Open Banking Expo Unplugged

Joris Hensen, founder and co-head of Deutsche Bank’s API Programme, has spent 10 years working in Open Banking. He reflects on the progress made in Europe and the UK, and the bank partnerships that have evolved to create tangible outcomes. He also discusses the EU’s Financial Data Access Regulation (FiDA), which is an Open Finance framework, and why there are concerns that it could lead to fragmen...

Steve Boms, executive director of FDATA, joins Ellie Duncan to bring us up to speed on the state of play in the US, where Open Banking tools have been widely adopted yet, at the same time, regulatory uncertainty continues. He reveals the implications of the lack of a regulatory framework for consumers and small businesses, and how FDATA continues to advocate for Americans to own their financial da...

In this episode, hear from the winner of the inaugural Andrew Moor Award, Neela Maharaj, director, Open Banking and APIs at RBC. The Award was created to honour the former president and chief executive officer of EQ Bank, who passed away suddenly last year and who was widely regarded as one of the strongest advocates for Open Banking in Canada. Neela reveals what it means to be recognised, and why...

In this episode, Saba Shariff, senior vice president, chief strategy, product and innovation officer at Symcor, elaborates on some of the key points she made during her Opening Keynote at Open Banking Expo Canada on March 5, 2026. She explains what momentum looks like in practice and the Consumer-Driven Banking experiences that will change consumer behaviours positively. She also discusses the nee...

Following the recent publication in the UK of the Smart Data Strategy 2035 and the Open Finance Roadmap, Charlotte Crosswell, executive chair of Raidiam, and Colin Payne, head of innovation at the Financial Conduct Authority, join the podcast to discuss Smart Data Sprints and global learnings. They tell host Ellie Duncan how Raidiam and the FCA have been working together on the Smart Data Accelera...

In this Women in Open Banking edition, head of content Ellie Duncan is joined by Mariela McComb, senior manager, wire payments product at Scotiabank, to dive into a topic that’s essential for career growth: How to build your personal brand at work, get noticed, and stand out in a performance-driven culture by leveraging internal and external connections. Whether you’re early in your career or a se...

Hear as Jo Toolan, managing director, payments and banking, and Chris Gardner, client sector lead, payments and banking at PayPoint discuss its OpenPay solution, which is changing the way organisations handle payouts and refunds. They also explain the role of Confirmation of Payee (CoP) in fraud prevention, and the biggest barriers organisations face in migrating to these solutions. Jo talks about...

In this episode, Garri Galanter, chief executive officer of Salt Edge, Alina Beleuta, chief growth officer at Salt Edge, and Caroline Cope, head of business development, banking and finance at CRIF explore how Open Banking data and AI are reshaping traditional credit scoring. Through a real case study between Salt Edge and CRIF, they highlight how credit assessment is moving toward real-time adapt...

In this episode, head of content Ellie Duncan is joined by Huw Davies, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Ozone API to discuss the ongoing industry conversation around the monetisation of Open Banking and Open Finance. He explains what balance he thinks needs to be struck and the kinds of conversations Ozone API is having with clients and partners on this subject. What does this mean for...

For this Women in Open Banking edition of the Open Banking Expo Unplugged podcast, Ellie Duncan is joined by Yaspa’s chief marketing officer Kate Marsden, head of compliance and deputy MLRO Sarah Ahle, and Renuka Rawlins, head of policy and public affairs. They discuss their involvement as a partner of the initiative and what the power of community means to them as an organisation and individuals....

Ellie Duncan, head of content at Open Banking Expo, welcomes onto the podcast Nadia de Villa, senior vice president, business development and innovation solutions at GFT Canada, and Alastair Angus, chief information officer at Prospect 33. Nadia and Alastair discuss the latest GFT Banking Disruption Index and what it revealed about how financial institutions (FIs) are using AI to improve fraud det...

Open Banking Expo’s Ellie Duncan is joined by Mike Cascone, vice president, government experience, Americas at Xero and Eric Saumure, principal at Zenbooks ahead of their session at Open Banking Expo Canada 2025. In this episode, they discuss the specific needs of Canada’s small businesses and, in particular, the business banking challenges they face in the current environment. Mike and Eric discu...

Open Banking Expo’s Ellie Duncan is joined by Hamish Wood, vice president, customer success at GoCardless and Dave Campbell, operations lead at Tembo, to discuss how UK businesses can benefit from being “early adopters” of new payment technology, such as Open Banking. Dave explains how Open Banking has enabled Tembo to help individuals get onto the property ladder, while Hamish reveals how GoCardl...

