469. Overcoming the Odds: Pismo's Journey to Build API-First Banking, Fixing Finance's Broken Core, and the Future of Payments (Daniela Binatti)
Feb 10, 2025
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Daniela Binatti, Co-founder and CTO of Pismo, has over 25 years in banking and tech. She discusses the hurdles of outdated banking systems and how Pismo is revolutionizing finance with an API-first approach. Daniela shares insights on cultural transformation in tech, the regulatory challenges in Brazil, and the future of payments, including the role of blockchain. She also reflects on her journey as a woman founder in Brazil, emphasizing resilience, community support, and the importance of a people-centric company culture.
Pismo revolutionizes banking by addressing outdated mainframe system limitations with an API-first approach, offering scalability and enhancing user experience.
Navigating regulatory hurdles in Brazil, Pismo combines technological upgrades with cultural transformation to empower financial institutions' modernization efforts.
Deep dives
Founding Journey and Inspiration
Daniela Benacci's career began as a software engineer, where she spent over 16 years developing a payments processing platform in Brazil. Her trip to Silicon Valley in 2016 inspired her to create Pismo, a cloud-native banking and payments platform that leverages SaaS models. Recognizing the limitations of legacy systems, she sought to build a modern platform capable of addressing the industry's challenges, particularly the constraints imposed by outdated technologies. This vision led her to co-found Pismo, aiming to revolutionize the banking sector using contemporary cloud computing solutions.
Challenges with Legacy Banking Systems
Pismo addresses several significant issues stemming from outdated mainframe systems prevalent in the banking industry. Financial institutions traditionally spend millions on maintaining these systems, which are often constrained by old programming languages and limited capabilities. With the transition to an API-based infrastructure, Pismo offers banks the flexibility to scale operations in real-time and utilize modern technologies without the burden of maintaining extensive physical hardware. This shift allows institutions to efficiently respond to market demands and improve the user experience through enhanced services.
Target Market and Client Base
Initially focusing on democratizing payment solutions for micro issuers, Pismo quickly pivoted to target larger financial institutions after securing its first seed investment. Major clients now include Itaú, Citibank, and B3, showcasing Pismo's ability to cater to both small startups and large banking entities. The firm primarily serves consumer banking, emphasizing the need for clients to have a solid technical foundation to fully leverage Pismo's offerings. Pismo's headless system provides flexibility, enabling clients to build customized solutions while keeping pace with innovation.
Navigating Regulatory Challenges
Regulatory hurdles have posed significant challenges for Pismo, especially regarding data storage and compliance within the Brazilian market. In the early days, Benacci worked closely with legal teams to navigate the complexities of cloud data storage regulations and reassure banks of their capabilities. The timing of their entry into the market coincided with a shift towards modernization, which helped them gain traction despite these challenges. Benacci believes that the ongoing transformation in banking requires not only technological upgrades but also a cultural shift within organizations to embrace new solutions.
Daniela Binatti of Pismo joins Nick to discuss Overcoming the Odds: Pismo's Journey to Build API-First Banking, Fixing Finance's Broken Core, and the Future of Payments. In this episode we cover: