

Fintech Takes
Alex Johnson
Fintech moves fast. But here at Fintech Takes, Alex Johnson and his rotating panel of guests move faster so that you can stay on top of the latest and greatest news in the industry without breaking a sweat. Welcome to Fintech Takes—the place where fintech’s biggest nerds come to sit back, relax, and completely geek out.Join Alex and a lineup of fintech’s brightest minds as they dissect what’s happening in fintech and banking. Each week, Alex and his guests recap the most interesting developments in fintech and explore the industry’s most pressing questions, diving headfirst into the intricate workings of some of the industry’s most ground-breaking business models and unpacking the emerging players that promise to shape fintech’s future.From riveting conversations with fintech’s most relevant operators to comprehensive recaps of the month's most compelling news stories and in-depth analyses of the latest regulatory developments, Fintech Takes is your one-stop-shop for navigating the fintech universe.Subscribe now to join fintech’s nerdiest podcast around!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 4, 2023 • 49min
S3 Ep1: NFIA: Ondorse, Parker, Getmomo, Portabl
What fintech companies should you be keeping a close eye on?Kicking off season 3, Alex is joined once again by Simon Taylor, writer of the Fintech Brainfood newsletter, for another Not Fintech Investment Advice! Podcast.The pair are live at the Fintech Meetup conference in Las Vegas.Discover how Portabl is taking on Apple in the digital identity space, how Getmomo has entered the rental market at just the right time, and why underwriting is Parker’s secret saucePlus, Alex and Simon’s roundup of the Fintech Meetup event.Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Simon: LinkedIn: .linkedin.com/in/sytaylor/Twitter: https://twitter.com/sytaylor

Mar 30, 2023 • 58min
S2 Ep9: Fintech Recap: Live From the Fintech Meetup in Las Vegas.
Join Alex and co-host Jason Mikula at the Fintech Meetup conference, live from Vegas.They get into conversation with a very special guest, Jon Lear, the President and Co-founder of Fintech Meetup about issues surrounding trust in large financial institutions, the latest news on SVB, and the evolution of BaaS in Europe.Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/Follow Jon:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonlear/Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonlearFollow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Jason: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jasonmikulaTwitter: https://twitter.com/mikulaja

Mar 27, 2023 • 55min
S2 BONUS EPISODE: Fintech Takes X Fintech is Femme Crossover - Building The Fintech Community Through Real Talk
This is a special one as Alex gets into conversation with Nicole Casperson, host of podcast Humans of Fintech and founder of the Fintech is Femme newsletter.Alex and Nicole talk community building at this online event, getting into questions around fintech inclusivity, discussing whether B2C fintech is dead (or should be), and how Gen Z and missional values need to align.Plus you’ll also hear questions from the audience, including the unsexy parts of banking that fintech needs to look at next.Follow Alex:LinkedIn: .linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson/Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Nicole:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nicole-casperson-0820a5133/Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicolecaspersonSign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Friday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/00:00 Intro03:36 Getting Into Real Talk09:25 Is B2C Fintech Dead?12:58 Habit Creation19:09 Integrating Behavioral Finance25:09 Paycheck-to-Paycheck Living27:07 The DEI Transparency Report33:26 The Generation That Cares35:25 Aligning Mission To Work41:53 Make Money, Solve Societal Problems

Mar 22, 2023 • 48min
S2 Ep8: The Fintech Slow Down, With Sarah Kocianski
Why is fintech heading into a period of consolidation and contraction? Answering this question and more is Alex’s guest, Sarah Kocianski.Sarah is an experienced fintech strategist and research analyst, based in London with over a decade of experience in fintech.Alex and Sarah bounce around some ideas in the format of the game show, Jeopardy (which, being British, Sarah had to look up). They discuss potential increases in banking regulation, why macroeconomics are going to hurt the buy-now-pay-later space, and the types of companies interested in making acquisitions.Follow Sarah:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sarahkocianski/Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Friday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

