The Irish Tech News Podcast

Description: A look at the state ofdigital transformation in the financial services industry through the eyes of tech consultants and software development providers.Insights shared by Bozhidar Goranchev, an Engineering Manager at Accedia - one of the top IT companies based in Bulgaria, with a global reach spanning more than 20 countries on 5 continents.  Bozhidar Goranchev https://www.linkedin.com/in/bozhidargoranchev/ is an experienced IT professional with a passion for emerging technology. Before joining Accedia, he has worked at Accenture as a Technology Consultant and a Business Analyst on projects in the financial services industry.  He earned his BSc in Business and Management, and his MSc in Management of Information Systems and Digital Innovation at LSE.  Accedia https://accedia.com/

Funding concerns and talent shortages, as well as geopolitical tensions and conflicts, have cast a shadow on our thriving, vibrant industry. Against the backdrop of these challenges and the cost of living crisis, what should we focus on and how do we move forward? Don’t miss this week’s One Vision, where Theo welcomes Raf De Kimpe, CEO of FinTech Week London, back to the show to talk about what to expect at the flagship conference — a meeting of the minds and hours of thoughtful conversations with some of the brightest in the industry. This is the FinTech Conference you’ve been waiting for. And it’s not to be missed!

A Fintech discussion with Openness as a guide with a Fintech entrepreneur, Dr. Ritesh Jain. With insights from the UK market, the Middle East, and India.Ritesh Jain https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritesh/ is a globally recognised Top 10 fintech and payments leader. Awarded a PhD for his work in Open Banking, Payments Innovation, and Financial Inclusion by Portsmouth University, He founded Infynit to humanize credit and credit card experience; in the past led HSBC as COO Digital, led Future of Payments for VISA, introduced apple pay to the market. A fellow at the University of London & the founding member of the fintech centre, Advisor to IIT Kanpur. He is also a G20 GPFI (Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion) member advisor, Policy advocate on emerging tech, financial services, open banking, digital commerce, and central bank digital currency. And he is visiting faculty at leading institutes globally, including Hull and Oxford

A Fintech discussion with Openness as a guide with a Fintech entrepreneur, Dr. Ritesh Jain. With insights from the UK market, the Middle East, and India.Ritesh Jain https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritesh/ is a globally recognised Top 10 fintech and payments leader. Awarded a PhD for his work in Open Banking, Payments Innovation, and Financial Inclusion by Portsmouth University, He founded Infynit to humanize credit and credit card experience; in the past led HSBC as COO Digital, led Future of Payments for VISA, introduced apple pay to the market. A fellow at the University of London & the founding member of the fintech centre, Advisor to IIT Kanpur. He is also a G20 GPFI (Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion) member advisor, Policy advocate on emerging tech, financial services, open banking, digital commerce, and central bank digital currency. And he is visiting faculty at leading institutes globally, including Hull and Oxford

Redesigning Government for a Faster Future GUEST:  Jennifer PahlkaDESCRIPTION:This week The Futurists speak with Jennifer Pahlka, the founder of Code for America. Jennifer served in Barack Obama's White House as the US Deputy Chief Technology Officer where she launched the US Digital Service. In this episode, Jennifer reveals the tactics to surmount the myriad obstacles that thwart government agencies when they seek to deploy digital technology to improve the delivery of services to citizens. JENNIFER’S WEBSITES:Twitter: https://twitter.com/pahlkadot?s=20Linked In:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpahlka/Recoding America: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250266774/recodingamericaCode For America:  https://codeforamerica.org/people/jennifer-pahlka/ Recoding AmericaWhy Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better Book Details A bold call to reexamine how our government operates—and sometimes fails to—from President Obama’s former deputy chief technology officer and the founder of Code for AmericaJust when we most need our government to work—to decarbonize our infrastructure and economy, to help the vulnerable through a pandemic, to defend ourselves against global threats—it is faltering. Government at all levels has limped into the digital age, offering online services that can feel even more cumbersome than the paperwork that preceded them and widening the gap between the policy outcomes we intend and what we get.But it’s not more money or more tech we need. Government is hamstrung by a rigid, industrial-era culture, in which elites dictate policy from on high, disconnected from and too often disdainful of the details of implementation. Lofty goals morph unrecognizably as they cascade through a complex hierarchy. But there is an approach taking hold that keeps pace with today’s world and reclaims government for the people it is supposed to serve. Jennifer Pahlka shows why we must stop trying to move the government we have today onto new technology and instead consider what it would mean to truly recode American government.

