Fintech Chatter: Insights From Fintech Leaders

In Episode 142 of the Fintech Chatter podcast, Dexter Cousins chats to Bianca Bates, Chief Client Officer and Deputy CEO of Cuscal about their recent acquisition of Basiq. Bianca Bates is one of the most respected leaders in Fintech. Tune in as Bianca shares Cuscal's rich history of innovation from opening Australia's first ATM to building a digital bank from scratch.Dexter and Bianca discuss Cuscal's push into CDR with the acquisition of Basiq. And they also talk about Cuscal's continued support for the Fintech ecosystem.In the second part Bianca shares her leadership tips. They discuss the challenges of leading remote workforces, how to manage mental health and how to keep relevant in a rapidly changing environment. About BiancaBianca was appointed to the role of Chief Client Officer & Deputy CEO in December 2020. As well as leading Cuscal’s Product, Client Services and Operations teams, Bianca is Craig Kennedy’s delegate, and is involved in Cuscal’s engagement with industry bodies, regulators and shareholders.Bianca has over 20 years’ experience in financial services with large and complex US and Australian companies, both public and private. Prior to Cuscal she worked in senior legal and compliance company secretariat roles with Genworth, GE Capital and DLA Phillips Fox.About CuscalCuscal is Australia’s leading provider of payment solutions, partnering with mutuals, banks (large and small), fintechs, and corporates who provide payment services to their customers. For over 50 years, Cuscal has championed competition in banking and payments in Australia. Today Cuscal is focused on enabling the future for clients, bringing to life the platforms and tools needed to compete and succeed in Australia’s rapidly evolving digital economy.Send us a textSubscribe Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/fintech-leaders-7092732051488980992/Connect on Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3DsCJBp

In Ep. 141 of the Fintech Chatter Podcast, Dexter Cousins is joined by Daniel Foggo, Founder and CEO of Plenti.Daniel is a true OG of Australian Fintech bringing the Peer 2 Peer lending model to Australia through Ratesetter (which became Plenti before listing on the ASX.)Dexter and Daniel discuss the challenges of running a lending business in a rapidly changing interest rate environment, the benefits of building bespoke tech platforms and the resurgence of the P2P model.About PlentiPlenti is a fintech lender, providing Australians with faster, fairer loans through smart technology. Our proprietary technology platform allows us to provide creditworthy customers with automotive, renewable energy and personal loans to help bring big ideas to life. Since establishment in 2014, loan originations have grown consistently, supported by diversified loan products, distribution channels and funding, and underpinned by exceptional credit performance and continual innovations. Plenti listed on the ASX in September 2020. About Daniel Daniel founded Plenti and has acted as CEO since its inception. Prior to that, he worked in investment banking for over a decade, including Rothschild in London and Barclays in Sydney. Daniel was a co-founding director of PartPay, a buy-now-pay-later business, which was acquired by Zip Co Limited in 2019. He has been recognised for his achievements in the fintech industry, being named the Fintech Leader of the Year at the inaugural Australian Fintech Awards in 2016 and Fintech Entrepreneur of the Year at the Australian Fintech Business Awards in 2017.Daniel holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Economics (Honours) and a Master of Business, Finance (Distinction) from the University of Otago. https://www.plenti.com.au/Send us a textSubscribe Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/fintech-leaders-7092732051488980992/Connect on Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3DsCJBp

In Ep 139 of the Fintech Chatter Podcast, Dexter Cousins welcomes back Leda Glyptis, author of Bankers Like Us.In this chat Dexter talks to Leda about Bankers Like Us: Dispatches from an Industry in Transition - it's a recounting of the challenges Leda has faced in her career, driving digital transformation in some of the worlds largest banks.About Bankers Like Us"Bankers Like Us - Dispatches from an Industry in Transition" looks at the human and structural obstacles to innovation-driven transformation and at the change in habits, mindsets and leadership needed for the next stage of the digital journey.Leda argues that this change will be brought about, not by external heroes and saviours, not by a generation yet to be born, but people just like us. People who understand the industry and its' quirks. Bankers who have the grit, determination and energy to drive change. Bankers like us.This book celebrates and chronicles the shared experience of bankers like us. It starts with a ‘this is who we are’ piece, including Leda's own personal experiences. It then presents an overview of corporate culture (this is what we deal with and a few ideas on how to handle it), as well as a piece on why transformation is so difficult and so many get it wrong; a piece on the challenges our lack of diversity brings or compounds, and a hopeful look-ahead on what a team of principled, dedicated folks can do despite everything.About Leda GlyptisLeda, is the author of the LedaWrites Fintech Futures column and regular contributor at industry events and publications. She is a lapsed academic and a recovering banker, having worked in ‘incumbent banks’ across various geographies and functions including innovation, IT and Operations. Most recently, Leda works as Chief Client Officer at 10x and has served at 11FS Foundry, QNB, Sapient and BNY Mellon. She holds an MA from King’s College Cambridge and an MSc and PhD from the London School of Economics.Order - Bankers Like Us: Dispatches from an Industry in TransitionSend us a textSubscribe Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/fintech-leaders-7092732051488980992/Connect on Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3DsCJBp

