Fintech Chatter: Conversations with Fintech Leaders

In episode 144 of Fintech Chatter Podcast, Dexter Cousins is joined by Dr Dimitirios Salampasis of Swinburne University.

We celebrated 250 audio interviews last week and Dimitrios is the first Academic we've featured on the podcast. Dexter poses the question 'Has Fintech innovation stalled?'

Tune in to hear their in depth discussion on innovation, talent, immigration, skills development and what investors are looking for when it comes to investing.

About Dr Dimitrios Salampasis
Dr Salampasis is a highly regarded academic and thought leader on global Fintech innovation. Honours include Senior Lecturer of Fintech Innovation at Swinburne University, a visiting Professor of FinTech at the University of Québec, a Blockchain and FinTech Fellow at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, a Visiting Faculty at the School of Management in Fribourg, Switzerland and an Academic Council Member of the Global FinTech Institute.

Dimitrios’ research interests revolve around the organizational, human, technological and ESG sides of innovation and open innovation in financial services and FinTech innovation. His areas of specialist expertise, research, teaching, industry engagement, policy and advisory work revolve around the emergence and development of FinTech-enabled business models, Blockchain and digital assets responsible innovation, corporate sustainability and human rights, quantum computing for business, digital transformation in banking and FinTech education, along with the relevant global FinTech-related regulatory and policy interventions.

As founding course director for Swinburne's Masters of Financial Technology, Dimitrios is passionate about the Australian Fintech ecosystem and an important part of the industry down under.

About Swinburne University
Swinburne University of Technology is a world leader in education by using interactive and innovative technologies to deliver courses and degrees. From vocational education and undergraduate to postgraduate study, Swinburne has online study options at all levels.

https://www.swinburne.edu.au/


Connect - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimitriossalampasis/

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Welcome to the April/May edition of Blockchain News with Dexter Cousins and Chloe White.

Chloe dials in from Croatia and shares some of the projects she's been working on across CBDC's, Digital Assets and Tokenisation.

Dexter and Chloe discuss:

03:00 - The role AI plays in Blockchain
11:00 - Regulation for Blockchain and AI
14:30 - Hong Kong is a Crypto friendly Hub - fact or fiction?
16:45 - The banking collapse and De-Dollarization
26:00 - Tokenisation and Fractional investing

References

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65452940

https://cointelegraph.com/news/circle-ceo-warns-of-active-and-accelerating-de-dollarization

https://cryptonews.com/news/visa-to-develop-brazilian-blockchain-powered-cbdc-project.htm

https://cointelegraph.com/news/hong-kong-authorities-remind-banks-not-to-be-too-hasty-in-rejecting-digital-asset-clients

https://cointelegraph.com/news/hong-kong-s-crypto-rules-set-a-high-bar-for-good-reason-says-sfc-advisor

https://www.blockchaintechnology-news.com/2023/04/cofund-tokenises-luxury-bali-hotel-using-tokeny/

About Chloe White

Chloe was Australia’s inaugural National Blockchain Roadmap Lead and former advisor to the Australian Government on crypto-asset innovation. She is now playing a key role in policy development and regulation globally through her advisory business, Genesis Block.

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In episode 143 of Fintech Chatter Podcast, Dexter Cousins is joined by Gabriel Le Roux, co-founder of Primer.

About Primer

As the world's first automation platform for payments and commerce, Primer offers merchants the underlying infrastructure they need to build better buying experiences for their customers.

For the first time, merchants can connect and control their entire payment and commerce stack, and build their ideal payment flows autonomously from scratch.

Plug in any desired payment and commerce solution with 1-click Connections, define logic across the entire commerce lifecycle with a drag-and-drop workflow editor, and create seamless checkout experiences that meet today’s consumer expectations.

Find out more https://primer.io/

About Gabriel Le Roux

Gabriel Le Roux is the co-founder of Primer, the world’s first automation platform for payments and commerce, where he leads a team of over 120 employees based across 35 countries. With nearly a decade of experience working in the FinTech space, Gabriel has built a strong understanding of the FinTech industry landscape.  
 
Prior to founding Primer, Gabriel worked at PayPal's Braintree division for five years, where he grew Braintree's footprint in the European startup ecosystem and managed the company’s new and highly strategic commerce infrastructure tools. During his time at Braintree, he was exposed to the ever-growing challenges of the online payment industry, which inspired him to begin Primer.  

Before his work at Braintree, Gabriel has also worked at several Rocket Internet ventures in Germany and Asia.

Connect with Gabriel on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-le-roux-2a62434a/

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In Episode 142 of the Fintech Chatter podcast, Dexter Cousins chats to Bianca Bates, Chief Client Officer and Deputy CEO of Cuscal about their recent acquisition of Basiq.
 
