Fintech One•On•One

One of the early players in the fintech lending space is Best Egg, formerly known as Marlette Funding. At one stage they were the fastest-growing lender in the country. While their growth has slowed down they continue to be one of the largest online lenders by originations.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Paul Ricci, the new CEO of Best Egg. He recently took over from the founding CEO, Jeffrey Meiler (see my interview with Jeffrey from 2019). This is Paul's very first interview since becoming CEO in June and we cover a lot of territory. He is no newcomer to the industry having been Best Egg's CFO since the very beginning.In this podcast you will learn:His role at Best Egg before he became CEO.How the transition to CEO has gone.A profile of their target customer.The competitive dynamics of the personal loan market today.How they have adjusted their underwriting given the changing environment.Why they launched a credit card and how it is going.How their innovative home equity loan product works.Why they decided to acquire Till and the new product that became part of Best Egg.Why they are not looking to get their own banking license.How they know their products are having an impact on their customers' financial health.The scale that Best Egg is at today.How fintech lending is doing as an industry.Connect with Paul on LinkedInConnect with Best Egg on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

All areas of fintech are changing fast. But it is in payments where the most groundbreaking changes are happening right now. After years of development, we finally saw the launch of FedNow last month (on time!) as this country begins its transition to instant payments in earnest.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Stephany Orum, the CEO and Co-Founder of Orum. I wanted to get her back on the show (she was last on in 2021) to discuss FedNow and what it is going to mean for the payments landscape. Orum works with several banks that are part of FedNow and they provide an infrastructure layer for most payments rails.In this podcast you will learn:How Stephany describes Orum today.How banks and fintechs should think about the various payments rails.An explanation of payments orchestration.Why FedNow is a game changer for faster payments.Some of the advantages of FedNow.Feedback from some of the participating banks operating in FedNow's first week.Why it is more important for banks to work on receiving first for FedNow.How the mindset is changing inside banks towards a real-time operation.What the Fed has learned from the experience of RTP.Why interoperability between instant payment rails is inevitable.The role of the other types of payment rails.How banks and fintechs can combat fraud in an instant payments world.What it will mean for the country when most payments are instant.Connect with Stephany on LinkedInConnect with Orum on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

When it comes to running an e-commerce store there is no bigger name than Shopify. They have been helping entrepreneurs run all aspects of their e-commerce business for well over a decade. And in recent years they have quietly built up an impressive suite of financial products.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One Podcast is Vikram Anreddy. He is the Head of Product for Financial Services at Shopify. With Shopify Credit launching just this week the company now has all the major components of a typical bank or fintech: bank account, bill pay, installment loans and credit cards. We delve into each of these products and more in this interview.In this podcast you will learn:What attracted Vikram to Shopify.How Shopify Capital works.The amazing growth they have seen at Shopify Capital.The unique data points they are able to use in underwriting.How Shopify Balance is different to a regular bank account.Why they attract brand new entrepreneurs with Balance.What they are doing with Shopify Bill Pay.The differentiators for their new Shopify Credit Card.How they are using the learnings from Shopify Capital for their credit cardWhat having a full suite of financial products does for Shopify.How they think about expanding their financial products into international markets.Some of the fintech companies and products that inspire Vikram.The keys to a successful launch of a new product line.How they are bringing different products into a unified design.Their plans to add more products to their financial services offerings.What is exciting about the future of financial products at Shopify.Connect with Vikram on LinkedInConnect with Shopify on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

It wasn't that long ago that robo-advice was this exciting new industry that was going to bring automated investing to the masses. Today, much of that initial promise has been realized and all the major investment firms have this as part of their offerings. But there is much more work needed to be done here.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Sarah Levy, the CEO of Betterment. Betterment was one of the pioneers in the space and it is interesting to see how they have evolved since launching 13 years ago. As you will find out, it is about far more than consumer robo-advice today.In this podcast you will learn:What prompted Sarah to move into fintech from the media business.What attracted her to Betterment specifically.The different business lines they have today.How the narrative has changed since their early days.Details of their Cash Reserve account that pays 5.25%.How the banking crisis in March impacted their business.Their typical customer and target demographic.Why Sarah championed their business-to-business offerings.The four different marketing channels they focus on.What their customers value most when it comes to investment choices.Why they decided to add crypto to their offerings.Sarah's views on the lack of women-run fintech companies.What we can do to create changes at the top.The diversity programs they have inside Betterment.Her vision for the future of Betterment.Connect with Sarah on LinkedInConnect with Betterment on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Bo Brustkern, CEO of Fintech Nexus, and Jon Lear, President of Fintech Meetup, discuss their partnership, the genesis of Fintech Meetup, the components of the Fintech Meetup 2024 event, and the importance of their Table Talks program. They also share details about their co-located events at The Venetian in Las Vegas and how Fintech Meetup fits into the broader Hyve Group. Additionally, they talk about Fintech Nexus's digital media products and the exciting prospects of their new partnership.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. That is pretty much how you could describe the environment for fintechs at the height of the pandemic. Some industries were booming while the world was reeling from the global pandemic. But in the fintech lending business, if you weren't involved in the PPP you were likely struggling. You would not think this was good timing to launch a working capital offering for small business.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Alek Koenig, the CEO and Co-Founder of Settle. They launched in the summer of 2020 with an accounts payable product paired with working capital. The business took off because they found an underserved niche in desperate need of capital: e-commerce businesses.The founding story of Settle.How they launched the company.Why launching at the height of the pandemic was fortuitous timing.How their core accounts payable software works.How the working capital offering integrates into this software.The maximum term they are financing today.How their underwriting process works.The range of interest rates they charge.How they are funding their working capital loans.What makes their AP software unique.Some of the brands they are working with today.How the movement towards embedded finance has made their life easier.How Alek's time at Affirm informs how he runs Settle today.How he built his Ukrainian team.The scale that Settle is at today.How they have navigated the downturn in fintech the last 12 to 18 months.His vision for Settle.Connect with Alek on LinkedInConnect with Settle on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Where fintech has had a dramatic impact already is in international payments. Sure, there is still work to do but there are companies out there today facilitating payments, often instantly, to people all around the world.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Charles Rosenblatt, the President of PayQuicker. What PayQuicker does is help companies pay their gig workers in 200+ countries and those workers can receive these funds instantly. They have been doing this for more than a decade.In this podcast you will learn:What attracted Charles to the role at PayQuicker.What PayQuicker does exactly.The different geographies they operate in.The most common use cases for their payouts technology.What is exciting about their Payouts OS product.Why PayQuicker does not take possession of the money.The big value proposition for PayQuicker's clients.What they are doing in their partnership with Mastercard.How the end consumer receives their money.His view on crypto and stablecoins as a payments tool.How they partner with global banks.How they facilitate instant payouts.Why fraud is not a major problem for PayQuicker.What's next for PayQuicker.Connect with Charles on LinkedInConnect with PayQuicker on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

When I first heard that QED Investors and BCG were putting together a report on the future of fintech I knew it was going to be good. I was not wrong. Never before have we seen an in-depth and rigorous analysis of where the industry is today and more importantly where we are headed.The report is titled Global Fintech 2023: Reimagining the Future of Finance, and it provides a level of optimism that has been missing in fintech for the past 12-18 months. But this is not blind optimism, it is based on data and research, both qualitative and quantitative. The finished product is a seminal report that has been the talk of the industry for the last month and a half.My next guests on the Fintech One-on-One podcast are Nigel Morris, the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at QED Investors and Rishi Varma, Managing Director and Senior Partner at the Boston Consulting Group. Nigel gave a presentation on this report at the recent Fintech Nexus USA event (video here) but in this interview, we delve deeply into the genesis of the report, some of its key findings, and what it means for the industry.In this podcast you will learn:Why QED and BCG decided to come together to produce this report.The size of the financial services industry globally and fintech's part in it.The methodology they used to arrive at these global revenue numbers.A chronicle of the last three years in fintech.Where we are at today with equity funding in fintech by stage of company.The growth of fintech globally over the next 7 years and where this growth will come from.The eye-popping size that fintech is expected to be in 2030.What verticals within fintech will see the most growth.Why embracing financial inclusion has enormous potential.How and when will fintech become as profitable as the incumbents.The biggest risks to the growth of fintech.What is most exciting about the future of fintech.Connect with Nigel on LinkedInConnect with Rishi on LinkedInConnect with QED on LinkedInConnect with BCG on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Investing in fintech companies is never dull. The last three-plus years have seen every type of investing environment there is. Are we edging toward a new normal? Probably not yet but investment demand could start to pick up within the next nine months.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One Podcast is Mark Fiorentino, a partner at Index Ventures. One thing that is really interesting about Mark is that he comes to venture investing from the operating side of fintech. And not just any fintech, he spent many years at Stripe. I interviewed Mark at Fintech Nexus USA in New York City last month.In this podcast you will learn:Why he decided to make the jump from Stripe to venture capital.What specifically attracted him to Index Ventures.His investment thesis.How he has navigated the downturn in fintech the past year.What is different now in fintech than 2019.Why he likes investing in Latin America.The advice Mark has for his portfolio companies in navigating this challenging time.The areas of fintech that he is most bullish on.How active they have been as an investor this year.Why demand for equity from fintech founders is still down.Why there will be a boom in fintech M&A.How VCs are being more collaborative today.How they are building their network in Latin America.Why he believes in the future of AI.His thoughts on the funding environment for the next 18 months.Connect with Mark on LinkedInConnect with Index Ventures on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

While the fintech lending space is maturing with a number of lenders achieving significant scale today, the longevity of most platforms goes back barely more than a decade. But there is one lender today that was already seven or eight years old during the financial crisis of 2008-09. I am not saying the turbulent times we are experiencing today are equivalent to what become known as the Global Financial Crisis, but there are important lessons that can be learned from companies that survived that time.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One Podcast is Al Crawford, the CEO and Co-Founder of BHG Financial. Al founded the company back in 2001 and has been the CEO and Chairman since that time. He has some very interesting lessons to share from running a fintech lender for more than 20 years. I interviewed Al at the recent Fintech Nexus USA event in New York City, where this session led off the Credit and Underwriting track.In this podcast you will learn:Background on the founding of BHG back in 2001.The different lending verticals they operate in today.What makes their loan funding marketplace unique.The recent volume they have seen on their marketplace.What they are learning from their borrowers today.The lessons they learned from the 2008-09 financial crisis.How their bank partners have adjusted their credit boxes.How BHG is taking advantage of the pullback in originations from other lenders.Details of the ABS deal they closed just after the SVB blowup.How BHG runs their credit team.Where their borrower demand is coming from.How their credit and fraud team helps prevent loan stacking.The keys for lenders to survive in turbulent times like we are experiencing now.Connect with Al on LinkedInConnect with BHG Financial on LinkedInConnect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes