This week on Breaking Banks hosts Jason Henrichs and Brett King catch up with DIVINE, Victor D. Lombard CEO & Founder, about his new startup Solvent, an AIO financial empowerment and wealth building platform for the system impacted, and Denise Quashie head of AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders, with Solvent one of 25 in this cohort, where black founders get the resources, training, tech and support needed to scale their startup faster, the accelerator works with startups in and out of the fintech space.

Then Jason connects with Ben Borodach -- Co-Founder and CEO, April Tax and Ronen Assia, Managing Partner, Team8 Fintech on ways to make taxes, well, less taxing.

https://youtu.be/SRoP-Px0Leg

Techcrunch reports fintech accounted for 21% of all venture capital dollars raised in 2021. When things go up, they also have a Newtonian way of coming down. The same article says that 10% of all layoffs in Q2 came from the fintech sector. Neobanks such as Chime, Nubank, Klarna and Revolut were rocketships that now have pulled IPOs and taken massive valuation haircuts. Does this signal the end of neobanking? Ron Shevlin, Chris Skinner and Jason Henrichs debate what's next for the neos. In the second half, Amber Buker, former partner at Alloy Labs where she led strategic insights, decided a global economic meltdown was the perfect time to start, wait for it, a neobank. Tune in to hear it isn't crazy as it sounds. She even convinced Alloy Labs Alchemist fund to invest. That's both a disclosure and vote of confidence. This week on Breaking Banks - is it the end or the end of an era?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRREcQRMxqQ

This week we have a particularly spicy guest... Simon Taylor, writer of Fintech Brainfood, one of the best weekend reads on all things fintech, formerly head of ventures at 11FS and now Head of Strategy and Content for Sardine. Despite the time difference, Simon and Jason Henrichs dig into some real brainfood with some Hot Wings and Hot Takes on the future of fintech, why Web3 matters and why the intersection with KYC and risk management practices could completely upturn traditional finance.

In the second half, Chrissy Oelke who spearheads UX at Horicon Bank and Jason talk about Horicon’s journey towards personalization. The genesis of this conversation was a panel Chrissy and Jason did for Total Expert. Here Jason takes the opportunity to understand Horicon Bank's why behind the decision to embark on a user experience overhaul, the challenges they've faced and the road ahead.

https://youtu.be/dw6jBkyZNpQ

In Episode 444, we feature a segment on what makes Australia a great environment for fintech innovators. Our series continues with this episode's focus on payments.

First, Brett connects with Paul Byrne, CEO of Zai, a paytech company boldly transforming the future of financial services, powering mid-market and enterprise level business customers, and automating payment workflow so executives can focus on running their businesses. Then Brett speaks with Damian Kassabgi, Head of International Public Policy at Block, parent company of Afterpay, a phenomenal Australian success story. Damian's business acumen and strong grasp of public policy offer a valuable combination that makes for an insightful conversation.

Finally, Brett connects with Henri Arslanian at Consensus 2022 to discuss Henri's latest book, The Book of Crypto: The Complete Guide to Understanding Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies and Digital Assets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xl4nS74UVQ

Host Jason Henrichs gets spicy, and sheds a few tears, with industry experts Alex Johnson, Creator, Fintech Takes and Amy Radin, Author and Executive Advisor to Enterprises and ScaleUps in today’s episode of Breaking Banks.

The wings are spicy and so is the conversation as they cover current economic challenges, the crypto meltdown, BNPL, value creation, down rounds for neobanks, and everything next! This episode is HOT!

https://youtu.be/SOao88VCeIk

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a press release on April 25th that it was invoking a dormant authority that allows it to examine nonbank companies posing risks to consumers. That’s pretty broad and seems pretty scary. Listen to Dara Tarkowski, host of the Tech on Reg podcast, and Jason Henrichs break down the legal realities and implications in the first half before being joined by Lindsay Davis of Atomic and Alex Johnson of Fintech Takes to riff on the potential industry impact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkSzt6M8a4k

In today's compelling episode host Jason Henrichs speaks with Alyona Mysko, CEO and Founder of Fuel, a Ukrainian company. Fuel, a cloud-based financial department, helps startups by acting as their finance function, navigating what can be tough waters, so CEOs and CFOs can focus and make smart business decisions and projections. Figuring a scalable business model is hard enough - now imagine being a fintech company figuring the business for scaling Saas and ecommerce startups while in an actual - not metaphorical - warzone, with the attendant real worries of keeping team members and family safe.

Then, what do faster payments mean for the future of fintech? Greg Palmer, host of sister podcast Finovate, speaks with Dwolla's CEO, Brady Harris about open banking, innovations and developments in payments, quicker access to funds, and A2A. How we move money continues to evolve.

https://youtu.be/mdRDb6Dgueo

In this episode Brett King returns to his roots to explore investment opportunities in and from Australia, how Australian capability can act as a launch pad for global innovations and investments within the fintech and insurtech ecosystems. Our guests Simone Dossetor, Insurtech Australia, CEO; Ben Smith, Railsbank, Chief Operating Officer (APAC) and Christie Downs, CEO & Co-Founder, handdii, cover how the rise of embedded solutions creates new financial services distribution models in the fintech and insurtech markets. Listen as Railsbank, which expanded into Australia, and handdii, an Australian claim fulfillment and property repair startup that expanded into the U.S., share their journeys.Then Brett interviews Chris Skinner, CEO of the Finansier and independent commentator on the financial markets about his latest book, Digital for Good: Stand For Something or You Will Fall. The book focuses on how technology and finance can work together to address the environmental and social issues we face today and make a better world.

https://youtu.be/uBMQtr4EQsM

In this weeks mashup Breaking Banks and The Futurists podcasts interview pioneering technologist Brad Templeton. In a discussion ranging from the creation of the commercial internet,  the battle for our future, to ethical AI and the likely roll out of autonomous vehicles, we cover a lot of ground. But at the heart of this discussion is how technology is reframing society and why those looking to the past are likely to be left behind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thGkxyVLpxc

In today's episode of Breaking Banks, we feature two of our sister podcasts, each with an eye to the future.We start with Jennifer Tescher's EMERGE Everywhere. Jennifer sits down with Shamina Singh, Founder and President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, to discuss the quest for a more sustainable and equitable future, and how she's developing solutions to make the global economy work for everyone.

Then, we introduce you to the newest podcast in the Breaking Banks' family, The Futurists with hosts Robert Tercek and Brett King, as they take you into the future with renowned thought leaders who are creating the future of tomorrow. In this piece we spotlight PJ Manney, a leading thinker focusing on the impact of artificial intelligence in respect to ethics and how humanity will adapt. See you in the future!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwPaUcP1c7Q