Fintech Chatter: Conversations with Fintech Leaders

Katrina Donaghy, co-founder of Civic Ledger, joins Dexter Cousins for ep151 of Fintech Chatter. Katrina shares the journey of her company and the role of blockchain technology in solving efficiency problems in government.

Katrina emphasises the importance of focusing on the "why" rather than the "what" of blockchain and highlights the potential of tokenisation as the killer app for this technology. Katrina also shares her insights on the challenges and opportunities in the fintech industry and the need for a contextual relationship between technology and society.

Overview

In this episode the conversation centers around the need for trust and governance in water distribution. Civic Ledger help citizens, industries and governments bring transparency, accountability and auditability to transactions and data in real time enabled by blockchain technology.

The conversation also touches on the challenges and opportunities of bringing blockchain to the attention of the government, the importance of having a coordinated voice, and the need to focus on solutions rather than problems.

Key Takeaways:

• Blockchain technology can improve transparency and accountability in government by providing a trustless method of transaction verification.
• Tokenization is the killer app for blockchain technology, as it allows for the digital representation of valuable assets.
• The adoption of blockchain technology requires a contextual relationship with governance and principles such as access, equity, and democracy.
• Australia can learn from countries like Vietnam, India, and China, which are embracing blockchain technology and investing in its development.

Quotes:

"We have to reinvent ourselves all the time, stay on our mission, but really keep on questioning what's our purpose." - Katrina Donaghy

"We knew way back then that highly regulated asset classes would be really useful with this tokenisation technology." - Katrina Donaghy

"We haven't asked for permission to do this. It's 15 years since Satoshi's White paper. And in 15 years, we've built this entire global economy." - Katrina Donaghy


About Katrina

Through Katrina's early years as a sociologist through to her interest in entrepreneurialism, she has extensive experience in public policy and early stage commercialisation. For more than 20 years, Katrina has worked in both public and not for profit sectors with a specific focus on business development, project delivery and revenue diversification with the view to building resilient and sustainable organisations. 

In Australia, she organises Women in Blockchain events and regularly speaks on the topic of why cities and governments should be exploring blockchain technologies. Katrina's interest in blockchain technologies is driven by her curiousity of its potential for governments to create and facilitate new citizen-at-the-centre markets, organisations and economies of the future.

Connect with Katrina - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrina-donaghy/

https://www.civicledger.com/

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Visa's Anthony Jones Discusses Fintech Partnerships and Global Expansion Opportunities.

Visa's Head of Digital Partnerships for Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific, Anthony Jones, joins Dexter Cousins on Lets Chat... - a new series where we bring in the experts to discuss key founder challenges.

They discuss Visa's role in the fintech ecosystem, the company's focus on digital partnerships, and their support for non-bank financial institutions and scale-up fintechs.

They also cover global expansion of fintechs, the challenges they face, and the importance of market fit. Anthony shares insights on Visa's involvement in the crypto space and their interest in digital assets. He emphasizes the need for fintechs to have a strong product-market fit and to consider partnerships and outsourcing to navigate challenging market conditions.

About Anthony Jones

As the Head of Digital Partnerships for Visa Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, Anthony and his team focus on Visa’s new-to-market partnerships including neobanks and fintechs, as well as the client co-creation process.

Anthony is responsible for leading Visa's strategy on collaborative product design to deliver market-leading payment experiences for clients. As part of this, he works with Visa’s global team to develop the next wave of digital and data-driven payment capabilities.

About Visa

Visa is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement.

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To celebrate episode 150 of Fintech Chatter we decided to do something a bit different. In this two part interview Simon Lee from Patona turns the tables and plays host while Dexter answers the questions.

In part two:
Dexter shares his recruitment tips and the exact process he follows to hire amazing talent.

They also talk about the amazing opportunities we have with AI.

Dexter also shares his insights on the current economic situation and the opportunities it is presenting to Fintech founders. Plus he shares his tips on the ideas and businesses that will get funded in a downturn.

Check out part one:
Dexter shares his background from being a failed graphic designer, working in the motorsport industry to recruitment and then launching Tier One People.

Simon gets Dexter's views on the latest market developments. And they also discuss the impacts of remote working on careers and business. And Dexter shares his tips on how to build high performance teams.

Special Thanks to Simon Lee at Patona for hosting this show.

Patona is the #1 Platform to hire, manage and pay remote teams.

Patona helps businesses get more done by fast tracking the recruitment, onboarding and contracting of trusted global teams through a single platform.

