Fintech Daydreaming

It’s that time of the year! In our Christmas special, Pål and Ville close out season ten of Fintech Daydreaming with a heartfelt reflection on five years and ten seasons of podcasting. What keeps the passion alive after all this time? Tune in to hear the co-hosts share their thoughts on the journey so far, what they’ve learned, and why the world of fintech podcasting continues to inspire us. We al...

In this special episode of Fintech Daydreaming recorded live in Nordea headquarters in Helsinki, we sit down with Jyrki Katainen, Head of Public Relations at Nordea Bank and former Prime Minister of Finland, to explore his transition from politics to banking and what it means to lead public affairs for one of Europe’s largest financial institutions. Jyrki shares his reflections on moving from a ca...

This week, Pål and Ville dive into the regulatory labyrinth with Eva-Lotta Hokkonen, an attorney and senior associate at Dittmar & Indrenius, and a go-to expert on fintech compliance. If you’ve ever wondered why compliance feels like scaling Mount Everest for fintechs, we’re about to break it all down. We dig into why compliance presents unique hurdles for fintechs compared to traditional bank...

We’re back with another Nordic Fintech Highlights episode, where Pål, Ville, and our regular guest co-host Janne Salminen from Helsinki Fintech Farm unpack the latest from the Nordics—and this week, it’s all about tech innovations, top fintech picks, and payment upgrades! First up, Pål takes us through Lunar’s big news: they’re launching GenAI, Europe’s first AI-native voice assistant for banking....

This week, Ville and Pål sit down with Elisabeth Prager, co-founder of Aila Money, to tackle a topic that deserves way more airtime—the gender wealth gap. Spoiler alert: it’s still very much a thing, and the numbers aren’t pretty. But fear not, because Elisabeth and her team at Aila Money are stepping up to be part of the solution. We explore how Aila Money is empowering women financially, with to...

We’re back with another Nordic Fintech Highlights episode, kicking things off with a nod to the Mobey Forum member meeting’s epic "Fight Club" debate earlier that week. Two of our former guests, Monika Liikamaa and Anders Olofsson, went head-to-head—and let’s just say, the fintech gloves were off! As always, Pål and Ville are joined by Janne Salminen from Helsinki Fintech Farm to break down the la...

In this episode of Fintech Daydreaming, Pål and Ville are joined by Jani Ristimäki from BearingPoint to dive deep into one of the buzzwords of the moment—embedded finance. Spoiler alert: it’s already here, and it’s changing the game for banks, fintechs, and consumers alike. From payments baked seamlessly into apps to financial services appearing in places you’d never expect, we break down what emb...

We’re back with another Nordic Fintech Highlights episode, and this time it’s practically drenched in pink, thanks to Klarna's dominant presence! Pål and Ville, along with the ever-insightful Janne Salminen from Helsinki Fintech Farm, dive into the latest Nordic fintech stories making waves. First, Pål kicks off with IKEA’s intriguing foray into the second-hand market with IKEA Preowned. A mar...

Fintech Daydreaming continues season ten with an anticipated comeback —welcoming back Chris Skinner, the legendary fintech thinker, for the first time in five years! Pål and Ville sit down with Chris to dive into his latest book, “Intelligent Money: When Money Thinks for You.” In true Skinner style, we’re exploring a future where money isn’t just a tool—it’s an intelligent partner, anticipating yo...

After a well-deserved summer break, Fintech Daydreaming is back and ready to dive into the latest buzz from the Nordic fintech world! Pål and Ville, alongside our trusty guest co-host Janne Salminen from Helsinki Fintech Farm, are kicking off the new season with a roundup of stories that are making waves in the industry. First up, Pål breaks down the exciting news of Gimi partnering with Nordea. I...

As the Nordic sun lingers in the sky, signaling the start of summer, Fintech Daydreaming brings you a season finale packed with the latest and greatest from the financial technology front. Join Pål, Ville, and our beloved guest co-host Janne Salminen from Helsinki Fintech Farm for one last hurrah before we all take a well-deserved summer break. In this episode, Pål dives into the fresh collaborati...

Fintech enthusiasts, get ready to elevate your payments knowledge! We're joined by the brilliant Monika Liikamaa, co-CEO and co-founder of Enfuce, the company making card payments as seamless as a winter sport on ice. Get ready to explore: Monika's Transformation: Discover how she traded her corporate banking attire for a startup founder's toolkit. What sparked the change – a rogue ATM...

