Your bank is the availability and ease of payments

UPark Festival, despite its young age (just over 4 years old), managed to win the hearts of Ukrainians. This is already a part of event tourism, and people come to Kyiv not only from all over Ukraine but also from other countries. For two years, UPark Festival has been cooperating with PUMB bank. How this friendship began, what banking products help both in professional activity and personal life, we asked Oksana Isidorova, the executive director of the festival, who has many years of experience in our country's entertainment industry.  

Журнал «Народний банкір» №16/2021

1. Please tell us briefly about your professional path. What exactly influenced your choice? What did you dream about, and what did you manage to achieve in life?

In the 1990s, the financial crisis, and lack of money come to mind. Then I studied at the Pedagogical University and had to earn money at the same time. In my second year, I was offered to come to the newly created TV channel INTER. Having started as an operator in a call center, I worked there for 10 years. Then there were 15 years of work in Star Media film production. I have gone from a business manager to a vice-president of the company. Having reached the top, I realized that I needed a break. In parallel, I always helped my brother Mykola Isidorov, the UPark Festival founder, in the concert business. This happened during my "vacation": I took an active part in preparing the first festival in the summer of 2016. At that moment, Mykola suggested that I change the field of activity and officially invited me to work.

Журнал «Народний банкір» №16/2021

2. How was UPark Festival born? How do you manage to organize and conduct such a large-scale festival in Ukraine?

For more than 10 years Mykola has organized solo concerts and brought various artists to Ukraine, including such as MADONNA, MUSE, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Marilyn Manson. A logical continuation of this work was the idea of creating a festival that would bring together the world's best performers and new interesting names on its stage.  

The headliners of the first UPark Festival, which took place at the NSC “Olimpiyskiy”, were the prominent contemporary rock bands MUSE and Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Kills, Hurts. In subsequent years, Gorillaz, Massive Attack, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Die Antwoord, Bonobo, Rag`N`Bone Man, and others also performed on the UPark stage. When such giants of modern musical culture come to Kyiv at the same time (and some of them may never revisit our country), then such a cultural event within Ukraine cannot be missed.

The main thing about UPark Festival is about quality music, and we reflected this in our slogan – UPARK created by music. It is important for us to balance well-chosen artists and the atmosphere created from the performance of the first artist to the final chord.

3. How big is your team? What is the most important thing in this kind of project work?

As in any other project, the team is based on 9 top managers, each responsible for his own direction – production, hospitality, logistics, finance, etc.

The most important is an experienced team of professionals dedicated to their work and, equally importantly, love music. Of course, planning is still important for a large project.

4. What is the history of your relationship with PUMB bank? You have been hosting a festival in partnership with it for several years. What is the role of the bank in the project?

Unfortunately, there are not many banks in our country that support festivals. We are  customer-oriented. And for me, as the executive director who is responsible for the concert venue, it was important when choosing a partner bank so that it had a good team that would be able to work well on the venue and not only place the logo on outdoor advertising J. Of course, I attended many events where different banks participated, and I monitored the market. When we were negotiating with PUMB, I noted two things for myself. First, there is a professional team that can answer questions without preparation and solves problems constructively. Secondly, there is the strong technical support that can implement everything conceived at the venue so that our users do not have any difficulties. Before making a decision, I began to cooperate with PUMB as an individual to go through the entire service path, starting with a visit to the branch and concluding a contract. I was delighted with this path. When I received all the answers, the choice became obvious. The first year when we collaborated with PUMB, taking into account the experience of other banks at other events, we were afraid to launch non-cash payments at the festival completely. And PUMB, understanding our fears, went to meet us. That year, we were convinced that our worries were in vain – all services, from bank security to marketing with technical support, worked so perfectly then. This allowed us without hesitation to agree to a cashless zone throughout the entire festival.

Журнал «Народний банкір» №16/2021

5. Tell us about your family. How do you plan your family budget? How do you talk to children about money? What financial skills do you consider necessary to develop in them?