Discussing the complexities of liquidity and settlement in the banking industry with Olaf Ransome, also known as The Bankers' Plumber. The conversation centers around topics such as settlement coins, CBDCs, and the challenges associated with replacing infrastructure at the settlement layer. Enjoy insights into the current state of the banking industry and the potential future of settlement processes. Olaf Ransome https://www.linkedin.com/in/bankerspl... Aka the Bankers’ Plumber. Olaf has been in Financial Services for over 35 years. In 2023, his mandates include being an advisor to various start-ups in FinTech banking, a new cross-border wholesale payment systems a Web 3 payments start-up, as well as guiding a company looking to develop software to support Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and an established South African bank take its first steps in new digital assets. Olaf worked with what is now Fnality International in the early stages of their work to create a means of on-chain payment, a synthetic CBDC. Olaf also worked with SDX, SIX Digital Exchange; work on FMI structure, CBDC and Crypto. Olaf has had permanent roles at Salomon Brothers, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, in London, Zurich and New York. In his consulting work, Olaf has worked for Nomura, State Street, IBM, Luxoft, First Rand, Sberbank, Julius Baer, Nordea, and Fnality. Olaf has taught on several subjects including Intraday Liquidity Risk Management and Investment Banking Operations. He is also the author of a book on operations: "The Bankers' Plumber's Handbook" Dr. Efi Pylarinou is the No.1 Global Woman Influencer in Finance & the Data conversation by Refinitiv, a Top Thought Leader by Onalytica, and a Top Digital Futurist, Linkedin and Twitter Voice, by Engatica. A seasoned Wall Street professional & a recognized technology thought leader on innovation topics. Founder of Efi Pylarinou Advisory servicing Big Tech, Financial Services and Fintech clients. She strongly believes in building bridges between the old and the new economy. She shares her passion of content creation with her 190,000+ followers on Linkedin and 18,000+ on Twitter.  Join her on the social platforms https://linktr.ee/Efiglobal

Cain ElliottHead Legal Futurist at FilevineHOSTS: Rob Tercek and Brian SolisTITLE:The Future of The Legal IndustryDESCRIPTION:Society has grown more complex and more polarized. That increases the likelihood of complicated disputes. How is the legal industry evolving to deal with hyperconnected society?  Dr. Cain Elliott tells the Futurists how the legal profession is digitizing to move faster and operate more efficiently. But the motivation to change is coming from clients, not from attorneys. Topics: the broken business model of legal services, the political and regulatory barriers to change, the transformative potential of legal tech.

Over the past 30 years IT has digitally transformed the telecoms sector. One person who knows this more than most is Kevin Paige the, Chief Technology Officer for DigitalWell and Ronan got to talk to him, Kevin talks about his background, what DigitalWell does, his role at DigitalWell, his technology wow moments over the past 30 years and more  More about Kevin Paige: Kevin is responsible for all aspects of DigitalWell ’s Product, Technology Strategy and IT, which includes planning, implementation and operations.  A commercially-orientated career technologist with more than 30 years’ experience in telecoms and IT industries spent building and leading successful campaigns and sponsoring product and technology services innovation. Kevin has a wealth of experience and capability to support DigitalWell ’s clients with their projects and initiatives, having held senior business and technology roles at M247, Manx Telecom, eircom Group, Level 3 Communications, Cable and Wireless, Vodafone UK, Barclays Bank, British Airways and BT.  Kevin has a holistic perspective on technology and how to bring business benefit to the client in a digital transformation era.

How does your childhood impact your money memory? How do you phase into retirement from savings to spending, when the future is full of uncertainty and some people simply don’t earn enough to save enough? In this episode of One Vision, Theo and Sonya chat with Jaime Hopkins, Managing Partner of Wealth Solutions at Carson Group, on financial planning, setting goals, the role of technology in our society, and Jaime’s journey from his first book, Rewirement, to his latest WSJ best seller: Find Your Freedom: Financial Planning for a Life on Purpose. We love Jaime’s advice: “Don’t compare yourself with the universe. You are enough.”

Last January, the Central Bank of Ireland (CBOI) identified AML/CFT check weaknesses in payment and e-money firms. The CBOI published a 'Dear CEO' letter to payment and electronic money firms outlining supervisory findings and expectations on AML/CFT obligations. The letter's summary by Grant Thornton can be found here. According to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Ireland's Central Bank, more than €3 billion of criminal proceeds move through the Irish financial system, as stated in their report "Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Trends in 2020". According to a report from the Central Bank of Ireland, the number of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) filed by financial institutions in the country has increased steadily in recent years, with a total of 30,000 STRs filed in 2020. The number of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) filed in Ireland has increased from 14,371 in 2015 to 30,000 in 2020, representing more than a two-fold increase in SARs.  One company that is helping to beat financial is Salv and Ronan talks to Taavi Tamkivi, their CEO and co-founder.     Taavi talks about his background, what Salv does, applying new regulations, cryptocurrencies, their recent fundraising and more More about Salv: Salv is a leading regtech start-up that is helping financial institutions and payment providers in Europe and the UK to meet their AML screening, monitoring, and customer risk assessment needs. Their platform, Bridge, is a collaborative crime-fighting platform that is GDPR-compliant and proven effective against money laundering, Authorised Push Payment fraud, and sanctions evasion. Over 50 financial institutions across 13 countries are already using Salv's products and services to fight financial crime. Salv recently closed a €4m fundraising round with plans in place to expand to further geographies in Europe.