Disruption Talks by Netguru

Daniel Thomason, a Financial Crime Prevention Product Manager at Wise, shares his journey from the Australian Central Bank to fintech innovation. The discussion dives deep into KYC, Anti-Money Laundering, and the importance of transparency in international money transfers. He highlights the role of collaboration with stakeholders and creative problem-solving in navigating regulatory challenges. Thomason also reflects on learning from product failures and the key decision-making frameworks that can guide leaders in the complex world of product management.

Decentralized finance or DeFi is a relatively new idea even in the fintech world, but it has been gaining traction over the past year. DeFi offers a different experience to traditional banking and opens up a world of possibilities previously closed to consumers. In this episode of Disruption Talks, we spoke with the Co-Founder and CEO of Unstoppable Finance, Peter Grosskopf. Peter is a big name in the fintech and blockchain space and joins the live stream to talk about why he started his latest company, and to share his thoughts on DeFi’s future. Hosted by Sean O'Connor.

Nowadays, the world of fintech is much larger and more complex than ever before. It’s not just about banking anymore. It’s evolved into something much bigger.You can now throw brokerage, insurance, payments, lending, investments, and even crypto into the mix. All of these different financial verticals have different uses, regulations, tools, and accounts to manage them — making financial services fragmented by nature. The problem with this fragmentation is that consumers have to manage their money through a range of different tools from different providers. As none of these tools are really designed to integrate with each other, it’s up to the customer to manage it all individually. In other words, it can be a great hassle, time-consuming, and makes for an overall poor user experience. Aiming to solve the problem is Rize, a fintech-as-a-service provider designed to pull these different verticals together under one roof. Rize does this by using Synthetic Accounts technology, which seamlessly integrates checking, saving, and individual brokerage into one API fintech builders can use. In this episode of Disruption Talks, CEO and Co-Founder of Rize, Justin Howell, explains how its embedded fintech service works. Hosted by Filip Sobiecki.

In a world where digital payments are the norm, many businesses have begrudgingly accepted the high costs associated with processing credit card payments. However, alternative means of managing payments are rising in popularity. One such solution is provided by Dwolla. Founded in 2008, Dwolla was designed to make moving money simple, fast, and affordable. The company provides an API that allows companies to build and facilitate fast payments, specifically with a focus on ACH (automated clearing house). Skyler Nesheim, Senior Vice President of Technology, and Benjamin Schmitt, Vice President of Product at Dwolla, joined Disruption Talks to discuss how it all works. They explain how Dwolla’s payments API works, the challenges faced in the payments industry, and Dwolla’s success secrets.Hosted by Filip Sobiecki.

Remote work is the new normal - a phrase almost everyone in the business world has said at some point in the last 18 months. Some believe that the dust will settle, and the trend will die out. Others believe that a remote-first world is the future of work.Studies show that employees are increasingly demanding that this trend sticks. According to We Work Remotely, 40-55% of people said they would quit their job if remote work options were not made permanent for at least half the week. 35% even said they would be willing to take a pay cut for it.Aside from the pandemic, technology, tools, and companies like Deel are making it easier than ever to hire remotely and manage remote workers. Deel is a global payroll platform that simplifies the complexities of hiring people in different countries. With a remote-first world looking like it’s here to stay, there’s no better time for a solution like Deel. As a rapidly rising star in the fintech world, Deel recently managed to raise $156 million in 2021 and was valued at $1.25 billion. Dan Westgarth, Chief Operating Officer, joined Disruption Talks to discuss remote work and how Deel has grown in a remote-first working world. Dan previously joined Disruption Talks to explain how a global payroll system works.Hosted by Filip Sobiecki.

How often do you use your credit card or smartphone to make payments? If you log into your bank account right now, you’ll no doubt see a few recent transactions there. They may even outnumber the times you’ve paid with cash. As we head towards a cashless society, credit card and mobile payments are the new normal. The mobile payments market has grown over the past few years, accelerated by a pandemic and increased trust in mobile payments.As a result, new fintechs and older incumbent banks are eager to cash in on this trend. For new or smaller payment providers, competing in such a saturated market is tough. The CEO of SnapScan, Chris Zietsman, joined Disruption Talks to talk all about it. SnapScan is a mobile payment solution provider in South Africa. It can be used with most bank cards, and it’s supported by Standard Bank, a major bank in South Africa. Hosted by Nat Chrzanowska.

Is it time for embedded banking to break out of the fintech bubble?Like open banking and banking as a service, embedded banking is something more commonly targeted towards other fintech companies. However, it’s not just the fintechs out there that could use a way to integrate financial solutions. Businesses in all different industries now need seamless financial solutions, and that’s where Weavr comes in. Weavr allows companies to embed banking and payments into products, platforms, or mobile apps. It targets industries such as education, health & wellness, and real estate to help them integrate financial services. Lars Markull, Banking Lead at Weavr, joined this episode of Disruption Talks to explain more about embedded banking, where it sits in the market, the top challenges, and the benefits of using it. Hosted by Filip Sobiecki.

Is it possible to put the brakes on fast fashion and make it more sustainable?The prevalence of fast fashion makes this industry largely unsustainable. However, there are a rising number of brands committed to making fashion more sustainable and environmentally friendly. As part of our Sustainability in Retail series of Disruption Talks, we invited Silvia Mazzanti, Product and Sustainability Manager at Save The Duck, and Laura Vicaria, CSR Manager at MUD Jeans International BV, to talk about their sustainable brands. Jinder Kang, Innovation Consultancy Lead at Netguru, also joined the conversation.MUD Jeans is a circular denim brand that produces high-quality, sustainable jeans. The company aims to recycle every single pair after use. Save the Duck’s mission is to create products that respect animals, the environment, and people, thanks to cutting-edge technologies that allow them to use sustainable materials.Hosted by Nat Chrzanowska.

As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. It’s something that’s a huge part of our day-to-day lives, and yet financial literacy is lacking in many areas. Without financial education in the school system, many people simply do not have the knowledge they need to make the right money decisions. People like Oleg Izyumenko, a contractor in the financial services industry, are trying to change that. Oleg joined this episode of Disruption Talks to discuss financial literacy and education, how to be smarter with your money, the role of government in financial education, and much more. Hosted by Filip Sobiecki.

How do we combat the growing food waste problem?According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, reducing food loss and waste is key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pressure on land and water resources. An estimated 17% of total global food production is wasted, and 11% of that occurs in households. However, if we are to improve sustainability in retail, we can’t ignore the 2% of estimated food waste in retail as well. Huge amounts of edible food are thrown out at supermarkets around the world, and the solution is not a clear-cut one.In this episode of Disruption Talks, part of the ‘Sustainability in Retail’ series, Jinder Kang and Patrick Rowse discuss the food waste problem and sustainable technology in retail. Jinder Kang is the Innovation Consultancy Lead at Netguru and is an advocate of human-centered design to drive businesses forward through product, service, and business strategy. Patrick Rowse is the Sustainability Manager at Delivery Hero. As an experienced sustainability professional, Patrick has a passion for the environment and innovation. He is motivated by the concept of "tangible good" and using environmental economics to build sustainability directly into core business strategy. Hosted by Nat Chrzanowska.