One Vision Podcast — Fintech, Banking, and AI with Theodora Lau

A constantly evolving connected environment, coupled with consumer demand for all things digital, is leading to unprecedented cybersecurity challenges. While consumers are becoming more comfortable banking and shopping online, investments in maintaining security and preventing data theft and breaches often lag behind. Data breaches continue to make the headlines in North America, with an estimated 60 million Americans being affected by identity theft.

The U.S. also suffers from a higher attack rate overall, compared to Canada and the U.K. How do we balance data privacy and security – with convenience and a frictionless customer experience? 

In this new episode of “The Other 50”, Theo and Brad chat with security expert Alissa Knight on her most recent project that has uncovered security challenges with 30 banks. In this API economy, security must not be an afterthought. Incumbents and startups alike must take the necessarily steps to safeguard consumers’ data and assets – and to provide the necessary mechanisms to educate consumers on the importance of cybersecurity hygiene.

One Vision Podcast is a fintech, banking, and AI podcast hosted by Theodora Lau (Founder, Unconventional Ventures; author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence). One Vision goes beyond the headlines on AI, agentic commerce, digital banking, financial inclusion, and the future of money — with founders, analysts, venture capitalists, technologists, and operators building the next chapter of financial services. New episodes weekly. Featured guests include leaders from Ant, bunq, J.D. Power, Forrester, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAS, SAP, and Wall Street Journal. Recognized in American Banker's Top 20 Most Influential Women in Fintech.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanksgiving is fast approaching in the U.S. As we gather along with fintech friends and families and reflect on the year that was, what are some notable moments?

In this episode of Rhetoriq, Arun, Brad, and Theo reflected on an eventful year, from mega industry deals to partnerships between unlikely bedfellows; from industry leaders in the East, to laggers in the West. While we continue to see funding pouring in, especially for fintech challengers that claim to be revolutionizing the financial services industry, are we truly achieving inclusion? Is a great user journey just a lipstick on a pig?

How do we define purpose, and build sustainable business models to better serve local communities and those forgotten demographics in our society? 

We also touch upon the biggest risk to businesses, societies and to the next few generations - climate risk, albeit only in brief.

Tune in for this week’s brand new episode – The FinTech Thanksgiving. And thank you – for being part of our ecosystem.

One Vision Podcast is a fintech, banking, and AI podcast hosted by Theodora Lau (Founder, Unconventional Ventures; author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence). One Vision goes beyond the headlines on AI, agentic commerce, digital banking, financial inclusion, and the future of money — with founders, analysts, venture capitalists, technologists, and operators building the next chapter of financial services. New episodes weekly. Featured guests include leaders from Ant, bunq, J.D. Power, Forrester, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAS, SAP, and Wall Street Journal. Recognized in American Banker's Top 20 Most Influential Women in Fintech.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2019 has been a busy year for emerging technologies, especially for artificial intelligence (AI). From healthcare to financial services; from digital surveillance to education, new use cases have come and gone – along with news headlines on the dangers and opportunities of such power.

Slowly – but surely though, AI is beginning to transform financial institutions’ relationship with their customers, as well as their relationship with money. From mobile banking, customer service, and beyond, incumbents and startups have been deploying various tools that serve to provide a more seamless customer experience. Combined with advanced data analytics, financial institutions can now empower consumers to “self-drive” their finances towards a desired goal, instead of merely providing insights based on historical transaction data (e.g. how much did I spend on Starbucks last month.) No wonder many in the business consider AI to be a must-have in order to remain relevant and competitive.

Join Theo in this week’s new episode of “The Other 50”, where she talked with Joyeeta Das, CEO of Gyana, about the promise and peril of artificial intelligence, and why it is important to dream.

One Vision Podcast is a fintech, banking, and AI podcast hosted by Theodora Lau (Founder, Unconventional Ventures; author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence). One Vision goes beyond the headlines on AI, agentic commerce, digital banking, financial inclusion, and the future of money — with founders, analysts, venture capitalists, technologists, and operators building the next chapter of financial services. New episodes weekly. Featured guests include leaders from Ant, bunq, J.D. Power, Forrester, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAS, SAP, and Wall Street Journal. Recognized in American Banker's Top 20 Most Influential Women in Fintech.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Description for this week's episode: 2019 has been a whirlwind year for payments. Multiple mega deals were made and unlikely alliances between strange bedfellows have been forged. While we are still busy with plastics in the U.S., and finally enjoying the convenience of contactless payments, China has leapfrogged the world with their e-wallets ecosystem. All across Asia, big technology giants, such as Alibaba and Tencent in China, Grab and Go Jek in Southeast Asia, and Line in Japan and Korean, super apps play an increasingly dominant role in consumers’ lives beyond payments to other banking services. Will we see the West copying the trend from the East? 

Join Theo and Brad in this week’s new episode of “The Other 50”, where they talked with Stephanie foster about global payment trends, digital adoption, and social responsibilities.

One Vision Podcast is a fintech, banking, and AI podcast hosted by Theodora Lau (Founder, Unconventional Ventures; author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence). One Vision goes beyond the headlines on AI, agentic commerce, digital banking, financial inclusion, and the future of money — with founders, analysts, venture capitalists, technologists, and operators building the next chapter of financial services. New episodes weekly. Featured guests include leaders from Ant, bunq, J.D. Power, Forrester, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAS, SAP, and Wall Street Journal. Recognized in American Banker's Top 20 Most Influential Women in Fintech.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Digital only banks have been gaining popularity in recent years, especially in developing economies that previously lack formal financial services infrastructure. Apps such as M-Pesa (in Kenya), Alipay and Tencent pay (in China), and Nubank (in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico) provide their consumers with a convenient and cost effective means of banking via mobile phones. Even fintech startups that previously offered investment services only are rushing to add banking to their portfolio. Despite the popularity, however, one crucial question remains: How sustainable are their business models? Most of these startups have yet to turn a profit and are largely dependent on massive venture capital. 

In this week’s “The Other 50” podcast, Theo and Brad chat with Tanya Andreasyan, MD and Editor-in-Chief of FinTech Futures, where they talked about the state of challenger banks and fintech funding, and what the future holds.

One Vision Podcast is a fintech, banking, and AI podcast hosted by Theodora Lau (Founder, Unconventional Ventures; author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence). One Vision goes beyond the headlines on AI, agentic commerce, digital banking, financial inclusion, and the future of money — with founders, analysts, venture capitalists, technologists, and operators building the next chapter of financial services. New episodes weekly. Featured guests include leaders from Ant, bunq, J.D. Power, Forrester, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAS, SAP, and Wall Street Journal. Recognized in American Banker's Top 20 Most Influential Women in Fintech.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nothing like a natural disaster to bring us back to reality. Food, shelter, water … power and clean air - the basic modern day necessities that we need to survive. Things that we take for granted. When it comes down to it though, it is the human connection - the communities that we live in and the bonds that we forge, that matters. For most of us who look at new technology products day in and day out, it is easy to become jaded and forget about our roots. Banking is not about creating the next new shiny gadget; nor is it simply about lending more money faster and easier. It is ultimately about serving people and closing the gaps in our society. 

In this new episode of “The Other 50”, Theo and Brad chat with Mary about her passion in banking and fintech, reflecting on the realities of modern day consumer finances, and the need for financial services industry to go back to our roots and do more.

One Vision Podcast is a fintech, banking, and AI podcast hosted by Theodora Lau (Founder, Unconventional Ventures; author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence). One Vision goes beyond the headlines on AI, agentic commerce, digital banking, financial inclusion, and the future of money — with founders, analysts, venture capitalists, technologists, and operators building the next chapter of financial services. New episodes weekly. Featured guests include leaders from Ant, bunq, J.D. Power, Forrester, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAS, SAP, and Wall Street Journal. Recognized in American Banker's Top 20 Most Influential Women in Fintech.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is there a growing fallacy around financial inclusion? Are we simply creating a new form of imperialism by taking financial services applications built in countries like the U.K. and attempting to export them to markets like Brazil, Uganda, India, and China? How inclusive is financial services if we are not considerate of differing economic conditions and the intricacies of daily life? Can we truly meet global financial needs, or is the industry too focused on digital technologies rather than the reality of the human condition? We must create a new hope. 

In this week’s podcast episode of The Other 50, Theodora Lau and Bradley Leimer have an engaging and free-ranging talk with Nina Mohanty on personal social responsibility, consumer debt, open banking, FinTech, financial services business model innovation, and financial education and how it impacts us individually. Learn about Nina’s passion about FinTech’s ability to drive broader financial inclusion and financial literacy, and her views on women's empowerment and the importance of children's education. 

One Vision Podcast is a fintech, banking, and AI podcast hosted by Theodora Lau (Founder, Unconventional Ventures; author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence). One Vision goes beyond the headlines on AI, agentic commerce, digital banking, financial inclusion, and the future of money — with founders, analysts, venture capitalists, technologists, and operators building the next chapter of financial services. New episodes weekly. Featured guests include leaders from Ant, bunq, J.D. Power, Forrester, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAS, SAP, and Wall Street Journal. Recognized in American Banker's Top 20 Most Influential Women in Fintech.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is the future of financial services? By channeling the spirit of Schrödinger's cat, we must properly debate our industry’s purpose, we must showcase every issue and provide proper context. Is the industry losing sight of who we serve and our impact on society as we pursue profit? Have we lost something in the nuance between High Street and Wall Street and that of Main Street and real conversations happening around kitchen tables? 

Sometimes it takes the mind of an economist to find that middle ground. In the inaugural interview of our Other 50 podcast, we make sure we get a little uncomfortable, in order to spark change and take off the blinders of blissful ignorance.

Theodora Lau and Bradley Leimer talk with Ghela Boskovich, Head of Fintech & Regtech Partnerships at Rainmaking Innovation, and Founder, Global Ambassador of FemTechGlobal. Prepare to be informed, entertained, and challenged by one of the leading voices in global fintech and regtech. 

One Vision Podcast is a fintech, banking, and AI podcast hosted by Theodora Lau (Founder, Unconventional Ventures; author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence). One Vision goes beyond the headlines on AI, agentic commerce, digital banking, financial inclusion, and the future of money — with founders, analysts, venture capitalists, technologists, and operators building the next chapter of financial services. New episodes weekly. Featured guests include leaders from Ant, bunq, J.D. Power, Forrester, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAS, SAP, and Wall Street Journal. Recognized in American Banker's Top 20 Most Influential Women in Fintech.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gender inequality is more than statistics or sensational headlines. It not only impacts women, but also their families, businesses, and society as a whole. When you uplift women, you inject more voices, ideas, and perspectives, in what we do and how we do things. As diverse as our customers are, how do we expect to understand their needs if we ourselves are homogenous?

How would we bring innovative ideas to modern day banking when we ignore the talents (and the needs) of half of our demographics? 

‘The Other 50’ is a new Rhetoriq series – featuring amazing women in fintech and finance. We want to look beyond gender – and inspire our listeners with their work and their life stories. Each of us is unique – and we all have a role to play. Together – all genders – we can create a better and more inclusive society for all. 

Let’s give voice to those who aren’t always heard. Let’s invite more people to the dinner table.

One Vision Podcast is a fintech, banking, and AI podcast hosted by Theodora Lau (Founder, Unconventional Ventures; author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence). One Vision goes beyond the headlines on AI, agentic commerce, digital banking, financial inclusion, and the future of money — with founders, analysts, venture capitalists, technologists, and operators building the next chapter of financial services. New episodes weekly. Featured guests include leaders from Ant, bunq, J.D. Power, Forrester, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAS, SAP, and Wall Street Journal. Recognized in American Banker's Top 20 Most Influential Women in Fintech.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All around us, examples of artificial intelligence and algorithms are not hard to find. Our homes and smartphones are equipped with personal assistants such as Alexa and Siri, listening in to our conversations and learning our habits. Our consumption of all things digital, from music to news and merchandise, are increasingly being analyzed and shaped by algorithms. Some schools have even begun experimenting with personalized learning systems.

From warehouses to call centers, such emerging technology is helping us become more efficient. But have we stopped for a moment and wonder, what do we want technology to do for us in the future? What kind of world do we aspire to – as a human race? Are recommendation engines creating unintended siloes, making our society more polarized?  

In this episode of Judge Me By My Cover, Theodora Lau and Bradley Leimer talk about “The New Dark Age”, a book by James Bridle on the dark side of technology. Just as every technology advancement can be used for good or evil, it is up to us to decide what to do with it. As citizens of the world, we must hold leaders and those with immense power accountable for their actions, so that technology and data can be used for good, and for improving the wellbeing of all. Because our future should be one where we are not afraid to share our thoughts, where we are not afraid to dream.

Listen in to hear more from Theo and Brad about using technology for good – to create an equitable society for all.

One Vision Podcast is a fintech, banking, and AI podcast hosted by Theodora Lau (Founder, Unconventional Ventures; author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence). One Vision goes beyond the headlines on AI, agentic commerce, digital banking, financial inclusion, and the future of money — with founders, analysts, venture capitalists, technologists, and operators building the next chapter of financial services. New episodes weekly. Featured guests include leaders from Ant, bunq, J.D. Power, Forrester, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAS, SAP, and Wall Street Journal. Recognized in American Banker's Top 20 Most Influential Women in Fintech.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.