PayPod: The Payments and Fintech Podcast

Consumers are increasingly invested in sustainability. In this episode, we spoke with Brennan Spellacy, Co-founder and CEO of Patch to examine the ways companies can utilize technology to take action against climate change. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/09/patch/

Aiming to drive financial inclusion, David Conrad Rocha CEO and Co-founder of Prosperas joins us in this episode to discuss access to fast frictionless credit using unbiased phone metadata. This episode explores the way a blockchain platform has allowed consumers to have transparent control of their information enabling lenders to make responsible decisions about people they barely know. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/09/prosperas

Mobile payments have been gaining steam for years, but the pandemic created a boom in e-commerce and a necessity for contactless payment methods, almost overnight. In this episode we spent some time with Osa Gaius the Founder and CEO of Parrot - a mobile payments platform, to talk about the way our mobile devices are destined to become the dominant modality for our daily transactions. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/10/getparrot/

Often one of the key benefits of being a part of a tech start-up is equity in the company, but the process to exercise stock options can be daunting. In this episode we were joined by Vieje Piauwasdy, Senior Director of Equity Strategy at Secfi - the first equity planning platform helping start-up employees and executives navigate key financial decisions, to talk about why nearly two billion in start-up equity is being left on the table. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/09/secfi/

In this episode we look at the way one Fintech company is amplifying the process of developing enterprise applications. Robert Cooke, Founder and CTO at 3forge joined us to talk about building a framework focused on the financial industry to improve the way humans interact with data and increase reusability of code. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/09/3forge/

Payroll has historically been focused on the W2 employee. In the swift and ever evolving gig economy there has been a major shift toward 1099 contract work. In this episode we sat down with Desmon Lewis, Senior Sales Executive of Gig Wage, to talk about how the workplace is changing and how innovation in payment systems is following suit. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/09/gigwage/

In the early stages of a fintech/payments company investors and venture capital firms are seeking to understand why "now' is the right time for a company to disrupt and impact a space. In this episode we spent some time with Medha Agarwal, Partner at RedPoint Ventures exploring the role of venture capital in the seed and growth phases of start-ups. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/09/redpoint-ventures/

As cryptocurrencies become more mainstream, simplifying the process of buying, selling, and storing digital currencies is essential. In this episode our guest, Sung Choi the Vice President of Business Development at CoinMe guides us through the process of developing technologies that are changing how people experience their digital assets. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/09/coinme-2/

In this episode, we sat down with Chris Kline, the COO and Co-Founder of Bitcoin IRA to discuss the significance of utilizing Bitcoin as a component of your retirement portfolio and to explore how cryptocurrency will continue to be a pivotal component of our economic landscape. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/09/bitcoinira/

Paid leave is an important benefit, but navigating how and when it's used can become more of a headache than a perk for both employees and employers. In this episode Rob Whalen, CEO and Co-founder of PTO Exchange joins us to discuss a new and innovative way to allow employees to self-direct their accrued benefits to the vehicles of their choice. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/09/ptoexchange/

In this special episode we sat down with Peter Hazlehurst the Co-founder and CEO of Synctera, along with his client Robert Yau Co-Founder at Sincere to discuss the process and power of developing fintech apps. Synctera not only aids in the building process, but also in helping their clients navigate their banking relationship to ensure they get to market quickly and responsibly. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/09/synctera-and-sincere/

As the gig economy grows and the workplace continues to swing aggressively in the direction of freelance contracts, the sophistication of the payments process has to evolve. In this episode we are joined by Michael Brooks the Founder and CEO of goLance, to discuss the art of freelancing. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/08/golance/

In this episode we explore the transformation of payouts. Founder and CEO of Verituity, Ben Turner, joins us to take a look into their unique approach to wholistic verification easing the complexity of the payouts process, reducing risk and cost.

This episode explores the exciting and fast paced world of insurtech. Jeff Radke, CEO of Accelerant joins us to speak to the process of leveraging quailty data to disrupt legacy systems in the insurance industry. The Accelerant platform connects specialty underwriters with investors to empower growth and enhance the overall customer experience.

