IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Interviews

Kartik Swaminathan, author, 3F: Future FinTech FrameworkKartik Swaminathan is the author of 3F: Future FinTech Framework, a book that builds on his more than 2 decades of experience in innovative products, projects, processes, and solutions. He is Founder Consultant at Fintastech, where he coaches and consults on Product and Go-To-Market in FinTech. The book simplifies understanding across key trends and themes and proposes a framework for growth and innovation in FinTech and the digital space. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence discusses the book with author Kartik Swaminathan.

Sahar Salama, CEO and Founder of TPay Mobile  The percentage of women in executive roles across the Financial Technology space is still disproportionally lower than men. Sahar Salama, CEO and Founder of TPay Mobile is one of them. On the occasion of Women Equality’s Day, IBS Intelligence’s Reporter Gaia Lamperti interviewed Sahar to discuss how the industry can begin to move towards a more balanced gender demographic, the rise of female-focused FinTechs and the role of women leaders in championing aspiring female entrepreneurs. 

Kristian Gjerding, CEO & Head of Strategic Execution, Cellpoint DigitalAirlines have had a tough pandemic but even at the best of times they are managing a complex payments ecosystem, operating with multiple currencies, countries, financial regulators and consumer payment preferences. This is where a payment orchestration platform comes into its own. It’s a concept spreading to and being used by other sectors too – offering the prospect of better conversion rates and the ability to add new payment services quickly and easily. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Kristian Gjerding, CEO of Cellpoint Digital.

Amarnath Chowdary, Founder & CEO, ModefinIn the 2021 IBS Intelligence Sales League Table (SLT) Modefin was ranked “SLT New Entrant – Star Performance” in the category Digital Banking and Channels. The IBSI SLT 2021 includes systems purchases made by over 1000+ banks across 180+ products from 60 suppliers across the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, APAC and ASEAN. Headquartered in Bengaluru, India, Modefin was founded in 2011 and is now the preferred FinTech partner for over 65 banks in 20+ countries, with on-ground presence in Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence discusses the company’s journey with Amarnath Chowdary, Founder and CEO of Modefin.

Hristo Borisov, CEO and Co-Founder, Payhawk  Fragmentation in FinTech is coming to an end. Following the explosion in demand we have seen in the last few years, the market is at the tipping point of consolidation and now big banks and FinTechs will have to learn how to coexist. Hristo Borisov believes big banks really need to stop seeing FinTechs as competitors and start exploring areas of collaboration to identify ways to collectively serve the customer better. Hristo discussed this matter in relation to the spending software service he co-founded, Payhawk, with IBSI Reporter Gaia Lamperti. 

Tamer Al Mauge, Managing Director MENA, Pakistan & Bangladesh, Codebase TechnologiesThe Middle East has been seen in the past as overbanked despite some sectors of the population still being underbanked. But that hasn’t stopped the development of a clutch of neobanks as institutions invest in digital banking solutions, launching new brands alongside existing banks. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence discusses digitisation and digitalisation in banks in the MENA region with Tamer Al Mauge, Managing Director MENA, Pakistan & Bangladesh, of Codebase Technologies

Ash Narain, Founder, Marquee EquityFinTech fund raising is breaking all records this year. It is perhaps inevitable that the tech developments in FinTech should be mirrored by tech developments in fund raising for such companies. Proprietary AI systems allow for the automation of much of the traditional investment banking process on a platform capable of handling much greater deal volume than the average investment banker. Finding the right private equity or venture capital investors is a skill that tech can learn. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Ash Narain of Marquee Equity about FinTech fund raising, including a recent $4 million seed capital round on behalf of Qolo.  

Jamie Burke, Founder & CEO, Outlier VenturesWhat are the opportunities for investment in the blockchain space in the wake of the correction in cryptocurrencies earlier this year? And will the breakthrough of NFTs see the creation of true mainstream usage of blockchain solutions? These and other issues under the spotlight as Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to blockchain venture capitalist Jamie Burke of Outlier Ventures.

Dr Kurt Nielsen, President, Partisia Blockchain FoundationThe lack of privacy on blockchain is hampering the technology’s disruptive potential as a WEB 3.0 platform supporting value transfer. Industry players need to take urgent action to safeguard privacy and confidentiality. The Partisia Blockchain Foundation is working on marrying the distributed cryptography of multi-party computation technology with blockchain tech, allowing companies and individuals to interact without compromising confidential data. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Dr Kurt Nielsen of the Partisia Blockchain Foundation.

Bhavin Patel, Co-Founder, LenDenClubThere is huge scope for small-ticket lending in India. However, this is not an area that is economic for established banks to move into. Peer-to-peer lending offers both an investable opportunity and a platform for small-ticket loans.  Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Bhavin Patel, Co-Founder of Indian P2P lender LenDenClub, whose instant personal loan platform is disbursing an average of 200,000 loans a year.