Bianca Bates is one of the most respected leaders in Fintech. Tune in as Bianca shares Cuscal's rich history of innovation from opening Australia's first ATM to building a digital bank from scratch.

Dexter and Bianca discuss Cuscal's push into CDR with the acquisition of Basiq. And they also talk about Cuscal's continued support for the Fintech ecosystem.

In the second part Bianca shares her leadership tips. They discuss the challenges of leading remote workforces, how to manage mental health and how to keep relevant in a rapidly changing environment.


About Bianca

Bianca was appointed to the role of Chief Client Officer & Deputy CEO in December 2020. As well as leading Cuscal’s Product, Client Services and Operations teams, Bianca is Craig Kennedy’s delegate, and is involved in Cuscal’s engagement with industry bodies, regulators and shareholders.

Bianca has over 20 years’ experience in financial services with large and complex US and Australian companies, both public and private. Prior to Cuscal she worked in senior legal and compliance company secretariat roles with Genworth, GE Capital and DLA Phillips Fox.


About Cuscal

Cuscal is Australia’s leading provider of payment solutions, partnering with mutuals, banks (large and small), fintechs, and corporates who provide payment services to their customers. 

For over 50 years, Cuscal has championed competition in banking and payments in Australia. Today Cuscal is focused on enabling the future for clients, bringing to life the platforms and tools needed to compete and succeed in Australia’s rapidly evolving digital economy.

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In Ep. 141 of the Fintech Chatter Podcast, Dexter Cousins is joined by Daniel Foggo, Founder and CEO of Plenti.

Daniel is a true OG of Australian Fintech bringing the Peer 2 Peer lending model to Australia through Ratesetter (which became Plenti before listing on the ASX.)

Dexter and Daniel discuss the challenges of running a lending business in a rapidly changing interest rate environment, the benefits of building bespoke tech platforms and the resurgence of the P2P model.

About Plenti

Plenti is a fintech lender, providing Australians with faster, fairer loans through smart technology. Our proprietary technology platform allows us to provide creditworthy customers with automotive, renewable energy and personal loans to help bring big ideas to life. 

Since establishment in 2014, loan originations have grown consistently, supported by diversified loan products, distribution channels and funding, and underpinned by exceptional credit performance and continual innovations. Plenti listed on the ASX in September 2020. 

About Daniel 

Daniel founded Plenti and has acted as CEO since its inception. Prior to that, he worked in investment banking for over a decade, including Rothschild in London and Barclays in Sydney. Daniel was a co-founding director of PartPay, a buy-now-pay-later business, which was acquired by Zip Co Limited in 2019. 

He has been recognised for his achievements in the fintech industry, being named the Fintech Leader of the Year at the inaugural Australian Fintech Awards in 2016 and Fintech Entrepreneur of the Year at the Australian Fintech Business Awards in 2017.

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Economics (Honours) and a Master of Business, Finance (Distinction) from the University of Otago. 

https://www.plenti.com.au/

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In Ep 139 of the Fintech Chatter Podcast, Dexter Cousins welcomes back Leda Glyptis, author of Bankers Like Us.

In this chat Dexter talks to Leda about Bankers Like Us: Dispatches from an Industry in Transition - it's a recounting of the challenges Leda has faced in her career, driving digital transformation in some of the worlds largest banks.


About Bankers Like Us

"Bankers Like Us - Dispatches from an Industry in Transition" looks at the human and structural obstacles to innovation-driven transformation and at the change in habits, mindsets and leadership needed for the next stage of the digital journey.

Leda argues that this change will be brought about, not by external heroes and saviours, not by a generation yet to be born, but people just like us. People who understand the industry and its' quirks. Bankers who have the grit, determination and energy to drive change. Bankers like us.

This book celebrates and chronicles the shared experience of bankers like us. It starts with a ‘this is who we are’ piece, including Leda's own personal experiences. It then presents an overview of corporate culture (this is what we deal with and a few ideas on how to handle it), as well as a piece on why transformation is so difficult and so many get it wrong; a piece on the challenges our lack of diversity brings or compounds, and a hopeful look-ahead on what a team of principled, dedicated folks can do despite everything.

About Leda Glyptis

Leda, is the author of the LedaWrites Fintech Futures column and regular contributor at industry events and publications. She is a lapsed academic and a recovering banker, having worked in ‘incumbent banks’ across various geographies and functions including innovation, IT and Operations.

Most recently, Leda works as Chief Client Officer at 10x and has served at 11FS Foundry, QNB, Sapient and BNY Mellon. She holds an MA from King’s College Cambridge and an MSc and PhD from the London School of Economics.

Order - Bankers Like Us: Dispatches from an Industry in Transition

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In Ep. 140 of the Fintech Chatter Podcast, Simon Beitz CEO of Alex.Bank joins Dexter Cousins to chat about the challenges of launching a digital bank.

In 2023, Alex.Bank is the most awarded new digital bank in Australia having received its full ADI in December 2022. 

Alex has over 2000 customers, settling close to $50m in personal loans, and has both lending and deposit products in the market – most recently launching a new Term Deposit product.

Simon talks to Dexter about building a new bank, the lessons learned from other neo banks and his lessons and insights as an entrepreneur.

About Simon
Simon was motivated to start Alex.Bank after noticing a decline in customer experience in consumer and small business lending due to the focus of big banks on mortgages and transaction banking. He believed that consumers deserved a fairer and easier banking experience. With this in mind, Simon co-founded Alex.Bank in 2018 to challenge the status quo.

About Alex.Bank
The aim of Alex.Bank was to provide a humanised banking experience, which Simon achieved by eliminating complicated paperwork, jargon, and unnecessary fees. He and his co-founder, Craig Fenwick decided to give the bank a human name to bring back the ‘human-touch’ to banking.

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In ep138 of Fintech Chatter Podcast Dexter Cousins is joined by Ben Pfisterer of Zeller.

In our opinion, Ben is one of the most talented founders in Fintech. He shares his experience of growing a business to 225 people, raising capital, running a lean operation, and hiring a high-performance, hands-on executive team.

About Ben

Ben is the CEO and co-founder at Zeller, the Melbourne-based fintech reimagining business banking for Australian businesses.

Ben has extensive financial services experience across local and global organisations. Prior to launching Zeller, he held the Aus Country Head role at Square. Ben shares his learnings from working with one of the world's largest Fintech and how he then shaped Zeller.

About Zeller

Zeller is one solution for all of your business finances. From EFTPOS and invoicing, to accounts and cards, it's everything you expect from a business bank, but better. 

Every Zeller product is designed to give you complete visibility over payments, spending, expenses, and cash flow.

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In Ep. 007 of Blockchain Chatter Dexter Cousins talks to David Lavecky, CEO and Co-Founder of CANVAS. 

Tune in as they discuss the latest RBA CBDC pilot scheme and the work Canvas is doing on Atomic FX settlements.

As a payments and fintech veteran, David shares his thoughts on the convergence of blockchain and payments and why he feels the time is right for mainstream adoption of the technology.

About Canvas

Canvas is a global blockchain company with a mission to digitise finance. Canvas offers decentralized capital market infrastructure that enables financial institutions and governments to easily expand their reach into the digital economy.

Canvas Connect is a privacy focused Layer 2 ZK network built for finance and the digital economy. Connect extends the capabilities of Ethereum with assurances of privacy, high speed and low costs.

Connect uses an API first model that supports easy integration with no solidity skills required.

Capital Markets Applications are built on the network that enable the Transfer, Trade & Investment of Tokenised Real World Assets, Stablecoins, CBDCs & Digital Assets, all with privacy and secured by Ethereum.

With a deep understanding of financial markets and the digital economy, Canvas is committed to driving the digital transformation of banks, financial institutions and governments in the modern landscape. By providing innovative solutions that are faster, more secure, and more cost-effective than traditional systems, Canvas is helping to unlock the potential of digital finance globally.

About David

David is a highly experienced technology entrepreneur and investor, and CEO and Co-Founder of CANVAS.

He was previously the Co-Founder, COO & EVP of Pure Commerce which was one of Australia’s first high-growth fintech companies, providing electronic payment infrastructure to banks globally. Following the sale of Pure Commerce to Euronet WorldWide (NASDAQ: EEFT), David was retained to continue the global growth, working with major banks and financial institutions across the globe.

As their next venture, David and his brother Daniel Co-Founded CANVAS in the belief that Blockchain technologies, Digital Assets, & Tokenisation will radically transform financial and capital markets over the next decade with trillions of $ of securities and currencies to be tokenized and traded 24/7/365.

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Welcome to Fintech News - in this special  edition Dexter Cousins chats to Scott Heyes of Mendoza Ventures about the Silicon Valley Bank crash.

Scott shares his first hand experience of events as they unfolded last Thursday with an urgent call from the CEO of SVB. 

As we know things quickly escalated from there leaving most VC firms with little choice but to recommend their portfolio companies withdraw their funds.

Scott shares his views on what went wrong, how it could have been avoided and what the impacts will be both short and long term for the global startup sector.

To find out more about Mendoza Ventures -  https://mendoza-ventures.com/

You can follow Scott Heyes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottheyes/

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