Payments Innovation (Currencycloud)

Why are more and more Fintech’s turning to crowdfunding in addition to traditional VC investment?

Because being accountable to the people actually using your product incentivizes you to shape it to their needs.

That was a key consideration for today’s guest Edoardo Moreni, CEO at Emma Technologies, when funding the company's money management platform, which offers a wide range of banking and investment options to its users.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Open Banking has opened doors for wealth management
• Crowdfunding vs. VC investment
• The future of Open Banking, Wealthtech and NeoBrokers

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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While plenty of new pay methods are soaking up all the attention, ACH is being left left out of the popular arenas.

We understand why.

ACH can be cumbersome, requiring layers of authorization to finalize a single transaction. Many perceive it as outdated, awkward, and time-consuming.

It’s time ACH had a makeover.

Yelena Reznikova joined us on this episode of the Payments Innovation podcast to show how she’s leveraging the power of ACH and tech to drive profit for businesses, and convenience for consumers.

Yelena is currently the Director of Partnerships at Quovo in New York, a data platform that provides connectivity to financial accounts and is now a part of Plaid, where she’s worked since receiving her MBA from Harvard Business School. Previously, she worked in VC and product at Indicator Ventures and Troops.

She doesn’t believe ACH is dead. She believes with some technological TLC, it becomes an underutilized alternative to the dizzying amount of new payment methods on the market.

Listen in for 3 reasons you should consider ACH as a payment method.

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Retail investing has been on the rise in the wake of the pandemic, but that rise has gone smoother in some markets than others.

The European market, in particular, poses many challenges for retail investors — and even more for the Fintechs looking to break into the market.

In this episode, Martin Sokk, Co-Founder and CEO at Lightyear, explains how Lightyear is overcoming European retail investing challenges to offer a simpler path for everyday people to grow their wealth.

Join us as we discuss:

• What needs to be fixed in the European retail investing sphere
• The importance of a simple solution to operate across Europe’s many currencies
• Why Fintech’s will eventually stop being seen as challengers and integrate into the existing financial landscape

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you probably double-down on your personal skill set, pursuing those pieces of your business(es) that you’re most passionate about. The other areas of the business, whether it be HR, legal, or financial, may not get the attention they need.

That’s where entrepreneur Marc Alloul found himself.

He’s a physicist engineer who left a $12B enterprise in 2000 to start his own company.

He quickly found there was no real user-friendly budgeting platform built for high-level, fast-moving entrepreneurs who don’t necessarily have a background in finance or accounting.

So, he started Budgeto. In a nutshell, it’s a budgeting software program developed for entrepreneurs to get a budget up and running with just a few clicks. Currently, 35 thousand budgets are on the platform.

This episode explores Budgeto’s features, why it was started, and who’s using the platform.

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Raise your hand if, as a small business owner, you’ve put company expenses on your personal credit card? 

It happens to many. They put up their own resources, money, and even credit scores for their small businesses. And for good reason: They want to see their businesses thrive and succeed, so they do what they think they have to do. 

But what if there were another way? 

What if, instead, small business owners weren’t shot down left and right whenever they apply for loans or lines of credit to get their businesses off the ground or keep them running? 

Ken So saw a need, so he founded Tilful, a service dedicated to bringing financial inclusion to small businesses and helping them build and gain access to credit.

Join us as we discuss:

• How Tilful aims to go beyond the top 5% of small businesses with great credit and help everybody
• Why you should stop putting up your own assets to keep your small business going
• The challenges facing small businesses when seeking access to meaningful credit

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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Merchant cash advance (MCA) solutions have been making finance payments easy for retailers and restaurants since 2005. So how does someone who was in the pioneering days of MCAs shift into the in healthcare system?

Scott Griest decided to find out. He built a product to automate loan origination for medical procedures. This platform was built in a way where other originators could license it as well, leveraging the technology with their own financing partners.

Scott is the founder and chief operating officer of PrimaHealth Credit, which is a fintech startup concentrating on patient health care finance.

What we talked about:

• The early days of MCA solutions, 2005-2007
• How MCAs fit in the U.S. regulatory framework for lenders
• How MCAs can differentiate themselves in their crowded space
• The value and solutions MCAs can bring to healthcare
• Building the tech stack to help doctors collect on their own plans
• Scott's advice for entering, operating, exiting, and investing in fintech

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

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The pandemic may be in its final stretch, but it’s changed the world forever — especially how we work.

Now, an internationally distributed workforce has become more attractive.

But that can be a major challenge without the right tools.

Our latest guest, Matt Drozdzynski, CEO and Founder of Pilot, is one of the people helping to provide those tools, offering businesses ways to deal with everything from payroll to compliance across borders.

He joins the show to discuss:

- How COVID transformed how we work

- How Pilot is helping to power the shift in international work

- The future of distributed work

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.
 

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Regulation tech has grown up alongside the boom in Fintech. But where’s it headed in the near term future?

Hear our conversation with Ben Parker, Director and Founder at eflow Global:

• Regulation changes and potential financial crime
• The boom in Fintech and growth of regulation tech
• How the explosion in wealth tech will affect regulation  

More information about Ben and today’s topics:

• LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-parker-1a72069/
• Company Website: https://eflowglobal.com/
• Reuters did a report last year  

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

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Open banking seems like it’s been just around the corner for years. 

Now it’s here… 

But most organizations are still a little scared to move into it. 

Why?

To find out, I caught up with Phil Peters, EVP/Chief Operating Officer & Head of Institutional Banking at Radius Bank, a company who’ve embraced open banking with open arms. 

In this episode, Phil explains:

- Why Radius moved into open banking

- How embedded finance is shaping the future

- What makes a winner (and why there will be many) 

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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There’s a simple way to make international transactions easier for you and your clients:

Make payments in local currency.

Bob Murray is the Director of Foreign Exchange at Brookline Bank and he’s been involved in foreign exchange markets since the early 80’s.   Throughout the years, he’s seen how foreign exchange can really touch all areas of a bank.  From international payments to wire transfers, having a solid foundation in foreign exchange markets is critical for the success of a bank.  

Bob has also noticed something else that has stayed the same in the several decades he’s been in this space: it’s still fundamentally a relationship market.  Without a relationship formed between a foreign exchange salesperson and a customer there can be no hope for a productive and lasting business exchange between the two parties.

We sat down with Bob in this episode of Payments Innovation to talk about Brookline Bank, the foreign exchange market, international currency exchange best practices, and educating customers on this space.

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Financial services make plenty of sense. If you are a financial services professional. But what about the rest of us? 

On this episode of the Payments Innovation Podcast, our guest Carey Ransom joined us to discuss his passionate belief that financial services should revolve around the average human’s life.

What we talked about:

• People in financial services understand the financial game. But what about the rest of us?
• Customer-focused product dev vs. profit-focused profit dev
• The 1 product Carey is particularly proud of — Payoff
• The 1 problem Carey is waiting for a founder to solve: 
• AI & ML in fintech

Checkout these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

• Carey’s podcast, AccelerateOC

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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International payments has been a hot topic for a long time. 

But for those blazing new trails, there’s a lot to consider. 

What do you prioritize before hitting the market?

To answer this question, I chat with Alex Arnold, Founder at Dunbridge Financial, to find out the most important considerations he had before launching earlier this year. 

Alex explains:

-Why traditional banks are deficient (and sluggish) on payments

-The 3 key go-to-market considerations for Dunbridge

-How to plan ahead and grow the right way

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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Compliance often used to be seen as something you reluctantly dedicated resources to in order to please the lawyers. But that’s changing… Because behind every great Fintech is the ability to manage risk.

Who said compliance can’t be sexy?

Certainly not today’s guest, Charlie Delingpole, Founder and CEO at ComplyAdvantage, where his work helping companies leverage compliance as a strategic business asset is finally making compliance sexy.

In this episode, we discuss:

- The kinds of risks compliance addresses

- Why compliance is a competitive advantage for Fintech

- How ComplyAdvantage is making compliance intelligent

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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Regulations, compliance, identity verification, bank partnership, the list goes on. In fintech, there’s a growing list of obstacles to consider when developing your financial product.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could peer into the mind of someone who’s sole goal was to solve these issues? You can. On our latest Currency Cloud Podcast, we spoke with Sankaet Pathak, CEO and Founder of SynapseFI.

Sankaet’s growing company now handles these account creation issues, as well as, compliance services, bank partnerships,  fund settlement, account aggregation, risk mitigation and others. With a growing list of customers north of 150 fintech clients, Sankaet’s knowledge on the industry is profound.

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Those who innovate in trying times are often the names that stick around.

Everyone agrees this year has been more trying than most.

But it could have been a whole lot worse without the innovators leading us through.

And when it comes to finance, Paul Golding, Senior Equity Research Analyst at Macquarie Group, has studied all the innovators making a difference in these uncertain times.

He joins me on the show to share his insights on the world we find ourselves in for 2020 and beyond.

We discuss:

• The biggest impacts COVID-19 is having on SaaS marketplaces
• Why debit use is exploding and credit has declined
• How PayPal has positioned itself post-pandemic
  

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

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A lot of people ignore the middle part of the United States. 

The “flyover” states, as they’re called, get a bad rap. They’re ignored for the likes of New York, LA, Silicon Valley, and Austin. 

But there is so much happening in Middle America. Incredible things really. 

On this most recent episode of the Payments Innovation Podcast, we sat down with Nikkee Rhody, Vice President of Product Development and Marketplace Strategy at Central Payments, and Co-Founder and Managing Director at Falls Fintech. 

We talked about Middle America, what’s going on with Falls Fintech, a fintech accelerator, and what their plans are for the coming year.

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If you want to succeed…

You have to always put your customers’ needs first.

And partners are a great way to do that.  

Just ask Johanna Pugh, MD North America at Mambu, an innovative fintech that has broken into new markets and stayed customer-centric by leveraging their partner ecosystem. 

In this episode, we discuss:

-How partners help you stay focused on the customer

-Why the customer is all you need to worry about

-How partners help you break into new markets

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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In retail, digital transformation is everywhere and obvious. You buy a product online, it gets delivered to your home. No more browsing aisles or waiting in checkout lines.

But B2B lags behind — especially when it comes to subscriptions. Why is that?

Today’s guest, Daniel Saks, President & Co-CEO at AppDirect, says it’s all to do with the demands of the digital supply chain.

And at AppDirect, he’s helping companies meet those demands.

What we talked about:

- AppDirect’s place in the digital supply chain

- Why recurring digital goods are so different from one-time physical goods

- How embedded finance is impacting digital supply chains

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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For those old enough to remember a time before, Fintech can seem like a dream come true — it allows us to bank, sell, invest and even gamble whenever and wherever we want. 

But these same tools can become a nightmare for those without the financial education to wield them responsibly.

That’s why today’s guest, Vivi Friedgut , CEO/Founder at Blackbullion , is on a mission to educate young people so that they can make better financial decisions — and she’s using technology to enable the solution.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Why schools are poorly-equipped to educate on finance

- The positives and negatives of the Fintech landscape

- What it will take to solve the financial education problem

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube !

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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Paper checks are dying.

But not as fast as you might think.

While many individuals are demanding instant payment systems, most companies still operate by paying bills by check every month.  The overall rates of check usage dropped significantly from 2000 through 2015, but in the last few years the percentage of check usage has plateaued.  There has not been enough disruptive innovation in this particular space to force companies into the next evolution of digital payments.

Stuart Bain is the Senior Vice President at Alacriti, Inc. His team at Alacriti is focused on bringing superior payments technology and flexible payment options to companies all over the country.

Stuart joined us for this episode of Payments Innovation to discuss billpay industry trends, the evolution of checks as a form of payment, and what younger generations are demanding from new payment methods.

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Debundling has had a huge role in fintech’s rise.

But that era is over… 

Welcome, everyone, to the era of rebundling.

In today’s episode, Ben Soppitt, Founder of Unifimoney, explains why the time has come for fintechs to start rebundling everything they’ve debundled.

He goes over:

-Why fintechs debundled in the first place

-Why it’s time to rebundle

-Why Unifimoney caters to the affluent 

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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Whether it’s buying or selling, what’s the most important currency in any B2B marketplace?

Trust.

And any B2B payments solution is incomplete without it.

In today’s episode, Rahul Shinghal, Co-founder and CEO of Tazapay, visits the show to explain how Tazapay is using payments to put the trust back into B2B transactions.

Join us as we discuss:

• Why trust has been neglected in B2B
• The value of partnerships in the payments space
• Why payments is really a compliance industry  

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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Who hasn’t received an email from their bank for an account that’s completely irrelevant?

It makes you feel like your bank doesn’t care about you one bit, right?

Banks have all the data they could ask for to understand their customers, but, clearly, most of them don’t know how to use it.

But customer data platforms are changing that.

Today’s guest, Izabella Gabowicz, COO at Sensibill, is someone helping lead the CDP revolution. She joins the show to share why CDPs are such an exciting tool for leveraging data to deliver better customer experiences.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How CDPs make banking more human
• How to Use a CDP to marketing noise into highly targeted marketing
• How CDPs foster empathy     

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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How you treat your customers matters. 

But for many banks, the level of service you can expect is direct correlated to your account balance. 

That needs to change.

And Archie Ravishankar, Founder and CEO at Cogni, is on a mission to do just that. At Cogni, he’s rising to the challenge with a platform to help the underserved, Gen Z and everyone else with their financial needs. 

What we talked about:

-Why customer service matters

-Why Gen Z are an important demographic to reach

-How digital banks are shaking up finance.

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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The pandemic is like an advertisement for the Boy Scout motto: Always be prepared.

Yet, financially, few Americans are. Most have less than $500 in savings!

They need to follow the Boy Scout credo. And they need Fintech to do it. 

And my guest today, Ahmed Siddiqui, Head of Product at Branch, is trying to help get American workers merit badges in financial wellness. 

