Fintech One•On•One

Many of us have used virtual credit or debit cards and haven't given them a second thought. In today's world of contactless payments, there is no difference between a virtual and physical card. But a virtual card is actually a piece of software and as such it can be programmed to act in very specific ways. My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Andrew Jamison, the CEO and Co-Founder of Extend, the spend management platform that works with your existing credit card. They use the virtual card concept to extend an existing card with new functionality to manage and control spending for middle-market businesses.In this podcast:How a sabbatical helped form the idea for Extend.The history of virtual cards and the two companies that pioneered their use.Why Andrew started using virtual cards while at American Express.Why we won't be running out of virtual card numbers any time soon.Extend's core virtual card offering and how it works.Why they decided not to offer their own card and use existing cards instead.How they go to market with their bank partners.The customer experience with Extend's technology for the end user .Some of the use cases for their virtual cards.The size of business that is the sweet spot for Extend.How they are able to interface with the digital wallets from Apple and Google.How they work with the main accounting software platforms.How Andrew sees the impact of AI on spend management.What is next for Extend.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Every bank and fintech company has a suite of anti-fraud tools that they use to keep the bad guys out. Few tools are 100% effective, however, and often the implementation of these tools, along with their interfaces with other system leave gaps. And the fraudsters will exploit these gaps. So, how do you get a holistic view of your anti-fraud arsenal and discover where these gaps are?My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Jerry Tylman, the co-founder and partner at Greenway Solutions and the founder of their Fraud Red Team. The Fraud Red Team is all about discovering the gaps, where the weaknesses in the anti-fraud systems are. They are 100% focused on financial services, working with many of the largest banks in the country as well as several fintech companies.In this podcast you will learn:How Greenway Solutions became focused on financial services.What a pen test is and the groundbreaking work they do with fraud controls.The different attack vectors that fraudsters use.Why banks and fintechs need the services of the Fraud Red Team.How successful they are in penetrating the fraud detection systems.How they interact with the anti-fraud providers to banks and fintechs.An example of a recent test they have done that penetrated anti-fraud systems.How they tackle the challenge of account onboarding.Why behavioral technology is a key piece of the puzzle.How deepfake video and audio are being used by fraudsters.The fascinating way that the Fraud Red Team works with deepfakes.Why companies have to completely rethink their internal authentication today.Some of the fintechs they have worked with recently.How they work with check fraud and why it is a growing problem.Why all financial institutions cannot stop investing in anti-fraud tools.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Everyone in fintech knows about the Starbucks reloadable wallet. It has become wildly successful for Starbucks, to the extent that they now have over $1.6 billion in balances on these wallets. Now, Starbucks has unique scale that made this kind of tech investment feasible. But I have been wondering for many years why so few corporations have copied Starbucks' lead here. Enter Ansa.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One Podcast is Sophia Goldberg, the CEO and Co-Founder of Ansa. They call themselves the "modern stored value platform" and they have created the technology to allow any mid-market or enterprise chain to offer their own branded wallet to their customers. They have the capability to create a wallet that can work in app or online and they have recently rolled out the technology to use their wallets in-store.In this podcast you will learn:Why Sophia decided to write a book on payments.The founding story of Ansa.What a branded stored-value wallet is exactly.The core value proposition for Ansa's closed-loop payments as a service.Why the Starbucks wallet hasn't been copied by others.The conditions that had to happen for Ansa's offerings to gain traction.How they decided what verticals they wanted to focus on.What is involved in bringing Ansa's tech live for merchants.What it looks like from the consumer side.How Ansa helps drive loyalty for their merchants.How they solved for in-person wallet adoption with Ansa Anywhere.What they learned by having to switch bank partners.How they are driving revenue.What they are doing to get the word out about Ansa.What success will look like.The feedback they are receiving from the end consumers.The ultimate goal for Ansa.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Every bank that decides to get into the Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) space already has an existing legacy business. Most of those legacy businesses have very little crossover with fintech and BaaS, so internally at the bank, there is a completely new skill set that needs to be developed. But then there are those banks that were born digital and for which BaaS is a natural extension of their existing business.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Mike Butler, the CEO of Grasshopper Bank. I first had Mike on the show back in 2019, when he was the CEO of Radius Bank - that was the bank that LendingClub acquired in 2021. So, Mike is back at the helm of another digital bank, bringing his deep experience in BaaS and digital banking. And he has big plans for Grasshopper.In this podcast you will learn:How Mike went from selling Radius Bank to becoming CEO of Grasshopper.The core offerings of Grasshopper.Why Grasshopper has a "work from away" culture.How much they focus on BaaS versus serving customers directly.The core learnings he brought from Radius Bank to Grasshopper.Who Mike thinks of as his main competitors.How the BaaS challenges of 2024 impacted Grasshopper.Why you can't dip your toe in the water when it comes to BaaS.How the expectations of fintechs have changed.The types of fintechs they work with today.Why they decided to acquire Auto Club Trust, an insurance company.Where Mike sees the future growth for Grasshopper.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

