Fintech Garden Podcast
The Fintech Garden Podcast features conversations with founders, investors, and industry experts working in financial technology. Each episode explores emerging trends, practical insights, and the ideas shaping the future of finance. The show is accompanied by additional fintech resources and events at fintech.garden.
Episodes
Fintech’s Next Cycle: Stablecoins, AI, and Liability, with Sam Boboev | FG x Fintech Meetup Europe
In a lively discussion from Fintech Meetup Europe in Lisbon, Igor Tomych interviews Sam Boboev, founder of Fintech Wrap Up. They delve into the highlights of the inaugural European edition, including AI-powered matchmaking, the panel Sam moderated on AI and payment margins, and the fastest-moving trends in 2026.They explore the growing momentum of Euro stablecoins through the Qivalis bank consort
Crypto's Travel Rule, Explained with Emeka Mgbenu, Sumsub | Fintech Garden Podcast 176
Travel Rule is reshaping how crypto transactions move, and most VASPs are still figuring out how to comply with it.In this episode of Fintech Garden, Igor Tomych sits down with Emeka Mgbenu from Sumsub to break down what Travel Rule actually requires, how it differs from standard AML/KYC, and why self-hosted wallets are the industry's hardest open question. They cover what data has to travel with
Euro Stablecoin: Built by Europeans for Europe, with Jan-Oliver Sell, Qivalis| FG Podcast 175
99.8% of stablecoin transactions today run in US dollars. Jan-Oliver Sell, CEO of Qivalis, a euro stablecoin project backed by a growing consortium of European banks, joins Igor Tomych to explain why that gap matters and what it will take to close it. They cover the difference between the ECB's retail digital euro and the electronic money token Qivalis is building, why MiCA regulation finally gave
GCC Is Not One Market, with Omar El Gammal | Fintech Garden Podcast 174
Omar El Gammal, EVP of Global Business Development at Paymob, has spearheaded payment expansion across four GCC territories—securing regulatory approvals in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, where Paymob made history as the first foreign fintech fully licensed by the Central Bank of Oman.He joins Igor Tomych to dissect regional expansion strategy and the reality of cross-border execution:🌱The Monol
Becoming AI-Led: Lessons from a Payments Company's AI Journey, with Ahu Chhapgar | FG Pod 173
In July, 64% of all the code shipped by Paysafe's engineering org was AI-generated. Ahu Chhapgar, CTO at Paysafe with prior leadership roles at PayPal, Mastercard, and Citi, joins Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea to unpack what "AI transformation" actually means once you get past the pitch-deck version of the phrase. They cover where AI has genuinely sped up software delivery, why code review becam
Banks Are Getting AI Brains, with Igor Tomych & Dumitru Condrea | Fintech Garden Podcast 172
Digital banks are quietly shifting from "here's your balance" to "here's what's about to happen to your money." Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea spend this episode on what they're calling the AI brain: the layer of AI that sits on top of a bank's cash flow and P&L data to predict spending, catch subscriptions before they bill you, and even nudge you toward saving or investing. They break down w
Is Your Fintech Data Actually Trustworthy? with Yuliia Komaryn | Fintech Garden Podcast 171
"Real-time dashboards" might be the most misused phrase in fintech. Yuliia Komaryn, Business Analytics Team Lead at DashDevs, joins Igor Tomych to explain why "real time" is a marketing concept, not a technical one, and why the real question isn't how fast your dashboard updates, but how fast your business can react to what it shows. They walk through a real BNPL fraud case caught by proper flaggi
Should You Launch a Bank? With Igor Tomych and Arthur Bedel | Connecting the Dots x Fintech Garden
DashDevs CEO Igor Tomych joins Arthur Bedel, host of Connecting the Dots in FinTech and founder of Monyz, for a deep dive into why everyone is launching a digital bank right now, and why so many are failing fast.Drawing on his years running engineering and CTO functions for digital banks, including one in the UK, Igor breaks down the real difference between a neobank and a digital bank, why the le
FINTECH MEETUP EUROPE: behind the scenes with Douglas Mackenzie | Fintech Garden Podcast 169
Meet Douglas Mackenzie, Head of Content at Fintech Meetup Europe, and a former fintech video journalist who spent close to a decade interviewing bankers and financial institutions. Fintech Meetup ran in Las Vegas for five years before this year's first European edition, landing in Lisbon this October 6-8, with Fintech Garden as podcast partner. Douglas joins Dumitru Condrea to talk through the con
What the GENIUS Act Actually Does to Stablecoins | Fintech Garden Podcast 168
Register for our upcoming webinar 'Stablecoin on/off ramps': https://share.hsforms.com/1ZqNaznFSREiCSuC9Jt36Yw3oc7eIn this special hosts-only episode, Dumitru Condrea and Igor Tomych break down the GENIUS Act (the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act), the law that puts federal guardrails around dollar-backed stablecoins for the first time. They cover what actually
Pay by Bank Is Coming for Cash, Not Cards, with Johannes Kolbeinsson | Fintech Garden Podcast 167
Meet Johannes Kolbeinsson, Co-Founder and CEO at Paystrax, a card acquirer processing primarily Visa and Mastercard transactions with over 20 years in the payments business. He founded his earlier company, Afterpay, back in 2002, recently expanded into the UK market, and just launched USDC stablecoin settlement across 17 jurisdictions. He joins Dumitru Condrea to debate why account-to-account paym
The Truth About Stablecoins, Compliance, and Speed, with Marwan Forzley, Veem | FG Podcast 166
Meet Marwan Forzley, CEO and co-founder of Veem, a global B2B payments platform operating in more than 100 countries and 80+ currencies. Marwan built one of the first fiat-to-crypto payment products back in 2014, years before stablecoins entered the mainstream conversation, and spent years securing licenses before Veem could serve its first customer. He joins Dumitru Condrea to explain why the pay
The Truth About the Current Fintech Talent Shortage, with Nadia Edwards-Dashti | FG Podcast 165
Meet Nadia Edwards-Dashti, Chief Customer Officer at Harrington Starr and host of FinTech's DEI Discussions Podcast. Her agency runs close to 1,000 interviews every three months across technology, sales, risk, and executive roles in payments, crypto, and financial services. With 22 years in recruitment, Nadia joins Igor Tomych to talk through the toughest hiring downturn she has seen, how it diffe
Fintech Garden Episode 108 - BaaS in the Wild Nature
Episode 108 of Fintech Garden by DashDevs is here—Banking as a Service vs. Core Banking vs. Embedded Finance.Join Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea as they discuss:✅ Banking as a Service (BaaS) vs. core banking vs. embedded finance.💡 What is a core banking solution, and when do you need one?🔍 BaaS providers and platforms—who are the top players?💳 Embedded finance examples—how businesses are embeddin
Digital euro is not crypto. It is digital cash, with Rainer Olt | Fintech Garden Podcast 145
Meet Rainer Olt, Head of Payment & Settlement Systems Department | operator, oversight, catalyst functions at Estonia's central bank, Eesti Pank.Olt also worked for the European central bank as Senior Market Infrastructure Expert in DG Market Infrastructure & Payments.Finally, Olt boasts 15 years experience in commercial and central banking. All of that brings us the conversation about the
Embedded Finance and African Inclusion with Rajesh Savji Parmar – Fintech Garden Episode 125
Africa is home to half the world’s mobile money accounts—yet faces massive gaps in banking, infrastructure, and financial inclusion. In this episode, Igor Tomych speaks with Rajesh Savji Parmar, founder of Indelible, about how fintech is evolving on the continent.You’ll hear about:How M-Pesa sparked Africa’s fintech revolution.Why telcos like MTN MOMO are ahead of banks in payments.The shift from
Podcast 133: How Europe Won the Real Time Payments Race
Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter 👉https://bit.ly/45HPDb8Igor Tomych sits with Domenico Scaffidi, Member of the Bank of England Standard Advisory Panel and CEO of DS Payments, to talk about the state of real-time payments in 2025. The two fintech executives agree that real-time payments have shifted the entire banking industry towards a new trajectory. Dome highlights the role European re
Fintech Garden Episode 109 - AI & ML in FinTech
AI & ML in FinTech: Practical Use Cases and Business ValueAI is transforming financial services, but many fintechs struggle to separate marketing buzz from real impact. In this episode, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea discuss the practical applications of AI and Machine Learning in fintech, focusing on security, risk, and efficiency.Key Topics:The difference between AI & ML and when to use
Fintech Garden Episode 101: Appeal and the challenges faced by fintech startups
In the inaugural episode of the Fintech Garden podcast, co-hosts Dumitru Condrea and Igor Tomych delve into the dynamic fintech industry, exploring both its appeal and the challenges faced by startups. The episode kicks off with an overview of the podcast's mission, followed by discussions on the dual nature of fintech markets—B2C and B2B—and highlights successful examples like Revolut, Klarna, an
Fintech Garden Episode 106 - Banking as a Service: Redefining Financial Solutions
Join Igor Tomych and special guest Mehmet Burga Kaya, Vice President of PaybyMe, for an in-depth exploration of BaaS and its transformative impact on fintech! 🌟This episode explores:📊 How Banking as a Service (BaaS) is reshaping financial innovation. 🌐 Comparative insights: BaaS vs. traditional banking models. 💼 Licensing and compliance: Key considerations for BaaS adoption. 🚀 Real-world success s
Africa's Fintech: Local belief changes everything, with Germain Bahri | Fintech Garden Podcast 143
Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter 👉 https://fintech.gardenMeet Germain Bahri, Co-Founder & CGO of Zazu, a company aimed at redefining business banking for Africa’s SMEs. As they share a common professional background, Germain and Novafin's Dumitru Condrea look at how different regions such as Africa defy the fintech playbook usually used in established markets such as Europe and North
Organizing Life Through Fintech: Fraser Stewart on Building Lyfeguard | Fintech Garden Episode 126
How do you organize everything that matters—your finances, documents, and digital identity—in one secure place?In this episode, Igor Tomych speaks with Fraser Stewart, founder of Lyfeguard, a fintech platform helping users manage personal information, visualize their financial health, and share critical data securely with family or advisers.They discuss: 💡 Why managing personal information today i
Planted Wrong Episode 119 - How Tally’s Mission Struggled to Take Root
👉 Subscribe to the Fintech Garden newsletter for weekly insights https://fintech.garden/In this first episode of our new Planted Wrong series, we dive into the story of Tally, a San Francisco-based fintech startup that set out to eliminate credit card debt with a robo-refinancing app — and raised millions from top VCs like a16z.🎯 So why did it shut down in 2024? We unpack what went wrong, from sky
What Makes or Breaks a Startup: An Investor’s POV | Fintech Garden Episode 127
Fintech Garden’s Igor Tomych chats with Michele Mattei, a product owner with Bunq and investor with Syeew, to discuss what makes startups stand out among the competition. Mattei provides a unique perspective on the competitive edges that drive startups' success from a product owner’s perspective, breaking down the processes and technologies that may lead to the next unicorns in the fintech scene.T
Fintech Garden Episode 110 - The Client-Vendor Playbook: Product, Outsource, and Outstaff Explained
🎙️ New Podcast Episode— Vendor Strategies That Work!Choosing the right vendor model can make or break a fintech product. In this episode of Fintech Garden Podcast, Igor Tomych sits down with DashDevs VP of Business Development, Artem Boboshko, to explore the best engagement models for fintech success.💡 What you’ll learn: ✅ The difference between software outsourcing, product outsourcing, and dedic
80% of organised crime hides in corporate structures, with Adam McLaughlin | FG Podcast 159
Meet Adam McLaughlin, Director of Financial Crime Product at Fenergo and one of the most operationally grounded voices in AML and financial crime today. Adam brings nearly twenty years of experience across law enforcement, banking, and compliance technology.He spent close to a decade as a UK police detective, including managing a financial crime investigation team at City of London Police — the UK
AI systems do not hallucinate. Humans hallucinate, with Tony Fish | Fintech Garden Podcast 146
Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter 👉 https://fintech.gardenMeet Tony Fish, author of Decision Making In Uncertain Times. A self-described strategic sense-maker who helps directors and C-suite leadership ask questions they didn't know they had to ask. Tony boasts 30 years of navigating uncertainty as a serial entrepreneur, bringing cross-sectoral foresight that has positioned him ahead of m
Credit inclusion is not a niche problem, with Noah Buchman | Fintech Garden Podcast 144
Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter 👉 https://fintech.gardenMeet Noah Buchman, Co-Founder, President and Chief Revenue Officer of Propel Holdings. Noah works cross-functionally across the entire company, championing major initiatives and ensuring the company executes on its strategic plan. Noah leads teams in Strategy, Corporate & Business Development, Communications, Marketing and Cust
CBDC: What you need you know? | Fintech Garden Podcast 155
In this episode of the Fintech Garden Podcast, hosts Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea unpack one of the most important — and most misunderstood — shifts coming to European money: Central Bank Digital Currencies.There is no guest this time. The episode is an explainer designed to give listeners a structured grounding in CBDCs before the topic dominates fintech conversations over the next two to thre
Fintech Garden Episode 123 – Revolut’s $75B Valuation & Europe’s Payments Revolution
What does Revolut’s $75 billion valuation mean for the future of fintech banks? And how will EPI Wero, the new European payments initiative, reshape instant payments, merchant acquiring, and digital wallets across Europe?In this episode, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea explore how digital banks are scaling, why Revolut license milestones matter, and what payment innovation in Europe says about the
Why fintech keeps missing first-generation Americans, with Kristy Kim, TomoCredit | FG Podcast 163
Meet Kristy Kim, CEO and co-founder of TomoCredit — the San Francisco-based fintech she started in 2018 to solve a problem she lived through herself.Kristy immigrated from Seoul, South Korea to the United States at age 11. She studied at UC Berkeley, went into investment banking in San Francisco, and — despite doing everything the American dream playbook prescribed — was repeatedly rejected for an
Fintech communities are broken — here's the fix, with Stavros Psyllos | Fintech Garden Podcast 161
Meet Stavros Psyllos — VP of Enterprise Solutions at OpenPayd, the London-based embedded finance and Banking-as-a-Service infrastructure provider, and Founder and Chairman of the Cyprus Fintech Society. Stavros brings more than 15 years of payments leadership across the European ecosystem, with senior roles at Cryptopay, Ebury, Verv (Novatti Group), and as the founder of Neogate, NeoPay, and NeoGr
European payments enter execution mode: PSD3, Wero, DORA, with Andréa Toucinho | FG Podcast 154
Meet Andréa Toucinho, Director of Studies, Prospective and Training at Partelya Consulting — one of Europe's most established voices on payments and innovative financial services.She is Country Ambassador for France at the European Women Payments Network (EWPN), France Representative of AEFI Spain and AFIP Portugal, and co-author of The PAYTech Book (Wiley, 2020).She publishes an annual whitepaper
Product vs Engineering: The Hidden Bottleneck in Fintech Teams | Fintech Garden Podcast 152
Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter. 👉 https://fintech.gardenWhat really slows down fintech products?In this episode of the Fintech Garden Podcast, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea discuss one of the most common bottlenecks in fintech product development: when teams build without a shared understanding of value, risk, feasibility, and ownership.They break down why engineering without product
Agentic payments explained: the next fintech shift already started | Fintech Garden Podcast 151
👉 Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter: https://fintech.gardenWhat if payments no longer required humans in the loop?In this episode, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea break down one of the most talked-about emerging topics in fintech: agentic payments.This isn’t about AI making suggestions — it’s about systems that can initiate and execute payments autonomously based on rules, goals, and cont
Why your next banker will be an AI, with Brett King | FG Podcast 157
Meet Brett King — futurist, four-time bestselling author of the Bank series (2.0 through 4.0, with Bank 5.0 coming in November), founder of Moven, and host of Breaking Banks, the longest-running and most-listened-to fintech podcast in the world. Brett was named #1 on Fintech Magazine's Fintech Influencer list this year; Fintech Garden host Igor Tomych came in at #9 on the same list. Brett also co-
Finn by Chase: The Bank That Could but Never Should | Planted Wrong №2
Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter 👉 https://fintech.gardenDashDevs founder and CEO, Igor Tomych, alongside Novafin founder Dumitru Condrea, are back with another episode of Planted Wrong. The executives use this format to discuss some of the biggest failures in fintech.Finn by Chase was a digital-only mobile banking service launched by JPMorgan Chase in 2018, targeting millennials with no
Is compliance a fintech product or a set of navigational instructions? | Fintech Garden Episode 131
Fintech Garden’s hosts Igor and Dumitru go head-to-head, debating what compliance actually is, whether it can be offered as a product. As professionals with over 25 years of experience in the industry, they’ve seen all kinds of outcomes from compliance. Whether compliance can be sold as a product, or it’s a map that tells how to get from point A to point B, its absence is duellly fielt. Just ask t
AI in fraud is no longer offense vs defense, with Andre Isoni | Fintech Garden Podcast 149
Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter 👉 https://fintech.gardenMeet Andre Isoni, Chief AI Officer at AI Technologies, a company specializing in machine learning and data-related problems. Andre is also the author of 'Machine Learning for the Web'. With a background spanning cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and enterprise consulting, he focuses on turning AI from a technical capability i
Busting Credit Union Myths with Amber Harsin | Fintech Garden Episode 134
Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea rifle through a series of myths surrounding credit unions in the US. While you may expect a list of comparisons regarding interest rates and availability, our hosts seize the chance to take a deep look at how legacy systems used by such organizations compare to modern systems used by fintechsThe guest, Amber Harsin, Vice President of Credit Unions at Mambu, is not s
Fintech Garden Episode 113 – How to Build a High-Performing Tech Team in Fintech
Speed. Security. Scalability. None of it happens without the right team.In this episode, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea explore what it really takes to build a productive, structured engineering team in a fintech environment.🔍 Key topics: ✅ Defining roles beyond job titles✅ Inputs, outputs, and internal suppliers✅ What every CTO should understand about team capacity and capability✅ How to avoid o
Fintech Garden Episode 116 — E-Wallets, Big Tech, and the Future of Payments: What’s Next?
In this episode, Igor Tomych and Sam Boboev explore how digital wallets and big tech are reshaping the future of global payments.They discuss how tokenization, network effects, and super apps like Revolut are turning wallets into complete financial ecosystems—and what this means for users, banks, and fintech builders.🔍 Key topics:✅ How tokenization enables continued payments even after cards expir
Fintech Garden Episode 103 - Startups vs Old-School Players: The Fintech Landscape
Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea are back with the third issue of the Fintech Garden by DashDevs podcast, diving into a fascinating topic: startups in fintech vs. old-school fintech players.This episode unpacks the distinct dynamics between innovative fintech startups and established financial corporations, shedding light on their unique approaches to growth and success. While startups enter the ma
Why BlackRock actually cares about stablecoins, with David Birch | FG Podcast 162
Meet David G.W. Birch — Principal at his advisory firm 15Mb Ltd., Global Ambassador for Consult Hyperion (the secure electronic transactions consultancy he helped co-found nearly 40 years ago), Non-Executive Chairman of Digiseq, Senior Research Fellow at King's College Business School in London, Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey Business School, and Technology Fellow at the Centre for
Fintech Garden Episode 117 - From Dollar to Digital: Building Trust in the Age of Stablecoins
🎧 In this episode of Fintech Garden, Igor Tomych speaks with Ayo Ojerinola, Founder & CEO of Nobo, about the rise of stablecoins and their role in transforming payments, finance, and global adoption.They explore:– What stablecoins are and why USDT/USDC dominate– Custodial vs non-custodial wallets (made simple)– Why Stripe and others are embracing stablecoins– Real-world use cases: DeFi, cross-
AI vs AI: the race with no finish line, with Eleftherios Jerry Floros | FG Podcast 164
Meet Eleftherios "Jerry" Floros — author, keynote speaker, and one of the more independent voices in the current AI debate. Jerry is a contributing author of the bestselling FINTECH Book Series published by Wiley — The WealthTech Book, The PayTech Book, The LegalTech Book, and The AI Book — and is currently writing his third solo book, AI Sucker Punch: It's Going To Hit You Harder and Faster and S
Fintech Garden Episode 104 - Embedded Finance: The Next Big Step in Digital Transformation
This week, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea in Fintech Garden by DashDevs podcast episode 104 explore how embedded finance is shaking up industries by integrating financial services directly into non-financial apps and workflows.Highlights:💡 Real-world applications from Amazon to Apple Pay that showcase the value of embedded finance.📊 Why metrics like conversion rates are game-changers for busi
Stablecoins are popular because they solve a real problem, with Chris Mason | Fintech Garden Episode 141
Meet Chris Mason, who has worked in the payments industry for 25 years. As co-founder and CEO of Orbital, he leads the company’s strategic direction and ensures operational execution to deliver on that vision. He sets the overall vision for Orbital to address fundamental problems in global enterprise payments, particularly between traditional banking systems and digital assets like stablecoins.Tim
cVRP explained: open banking's challenge to cards and direct debit, with David Parker | FG Podcast 156
Meet David Parker, founder and CEO of Polymath Consulting, Lead Ambassador to The Payments Association, co-founder of Konsentus, and one of the most active commentators on UK and global payments.With 20 years working across cards, e-money, prepaid, and emerging payments — and a reputation for asking the questions employed panelists are not allowed to ask — David brings a sharp, operator-level view
Why behavioral science is the missing layer in fintech, with Anna Nyvelt & Noemi Molnar | Fintech Garden Podcast 153
Meet Anna Nyvelt and Noemi Molnar, who are the co-founders of BeHive, a company that integrates behavioral science, data, and AI to drive meaningful behavior change. Working with leading financial institutions, BeHive tackles complex challenges at the intersection of human decision-making and technology. As Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees, they are empowering the financial industry to better understan
The Behaviour and Culture Behind Wealth Management, with Rukayyat Modupe Kolawole | FG Episode 129
