Wharton FinTech Podcast

In today’s episode, Djavaneh Bierwirth and Kimberly Zhang welcome Stephany Kirkpatrick, the Founder and CEO of Orum, for an exciting discussion about the future of payments, entrepreneurship, and the role of technology in financial infrastructure. Stephany shares her journey as a non-technical founder, her mission to transform how money moves, and her perspective on the evolving U.S. payments landscape.

Tune in to hear about:

• The $80 trillion opportunity to make money move by modernizing payments infrastructure

• How Orum is simplifying and accelerating payments with unified API-based solutions

• The challenges and advantages of being a solo, non-technical founder in the fintech space

• Stephany’s vision for the future of payment orchestration and how faster payments will redefine business operations

In today's episode, Jackson Ellis hosts Rex Salisbury, a solo General Partner at Cambrian Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on early stage fintech investments.

Tune in to hear about:

- How to build a fintech community

- How AI will impact fintech

- How the new administration may impact the fintech landscape

In today’s episode, Kimberly Zhang sits down with David Rolf, the Head of Visa Ventures, for a fascinating discussion on technology, investing, and the payments industry. David shares his journey as both a father and a leader of one of the most strategic investment arms in fintech, and shares his thoughts on VISA Venture's unique position as well as emerging markets and technologies that are already making waves.

Tune in to hear about:

- How Visa Ventures partners with startups to drive innovation beyond traditional venture capital

- The key attributes Visa looks for in AI and other applied technologies

- David’s insights on balancing innovation with regulation, staying informed in a fast-evolving field, and anticipating the future of fintech investing

In today’s episode, Kimberly Zhang hosts Prashant Fuloria, the CEO of Fundbox – an embedded working capital platform transforming the way small and medium-sized businesses access and manage capital. With a career spanning leadership roles at Google, Facebook, and Yahoo, Prashant brings deep expertise in product innovation and a passion for empowering SMBs through smarter financial solutions.

Tune in to hear about:

- What sets Fundbox apart as a seamless, AI-driven embedded working capital platform

- How advanced AI and data analytics are reshaping SMB lending

- Prashant's personal journey through academia and tech innovation

In today's episode, Kimberly Zhang hosts John Taylor Garner, the Founder and CEO of Odynn - an embedded loyalty and fintech next-gen program manager that is transforming the way banks and fintechs engage with their customers through smart loyalty solutions. With a background in volatility trading and a passion for travel and rewards, John brings a wealth of experience and innovation to the loyalty space.

Tune in to hear about:

- The early challenges and milestones of building Odynn, and the lessons learned along the way

- What sets Odynn apart as a holistic loyalty optimization platform

- How AI and machine learning are driving a new era of customer loyalty solutions

- The future of customer retention and emerging trends in the banking and fintech sectors

In today's episode, Wesley Aster hosts Carlos Netto, the Co-Founder and CEO of Matera, a leading provider of core banking, instant payment, and QR code payment solutions for financial institutions.

Tune in to hear about:

- Carlos’ journey from co-founding Matera in the 1980s to the Company's pioneering role in enabling real-time payments in Brazil

- How Matera harnessed Brazil’s Pix payment system to grow 4x since 2020

- Matera's recent $100M raise with Warburg Pincus and strategic expansion into the U.S.

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In today's episode, lead host Djavaneh Bierwirth speaks with Shan Aggarwal, VP of BD & Corporate at Coinbase, as well as the Head of Coinbase Ventures. Shan discusses his broad spanning role at Coinbase and leadership of the company’s venture arm, his journey from studying neuroscience to investing in crypto, and the evolution of Coinbase Ventures as the crypto ecosystem has grown and matured over the last six years. They also explore key investment areas such as Web3 social media platforms and stablecoin based cross-border payments, as well as discuss the cyclical nature of the space. Tune in to hear Shan's insights on the future of crypto investing.

[01:27] Shan's Journey: Shan discusses his unconventional path from studying neuroscience to becoming a key figure in the crypto investing space.

[10:39] On-Chain Social and Web3: Insights into Coinbase Ventures’ investments in the evolving world of Web3, including platforms like Zora.

[15:59] Simplifying Crypto UX: How Coinbase is supporting companies in make crypto more user-friendly and accessible to mainstream users.

[16:59] DeFi and Cross-Border Payments: The potential of decentralized finance and how crypto is revolutionizing global payment systems.

[19:35] Coinbase Ventures' Evolution: Shan discusses how the venture arm of Coinbase has grown from a side project to a major force in the crypto ecosystem.

[27:11] Cyclical Nature of Crypto: A discussion on the cyclical nature of the crypto industry and how it impacts innovation and investment.

[31:42] Crypto Valuations: Shan's take on high valuations in the crypto space and how investors should think about value in this emerging industry.

In today’s episode, lead host Djavaneh Bierwirth speaks with Daniel Marovitz, Senior Vice President of Fintech at Booking.com. Daniel shares his journey from studying East Asian languages to leading fintech innovation at one of the world's largest travel e-commerce companies. We explore the complexities of cross-border payments, the evolution of digital payments in the travel industry, and the strategies Booking.com employs to enhance the travel experience.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

1:27 - Daniel's career journey

7:53 - Challenges of cross-border payments in travel

12:17 - Booking.com's payment innovations

16:58 - Partnering with local payment methods

21:31 - Balancing payment method complexities

29:26 - Evolution of Booking.com's fintech strategies

37:26 - Connected trip concept

38:37 - Build vs. partner decisions in fintech

45:04 - Advice for aspiring fintech entrepreneurs

47:26 - Closing thoughts

Zoey Tang sits down with David Jegen and Sarah Lamont from F-Prime Capital to discuss the State of Fintech 2024 Report. In today’s episode, we discussed

-Latest updates in the fintech ecosystem

-How should fintech companies cope in a more stringent regulatory environment?

-Ten years in, where fintech startups have disrupted, been embraced, been outmaneuvered or outlasted?

-Predictions for 2024

About F-Prime Capital:

F-Prime Capital is an independent venture capital group that grew from Fidelity Investments. They have been backing entrepreneurs building ground-breaking companies for over fifty years. F-Prime has more than $3B under management and has invested in companies from Alibaba and Prosper to Toast and Flywire.

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of FedNow's debut, Zoey Tang sat down with an esteemed panel of experts, Nick Stanescu, Carlos Brandt, and Rocio Wu.

In today’s episode, we discussed

-Latest updates about FedNow

-Lessons learned from Pix and other international instant payment network

-Factors that drove differences in adoption across markets

-Exciting innovations in the instant payment space

About guests featured on today's show:

Nick Stanescu is the Executive Vice President and Chief FedNow Executive at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He leads the FedNow® Service, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at revolutionizing the US payments landscape with round-the-clock instant payment and settlement services.

Carlos Brandt is a senior advisor at the Central Bank of Brazil for Pix and payments in general. He was the Head of management and operations for Pix since the launch in 2020. He has been instrumental in the design and implementation of Pix, Brazil's highly successful instant electronic payment system that has significantly increased financial inclusion and transformed the country's payment ecosystem.

Rocio Wu is a Principal at F-Prime Capital, where she leads investments in FinTech and enterprise software. With a rich background in investing and operating roles at companies like Google and Amazon in Europe, LatAm, Asia, and the US, Rocio brings a global perspective on innovation and technology in the payments sector.

For more FinTech insights, follow us on:

WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech

WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech

WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech

Zoey's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zoeytang1007/