In Ep. 140 of the Fintech Chatter Podcast, Simon Beitz CEO of Alex.Bank joins Dexter Cousins to chat about the challenges of launching a digital bank.In 2023, Alex.Bank is the most awarded new digital bank in Australia having received its full ADI in December 2022. Alex has over 2000 customers, settling close to $50m in personal loans, and has both lending and deposit products in the market – most recently launching a new Term Deposit product.Simon talks to Dexter about building a new bank, the lessons learned from other neo banks and his lessons and insights as an entrepreneur.About SimonSimon was motivated to start Alex.Bank after noticing a decline in customer experience in consumer and small business lending due to the focus of big banks on mortgages and transaction banking. He believed that consumers deserved a fairer and easier banking experience. With this in mind, Simon co-founded Alex.Bank in 2018 to challenge the status quo.About Alex.BankThe aim of Alex.Bank was to provide a humanised banking experience, which Simon achieved by eliminating complicated paperwork, jargon, and unnecessary fees. He and his co-founder, Craig Fenwick decided to give the bank a human name to bring back the ‘human-touch’ to banking.Send us a textSubscribe Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/fintech-leaders-7092732051488980992/Connect on Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3DsCJBp

In ep138 of Fintech Chatter Podcast Dexter Cousins is joined by Ben Pfisterer of Zeller.In our opinion, Ben is one of the most talented founders in Fintech. He shares his experience of growing a business to 225 people, raising capital, running a lean operation, and hiring a high-performance, hands-on executive team.About BenBen is the CEO and co-founder at Zeller, the Melbourne-based fintech reimagining business banking for Australian businesses. Ben has extensive financial services experience across local and global organisations. Prior to launching Zeller, he held the Aus Country Head role at Square. Ben shares his learnings from working with one of the world's largest Fintech and how he then shaped Zeller.About ZellerZeller is one solution for all of your business finances. From EFTPOS and invoicing, to accounts and cards, it's everything you expect from a business bank, but better. Every Zeller product is designed to give you complete visibility over payments, spending, expenses, and cash flow.Send us a textSubscribe Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/fintech-leaders-7092732051488980992/Connect on Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3DsCJBp

In Ep. 007 of Blockchain Chatter Dexter Cousins talks to David Lavecky, CEO and Co-Founder of CANVAS. Tune in as they discuss the latest RBA CBDC pilot scheme and the work Canvas is doing on Atomic FX settlements.As a payments and fintech veteran, David shares his thoughts on the convergence of blockchain and payments and why he feels the time is right for mainstream adoption of the technology.About CanvasCanvas is a global blockchain company with a mission to digitise finance. Canvas offers decentralized capital market infrastructure that enables financial institutions and governments to easily expand their reach into the digital economy.Canvas Connect is a privacy focused Layer 2 ZK network built for finance and the digital economy. Connect extends the capabilities of Ethereum with assurances of privacy, high speed and low costs.Connect uses an API first model that supports easy integration with no solidity skills required.Capital Markets Applications are built on the network that enable the Transfer, Trade & Investment of Tokenised Real World Assets, Stablecoins, CBDCs & Digital Assets, all with privacy and secured by Ethereum.With a deep understanding of financial markets and the digital economy, Canvas is committed to driving the digital transformation of banks, financial institutions and governments in the modern landscape. By providing innovative solutions that are faster, more secure, and more cost-effective than traditional systems, Canvas is helping to unlock the potential of digital finance globally. About DavidDavid is a highly experienced technology entrepreneur and investor, and CEO and Co-Founder of CANVAS.He was previously the Co-Founder, COO & EVP of Pure Commerce which was one of Australia’s first high-growth fintech companies, providing electronic payment infrastructure to banks globally. Following the sale of Pure Commerce to Euronet WorldWide (NASDAQ: EEFT), David was retained to continue the global growth, working with major banks and financial institutions across the globe.As their next venture, David and his brother Daniel Co-Founded CANVAS in the belief that Blockchain technologies, Digital Assets, & Tokenisation will radically transform financial and capital markets over the next decade with trillions of $ of securities and currencies to be tokenized and traded 24/7/365.Send us a textSubscribe Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/fintech-leaders-7092732051488980992/Connect on Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3DsCJBp

Welcome to Fintech News - in this special  edition Dexter Cousins chats to Scott Heyes of Mendoza Ventures about the Silicon Valley Bank crash. Scott shares his first hand experience of events as they unfolded last Thursday with an urgent call from the CEO of SVB. As we know things quickly escalated from there leaving most VC firms with little choice but to recommend their portfolio companies withdraw their funds.Scott shares his views on what went wrong, how it could have been avoided and what the impacts will be both short and long term for the global startup sector.To find out more about Mendoza Ventures -  https://mendoza-ventures.com/You can follow Scott Heyes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottheyes/Send us a textSubscribe Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/fintech-leaders-7092732051488980992/Connect on Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3DsCJBp

What a crazy week! Dexter Cousins is joined in person by Carolyn Breeze as co-host of Fintech News. They cover the latest Aus Fintech news from capital raises, acquisitions, legislation and layoffs.Scott Heyes dials in from the US to give a first-hand account of the SVB collapse and what happens next.And Carolyn shares her advice to founders looking to raise capital in the current climate.Tune in to this jam-packed show as we cover:- SVB - What happened, why and what it means for Aus Fintechs- Cuscal Acquires Basiq- Till raises $70m in Series D round- Xero lays off 800 staff- Datamesh raise $30m- RBA announces CBDC pilot scheme- Revolut turns a profitTo find out more about Scalare Partners - https://www.scalarepartners.com/You can follow Carolyn Breeze - https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynbreeze/To find out more about Mendoza Ventures -  https://mendoza-ventures.com/You can follow Scott Heyes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottheyes/This months Fintech Startup to watch is https://www.planpay.com/Send us a textSubscribe Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/fintech-leaders-7092732051488980992/Connect on Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3DsCJBp

In Ep 137 of Fintech Chatter Dexter Cousins chats to David M. Brear, CEO of 11:FS.A celebration of sorts as both 11:FS and Tier One People celebrate their 7th anniversaries.Tune in as Dexter and David discuss their contrasting experiences over the last 7 years as founder/builders in Fintech. They share their lessons in business, hiring, leadership, life, startups, parenthood and everything else in between.About 11:FS11:FS is a challenger consultancy that builds and launches next generation digital propositions for some of the biggest banks in the world.The team is driven by the belief that digital banking is 1% done and that digital reform is needed to improve systems and services for banks and their customers. 11:FS build new digital banks and banking products, and deliver benchmarking, research, and consultancy for banks, insurers, governments, regulators and startups around the world.They are also behind multiple podcasts including Fintech Insider, a bi-weekly show about all things fintech and financial services, which is downloaded in over 100 countries every week and is one of the top business podcasts on Apple podcasts; Blockchain Insider, a dedicated podcast specialising in all things blockchain, ledger technology and cryptocurrencies and Insurtech Insider, covering the latest news, insights and trends in the Insurtech industry.About David M. BrearDavid is the CEO of 11:FS and since his dream of being a sportsperson was crushed (along with the ligaments in his knee!) and he had to get a proper job, he has worked in pretty much every angle of the financial services industry never losing that competitive desire to drive forwards and win. Having pitched, established and run billion-pound transformations for some of the biggest FS companies on the planet the realisation that Digital Financials Services Is Only 1% Finished has spurred his desire to establish an organisation that can actually support the industry through its greatest challenge. 11:FS is a challenger to the incumbent consultancies. We create innovative strategies and build out new propositions and ventures in the UK, US, Europe and Asia for some of the biggest brands on the planet. Alongside this 11:FS build in-house products from competitor benchmarking tools like 11:FS Pulse, to core banking and modern architecture systems like 11:FS Foundry. In 4 years 11:FS went from zero brand and zero revenues to a multimillion a month business with one of the hottest brands in fintech all with zero external investment in the group.https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbrear/Send us a textSubscribe Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/fintech-leaders-7092732051488980992/Connect on Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3DsCJBp

In Ep 136 of Fintech Chattter Podcast, Dexter Cousins is joined by Jeff Parker SVP and Managing Director, International at Marqeta.Tune in as Dexter and Jeff discuss:03:38 Pipes and Plumbing of Fintech 05:42 Serving a Global customer base 09:29 Embedded Finance - Hype or BIG opportunity? 19:44 The Marqeta Culture 23:01 Making the switch from Big Bank to Fintech 28:56 Why most people fail in startups 33:45 Where the next big shift in Fintech innovation will come from39:56 Jeff's Podcast recommendationsAbout Jeff Jeff is responsible for building Marqeta’s go-to-market and operational functions internationally and advancing the company’s service offerings in its key markets across Europe and APAC.In his 20 years of experience in the financial services space, Jeff has worked across four continents, in senior roles at Macquarie Bank and international payments businesses, OFX, and then WorldFirst, a company he led as CEO.About MarqetaMarqeta is headquartered in Oakland, California and is certified to operate in 39 countries globally. Marqeta’s modern card issuing platform empowers its customers to create customized and innovative payment cards. Its modern architecture gives its customers the ability to build more configurable and flexible payment experiences, accelerating time-to-market and democratizing access to card-issuing technology. Marqeta's open APIs provide instant access to highly scalable, cloud-based payment infrastructure that enables customers to launch and manage their own card programs, issue cards and authorize and settle payment transactions. For more information visit Marqeta Send us a textSubscribe Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/fintech-leaders-7092732051488980992/Connect on Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3DsCJBp