Hosts Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea talk with Rukayyat Modupe Kolwole, founder of PaceUP, about how empathy, culture, and AI are reshaping the future of wealth management.They discuss why traditional finance fails to connect with real human behavior, and how technology can help people make smarter, more confident financial decisions.This episode explores:• How emotional intelligence improves fin
What MENA gets right about open finance, with Dr. Samer Soliman | FG Podcast 160
Meet Dr. Samer Soliman, Group CEO of Arab Financial Services (AFS) — Bahrain's largest digital payments and fintech enabler, regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, owned by 37 banks and financial institutions, and serving more than 70 clients across over 20 countries in the Middle East and Africa. He joined AFS as CEO in January 2021 after serving as Managing Director for the Middle East at Net
Fintechs sell products. Banks absorb responsibility, with Ronel David | Fintech Garden Podcast 148
Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter 👉 https://fintech.gardenMeet Ronel David, independent non-executive board member at PayInc. Ronel is a strategic commercial leader with 20+ years of experience in banking, fintech, and technology, helping businesses scale at pivotal inflection points. Her career has been defined by driving growth, market expansion, and transformation across international
Are banks becoming irrelevant in the AI era? With Theodora Lau | FG Podcast 158
Meet Theodora Lau — founder of Unconventional Ventures, author of Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence (2025), co-author of The Metaverse Economy (2023) and Beyond Good (2021), and host of the One Vision podcast.Theo was named one of American Banker's Most Influential Women in FinTech, ranked No. 1 Women in Finance by Onalytica, and is a regular contributor to Forbes, FinTech Futures, BBC News, MI
Fintech Garden Episode 105 - Fintech 2024: A Year in Review
Join Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea as they look back at a transformative year in the world of fintech! 🌟This episode explores:📊 The biggest trends of 2024, including embedded finance, BaaS, and AI in fintech.🌍 Global milestones: PSD3, blockchain progress, and digital identity breakthroughs.🚀 Success stories from Kaspi Bank’s Nasdaq IPO to NuBank hitting 100M customers.🌐 Emerging fintech markets
The Future of Wealth Management: Tech, Trust & AI | Fintech Garden Episode 128
Host Igor Tomych sits down with Rob Lunn, Fintech Product Leader at Fnality, to break down the real capabilities and limits of artificial intelligence in financial treasury, accounting, and FX.They discuss where AI genuinely improves efficiency, and where legacy systems, data silos, and regulatory complexity still hold it back. From automation to ethics, Rob shares insights drawn from 25 years in
Fintech Garden Episode 122 – The Great Unbundling of Fintech Banks
What happens when fintech banks mature? Why do challenger banks like Revolut, Wise, and Monobank start to resemble high street banks? In this episode, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea unpack The Great Unbundling in Fintech, exploring EMI license vs. full banking license, fintech compliance and KYC fintech, and the future of neobanks.They cover the Revolut license expansion, the Wise evolution into
Crypto's "Valley of Death” | Fintech Garden Episode 136
Igor Tomych speaks with Lex Fisun, CEO & Co-Founder of Global Ledger, about how trust is built at the intersection of blockchain, stablecoins, and traditional finance. The conversation includes a deep dive into how blockchain analytics, wallet de-anonymization, and real-time compliance tools help financial institutions detect fraud, meet regulatory obligations, and operate safely in crypto mar
Fintech Garden Episode 118 – Built for Change: Inside tbi bank’s Challenger Strategy with Petr Baron
In this episode of Fintech Garden, Igor Tomych sits down with Petr Baron, CEO of tbi fs, to explore how one regional bank quietly built a hybrid challenger model—and succeeded.From Bulgaria to Romania to Greece, tbi has grown into a digital-first, profit-driven fintech player by doing what most neobanks didn’t: combining a physical presence with seamless digital services.🔍 Key topics:✅ Why tbi ble
Fintech Garden Episode 111 - Understanding Digital Money