Branch is a challenger bank making financial tools for the American worker to unshackle them from the two-week payment cycle limiting their financial success. 

What we talked about:

-Why Branch pivoted to payments

-How they are keeping the service free for employers and employees

-What the future holds for Fintech

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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Open banking is a hot topic these days, but depending on which side of the Atlantic you’re on, there are some large differences in the ways these markets are handling this innovative sector.

As Head of International at Plaid, Keith Grose understands the differences between these markets better than most. He joined us on the show today to help untangle open banking.

What we talked about:

- The transatlantic differences in open banking

- The difference between open banking and open finance

- The COVID-19 effect on open banking

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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Have you ever tried purchasing life insurance? It seems like it should take less than 60 minutes, but it rarely takes less than 60 days.

So Yaron took that process, laden with pdfs, phone calls, and paperwork, and turned it inside-out, co-founding Haven Life.

On this episode, Yaron gives his insights on:

• Why buying term life insurance has been so difficult traditionally
• Giving customers what they need
• Allowing customers to purchase how they want
• How Haven Life is using modern tech to align with the customer
• Rapid application approval
• How Yaron defines success
• Yaron’s insights into the future of insurtech

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

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Open banking seems like it’s been just around the corner for years. 

Now it’s here… 

But most organizations are still a little scared to move into it. 

Why?

To find out, I caught up with Phil Peters, EVP/Chief Operating Officer & Head of Institutional Banking at Radius Bank, a company who’ve embraced open banking with open arms. 

In this episode, Phil explains:

-Why Radius moved into open banking

-How embedded finance is shaping the future

-What makes a winner (and why there will be many) 

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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When it comes to Fintechs and modernizing finance, it’s all about improving user experiences.

And few banking products need it more than the traditional bank wire.

In this episode, Chris speaks with Marwan Forzley, CEO at Veem, about how his company is fixing the user experience issues with wiring money.

They discuss:

- Why partners are essential to modern finance

- The effects of COVID on Veem’s business demand

- The problems with traditional bank wires (and how they can be fixed)

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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Community Banks fund over half of the small businesses in the US. They are an essential and often overlooked part of the economy.

Tina Giorgio is the President and CEO at ICBA Bancard. Tina has been in this role for a little under 2 years, but she has spent the last 30 years in community banking.

“Community Bankers, at our core, are about serving our local community.  There’s a lot of communities in the United States who would not be properly served if it wasn’t for their local community bank.”

Many community banks simply can’t compete with larger entities.  They need representation, especially in the evolving world of payments.  So Tina and her team are advocates for these banks.

They have specifically been working in the area of merchant funded rewards.  ICBA Bancard provides benefits through these reward programs to both merchants and their customers.  Merchants see a higher number of transactions by implementing these programs, and merchants get to support both national and local business while getting rewarded. It’s a win for everyone.

Tina joined us for this episode of the Payments Innovation Podcast to talk about community banking, merchant funded reward programs, and overcoming challenges in her role.

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The average lifespan of a tech startup is seven years with only 3% of businesses making it past 10 years. 

For TransferGo to celebrate a decade in the business, it’s a huge accomplishment and shows their dedication to employees, customers and the overarching business. 

Justinas Lasevicius, COO & Co-founder at TransferGo, shares the ingredients to success as well as where remittance is heading. 

Join us as we discuss:

• Ther recipes for creating a successful Fintech 
• Solving challenges during multiple global crises 
• Creating digital inclusion through financial service accessibility 
• The future of remittance during a economic slowdown 

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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Across the United States, challenger banks are springing up, such as Chime and Simple. But, within the US, most of these don’t actually have their own charter.

Meet Varo Money — the digital bank that wants to become the first challenger bank to receive its own US charter.

I spoke with Wesley Wright, Varo’s COO, on the Payments Innovation podcast to hear about why pursuing their own charter is so important. Wesley’s response?

Because they want to own the entire customer experience.

What we talked about:

• Traditional banks haven’t responded to everyone’s needs
• Varo focuses on long-term, core banking relationship with customers
• Varo’s goal: own the customer experience
• The sponsor bank model versus being a chartered bank
• What would need to change to become their own charter
• How does Varo determine which processes to keep in house and which to outsource?
• Varo’s “customer-centric” approach

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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Falls Fintech almost didn’t happen. 

The 12-week accelerator program started on March 9th, 2020. 

By March 13th, participants had to pack up and go. But the story doesn’t end there…  

What kind of fintech entrepreneurs would let a little thing like a global pandemic stop them from innovating?

In today’s Challenger Series episode, I’m excited to be joined by 3 amazing guests involved with the accelerator program:

Nikkee Rhody, SVP, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Falls Fintech and Vice President - Product Development & Marketplace Strategies at Central Payments. 

Fonta Gilliam, CEO and Co-Founder at Invest Sou Sou.

Rishi Chand, Account Manager at Mastercard.

We discuss:

-How Falls Fintech started

-How they overcame the pandemic

-What the post-COVID-19 future holds for fintech

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

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The financial problems of immigrants living abroad, but still needing to interact with their country of origin, were not being solved despite the huge influx of new banks all over Africa. 

Recognizing this area of concern, Rian Cochran, Co-Founder at Lemonade Finance, jumped on the opportunity to provide a solution for in-need immigrants — stemming from issues faced as an immigrant himself. 

Join us as we discuss:

An introduction to Lemonade Finance & what led to its founding

Going deeper & attacking regulation

What differentiates Lemonade Finance

What to expect in 2022

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube! 

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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Investing has always been about the education of the individual instead of the community.  

Thanks to Hayden Smith, COO and Co-founder of Pearler, that stigma is changing. Creating a community of confident investors for long-term success through financial education.  

Join us as we discuss:

• The evolving world of investing with confident, educated investors
• Millennials and Gen-Zers becoming more engaged in their investing 
• The challenges of launching Fintech in foreign countries
• What is the future for Pearler as Fintech continues to expand  

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube! 

Until next time!

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As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds, our socially-distanced world has paradoxically revealed how connected we really are.

A pandemic that knows no borders has everyone realizing the borders our technology can cross just as easily. We’ve learned to work together, apart.

And payments are no exception. Technology has made it easier than ever to work, sell, pay or get paid internationally.  

We’re joined today by Iain McNicoll, Regional Head of SMB Americas at Payoneer, a company dismantling the barriers in international payments.

Iain covers:

• How technology like Payoneer is simplifying payments abroad
• Why small sellers are entering new markets
• Why international freelancing is booming

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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For many, investing is seen as the preserve of the wealthy or financially savvy.

Thanks to Mary Agbesanwa, Fintech Growth Lead at Seccl championing the transformative power of technology and how it can be used to democratize investing, more people are accessing the financial markets and making educated, informed investment decisions

In the latest episode of Payments Innovation, we discussed:

• The role of embedded investing in democratizing the investment space
• Millennials and Gen-Zers becoming more engaged in their investing
• How Wealthtech can take steps to open up investment to newcomers
• How Seccl is educating ordinary people to be long term investors  

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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Vauban are making investing in private markets as easy as ordering a book on Amazon.

On today’s show, Alex Barr caught up with Aric Oslerne, COO of Vauban from Carta,, the investment platform on a mission to democratize private investment, and unlock trillions in capital worldwide.

What we talked about:

• How technology is speeding up the investment process
• The impact of Covid on VC globally
• The best mindset for a successful startup launch
• Vauban’s exciting recent acquisition by US-based Carta 

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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Behind every digital transaction, there’s a vast infrastructure of APIs and monitoring systems ensuring the security and speed that the public now expects. 

In this episode, we take an expert look into these global systems and learn more about the ever-evolving complexities behind them. 

Ho Chee Wai, Country Head of Singapore and Vice President of Neobank & Cards Strategy at NIUM, shares his perspective on the rising trend of digital payments and how NIUM had to adapt to the challenges of the pandemic. 

Join us as we discuss:

• The new frontier of real-time payments in APAC
• Maximizing the benefits of global partnerships 
• Adapting to supply chain issues and inflation
• Building symbiotic relationships between companies

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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Rick Lynch is the senior vice president for business development at Verifi. He got into the payments industry in 1999, and has been innovating in the space ever since. We sat down with Rick on this week’s episode of Payments Innovation to learn more about what Verifi is doing to shake up the industry and equip business owners to take control of their chargebacks. 

They’re creating post-authorization tools to help reduce risk and loses after the sale by preventing and fighting chargebacks, preventing customer disputes, and any other negative events that happen after the sale. While most of the vendors you see in the marketplace today are really focused on before-the-sale, Verifi is focused on the opposite--and it’s really working out in their favor.

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Banking as a service has been a hot topic for a while; but just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s the right path for everyone. 

A brand needs to consider its DNA and where it can bring the most value to the customer.

Just ask Yuval Brisker, Co-Founder, CEO & President at Alviere, who explains how they’ve differentiated themselves by being hyper selective of their customers.

Join us as we discuss:

• Yuval’s background and what Alviere does
• Shying away from the hot topic of banking as a service
• Targeting particular customers to differentiate from other platforms

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube! 

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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Many entrepreneurs fall into no man’s land when it comes to their bank account.

They’re too big to keep a personal account, and too small to get attention from banks.

Every specializes in bank accounts for online businesses, and they are looking to simplify the entire bank account process for online entrepreneurs.

Jeremy Black is the Co-Founder and CEO of Every.  He began his career as an online entrepreneur in a pre-Shopify world. He ran an e-commerce operation in music industry before he moved onto roles in the tech community.

Jeremy spent a lot of time in banking and enterprise software before he felt the call to return to the entrepreneur life. His role at Every is to advocate for the next generation of online entrepreneurs. This week, we spoke to Jeremy about Every’s platform, his target market, partnerships, and the future of his business.

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“The entrepreneurial journey is always filled with detours, mistakes, and regrets.”

It takes hard skin to power through, according to our guest. You need the ability to ideate the solution to a problem and then execute it flawlessly.

Henrik Zillmer is the charismatic Co-Founder and Chairman at AirHelp, a lifelong entrepreneur, and a former First Lieutenant of the Danish Artillery. 

He’s also an alumnus of the Y Combinator accelerator and holds a Masters's from the prestigious Copenhagen Business School.

Join us as we discuss:

• The problem-solving mindset every entrepreneur needs
• COVID’s continuing impact on the travel industry
• How his company became stronger, leaner, and more resilient
• Leveraging AirHelp’s global reach to deliver their successful new products

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here — and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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Why we all love credit cards: they’re speedy, convenient, and transparent.

Why we all dislike credit cards: they’re expensive.

What if you could make a bank account transaction at the speed, convenience, and transparency of a credit card transaction, but without the fees?

That’s the basic premise behind Hamed Arbibi’s newest venture, VoPay.

In this episode, 3-time Founder and CEO, Hamed Arbibi talks about how VoPay is creating a new financial landscape in Canada, enabling rapid bank-to-bank transactions, without overbearing credit card interchange fees.

What we talked about:

• Hamed saw the banking industry was ready for real-time payment processing
• 80% of business transactions go thru banks (& they’re invisible)
• How VoPay is creating speed & visibility thru bank-to-bank processing 
• The similarities between EFT in Canada & ACH in the US
• 1 more differentiator: VoPay’s product is built on customer feedback
• Real-time bank-to-bank processing
• Bank account payment transactions

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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With the steady increase of Fintech start-ups, is there a sense of reliability with these financial services? How trustworthy are fintechs in general? Do they have any regulations like a bank?

These are challenges that fintech companies have to hurdle, when proving to consumers that they are a reliable source. And it all starts with transparency.

Joined with us today, we have financial technology expert, Rocky Motwani, president and cofounder of Jiko. We will discuss how fintechs try to become a trustworthy financial resource.

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Cashless participation is the catalyst in the mission to drive equitable stock ownership through ESPPs (Employee Stock Purchasing Plans). Aaron Shapiro, CEO & Founder of Carver Edison, is here to tell us all about it in the latest episode of Payments Innovation.

What we talked about:

- Aaron’s journey into the corporate equity niche

- Carver Edison’s place on the ESPP spectrum

- Do ESPPs offer diversification opportunities?

- The win-win-win situation created by cashless participation.

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

- Aaron’s LinkedIn profile

- Carver Edison’s website

- Carbon, Carver Edison’s equity education platform

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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These days, banks are finally realizing what almost every other industry has already caught on to:

If you want to succeed, you need to build around customer experiences.

Just ask Alex Wheldon, Co-Founder, President and Chief Product Officer at Rho Business Bank, where he’s helping to usher in the new, customer-focused, paradigm for modern banking.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Why customer-focus is the new zeitgeist for modern banking

- How Rho approaches partnerships

- The example Rho is setting for other financial institutions

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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Fintech is one of the fastest growing industries on the globe today.  

In this episode, we take a look at the projected growth of Fintech through the perspective of crypto to real-time payment systems.  

Shamir Karkal, Co-founder and CEO at Sila and Cara Hayward, Director of Strategic Partnerships, North America at Currencycloud, both see the bright future of the Fintech industry as it expands with crypto-currency to real-time payment systems.  

Join us as we discuss:

• Biggest trend in Fintech is growth
• Staying power of Fintech 
• Global movement to real-time payment systems
• The crypto ecosystem  

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here, and don’t forget to check out our YouTube! 

Until next time!

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Gender bias is not new. It’s prevalent in every industry, including Fintech. Women grow up expecting unequal retreatment in the workplace. 

That’s changing, now more than ever.  

In today’s episode, Faye McDonough, Portfolio & Business Operations Director at Growth Lending, and Lindsay Davis, Head of Markets at Atomic, visit the show to share their experiences as women in Fintech, how they’ve navigated their careers, and how they see the dynamic shifting in the near future. 

Join us as we discuss:

Bias & gender balances in the workplace

What women bring to the team

Establishing your values & never compromising 

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!  

Until next time! 

