In this episode of the Leaders in Payments and Fintech podcast, Jerome Traisnel, CEO and founder of SlimPay, discusses his extensive journey and insights in the fintech and payments industry. The conversation delves into the evolution of SlimPay, the first payment service provider focused exclusively on recurring payments, and its role in the rise of the subscription economy. Highlights include Jerome's background in engineering and marketing, his early ventures in mobile technology with Freever, and SlimPay's recent partnership with Trustly to set new standards for recurring payments across Europe and the UK. The episode also explores the challenges and strategies in scaling a fintech company, regulatory impacts, and the future landscape of payments and subscription services globally.

In this episode of the Leaders in Payments and Fintech podcast, James Neville, CEO, and founder of Yaspa, discusses his journey and insights in the fintech and payments industry. The conversation focuses on the evolution of Yaspa, a real-time payments business leveraging open banking technologies to reduce fraud, improve customer identification, and streamline transactions in regulated markets. Highlights include the impact of GDPR and FCA regulations, the challenges and strategies in consumer and merchant adoption, and future prospects for growth and innovation in the payments landscape globally.

This week to mark the 30th episode of the EDC podcast, I’m joined by 2 special guests: Mark Beresford (Director and head of the EDC retailer practice) and Mark McMurtrie (EDC Associate Consultant).

We also decided to go all out and record our first episode face to face in a London studio with video as well as audio. So look out for the video version which will follow this audio only podcast. We will place a link to the video on this page once ready.

In this episode we are returning to the topic of payment orchestration which remains a super important trend in the payments industry, with a lot of activity to stay abreast of.

In our conversation we covered the following topics which we have timestamped for convenience:

- Setting the scene: 1min 45sec

- Definitions: 3min 50sec

- Merchant perspective: 9min 35sec

- Build or Buy: 18min 48sec

- Payment orchestration provider landscape: 26min 51sec

- Future of payment orchestration: 40min 42sec

- EDC guide to payment orchestration: 48min 21sec

EDC recently published a Guide to Payment Orchestration which is based on a growing database of 50+ Payment Orchestration Providers. The guide is free and available to download here.

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This week, we meet up with Hans Puvogel COO of Parkopedia. This is a natural follow up to a previous episode on in car payment with Mercedes Pay. I find the transformation of the automotive industry totally fascinating. Its quite incredible how fast things are moving both in terms of migration from fossil fuel to EV vehicles but also in terms of the emergence of highly connected cars capable of supporting all kinds of in car commerce use cases.

Founded in 2007, Parkopedia has become a key player in this emerging market. It is the world's leading connected car services provider used by millions of drivers, car manufactures and other organisations. And its not just parking as the name implies, today, Parkopedia helps drivers find and pay for petrol, fuel, EV charging stations, road tolls and other connected car services in over 20,000 cities across 90 countries.

In our conversation, Hans expands on Parkopedia’s journey and we discuss how important and integral Parkopedia’s in house developed payment processing platform has become to the Parkopedia solution and proposition to its B2B customers. In particular I was struck by how much back end complexity the Parkopedia team have managed to solve for, providing technical, operational and contractual aggregation of all stakeholders across connected car value chain for a wide variety of different payment use cases. 

 

Guest Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hans-hendrik-puvogel/

Company Website: https://business.parkopedia.com/home

Company on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parkopedia/

This week we meet up with Suresh Vaghjiani CEO of CLOWD9. Founded by Suresh in 2022, CLOWD9 is the world’s first cloud-based issuer processing platform. He is an experienced financial services executive having held senior roles at both FCA regulated and leading edge technology companies. He previously served as CEO of Tribe Payments and Managing Director and President at Global Processing which is now Thredd. Prior to this, Suresh held senior roles at FTSE companies Paysafe Group PLC and Kalixa Payments Group. In our conversation today, we discuss why the payments industry has been behind in moving to the cloud and examine the latest trends in the issuer processing market. We also discuss CLOWD9’s B Corp status, which again it is one of the first payments companies to have achieved, and discuss what it takes to build effective teams and a lot more besides. So I do hope you enjoy this conversation with Suresh.

