Episode 17 was with Stuart Houston, APAC Director of Financial Services at Google Cloud. Stuart talks about Google’s involvement with emerging financial technology companies here in Australia and how they are providing the infrastructure and other services to assist. Stuart also talks about “Banking as a Service”, the idea behind “Invisible Banking” as well as what Open Banking means to the traditional banking participants as well as some of their emerging competitors.

Episode 16 was with Jill Berry, CEO of Adatree, a company involved with Consumer Data Rights Solutions. Jill talks about Open Banking, what it is, the use cases, the industries involved, the customer experiences that can occur, as well as her background with Tyro and Volt Bank.

Episode 15 was with Damir Cuca, CEO, and Founder of Basiq. Basiq is an open banking platform enabling developers to build innovative financial solutions. Clients include Ubank, Westpac, Salesforce, NAB, Equifax, and Regional Australia Bank. Damir talks about what Open Banking is, the opportunities for entrepreneurs, the marketplace for business and personal lending as well as future banking trends, particularly around responsible lending.

Episode 14 is with Nathan Walsh, Co-founder of Athena Home Loans. Athena recently raised $70m to build out its digital non-bank lending platform focusing on residential mortgages. Athena has lent out $1.6b in only 18 months and this podcast delves into some of the reasons why their loan book is growing and some of the customer-led initiatives that have resonated very well thus far.

Episode 13 is with Andrew Moore, CEO of Spaceship. Spaceship launched in 2017 with a Superannuation product focusing on millennials and then moved into investing in 2018 with their product called “Voyager”. Andrew talks about the millennial money trends, the reasons why he joined Spaceship from a career in Banking, the views and feedback they have received from their 80,000 plus users, and the possible partnerships with Digital banks.

Episode 12 is with Tommy Mermelshtayn, Chief Strategy Officer of Zip Co (ASX:Z1P). Tommy talks about the history and evolving journey of Zip from the origins of consumer finance to the rapidly evolving Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) sector. Zip recently announced the proposed acquisition of Quadpay in the USA to accelerate its global ambitions. Tommy also talks about the recent technological trends, the global market size for BNPL, and the retailers leading the way with the adoption of this new and exciting way to pay in-store and online.

Gerd Schenkel has had a long-serving career within financial services in Australia. He was the founder of UBank (2008) in partnership at NAB, as well as the CEO of Tyro Payments (ASX:TYR) before becoming Chair of Credit Clear. Gerd talks about what it was like to build a digital bank in 2008, his time at Tyro and the full APRA bank application process, the BNPL sector, and the view that regional banks in Australia have a golden opportunity against the traditional banks when it comes to re-inventing themselves into digital innovators.

Episode 10 is with Michael Eidel, CEO and MD of Openpay. Openpay is within the BNPL sector – a sector that has seen euphoric share price rises recently. Michael talks about where Openpay sits within the sector and the large customer wins in Bunnings and JD Sports. Michael also talks about their growth plans, their due diligence on customers, and the view that BNPL is disrupting Credit Cards.

In episode 9 of “Bank to the Future” we chat with Joseph Healy, Co-founder, and Co-CEO of Judo Bank. Judo has raised in excess of $700m since inception to grow their tech-led SME bank and to build out their team to focus on SME business banking relationships. Joseph talks about their due diligence processes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and their subsequent response, how they assess SME customers as well as their plans to continue to grow alongside businesses and to assist during tougher times.

Episode 8 of the Bank to Future Podcast series was with Zahir Khoja from Mastercard in New York. Mastercard has been prominent in partnering with many emerging technology companies, here in Australia and abroad and Zahir delves into their views, strategy, and thematics around payments, particularly the rising Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Sector. Mastercard has partnered locally with UP Bank, Afterpay, Bundll (Flexigroup), and Splitit amongst others. Zahir talks about the world beyond cash and the theme of being “Digital First” and how Mastercard works with innovators and empowers them to succeed.