The Connector.

Fintech is swimming in capital, yet the deal count collapses and the message is blunt: the market still funds big ideas, but it no longer rewards sloppy execution. We call this moment the “summer compression” a quiet reset where operational discipline, transparency, and provable trust replace the old era of growth-at-any-cost storytelling. If you build in payments, banking, compliance, or financia...

Banking used to be easy to picture: a branch, a vault, a core system, and clear boundaries. That mental model is gone. We walk through why modern finance looks more like a nervous system, where the real advantage comes from orchestrating trust, data, and customer experience across platforms that are not banks at all. We break down the core banking modernisation trap that keeps leaders stuck betwee...

Thank you for tuning into our podcast about global trends in the FinTech industry. Check out our podcast channel . Learn more about The Connector. Follow us on LinkedIn . Cheers Koen Vanderhoydonk koen.vanderhoydonk@jointheconnector.com #FinTech #RegTech #Scaleup #WealthTech

Your banking app looks smooth for the same reason a city looks calm from street level: the messy machinery is buried. We peel back that surface and map the financial market infrastructure that actually moves value, from payment rails and clearing houses to the cloud vendors and software dependencies that can take the whole system down with one bad update. The through-line is engineering trust in a...

We sit down with Hind from GraydonCreditsafe to unpack how global data, clear indicators, and ethical AI help banks and SMEs make faster, safer decisions. From cross‑border risk and KYC/KYB orchestration to partnerships that fight fraud, we map the path to trusted growth. • Graydon Creditsafe merger unlocking local depth and international reach • Balancing KYC, KYB and AML with operational speed •...

Deals worth millions still start with a handshake, even as AI prices risk in milliseconds. We dive into Finance X’s milestone 20th edition to map how insurance is shifting from shiny apps to deep architecture—modern MGAs that wrap legacy balance sheets with real-time data, AI underwriting engines, and API-driven distribution. We explore why authenticity is the scarce signal in a world of perfect p...

Your money choices no longer start inside a banking app—they start with a question to an AI. We unpack how that single shift rewires the entire financial stack: banks scramble to reclaim the decision moment with governed insights, advisors fight the “swivel chair” of disconnected tools, and investors treat digital businesses like rental properties while silver surges on AI and solar demand. We wal...

Tired of brittle report pipelines that buckle under volume and stall behind IT tickets? We sit down with Marko, CEO of CxReports , to unpack how modern teams automate client statements, invoices, and performance reports at massive scale without sacrificing security or brand consistency. From the first spark of buyer frustration to a confident, phased migration, we trace the path that moves organiz...

We unpack why KYC in payments became so heavy and how to make it almost invisible with data orchestration, deep KYC, and thoughtful UX. NABU ’s approach prefills profiles from trusted sources, uses AI to verify the real world, and gives analysts clear, auditable evidence. • mission to move from onboarding to no boarding  • why payments face extra AML and sanctions scrutiny  • balancing seamless UX...

We map how Belgium’s e‑invoicing mandate and EU initiatives like VIDA, PSD3, and PSR are changing payments, and why compliance delivered via APIs is now a competitive product. We also unpack AI’s impact on onboarding, verification of payee (VoP), and the push for lower, more sovereign fees. Join us for a podcast with Cedric, CEO of Digiteal . • API-based payments, e‑invoicing, QR, and open banking...

We dig into how AI changes the risk surface for banks and fintechs and why identity must be designed from the start. Sutton Maxwell of Curity shares how to set API guardrails, balance friction with trust, and choose hybrid architectures that meet regulation without killing speed. • What Curity does for API security and identity • Why AI pilots fail without early security design • Common mistakes w...

We explore how fintechs can move fast without breaking compliance, turning frameworks like DORA, NIS2, ISO 27001, SOC 2, and PCI DSS into a shared foundation for resilience. Copla’s blend of automation and expert guidance shows why continuous audit readiness beats fire drills and how vendor risk can be managed at scale. • origin story and why compliance pain inspired Coppla • mapping across framew...