Not all "digital money" is created equal.In our Fintech Garden Podcast, host Igor Tomych and guest Jonny Fry break down the key differences between E-Money and D-Money—and why it matters for fintech innovators. Key takeaways:📍E-Money is the digital version of traditional banking—still reliant on legacy systems.📍D-Money (blockchain-based) enables instant, secure, and programmable payments.📍The futu
Fintech Garden Episode 114 — AI and Ethics in Fintech
In this episode, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea explore the ethical concerns of using AI and machine learning in credit scoring.They share two real-world cases where two nearly identical applicants received different decisions—one approved, one rejected. Why? Because AI isn't always fair— and even human-designed systems can carry unintended bias.🔍 Key topics:✅ How ML-based scoring systems can dis
Great technology dies if it can’t speak to humans, with Greg Palmer | Fintech Garden Podcast 147
Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter 👉 https://fintech.gardenMeet Greg Palmer, the VP of Strategy and host of Finovate, a fast-paced, demo-first showcase of the latest innovations in financial and banking technology from across the globe. 15 years with Finovate have given Greg a unique, bird’s-eye view of the Fintech industry as it has exploded into prominence, allowing him to watch not only
Fintech Garden Episode 121 – Blueprint for AI-Native Fintech: Smarter Systems, Smarter Strategy
In this episode, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea explore what it means to build AI-native fintech platforms—where intelligence isn’t bolted on but designed into the foundation from day one.They unpack how Klarna, Nubank, and Monese are re-architecting around AI, why regulation is racing to keep up, and how fintech leaders must balance innovation with transparency, risk, and resilience.🔍 Key Topics
Security is only as strong as the weakest link, with Dennis Winter | Fintech Garden Podcast 142
Igor and Dumitru switch things up once more only to focus on security this time. Meet Dennis Winter, CTO of Boerse Stuttgart Digital and Chief Security Officer at Boerse Stuttgart Group, the second biggest stock exchange in Germany and the 6th in Europe. With over two decades of experience in building and scaling digital products, he combines deep technical expertise with a strategic perspective.D
Fintech Garden Episode 115 — T-Shaped Experts in Fintech: Buzzword or Backbone?
What does it really mean to be a T-shaped expert—and why are fintech teams built around them winning faster?In this episode, Igor Tomych sits down with Jeremy Takle, CEO of VEMI and co-founder of Pennyworth, to discuss:✅ The evolution of team structure in modern fintech✅ Why engineers today must become AI-native prompt engineers✅ How to hire and scale when deep expertise and cross-functional think
Banking Transformation, Core Infrastructure, and Human-Centered Service | Fintech Garden Episode 130
Hosts Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea discuss service, legacy infrastructure, and human-centered design in banking with David M. Brear, Group CEO of 11:FS Holdings. David shares lessons from his fintech career and athletic background to illustrate the importance of discipline, resilience, and leadership in transformation.“The real question is not technology or strategy, it’s culture, leadership, a
Fintech Garden Episode 120 - Stablecoins, Trust and the Future of Payments
👉 Subscribe to the Fintech Garden newsletter for weekly insights https://fintech.garden/In this episode, Igor Tomych welcomes Rutger van Faassen, CEO of Informationbanker, to explore the real-world impact of stablecoins—from policy to product.Why is the U.S. suddenly leading in stablecoin adoption? And what role will remittances, Shopify, freelancers, and cross-border payments play in their mass
Classic lending isn’t dying. It’s evolving. With Svitlanka Sergiichuk | Fintech Garden Episode 139
Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter 👉 https://fintech.garden/Meet Svitlanka Sergiichuk, CEO and co-founder of Novafin Solutions, a lending infrastructure platform that enables fintechs, non-bank lenders, and merchants to launch and operate embedded credit products such as term loans, revolving credit lines, and Buy Now, Pay Later. Along with our host, Igor Tomych, the conversation highlight
Stablecoins without the volatility, with Kebbie Sebastian | Fintech Garden Episode 140
Meet Kebbie Sebastian, Founder and CEO of Merge, a regulated payments and treasury infrastructure platform enabling enterprises to move money globally in real time using stablecoins and local payment rails. He previously held senior roles at PayPal, Bank of America, Barclays and founded the fintech advisory firm Penser.Watch the previous episode with Svitlanka Sergiichuk: https://youtu.be/IXBNVHBo
