Treasury Services 2.0: RBS Citizens Goes All in on Mobile

Jim Gifas brings innovation to corporate clients at RBS Citizens.

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Prior to his role at RBS Citizens, Gifas spent 13 years at Citibank and four years at Deutsche Bank in various cash management and sales leadership roles. He has seen a constantly changing regulatory environment in the banking industry. He says banks are dedicating more resources to regulatory compliance than ever before and believes it's a "balancing act" to make sure the bank is serving its customers by introducing new products and services, while dealing with the regulatory landscape. However, he notes that this will be the status quo for banks in the foreseeable future.

"I don't think it's going to lighten up, but the things being done today are maybe things that needed to be put into place," he adds.

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Gifas, who graduated from Iona College with a degree in finance, lives in New Jersey and enjoys going to the Jersey Shore -- specifically Long Beach Island -- on summer weekends with his family. He relies on mobile technology during these excursions, using the mobile app Sigalert to get an overview of traffic flow before leaving the house. Waze provides him with traffic patterns en route to the beach.

Gifas also enjoys watching his two sons play baseball, never missing a game. But unlike the image of the overbearing, suburban sports parent, Gifas says he likes "to sit in the bleachers and just be a silent fan."

Personal Snapshot

Jim Gifas

Executive VP, head of treasury solutions, RBS Citizens

Size of IT organization: More than 150 people report to his division

Prior roles: 13 years at Citibank and four years at Deutsche Bank in various roles

Education: Graduate of Iona College with a degree in finance

Hobbies:Going to the Jersey Shore

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio