 2012 to 2015, John directed the company’s B2B and B2C marketing creative. Kasasa’s national marketing campaigns received three Platinum and six Gold MarCom Awards.

Innovations under John’s leadership have earned Kasasa four Finovate “Best of Show” titles, recognition in Fast Company’s “10 Most Innovative Companies in Finance,” and standing in the FinTech Top 100.

Prior to Kasasa, John founded FIRST ROI. His company was first to drive online business for community financial institutions. FIRST ROI also created the award-winning Reward Checking search engine — another industry first. The company’s account opening platform generated seven times more funded accounts than its competitors’.

FIRST ROI was delivering coordinated marketing and technology solutions to more than 150 community banks and credit unions when BancVue acquired it in 2011.

John is the chief instigator of Vollee, a serendipity-powered picture-messaging app, and the Preservation Project, which restores and releases lost music from the 1920s to 1980s.

His book, Bankruption: How Community Banking Can Survive Fintech, is available on Amazon.

He received his BA in Marketing Communications from Columbia College Chicago.