Fintech Garden Episode 107 - The Art of Building Strong Fintech Teams
Building fintech teams is both an art and a science—and getting it wrong can be costly.In this episode, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea welcome Anna Kovalenko, VP of HR at DashDevs, to uncover the key ingredients of high-performing fintech teams.💡 What you’ll learn:👥 The biggest team-building mistakes fintech leaders make.🔑 How to transform individuals into an effective unit.⚠️ The hidden challeng
AI vs Fraud: Inside Device Fingerprinting | Fintech Garden Episode 135
Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter 👉 https://bit.ly/45HPDb8Igor Tomych speaks with Catherine Woneis, VP of Product at Fingerprint, about how device intelligence and AI are used to detect fraud without compromising user privacy. The conversation explores device fingerprinting, browser tampering, VPNs, and intent-based fraud detection, highlighting how signals from browsers and apps help fin
Why are taxes stuck in the paper age? | Fintech Garden Episode 132
Fintech Garden’s host Igor Tomych connects with Roman von der Höh to talk about revolutionizing withholding tax. Our guests points out the degree at which the current tax system is outdated, needing a true digital transformation.This conversation puts into perspective how tax systems are becoming increasingly complex due to factors such as overseas investments and the introduction of key regulator
Scaling Without Illusions with Nikolay Popandopulo | Fintech Garden Episode 137
Igor chats with Nikolay Popandopulo, a math and software engineering graduate, a former Oracle engineer, and most of all the CPO, Kaspi.kz — eGrocery division, Kazakhstan's biggest fintech company. His company boasts profit margins topping those of banks and other fintechs.The two executives take a no-holds-barred approach to explaining what it's like bringing a fintech company to the big leagues.
Why fintech is moving from speed to trust, with Ezequiel Canestrari | Fintech Garden Podcast 150
👉 Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter: https://fintech.gardenMeet Ezequiel Canestrari, COO at ClearBank Europe — a clearing and embedded banking platform at the intersection of fintechs, payment rails, and regulation.In this episode, we go beyond the surface of Banking-as-a-Service and embedded banking to unpack what actually drives success in modern fintech infrastructure. From the trade-o
Lex Sokolin on Robo-Advisors, MetaMask, and Stablecoins - Fintech Garden Episode 124
In this episode, DashDevs CEO Igor Tomych speaks with Lex Sokolin about his journey through fintech’s biggest shifts—from robo-advisors and wealthtech to Ethereum, MetaMask, and stablecoins.You’ll hear about:*Founding one of the first U.S. robo-advisors in 2009*Lessons from AdvisorEngine’s growth and acquisition by Franklin Templeton*Building research and products at ConsenSys during the rise of D
Fintech Garden Episode 102: Blueprints for fintech
FintechGarden by DashDevs launches a second episode of the podcast with Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea. In this episode, we dive deeper into the complexities of fintech regulations. Highlights of the discussion this time are:🔒A discoursive analysis of regulations in different countries, including the EU and the UK.🔒 Opportunities associated with expanding into new markets. The experts talk about
Criminals don’t steal money. They steal identities. With Dan Feaheny | Fintech Garden Episode 138
Subscribe to the Fintech Garden Newsletter 👉 https://fintech.garden/Meet Dan Feaheny, an expert in bridging strategic infrastructure across payments, digital identity and financial risk, with professional experience spanning decades. Going back-and-forth with our host Igor, Dan takes the opportunity to highlight two things: First, digital banks still have a long way to go. Second, identity theft i
Fintech Garden Episode 112 — How to Launch a Payment Orchestration Platform
More businesses are adopting payment orchestration—but what does it really take to build one?In this episode, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea explore: 💡 Why orchestration matters for CFOs, CTOs, and fintech founders💡 What makes it different from PSPs and payment gateways💡 How companies can go from scattered payment flows to centralized, automated systems💡 Real cases, smart routing, settlement auto
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