I have a mother, two brothers, and a niece Ksenia, 21 years old. With Ksyusha, I not only share my experience on how to manage the budget properly. At the same time, it helps that the niece has a bank card and mobile banking, where she can see the movement of her own funds. We involve Ksenia to work at the festival. When she was starting to receive her first income, she opened a card in the bank so that all her cash receipts would immediately go to the account, and she could understand what her monthly income was and where and on what she was spending it. I explained what a stable income is, what the compulsory items of expenditure are (food, travel, etc.), how I calculate, how much money I should get, and for what needs. Now she, like me, is saving 10% of her monthly income. And for this, I have a special card to which I transfer this amount. This is money that is spent on travel, pleasant purchases. As soon as my niece started planning her budget, like me, she became very much aligned. Calls at the end of the month "Daddy, transfer money to me" are less and less frequent.

6. How do you control expenses? What kind of banking do you use?

I control my income and expenses, account balance using mobile banking. Thanks to the history of transactions, I can at any convenient time (at the end of the day, week, and month) analyze what my money went to. Besides, it is convenient to transfer funds from card to card because I have several of them. I make almost all purchases by bank transfer, and payments are always reflected in my mobile application.

7. Do you consider our country comfortable in terms of ease of payment for purchases and conducting monetary transactions? What else do we need to work on?

Today in Ukraine, it is easy and simple to make online purchases. I think most of us in 2020 have switched to this type of shopping. And in terms of foreign exchange payments, our legislation leaves much to be desired. Here is a festival, here is a company, here is a contract, but it is a whole problem to carry out a simple and understandable payment in foreign currency; the rules of financial monitoring are constantly changing.

8.  Perhaps there was a difficult and unusual situation in your life when some banking service helped you?

Several years ago, a force majeure situation arose when it was necessary to fly out urgently. I had to go straight to the airport and buy a ticket on the way. The card lacked the entire necessary amount for the ticket, but there was a credit limit. I boldly use credit money, and I am not afraid. I returned, immediately repaid the debt during the grace period, and do not overpay. In such situations, the bank helps out, of course. There was another case. I flew to Turkey and realized that I had forgotten my main card. Fortunately, there was another one in the passport, although there was no money on it. Using mobile banking, I transferred funds from card to card – and voila, the money is with me.

9. Have you ever faced attempts of card or internet fraud? How did you behave in a non-standard situation?

Personally, I have not come across, but my friends had problems: the payment went through, but the goods were not received. In such situations, the bank's security service helped, and the issue was closed. To protect me from fraudsters, I specially opened a card to pay for purchases on the Internet. I call it an internet card. I transfer the required amount from the main card to it and pay for the goods safely. Such a card is especially appropriate on websites where you need to enter the card's CVV code.

10. Continue the sentence: "To live in harmony with yourself and the world, you need...»

You need to balance your desires and capabilities. And for this, you need to love every day you live, wake up and thank it for what you have. I open my eyes, pick up my phone, and look – there are no messages from my family during the night; therefore, everyone is healthy. "Life is good!" – I say to myself, but everything else, as they say, the eyes are afraid – the hands are doing. The main thing is an inner positive attitude – this is the only way to be in harmony with yourself and the world.

Журнал «Народний банкір» №16/2021

TOP BLITZ about bank and banking services

1. What can you advise those who only choose a bank? What should they pay attention to?

In my opinion, the main thing is the availability of branches, ATMs, and terminals, the availability of online banking, and the ease of making payments. Besides, teller service must be carried out professionally, competently, and accurately.

2. What bank products help you in your private life?

During the covid period, all deposits and financial safety cushion were "eaten," but I still used the deposit very actively. Banks offer health insurance – convenient and reliable. Credit cards have helped out more than once in situations where an urgent payment was needed. The main thing is to make the loan payment on time.

3. Do you prefer cash or a plastic card?

I almost always use the map. First of all, this is beneficial – bonus systems and cashback. Secondly, it is convenient - your income immediately falls into the account, you have the opportunity to pay by card anytime, anywhere. As for cash, I withdraw a small amount per month, for example, 1,000 UAH. Most often, I pay in cash for purchases on the market.

4. Do you use loyalty programs with various privileges, promos, and bonuses, which banks and payment systems usually offer?

I use all cashback offered by banks. I flew several times, using the accumulated miles. However, I have never used banks' offers regarding purchases from partner companies, where you get a discount when buying. I don’t understand how it works. The international payment system Mastercard's service works perfectly: you press "buy" – and immediately the amount with a discount appears. By the way, I have 6 cards in my wallet; 5 of them are Mastercard. It is a system that doesn't let me down.

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