With nearly 30 years of experience working in payments and Fintech, Oded Zehavi, CEO and CoFounder of Mesh Payments joins us in this episode to talk about the way the pandemic inspired exciting ways to create disruption in spend management. Through Mesh's innovative platform companies have total control and visibility into every dollar spent. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/08/mesh-payments/

In this episode we cover all things crypto including Bitcoin ATMs and mobile security. Joined by Haseeb Awan, creator of one of the first and largest bitcoin ATMs - Bitaccess and current CEO of Efani, America's most secure and private cell phone service, we dive into SIM swaps, location tracking, and the future of information protection on mobile devices. Learn more: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/07/efani/

The burden of student loans is felt far and wide. Not only because of the size of the debt, but also because of the complicated nature of navigating the different rules and regulations specific to student debt. Bobby Matson, CEO and Founder of Payitoff joins us to discuss the power and importance of automating every aspect of debt repayment for fintechs, workplace providers and financial institutions - starting with student debt.

When it comes to expense tracking and spend management tech companies often have stronger awareness and control over their code than they do their money. In this episode we sat down with Andrew Hoag, CEO of Teampay to explore the topic and discuss the ways transparency and tech efficiencies in spend management are crucial.

In this episode Amanda Cohen, Director of Product at Resolver explores the way to transform 'Risk Management into Risk Intelligence'. From regulatory compliance to insight tracking that informs business decisions, Amanda speaks to the way Resolver serves as a wholistic and seamless approach to risk management.

When it comes to talent acquisition and retention, executive recruitment plays a crucial role. In this episode we sat down with Martin Mendelsohn, Senior Partner at Kingsley Gate Partners to explore the ever changing landscape of building a career in Fintech. Show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/06/kingsley-gate-partners/

Many businesses face numerous challenges when it comes to B2B payments and are often subject to revenue leakage in the billing process due to human error. In this episode we sat down with Rom Lakritz, Co-Founder and CEO of Anchor to talk about the benefits of payments automation to increase growth capacity and profitability. Check out show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/06/anchor/

Focused on the intersection of strategy and experience design, Mark Bruno, the VP of Product at Sensible Weather joins us in this episode to provide a window into what it means to manage climate risk in relationship to consumer experience purchases. By calculating Weather Guarantee pricing in real time, Sensible Weather is generating new revenue for partners and enhancing experiences for travelers because they believe cloudy days should never ruin a good time. Check out the show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/04/sensible/

As the options to simplify our lives and digitize our wallets increase every day, the demand for unattended payment solutions technology grows as well. On this episode Carly Furman, the CEO of Nayax North America joins us to talk about the future of cashless payments, increased consumer data security in credit transactions, and the power of unattended transaction capability for business owners. Check out the show notes here: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/04/nayax/

The average consumer has approximately $400 of liquidity making it incredibly difficult to say "yes" to beneficial and often necessary health related procedures and services. In this episode Stephen Sweeney, Chairman and CEO of iCreditWorks joins us to talk about the advancements and benefits of a native mobile app that makes aquiring personal financing simple and hassle free. Show notes: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/04/simplifying-personal-financing-with-stephen-sweeney-of-icreditworks/

Financial Services has historically been a fairly low tech space. Mike Sha, CEO and Co-founder of Sigfig join us to discuss the way fintech is transforming the investing and banking experience. SigFig prioritizes collaboration with the banking industry to enable them to connect with consumers in a personal way, having a powerful impact through customer centric digital engagement. Read show notes and more! :https://www.soarpay.com/2022/03/sigfig

Rebate Revenue accounts for an ever increasing amount of revenue margin across so many industries. In this episode Andrew Butt, CEO of Enable gives us a closer look into the way modern software can transform the rebate revenue management process creating efficiency and data transparancy. For access to show notes and more visit https://www.soarpay.com/2022/03/enable

With Crypto currency gaining more traction every day the landscape can be increasingly complex. Cryptogic co-founder, Scott, joins us to bid farewell as PayPod's trusted host and explore the future of Crypto currency payments and investing, discussing key insights and advancements in alternative payment technologies.