Mar 15, 2023 • 1h 16min
S2 Ep7: BNC: Global Chip Shortage, ModernFi, and FIS’ acquisition of Worldpay
How can you fix a broken financial model? This question and more answered in the latest Bank Nerd Corner episode.Alex is joined by Kiah Haslett, Managing Editor at Bank Director. They get into some of the headlines and news that have caught their attention over the last few weeks, including a worldwide chip shortage for bank cards, ModernFi’s fintech marketplace and why FIS can’t get Worldpay to work.They also get to nerd out trying to answer an impossible fintech question on who, exactly, public utilities are for?Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Friday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Kiah:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Mar 14, 2023 • 1h 2min
S2 BONUS EPISODE: Fintech Recap x Fintech Layer Cake Crossover - Encouraging Competition Through Regulation
This is part two of a special crossover episode with fintech friends Reggie Young and Matt Janiga, hosts of the wonderful Fintech Layer Cake podcast. In this episode, Alex, Jason, Matt, and Reggie dig into the weeds of the Durbin Amendment and its effect on competition, the harsh realities of account-to-account payments, and the changing relationship between fintechs and banks.Plus, the four play their very own version of Who’s Coming to Dinner.Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Jason: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jasonmikulaTwitter: https://twitter.com/mikulajaFollow Reggie:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/reginaldcyoung/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReggieCYoungFollow Matt:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mwjaniga/Twitter: https://twitter.com/regulatorynerd

Mar 8, 2023 • 58min
S2 E6: NFIA: Noble, Clyr, Keyzy, Capitalize
What fintech companies do you need to know about?Alex is joined by Simon Taylor, writer of the Fintech Brainfood newsletter, for another Not Fintech Investment Advice! podcast.Discover why now is an interesting time to build a credit workflow tool, why sometimes a corporate credit card isn’t necessary for an expense management product, and why franchising may be the key to scaling up proptech innovations. Plus, you’ll hear Alex and Simon’s Fintech wishlist.Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Simon: LinkedIn: .linkedin.com/in/sytaylor/Twitter: https://twitter.com/sytaylor

Mar 1, 2023 • 54min
S2 E5: Fintech Recap: Apple’s BNPL Moves Forward, Crypto Gets Stopped in its Tracks
Take a look back at all the big developments in fintech over February, from BNPL to crypto to outright ponzi schemes!Alex is joined by Jason Mikula, writer of the Fintech Business Weekly newsletter. They take a deep dive into Affirm’s horrific quarter, the state of Apple’s BNPL offering, and the latest round of enforcement activity in crypto.Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Jason: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jasonmikulaTwitter: https://twitter.com/mikulaja

Feb 22, 2023 • 46min
S2 Ep4: Cutting Through the Fintech Hype with Frank Rotman
Sorting out hype from reality is one of the hardest jobs in fintech.Frank Rotman, Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer at QED Investors, joins Alex on today’s episode to do exactly that.Alex and Frank dig into what went wrong with a recent fintech acquisition by JP Morgan Chase and how investors can do a better job spotting founder fraud.They apply first principles thinking to a bunch of cliched fintech predictions, including ones on ChatGPT, BNPL, and cashflow underwriting.And finally, Frank faces a lightening round of quick questions, including what he’d change in financial services if he could wave a magic wand.Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Friday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Frank:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-rotman/Twitter: https://twitter.com/fintechjunkie

Feb 15, 2023 • 1h 8min
S2 Ep3: BNC: Bank Earnings, Jiko, and Why So Many Banks Have The Same Names
How did banks do in Q4 2022 and how is 2023 shaping up? Alex is joined by Kiah Haslett, Managing Editor at Bank Director. They get into some of the headlines and news that have caught their attention over the last few weeks, including bank earnings and Jiko offering easy access to T-Bills. They also get to nerd out on some bank history, and pose an impossible-to-answer question.Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Friday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Kiah:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/


