In this episode of Muslim Money Talk, host Areeb Siddiqui is joined by Nina Mohanty, founder and CEO of Bloom Money.

They discuss Nina’s journey from growing up in Silicon Valley to working for major fintech companies in the UK, and eventually founding Bloom Money, a financial platform that helps immigrants build financial resilience.

Nina shares insights into the challenges and opportunities of serving underbanked communities, and the role of community-led initiatives in supporting immigrant financial needs.

This podcast is powered by Kestrl.

Kestrl is an app that helps Muslim to grow their wealth without compromising their beliefs

Kestrl - The Muslim Money App

https://kestrl.io/

Timestamp Breakdown

00:00 - Intro

02:18 - Growing up and studying in Silicon Valley

06:11 - Starting a career in London

07:36 - Should you do an MBA? (Studying at LSE)

11:45 - Mastercard: interviews and early opening banking

17:20 - Starling Bank: launching debit card and managing crises

19:42 - Building trust in Islamic Finance

22:05 - Networking is a Superpower!

23:47 - Joining Bud: Open Banking & being the 1st woman at a start-up

28:06 - What Kestrl’s App does

30:21 Joining Klarna: Buy Now Pay Later pros & cons

37:04 - Why interest is forbidden in Islam

39:40 - Launching Bloom Money in Covid

43:48 - How much money do immigrants have?

46:48 - Bloom: Digitising an ancient global concept

50:05 - Building trust within communities

54:15 - What do people use the money for?

57:20 - Digitising trust in savings circles

1:00:04 - Are immigrants financially invisible?

1:05:31 - Far-right riots and the UK immigrant experience

1:08:44 - Why Bloom needs to exist

20250127 Another Monday & More F'ing News on the Nicole Sandler Show