About This Episode

This week, we meet up with Nico Kersten, CEO of Mercedes Pay. On top of the transformational shift from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, Mercedes-Benz is also transforming itself into a digital software driven company where digital payments becomes an essential foundational layer. This is the focus of our conversation today. Launched in 2018 Mercedes pay operates the in-house digital Payment platform for Mercedes Benz and acts as the digital payments and fintech knowledge hub for the Group. Mercedes pay platform is now live in more than 40 markets, enabling transaction processing for Mercedes-Benz e-commerce products and services. In addition, Niko also shares his perspective on what it takes to successfully manage fintech innovation at a large traditional industrial company.

About Mercedes Pay

Mercedes pay GmbH as subsidiary of Mercedes Benz Mobility AG operates our in-house digital ePayment platform. Acting as the knowledge hub around digital payments, it plays an integral role in the mobility and digitalization strategy of Mercedes-Benz Group AG.

Mercedes pay was first launched in 2018 in selected markets. The platform is now active in more than 40 markets, where it enables transaction processing for Mercedes-Benz e-commerce products and services on a global scale. Depending on the market, this includes transactions via the Mercedes me connect store, the Mercedes me app, in-car payments or online down payments for vehicles as well as vehicle payments in full.

 

Episode Links 

Nico's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nico-kersten-767500211/

Mercedes Pay Website: https://www.mercedes-benz-mobility.com/en/what-we-do/payment-services/

Mercedes Pay on LinkedIn: ‍https://www.linkedin.com/company/mercedes-pay-gmbh/

Another Of Nico's Recent Interviews: "Why shouldn’t cars be able to do what smartphones have long been able to do?”

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This week, we meet up with Barry Levett CEO of Mypinpad. MYPINPAD is a global leader in secure payments acceptance and personal authentication solutions using smartphones and tablets. Their proprietary and globally patented technology secures and protects the input of sensitive information on touchscreens creating a trusted environment. MYPINPAD’s innovative solutions removes the need for specialised hardware thereby reducing cost and complexity, promotes rapid adoption and leverages the connected capabilities of smart devices. Barry was previously founder of SmartPesa which merged with Mypinpad in 2022. In our conversation we discuss the merger and Barry shares his perspective on state of the softPOS payments market including channel convergence and need for deeper integration into workflows and processes.

This week, we meet up with Matthew Steinbrecher, VP Partnerships at Reach. Reach is a Merchant of Record provider which acts as an intermediary between a business and its customers, taking responsibility for the payments process and assuming liability on behalf of that business. This is a great educational episode. Matthew explains what the Merchant of Record model is and how it gives merchants access to local acquiring in foreign markets and the ability to process locally. This eliminates the need to establish expensive local entities, lowering fees, reducing false declines, and outsourcing fraud risks and global tax compliance. Matthew also shares his perspective on the latest trends in the MOR space. 

 

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin’s contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

This week, we meet up with Jose Manuel Peral, Chief Sales Officers at Devengo -  a Madrid based start-up founded in 2020 that offers embedded payments enabling fast automated pay outs using the latest real time payment infrastructure including SEPA Instant and UK’s Faster Payments service. Jose previously co-founded Easy Payment Gateway in 2013, from which he made a successful exit via a sale to Global Payments in 2020. He is also an active seed stage investor. Lot of tips and advice for payment and fintech founders.

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

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Today’s episode is timely one. We meet up with Scott McInnes, partner in the Brussels office of international law firm Bird & Bird, to deep dive the recently published package of new payments legislation proposed by the European Commission. Scott has more than 15 years' experience of competition law and regulation, with considerable expertise in payments regulation and competition law across Europe. First off we review the much anticipated 3rd Payment Services Directive - PSD3  -  which consists of 2 proposals, the Directive plus the Payment Services Regulation or PSR. Secondly, we take a look at a proposal for a framework for financial data access or FIDA which seeks to extend Open Banking to establish rights and obligations to manage customer data sharing in the broader financial sector beyond payment accounts. And then Thirdly, we discuss the proposed framework to facilitate the possible introduction of a digital euro which is perhaps the most radical and transformative idea on the table. With the EU payments legislation pipeline now chocker block, we also consider the UK’s post Brexit position and the fact that the UK has for the first time in the 20 + years of EU payments regulation, not had any input or say in the drafting of the proposed legislation.

