Podcasting Archives

The Finovate Podcast: Talking Best of Show with Remynt, Cascading AI, and Savvi AI

By David Penn Posted on July 15, 2024
Categories: Cascading AI, Podcasting, Remynt, SAVVI AI

The conversation continues with Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast. Over the past few weeks Greg has interviewed the CEOs and founders of companies that won Best of Show at FinovateSpring in May. Check out Greg’s first round of interviews.

This week we’re sharing the second round of Greg’s interviews with our FinovateSpring Best of Show winners. Enjoy insights on AI in banking, AI in small business lending, and the future of financial wellness, debt collection, and credit-building.

Greg Palmer interviewed Maya Mikhailov, CEO of SAVVI AI, on the importance of bringing concrete value to banks through AI. Episode 222.

“Prior to starting SAVVI, I ran an AI division at Synchrony Financial, where we built AI products for the banking and credit teams. And since leaving Synchrony, I was really on a mission to get AI and to get machine learning into more teams’ hands, to let them use this powerful technology and tool to accomplish their business goals.

Because, frankly, we really saw it working. And now it was a question of ‘we need more people to be using this because it is such a powerful tool to turn data into decisions.’ And that was the genesis behind SAVVI: to be a tool that helps any bank or fintech build and launch their own goal-driven use cases without the need for heavy resources, specialists, or complicated integrations.”

Founded in 2021, SAVVI AI helps banks, credit unions, and fintechs build, launch, and manage AI apps in minutes with its patented Practical AI platform. SAVVI AI’s technology enables financial services companies to innovate in the AI space without needing data scientists, pre-existing data, or a core integration. SAVVI is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Watch Savvi AI’s Best of Show winning demo from FinovateSpring 2024.

Greg Palmer and Gwyneth Borden, CEO of Remynt discussed the future of debt collection and credit-rebuilding. Episode 221.

“Remynt empowers consumers to rebuild credit while resolving delinquent debt. What does that mean? (We) are a debt-buying collector, buying non-performing charge-offs. We are also collecting on them on contingency from banks, credit unions, and fintechs.

I got into this space in a way you would not expect: I came in from a vantage point of having experienced delinquency and charge-off. (I was) looking at everything that’s wrong with how debt collection works and how the incentives are misaligned between what the creditor of debt buyers would like and what the consumer needs.”

Founded in 2022 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Remynt is a digital-first debt and credit recovery company that enables creditors to recover revenue from non-performing delinquencies. At the same time, Remynt gives consumers the opportunity to resolve debt on their own terms using a customer-centric, resiliency-oriented approach.

Watch Remynt’s Best of Show winning demo from FinovateSpring 2024.

How is AI changing the nature of SMB loan origination? That is the topic that Greg Palmer and Lukas Haffer, CEO and Co-Founder of Cascading AI, discuss in this Finovate Podcast conversation. Episode 220.

“My background is deep in the banking sector. I spent my whole career building, maintaining, and developing core banking systems. That’s not a career I can recommend to anyone; core banking systems are a pain. But it did give me a pretty solid understanding how the underlying IT infrastructure of a bank really works.

You pair that with two years of machine learning and AI research at Stanford and you get a pretty unique combination of skills to go back into the banking sector and automate a lot of the manual repetitive tasks that people used to do on top of our software. Now, with the advent of large language models, you really can automate.”

San Francisco, California-based Cascading AI is the world’s first AI-powered loan origination system that reduces 90% of the manual tasks involved in small business and commercial lending. The company won Best of Show for a demo of its AI Loan Assistant, Sarah, which is capable of doing the work of a 30-person lending team.

Watch Cascading AI’s Best of Show winning demo from FinovateSpring 2024.

Photo by Jonathan Velasquez on Unsplash

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The Finovate Podcast: Best of Show Conversations with Bloom Credit and Kobalt Labs

By David Penn Posted on June 24, 2024
Categories: Bloom Credit, Kobalt Labs, Podcasting

What better way to celebrate the start of summer than with some of the latest conversations from Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast!

The podcast has just kicked off its series of interviews with Best of Show winners from FinovateSpring. First, Greg Palmer talked with Christian Widhalm, CEO of Bloom Credit, about building credit and creating new lending opportunities. Episode 217.

“We are an infrastructure platform that’s really leading the modernization of credit data and credit data transmission,” Widhalm said in his Finovate Podcast conversation earlier this month. “There’s a significant amount of value to be uncovered within the ecosystem right now, specifically around credit data, and that’s what Bloom has set out to do.”

Headquartered in New York City and founded in 2016, Bloom Credit is a B2B credit data infrastructure platform. The company is building the next generation of rails for “all things credit data,” including transmission and compliant storage. Bloom’s technology helps facilitate the extension of affordable credit to the millions of consumers who are either subprime borrowers or have thin/no file with major credit agencies.

Watch Bloom Credit’s Best of Show winning demo from FinovateSpring 2024.

Most recently, Greg Palmer sat down with Kalyani Ramadurgam, CEO of Kobalt Labs, to discuss third-party regulations, the rise of AI, and the broader regulatory environment for fintechs, banks, and financial services companies. Episode 219.

“We automate all things third party diligence,” Ramadurgam explained. “When I say third party diligence that usually includes everything from vendor risk assessment all the way to monitoring, as well as partner and merchant risk assessment – whether you’re a partner bank or a fintech that’s looking to do business with new entities.”

