This Week in Fintech's Podcast

Dan Mottice, former Visa product lead and CEO of Beam, and Matt Marcus, co-founder of Modern Treasury, discuss the evolving role of stablecoins in payments. They explore Beam's acquisition and how combining fiat and stablecoin payments enhances developer experience. The conversation highlights regulatory clarity as key to scaling innovations and the future of digital payment systems. They also envision programmable money workflows, real-time reconciliation, and the opportunities created for non-US platforms and cross-border transactions.

Bret Taylor, Co-founder & CEO of Sierra and Chair of OpenAI, shares insights from his illustrious career at Salesforce and Facebook. He discusses Sierra's innovative AI agents that are revolutionizing customer service and transforming traditional models with outcome-based pricing. Taylor predicts a shift from apps to AI agents as the primary customer interface, citing impressive metrics from partners like Rocket and Ramp. He also addresses the potential AI bubble, the need for accountability in tech, and the future role of AI in financial services.

Natalie Wexler, VP at Adyen, and Jamie Kennedy, Payments Manager at Jackrabbit Technologies, discuss the vast $185B opportunity in embedded finance, especially for small and medium businesses. They explore how SaaS platforms can enhance customer experiences with capital products and streamlined payments. The conversation shifts to the role of AI in predicting cash flow and the emerging interest in stablecoins. Additionally, they highlight the transformative impact of embedded finance on customer loyalty and business growth.

In this conversation, Georgina Merhom, founder of SOLO, discusses the transformative potential of collaborative data sharing in the financial sector. She shares her journey from cybersecurity to fintech, emphasizing the importance of incentives, consumer experience, and the evolving regulatory landscape. Georgina highlights the need for a decentralized approach to data sharing, which fosters trust and efficiency, ultimately aiming to revolutionize open banking and expand beyond financial services.

In this episode, Nik Milanović interviews George Kurdin, co-founder of Monk, a company focused on automating accounts receivable processes using AI. George shares his unique career journey from professional poker player to fintech entrepreneur, discussing the lessons learned along the way. He highlights the significant problem of accounts receivable, valued at $3 trillion, and explains how Monk aims to address this issue. The conversation delves into the role of AI in automating the contract to cash workflow, the challenges faced in current AR processes, and the key metrics that define success in this space. In this conversation, George discusses the evolving landscape of finance solutions, emphasizing the need for financial rigor among founders and VCs. He highlights the challenges posed by fragmented systems in accounts receivable and the importance of leveraging agents for collections and reporting. George also shares insights on customer needs as businesses grow, the significance of effective reporting, and the company's future roadmap, including cash flow predictability and contract intelligence. He reflects on the early days of customer acquisition and the importance of adapting pitches for different business sizes. The conversation concludes with a focus on hiring for growth and the vision for a more efficient accounts receivable process.Check out Monk.com to save time on accounts receivables and get paid faster 

In a riveting chat, Mike Cagney, the co-founder and CEO of Figure, shares insights on the rapid evolution of blockchain in finance. He discusses Figure's recent IPO and introduces Democratized Prime, a revolutionary lending model that eliminates prime brokers. Cagney explains the significance of the Genius Act and how decentralized finance (DeFi) can upend traditional banking practices. With an eye on the future, he outlines the potential of stablecoins and the necessity for banks to adapt to these transformative technologies.

