The MoneyPot

User experience is at the heart of the fintech revolution.   Innovation has centered around building better, smarter, cheaper, and more helpful services to disrupt the establishment and reinvigorate competition for the consumer.   If data is the oil of that innovation, then understanding the pipelines is all part of enhancing customer service and the user experience.    To understand more about da...

In our part 2 of How to Re-Platform a Bank,  we rejoin Form3 to take us through the tips to let go of your legacy technologies, and update your core.   What steps should you consider?  What helps you to trust the process and feel secure.    And as cloud technologies become more central, how soon should you get started?    We spoke to Nick Middleton, the Enterprise Program Director at Form3 about t...

Open finance is gearing up to change the way that financial products are developed and delivered.   For example, payroll data underpins almost all retail financial products.   Having better, cleaner, faster access to that data could change the way financial risk is assessed.   So, what has kept us from using it before? - cost, privacy, speed, verified accuracy, and technological capability.   But,...

Whether cryptocurrencies are up or down,  they have gained real legitimacy in 2020.  One of the reasons behind that is a company called Chainalysis, which has built an impressive data platform that allows you to decode transaction history throughout blockchains.   But their plans are much more ambitious.   Recognizing the value of bitcoin's scarcity, and the creativity spurred by innovations...

Customer centricity is central to fintech innovation and lately groups of digital first banks have sprung up addressing the needs of different underserved communities.     Daylight, a neobank aimed at serving LGBT+ communities, is changing the game when it comes to understanding the customer.   Using both market research and personal experience,  Co-Founders Rob Curtis and Billie Simmons, are appl...

Venture Capital is at the heart of financial services disruption.   In Q1 of 2021, over 17 billion dollars has poured into fintech startups, and the investors are not simply side players that provide a check.  They can be an invaluable resource for founders creating the products and services that are changing this industry.   Understanding the expertise, networks, and talent pools that VCs bring t...

Data is at the center of personalized experiences, but there is a fine line between tailored experiences and being creepy.  With the zeal to reach customers, tech doesn't always watch that line.   But we know that understanding your customers and providing services they want is key to differentiating yourself in the e-commerce space.    We spoke to Bill Schneider and Julie Cox from SheerID to...

There is a slew of  niche neobanks that are designed to serve communities that are traditionally underserved and marginalized.   By serving these markets,  the founders believe that they can grab and create customer bases worth millions of dollars, as well as equalize the playing field and helping advance the mission of helping people build wealth.  To understand what issues that these new banks a...

Too often, regulations and regulators, are looked at as the enemies of innovation.   But, the world of RegTech isn't only about lowering the costs of compliance.  It is about empowering regulators to be flexible to serve bigger policy goals, keeping the market fair and dynamic.   We spoke with Murat Abur, Co-founder and CTO at Suade Labs to discuss the developments and possibilities that RegT...

For years we’ve discussed the shift to mobile and the importance of digitizing businesses, and today we are seeing that shift accelerated. We have also witnessed an acceleration in consumers’ expectations for how brands are showing up and a seamless digital-first experience. We are navigating unique challenges as we think through ways to create impactful marketing that answers to consumers’ needs...

China's BSN-  Blockchain Service Network-  first announced in 2019, provides infrastructure and tools for the deployment of blockchain solutions for Chinese businesses as well as businesses that operate in or trade with China.   To learn more about this potentially game-changing infrastructure investment,  we spoke with Aly Madhavji, Managing Partner of the Blockchain Founders Fund and Zennon...

NFTs have been the buzz in the air, but it seems like there is enduring confusion about what an NFT is and what it does. So, we thought- could we walk in the pioneering footsteps of the Kings of Leon, and make an audio episode about making an NFT into an NFT? So we did!    AND, in the process we made episode art and a song about what else?- NFTs. And you can bid on it here!: https://opensea.io/col...

For grim reasons, the estate planning business boomed during the early days of the pandemic. Access demanded a completely digital approach that allowed for highly informed decision making and legally binding documentation. But there is another barrier that needs to be broken- the notion that Wills and Planning are only for wealthy people and white people.    Did you know that Aretha Franklin died...