Below are Bird & Bird's client alerts on PSD3 and PSR:

‍https://www.twobirds.com/en/insights/2023/global/proposed-psd3-and-payment-services-regulation-psr-bird-and-birds-initial-thoughts

And, on FIDA:

https://www.twobirds.com/en/insights/2023/global/proposed-open-finance-framework-fida-bird-and-birds-initial-thoughts

 

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

 

This week, we meet up with Tom Voaden, Head of Partnerships BR-DGE - a leading independent payment orchestration platform. The Edinburgh Scotland based firm has partnered with over 300 payment providers and technology solutions to build a platform that gives merchants fast access to the latest innovations in the payment sector. We discuss the state of the increasingly busy payment orchestration landscape, and Tom shares his perspective on how orchestration can deliver value to merchants.

 

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

 

This week, we meet up with Ohad Maimon, CEO and founder of Hyp - a leading payment company in Israel, processing around 1 in 3 of all merchant transactions in the country.

We discuss the Israeli market, how Hyp was born out of the merger of 4 leading payment companies and spun off from its parent company Max which itself is a spin off from Bank Leumi one of Israeli’s largest banks.

Ohad also shares his perspective and approach to managing innovation from proactively partnering with start-ups, conducting rapid market experiments, and scaling up the most promising ideas and how to then successfully absorbing them into the core business.

A great insight into payment innovation management in market that is synonymous with tech led innovation.

 

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

 

This week we speak with Fliss Berridge, co-founder at Ordo - a UK fintech offering fully managed and white labelled open banking enabled payments services.

The company was founded by the former management team of the UK’s Faster Payments Scheme back in 2018 with a mission to use open banking payments to provide businesses with an alternative to card payments and direct bank payments.

In our conversation we discuss the latest developments in UK Open Banking, focusing on recent announcements by the JROC - Joint Regulatory Oversights Committee - on both commercial VRP-enabled services  - that is Variable Recurring Payments, and the future Open Banking entity.

Some amazing insights here to bring you right up to date with UK Open Banking.

And before we dive into the conversation, I just would like to add that this is actually the last EDC podcast that I will be hosting. I will be moving on and handing you over to the rest of the EDC team for the next episode. So with that out of the way, let's get straight into the conversation with Fliss Berridge from Ordopay.

This week we meet up with Ed Harries, VP Strategic Partners and Payments at Visual Soft, a leading e-commerce platform in the UK. I think in this episode we get to the very core of what is already and will continue to drive the next wave of innovation and value in payments and FinTech.

We discuss how Visual Soft created their own payment solution in partnership with Stripe. And combining issuing and acceptance solutions, traditionally very separate worlds to create fundamentally new value creating opportunities. And when we say value, yes, we are referring to monetisation, but it's more than that.

These innovations are transforming the customer experience on the pay inside which translates into happier, more loyal and returning customers, and in turn is triggering a step change in uplift in customer lifetime value, which of course is huge. And then transforming finance operations on the pay-out side through faster and more flexible access to funds. That's why there continues to be so much excitement around this space, more frequently referred to as embedded finance, but I think it's helpful to avoid some of the jargon and explain it as it is.

 

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

In todays episode, we meet up with Olu Akanmu, President and CEO of Nigeria’s OPay whiich is one of Nigeria’s leading fintech companies. With a growing population of more than 200 million, almost twice as large as Ethiopia and Egypt the next 2 largest African countries by population size, not only is Nigeria Africa’s largest economy, but it is also the most important Fintech centre on the continent. It is estimated that there are at least 250 fintech companies in Nigeria, and Opay sits right at the top of this list alongside other well-known Nigerian fintech’s such as Flutterwave and Chippercash. In our conversation, Olu provides his perspective on how technology driven financial services are driving financial inclusion and spreading prosperity across Nigeria’s urban and rural communities. This is a fascinating insight into the power of fintech and how modern digital payments  infrastructure can underpin, enable and catalyse economic growth and transform lives.

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

This week we are discussing orchestration with Oliver Rajic - Chief Growth Officer at PPRO. PPRO is a leading fintech most well-known for enabling businesses to easily accept alternative payments methods across the globe. The acquisition of Alpha Fintech in 2022 where Oliver was CEO, strengthens PPRO’s position as both a global payments technology leader and trusted infrastructure partner to PSPs, banks and corporates. In our conversation we deep dive into the various orchestration concepts and start off with a helpful definition of the difference between payment, service and product orchestration.

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

This week, we are continuing with the theme of financial inclusion. This time in Africa, I'm speaking with Meabh Maguire, who is the Global Head of Commercial at CR2 which is a world-leading vendor within the digital banking platform market. Headquartered in Ireland, CR2 has established a market leadership position in Africa, and enable over a hundred banks in 60 countries. Having spent more than a decade in the African region in our conversation, Meabh shares her perspective on the huge social and economic impact that the growth in digital payments and more broadly technology enabled financial services have had on the region.

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

In today’s episode,  I have the privilege to speak with Akash Sinha, co-founder and CEO of Cashfree - a leading payments platform in India. Founded in 2015, Cashfree has rapidly ascended from start up to become one of India’s most successful fintechs. Akash explains how he and co-founder Reeju Datta built Cashfree to provide a full stack payments solution enabling businesses in India to collect payments and make payouts via all available methods with a single integration. The company now has more than 50% market share of payment disbursals in India. We discuss how huge the Indian market has become. The volumes involved are quite staggering, and even more so when you consider that online payment volumes are set to grow by a further 3x over the next 5 years. This is an incredible story of growth in a super-sized market. We cover a lot of ground in this in depth and frank discussion, so I do hope you enjoy this conversation with Akash Sinha from Cashfree.

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

This week we are speaking with Gregoire Toussaint who is a Director in the EDC Paris office and leads the B2B payments practice. In our conversation, we talk about insights from recent research carried out by EDC into B2B payments including regional differences, key pain points, and emerging best practices.

 

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

In today’s episode, Martin chats with Bernhard Reiterer CEO and founder of SignD Identity, the Vienna based RegTech provider. The SignD Platform provides end to end onboarding solutions with KYC / KYB and AML compliance across multiple jurisdictions built in. In our conversation, we discuss the increasing complexity and burden of compliance especially for companies operating across multiple jurisdictions. Bernhard explains what it took for him to successfully convince large incumbent financial institutions to trust his start up with their compliance obligations, develop domestic market leadership and expand internationally into other markets. No mean feat. And plenty of start up lessons and tips.

 

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

In today’s episode, Martin speaks to week we are speaking with Eline Blomme, who is VP of products at Truelayer. Founded in 2016, Truelayer is a fast growing UK fintech that has become one of Europe’s leading open banking payment platforms. In our conversation, we discuss variable recurring payments, or VRPs for short, which are an important new way to initiate recurring payments via new open banking technology. VRPs offer significant economic as well as social benefits to all stakeholders. VRPs can be used in two different ways — sweeping and non-sweeping. Sweeping enables customers to automatically move money between bank accounts in their name and arrange recurring payments — for example to repay a loan or move funds to a savings account. Non-sweeping use cases include fixed and variable subscriptions, allowing businesses to take payments for things such as energy bills, rental payments and streaming services. Eline explains why VRPs are considered important and what Truelayer is doing to advocate for their wider use. 

 

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

In today’s episode, Martin speaks to Wilco Slabbekoorn who is SVP of Revenue Growth and Head of Commercial Europe for Checkout.com. As most of you payment insiders no doubt know, Checkout.com is another incredible FinTech success story. Started back in 2012 by founder and CEO Guillaume Pousaz, it has grown and grown and now has over 1,700 employees across 19 global offices. The Checkout.com growth story really is a testament to the global boom in modern payment technology able to satisfy our appetite for digital payments experiences. In our conversation, we discuss the relentless growth and pace of change in the digital payments and FinTech space. Wilco shares his insights based on many years of experience, partnering with merchants to help leverage modern payments technology, drive growth and transform end to end customer journeys.

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

In today’s episode, Martin speaks to Pascal Burg who is an EDC Director and leads are travel practice. Based out of Paris, Pascal has many years of experience in this space. In our conversation Pascal shares his perspective and views on this complicated yet fascinating area of payments. We cover the complexity of payment processing along the travel value chain, important trends in travel payments, the impact of the economic downturn on travel providers such as airlines and hotels, shifting risk appetite of acquiring banks, M&A activity and lots besides. It’s a really interesting conversation actually recorded late last year, so I do hope you enjoy this conversation with Pascal Burg.

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

This week we speak with Hazal Muhtar, Director of Product Analytics at Wise.

Wise probably needs no introduction. Launched in 2011 under its original name TransferWise, it is one of the world’s fastest growing, profitable fintech companies and has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2021.

Hazal heads up a rapidly growing data analytics team at Wise, and in our conversation, we discuss various topics including the role of data analytics in product innovation in a highly regulated industry, the challenge of building data and technology teams around strategic business priorities, and key considerations when scaling teams.

In today’s episode, Martin speaks to Lorraine Fahy, CMO at paytech Prommt Prommt is a leading SaaS platform that enables businesses to request, collect and track remote payments from customers with secure and personalised payment links that can be sent via email, text as well as from with in chat and messaging apps. Customers are then given the choice to pay by card or by account-to-account bank transfer (Pay by Bank) that leverages new Open Banking technologies. In our conversation, Lorraine expands on the company’s growth journey to date and plans for the US market. 

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts: https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

 

 

In this episode, Martin meets with Thomas Ficht, Head of Payments at MyToys.de a leading German ecommerce retailer. The company is part of the mighty Otto Group - an ecommerce marketplace in Germany. In the podcast, we discuss the popularity of the open invoice payment method in Germany. Open invoice is a long-standing payment method in Germany and is essentially BNPL. It allows consumers to order a basket of products with no prior payment. Consumers then typically have two weeks to decide what to keep and pay for which is normally done via bank transfer. Culturally German companies like to do things in-house and you’ll find many ecommerce retailers still with their own home-grown open invoice solutions. Many will offer instalment loans themselves. As Thomas explains, MyToys parent company Otto Group, recently expanded its own inhouse instalment lending programme operated by a newly set up subsidiary which now handles all payment   functions for the group, and part of strategy to transform Otto from online retailer into an Amazon-like marketplace. We discuss much besides. I hope you enjoy the conversation with Thomas Ficht.

 

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts:https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

In today’s episode, I meet with Ravi Kumaraswami, President of Worldwide Field Operations at Riskified with global responsibility for global sales, marketing and channel teams. Riskified is another phenomenal fintech success story. Founded 10 years ago, it has successfully commercialised deep AI and ML tech to help merchants combat and stop fraud. The company IPO-ed on NYSE in Summer of 2021, and recently announced FY 2022 revenues of $261m. We discuss Riskified growth story, Ravi’s GTM approach and leadership, plus much more besides. 

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts:https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

In today’s episode, Martin is joined by Mark Beresford, Director at EDC based in our London office and leads our retailer practice. In the conversation, Mark shares his views and perspective on the rapid growth and expansion of the payment orchestration space, a relatively cutting-edge innovation trend that has emerged over the past few years.

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts:https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

In today’s episode, Martin is joined by Samee Zafar, Director at EDC based in our London office. In the conversation, recorded in December, Martin and Samee discuss EDC’s latest fintech report which addresses embedded finance, financial inclusion, and cryptocurrencies. 

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts:https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

In this episode, Martin meets with Dave Excell, founder of award winning fraud prevention technology company Featurespace. If you are in the payments and fintech industry, you most probably will have heard of Featurespace and its groundbreaking AI driven approach to fraud detection and financial crime prevention.

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts:https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

Martin speaks with EDC Director Jean Sideris who is based in our Dubai office and heads MENA region. We discuss the rapid development of the payment and fintech market in the region as a whole, and deep dive 3 key markets in particular, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which share a lot in common but, as Jean explains, also have important differences that sets them somewhat apart.

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts:https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

Martin meets with Sirpa Nordlund Head of Sales and Partnerships at MobilePay. The company launched in Denmark in 2013 and has grown to become a dominant force in Danish and now Nordic consumer payments. It recently merged with Norway’s Vipps to create a pan Nordic mobile wallet platform. In the podcast, Sirpa shares with us how MobilePay started, why Nordic consumers have embraced mobile wallet payments to such an extent, and underlying reasons for its popularity.

Episode links: https://www.edgardunn.com/theedcpodcast

Martin's contacts:https://linktr.ee/martinkoderisch

Today’s conversation is about  financial inclusion in LatAm. In this episode, I meet with Luis Marinelli who is CFO and co-founder of Vana, a fintech from Guatemala in Central America  providing small loans to customers that have no formal access to the banking system. In the podcast, Luis shares with us how Vana started, survived COVID lockdown and successfully established itself  in Guatemala and recently launch in the Dominican Republic - Vana’s second  market.

In this episode, Martin meets with Panagiotis Kriaris. Based in Vienna he leads Business Development at Unzer - a German FinTech and  payment services provider. If you are into Fintech, you may also know  Panagiotis from LinkedIn. Head to https://www.edgardunn.com/ for full show notes and episode links.

This week we are meeting with Edy Bruinooge, CCO at IBANXS. The company was founded in 2019 in The Hague and has grown to become the leading Open Banking provider in the Netherlands. The company independent PSD2 platform connects clients with over 2,500 banks across Europe for Payments and/or Account Information. Clients live on the platform range from Payment Service Providers to Accounting Software companies to Lending and Factoring companies. Edy and his team have done an incredible job to both integrate with so many banks across Europe. The APIs all vary and the ongoing effort to maintain all these connections and deliver a consistent quality of services is not to be underestimated. We have a frank and honest discussion about the state of PSD2, PSD3 and Open Banking across Europe. Edy talks openly about the iBANXS journey and explains why he continues to be optimistic about the future of Open Banking in the EU.

This week we meet Shiraz Ritwik Head of Banking, Payments, Insurance sectors at LatentView Analytics. LatentView Analytics Ltd. is a fast-growing digital analytics firms that helps companies combine digital and traditional data to drive digital transformation and gain a competitive advantage. In our conversation we discuss how organisations can build and optimize their data strategies to unlock the full potential of their data, and how to define a data roadmap based on an organisation’s operational maturity. Shiraz shares some insightful case studies on how advanced analytics and AI can be used to streamline financial processes, prevent fraudulent transactions & gain a connected view of data from marketing campaigns. Some great tips and insights so I do hope you enjoy this conversation with Shiraz Ritwik from LatentView Analytics.

This week, we meet up with Sergio Fogel who calls in from Uruguay's capital city Montevideo. Sergio is co-founder co president and chief strategy officer of dLocal, which is Uruguay's leading FinTech. dLocal provides cross border payments, infrastructure, connecting global merchants to customers in emerging markets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Establish in 2016, dLocal has become Uruguay's first fintech unicorn, and only the second Uruguayan company to list on wall street, which it did in June 21. In our conversation, we discussed dLocal’s startup journey, Sergio explains how dLocal continues to grow and impact the lives of many in the emerging market that it connects.  He also shares his view on the current market, and a lot more besides, so I do hope you enjoy this episode with Sergio Fogel from dLocal.

This week we are digging into low code technology with Dave Wyatt, Snr staff engineer at a large retailer. Dave is an expert Microsoft Power Platform Developer. The Power Platform is a fascinating and evolving platform. It’s a Azure cloud based platform that integrates Microsoft’s low-code solutions – Power BI, Power Automate, Power Apps, Power Pages - with Microsoft365 and Dynamics 365. It’s also where Microsoft’s co-pilot AI lives. It sounds and I think is a massive deal. I think its highly relevant to payments particularly when you think about digital transformation and finance automation. Automating the multitude of manual back-offices processes and replacing or at least upgrading the industry’s dependency on Excel. So, a lot to pay attention to in this podcast with David Wyatt. In our conversation we discuss how David got into engineering and low code software development via early experience in project management &implementation of bespoke IT solutions for business processes using SharePoint,Power Apps, Power Automate and Excel VBA. We discuss a lot besides, so I do hope you enjoy this conversation with David.

This week, we meet up with Caleb Avery, founder of Tilled which is a US based Payfac-as-a-Service provider. The company enables its customers to enjoy all the benefits of a fully registered payment facilitator program without the upfront cost, hassle, or liability. This model allows companies like software vendors, marketplaces, and SaaS providers to generate new revenue from accepting credit cards. In our conversation, we cover Caleb’s start up journey and discuss the state of the payment market and the increasing growth of the Payfac model and how it differs in the US and Europe

This week, we meet up with Uku Tomikas CEO of Messente Communications – a fats growing business messaging service provider based on Estonia.

