One Vision Podcast — Fintech, Banking, and AI with Theodora Lau

How do we use technology to help more people? How can we get companies to collaborate more — so that we can advance technology faster and in more meaningful ways? How do we empower more people to voice their ideas — and change the perception of what is possible? We need storytellers. We need evangelists. We need more leaders who are passionate about creating a brighter future for the world, who ar...

The linguistic world is bewilderingly diverse, with roughly 7177 living languages worldwide, according to the Ethnologue. A language is more than a form of speech that groups of people use to communicate with each other. It embodies a connection to the past — culture and traditions. Any attempt to decipher a language must therefore go beyond the literal meaning of words. With datasets being largel...

It was the best of times — then suddenly, it was the worst. Nothing quite like a global pandemic to recast the lives of billions. Yet the money wheel of the financial services industry keeps turning. Q1 2020 saw $10.6 billion of venture funding, according to FT Partners. Megadeals continue, including a Series F round of $280 million for Robinhood and $112 million for Stash. All around the world, f...

Dolphins are often thought of as compassionate and loving marine animals. Unlike sharks, which are often depicted as hostile, dolphins are warmer and more enthusiastic. To guard against sharks, dolphins stay together in pods and defend each other. Same analogy was used by Amy Millman, a passionate advocate for women entrepreneurs, and founder of Springboard Enterprises - the first such organizatio...

Description: Everything that happens is connected to everything else. There are then, moments in time, that act as triggers toward a series of interconnected events that result in significant human progress. This occurs through periods of transformative societal change — from the initial tools that humans developed through the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages — and through the evolution of ideas durin...

For all intents and purposes, the venture capital gender gap has improved. In 2019, history was made: 21 women-led companies emerged as unicorns — those earning valuations of $1 billion or more — the highest-ever in a one-year period. Unfortunately, that is just a drop in the bucket compared to what the rest of the ecosystem has raised, according to Crunchbase.  In 2019, more than 92% of vent...

Talent is equally distributed; opportunities are not. According to the latest Equal Pay Day Report from Women Who Code, while equal pay is an issue for all women, marginalized groups experience different levels of pay inequality. For every dollar that white, non-Hispanic men earn, black women were paid 61 cents, Latina women were paid 53 cents, and Asian women were paid 83 cents.  The stats l...

Talent is equally distributed - opportunities are not. The onus is on all of us, in the innovation economy, to create opportunities for people, so more cities can thrive. The secret, according to Patrick Rivenbark, lies in not trying to recreate the next Silicon Valley or New york, but rather, in recognizing and appreciating the uniqueness of each city, its geography, and its people. Only then can...

We all know the numbers and they are dismal: Even though female founders received a record $3.54 billion in funding in 2019, this represented only 2.7% of the total venture capital investments, according to PitchBook data. As a point of comparison, WeWork garnered more investment than all global female founders combined last year. If not for irony, then for the despair of the missed opportunity.&n...

Across the globe, nations are grappling with a crisis brought on by the Corona virus COVID-19. With many schools and businesses closed, daily lives have been disrupted; in so many aspects, our regular lives have ground to a halt, and we are forced to adjust to a new normal. How we respond to the crisis at hand speaks volumes about our values as individuals, as organizations, and as a society. We c...

Children are our future. In today’s environment, how can we make knowledge more accessible while making learning fun? How can we ensure we are not leaving people behind as we are ushering in a new era? As citizens of the world, we have a collective responsibility to inspire positive actions and channel technology for good. Together, we must build a diverse talent pipeline of the future, a chorus t...

In the age of algorithms, how can we leverage data to truly engage with our customers and provide real value for them, be there at the right place, at the right time? How do financial institutions differentiate themselves beyond convenience? Technology has always been a means to an end - it is built by people, and made for people. Just as how modern technology companies have made it frictionless t...