A positive customer experience is critical to any business... and payments often play a crucial role in that experience. In an increasingly digital world, seamless payments have become even more important. Dave Lehman, COO and President of Birdeye, joins the show to discuss keys to quality customer experiences, digital payments, and Birdeye Payments, a new pay-by-text solution. Read show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/02/birdeye/

Organizations of all kinds continue to explore vertical integration of payments, lending, and other financial services to create alternative revenue sources and drive growth. On this episode, we take a look at the power of payroll integrations to unlock new capabilities and opportunities for fintechs, employers, SaaS businesses, and beyond. Our guest is Andrew Brown, the founder and CEO of Check, which is a payroll infrastructure startup that lets you embed payroll directly in your vertical SaaS, HR, or time-tracking platform. Check is leading the charge with payroll-as-a-service! Read show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/02/check/

With so many ways to pay for products and services, multiple credit cards, bank accounts, and and beyond… there has never been more consumers must keep track of in regards to their money. How can technology, and something like an app on your phone simplify this all? Amanda Orson, VP, Head of North America at Curve, joins the show to share how Curve is simplifying money management. Read show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/02/curve/

Attracting digital customers is critical to the success of so many businesses these days, and those operating in payments or fintech are no exception. On this episode, we dive into the keys to winning digital customers with the help of Howard Tiersky, CEO of FROM, The Digital Transformation Agency. Howard is also the author of "Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to Irrelevance" and had many insights to share. Read show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/01/from/

Many SaaS companies have integrated payments into their platforms to open up new revenue streams. Maximizing that revenue is something else altogether. Our guest on the show who will be explaining the "how" of revenue maximization is Spartak Buniatyan. Spartak is the CEO and founder of PayEngine, which is a payments platform designed to help vertical market software vendors maximize their payment revenue, eliminate liability, and reduce complexity. Read show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2022/01/payengine/

Opportunity Zones offer investors and founders one of the most compelling tax advantages in history... Listen along as Ashley Tison, Co-founder of OZ Pros joins the podcast to break down what Opportunity Zones are, and explore how Fintech entrepreneurs are locating (or relocating) their businesses in Opportunity Zones to take advantage of the capital gains benefits and more. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/12/ozpros/

Payment APIs that automate payment processing bring a tremendous amount of value to businesses looking for more seamless customer experiences around payments. On this episode, our guest is Skyler Nesheim, SVP of Technology at Dwolla. Dwolla is a FinTech company that is changing the way innovative businesses move money. Since 2008, Dwolla's modern platform has powered billions in payments for millions of end users. https://www.soarpay.com/2021/12/dwolla/

Microlending is on the rise, particularly in the realm of digital assets like cryptocurrencies. On this episode Keefe Tan, Project Director of Gennix joins to discuss the how and why of microlending for digital assets, NFTs, and more. Listen in to hear the Gennix story, and take an in-depth look at another side of the Decentralized Finance world. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/12/gennix/

There is no shortage of fintech products these days... more organizations than ever before are leveraging technology to revolutionize payments, banking, finance, and beyond. But when it comes to fintech products, what are the keys to long term growth and adoption? Paul Garibian, president of Nota. Nota is M&T Bank's fintech solution for attorneys joins the show to discuss. Paul has spent nearly 20 years helping financial institutions drive product development and grow revenue and market share Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/12/nota/

Financial crime is a challenge faced by all businesses, but particularly for financial organizations such as banks, fintechs, and payments businesses. What are the keys to successfully approaching Financial Crime Risk Management (FCRM)? Jaime Ramirez, CEO of Preventor, joins the show to offer key insights. Preventor is the next generation self-service digital identity and fraud prevention collaborative platform for individuals, businesses, and governments... they're leading the charge in the fight against financial crime. Listen along to learn how! Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/11/preventor/

Accounts Receivable (A/R), invoicing, and bill presentment/payments are all crucial processes for businesses. Not getting paid in a timely manner, and efficiently, can have more significant consequences for SMBs. Once again, technology, and specifically a SaaS solution, offers up powerful results. Garima Shah, President of BIller Genie - an award-winning Accounts Receivable (A/R) platform and e-invoicing solution that automates bill presentment, follow up, online payments, and reconciliation for SMBs, joins to discuss. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/11/biller-genie/