If you have ever tried to rollover a 401(k) from a previous job you know what a painful process that can be. Another big problem with 401(k)s is that many people will move jobs and ultimately forget about their old 401(k). Both of these problems are hurting people trying to maximize their wealth in retirement. Enter Capitalize.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Gaurav Sharma, the CEO and Founder of Capitalize. His company solves both problems: they make it much easier to do a rollover and they help find any old 401(k)s that have been forgotten about. And in doing so, they are helping Americans have a more prosperous retirement.In this podcast you will learn:How Gaurav came to be in this country.Why he became fascinated by the retirement market.The total number and amount of forgotten 401k accounts.How Capitalize helps individuals transfer retirement accounts.The regulatory hurdles that Capitalize has to deal with.How and why they pivoted from direct-to-consumer to B2B.What the consumer experience looks like at Capitalize's partners.How they manage the different points of friction in this rollover process.How working with the legacy asset managers is different than the fintechs.The typical amount of money they move in a rollover.How they are going to be working with RIAs.How Capitalize makes money.The scale they are at today.How Gaurav thinks about the retirement landscape and the role Capitalize can play.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

In this engaging discussion, Jason Mikula, Publisher of Fintech Business Weekly and BaaS expert, delves into the rapidly evolving world of Banking-as-a-Service. He shares insights about the challenges fintechs face, the nuances between BaaS and embedded finance, and the significance of FBO accounts. Jason also explores the implications of the Synapse bankruptcy saga, the regulatory landscape's influence on partnerships, and the potential recovery of funds for affected consumers. His expertise offers a compelling perspective on the future of fintech.

Dave Baxter, CEO of Solutions by Text, leads a platform transforming financial services through integrated text payments. He discusses the surprising low usage of texting by corporations in finance, despite its higher engagement rates compared to email. Dave shares insights on the onboarding process for clients and how SBT simplifies payment transactions via text, enhancing customer experience. He emphasizes the growing consumer preference for text payments and how AI is being leveraged to improve compliance and engagement in the industry.

The co-branded credit card space is a mature market. Chase and American Express have large deals with airlines and hotels as well as the likes of Amazon and Disney. These are typically huge programs with not just millions but tens of millions of customers. But what about those Fortune 500 companies that are not big enough for Chase or Amex but still want to do their own co-branded credit card? That is where Imprint comes in.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Daragh Murphy, the CEO and Founder of Imprint. Daragh realized that the bank technology being used to power the co-branded card space was decades old and inflexible. He saw the opportunity to build a new tech stack to provide a much better experience for large brands. And they didn't take any shortcuts to get there.In this podcast you will learn:What first brought Daragh from Ireland to the U.S. and why he stayed here.How he landed on the idea of co-branded credit cards.The hardest part about building a credit card company.How granular they can get with their rewards program.Why Chase and Amex only have a limited number of co-branded programs.The size of company that Imprint is looking to partner with.Why they do no outbound marketing whatsoever.Why a typical billion dollar company shouldn't do a co-branded card program.How they were able to get started when dealing with large enterprises as a startup.How they embed the Imprint technology into their clients' app.The thought process we went through when choosing their bank partner.How long it took them to build their own credit card platform.How they are getting their card to the top of wallet.Why they decided to build a call center themselves.How they have deployed AI into their customer support.What is next for Imprint.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Despite the challenges and the obvious risk of failure, Americans are starting small businesses in record numbers. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well but the difference today is that the tools have become so much better. And they are going to continue to improve, particularly as small business owners start taking advantage of the latest AI tools.My guest today on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Karen G. Mills. She is a senior fellow at the Harvard Business School, and she was the head of the Small Business Administration under President Obama from 2009 until 2013. She was first on the show back in 2015 and again when she wrote the first edition of her book, Fintech Small Business and the American Dream, back in 2019. She has now published a second edition that includes a deep analysis of the changes that the pandemic and the PPP had on the American small business landscape. She is very optimistic on American small business and thinks we are on the cusp of reaching small business utopia.In this podcast you will learn:What has changed since Karen wrote the first edition of her book in 2019.The three layers of complexity that prevented the predicted changes from happening as fast as expected.Why she decided to write a second edition.Why the narrative about PPP fraud was not accurate.What fintech lenders did that traditional banks would not do during that time.The analysis they did to demonstrate the success of PPP.How the SBA performed in administering the PPP.Karen's take on the state of community banks and small business lending.Why she thinks big tech is not going to dominate small business lending.Who the winners are going to be.Why small business lending is one of the biggest opportunities out there.Her vision for smart regulation of small business lending.What it will take to get to small business utopia.Why she is optimistic about the future of U.S. small business.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

In an article last year, the International Monetary Fund said that the global private credit market topped $2.1 trillion globally in 2023, with 75% of that in the U.S. That number has been rising rapidly for many years as more companies look beyond banks and the public debt markets to raise capital. Along with this rise in private credit, some fintech companies have taken advantage of this growth, bringing new opportunities to investors.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Nelson Chu, the CEO and Co-Founder of Percent. They have created a marketplace where private credit deals get underwritten and presented to a wide range of investors, including individual accredited investors. They have provided access to this fast-growing asset class to many investors for the first time. Full disclosure, I have been an active investor on the Percent platform since 2019.In this podcast you will learn:What Nelson saw in the market that led to the founding of Percent.Why they decided to focus on retail accredited investors.Why private credit has boomed the last two to three years.How investor interest has changed over time.How they can graduate their borrowers to much larger amounts.How their platform works.The geographies where they have borrowers.How they decide what deals make it onto their platform.How they work with credit funds that bring asset-based deals.The different revenue streams they have.The huge range of deal sizes that come on their platform.The performance they have provided to investors.How their technology stack has improved over time.How they manage balancing their multi-sided marketplace.The blend of retail and institutional money on their platform.The scale they are at today.Nelson's vision for the future of Percent.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes