Fintech One•On•One

On the news show yesterday we discussed big fintech news from Celsius, Square, SWIFT, Chainlink Labs, JPMorgan Chase & Co., FTX, Nova Credit, HSBC, Caitlin Long, Do Kwon, Upstart and more.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

The benefits of blockchain technology are yet to be realized in banking. While some large banks have commercial projects nothing has really taken off yet. Much of that is due to regulatory uncertainty but many banks are actively engaging and learning while we are in this something of a holding period.Our next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Robert Morgan, the CEO of the USDF Consortium, a group of banks creating a blockchain-based system for tokenized deposits that will make banking safer, cheaper and more reliable for consumers. Rob used to be the head of innovation at the American Bankers Association (we had him on the show back in 2017) and so he has a deep understanding of banking and technology.In this podcast you will learn:Why Rob decided to make the jump from the ABA to the USDF ConsortiumHow he describes what USDF is exactly.How banks will use USDF and a description of the payments flow.The primary benefits of USDF and the most popular use cases.How the programmability of USDF can be leveraged.Why USDF will be complementary to Fedwire and FedNow (when it launches).How the USDF Consortium, the Provenance Blockchain and Figure are related.How they are working with the Federal regulatory agencies today.Details of their response to Treasury’s RFC on digital assets.How they view CBDCs and how it could be complementary to what they are building.The types of banks that are members of the consortium.Where they are at when it comes to USDF going live.The objections of banks who are not ready to join the consortium.What Rob thinks the next move from regulators will be when it comes to digital assets.What the banking system could look like in ten years time.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

One the news show yesterday we discussed big fintech stories from FTX, Stash, Voyager, Adyen, Cash App, Nasdaq, Sardine, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Synctera and more. Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Starting a business is an exciting time for new entrepreneurs, a time full of optimism and possibilities. That optimism can fade as reality sets in with a myriad of legal and financial steps that must be taken that have nothing to do with his or her passion. Thankfully, there are technology companies that are making it much easier today.Our next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Sameer Gulati, the head of fintech for ZenBusiness, a company helping would-be entrepreneurs launch new businesses. His company realized that once a business has been created there are a myriad of financial products that the new entrepreneur will need and who better to help them than the company that guided them through the setup process.In this podcast you will learn:What was the catalyst for taking this role at ZenBusiness.The mission of ZenBusiness and how they have evolved.The amazing number of new businesses that are being created today.Why the idea of a side hustle has been a real accelerant.What kinds of businesses people are starting.The demographic profile of these new entrepreneurs.How they are giving potential new business owners the confidence to take the leap.What ZenBusiness provides once people have made the decision to start a business.The financial services that ZenBusiness is going to offer their clientsHow they have approached the development of new financial products.The huge advantage that ZenBusiness has over other fintechs.How they intend to grow with their small business customers.The types of partners they will work with to help their faster-growing customers.Details of their recent $200 million fundraise.How they are raising awareness of the ZenBusiness brand.How the shift to embedded finance is making their move into fintech so much easier.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Every company on the planet processes payments. They will usually take some combination of cash, checks or credit cards. But increasingly companies are offering ACH, wires or some other kind of electronic payment. If your organization is doing hundreds or thousands of these kinds of transactions a day you need to have software to help you reconcile it. My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Dimitri Dadiomov, the CEO and Co-Founder of Modern Treasury. Dimitri and his co-founders saw this challenge firsthand while working at LendingHome (now Kiavi) and they realized it was a pain point that many companies have. Reconciling large numbers of ACH or wire payments is not a trivial task but it is a critical function that needs to work every time.In this podcast you will learn:The founding story of Modern Treasury.Why the infrastructure for receiving wires and ACH payments had not been built.How they were able to land their first client.How their product offerings have evolved since they started.Some of the verticals they are focused on.A detailed case study: how they are helping Pipe.How banks view what Modern Treasury is doing.How they are working with Silicon Valley Bank.What they are doing with real-time payments.How they had to change their systems for real-time payments.How they approach fraud and what they make available to their customers.The scale they are at today.The vision for Modern Treasury.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

On this week's news show we discussed the OCC's views on bank-fintech partnerships, UBS, Wealthfront, Binance, Coinbase, Zelle, Apple, Walletmor and more.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

I would say that most banks today talk about digital transformation. They know that what made them successful in the 2010s may not work as well in this decade. So, they partner with fintechs, build innovation teams and try to transform their bank. One bank that is all-in on this process is Arvest Bank, a $26+ billion bank based in Bentonville, Arkansas.Our next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Laura Merling, the Chief Transformation & Operations Officer at Arvest Bank. Laura left a senior role at Google to work for this community bank, the reason behind that is compelling in and of itself. But when you listen to this interview you will have an appreciation for how Arvest is tackling this whole process of transformation in a different way.In this podcast you will learn:What attracted Laura to Arvest that caused her to move there from Google.How she defines her title, Chief Transformation and Operations Officer.The advantage of coming from outside of finance to this position.The size and different business lines of Arvest Bank.What early wins they have had since Laura started at the bank.Why they decided to change out their core banking platform.How they get everyone on board for transformation.How the culture is unique at Arvest, leading to multiple awards.Details of their Million Meals Program.How the Walton family is involved with Arvest.What upcoming in the near term on their transformation path.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

On the fintech news show today we discussed big stories about The Federal Reserve Board, Klarna, Alloy, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Tether, State of California, Ticketmaster, Dapper Labs, Andreessen Horowitz and more.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

In Mexico there is a huge need for banking services. It is one of the most unbanked economies in the world as most consumers stay in the cash-based informal economy. But as the fintech ecosystem develops, there are compelling reasons for people to join the formal economy, and Kueski is at the heart of those efforts.Our next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Adal Flores, the CEO and Co-Founder of Kueski. They have been doing consumer loans for many years but their BNPL product Kueski Pay, is starting to get serious traction as Kueski is looking to build a complete financial ecosystem.In this podcast you will learn:The story behind the founding of Kueski.How the company has evolved since they started in 2013.How they encourage people to move away from the cash economy.What is behind the growth of BNPL in Mexico.How they underwrite people who are only using cash.Details of their small pilot with physical stores for BNPL.Why they are building a financial ecosystem.Why the growth of BNPL in Mexico is very different to the USA, Australia of Europe.How the Mexican regulators view fintech innovations like BNPL.Why CoDi, the digital payments system, has not taken off in Mexico.The scale they are at today.Adal's vision for bringing more people into the formal economy.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Today, we discussed big fintech news from FTX, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Ramp, J.P. Morgan, Zelle®, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, Bank of America, Seedrs and more.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes