This Week in Fintech

Dive into the intriguing world of AI-powered payment agents and their impact on personal finance. Learn about the security concerns tied to delegating financial decisions to AI, including fraud and transaction disputes. The discussion reveals how neobanks like N26 are thriving while traditional institutions adapt. Explore the evolving role of AI in complex financial operations and the importance of balancing technology with financial literacy. Innovations in security measures are essential as we navigate this transformative landscape in fintech.

Tom Brown, a pivotal figure in Visa's IPO and now investing in fintech at NYCA, joins Edward Woodford, founder of ZeroHash, focused on cryptographic technology infrastructure. They discuss the evolution of fintech into next-gen financial services, tackling challenges like regulatory roadblocks and identity security. The duo celebrates innovations such as Tap to Pay and earned wage access, sharing personal stories about their career journeys, favorite books, and quirky tales. Join them for an enlightening and entertaining perspective on the fintech landscape!

Join Michael Sindicich, CEO of Navan Expense, a corporate travel innovator with a background in insurance and tech, as he discusses a groundbreaking partnership with Brex. Michael shares insights on mastering collaborations with rivals and transforming business travel through automated processes. He reflects on his unique journey, the shift towards AI in travel management, and the culture of promoting growth within tech firms. Add in some amusing stories from his travels, and it’s a compelling dive into the future of fintech!

Welcome to the 2,179 new readers who’ve joined us since last week. You’re joining 137,000+ other subscribers surfing the AI wave. Today's newsletter and podcast are brought to you by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank.📢 We're launching a new podcast: In early 2025, Jillian and Julie will be talking to the biggest names at the intersection of artificial intelligence and financial services. Who do you most want to see as a guest?(Btw... speaking of AI x fintech, check out the new Stripe launch from this week.)Please enjoy another week of fintech and banking news in this short pod.

Michael Tannenbaum, CEO of Figure and a seasoned fintech leader, joins Nicky Goulimis, co-founder of Nova Credit and TunicPay, for an engaging discussion. They hilariously dissect parenting challenges during the pandemic while sharing insights from their journeys in fintech. Tannenbaum and Goulimis explore the innovative strides in credit scoring and the promising future of cryptocurrency payments. They also touch on the growing role of AI in combating fraud, underscoring the delicate balance between innovation and consumer protection in financial services.

Today, we go to New York to talk with Nelson Chu, the founder and CEO of Percent.Percent has created the modern credit marketplace, empowering investors, borrowers, and underwriters with innovative technology to increase the speed and velocity of transactions at a fraction of the cost. The company’s core infrastructure delivers public market efficiencies to the analog private credit market by powering the sourcing, structuring, syndication, surveillance and servicing of private credit transactions from beginning to end. Founded in 2018, Percent’s platform is becoming the market standard for asset-backed and corporate lending, powering over $1 billion in transaction volume in a multi-trillion-dollar private credit industry.Nelson Chu is a repeat founder who got his start in finance working on the Fixed Income portfolio at Bank of America and then BlackRock. Coming out of banking, Nelson first founded technology consulting business Lumenary, a strategic advisory group focused on bringing innovative and transformative ideas to life. He leveraged his experience at Luminary to become a formal advisor to a few other well-known names in the fintech ecosystem including Recharge Capital and BlockFi, before founding Percent in 2018 (anticipating the currrent private credit boom).Percent is a platform for sourcing, structuring, syndicating, monitoring, and servicing private credit transactions. The platform recently passed $1 billion in transaction volume, and can be found at percent.com.

Gaurav Dhar, CEO of Marshal Fintech Partners, Nameer Khan, founder of sustainability fintech Fils, and Ronit Ghose, author of Future Money and fintech expert at Citi, discuss the fintech landscape in the MENA region. They explore personal career journeys and the significance of mentoring young entrepreneurs. The trio delves into innovation in consumer lending, sustainability, and the UAE's unique regulatory environment, emphasizing how local contexts drive fintech growth and resilience amid challenges.

Welcome back to the TWIF podcast! We've got a streak of great interviews for you this fall, heading to Mexico today for a conversation with the Baubap co-founders.Baubap is Latin America's first AI-powered, credit-focused bank.Baubap was ahead of the AI boom, developing an AI-driven credit underwriting model since 2019. This early adoption allowed them to build a scalable model that consistently improves with data. The company has issued over 8 million loans and served 2 million customers, while maintaining profitability (and 18% month-over-month growth over the past five years) and a $100 million+ revenue run-rate.

Explore the transformative power of fintech innovations like open banking, which enhance accessibility in finance. Delve into the tug of war between technological innovation and regulation, spotlighting companies like Plaid. Discover how financial services and cryptocurrency are seamlessly integrating into daily apps while presenting challenges for traditional banks. Ethical considerations come to the forefront, with discussions on accountability and transparency. Finally, navigate the dual nature of the fintech landscape, balancing exciting opportunities against inherent risks.

Welcome back – this week we're sitting down today with Leif Abraham, the cofounder and Co-CEO of investing platform Public.com!Public is an investing platform that lets members invest in stocks, ETFs, crypto, Treasury bills, and alternative assets – and recently launched fractional investing in corporate and Treasury bonds in response to the increasing demand for fixed-income products from the platform's 3 million+ active investors.On this episode, Leif sits down and talks with us about founding Public almost 6 years ago, how running an international company is different from the first two startups he founded, what keeps him coming back to fintech, whether retail investors are ready to 'take the plunge' on AI, working with Tony Hawk, and how they managed to snag that Public.com domain name.