Payments Innovation: Fintech | Innovation | Ecommerce

In the US, it’s hard to top the pilgrims for a national identity story. It’s an enduring symbol of a country worth struggling to live in. But those struggles never really went away — they just modernized. Modern problems require modern solutions, which Joaquín Ayuso de Paul, GM at Rayo, and his team are helping to provide with their global bank account.  He came on the show today to explain the significant financial hurdles immigrants face and why modern fintechs are better equipped to solve them than legacy banks.  What we talked about: -The financial pain points immigrants navigate -How Rayo is helping US immigrants solve them -How to find the perfect partner and provide value to a niche audience To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.  Until next time! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you ever use to think about the journey your $20 bill took to find your wallet? The places it’s been. The things it purchased. The hands it passed through… Well, I guess we’re all thinking about that last one now and opting for contactless payments.  But that’s just one of the ways COVID-19 is ratcheting up existing financial trends. That’s why we invited Jennifer Worley, SVP Product & Marketing at Meta Payment Systems, on the show today. She’s been studying the payments trends surrounding the COVID-19 crisis and came on to share what she has learned.  Jennifer explained: -How social distancing has renewed the urgency for contactless payments -Why traditional distribution models don’t work under in today’s crisis -Why businesses are rethinking how to get cash to people who need it To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.  Until next time! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic is like an advertisement for the Boy Scout motto: Always be prepared. Yet, financially, few Americans are. Most have less than $500 in savings! They need to follow the Boy Scout credo. And they need Fintech to do it.  And my guest today, Ahmed Siddiqui, Head of Product at Branch, is trying to help get American workers merit badges in financial wellness.  Branch is a challenger bank making financial tools for the American worker to unshackle them from the two-week payment cycle limiting their financial success.  What we talked about: -Why Branch pivoted to payments -How they are keeping the service free for employers and employees -What the future holds for Fintech To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.  Until next time! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the wake of the sudden COVID-19 economy, we might forget the small-scale financial crises people face every day.  In the huge segment of the workforce living paycheck-to-paycheck, any sudden expense can become a financial crisis.  And until recently, their only option was to start a cycle of debt through expensive short-term loans.   Our guest today, Frank Dombroski, Founder and CEO of FlexWage Solutions, is leading the charge — without the high charges — for an alternative.  His company offers a solution that provides people with early access to earned wages. What we talked about: -The genesis of Flex Wage -Challenges to adoption -Why early wage access appeals to HR and Benefits  To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.  Until next time! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The COVID-19 crisis has hit everyone — often on multiple fronts. For many, the only thing as scary as the pandemic is the economic side-effects. And, unsurprisingly, this is causing major shakeups in the world of payments.  On the show today, we spoke with Daniel Webber, Founder and CEO of FXC Intelligence to learn more about trends in the industry and get a forecast for what to expect as the crisis plays out.  And, while much of the news is bleak, there are some notable silver linings.  Daniel went over: -How the hard-hit travel industry is responding -The issues with remittances in the current climate -The good news coming out of the industry To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.  Until next time! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s hard to talk about anything these days without it somehow circling back to the pandemic.   But, since this is a show about innovation, it’s not all bad news — innovation thrives in challenging times.   Crises spur new ideas, creative spins on what we do already and demonstrate the value of thinking differently. And Fintech is no exception.   So says my guest today, Erica Dorfman. And when it comes to innovation, she should know. That’s because Erica is the VP of Cash at Brex, a company who consistently nails it when it comes to thinking outside-the-box.   We had a chance to talk about: The benefits to Brex owning its entire tech stack How Cash is innovating the high-yield business cash management account The positive possibilities a pandemic provides   To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.    Until next time! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds, our socially-distanced world has paradoxically revealed how connected we really are.   A pandemic that knows no borders has everyone realizing the borders our technology can cross just as easily. We’ve learned to work together, apart.   And payments are no exception. Technology has made it easier than ever to work, sell, pay or get paid internationally.     We’re joined today by Iain McNicoll, Regional Head of SMB Americas at Payoneer, a company dismantling the barriers in international payments.   Iain covers: How technology like Payoneer is simplifying payments abroad Why small sellers are entering new markets Why international freelancing is booming   To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.    Until next time! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the world of transaction technology, we all care about the same things: Security and Risk reduction Customer experience Friction minimization Today commonly these concerns are handled by the use of EMV chips and NFC.  But what if there were a way to send and receive transaction data over a distance of several feet securely? I sat down with Eric Allen, CEO of LISNR to find out if audio is becoming a disruptive force potentially taking over as the new standard and what the benefits are of this innovation. What we discussed: The origin story of LISNR’s data-over-audio How the technology works Why audio is a great option Additional benefits To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paying bills is nothing new, and it's not likely to change. We will always have to pay bills, but should we be paying them like we did 100 years ago? Today, one in four bills gets paid in check or cash.  It's 2020! Why is it so complicated for people around the world to pay a bill? And how can people who work abroad pay their bills back home instead of sending cash? On today's episode of the Payments Innovation podcast, we invited Fabian Saide, CEO of Paykii, to talk about cross-border bill pay using his company's platform. What we discussed: How the idea for Paykii developed The way the Paykii platform works The rise of superapps in economies that big banks are not serving well How Paykii structures partnerships so they work for remittance providers and financial institutions To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who's behind the boom in fintech startups? How are digital-wallet entrepreneurs, for instance, launching their ideas? How much of their products are they building in house?  The front end of fintech garners a lot of attention, but the back end has often gotten ignored. Nevertheless, there's an infrastructure powering everything. What is it? Who is it? How will it change? On today's episode of the Payments Innovation podcast, we invited Chris McCann, managing partner at Proof of Capital, to take us down the fintech rabbit hole by exploring these ideas from his popular article, The FinTech Infrastructure 101. Chris helps us understand the fintech ecosystem, specifically who does what and the value of the chain. What we talked about: How the idea for The FinTech Infrastructure 101, Chris' article, got started The landscape of banking as a service and the "really, really, really new idea" of APIs What fintech companies are using to power their existing applications Trends that are fundamentally challenging the

When your toaster and your TV are programmable, doesn't it make sense that your payments should be programmable, too?  Card payments often settle on ACH, but accessing the ACH Network for electronic payments is tough. It can take years to figure out accounting, corrections, automating returns, identity verification, and reconciliation.  What if those technical gaps were fixed? What if there were a simpler system? Would businesses use it? The gaps have been fixed, a simplified solution has been created, and businesses are using it.  That solution is called Dwolla, and we had a conversation with the company's founder, Ben Milne, on this episode of the Payments Innovation podcast.  To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.  Until next time! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Venmo offers people a completely digital, cashless payment network experience. But commercial enterprises, weighed down with invoices and contracts, often still rely on paper checks. What if you could use the blockchain to digitize the process for these companies and help them get their revenue faster, cheaper, and more efficiently like Venmo does for individuals? Jeremy Almond, CEO of a business-to-business payment network called PayStand, believes you can. A completely digital cashless payment network experience, PayStand works like Venmo only with a contract and an invoice in the process.  We invited Jeremy onto the podcast to talk about PayStand and the future of the blockchain for business-to-business payments. What we talked about: How complicated commercial transactions could be fully digitized on an app Working through many different kinds of systems to make digital commercial payments happen How to move money through smart contracts without running afoul of U.S. regulations Banks are experimenting w

How much could your business save if you didn't have to pay credit card processing fees? Could you get a 30% net margin increase? It's possible but tough under the current regulations. To solve this problem, InterPayments, a financial technology firm, developed SurchX, a product that can help businesses recover the maximum allowable amount of their credit card processing fees by passing them onto a consumer as a surcharge. Andrew Bart, the chief growth officer for InterPayments, joined us on the podcast to talk about how SurchX works and who it can benefit. What we talked about: How SurchX got started The difference between SurchX as an ISV and other surcharge solutions in the market How acquisitions and mergers are shaking up in the fintech space Andrew's predictions for the future of the surcharge industry How much money surcharging involves (trillions!)  To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva

Merchant cash advance (MCA) solutions have been making finance payments easy for retailers and restaurants since 2005. So how does someone who was in the pioneering days of MCAs shift into the in healthcare system? Scott Griest decided to find out. He built a product to automate loan origination for medical procedures. This platform was built in a way where other originators could license it as well, leveraging the technology with their own financing partners. Scott is the founder and chief operating officer of PrimaHealth Credit, which is a fintech startup concentrating on patient health care finance. What we talked about: The early days of MCA solutions, 2005-2007 How MCAs fit in the U.S. regulatory framework for lenders How MCAs can differentiate themselves in their crowded space The value and solutions MCAs can bring to healthcare Building the tech stack to help doctors collect on their own plans Scott's advice for entering, operating, exiting, and investing in fintech To ensure that you never miss an e

