It takes on average 3 business days for a crossborder payment to clear through the traditional banking system. On a digital remittance platform? 30 seconds. This is because your money was actually sent yesterday. This pre-funding process and other innovations such as cash pooling, cross-border netting, and automated FX hedging, are what enable your legal tenders to onboard a supersonic jet when it travels abroad. Plus, the ticket comes at a bargain - the costs (fees, exchange rates) are 10x cheaper than your bank’s slowboat.

Jay Young Lee is a Korean fintech entrepreneur, co-founder of one of Asia’s biggest crossboarder payment startups, SentBe. We begin with a recap of his career, from a small-time poker aficionado to getting into the door of fintech and entrepreneurship. We also discuss how SWIFT network works, the money exchange “black market”, how new currency products are added, and why most fintechs are actually regtechs.

Timestamps
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:07:44) BCG, First Startup, Poker, and SAP
(00:23:42) Second and Third Startups
(00:30:43) Co-Founding SentBe
(00:37:26) International Expansion
(00:41:49) Pooling and Pre-Funding
(00:44:56) Optimizing Channel, Predicting Liquidity, and FX Hedging
(00:50:38) Overseas Transfer: Behind The Scenes
(00:55:02) Current SWIFT System
(01:00:59) Black Market Money Changers
(01:09:58) Zero To One, License, and Regulators
(01:18:03) Lessons In Leadership

Disclaimer: This podcast is an independent personal project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any employer or organization. All views expressed are solely those of the host and guests. The content is for information and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, tax, or professional advice. The host, guests, and associated parties assume no liability for any actions taken based on this content.