Messente helps businesses communicate with their customers securely and at scale, without worrying about the complexity of global messaging or the risks of fraud.

Its customer base includes banks and insurance companies and other message-heavy industries that need a reliable way of contacting their customers.

In our conversation, we discuss why business messaging has become business critical to banks.

For example sending OTPs for payment authentication and secure account log in.

Uku also expands on how Messente is at the forefront of fighting fraud by detecting and preventing scam messages which have become a key part of the criminals tool kit.

In this episode, Hugh Gallagher meets with Roenen Ben-Ami, Co-Founder and Chief Risk Officer at Justt. Justt is transforming the world of chargeback management with its AI-powered solution that helps businesses recover lost revenue and streamline operational efficiency. Roenen shares how Justt’s unique approach simplifies the chargeback process by automatically generating case-specific responses, allowing businesses to efficiently resolve disputes while focusing on growth and innovation. We also discuss the future of payments and how automation is playing a crucial role in shaping the industry.

In this episode, Samee Zafar meets with Ralf Germer, Co-Founder and CEO of PagBrasil, to delve into the evolving landscape of payment processing in Brazil. Ralf shares his personal journey from Germany to becoming a fintech leader in Latin America and how PagBrasil is facilitating both local and international merchants in navigating Brazil’s sophisticated payments market. He discusses the unique challenges faced by global companies when entering the Brazilian market and how PagBrasil is bridging the gap by providing tailored payment solutions that meet local demands. We also explore how the Central Bank of Brazil’s openness to innovation has paved the way for advancements like Pix and the country’s rapid embrace of instant payments and digital currency. Join us as we uncover insights into the dynamic payments industry in one of the world’s most critical markets.

Each year, EDC's Advanced Payments and Fintech Report provides insights into the latest trends shaping the payments landscape. Now in its 17th edition, the report examines 14 key areas transforming the industry, driven by technological innovations, regulatory changes, and evolving consumer preferences. The report also includes findings from our annual industry survey conducted between May and July 2024, gathering insights from 100 senior payments professionals worldwide on the most pressing challenges and opportunities.

In this episode, Jean Sideris, Director for the MENA region at Edgar Dunn & Company, speaks with Suryaveer Singh, Head of Loyalty, CRM and Data Analytics at Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC). Suryaveer shares his journey into the loyalty space and the development of Yes Rewards, ENOC's innovative loyalty program. They discuss the challenges of operating in a regulated fuel industry, strategies to drive customers toward higher-margin non-fuel services, and the importance of data protection and GDPR compliance.

Suryaveer highlights the success of Yes Rewards and reveals plans to expand the program through new partnerships, enhancing customer engagement and value beyond fuel services.

Join us for insights into loyalty, data, and payment innovations shaping the UAE’s dynamic retail market!

In this episode, Mark Beresford, Head of the Retail and Hospitality Practice, and Director in the London Office at Edgar Dunn & Company, speaks with Nitin Pulyani, Head of Product Development at Cashfree Payments, about India’s rapidly evolving digital payments ecosystem.

They discuss how Cashfree has positioned itself as a key enabler of seamless, API-driven payment solutions for businesses, addressing the country’s unique challenges and opportunities in online transactions, real-time payments, and regulatory shifts.The conversation explores India’s booming fintech landscape, the impact of UPI on innovation, and how Cashfree is driving financial inclusion while scaling its operations in a dynamic market.

Tune in for a deep dive into the future of payments in one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies.

In this episode, Mark Beresford, Head of the Retail and Hospitality Practice and Director in the London Office at Edgar Dunn & Company, speaks with Adam Katz, Founder & CEO of Kooltra, about the challenges and opportunities in foreign exchange (FX) and cross-border payments.

They explore how Kooltra provides infrastructure solutions for financial institutions, enabling them to streamline multi-currency operations, compliance, treasury, and transaction monitoring. Adam discusses why many banks and fintechs struggle to scale FX and cross-border payments, the impact of pricing competition, and how Kooltra helps firms modernize their infrastructure without costly in-house development.