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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Host Chris D’Antuono had an enlightening conversation with Wayne Akey from Agile Payments about why SaaS platforms should consider being part of a payment facilitator program, also known as PayFac.

Agile Payments has been involved in the payments landscape for about 20 years. In that time their niche has been partnering with software service platforms and embedding payments.

Here’s what we learned from Wayne’s expertise.

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When Facebook went down recently, many creators lost their ability to monetize their content — their livelihood — because of the outage.

Could blockchain technology give creators an avenue to break the shackles of traditional social media?

Today’s guest, Solo Ceesay, is banking on it. As COO and Co-Founder at Calaxy, Solo and his team are empowering creators with a crypto-fueled content platform that is revolutionizing how creators can capitalize on their creativity — from where they congregate to how they get paid.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The previously untapped utility blockchain can provide creators
• Why user experience lags far behind the technology when it comes to blockchain — and how Calaxy hope to change that
• The value NFTs can offer creators

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player

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Over the last decade, consumers have embraced the rising quality of personal loans fueled by smaller, more nimble technology.

Given the economic uncertainty around the pandemic, will that appetite fizzle out or burn well into the future? 

To find out, we spoke with Scott Satov, Chief Executive Officer at Loans Canada. 

He went over:

-Loan Canada’s part in the rise of personal loans

-How technology has shaped the personal loan market

-The present (and future) state of personal loans

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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For a lot of folks around the world, currency exchange isn’t something they think about.

The ease and feasibility of exchanging and sending currency across international borders never crosses the minds of most people.

On this episode of Payments Innovation, we sat down with Johnathan Holland, Founder and CEO of Curexe to talk about what it takes to tackle those initial steps of acquiring that initial bank account and get on the right path.

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Natalie Cartwright and her team at Finn AI have a mission: to improve the financial well-being of 100M people by 2025. And they’re leveraging AI to achieve that mission. 

What we talked about:

• How Finn AI is applying AI in the financial services industry
• How do virtual assistants create more value for customers?
• How do virtual assistants create more value for financial institutions?

Check out these resources

• Finn AI
• Natalie’s LinkedIn

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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It took a global pandemic.

But I think everyone realizes it now. 

Innovation is no longer a choice. It’s a necessity.

And that’s why we’re happy to announce the launch of even more Payments Innovation podcast.

That’s right, we have 3 new series launching so you can keep up with every aspect of innovation in the fintech world.

Rich Arundel, General Manager at Currencycloud, will be hosting #embeddedfinance, which takes a look at the future of payments.

Chris D'Antuono will be hosting #challengers, getting in-depth with the shifting landscape of challenger banks. 

Cara Hayward, Director of Strategic Partnerships, North America, will be hosting #fintechcaraoke, a series looking at the absolutely vital world of alliances in fintech. 

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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With so much uncertainty in the pandemic…

The last thing anyone wants to worry about is getting paid.

Luckily, like everything else digital, the pandemic is accelerating existing trends.

And that’s making it easier for everyone to get paid when they need it.

My guest today is Andrew Garner, Senior Vice President/General Manager, Business Partnerships at Netspend, where he’s helping solve payroll problems for the pandemic and beyond.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How the pandemic is affecting payroll
• Existing trends that are being accelerated by the crisis

The future of payroll

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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On this episode of the Payments Innovation Podcast we sit down with Bill Dague a Senior Data Scientist at Quandl. Before he began working with Alternative Data at Quandl he was at Nasdaq, before they acquired Quandl. 

According to Bill, the world of data science is changing, for employees dedicated to working in the field, and companies seeking to maximize revenue by leveraging its power through data. 

Sometimes, the byproduct data can help companies to sort out the following unexpected benefits:

-new consumer insights

-deeper understanding of consumer trends and habits

-competitive dynamics by industry

-broader overall picture of the economy

Data can come from anywhere, which is why it’s such an important field. Due to the ubiquity of the data available to companies, Bill explains that we are only now just beginning to scratch the surface of how that data can be relevant and useful to companies. For instance, most data is tied up in a small handful of companies. Bill shared that from his perspective it appears that the playing field is about to open up with new emerging companies stepping into the arena.

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Venmo offers people a completely digital, cashless payment network experience. But commercial enterprises, weighed down with invoices and contracts, often still rely on paper checks. What if you could use the blockchain to digitize the process for these companies and help them get their revenue faster, cheaper, and more efficiently like Venmo does for individuals?

Jeremy Almond, CEO of a business-to-business payment network called PayStand, believes you can. A completely digital cashless payment network experience, PayStand works like Venmo only with a contract and an invoice in the process. 

We invited Jeremy onto the podcast to talk about PayStand and the future of the blockchain for business-to-business payments.

What we talked about:

• How complicated commercial transactions could be fully digitized on an app
• Working through many different kinds of systems to make digital commercial payments happen
• How to move money through smart contracts without running afoul of U.S. regulations
• Banks are experimenting with blockchain for commercial payments
• Repositioning blockchain from a cryptocurrency delivery mechanism to a safe and automated payment solution

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

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In the world of transaction technology, we all care about the same things:

• Security and Risk reduction
• Customer experience
• Friction minimization

Today commonly these concerns are handled by the use of EMV chips and NFC.  But what if there were a way to send and receive transaction data over a distance of several feet securely?

I sat down with Eric Allen, CEO of LISNR to find out if audio is becoming a disruptive force potentially taking over as the new standard and what the benefits are of this innovation.

What we discussed:

• The origin story of LISNR’s data-over-audio
• How the technology works
• Why audio is a great option
• Additional benefits

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

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Remote work leveled the playing field for working moms.

The dogs, babies, and kids showing up in Zoom chats have revealed the human side of our colleagues.

Shouldn’t we be thinking about creating a more flexible, sustainable, and human work environment for everyone?

After all, every one of us can do something to challenge the norm.

This International Women's Day, women in technology have the opportunity to lead the challenge by being visible and vulnerable according to Neve Taylor, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Leader & Chief Storyteller at Together Equal, and Chiedza Muguti, Head of Product at Penta, a digital business bank platform. In part two, we talk with Annika Allen of global diversity and inclusion at Barclays.

What we talked about:

-The specific skills women bring to FinTech

-What's most rewarding about flexibility and remote work

-What women can choose to challenge this year

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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Marketplaces of the past used to work by collecting money from a card, funneling that money into an operational account, and then bank transfer funds out the account.

Which means: A lot of money sits between buyer and seller.

But what happens when the company holding your money suddenly fails? 

A question asked by Nick Fulton, Co-Founde r & CEO at trustshare, who join s the show to discuss why a marketplace wants to go transactional, changes in regulation, the loss of revenue due to payments made outside the marketplace, and helping marketplaces grow through excellent customer service. 

Join us as we discuss:

• The lightbulb moment that led to the founding of trustshare
• B2B & B2C marketplace growth impact 
• Who’s driving the expectations of payments within the marketplace
• How fraud is being mitigated

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or he re and don’t forget to check out our YouTube! 

Until next time! 

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Cookie cutter solutions don’t work for everyone.  Often, smaller community banks are left out, especially when considering international exchanges.

Mike Salerno, Vice President of Global Banking at FNB Omaha, saw a host of opportunities  following the recession as larger banks tightened up.  This allowed other correspondents to come in and establish partnerships.

Mike and FNB have made a commitment to continue to service their downstream and correspondent banks.  This includes partnering with them to help them come up with and work on creating a solution set.

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Buy now, pay later.

It’s a useful way to manage transactional visibility, and I got to speak about it with David True, Founder and Partner at Paygility Advisors.

What we talked about:

- Common gaps in knowledge for non-US companies entering the US market

- Sponsor bank positioning

- The ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ movement

- Interchange rates and subscription revenue

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

- David’s LinkedIn Profile

- Paygility’s website

- NYPAY’s website

- NYPAY’s conversation about ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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Currencycloud’s Payments Innovation podcast is about 3 years old, and we couldn’t be prouder of all the conversations we’ve had about new business perspectives on the global digital economy.

Today, we’re introducing a new podcast host who will pioneer a Payments Innovation series focused on our current clients and how they’re scaling.

We’re excited to highlight our newest podcast host Scott Ernenwein, North America Account Manager: Fintech and Banking at Currencycloud.

In this introductory episode, you’ll hear about:

- Scott’s background in banking

- His insights into current customer transformations

- Challenges facing customers at scale

- His vision for the client episodes

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.
 

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When your toaster and your TV are programmable, doesn't it make sense that your payments should be programmable, too? 

Card payments often settle on ACH, but accessing the ACH Network for electronic payments is tough. It can take years to figure out accounting, corrections, automating returns, identity verification, and reconciliation. 

What if those technical gaps were fixed? What if there were a simpler system? Would businesses use it?

The gaps have been fixed, a simplified solution has been created, and businesses are using it. 

That solution is called Dwolla, and we had a conversation with the company's founder, Ben Milne, on this episode of the Payments Innovation podcast. 

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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Doing business across borders adds complex layers to your enterprise. But moving payments into other currencies? This should be simple. That’s what we think … and that’s what our latest guest thinks.

He’s built an entire business on the premise of ethical, common-sense trading.

On our latest podcast, Jeff Scanlon, CEO and President of Paymentearth joined us to unravel the complexities of FX payments. Previously, Jeff worked at Ruesch International overseeing the LA Territory,  and later at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange, where he quickly topped the chart in the sales department as customers enjoyed his ethical and transparent style.

After nearly 25 years in the FX industry, he and a colleague decided a better, simpler, more transparent option needed to be available to small and medium size businesses doing international payments.

That’s how Paymentearth was born in July of 2016.

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Why do so many of us toss our change in charity jars? Because it’s easy. So, what if there was a physical jar for your credit card, where you simply dip your credit card, and boom, you’ve donated? No forms, no iPad, no “What’s your address?” “Check this box.” “Put your name here.”

Just a simple credit card dip to give?

Well, that jar does exist. It’s called DipJar, and we sat down with their CEO, Chris Selland, on this episode of the Payments Innovation podcast. He told us all about how DipJar is increasing engagement (and increasing donations) for charities.

What we talked about:

• DipJar evolved from a tip jar
• Engagement is the secret sauce of DipJar
• It’s not just a device — it’s a platform
• DipJar is a management platform:
• Spark: a visualization platform
• Biggest area of growth — socially responsible for-profits
• Fintech, payments platform, P2P payments, B2B payments

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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Bringing on new full-time employees from different countries comes with its share of complications. From resolving legal grey areas to providing a first-class experience for the employee, Panther aims to solve these issues.

Matt Redler, Founder and CEO of Panther, joins us to discuss how the company is changing the way remote work operates with employees in multiple countries.

We talked about:

- How Panther got started

- The issues with hiring employees globally

- What sets Panther apart from similar companies

To hear more interviews like this one, subscribe to Payments Innovation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.

Matt can be reached at the following:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattredler/

Matt@withpanther.com

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Embedded finance is the game changer we never knew we needed.

Robert Cortright, Founder & CEO at DriveWealth, walks us through the what, how, and why on the latest episode of Payments Innovation.

What we talked about:

- Fractional trading, financial literacy & AI

- Brokerage vs. embedded finance

- What to expect from the digital financial ecosystem in the next year or so

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

- DriveWealth’s website

- Greenlight financial literacy initiative

- Bob’s LinkedIn profile

To hear more interviews like this one, subscribe to Payments Innovation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Payments Innovation in your favorite podcast player.

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“I don’t have that much cash available. Is there any way I can get a loan to finance this?” 

“I’m sorry, not really,” said the dentist. Adam Rice overheard the conversation, and the idea for Loan Connect was born. Their goal is simple: provide Canadians with personal loans that lenders actually compete to provide. 

On this episode, Adam discusses how the platform works, and how it’s defying the odds (and the banks) in Canada.

Adam is the CEO and Founder of Loan Connect, with an MBA from UNSW, and a Masters in Communication and Management from UWO.

What we talked about:

• Loan Connect had a “chicken-and-egg” problem
• Canadian banks are slow to change
• Example of getting a personal loan in Canada 
• Loan Connect’s desire to help the end-user
• Why Adam went around the “big 5” & focused on credit unions. 
• Traditional Canadian banking
• Fintech in Canada
• Lending/borrowing in Canada

To contact Adam: 

• Email him at adam@loanconnect.ca
• Connect with him on his LinkedIn

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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Consumer products these days are sleek.

So, why do business products look like they were all made in preparation for a 19th-century world fair? 

Hamed Abbasi, Co-Founder & CEO at Plooto, is on a mission to prove there is no reason business products can’t be just as sleek.

In this episode, we discuss:

-How Plooto is innovating accounts payable and receivable

-Why most business products create a terrible experience

-How to make complex products easy to use

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

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Who's behind the boom in fintech startups? How are digital-wallet entrepreneurs, for instance, launching their ideas? How much of their products are they building in house? 

The front end of fintech garners a lot of attention, but the back end has often gotten ignored. Nevertheless, there's an infrastructure powering everything. What is it? Who is it? How will it change?

On today's episode of the Payments Innovation podcast, we invited Chris McCann, managing partner at Proof of Capital, to take us down the fintech rabbit hole by exploring these ideas from his popular article, The FinTech Infrastructure 101. Chris helps us understand the fintech ecosystem, specifically who does what and the value of the chain.

What we talked about:

• How the idea for The FinTech Infrastructure 101, Chris' article, got started
• The landscape of banking as a service and the "really, really, really new idea" of APIs
• What fintech companies are using to power their existing applications
• Trends that are fundamentally challenging the core assumptions of fintech
• How fintech ecosystems could develop differently around the world

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

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The pandemic may have accelerated it, but the remote revolution is upon us.

It’s unlikely that work will ever be the same again.

But if remote work is here to stay, we need the financial tools to fuel it.

In today’s episode, I speak with Sahin Boydas, Head of RemoteTeam at Gusto formerly of RemoteTeam.com, about the pros and cons of remote work and the role of fintech in the new world of work.

What we talked about:

• The advantages of working from home
• What to watch out for in remote work
• Why fintech is essential for a distributed workforce 

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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In the wake of the sudden COVID-19 economy, we might forget the small-scale financial crises people face every day. 

In the huge segment of the workforce living paycheck-to-paycheck, any sudden expense can become a financial crisis. 

And until recently, their only option was to start a cycle of debt through expensive short-term loans.  

Our guest today, Frank Dombroski, Founder and CEO of FlexWage Solutions, is leading the charge — without the high charges — for an alternative.  His company offers a solution that provides people with early access to earned wages.

What we talked about:

-The genesis of Flex Wage

-Challenges to adoption

-Why early wage access appeals to HR and Benefits 

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. 

Until next time!

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Companies looking to build banking within their model have had to face 3 big challenges over the past decade: managing bank relationships, keeping up with compliance, and building technology to take their banking to market. 

Today’s guest is helping Fintech solve these problems: Itai Damti, CEO at Unit. He joins the show to explain banking as a service and how Unit is helping companies with their banking integrations.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Banking as a service

- How Unit stands out, its vision, and its customers

- Areas for improvement in banking in the future

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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When it comes down to payments and foreign exchange exposure, small and medium sized businesses don’t have a good understanding of what it’s costing them.

It varies from company to company, obviously, but even the big companies can be oblivious to the charges — up to 5%.

On this episode, I talked with Pourash Pant, co-founder of Tigerflo Global Payments, about why most SMBs don’t even realize how much they’re losing.

What we talked about:

• The reality of foreign exchange payments losses
• Why SMBs are particularly susceptible to the “used car dealership model”
• Average losses for small businesses and medium businesses
• Educating SMBs in foreign exchange solutions
• The next 5-10 years in FinTech

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

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No matter what vertical you’re in, small businesses are always looking for ways to save money and — ultimately — time. One big time suck? Back office administrative duties.

Claudio Romano, Founder & CEO of ORCHID B, has set out to help new SMEs navigate administrative duties and manage all back office operations in one single platform.

In this episode of Payments Innovation, Claudio discusses…

• Why operating an SME is so complicated
• How ORCHID B takes new owners from anxious to competent forecasters
• The #1 role new SMEs need to be filled
  

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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Millennial and Gen Z Europeans want to invest. But without platforms that feel similar to the experiences they use every day, that adoption will continue to take longer than needed.

And while the challenges to create these platforms may be steep, Andrej Hano, Co-Founder at Birdwingo, is lead ing the charge.   

He joins the show to discuss the biggest investing hurdles for young Europeans and how his company is solving the problem.

Join us as we discuss:

Why it’s taken so long for fintech founders to build into the European investment industry

• How Birdwingo is prioritizing customer experience & building brand trust
• Helping new European investors enter the market

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube! 

Until next time! 

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These days, everything we could ever need is a click away.

From groceries to furniture, every purchase is on-demand…

Shouldn’t our paychecks be, too?

After all, your money is yours when you’ve earned it — not when your employer pays it.

That’s what motivates Matt Kopko in his role as Vice President of Public Policy at DailyPay, a fintech company making the monthly obsolete by giving employees access to wages they’ve already earned whenever they need them.

What we talked about:

• Why the monthly paycheck is antiquated
• Why no one should have to take out payday loans
• How DailyPay enables on-demand payments
  
  

To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!

Until next time!

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For decades, payments systems in the US barely changed. Suddenly, innovations such as FedNow, real-time payments and blockchain are shaking up the legacy infrastructure. 

In this episode, host Scott Ernenwein speaks to Astra co-founder and CEO Gil Akos about what these developments mean for payments providers, and why the need for a robust payments platform is greater than ever.

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Women currently hold just 27% of all tech-related jobs. And while progress has been made in raising the profile of women in Fintech, there is still plenty of work to be done. 

In this episode, host Cara Hayward celebrates International Women’s Day with Currencycloud colleagues Fumbi Banjoko and Sarah Martin, as they discuss their own journeys in Fintech, why women’s progress varies so much from region to region, and how all-female networking is helping more women to break through the glass ceiling.

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Despite an explosive rise in innovative payments technologies, legacy infrastructure and institutional inertia pose significant barriers to their global adoption.

This week, host Cara Hayward speaks to Dan Roseberry, VP, Global Fintech Partnerships at Visa, and Emily Man, Investor at Redpoint Ventures, about the promise of new payment methods, why progress varies so much from country to country, and what Europe and the US could learn from India and Brazil.

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The collapse of FTX and Celsius wiped billions from investors’ portfolios and tarnished the reputation of the entire crypto industry. Could a proper regulatory framework have prevented the crisis? 

In this episode, Simon Grunfeld, Head of Web3 at Cogni, talks to host Scott Ernenwein about why regulation is the only path to wider crypto adoption, and why, when it comes to managing your digital assets, the only person you can trust is yourself. 

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Cross-border payments have traditionally been slow, costly and unpredictable. But as domestic instant payment systems are being stitched together, more money is flowing across borders in real time. 

This week, host Piers Marais talks to David Reiss, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Currencycloud, and Leo Lipis, CEO of Lipis Advisors, about emerging real-time payment corridors, the path to global connectivity, and why big banks no longer see Fintechs as the enemy.

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With the economic climate rattling businesses and investors alike, holding on to your customers is more important than ever. But how do you cut through the noise of your most vocal customers to understand how the rest are feeling?

In this episode, host Piers Marais talks to Saskia de Jong, Director of Customer Success at Avinode Group, and Sergi Albiol, Commercial Director at Lano, about the need for a company-wide approach to building relationships, why the customer isn’t always right, and the role AI has to play in keeping customers happy.

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A recent wave of acquisitions is consolidating part of the foreign exchange sector into the hands of a few major players. But who stands to gain the most?

In this episode, host Piers Marais talks to Joe Edwards, Managing Director at Capitex FX, about the benefits of consolidation for companies, the perks and problems for the customer, and why the rising cost of compliance may make it hard for smaller startups to keep up.

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Remittances to developing countries reached $626 billion last year. But with 25% of funds saved or invested, remittances are not just supporting families but transforming economies.  

This week, host James Teodorini is joined by Camilla Bullock, CEO and co-founder of the Emerging Payments Association Asia, and Artak Melkonyan, Senior Advisor on Equity, Financing and Funds at the United Nations Development Programme Sustainable Finance Hub. They discuss how remittances are fuelling entrepreneurialism, the part technology can play in reducing costs, and how South Asia is succeeding in keeping fees down.

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As a sector, Fintech has taken an investment hit, with global funding falling by a third in 2022. It’s a situation that’s leading to a radical reinvention of the way companies approach business planning, with a more strategic evaluation of the market playing a critical role. For years, venture capitalists were telling companies that they needed to grow as quickly as possible — to win market share, and only then worry about how they would actually make money.

That formula has been turned on its head now that money is more expensive and valuations have dropped. This week, host Piers Marais is joined by Leda Glyptis, Chief Client Officer at 10X Banking, to speak about the way Fintech business models are now prioritising profitability over growth. 

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There’s no getting around it.

It’s tough to enter a foreign market.

From the application process to the fees to the language barriers; it can be a balancing act.

We had the opportunity to chat with someone who knows this journey all too well. Marcus Shin from WireBarley answered all of our questions regarding entering a foreign marketplace with an M2M business model. In this episode, w

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For nearly three years China pursued a zero-Covid pandemic containment strategy. One of the strictest in the world, the policy mandated tight lockdowns and kept foreign visitors away. 

The reopening of China’s borders has been one the biggest economic stories of 2023. The country is projected to be responsible for nearly 35% of global growth this year, thanks to an uptick in consumption and shifting consumer behaviour.

But for businesses both inside and outside China, what are the opportunities that this growth presents? What scope is there for inward investment, and how will China engage with its neighbours? This week, host Yi Nah Yeo is joined by Ruben Lim, COO at Singapore FinTech Association, to learn more about what China’s reopening means for the world.

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As one stat after another shows how much venture capital funding is drying up, the most striking figure of all may have got lost in the noise: last year, female-owned companies received just 2.1% of the total capital invested in all startups in the US.

This week, host Cara Hayward is joined by Ruth Foxe Blader, CIO of Anthemis Group and Elizabeth Davis, Principal of the Female Innovators Lab Fund at Anthemis Group, to try and get to the bottom of this dispiriting percentage. They discuss the need for more female cheque writers in venture capital, the role VCs have to play in encouraging more female hires, and why the lack of female representation in tech is definitely not a pipeline problem.

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Since it burst onto the scene in the mid-2010s, Fintech has revolutionised the way we save, borrow, and transfer money, and become a shining light of British industry. But recent news headlines have shown that maturing as a sector can be a challenging road.

Can Fintech continue its impressive trajectory? And what are the strengths it needs to play on in order to maintain its impact as it settles into the mainstream business landscape? This week, host Piers Marais is joined by Head of Fintech at FleishmanHillard, Gemma Lingham, and by Innovate Finance CEO Janine Hirt to look at where Fintech goes from here.

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Super-apps have made a big splash in Asia over the past decade. Chinese giant WeChat, with one billion active monthly users, has millions of mini apps that run inside the platform, eliminating the need for separate apps to shop, find restaurants, or check train times.

But can super-apps work in the West? X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk has promised to launch an “everything app” that combines chat with financial services — and he’s not alone among Western entrepreneurs wanting to tap into the growing super-app market. This week, host Yi Nah Yeo is joined by Pratyush Prasanna, Senior Vice President of Merchant Payments, GoTo Financial, to look at what lies ahead.

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Visa acquired Currencycloud in 2021. Now, leveraging the expertise from both companies, it has launched a Cross-Border Payment Solutions. With a suite of modular building blocks that can be easily integrated with a company’s existing technology infrastructure, it enables a range of capabilities, including the ability to spend in, and send payments to, more than 180 countries and territories.

For this special episode of Payments Innovation, host Piers Marais talks to Ryan Felipe - General Manager, Visa, North America, and Luciana Mosoia - General Manager, Visa, EMEA, to look at those capabilities in more detail and to understand their impact.

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In 2022, the US Federal Reserve announced that it had been developing a “wholesale” central bank digital currency (CBDC), designed to speed up transfers between banks around the world. The aim of the new network would be “to reduce settlement risk in cross-border, cross-currency transactions.”

But there are questions around the introduction of CBDCs, with some observers wondering how much value these initiatives will actually bring to end users and whether they pose serious privacy concerns. 

They are not the only digital currency being promoted. Stablecoins — a privately issued digital currency designed to hold constant value against a reference asset — are predicted to reach a value of almost $3 trillion USD in the next five years. Some say stablecoins can do everything a CBDC can do and more, with fewer downsides. 

This week, host Cara Hayward is joined by Clara Medalie, Director of Research at digital assets data provider Kaiko, and Sean Ryan, Vice President and Associate Director at business data and analytics firm FactSet, to investigate the role both CBDCs and stablecoins will play in the financial system of the future.

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What does Black History Month mean to you? It could be a time to recognise the achievements of the Black community, to draw attention to ongoing problems with racism, or an opportunity to stand as an ally of Black friends and colleagues. October is Black History Month in the UK, and this year, under the theme of “Saluting Our Sisters”, the event celebrates the critical role that Black women have played in shaping history, inspiring change, and building communities. 

In this Special Edition of Payments Innovation, Product Manager Miada Hassan speaks to two Currencycloud colleagues, Director of Sales Development Fumbi Banjoko and VP of Banking Ola Malomo, who last year launched Currencycloud’s first Afro-Caribbean Employee Resource Group, Bl@CC (Black at Currencycloud). She digs into why Black History Month resonates for them, and what companies can learn from it.  

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Cyberattacks are on the increase, with bad actors proliferating around the world. By the end of 2023, according to Cybercrime magazine, hackers will have caused $8 trillion in global damages. In 2022, Moody’s listed banks as being at high risk of attack, and Fintech is also in the firing line. 

Financial firms hold extremely sensitive data on millions of customers, and vulnerabilities can be exploited for lucrative ransoms. Fintech is meant to be the ‘tech-savvy’ cousin of traditional finance. It’s innovative, fast-moving, and often API and cloud-driven. But how secure is it? Is the industry doing enough to protect the consumers and businesses that rely on these products?

In the latest episode of Payments Innovation, Cara Hayward, Director of Strategic Partnerships for North America, Currencycloud and Visa Cross-Border Solutions, spoke with Fraser Scott, VP of Product at threat modelling platform IriusRisk, to find out more.

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2023 was an explosive year for Generative AI. The mainstream emergence of tools like Chat GPT generated a huge amount of excitement and hype. In the wake of this, 93% of fintechs believe that generative AI is poised to revolutionise the fintech and financial services sector. But how much of the hype has materialised into real impact?

Artificial Intelligence has long been a transformational force in finance, helping to boost efficiency, improve security and handle the vast amounts of data that the modern system relies on. So what will the impact of this new GenAI wave be? 

In 2024’s first episode of Payments Innovation, Piers Marais, Chief Product Officer, Currencycloud, speaks to Ram Gopal, Director of the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology, to go beyond the buzzwords and learn more about the use cases being realised right now.

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Small and medium-sized businesses are the lifeblood of many economies, with more than 5 million SMBs in the UK, and 99 million in the US. In the last decade, the combined effects of globalisation removing cross-border barriers, plus innovation and rapid digital change, have set the stage for SMBs to thrive in the global digital economy. Yet, there’s a feeling that the market continues to be underserved within financial services. Why?

In this episode of Payments Innovation, Piers Marais, Chief Product Officer, Currencycloud, speaks to Adam Goodall, VP of Product, Funding Circle, to discuss how SMBs can thrive in the global marketplace and consider whether the future for SMBs is actually beyond borders.

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