Leaders In Payments

This episode is sponsored by Citizens Pay. With Citizens Pay, merchants have the security of a leading national bank and an omnichannel platform designed to streamline the buying process.  If you want to learn more about Citizens Pay, visit https://citizensbank.mvk.co/2hycr where you can find additional information about Citizens Pay and the buy now pay later payment model.In trying to find a word to describe my guest this week, I can honestly say that fascinating wouldn’t even be enough to do him justice. Not only has he been in the industry for 32 years, he’s also had the opportunity to work for some of our most reputable brands. And it doesn’t hurt that he has a driving passion for (and a qualified certification in) both digital anthropology and AI ethics. Infosys Finacle CEO Sanat Rao call himself an “accidental technologist,” but I’d be hard pressed to find someone with more purpose driven passion around tech.For those of you who may not know, Infosys Finacle is an industry leader in digital banking solutions and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Infosys brand. Their evolution spans through decades of experience in everything from core banking to front-and-back-end digital solutions. And they operate in 100 different countries with a portfolio that accounts for global, regional, and local bank customers. Another fun fact? According to Sanat, more than 1 billion adult individuals have an account with a bank that uses Finacle. And this translates to upwards of 16-17% in global market saturation for their proprietary brand.According to Sanat, they exist to inspire “better banking” (not best) for billions of people and millions of businesses so they can save, pay, borrow, and invest better. Why not best? You’ll have to tune in to find out!As for their competitive advantage, Sanat touts four main ingredients to their secret sauce:1.     The capacity for banks to cherry pick from a suite of industry-leading banking solutions2.     Composability3.     Global adaptability4.     And the capability for banks to deploy cloud native and architecture-driven solutions built on proven constructs of layered design and scalabilityTune in this week to hear Sanat talk about his journey to CEO, his passion for academic tech and where he sees the industry going in the next 2 to 3 years including core banking transformation, emerging markets, seamless integration, and the modernization of legacy technology.

Season’s greetings everyone! And welcome to the next episode. This one is a special one. Not only because it’s our 200th episode, but we have a real mover and shaker in the payment space to help us celebrate it! He’s a 30-year payments veteran with a passion for flying and a self-proclaimed “fintech geek.” Fortis CEO Greg Cohen is a true leader in payments.This episode is sponsored by Citizens Pay. With Citizens Pay, merchants have the security of a leading national bank and an omnichannel platform designed to streamline the buying process.  If you want to learn more about Citizens Pay, visit https://citizensbank.mvk.co/2hycr where you can find additional information about Citizens Pay and the buy now pay later payment model.For those of you who may not know, Fortis is a fintech company with a mission to make software companies better through embedded payments. They offer a processor neutral gateway that caters specifically to the hospitality, healthcare, specialty retail, B2B and VAR industry sectors. And their employee headcount sits at about 250 dedicated team members, with an annual processing volume upwards of $20 billion in the North American continent. And that’s just their cereal box stats. Their real drive is in their competitive advantage! The company’s edge in the marketplace revolves around a guided journey for their customers through vertical specialization. This means customers can use their gateway, proprietary technology, GTM guidance and feature functionality to walk/jog/run towards their goal of being a:·       Payment facilitator/Payfac·       ISO/Agent·       Or a successful referral partner Whatever the destination, Fortis can guide the journey. And, according to Greg, it’s this ability to talk the talk and walk the walk in a very vertical specific manner that gives Fortis the right to win in just about every industry sector. Tune in to hear Greg talk about his fascinating journey to CEO, including what motivated him to get his private pilot’s license and why flying is truly his great escape. We also talk about upcoming trends to expect in the industry over the next few years, including an uptick in mergers and acquisitions, the globalization of Omnichannel payments and a faster path towards the embedded experience. 

This episode is sponsored by Citizens Pay. With Citizens Pay, merchants have the security of a leading national bank and an omnichannel platform designed to streamline the buying process.  If you want to learn more about Citizens Pay, visit https://citizensbank.mvk.co/2hycr where you can find additional information about Citizens Pay and the buy now pay later payment model.My two guests this week come to you from the city most known for rain (Seattle, WA) and the city most known for chocolate (Hershey, PA). And, somehow, they both ended up with a drive towards tech! AppTech CTO Ben Jenkins and Product SVP Bryan Guy have a passion for disruptive innovation and technology advancement.For those of you who may not know, AppTech is a payments technology company that offers two core technology products: payments as a service and banking as a service. They are vertical agnostic, and they target disparate systems lacking integration. Their clients are most often found in verticals missing core solutions and core opportunities for their omnichannel banking and they offer these clients a “layer of thin integration often missed by a number of other industries.”When asked about their competitive advantage, both gentlemen will agree that their UX offering is one of the most significant distinguishers in their space. They come in with a modern platform and are not beholden to any legacy systems. Not to mention, their adaptable, modular platform allows them to offer a proprietary experience unmatched in the industry today. Think commerce overlay meets payments orchestration.A fun fact about the business? AppTech has been around since 2013 and throughout this time has secured several technology patens within the industry, including tech specific to:·       Mobile-to-mobile payments·       In-app geolocations services·       And text-based payment optionsAnother fun fact about our guests? Ben started a software innovation lab in Tijuana Mexico, and we have Bryan to thank for the tech that enables you to pick up your mobile Starbucks order (already paid for) and go.Tune in to hear these guys talk about their journey to AppTech and where they see the industry going in the next 2 to 3 years, including cashier-less technology, low code/no code solutions, business in a box, and embedded banking.