Welcome back to “Fintech Daydreaming,” where we’re still decompressing from the high-octane thrill ride that was the Nordic Fintech Summit in Helsinki! Join Pål, Ville, and our special guests, Janne Salminen and Ola Sundell from Helsinki Fintech Farm, as they spill the beans on orchestrating this fintech fiesta. We start with their fresh-off-the-press impressions—what popped, what flopped, and whi...

Welcome back, fintech enthusiasts! This episode of Fintech Daydreaming takes you into the latest innovations stirring the financial fjords of the Nordics. Join Pål, Ville, and Janne as they round up some intriguing and occasionally perplexing news from the land of the midnight sun. This episode also serves as a warm-up for the upcoming Nordic Fintech Summit in Helsinki, where we look forward to me...

In this very special episode of Fintech Daydreaming, Pål and Ville take a nostalgic trip down memory lane, answering the burning question that fans have pondered over countless episodes: Why did they start this podcast, and what fuels their fintech fires even after nearly four thrilling years? By popular demand, it's time to peel back the curtain on the backstory and ethos of your favorite fin...

Strap in for a whirlwind tour of fintech's latest Nordic novelties in another riveting episode of Fintech Daydreaming. In this month’s edition of Nordic Fintech Highlights, our fearless trio Pål, Ville, and Janne don their explorer hats to dissect a smorgasbord of financial innovation that's as diverse as a Nordic buffet—and just as intriguing. First up, Pål dives into the tech-marriage of...

Get ready to dive headfirst into the blockchain rabbit hole with the latest episode of "Fintech Daydreaming," where the waters are murky, the regulations tangled, and the future as clear as mud. This time around, Pål and Ville are joined by none other than Erwin Voloder, who is the Head of Policy at the European Blockchain Association. EU's labyrinthine policy developments are a tall...

Strap in for a fintech merry-go-round with the Fintech Daydreaming squad, where the latest episode cuts through the February frost with hot takes that could melt even the iciest Nordic winter. Janne, Pål, and Ville are at it again, dissecting the month's juiciest fintech drama from the comfort of their virtual studio. First, Pål waxes poetic about TUUM's latest cash infusion. Because, appa...

Strap in, fintech enthusiasts! This episode of "Fintech Daydreaming" is tailored for every fintech startup wrestling with the age-old dilemma: How do we sell to banks? Whether it's peddling services, cutting-edge technology, or simply trying to get banks to sign you up as a customer, navigating the labyrinth to the decision-makers' hearts (and wallets) in banks is no small feat....

Buckle up, fintech aficionados! Our monthly "Nordic Fintech Highlights" episode has arrived, and it's a whirlwind tour through January's most electrifying developments in the Nordic fintech scene. Our dynamic duo, Pål Krogdahl and Ville Sointu, are joined by the ever-insightful Janne Salminen, the mastermind CEO of Helsinki Fintech Farm and purveyor of many a bad joke, to unpack...

🌟 Welcome to another episode of Fintech Daydreaming, where we navigate the winds of change in 2024! 🚀 This year like every year for many of us begins with a common theme of renewal and transitions, not just in personal lives but also in professional landscapes. As we've noticed, a significant shift happens every year at this time in job markets and career choices – but what's driving thi...

Welcome to 2024 – a year promising fresh innovation and excitement in the fintech world! 🎉 We're thrilled to launch the new season of Fintech Daydreaming, and what better way to start than with a Nordic Fintech Highlights special, in collaboration with our good friends at Helsinki Fintech Farm? 📈 December 2023 was nothing short of extraordinary in the Nordics' fintech scene, brimming wit...

Many things are getting wrapped this Christmas week and one of them is season eight of Fintech Daydreaming. In our traditional end of season episode Pål and Ville reflect on season eight highlights and main takeaways from what we learned in 2023 overall. As we look forward to 2024, questions are abound: Will the new year be a mere repeat of its predecessor, or are we going to see new themes in the...

The holiday season is almost upon us, but that doesn’t mean that the world of Nordic fintech is slowing down - quite the opposite! The Slush conference swept through Helsinki just recently and with it came a lot of fintech goodness for us to discuss in this month’s edition of Nordic Fintech Highlights in collaboration with Helsinki Fintech Farm. Stories we covered in this episode: Enfuce secures a...

In this episode of the Fintech Daydreaming podcast, co-hosts Ville and Pål are thrilled to host a distinguished guest, best-selling author Sangeet Paul Choudary, the insightful mind behind the book "Platform Revolution." Sangeet joins the conversation to delve into the seismic shifts that platform business models are inducing across the financial sector. In the conversation, Sangeet iden...