Tier One People is proud to be Patona's first official recruitment partner.

Find out more: https://www.patona.com.au/ 

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To celebrate episode 150 of Fintech Chatter we decided to do something a bit different. In this two part interview Simon Lee from Patona turns the tables and plays host while Dexter answers the questions.

In Part one:
Dexter shares his background from being a failed graphic designer, working in the motorsport industry to recruitment and then launching Tier One People.

Simon gets Dexter's views on the latest market developments. And they also discuss the impacts of remote working on careers and business. And Dexter shares his tips on how to build high performance teams.

Make sure to check out part two where Dexter shares his tips on hiring, the current economic situation, what Fintech founders need to do to get through this period and the awesome potential of AI!

Special Thanks to Simon Lee at Patona for hosting this show.

Patona is the #1 Platform to hire, manage and pay remote teams.

Patona helps businesses get more done by fast tracking the recruitment, onboarding and contracting of trusted global teams through a single platform.

Tier One People is proud to be Patona's first official recruitment partner.

Find out more: https://www.patona.com.au/ 

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In the last ever Blockchain News, Dexter is joined by Chloe White to discuss the latest policy and regulation developments in Blockchain. Is this the end of Blockchain? Or is it the beginning of something far BIGGER?

About Chloe

Chloe White is a blockchain and fintech expert who has been jet-setting around the globe. In this episode of Blockchain News, she joins Dexter Cousins to discuss her recent trip to Canberra where she discussed the future of emerging technologies and the digital economy with government and policy makers.

Connect with Chloe - https://www.linkedin.com/in/policyeconomist/

https://genesisblock.com.au/

Overview

In this episode the conversation centers around the need for a holistic approach to emerging technologies and the digital economy. Chloe and Dexter discuss the worrying decline of blockchain conversations and the need for a broader conversation that includes all emerging technologies. 

The conversation also touches on the challenges and opportunities of bringing blockchain to the attention of the government, the importance of having a coordinated voice, and the need to focus on solutions rather than problems.

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Imagine unlocking a world of travel experiences without the financial hangover or debt!

Join me in episode 148 as I chat with Gary Burrows, CEO of PlanPay, a fintech that's revolutionising travel payments by splitting future bookings into flexible instalments. 

We discuss how PlanPay has navigated the challenges of the COVID pandemic, Gary's journey from large tech platforms to leading a startup, and his invaluable insights on growing a business during a downturn.

Discover how PlanPay has modernised the traditional layaway system, making it simpler, user-friendly, and visually appealing. 

We also explore their two-sided marketplace model, their focus on responsible payment options, and the impact of their innovative platform on both consumers and merchants in the travel industry. 

Don't miss this captivating conversation with Gary Burrows as we delve into shaping the future of travel payments.

https://www.planpay.com/

About PlanPay
On paper, we’re a payments platform. In reality, we’re in the business of promoting financial freedom for all.

PlanPay is designed to help customers unlock meaningful experiences by allowing them to pay in flexible instalments upfront.

Once their bespoke payment plans are accomplished, they’re free to enjoy the experience they’ve paid for with no further strings attached.

With PlanPay you can look forward to what you’ve earned, not back at the debt that weighs you down.

About Gary Burrows
Gary brings over 15 years of senior management experience across leading global tech organizations within the online and e-commerce space.

Gary is skilled in both start-ups and scale-ups, with a solid background in corporate structure and is renowned for his growth mindset.

Gary has built businesses across multiple continents within the EMEA and APAC regions.

Unpaid promotion - Just sharing because I love awesome people doing awesome work!

Thanks to Josh at https://www.ampel.com.au/ for recording the audio for this podcast. I highly recommend using Josh if you're looking for a professionally produced podcast to promote your business and brand.

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In this special bonus episode Dexter Cousins is joined by Dom Pym Co-Founder of Up and Fintech Investor.

Euphemia is Dom's family office and Australia's newest investment partner for the Aus startup community. They're investing in tomorrow’s startup scene, nurturing a diverse, progressive, intelligent, ambitious community that’s building the future of Australia.

Dexter gets an update from Dom on the current state of the Australian investment landscape.

Dom was on the show last year to share the launch of his new family office Euphemia with 🌱 Judy Anderson-Firth. Get an update on the investments they've made so far, Dom's views on the challenging economic environment and when we can expect to see light at the end of the tunnel.

Dom also shares an exclusive update on the website launch of the new website which is stunning!

