Fintech Conversations with Fexingo: Banking, Payments, and Financial Software Companies

In this episode of Fintech Conversations with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how fintech companies are using alternative data—like rent payments, utility bills, and bank account cash flow—to underwrite mortgages for borrowers with thin credit files. They dive into a specific case: a 2026 pilot by a major nonbank lender that uses transaction-level data to approve self-employed applicants who would...

Episode 29 of Fintech Conversations explores how Plaid is quietly moving beyond simple account linking into a full consumer finance operating system. Lucas and Luna examine Plaid's new data-sharing APIs, its beta launch of Plaid Credit in early 2026, and the company's push to let users switch direct deposits, manage subscriptions, and build a portable credit history—all without leaving apps like V...

In this episode of Fintech Conversations with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how payment tokenization is quietly becoming the backbone of digital transaction security. They break down how tokenization replaces sensitive card numbers with unique digital tokens, reducing fraud and simplifying compliance. The hosts discuss real-world examples like Apple Pay and major card networks, explain the diffe...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how stablecoins are quietly reshaping cross-border payments, moving from crypto speculation to real utility in B2B and remittance corridors. They break down the mechanics of USDC and USDT, the regulatory shift in the US with the STABLE Act, and what it means for traditional money transfer giants like Western Union and Wise. Specific examples include Circle’s...

Episode 26 of Fintech Conversations with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna explore how fintech lenders are leveraging real-time payment processing data to underwrite small business loans more accurately than traditional bank methods. They dive into the specific case of Stitch, a South African API startup that connects lenders to merchants' payment data, and compare it with Square's recent expansion into len...

Episode 25 of Fintech Conversations with Fexingo: How embedded finance is remaking insurance distribution. Lucas and Luna explore how companies like Lemonade, Hippo, and Tesla are weaving coverage directly into purchase flows—not selling policies, but offering them at the point of need. They dive into a specific case: Tesla Insurance, which uses real-time driving data to adjust premiums instantly,...

In this episode of Fintech Conversations, Lucas and Luna explore how generative AI is transforming the delivery of personalized financial advice. They focus on the specific case of Wealthfront's AI advisor, launched in early 2026, which uses large language models to generate customized investment recommendations and tax strategies. Lucas explains how the system works by analyzing a user's entire f...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into Stripe's aggressive push into embedded finance and how it's reshaping the payments landscape as of May 2026. They explore Stripe's strategy of turning every software company into a financial services distributor, citing concrete examples like Shopify, Lyft, and Amazon. The hosts break down the economics of embedded payments, the role of Stripe's Issuing an...

Passwords are on the way out in financial services, and biometric authentication is the replacement. In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine how banks and fintech apps are using fingerprint scanning, facial recognition, and voice ID to verify transactions and logins. They look at the Apple model versus Samsung's approach, how Mastercard's biometric card works without a battery, and the FIDO2 stand...

In this episode of Fintech Conversations with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dive into the rapidly growing world of automated expense management for businesses. They explore how startups like Ramp, Brex, and Navan are using AI, corporate cards, and real-time data to replace manual expense reports, saving companies millions in processing costs. Lucas breaks down the key numbers: the average Fortune 500 co...

Lucas and Luna explore how fintech lenders are incorporating behavioral data—like how you type, scroll, or fill out forms—into credit decisions. They examine the case of Upstart, which uses over 1,500 data points including education and employment history, and contrast it with alternative data pioneer LenddoEFL, which analyzes smartphone usage patterns. The hosts discuss the promise of expanding c...

Episode 19 of Fintech Conversations with Fexingo: Banking, Payments, and Financial Software Companies. Lucas and Luna dive into the quiet revolution in credit scoring—moving beyond the FICO score that hasn't changed in decades. They explore how fintechs like Petal, Tala, and Upstart are using cash flow data, utility payments, and machine learning to extend credit to the 50 million Americans with t...

Lucas and Luna explore a quiet revolution in commercial insurance underwriting, where companies like Zesty.ai and Gradient AI are using artificial intelligence to analyze satellite imagery, public records, and unstructured data to price risk more accurately. They dig into the specific example of property insurance for wildfire-prone regions, where AI models have reduced loss ratios by 15 percent y...

In this episode of Fintech Conversations, Lucas and Luna dig into one of the most consequential moves in fintech strategy right now: the race for digital banking licenses. With dozens of fintechs—from neobanks to BNPL providers—applying for banking charters in 2025 and early 2026, the hosts explore why companies like SoFi, Upgrade, and even Square are opting for the regulatory burden of a full lic...

Small businesses still struggle to get loans from traditional banks. Fintech lenders like Square, Stripe, and new entrants are using transactional data to underwrite credit in minutes. Lucas and Luna unpack how a bakery in Austin got a $50,000 loan based on its payment processing history, not its credit score. They explore the technology behind cash-flow underwriting, the role of the SBA's new fin...

The Federal Reserve's FedNow instant payment service launched in 2023. Two years later, in mid-2026, it's quietly changing how banks move money. Lucas and Luna dig into the numbers: over 8,000 financial institutions now live, $40 billion in monthly volume, and the surprising winner isn't a fintech — it's community banks. They explore how FedNow is competing with The Clearing House's RTP network, w...

Episode 14 of Fintech Conversations with Fexingo zooms in on Ripple — not the 2017 hype, but its current role in real-time cross-bank settlement. Lucas and Luna walk through how Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) product uses the XRP token to cut the $1.6 trillion correspondent banking float, and why Santander, Standard Chartered, and SBI Holdings have actually deployed it in production. The conve...

In this episode of Fintech Conversations with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how Revolut turned banking into a game-like experience to drive user engagement and retention. They dive into the specific mechanics—like spending stats, badges, and challenges—that helped Revolut grow to over 50 million users. The hosts also discuss the fine line between engaging and manipulative design, and whether gam...

Hosts Lucas and Luna dive into the fast-growing world of B2B buy now pay later, focusing on two key players: Billd, which has extended over $1 billion in credit to construction contractors, and Hokodo, a European leader in B2B BNPL. They explore how these companies are using data and technology to offer net-30-to-60 terms with instant approvals, challenging traditional trade credit and factoring....

Lucas and Luna drill into the restaurant payments wars of 2026. Square and Toast have taken radically different paths to dominate point of sale for independent eateries. Lucas breaks down how Toast's vertical-specific hardware and kitchen display systems created a switching cost that Square's general-purpose terminals can't match — and why Square is fighting back with loyalty features and integrat...

Lucas and Luna explore how open banking has fundamentally reshaped consumer lending by 2026, focusing on the shift from credit scores to cash-flow underwriting. They examine how startups like Finicity and Yodlee (now part of Mastercard) provide real-time income and expense data, enabling lenders to approve loans for thin-file borrowers. The episode dives into specific data: a 30% increase in appro...

Lucas and Luna explore how Adyen became the silent infrastructure behind some of the world's largest companies. The episode digs into Adyen's single-platform architecture, its controversial decision to walk away from the US domestic market in 2016, and how that gamble paid off with a market cap over $100 billion by early 2026. They unpack the 'unified commerce' thesis that convinced the likes of M...

Episode 8 of Fintech Conversations with Fexingo digs into the specific mechanics behind Chime's user retention and deposit growth. With over 25 million users and a 2026 valuation north of $25 billion, Chime has cracked the code for the neobank loyalty loop — no branches, no credit cards, just a clever combination of early direct deposit, SpotMe overdraft, and a gamified savings mechanic that locks...

Lucas and Luna dive into the buy now, pay later industry in 2026, focusing on how Affirm and Klarna have reshaped consumer credit. They discuss Affirm's shift toward longer-term installment loans, Klarna's pivot to a full banking app, and the regulatory landscape in 2026. The episode explores the economics behind BNPL—how these companies make money, the role of interchange fees, and the impact of...

Lucas and Luna dive into Plaid's evolution from a simple API for bank connections to the essential middleware powering thousands of financial apps. They unpack Plaid's new open banking partnerships in Europe, its controversial expansion into credit decisioning, and why regulators in the US are starting to take notice. Along the way, they discuss how Plaid has quietly embedded itself into nearly ev...