IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Interviews

Raj Jathar, SVP Sales Engineering, Azentio In an era of geopolitical volatility, cyber risk, and regulatory pressure, Puja Sharma speaks with Raj Jathar, SVP Sales Engineering at Azentio, on redefining tech resilience through strategic partnerships, domain expertise, and modernisation that balances compliance, continuity, and customer trust.

Qualco, founded 25 years ago in collections technology, has evolved into a full-spectrum FinTech partner covering the entire credit value chain. Deputy CEO Spyros Retzekas credits this growth to client intimacy, local market understanding, and disciplined international expansion. The company differentiates itself by working closely alongside clients rather than operating as a distant vendor. AI has long been central to Qualco's platforms through machine learning and analytics, with generative AI now being embedded to further enhance workflows and decisioning. Looking ahead, Qualco plans to scale AI-native, cloud-based SaaS solutions globally. A recent milestone is their partnership with France Contentieux, consolidating fragmented systems into a unified, automated collections platform reinforcing Qualco's growing footprint across Europe.

Joaquin de Valenzuela, nCino's MD EMEA, reflects on his first year highlighting the platform's impact, bankers save 8–10 hours weekly through AI tools. nCino serves over 2,700 customers globally, with banks originating more than $3 trillion in loans on the platform. Cloud-native architecture enables continuous innovation and automatic compliance updates. Across EMEA, priorities differ: European banks focus on efficiency and compliance, Middle Eastern banks on growth, and African institutions on financial inclusion. nCino's competitive edge lies in its vast banking dataset, unified data model, and a three-phase AI roadmap from staff productivity tools to agentic AI and ultimately autonomous banking systems. The biggest industry challenge remains balancing rapid innovation with the security and stability that banking demands.

Karthik Sethuraman, Chief Delivery & Risk Officer, audax Financial TechnologyBanks now view failure to modernise core systems as an existential risk. In APAC, 93% of banking leaders admitting the right platform is critical to future success – presumably the remaining 7% are contemplating career change! Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence talks banking transformation with Karthik Sethuraman, Chief Delivery & Risk Officer of Singapore-based digital banking solutions provider audax. Banks must address their core infrastructure to compete effectively while meeting customers’ increasing digital expectations.

Fernando Zandona, Chief Executive Officer, MambuSecuring the future of your bank means securing the next generation of customers. It is a fact that once people pick a bank, they very rarely switch. But how should incumbents square up to the challenges posed by the rush of neobanks coming to the market? How best to pivot without losing sight of core compliance, trust and scale? Fernando Zandona, CEO of cloud-native, software-as-a-service (SaaS) core banking platform Mambu speaks to Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence.

Edul Patel, CEO & Co-founder, MudrexAs central banks globally explore digital currencies, India’s Digital Rupee pilot marks a significant step toward rethinking monetary infrastructure. Beyond faster payments, CBDCs have the potential to reshape settlement systems, enable programmability, and unlock new fintech innovation.In this episode, Vriti Gothi speaks with Edul Patel, CEO & Co-founder of Mudrex, to explore the role of CBDCs in addressing inefficiencies in the financial system, their impact on banks and payment ecosystems, and the emerging opportunities for fintechs. They also discuss the balance between privacy and control, the coexistence of CBDCs and cryptocurrencies, and what it will take for India’s Digital Rupee to scale meaningfully in the years ahead.

Masahisa Kawashima, IOWN Technology Director at NTT, discusses how IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) technology will transform financial services. IOWN's photonic infrastructure enables high-speed, low-latency, and highly reliable data transfer, essential for financial institutions requiring seamless AI and data-driven operations. It allows for efficient, scalable, and sustainable data center operations by reducing power consumption through decentralized setups in suburban areas. IOWN’s infrastructure will also enhance security, operational resilience, and disaster recovery. The technology aims to provide banks with high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity for AI computing, improving business continuity and data management. While large-scale deployment may take a few years, IOWN is positioning itself as a key enabler for the next generation of digital financial services

Mac Thompson, Founder & President, White ClayConsolidation in the banking and finance sector is set to continue. Around 180 bank deals were announced in 2025 and there are going to be more to come in 2026. The pressing need to take advantage of developing technologies is one notable cost factor that may drive smaller institutions into the arms of their larger counterparts. White Clay Founder and President Mac Thompson speaks to Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence.

Rajiv Bhat, CEO, martini.aiDescribing itself as the world's broadest and fastest risk engine, martini.ai aims to redefine how financial professionals access and interpret credit risk data through a free, platform. CEO Rajiv Bhat is leading a movement toward open, transparent credit data as investors and lenders around the world seek real-time visibility into risk. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence discusses how transparency and better data are reshaping credit, lending, and portfolio management with Rajiv Bhat of martini.ai.

In this episode of The Big Interview, Raja Debnath, MD, and Chairperson of Veefin Group, discusses the evolving future of working capital management, where AI and automation are becoming central to financial stability. He highlights how Veefin is leading AI-driven risk control and multi-lender orchestration to transform liquidity management for MSMEs. He also shares key lessons from scaling Veefin across $30bn disbursements and 15+ diverse financial ecosystems, offering insights into legacy modernization, modular architecture, cloud adoption, and effective data strategies.  With an eye on global expansion, Veefin is focused on deepening product innovation and forming strategic partnerships in emerging markets like Africa and Asia. Tune in to discover how AI is reshaping the landscape of working capital finance and driving growth across global financial ecosystems.