To find out more about Euphemia go to https://euphemia.com/

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In episode 147 of Fintech Chatter Podcast Dexter Cousins is joined by Nima Karimi of Lendela.

Nima is the CEO of Lendela, Southeast Asia's first reverse auction lending platform. This podcast was recorded in Sydney in the week Lendela launched their Australian business. Nima shares his thoughts on Australian Fintech and why the country is such an attractive growth opportunity.


About Nima Karimi.

With his extensive experience in business development and product innovation, Nima has led the ideation, development, and launch of various fintech products and services, including credit card and savings comparison, insurance brokerage, and personal finance management applications.

Today, Nima leads Lendela towards sustained growth with his passion for innovation, and vision to revolutionise the lending industry with fairer and more transparent loan solutions.

Connect - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nima-karimi-4b877938/

About Lendela.

Lendela is a reverse auction lending platform that simplifies and aligns the interests of both the lender and the borrower. Its goal is to connect consumers and the best loan providers with greater transparency and quality of choice.

https://sg.lendela.com/

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Dexter Cousins is joined by Christian Westland Wigstrom of Monoova for episode 146 of the Fintech Chatter podcast.

Dexter and Christian first connected in 2018 when Christian did a presentation on the future of Payments title The Death of Payments 2030. Christian presented a day in the life of a woman named May to predict how payments will have changed by 2030. Christian argued that while payments would not die, paying would.

5 years on Dexter invites Christian to share an update and discuss if any of his predictions are coming true. Or has he changed his mind?

About Christian
Christian is the Co-Founder and CEO of Monoova, a Sydney-based, B2B payments automation platform and a member of the Fintech Australia Board since November 2022.

Over the past five years, Christian has led the building of a company servicing domestic and international tech-first platforms such as Wise, Nium and a significant portion of the Australian digital-currency industry. To date, Monoova has processed $75bn through its API-driven solution, more than half of which since the start of FY22. Christian has been a finalist for the ‘Outstanding Fintech Leader of the Year’ by Fintech Australia in 2020, 2021 & 2022.

Born in Sweden, Christian obtained a Master’s Degree in Economics, and a PhD in International Relations from Oxford University in the UK. Following a position as speech writer and economic advisor in the House of Lords in London, Christian moved to Zimbabwe to work as Chief of Staff at a Harare-based agricultural group with operations across Southern and Eastern Africa. He arrived in Sydney in late 2016
 

About Monoova

Monoova is a leading, Australian, payment service provider.  Via API integration, Monoova provides businesses comprehensive automated and real-time payment solutions that address and resolve traditional pain points of payment processing and management. 

Through, Monoova’s customisable solution, businesses can send, receive, and manage funds transfers more efficiently, reduce costs and improve their customers' payment experience. 

Servicing domestic and international tech-first platforms, Monoova has processed over $75bn.

As the first mover in the market on the new domestic PayTo transaction type earlier this year, Monoova already provides ‘real-time direct debits’ at scale in the market.

https://www.monoova.com/

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In episode 145 of Fintech Chatter, Dexter Cousins is joined by Macgregor Duncan of Constantinople.

Constantinople is the first of its kind: an all-in-one software and operational platform for banks. Providing a fully-managed platform service, covering customer experience, product, infrastructure, operations, servicing, and compliance.

Macgregor founded Constantinople with Co-Founder Dianne Challenor in 2022 and this week they officially announced their launch along with a record breaking $32m seed raise with Square Peg, Airtree and Great Southern Bank

Macgregor talks about the huge problem Constantinople is tackling, how they managed to raise such a significant amount at such a tough time and his journey from Global banking executive to Fintech founder

About Constantinople

Constantinople’s services cover both retail and business banking. Its platform supports a full range of customer products, including mobile apps and internet banking, transaction and savings accounts, payments, debit and credit cards, and a range of secured and unsecured lending products. These customer products are fully configurable and issued by banks under their brand.

Constantinople also supports all underlying operational services, including customer
onboarding, KYC, AML, fraud management, payments and lending operations, loan origination and decisioning, regulatory reporting, and customer service. The platform uses software to embed compliance obligations, risk settings, and automated controls.

Constantinople recently released its platform into production and is soon to commence a live pilot with its first client bank, Great Southern Bank.

Constantinople’s co-founders and co-CEOs, Macgregor Duncan and Dianne Challenor, are global banking executives with extensive banking and technology experience in the United States, Asia and Australia.

Find out more - https://www.cxnpl.com/
Connect with Macgregor - https://www.linkedin.com/in/macgregor-duncan-bb0381179/

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