We explore with Alexander from Solanteq , what makes a payments platform truly modern: cloud-native, modular, API-first, and regulation-ready, with the ability to scale from small pilots to global volume. We share a vision for “payment autopilot” and how multi-rail orchestration and AI can make payments feel invisible. • Cloud-native, modular architecture for issuing, acquiring and settlement • AP...

We sit down with Xavier Corman to unpack how Finrack turns inventory into financeable collateral using real-time pricing and a sale-and-buyback model. The conversation spans EU cross-border advantages, practical AI, and why better inventory KPIs drive both growth and sustainability. • founding story and links to FinTech Belgium and EDFA • the SME financing gap when inventory is the asset • how rea...

We explore how Hong Kong serves as a precise, high‑density launchpad for European fintechs, combining global finance access with practical, domain‑based regulation. Paula Kent and Fernando from Invest Hong Kong share tactics, sectors with pull, and concrete wins founders can model now. • Hong Kong’s financial hub status and market density  • Differences between the EU scale and the Hong Kong focus...

We connect the dots between KYB, UBO rules, and open data, showing how structured official records cut risk and speed up onboarding. We also explore agentic commerce, the rise of perpetual compliance, and why human oversight remains essential. Join Toon Vanagt, founder and CEO of Data.be .  • data.be’s single view across Belgian registers • KYB across onboarding, credit, and ongoing checks • UBO t...

We explore how AI and behavioural science can make debt collection more humane, more effective, and easier to scale across Europe. PAIR Finance explains reinforcement learning, a single international platform, and why recovery and retention go hand in hand. • AI-driven collections with behavioural science • Reinforcement learning optimising tone, timing, channels • One platform operating in 11+ Eu...

We explore how Europe’s fragmented credit data blocks fair lending for people who move across borders, and how Mifundo connects bureaus and banks to make financial identities portable. We share progress to 17 countries, the mindset shift lenders need, and how to use AI under EU high‑risk rules without black boxes. • fragmentation of European credit data and its impact on borrowers • difference bet...

The ground under finance moved, and most people only felt a rumble. We spent 2025 translating messy tech estates into DORA‑ready living registers, turning spreadsheets into real‑time risk maps, and discovering that fintech isn’t a sidecar anymore—it’s the engine. When a major processor or open banking provider hiccups, payments across entire regions stall. That’s why regulators accelerated, why cr...

What if your systems could instantly verify not just a company’s identity, but that a specific person or agent is truly authorized to act for it? We sit down with Alexandre Kech, CEO at GLEIF, to unpack how the Legal Entity Identifier became the world’s backbone for business identity and how the new Verifiable LEI brings authority, delegation, and digital trust into the open—across web, apps, and...

Money now moves at machine speed, and the rules of trust, identity, and loyalty are being rewritten in real time. We break down how banks are collaborating on shared utilities, why a 20-character LEI is becoming a passport for cross-border payments, and where BNPL’s rapid growth collided with transparency as FICO pulls installment data into mainstream credit scoring. Along the way, we explore why...

The biggest fintech wins don’t start with features—they start with identity. We sat down with Curity CEO Gustav Sahlman fresh off Nordic Fintech Week to unpack why identity is now the strategic layer for conversion, retention, and rapid product launches, and how AI is reshaping what customers expect from every interaction. From passkeys and biometrics to data sovereignty and deployment freedom, we...

The hype cycle is over; the results era is here. We unpack how finance moves from shiny demos to measurable outcomes by pairing agentic AI with the enterprise plumbing that actually makes change stick: orchestration, shared standards, and rigorous governance. Along the way, we confront the 93% project failure narrative and show why a simple time filter—necessary, automatable, delegable—cuts throug...

Finance is being fundamentally rebuilt and re-architected as credit becomes woven into our digital lives rather than something we seek out separately. This shift toward invisible, embedded finance is changing how individuals and businesses access and manage money, with fintechs often leading the charge. • Invisible lending is embedding finance directly into digital experiences like e-commerce chec...

Special Discount code: “TheConnector20” https://nfweek.com/ David Grundy takes us behind the scenes of Nordic Fintech Week, revealing why this gathering has become Europe's premier dedicated fintech event. Unlike other technology conferences that cover multiple domains, Nordic Fintech Week maintains a singular focus on financial technology, creating a unique space where startups and establish...