Why do so many of us toss our change in charity jars? Because it’s easy. So, what if there was a physical jar for your credit card, where you simply dip your credit card, and boom, you’ve donated? No forms, no iPad, no “What’s your address?” “Check this box.” “Put your name here.” Just a simple credit card dip to give? Well, that jar does exist. It’s called DipJar, and we sat down with their CEO, Chris Selland, on this episode of the Payments Innovation podcast. He told us all about how DipJar is increasing engagement (and increasing donations) for charities. What we talked about: DipJar evolved from a tip jar Engagement is the secret sauce of DipJar It’s not just a device — it’s a platform DipJar is a management platform: Spark: a visualization platform Biggest area of growth — socially responsible for-profits Fintech, payments platform, P2P payments, B2B payments To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.  Until next time! Hosted on

If you could solve one problem in ecommerce transactions, what would you solve?If you answered “friction,” that’s the same place Yitz Mendlowitz started. But he found out very quickly that friction is a consumer issue, not a merchant problem. The problem merchants want solved is fraud liability. In this episode, Yitz shares how credit card networks are finally listening to ecommerce merchants, and started to shift fraud liability away from the merchants and onto the card issuers (the banks). Yitz is the co-founder of PAAY. What we talked about: Friction is not the major transaction pain point for merchants The main pain point for merchants: fraud liability The original Card Not Present policies weren’t written for the ecommerce age How friendly fraud impacts the financial landscape New policies to benefit merchants Credit card networks, banks, card issuer, acquirers, fraud, liability, card not present To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify,

Global trade payments are a little … broken.  Plenty of fintechs and startups have created better trade payment platforms domestically. Plus, various payment systems have focused on the international P2P transactions. But few fintechs have really tackled the global B2B space.  That’s exactly why Asnee Fernando founded Shoptaki. Asnee came on the Payments Innovation podcast to share all about Shoptaki’s capabilities, which streamline global trade payments by using collaborative AI.   What we talked about: B2B transactions are not as simple as using Amazon The global problem with B2B wire transfers & checks How does Shoptaki solve these global trade issues? What about blockchain?  How difficult is it for a business to move to Shoptaki? Collaborative AI Distributed AI Blockchain To reach Asnee:  Go to Shoptaki’s website Email Asnee at asnee@shoptaki.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv

Fintechs are the future. Banks represent tradition. And in between … is our data. In this episode, we interviewed Adwait Joshi, Chief Seer (actual title) at DataSeers, a company dedicated to “creating simple solutions to handling complex data.”  Adwait has used data to solve pain points in healthcare, animal health, and, now, financial services. In this episode, he shared how DataSeers is using data to create win-win-wins for consumers, banks, and fintechs. What we talked about: Getting data out of silos How to halt fraud (as it’s happening) Stopping financial loss Better fintech-sponsor bank relationships Fintechs can utilize DataSeers as a plug & play for fraud monitoring You can configure DataSeers for a variety of products  What’s on the horizon for financial services? 1) Smaller community banks are becoming sponsor banks for fintechs 2) Remittance will increase 3) Global banking will increase AML, fraud detection, monitoring, money laundering To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments

Open banking actually serves smaller financial institutions, like credit unions and community banks, more than anyone else … they just need to know the value. That’s why we invited banking experts Ralph Marcuccilli & Kelli Schultz on this episode of the Payments Innovation podcast. They explain the ins and outs of open banking, and what it can mean for smaller financial institutions. Ralph was a 20-year veteran of the banking industry, and, in 2010, he founded Allied Payment, where Kelli is now the President. She comes from 2 decades of experience in and around the networks surrounding banking platforms. What we talked about: Open banking: the answer for smaller financial institutions Open banking can serve businesses Allied’s next product: real-time bank payments Community banks, fintech, and credit unions Why Allied was well-positioned for open banking 1) ‘Allied was born in the cloud’ 2) Allied has an API-driven vision To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on

Why we all love credit cards: they’re speedy, convenient, and transparent. Why we all dislike credit cards: they’re expensive. What if you could make a bank account transaction at the speed, convenience, and transparency of a credit card transaction, but without the fees? That’s the basic premise behind Hamed Arbibi’s newest venture, VoPay. In this episode, 3-time Founder and CEO, Hamed Arbibi talks about how VoPay is creating a new financial landscape in Canada, enabling rapid bank-to-bank transactions, without overbearing credit card interchange fees. What we talked about: Hamed saw the banking industry was ready for real-time payment processing 80% of business transactions go thru banks (& they’re invisible) How VoPay is creating speed & visibility thru bank-to-bank processing  The similarities between EFT in Canada & ACH in the US 1 more differentiator: VoPay’s product is built on customer feedback Real-time bank-to-bank processing Bank account payment transactions To ensure that you never