Cyber security is a critical element for payments organizations, fintechs, and really any financial organization of any size to "get right" from the start. Not doing so can harm growth, user trust, and more. Michael Argast, CEO and Co-Founder of Kobalt.io, which manages and develops cyber security programs for SMBs joins the show to explore the keys to cyber security success. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/11/kobalt-io/

How do you build a successful dev team - particularly as a startup in the fintech world? Whether it's blockchain technology, AI, big data, or other tech... development needs are clear, and assembling a global team can be key to growth. On this episode, Timothy Partasevitch, Chief Growth Officer for SmartIT joins to break down the keys to building a winning dev team. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/10/smart-it/

The continually growing numbers of gig workers has transformed the way many think about careers themselves. But gig workers have different needs, particularly on the financial and banking side than many traditional workers. Fortunately, fintechs are stepping up to directly service them and the gig economy itself. But how is it being done, and what's to come in the future? Matt Spoke, CEO of Moves, the only all-in-one financial app helping gig workers manage their business and get ahead, joins to discuss. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/10/moves/

What if there was a way for consumers to move outside traditional search engines and digital advertising to protect privacy AND get financial rewards from use of their data? Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency offer key solutions. On this episode our guest is Dr. Kurt Nielsen, President of Partisia Blockchain, a WEB 3.0 public blockchain built for trust, transparency, privacy and speed of light finalization. Listen along as Kurt walks us through it all. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/10/partisia-blockchain/

For our 200th episode, we take a look at the big picture of payments to explore the latest trends, technologies, and forces driving change in the space! Paul Golding, Senior US Payments and Lifestyle Analyst for Macquarie Group, joins the show as a subject matter expert to offer key insights. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/10/macquarie/

Startup investment and VC funding are areas of finance ripe for innovation. As Fintech tools and platforms continue to evolve, cost reduction and efficiency become a primary focus. On this episode, Rémy Astié, Founder & Co-CEO of Vauban joins the show to discuss the growth in VC investing, and how their platform is making start-up investing faster, easier, and more accessible... which is great for both investors and the start-ups looking for capital. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/10/vauban/

eCommerce businesses continue to thrive, but only with the right strategy and supporting platforms like Shopify. Having the optimal payments stack is also crucial to success. Chase Clymer, Co-Founder of Electric Eye, a growth agency focusing on eCommerce brands using Shopify specifically joins the show to explore. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/09/electric-eye/

Micropayments, financial transactions involving small sums of money, typically online, have been overlooked by many traditional payments and financial organizations. However, the "microeconomy" is actually massive, and offers exciting opportunities for those that cater to it... and financial inclusion itself. Sushil Prabhu, Chairman and CEO of Dropp, a platform enabling micropayments, joins the podcast to break it all down. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/09/dropp/

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) not only has the chance to revolutionize the economy, it has the chance to save it. This makes bridging the gap between traditional finance and cryptocurrencies, neobanks, and beyond, absolutely crucial. Rachid Ajaja, CEO and Founder of AllianceBlock joins the show to discuss these opportunities, and how his company is helping DeFi products and services drive value and mainstream adoption. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/09/allianceblock/

Small and Midsize Businesses (SMB) have unfortunately often found themselves underserved by traditional banks when it comes to lending. How can fintech-powered solutions bridge the gap? On this episode, Brian Geary, President of Linear Financial Technologies joins the show to explore this and share his company's story. Quality tech platforms can reduce lending friction, reduce costs for banks (making it easier to service smaller players), and more.... listen along to find out how! Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/09/linearft/

Digital transformations are happening across many industries, and banking is no exception. Banking customers have come to expect mobile apps and other digitized services, while open banking continues to establish itself as the future. Vikram Srivats, VP and General Manager at WaveMaker joins the show to discuss their low code development platform, and how banks can successfully navigate digital transformations. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/09/wavemaker/

When it comes to fraud prevention, behavioral biometrics presents the latest, and perhaps greatest, way to leverage technology for increased security and privacy. Add in passive authentication and the implications for improved user experience across banking, payments, and elsewhere are significant. Bill Sytsma, Senior VP at Callsign, joins the show to discuss. Find show notes and more: https://www.soarpay.com/2021/09/callsign/