In today’s episode, Ryan Zauk sits down with Kate Earle Jensen, Head of Americas for Anthropic. Kate joined Anthropic in 2023 after 8 years helping scale GTM at Stripe. Over the last 2 years, she has had a front row seat to the AI revolution at one of the fastest-growing companies in history. In this episode, Kate dives into how Claude is being used by major enterprises to revolutionize their businesses, the state of Anthropic’s products and MCP, why they built in the application layer for financial services, what key blockers remain for enterprise adoption, why AI’s market size allows them to approach partnerships in a unique way, transitioning from Stripe to Anthropic, why siblings make great leadership teams, and much more.Takeaways: The AI market is unquantifiably large, which helps you play non-zero sum games in GTM, partnerships, and product. It helps breed greater collaboration because you know there is more than enough revenue opportunity to share. Hackathons, though not new, have proven to be one of the best sources of discovering novel AI applications in the enterprise. We host them internally and encourage our clients to do host them to get employees experimenting and uncover the art of the possible.Financial Services + Healthcare are proving to be the best industries for AI. They have huge data sets, antiquated technology systems, and manual workflows that make them prime candidates. AI is only as good as the quality of data and context that you feed it. It is as important as anything you choose, which is why MCP became so popular. Siblings often make the best cofounding teams. The Collisons and Amodeis both have very strong working styles that allow them to be brutally honest with each other while not breaking relationships.

Doug Rickett, the founder and CEO of PayJoy, discusses his fascinating journey from managing logistics in Africa for solar lighting to creating a tech-driven financial service aimed at underserved communities. He shares insights on the innovative use of smartphones as collateral and the impact of predictive AI in credit assessments. The conversation also delves into the balance between profitability and social impact, the lessons learned during COVID-19, and PayJoy's vision to expand into comprehensive financial services. A compelling listen for fintech enthusiasts!

This episode dives deep into the evolution of blockchain-powered lending and marketplaces in the FinTech sector, with guest Michael Tannenbaum, whose career has spanned senior roles at SoFi, Brex, and now Figure. Host Julie Verhage-Greenberg and Michael discuss how Figure’s vision—originally designed as one company with a strong blockchain backbone—has matured amidst regulatory and market shifts.Check out Figure Markets here: figuremarkets.onelink.me/Plnq/TWIFThis episode is brought to you by Figure Markets, the platform to Earn and Borrow.Democratized Prime lets you earn 9% by lending your money against real-world assets like home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) which only banks were able to do prior. Lend like a bank!Need liquidity without selling your crypto? Figure offers Crypto-Backed Loans, allowing you to borrow against your Bitcoin or Ethereum with 12-month terms and no prepayment penalties. They have the lowest rates in the industry at 8.91%, allowing you to access instant cash or buy more Bitcoin without triggering a tax event.Unlock your crypto’s potential today. Download their app and start earning your 9% today or taking out your Bitcoin-backed loan at industry low rates!DISCLOSURES: The 9% rate referenced is not guaranteed and subject to change as new offers are placed. Democratized Prime uses a Dutch auction method for its borrowers/lenders. There is an inherent risk due to interest rate volatility in a Dutch auction interest rates in the auction may rise rapidly. At the time of acceptance, your loan may be filled with a different or higher interest rate than offered at the time of selection. The interest rate is only fixed at the time of loan approval and not at the time of loan acceptance.Figure Lending LLC dba Figure. Equal Opportunity Lender.NMLS 1717824. Terms and conditions apply. Visit figure.com for more information.Figure Markets Credit LLC. 650 S. Tryon Street, 8th Floor, Charlotte, NC 28202. (888) 926-6259. NMLS ID 2559612. Terms and conditions apply. Visit figuremarkets.com/borrow for more information.

This week, Nik Milanovic sits down with Sandeep Pyapali, Founder and CEO of Mesta, a global cross-border payment network combining traditional rails with stablecoin systems.Mesta allows sending USD and stablecoins in over 50 currencies, cutting international payment costs by over 50%. Pyapali, with 17 years in payments – including Uber's $100 billion payment network – founded Mesta in 2024.Pyapali emphasized the importance of stablecoins for efficient international payments and predicts the growth of non-USD stablecoins. Mesta aims to disrupt traditional Fiat-to-Fiat payments with blockchain technology. Pyapali's vision for Mesta was informed not only by his time building payments systems at Uber but also by his international travel on a sabbatical afterwards, and the difficulty of converting currencies for international payments.You can learn more about what they're building at mesta.xyz----While stablecoins are one of our favorite topics to discuss, it's important to note that this episode was sponsored by Mesta.