Finovate Podcast

In this episode of the Finovate podcast, host Greg Palmer sits down with Finovate colleague Heather Stowell to discuss an exciting new initiative launching in New York this year. Heather, who has been instrumental in selecting and preparing demoing companies for the Finovate stage for over a decade, shares details about IMPACT Funders and Founders — a dedicated forum running alongside FinovateFall...

In this episode of the Finovate podcast, host Greg Palmer sits down with Caitlyn Truong, CEO and co-founder of Zengines, one of the Best of Show winners from FinovateSpring 2026. Caitlyn shares her journey from software and hardware engineering in the telecom space to consulting in financial services, where she and her co-founders identified a critical gap in data management for legacy systems. Th...

In this episode of the Finovate podcast, host Greg Palmer sits down with Juan Jurado-Blanco, Founder and CEO, and Armando Quintana, Chief Revenue Officer of Clockout, a Best of Show winner at FinovateSpring 2026 in San Diego. The conversation explores Clockout's innovative white-labeled earned wage access (EWA) solution designed specifically for community banks and credit unions. With seven in ten...

In this episode of the Finovate podcast, host Greg speaks with Oren Buskila, CEO and co-founder of Cobalt, a FinovateSpring 2026 Best of Show winner. Cobalt has developed enterprise architectural intelligence specifically designed for financial institutions, addressing a critical challenge in modern banking: the lack of understanding of complex system dependencies. Banks operate on enormously intr...

In this episode of the Finovate Podcast, host Greg Palmer sits down with Craig McLaughlin (CEO) and Baron Conway (Chief Strategy Officer) of Finalytics. AI to discuss their impressive achievement of winning Best of Show at FinovateSpring for two consecutive years (2025 and 2026). The conversation explores how Finalytics. AI is revolutionizing digital banking by solving a critical challenge faced b...

In this episode of the Finovate Podcast, host Greg Palmer sits down with Jensen Coonradt (CEO) and Simmi Sen (Chief Product Officer), the co-founders of Crebit, fresh off their Best of Show win at FinovateSpring 2026 in San Diego. Jensen and Simmi share their remarkable journey from high school friends meeting at a Bank of America scholarship program to leaving college to pursue Crebit full-time....

In this episode, Greg sits down with Melissa Solis, CEO of Inbenta, to discuss the evolving role of artificial intelligence in the banking industry. Melissa shares her impressive personal journey leading to her current role at Inbenta, a company focused on leveraging AI to transform financial services. She highlights the massive investments banks are making in AI, projected to reach $45.6 billion...

In this episode, host Greg Palmer dives into the complexities and opportunities of cannabis banking with guests Stacy Litke, VP of Banking Services at Green Check, and Megan Bennett, Manager of Marijuana Related Business at Wright-Patt Credit Union. The discussion begins with an overview of the challenges financial institutions face when engaging with cannabis-related businesses, particularly the...

In this episode, host Greg Palmer sits down with Debbie Hsu, EVP of Product at Experian, to discuss the company’s innovative approach to empowering consumers through technology. Debbie shares insights into her role at Experian, where she leads product development for North America’s consumer services. She highlights Experian’s mission to bring financial power to all by leveraging data and technolo...

In this episode, Greg sits down with Luz Urrutia, CEO of the Accion Opportunity Fund (AOF), to explore the critical role of small businesses in the economy and the challenges they face in accessing capital. Luz shares her personal journey as a Venezuelan immigrant and her experience with the U.S. banking system, which inspired her to lead AOF in creating economic opportunities for underserved smal...

In this episode of the Finovate podcast, host Greg Palmer sits down with Robert Bueninck, CEO of Unzer, to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing small and medium-sized businesses in the digital payments space. Robert introduces Unzer as a European fintech focused on providing a unified commerce suite for businesses, enabling them to integrate online, in-store, and mobile payments into on...

In this episode of the Finovate podcast, host Greg Palmer wraps up conversations with the FinovateEurope Best of Show winners, featuring Márk Hetényi, CEO of Ready. Márk introduces R34DY’s innovative platform, which specializes in context engineering to create deterministic maps of systems for AI agents. This technology enables reliable answers for tasks such as documentation, bug fixing, data map...

