I've got a great episode for you today, starring special guest Peter Krull, CEO of Earth Equity Advisors. I always love talking to Peter about all things climate, especially ESG. I feel like he's got a really healthy way of looking at it, because there's a lot of hype in this sector. So don't believe the hype, and always look under the hood.

On today's podcast, Peter and I are talking about how to think about ESG, with a sprinkle of politics – we've seen that a number of states have started to ban financial institutions that sought to distance themselves from fossil fuel industries, so the drama in this sector shows no signs of slowing down.

All of that and more, in today's show, so let's dive right in.

In today's episode we're talking about buy now, pay later. No, not the consumer version that first comes to mind - we're diving into the B2B version.

While B2C BNPL continues to dominate the headlines, its less talked about cousin in the more significant B2B world is just starting to get the spotlight.

An increasing number of businesses are transacting online, but the payment rails still disappoint many times. And given the shake up in supply chains, companies could truly benefit from a product that can help them navigate cash flow problems.

This is what B2B BNPL aims to do - bringing the latest digital tools to age-old methods of business to business transactions.

We're talking about this today with my guests Jamie Beaumont, CEO at Playter, a B2B BNPL fintech based in the UK and Yasamin Karimi, Head of Product at Codat.

When I was a kid, my father had a successful friend who prided himself on carrying an Amex card. But frequently, when we went out to a sporting event or a restaurant, he'd have to fumble around for another card because the establishing didn't accept Amex.

That’s changing. Amex has reached parity in the US with other cards. That’s thanks to the work of Raymond Joabar’s team. Raymond is the Group President, Global Merchant and Network Services at American Express and manages direct and indirect channels for expanding the card network’s acceptance. We talk about the channels Amex is using to expand its footprint and the fintech partners helping it get there. We also talk about the work Amex is doing within transportation, B2B, and crypto. It’s an interesting conversation with Raymond – hope you appreciate it.

Welcome back to the Power of Payments podcast. I’m your host Ismail Umar, and on today’s episode, I’m joined by Eric Rosenthal, vice president of corporate development, strategy and partnerships at Rapyd.

Rapyd is a London-based payments firm that markets itself as a fintech-as-a-service platform, which provides APIs to help businesses integrate local payments and fintech capabilities into their applications in a simple way.

In our conversation, Eric talks about the meaning of fintech-as-a-service, how Rapyd caters to businesses of different sizes including major firms like Uber, what American companies can learn from payments firms in Latin America, Asia, and Europe, and how startups in the space should try to deal with the current downturn.

The following was produced by Tearsheet Studios. We worked with payments provider Fiserv to create a podcast series about open finance and the work of empowering fintechs, brands, and FIs to collaborate and innovate together.

In our fourth conversation in the series, we’re speaking to Jon Nordhausen, VP of product management for the fintech organization within Fiserv. As we continue talking about the evolution of open finance, Jon shares how cloud data integration is removing friction and enabling new capabilities for collaborations between fintechs and FIs.

For the season finale of the Acquire Podcast, I’m speaking to the CMO of Square, Lauren Weinberg.

We’ll be talking about the thirteen year evolution of Square’s growth, creating a unified brand ecosystem across totally different markets (from farmers markets stands to all of SoFi stadium), on exporting Square’s familiar at-home brand across oceans by going to market in new cultures and geographies like Spain and France, and how the different teams in the company work together to make it all happen.

Tearsheet's Power of Payments Conference: https://bit.ly/3R6oENt

There's an increasing demand for services that help banks and financial institutions discern between all these new labels that have grown in popularity almost overnight. And the supply side is responding – Temenos, one of the biggest banking infrastructure providers in the world, has launched ESG Investing-as-a-service

I've invited Temenos' Chief ESG Officer Kalliopi Chioti to tell us more about their approach.

Kalliopi had some really inspiring perspectives on sustainable finance, the rising demand of sustainability investment tools, as ESG moves into the mainstream. We're also chatting about the new sectors to watch as finance becomes more environmentally conscious and more digital - as AI and data have their role to play in green finance too.

Join us at Tearsheet's Power of Payments Conference, on September 15th at Current, Chelsea Piers, NYC. Apply for tickets here: https://bit.ly/3R6oENt

When we talk about lending nowadays, it's no longer just about big banks with large underwriting teams. Advancements in technology are completely changing the lending and loan management practices.

It's all about AI these days - a cost-effective way to reduce that long time it usually takes to close a loan, boosting competitiveness and profitability.

Automation allows lenders and banks to focus more on the customer experience and less on looking at data from all kinds of standardized forms. Digital lenders have shown that their bet is on technology, rather than balance sheets.

Plus, through the use of alternative data, lenders can access a wider customer base, as folks who maybe didn't qualify for a loan under FICO can now be found eligible.

We're exploring this topic today with my guests Zest AI CEO Mike de Vere and Informed.IQ CEO Justin Wickett.

Welcome back to the Power of Payments podcast. I’m your host Ismail Umar, and in today’s episode, we discuss what financial firms need to know about payments in the metaverse, and why building a sonic brand is becoming increasingly important as consumers become more reliant on contactless payments and voice technology.

We also talk about crypto payment adoption patterns among consumers and merchants, and whether crypto could ever replace cash.

The following was produced by Tearsheet Studios. We worked with payments provider Fiserv to create a podcast series about open finance and the work of empowering fintechs, brands, and FIs to collaborate and innovate together.

In our third conversation in the series we’re speaking to Jamie DelMedico, General Manager of Fiserv’s Aggregation and Information Services Unit. As we continue talking about the evolution of open finance, Jamie gives us some insight into the evolution of data processes within the fintech environment.