Many Fintechs have emerged across the globe over the past two decades - from the U.S., U.K., and Africa, to China, India, Southeast Asia and beyond. From personal finance to payments; from banking infrastructure to fraud, scores of fintech startups have upended the previously slow moving world of financial services, changed consumer expectations, and challenged incumbents to move beyond the status...

As the digital age prospers, consumers increasingly turn to the Internet for information. While digital media provides readers with more personalized content, with social media overtaking TV and newspapers as a source for news, we run the risk of being trapped inside echo chambers where our existing viewpoints are reinforced. Where once the ability to broadcast was a privilege reserved for the few...

The future of payments is as clear as disappearing ink. As each region embraces ubiquitous and embedded payments through superapps, QR codes, NFC, wearables, and voice, the rise of card-not-present and card-on-file payments only increases. Banks, retailers and consumers must further optimize activities that could potentially disrupt their ability to transact, whether through online or mobile comme...

1600 private jets descended upon the beautiful ski resort of Switzerland, as the world’s elites gathered for the 50th World Economic Forum. Plenty of pledges were made to address some of our most pressing challenges, from sustainability, stakeholder capitalism, to gender equality, and the future of work.  While Greta Thunberg was calling out the dire consequences of the world’s inaction on cl...

Many companies use social channels to push their campaigns. But to be truly successful and effective requires more than broadcasting. It requires an engaged online community and a thoughtful content strategy. Above all, it needs enthusiastic team members - since they are the true voice of your brand. Relationships still matter, and this is especially true for conversations carried out on digital p...

For the first time ever, there are now more people on Earth over the age of 65 than there are under the age of five, a result of increased longevity coupled with declining birth rates. In the U.S. alone, 20 percent of American adults will be 65 and older by 2030.   How prepared is society to cater to the financial needs of the fastest growing demographic?   In this episode of One Voice,...

Today we launch the first episode of our rebranded podcast 'One Vision'. One Vision is the convergence of views and dreams of the global innovation community that yearns for a sustainable future. A future that looks greener and truly egalitarian. We live in times where everything we do needs to be thought through in terms of their implications on the planet we call our home. We live in times where...

As we rolled out the previous episode discussing what we think lies ahead on Fintech landscape, we saw several ask from people on what they would like to see as well. So, Theo kickstarted a Twitter crowdsourcing attempt to get a Fintech wishlist. We then spent sometime discussing that on this week's podcast. We start with Diversity as that was the biggest ask from Twitteratis. For instance, despit...

As 2020 approaches, what would you see in the world of financial services? How will China’s influence play out in Asia and beyond? What is the next evolution of challenger banks and super apps and will fintech finally move beyond payments? Can big societal challenges such as sustainability and the climate crisis finally make meaningful strides in how and where we invest? In this episode, Arun, The...

A constantly evolving connected environment, coupled with consumer demand for all things digital, is leading to unprecedented cybersecurity challenges. While consumers are becoming more comfortable banking and shopping online, investments in maintaining security and preventing data theft and breaches often lag behind. Data breaches continue to make the headlines in North America, with an estimated...

Thanksgiving is fast approaching in the U.S. As we gather along with fintech friends and families and reflect on the year that was, what are some notable moments? In this episode of Rhetoriq, Arun, Brad, and Theo reflected on an eventful year, from mega industry deals to partnerships between unlikely bedfellows; from industry leaders in the East, to laggers in the West. While we continue to see fu...

2019 has been a busy year for emerging technologies, especially for artificial intelligence (AI). From healthcare to financial services; from digital surveillance to education, new use cases have come and gone – along with news headlines on the dangers and opportunities of such power. Slowly – but surely though, AI is beginning to transform financial institutions’ relationship with their customers...

Description for this week's episode: 2019 has been a whirlwind year for payments. Multiple mega deals were made and unlikely alliances between strange bedfellows have been forged. While we are still busy with plastics in the U.S., and finally enjoying the convenience of contactless payments, China has leapfrogged the world with their e-wallets ecosystem. All across Asia, big technology giants, suc...