AI and FinTech Learnings

This pod was based on the AI in Asia: Reimagining banking operations through agentic AI article by McKinsey & Company and AI generated by Notebook LM. The hosts are not real people, but I personally guided Notebook LM to give us this output, enjoy!

This episode explores the transformative potential of agentic AI and multiagentic systems within the banking sector, particularly across Asia. As financial institutions face tightening margins and intensifying risks, the sources highlight how operations—which typically represent 60 to 70 percent of a bank’s cost base—are ripe for a fundamental rewiring. You will learn how shifting from siloed technology to enterprise-wide intelligence can unlock 30 to 40 percent improvements in operational efficiency.

The conversation breaks down a ten-domain playbook for transformation, covering critical areas such as lending and credit operations, financial crime mitigation, and customer journey redesign. We also discuss the five essential enterprise capabilities—ranging from a business-driven roadmap to talent and operating models—that product leaders and innovators need to master to move beyond tactical automation toward scalable, long-term competitive advantage.

What you’ll learn

• How multiagentic systems orchestrate complex, multistep workflows across the entire banking value chain.

• The impact of nine crosscutting AI agents in transforming domains like lending, payments, and risk management.

• Strategies for moving from manual, rule-based processes to AI-led dossiers that enhance decision speed and compliance.

• The five-part framework for successfully scaling AI-led operations transformations.

Like and subscribe for more episodes like this!

Remember this is an AI generated podcast. If you want to listen to human interactions, head to my Purpose Driven FinTech Podcast instead, Cheers!

👉 My Socials:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/

Purpose Driven FinTech Podcast: https://www.purposedrivenfintech.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@moni_millares

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Production and marketing by Monica Millares. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email Monica at [email protected]

Disclaimer: This episode does not constitute professional nor financial advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.

This pod was based on the "Innovative fintech reimagining Saudi banking, experts say" article by Arab News and AI generated by Notebook LM. The hosts are not real people, but I personally guided Notbook LM to give us this output, enjoy!

This episode examines the rapid evolution of the Saudi Arabian financial landscape, where the Kingdom achieved a 79 percent cashless transaction rate in 2024, surpassing its Vision 2030 targets ahead of schedule. We explore how over 260 fintech companies are dismantling traditional banking blueprints by leveraging data-first strategies and the Saudi Central Bank’s (SAMA) advanced Regulatory Sandbox to drive financial inclusion.

The discussion also highlights the shifting dynamics between legacy institutions and agile fintechs, emphasizing the necessity of collaboration to meet modern consumer expectations for real-time, personalized services. Additionally, we analyze Saudi Arabia’s dominance in the 2025 GCC capital markets, where the Kingdom raised $4.1 billion in IPO proceeds, accounting for 79 percent of the total regional market.

What you’ll learn:

• How AI and machine learning are enabling hyper-personalized banking and predictive investment tools.

• The role of fintechs in "widening the front door" for underserved populations and SMEs through crowdfunding and P2P lending.

• Why legacy bank infrastructure struggles with real-time digital demands and how partnerships bridge this gap.

• Key insights into the 2025 GCC IPO market and the sectors driving regional economic diversification.

Like and subscribe for more episodes like this!

Remember this is an AI generated podcast. If you want to listen to human interactions, head to my Purpose Driven FinTech Podcast. Cheers, Monica

👉 My Socials:

1. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/
2. Purpose Driven FinTech Podcast: https://www.purposedrivenfintech.com/
3. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@moni_millares

Production and marketing by Monica Millares. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email Monica at [email protected]

Disclaimer: This episode does not constitute professional nor financial advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.

This pod was based on the "Mastering AI Agents" report by Galileo and AI generated by Notebook LM. The hosts are not real people, but I personally guided Notbook LM to give us this output, enjoy!

In this episode, we'll explore the world of AI Agents - autonomous software applications powered by Large Language Models. We'll break down what they are, the different types available, how to choose the right framework for building them, methods for evaluating their performance, and real-world examples of how they're being used today.

Introduction:

• Briefly introduce AI Agents and their increasing importance in automating complex tasks1....

• Highlight the key areas that will be covered: Types, Frameworks, Evaluation, and Use Cases3....

Types of AI Agents:

• Discuss the various types of AI Agents, explaining their characteristics and ideal use cases5....

• Fixed Automation: Best for repetitive tasks6....

• LLM-Enhanced: Suited for flexible, high-volume, low-stakes tasks6....

• ReAct: Ideal for strategic planning and dynamic adjustments6....

• ReAct + RAG: For high-stakes decisions needing real-time knowledge7....

• Tool-Enhanced: For complex workflows using multiple tools and APIs7....

• Self-Reflecting: For tasks requiring accountability and self-improvement7....

• Memory-Enhanced: For personalized experiences and long-term interactions8....

• Environment Controllers: For autonomous operations and system control8....

• Self-Learning: For cutting-edge research and adaptive systems8....

Frameworks for Building AI Agents:

• Introduce three prominent frameworks for building AI Agents18....

• LangGraph: Best for complex workflows, advanced memory, and error recovery18....

• Autogen: Versatile for conversational agents and customizable workflows19....

• CrewAI: Designed for role-based AI collaboration and multi-agent teams20....

• Briefly compare these frameworks based on ease of use, tool support, memory maintenance, and multi-agent support22....

Evaluation of AI Agents:

• Emphasize the importance of evaluating AI Agents to ensure accuracy and reliability26....

• Discuss key evaluation methods28.

• LLM Judge: Using models like GPT-4o for assessing agent performance28....

• Metrics: Measuring across system performance, task completion, quality, and tool interaction28....

• Evaluation Dashboard: Tools like Galileo to track agent performance and identify areas of improvement28....

Use Cases of AI Agents:

• Provide real-world examples of AI Agent applications32....

• Wiley: Improved customer service using Salesforce's Agentforce32....

• Oracle Health: Enhanced patient-provider interactions with Clinical AI Agent34....

• Magid: Empowered newsrooms using a RAG-based system with Galileo36....

• Chaos Labs: Improved decision-making in prediction markets using LangChain and LangGraph38.

• OptiGuide: Enhanced supply chain operations using Autogen39.

• Waynabox: Transformed travel planning with CrewAI40.

Conclusion:

• Reiterate the potential of AI Agents in various domains41....

• Emphasize the need for careful planning, framework selection, and continuous evaluation to ensure successful AI Agent deployment43....

• Encourage listeners to explore further and consider how AI Agents can benefit their specific needs

Successful adoption is about people, processes and considerations!

Don't be afraid to experiment and iterate, be willing to try and learn!

This is a journey, not a destination, enjoy!

Don’t forget to like and subscribe for more episodes like this!

👉 My Socials:

1. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/
2. Purpose Driven FinTech Podcast: https://www.purposedrivenfintech.com/
3. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@moni_millares

Remember this is an AI generated podcast. If you want to listen to human interactions, head to my Purpose Driven FinTech Podcast. Cheers, Monica

—

Production and marketing by Monica Millares. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email Monica at [email protected]

Disclaimer: This episode does not constitute professional nor financial advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.

Bank of Singapore's "2025 Supertrends" report, with insights from its Global Advisory Council, identifies five key trends shaping the near future. The report emphasizes a changing world order influenced by potential shifts in US policy under a second Trump term, impacting global trade and inflation. Asset allocation strategies are discussed, advocating for diversification into private markets and real assets to navigate the evolving economic landscape. The rise of AI and its implications for various sectors, including the demand for sustainable energy, are explored. The report also addresses demographic shifts like increased longevity and declining birth rates, which present both challenges and opportunities for economies and investment strategies.

Successful adoption is about people, processes and considerations!

Don't be afraid to experiment and iterate, be willing to try and learn!

This is a journey, not a destination, enjoy!

Don’t forget to like and subscribe for more episodes like this!

👉 My Socials:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/
• Purpose Driven FinTech Podcast: https://www.purposedrivenfintech.com/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@moni_millares

Remember this is an AI generated podcast. If you want to listen to human interactions, head to my Purpose Driven FinTech Podcast. Cheers, Monica

—

Disclaimer: This episode does not constitute professional nor financial advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.

In this (AI generated) episode we explore AI in Insurance!

Because there's a more engaging way to g through reports - someone telling you the key take aways, like a short story. So this is what I've done with the help of Google NotebookLM!

This week this is our report of choice:

KPMG. Advancing AI across insurance: Unlocking transformation with speed and agility

Download HERE

We ask notebook to answer the following:

1. How does the insurance industry approach AI transformation?
2. What are three key findings from the KPMG Insurance CEO Outlook?
3. What are three risks associated with AI adoption in the insurance industry?
4. AI Strategy Breakdown

Is it as good as taking 30mins to read through the report in detail? Nop!

Is it a great way to stay up to speed with what's going on in AI in the FinTech and Financial Services Industry? Definitely Yes!

Efficiency and practical works.

Key Takeaways (Of the pod & report - manually extracted):

• Gen AI is expected to become a US$1.3 trillion market by 2032
• 47% of insurance organizations that are experimenting with AI have set up AI centres of excellence.
• Identify your data sources and assess their quality as part of the internal review. It’s important that insurance organizations have accurate and reliable data before building and training machine learning models to rely on this
• Operational effciency (including task automation and employee experience), along with advanced pattern detection, are the top two short-term AI goals identifed by insurance organizations
• KPMG proposes an "AI maturity assessment framework" assessing 6 elements (see page 19)
• 61% of organizations are wary about trusting AI systems, with 84 percent citing cybersecurity as a top concern
• Remember that AI works best when it is supporting and augmenting people and processes — not replacing them. Keep a human in the loop
• KPMG's Trusted AI Framework is a set of ethical standards for the technology to act for the public's interest, based on principles for AI that are values-driven, human-centric, and trustworthy.

Strategy:

• Assessment of your current AI capabilities
• Define vision and goals. What you actually want to achieve with AI and how it will actually help you achieve your business objectives
• Pilot with a specific use case
• Upskill your workforce!

Risks

• Bias. Perpetuate existing bias based on existing data.
• Privacy. Systems rely on a lot of persona data -- needs to be secured.
• AI decision making with unintended consequences. Ensure AI is aligned with human values!

Use cases

• Enhancing actuarial processes though Gen AI

Case studies:

• PassportCard
• Israeli financial services group
• Beazley

Successful adoption is about people, processes and considerations!

Don't be afraid to experiment and iterate, be willing to try and learn!

This is a journey, not a destination, enjoy!

Don’t forget to like and subscribe for more episodes like this!

👉 My Socials:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/
• Purpose Driven FinTech Podcast: https://www.purposedrivenfintech.com/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@moni_millares

Remember this is an AI generated podcast. If you want to listen to human interactions, head to my Purpose Driven FinTech Podcast. Cheers, Monica

—

Disclaimer: This episode does not constitute professional nor financial advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.

Pau Pavon is the co-founder and Head of Product at Examfy, where he helps teachers streamline the exam marking process.

In today’s episode, Pao speaks about his journey as a Founder while being a University student, his findings on cultural differences between Spain, Korea, India and Northern Europe, and his approach to product development. He emphasizes the need to talk to costumers constantly, how he goes about it, and his favourite method: Obsess about the problem, not the solution. 

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You can find Pau here 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pau-pavon-crespo/
• LinkedIn Examify: https://www.linkedin.com/company/examfy/
• Website: https://www.getexamfy.com/

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You can find Moni here:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moni_millares

It’s a value packed episode so send us comments and questions,

Cheers, 

Moni

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In this episode we cover:

• How Pau became a tech founder while still being a university student.
• His experiences working in different countries.
• The inspiration behind the idea of creating a digital platform for students to access their corrected exams online.
• The validation process of the idea, including brainstorming and gathering feedback from students and teachers.
• The development and launch of the minimum viable product (MVP) of the platform, including its features and functionality.
• Initial feedback and challenges faced, including the need to streamline the scanning process for teachers.
• Exploring potential use cases beyond education, such as document digitization for personal or professional purposes
• Learning from other companies with similar technologies
• Working with his CoFounder Tony & challenges in keeping friendship and business separate
• Challenges in acquiring customers and scaling the business
• Partnerships with other software companies to expand reach and access to schools
• Importance of execution and problem-solving in building the business.

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Production and marketing by Monica Millares. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

Disclaimer: 

This episode does not constitute professional nor financial nor health advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers; nor those of the guests. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.

In this episode Karen and I explore the role of Data in Product – Product without data is intuition based decision making; hence we really need to upskill our data game as I’m aware many of us do not use data as much as we’d like to

We cover:

• What makes great Product
• Data challenges for Product Managers
• The future of data and Product
• How to create a data-driven culture 
• Data literacy
• How to attract and retain great Product people
• Qualities of a great Product Managers
• Continuous Discovery

It’s a value packed episode so send us comments and questions,

Cheers, 

Moni

You can find Karen here 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenhsieh/ 

And you can find me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/

TikTok: @moni_millares

 Disclaimer: This episode does not constitute professional nor financial nor health advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers; nor those of the guests. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.

In this episode Aamna and I explore the challenges and opportunities that come with being a female in the industry. 

We discuss how to navigate toxic environments, how to recognize yourself as a leader, and how to communicate effectively with senior leadership teams. We also talk about the importance of understanding regulations and how to make sure you have all the information you need when asked to do work. 

Join us as we discuss these topics and more, as we strive to empower women in Fintech.

Chapters:

00:01:27 Transitioning Into Product: A Story Of Moving From Project Management

00:04:08 Transferable Skills For Transitioning From Project Management To Product Management

00:09:08 The Importance Of Inclusiveness As A Leader

00:11:01 Including Everyone In Team Activities: The Leader's Responsibility

00:17:10 Open Communication Is Key To Urgency

00:19:33 Communication And Understanding: Keys To Team Success

00:23:21 Regulation Is Your Best Friend: Advice From A Financial Services Mentor

00:28:29 Women In The Industry: Balancing Out The Challenges

00:31:48 Celebrating Achievements Without Showing Off

It’s a value packed episode so send us comments and questions,

Cheers, 

Moni

You can find Aamna here 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aamna-hussain-7981a677/

And you can find me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/

TikTok: @moni_millares

Disclaimer: 

This episode does not constitute professional nor financial nor health advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers; nor those of the guests. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.

Payments is booming - however many of us struggle to understand the basics - even if we work in the industry. 

In this episode, Andrew helps us understand the basics, so that you don’t need to feel like you are lost anymore. He shares with us his story of how he got into payments and walks us through the payment flow cycle. We cover: 

• His story from Uni to Payments
• Meaning and Purpose 
• Challenges of living abroad
• Dealing with living outside of your comfort zone
• Understanding the payment flow
• Biggest challenges in payments
• ESG in payments
• How to get into payments
• What to look for in a payments company
• What’s exciting about payments

It’s a value packed episode so send us comments and questions,

Cheers, 

Moni

You can find Andrew here 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-s-christodoulou/

And you can find me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moni_millares

Disclaimer: 

This episode does not constitute professional nor financial nor health advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers; nor those of the guests. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.

Product is a discipline that is many times misunderstood or just not understood at all - so today we are busting some myths and clarifying what does Product actually do!

Aditi has a wealth of experience in Financial Services and in Product - and she opens up with us to cover: 

• Aditi’s trajectory
• What does Thunes do and who are their customers 
• Aditi’s product development process
• Foundational principles for newbies in product management: 
• Fraud and product – such an important topic!
• How to go about finding how to differentiate as a FinTech
• How to support better women in FinTech

It’s a value packed episode so send us comments and questions,

Cheers, 

Moni

You can find Aditi here 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditichhibber/

And you can find me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moni_millares

Disclaimer: 

This episode does not constitute professional nor financial nor health advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers; nor those of the guests. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.