In this episode of the Finovate Podcast, host Greg Palmer interviews Ohad Kotler, co-founder and CEO of Tweezr, one of the Best of Show winners at FinovateEurope. Ohad shares insights into Tweezr’s innovative approach to addressing legacy systems in banking, emphasizing the importance of understanding and reverse-engineering existing systems rather than replacing them outright. He explains how Twe...

In this episode of the Finovate Podcast, host Greg Palmer interviews Savannah Price, founder and CEO of Serene, one of the Best of Show winners at FinovateEurope 2026.

In this episode of the Finovate Podcast, host Greg Palmer sits down with Dor Eligula, co-founder and Chief Business Officer at Bridgewise, to explore how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the investment and wealth management industries. Dor shares insights into his personal journey, the founding of Bridgewise, and the company’s mission to bridge the wisdom gap in financial services. With...

In this episode of the Finovate podcast, host Greg Palmer sits down with Matt Ober, Managing Partner at Social Leverage, to discuss the dynamic world of venture capital in the fintech space. Matt shares insights into Social Leverage’s focus on seed-stage investments, highlighting their success as early investors in companies like Robinhood, eToro, and Alpaca. With the recent close of their fifth f...

In this episode of the Finovate Podcast, host Greg Palmer interviews Joel Blake, OBE, founder and CEO of GFA Exchange, who will also be moderating a session FinovateEurope. Joel shares his eclectic journey into the fintech space, driven by a passion for democratizing access to finance and empowering businesses to grow regardless of their differences. He discusses his background, which spans grassr...

In this episode of the Finovate Podcast, host Greg Palmer connects with Brent Biernat, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at COCC, a finalist in the Finovate Awards for Best Back Office Solution and Executive of the Year. Brent shares his journey of over 30 years with COCC, highlighting his passion for community banking and the company’s mission to support small businesses and consu...

Fintech in 2025: an end of year review, and a look forward to 2026. Detailed Summary: In this episode of the Finovate podcast, Greg is joined by Steven Ramirez of Beyond the Arc to reflect on the key trends and developments that shaped the FinTech landscape in 2025 while offering predictions for 2026. The conversation explores the evolving dynamics of fintech partnerships, the challenges posed by...

Fintech, innovation, and the credit union landscape – a conversation with the Chairman of the NCUA. Detailed Summary: In this episode, Kyle Hauptman, Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), shares his insights on the evolving credit union landscape and the role of regulators in fostering innovation. Kyle reflects on his career journey from Wall Street bond trading to financial...

Rapid growth as a community bank – Five Star’s strategies for using fintech to expand their customer. Detailed Summary: This episode of the Finovate Podcast features DJ Kurtze, Executive Vice President and Bay Area President of Five Star Bank, discussing the community bank’s impressive growth trajectory and unique positioning in the competitive San Francisco market. Five Star Bank is a $4.6 billio...

Finovate Awards Winner InvestiFi on the changing investment landscape, consumer education, and bringing investment assets back to banks and CUs. Detailed Summary: In this episode of the Finovate Podcast, host Greg Palmer interviews Kian Sarrestheh, co-founder and CEO of InvestiFi the 2025 Finovate Awards winner in the Best Alternative Investment Solution category. InvestiFi provides a digital inve...

The real threat of AI-enabled fraud might not be what you think – hear from an expert on what you need to be focusing on right now. Detailed Summary: In this episode of the Finovate podcast, host Greg Palmer interviews Christopher D’Aprile, Director of Business Development at PrivacyGuard, following his keynote presentation at FinovateFall. D’Aprile brings over 30 years of experience in the financ...

This episode of the Finovate Podcast features an interview with John Findlay, CEO of Lemonade LXP, one of the Best of Show winners from FinovateFall. The conversation explores how Lemonade has transformed from its original 2018 concept into a comprehensive all-in-one learning and knowledge platform specifically designed for financial institutions. Findlay discusses the critical gap in traditional...

FinovateFall Best of Show winner Krida’s AI layer is transforming the lending process and deepening relationships to make the process easier for everyone. Detailed Summary: Krida, cofounders by Shivangi Khanna and Sophie Jewsbury join Greg on this episode to talk about their assistive AI tools for commercial loan officers in relationship banking and localized community banking. Krida focuses on st...