My guest on episode 198 has a passion for going after the big problem and doing what people think can’t be done, as well as a genuine intrigue with the power that disrupted companies can have on just about any individual. In fact, Flywire CEO Mike Massaro likens the time spent in fintech companies to dog years: It may be five years on paper but in terms of experience, it really is so much more.This episode is sponsored by Citizens Pay. With Citizens Pay, merchants have the security of a leading national bank and an omnichannel platform designed to streamline the buying process.  If you want to learn more about Citizens Pay, visit https://citizensbank.mvk.co/2hycr where you can find additional information about Citizens Pay and the buy now pay later payment model.For those of you who may not know, Flywire is a fintech company that sits at the intersection of software and payments. They offer best-in-class, enterprise-grade software for specific industries, as well as cutting-edge payments technology. Their target market consists of clients in industries that have been left behind and their ultimate goal is to digitize these industries and bring them up to speed with more modern offerings when it comes to their back-office capabilities.Originally going to market as a payments company specifically for the education sector called Peer Transfer, Flywire went from a startup model with roughly 30 employees and hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential revenue to a publicly traded company with thousands of “flymates” and hundreds of millions of dollars in potential revenue. As for their competitive advantage, they cater to the market need with market-leading experts and cutting-edge technology versus generic solutions backed by generic teams.Tune in to hear Mike talk about his journey to CEO, why he refused the offer at least twice before saying yes, and where he sees the industry going in the next 2 to 3 years including more payment methods and a back-office protocol that functions seamlessly without requiring multiple system integrations to support it. 

This episode is sponsored by Citizens Pay. With Citizens Pay, merchants have the security of a leading national bank and an omnichannel platform designed to streamline the buying process.  If you want to learn more about Citizens Pay, visit https://citizensbank.mvk.co/2hycr where you can find additional information about Citizens Pay and the buy now pay later payment model.My guest this week has a truly fascinating story! Not only has she founded 3 successful companies and created a retail platform unparalleled in its omnichannel offerings, she also came to the United States at the ripe age of 16 years old with nothing but $200 in her pocket and a vision to create something impactful.  XY Retail CEO and Cofounder Susan Jeffers knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur by the time she was 12 years old. And not because her parents blazed a trail for her or anyone in her family gave her the idea that this should be her path, because she just knew she had the potential to create something amazing. For those of you who may not know, XY Retail is a fully hosted retail platform that connects all aspects of the retail business – from supply to demand – and allows brands the convenience and capacity to run their entire operations directly from their phone.According to Susan, the customer journey is no longer a straight line. And customers expect a seamless, connected experience from start to finish and throughout the entire customer journey. So, she set out to solve this need and provide brands with the tools they need to give the experience they want. XY Retail is a unified platform built entirely in the cloud that offers everything from point-of-sale, e-commerce, and auto management solutions to data analytics, plug-and-play payments, and even custom applications. They target the high end, luxury fashion/retail sector and their loyal brands actually helped them build the platform. As for their competitive advantage, Susan touts their ability to allow brands to manage absolutely every aspect of their business from their mobile device, as well as the inherent functionality of a full service, one-stop-shop offering.Tune in this week to hear Susan talk about her journey to CEO, where she sees the industry going in the next 2 to 3 years as it relates to a completely touch free and seamless user experience, and the thing she’s most passionate about for herself and those she mentors: financial independence enough to free you from social constraints.

My guest this week is a self-proclaimed “recovering consultant” with a love for technology and an eye for connectivity. Cantaloupe CEO Ravi Venkatesan joined Cantaloupe in December 2020 with a path for progress that’s already dominating their industry sector.For those of you who may not know, Cantaloupe is the technology ally for any business that “doesn’t have roots in the ground,” according to Ravi. This includes unattended cafeterias, vending machines, parking lots, EV charging stations, laundromats, and self-service massage chairs, just to name a few. And one of the things that makes them such a main player in the industry is there IoT capacity. Not only do they provide the telemeter and card reader necessary to enable a self-service storefront, but they also have all devices connected to a proprietary cloud network, with a proprietary payments gateway and an enterprise SaaS solution that lets any customer successfully manage their inventory input and output. And, as if that wasn’t enough already, they just recently got into the self-service kiosk-based market with their recent acquisition of Yoke Payments.Ravi and I have an interesting discussion about the self-service economy. Not only is it much more prevalent than we think it is, but it’s also expected to grow to be a $46 billion industry by 2027. According to Ravi, the three dominant drivers for this massive growth spurt include:  ·       Labor shortage ·       Consumer preference ·       And availability of technologyTune in to hear Ravi talk about the projected growth spurt of an already prolific industry sector, the convergence of the physical and the digital worlds (coined phigital), and what it looks like to guide a company at the intersection of IoT, digital payments, enterprise SaaS, and self-service kiosk innovation.

What does fintech have to do with cooking? In this podcast, a lot! This week I talk to Solid Founder and CEO Arjun Thyagarajan about living the American dream, the right recipe for a successful fintech business and how fun is always the most important ingredient. For those of you who may not know, Solid is a modern fintech company providing infrastructure as a service for any aspiring fintechs looking to go to market quickly and successfully. Coined by Arjun as “the AWS of fintech,” Solid offers the following core products to any and all of their users: ·       Banking ·       Payments ·       Card issuance ·       And cryptocurrencyThey are use case agnostic and have an ideal offering for just about any company challenged with the art of payments and getting paid. According to Arjun, Solid offers “the best-in-class ingredients for each company’s individual recipe” and they tout themselves as being in the business of simplifying fintech. As for their competitive advantage, it revolves predominantly around their one-stop shop offering that includes a simplistic strategy, agnostic platform, and consultative approach.Also worthy of mention? Solid just closed a $63 million funding round, reached $10 million in annual revenue, and officially became profitable (all this year), after founding in 2019 and going to market in 2020.Tune in this week to hear Arjun talk about his journey to CEO and where he sees the industry going in the next 2 to 3 years, including fintech then and now, the upcoming embedded experiences to rival even the seamless Uber approach, and how fintech as a whole is not even one percent done. We also talk about his tried-and-true business and life philosophy: If you’re having fun, results will follow.

My guest on this episode has been with Citizens for more than 10 years, previously serving as the Head of Student Lending. She is a 30-year veteran of the financial services industry and has held several roles at the company, including sales, branch planning and operations, and product management. Her favorite role so far? She loves being a mentor. Head of Citizens Pay Christine Roberts has a genuine passion for finding and growing talent. For those of you who don’t know, Citizens Pay is the market leader in combining point of sale financing with buy now pay later. Citizens is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $226.7 billion in assets as of June 30, 2022.As for what put Citizens Pay on the map, we have Apple to thank for that. According to Christine, Citizens Pay spearheaded the buy now pay later (BNPL) industry in an effort to help iPhone users have the financial bandwidth to consistently upgrade their technology.As for what makes Citizens Pay different than many of the other BNPL companies out there, a lot of it has to do with their direct affiliation with Citizens Bank. Simply stated, they are prolific lender with advanced technology capabilities that enable them to successfully operate in a regulated atmosphere while other fintechs sometimes struggle in the regulated lending space. Their dominant verticals are technology, medical/dental, furniture, travel, and home improvement, and they offer an open line of credit to their qualified consumers that allows for repeat purchasing within the same credit line. And this is a huge benefit for merchants in that it allows their consumers to make larger purchases and even upgrade their repeat purchases at a faster rate.Tune in to hear Christine talk about the crucial elements that impact the sustainability of the lending space, and how Citizens Pay is navigating being the leader in combining point of sale financing with BNPL.

On this episode we recap the entire month of October that was dedicated to Financial Inclusion. We had a great lineup including: ·        Elena Whisler from The Clearing House·        David Rocha from Prosperas·        Ken Weber from Ripple·        Reed Luhtanen and Gail Hildebrand from the Faster Payments Council·        Jeanniey Walden from DailyPayIn our recap we cover topics including faster payments, earned wage access, a streamlined process to get credit and other programs that are helping to solve the global challenge around financial inclusion. David Rocha from Prosperas summed up the entire series this way, “Someone gave us a chance and that's really what we're trying to do for this broader community is give them a chance. And we know that if we do, they'll take it. They'll maximize it and we'll all be better for it.”We hope to bring awareness and visibility into at least some of the programs, companies and initiative that are helping to serve the global population of unbanked, underbanked and underserved.  And a special thanks to The Clearing House for sponsoring Financial Inclusion month. 

For those of you who’ve ever been curious enough to question why one would ever have to wait two weeks to receive money they’ve already earned, this podcast is for you. DailyPay Chief Innovative Marketing Officer Jeanniey Walden talks with us this week about financial inclusion, breaking the invisible barriers around our financial system and what it looks like to have immediate access to your earned wages.DailyPay is a company focused on changing pay for good. Their objective is to look at ways they can create new solutions that have a positive impact on the entire financial system. Jeanniey talks a lot in this episode about the invisible rules created around money that have been alive in our ecosystem for centuries and have ultimately become barriers that result in subsets of our communities such as the unbanked and underserved.Their target audience is the employer, the employee and everyone in between, and their mission is to bring more transparency to the employee around the money they make, when they make it, and do it in a timely enough manner that they have the opportunity to generate more financial confidence as a result of it. So, we’re basically talking about real-time access and on-demand pay. Not to mention, DailyPay has enabled hourly workers to see their earned wages in real time for the first time – ever.Tune in this week to hear Jeanniey talk about the invisible barriers preventing us from financial inclusion, what the average household looks like in the post-Covid, high inflation economy and what more our global financial system could commit to in an effort to strengthen financial inclusion.