Tune in for a deep dive into the future of FX infrastructure, the increasing complexity of treasury management, and strategies to optimize cross-border payments.

In this episode, Volker Schloenvoigt meets with Kamran Hedjri, Group CEO of PXP, to explore the evolution of payment processing and the strategic transformations shaping the industry. Kamran shares his journey from software development to leading a global payments company, reflecting on the challenges of navigating ever-changing regulations, including the evolving PSD framework, and the growing complexity of cross-border payments. He discusses how PXP has embraced AI, real-time business intelligence, and intelligent payment routing to deliver a seamless and unified commerce experience.

Join us as we dive into the future of payments, the impact of regulatory shifts, and the innovations driving the next era of financial services.

In this episode, Mark Beresford sits down with Mike Carlo, CEO of XanderPay, and Rohan Shaju, Consultant at EDC, to delve into the hidden potential of hotel payment systems and the strategic changes reshaping the industry. Mike shares his insights on the transition from traditional property-level payments to innovative centralized systems. He reflects on the complexities of hotel ownership models and the advancements needed for seamless guest experiences.

Rohan provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities identified through his extensive research, including the role of centralization, AI, and payment orchestration in optimizing hotel revenue and customer satisfaction. Together, they explore the transformative power of centralized payment systems and the potential impact on the future of hospitality.

Join us as we explore the future of hotel payments, the technological innovations on the horizon, and the strategies hotels can implement today to stay ahead in a competitive industry.

In this episode, Greg Toussaint, Director at Edgar, Dunn & Company, chats with Jacques-Olivier Schatz, CEO of Xpollens. Jacques-Olivier unpacks what embedded payments really mean and how they’re showing up in everyday experiences—from travel reimbursements and instant payouts to crypto wallets and marketplaces. He shares how Xpollens helps companies bring payments directly into their user flows without compromising on security or compliance.

 

They talk about how regulation, often seen as a blocker, can actually drive innovation when built in from day one. Jacques-Olivier also shares why banks and fintechs need to work together, and what the rise of AI agents could mean for the future of payments.

 

Join us for a conversation on what’s changing in the payments space—and why embedded finance is more than just a buzzword.

In this episode: 

• Defining embedded payments from a “Banking-as-a-Service” perspective
• Real-world use cases: travel, insurance, crypto, marketplaces, and gambling
• How modular payment solutions create seamless, real-time user experiences
• Regulation as an enabler—especially with the rise of e-invoicing in Europe
• Building compliance, security, and automation into payment APIs from day one
• Bridging the gap between fintech agility and bank robustness
• The future role of AI agents in commerce and payments
• Challenges ahead: security, consent, and responsibility in AI-driven transactions

Resources:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacques-olivier-schatz-b3062720 

Website: https://www.xpollens.com

Jaya Vaidhyanathan, CEO of BCT Digital, and EDC Director Mark Beresford discuss the evolution of AI in financial services

In this episode, Mark Beresford, Director at Edgar, Dunn & Company, talks with Jaya Vaidhyanathan, CEO of BCT Digital, about how big data and AI are revolutionizing risk and compliance. From fraud prevention and real-time monitoring to climate risk modeling for insurers, Jaya explains how AI delivers insights beyond human capability and why it works best as a collaboration between machines and human judgment.

 

They also explore why we’re at an AI “inflection point,” what it means for the future of work, and how early adoption can keep you competitive. Jaya shares lessons from her own career—spanning investment banking, global consulting, and entrepreneurship—including navigating gender bias and building resilience in male-dominated industries.

 

Join us for a forward-looking conversation on AI’s role in reshaping financial services—and why the time to act is now.

 

In this episode: 

• Gender representation and challenges for women in tech, finance, and entrepreneurship
• How big data fuels AI-driven risk and compliance solutions
• Real-time fraud detection using AI and pattern matching
• Applying AI to climate risk modeling for insurance
• Why AI’s “inflection point” is comparable to the advent of the internet
• AI as a collaboration between machine insights and human judgment
• The impact of AI on the future of work and job roles
• Importance of early adoption to stay competitive in financial services

 

Resources:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaya-vaidhyanathan-26039510

Website: https://www.bctdigital.ai