Wharton FinTech Podcast

In today’s episode, Kimberly Zhang sits down with Anré Williams, Senior Executive Advisor at American Express and former CEO of American Express National Bank. Anré reflects on his 35-year journey at American Express—leading global merchant services, digital innovation, and banking operations—while offering an inside look at how to drive transformation in a legacy financial institution. Tune in to...

In today’s episode, Jackson Ellis hosts Shensi Ding, the co-founder of Merge, a unified API platform that simplifies B2B integrations across categories like HR, accounting, and CRM. Shensi shares her journey, the playbook behind scaling a developer-first GTM motion, and how the best founders balance product intensity with storytelling. Tune in to hear about: - How Merge built a category-defining p...

In this episode of the Wharton Fintech Podcast, host Sabrina Fathi speaks with Catherine Porter, Chief Business Officer at Prove, a leading platform in digital identity verification and authentication. Catherine shares her journey from Silicon Valley to spearheading innovation in identity security. They explore how AI is reshaping fraud prevention, the future of portable identity, and how Prove is...

In today’s episode, Jackson Ellis hosts Melissa Wasser, the Partner and Head of the Fintech Capital Network at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a leading venture capital firm backing bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology. Tune in to hear about: - Melissa’s career journey from Goldman Sachs to FT Partners to leading fintech support at a16z - How the Fintech Capital Network helps foun...

In today’s episode, Zoey Tang speaks with Marc Andrusko, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where he focuses on fintech and B2B software investments. Marc’s current investment interests span capital markets, AI applications, payments infrastructure, and companies operating at the intersection of fintech and other sectors. Marc shares how his journey—from working in interest rate sales and trad...

In today's episode, Wesley Aster speaks with Ezra Kebrab, Founder and CEO of Caliza, a cross-border payments platform leveraging stablecoins to eliminate geographic barriers by allowing companies around the world to open digital dollar accounts for their users to save and transact. Ezra shares how is personal journey - from his childhood to his experience at Visa and Intuit - inspired him to build...

In this episode of the Wharton Fintech Podcast, Sabrina Fathi sits down with Tom DeBow, CTO of Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, to explore how AI and advanced technology are reshaping modern hedge funds. Tom shares insights from his journey through top-tier firms like SAC Capital and Alphadyne, and dives into Schonfeld’s pragmatic yet forward-thinking approach to AI adoption. From developing the firm...

In today’s episode, Kimberly Zhang sits down with David Fortunato, CEO of Wealthfront, for an in-depth conversation on how technology is transforming wealth management, and what it takes to build a truly digital-first financial advisor. David shares his journey from early software engineer to CEO, reflecting on how an engineering mindset helped shape Wealthfront’s product-led culture and commitmen...

In this episode of the Wharton Fintech Podcast, host Sabrina Fathi sits down with Marshall Hayner, Co-Founder and CEO of Metallicus. A true pioneer in the blockchain space, Marshall shares his journey from the early days of Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Stellar to building a compliance-first digital asset infrastructure that bridges blockchain and traditional finance. Marshall reflects on how his backgro...

In today’s episode, Kimberly Zhang sits down with David Blumberg, Founder and Managing Partner of Blumberg Capital. David shares his journey from his early days in venture capital to building a leading early-stage investment firm, with a deep dive into his rules of thumb in identifying and supporting groundbreaking technologies from inception through exit. Tune in to hear about: - The impacts of t...

In today's episode, Ben Newman sits down with Sam Gaynor, managing director at Altamont Capital Partners, for an insightful conversation on investing across the insurance landscape. Sam shares his path to private equity, how Altamont navigates the complexity of investing in insurance businesses, and his perspective on when it makes sense to build vs. buy a company. Tune in to hear about: - Why pri...

In today’s episode, Kimberly Zhang sits down with Kevin McColly, CEO of Coinstar, for a conversation on the evolving role of cash in a digital world. Kevin shares his journey at Coinstar from financial analyst to CEO and how the well-known coin giant is making moves into financial innovations by bridging the gap between physical and digital finance. Tune in to hear about: • How Coinstar is expandi...

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 land...

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 alrea...

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 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...

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...

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...

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 str...

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 Abo...

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...

Kajol Char hosts Zuben Mathews, co-founder and CEO of Brigit. Brigit is a personal finance application dedicated to bringing financial stability to Americans by helping users avoid overdrafts, access instant cash, build credit, and budget effectively. This episode delves into Zuben’s journey to founding Brigit. In this episode you will hear about: -Zuben Mathews’ firsthand experience with personal...

Podcast lead Djavaneh Bierwirth hosts Jenny Xia Spradling, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of FreeWill, a Bain Capital-backed startup on a mission to create access to estate planning for all individuals and promote high-impact charitable giving. In this episode, Jenny discusses her journey from founding her first fintech startup to disrupting estate planning with FreeWill. In this episode we discuss how Fre...

In today's episode, Wesley Aster hosts Mrinal Manohar, the co-founder & CEO of Casper Labs, a pioneer in AI governance technologies leveraging blockchain to revolutionize AI governance. Tune in to hear about: - Mrinal's journey from computer science to private equity, and ultimately to founding Casper Labs - The mission of vision of Casper Labs to enhance transparency in AI systems - Insights into...