It is hard to transform to digital first, or as our guest co-host Kevin Holditch says, "Replatforming a bank is like swapping out a couple of decades old jet engine, mid flight, whilst being 38,000 feet in the air with an over-pack passenger list."  Seems like that might cause a few difficulties, doesn't it?    This is the first of a special series with Form3.   Gary Dempsey,  Conte...

SPACs have made going public incredibly tantalizing, and the number of SPACS in 2021 is eye-popping.    So, is that actually a great thing?    And what does JP Morgan shutting down ChasePay mean for the big banks in a big tech world?   Sanjib Kalita, Editor-in-Chief and Rachel Morrissey, Content Producer at Money20/20 USA discuss these topics to try to give context and thoughts about the trends in...

Citi and Google recently announced the creation of the CitiPlex with GooglePay account that is a full bank account residing in the Google ecosystem.  Google also announced 11 other partnerships with a variety of banks.   It is one of the most significant steps of "big tech" into formal banking, and creating a seamless experience for the consumer.   It is a step in the direction of the su...

Product Development is the heart and soul of fintech.  Building a better mousetrap was the point of creating products and services that addressed the needs and behaviors of modern consumers.   Sometimes, it is helpful to look at that journey through the eyes of another industry, so we took the opportunity to speak with one of the best product designers we know.   Melissa Pickering is the Head of P...

As e-commerce has boomed, digital multi-channel payments have become a necessity, but companies want their brand on every element, including the payments experience.   We spoke with Paul Anthony at Primer to learn how we can make payments less complicated and give the power of experience design back to the merchants.   Guest:  Paul Anthony, Co-Founder, Primer Hosts: Elena Mesropyan, Content Lead,...

As the followers of  /WallStreetBets, a subReddit group, took the unprecedented action of retail investors squeezing the hedge fund shorts of GameStop stock, it set the entire world buzzing.   In the process, RobinHood, an investing app and one of fintech's unicorns became inadvertently squeezed a bit as well.   Due to some great investor relations, RobinHood gathered the capital to be able t...

Understanding customer behaviors are only the beginning of the customer journey. As digital transformation has become table stakes, understanding the balance between digital and in person service is all about redefining how we look at the customers, how we look at their data, and how we plan to meet expectations. We spoke with Brandon Rembe of Envestnet to talk about what you need to plan your dig...

During Covid, the ability to be a digital, multi-channel, diversified business became a matter of survival for SMEs.     Solving the banking issues for freelancers,  entrepreneurs, and shop owners  has always been about giving them tools and space to follow their dreams and passions, but now, it is about lasting and recovering.    Could the push to digital have put small businesses that survive th...

Sustainability values are permeating every industry as the realities of climate change sink in. Many banks are creating earth-friendly investment funds, and firms like BlackRock Investors have announced that they will divest from all thermal coal exposure, and will take active measures to help companies that are part of their profile to go green. This is extremely appealing to younger generations...

Those in fintech have long maintained that the industry would lower the barriers of inclusion, and create opportunities for building wealth. And for the last 10 years, we have collected the stories that seem to support this. But, Plaid has decided to get some actual numbers and find out whether this theory holds water. Turns out it might! We spoke to John Pitts, Head of Policy, at Plaid about thei...

In this anniversary special for RiseUp, sponsored by Western Union, we address the struggles of minority female entrepreneurs, exploring the unique struggles of intersectionality in the venture capitalist ecosystem, the positive/negative impacts of COVID this year, and the path forward. We spoke with founder Natasha Bansgopaul, DarcMatter, and VC's - Sean Park of Anthemis and Sarah Kunst of C...

Accelerators allow startups and entrepreneurs to be a part of necessary networks- learning networks,  talent development networks, and institutional relationships.   Fintech Innovation Lab, established in 2009, has created an unbeatable network for enterprise startups that help companies to capitalize on their true market value.   We spoke with Maria Gotsch, Co-founder of the Fintech Innovation La...