Salt Edge’s head of accounts executive Mihail Ceres and chief product officer Ilia Dragan join Open Banking Expo’s Ellie Duncan to discuss the transition from an Open Banking to an Open Finance ecosystem. They consider regulation versus market-driven approaches, and what is behind the evolution of Open Finance use cases. They explain the practical applications of Open Finance that demonstrate its...

In this episode, Open Banking Expo’s Ellie Duncan is joined by guests from across the ecosystem to delve into the SEPA Payment Account Access scheme. Ghela Boskovich, head of Europe at FDATA, Louise Beaumont, senior vice president, Open Banking & Open Finance, global industry & policy engagement at Mastercard, Robert Sullivan, Token.io’s public policy and strategy director, and Gijs Boudew...

Jamie Leach, Open Data strategist at Raidiam, joins Open Banking Expo’s Ellie Duncan to bring listeners up to speed with Open Banking in Australia, where it’s better known as the Consumer Data Right (CDR). She talks about some of the setbacks faced by the CDR and what the Australian government’s recent “reset” means for progress. Jamie reveals the strategies and developments she believes are requi...

In this episode, Conor Tiernan, VibePay’s head of insights, joins Ellie Duncan to discuss joining the business to build out its new insights platform, VibePay Insights, which uses Open Banking data. Conor explains his own background in financial advice, payments and Open Banking, including most recently at Klarna, where he headed up its Open Banking initiatives. He explains how VibePay is helping...

Open Banking Expo’s Ellie Duncan is joined by Jim Wadsworth and Lauren Jones, who recently joined Raidiam as head of advisory and strategic advisory partner, respectively. They reveal how, in their new roles, they will spearhead a new advisory service, Raidiam Advise, and how this will fit alongside its core business. Lauren reveals why she think Switzerland’s Open Finance approach is one of her f...

Ivo Venetziev, co-founder and chief executive officer of Open Banking provider Contiant, joins Ellie Duncan on the podcast to discuss European payment initiatives, such as SEPA Instant and the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme. He explains how this has helped Europe achieve payments harmonisation. Ivo also highlights some of the pain points that remain for European merchants and consumers alike,...

Paolo Zaccardi, co-founder and chief executive officer of European Open Banking platform Fabrick, tells Ellie Duncan how Fabrick is helping companies and large corporates to embed financial services in their customer journeys, as embedded finance takes off. He explains what a €40 million fundraise led by Mastercard and other investors means for Fabrick, and reveals the company’s European expansion...

In this special episode of Open Banking Expo Unplugged for the Women in Open Banking initiative, Ellie Duncan is joined by Pauline Nicol, payments partnerships manager, payments and Open Banking at Tesco Bank, and co-founder and director of the Saorsa Menopause Consultancy. The menopause has gone from being a taboo subject to a talked-about topic, both at home and in the workplace, but it is still...

GFT’s Mauricio Deutsch, senior vice president, banking and capital markets Canada and Nadia de Villa, vice president, client innovation solutions join Open Banking Expo’s Ellie Duncan to discuss the challenges in adopting Open Banking, including monetisation, customer trust and partnering. Mauricio and Nadia explain how GFT has worked with Brazil’s central bank, and consider some of the lessons le...

Brigit Carroll, policy lead, North America at Wise, returns to Open Banking Expo Unplugged to discuss the key announcements on consumer-driven banking from Finance Canada’s Budget 2024. She explains the importance of interoperability between Canada’s technical standard and the US, and reveals how expanding the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s remit will help to ensure continued momentum in th...

Ozone API’s co-chief executive officer Huw Davies and newly-appointed chair Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia join Ellie Duncan on Open Banking Expo Unplugged to discuss the global state of the Open Banking and Open Finance movement, from Latin America, to MENA and the UK. In light of Ozone API’s recent funding round, they reveal its plans for expansion into North America, and beyond, and Dame Jayne-Anne tal...

Open Banking Expo’s head of content Ellie Duncan is joined on this episode by Stephen Wright, head of regulation and standards, at NatWest’s Bank of APIs, and his colleague, business architect Nisha Rajasingham, as well as Nilixa Devlukia, chair of the Open Finance Association. The guests consider what is required for the UK to make the move from Open Banking to Open Finance, and what might be cau...