New York City-based Kobalt Labs enables FIs to accelerate and fortify compliance operations. The company’s technology also provides automatic alignment with the latest regulations in privacy, lending, money movement, BSA/AML, ACH, and more. At FinovateSpring this year, Kobalt Labs demoed its AI-powered co-pilot that streamlines this process. The company was founded in 2023.

Watch Kobalt Labs’ Best of Show winning demo from FinovateSpring 2024.

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Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast: eCapital and the Future of SMB Financing

By David Penn Posted on June 13, 2024
Categories: CEO Interview, Interview, Podcasting

What challenges are small and medium-sized businesses facing when it comes to getting the capital they need when they need it? What role does technology – especially enabling technologies like automation and AI – play in helping make it easier for entrepreneurs and SMBs to access critical financing?

This week, Finovate VP and host of the Finovate Podcast Greg Palmer spoke with Marius Silvasan, CEO of eCapital, to discuss these and other issues important to small businesses and the financial services companies that serve them.

“SMBs in this current market are under pressure,” Silvansan explained in his Finovate Podcast interview. “They are challenged. And the reason behind that is we’ve come from an environment in which inflation is coming down, but has been high over the last year-and-a-half. We’ve come from an environment in which borrowing costs were near zero – and they’ve increased substantially over the last several years. And the labor market has been very tight, so it’s been tough for SMBs to hire, it’s been tough for SMBs to retain qualified personnel. So that’s made the environment for SMBs quite challenging over the several years.”

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, eCapital helps small and medium-sized businesses secure the financing they need in order to grow. Founded in 2006, eCapital offers a wide range of financing solutions including freight and invoice factoring, payroll funding, asset-back lending, equipment refinancing, and lines of credit.

This month alone, the company announced that it had funded a $15 million factoring facility for a technology company in the transportation industry, and funded a $5 million asset-based lending facility for a leading fiberglass media company.

Check out more interviews with fintech founders, executives, and entrepreneurs on the Finovate Podcast!

Photo by Michal Czyz on Unsplash

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Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast: New Tech, VC Funding, and Faster Payments

By David Penn Posted on May 30, 2024
Categories: Podcasting, Speaker series

The conversation continues with Finovate VP and host of the Finovate Podcast Greg Palmer!

In recent episodes of the Finovate Podcast, Greg Palmer has discussed a number of key topics in fintech and financial services. These topics include the current state of venture capital funding, the opportunities presented by new technologies like AI and faster payments, and a look at the current challenges faced by credit unions. Catch up on the latest from Greg and the Finovate Podcast below!

Greg Palmer sits down with Pete Cherecwich, President of Asset Servicing at Northern Trust, to discuss the new technologies available to financial institutions and how FIs can push their tech stack forward.

Episode 216 – Pete Cherecwich, Northern Trust

Greg Palmer and Bain Capital Venture Partner Sarah Hinkfuss talk about the current state of venture capital funding and the best opportunities for investment in fintech.

Episode 215 – Sarah Hinkfuss, Bain Capital Ventures

Greg Palmer interviews Jean Pesme, Global Director of Finance at the World Bank, to discuss the impact of fast payments on the world economy, including the role of the World Bank’s Project FASTT.

Episode 214 – Jean Pesme, The World Bank

Greg Palmer talks with Brian Lee, CEO of Landings Credit Union, on the role of emerging technologies in helping credit unions better serve their members and grow deposits.

Episode 213 – Brian Lee, Landings CU

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Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast: Financial Literacy, Core Banking, and Deepfake Detection

By David Penn Posted on April 29, 2024
Categories: Corsound AI, Podcasting, Tuum, Zeed

Finovate VP and host of the Finovate podcast Greg Palmer continues his conversations with Best of Show winning companies from FinovateEurope.

Join Greg as he talks about the next generation of investment and wealth management content with Salman Hussain of Zeed, the value of flexibility in core banking with Richard Weston of Tuum, and the challenge of identity theft, deep fakes, and the escalating AI arms race with Gal Haselkorn of Corsound.ai.

Greg Palmer interviews Salman Hussain, co-founder of Zeed. The company enables retail investors to engage with financial content by leveraging interactive AI. Zeed’s technology also enables issuers to deploy these AI-based tools to educate and grow their retail investor base. Demo video.

Episode 211 – Salman Hussain, Zeed

Greg Palmer talks with Richard Weston, Sales Director with Tuum, on the latest innovations in core banking technology. With a strong focus on the U.K. and the Nordics, Tuum is a next generation core banking software provider that helps banks modernize their systems, open new revenue streams, and build new business models. Demo video.

Episode 210 – Richard Weston, Tuum

Greg Palmer catches up with Corsound AI CEO Gal Haselkorn to discuss cutting-edge developments in voice intelligence and deepfake detection. Corsound AI, headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, offers a real-time deepfake detection solution that provides immediate threat mitigation for a robust defense against emerging security threats. Demo video.

Episode 209 – Gal Haselkorn, Corsound.ai

Photo by Will Francis on Unsplash

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The Finovate Podcast: How Credit Unions Use Technology to Bring New Projects to Life

By David Penn Posted on April 25, 2024
Categories: Interview, Podcasting

This week on the Finovate Podcast, Finovate VP and podcast host Greg Palmer sat down with Brian Lee, CEO of Landings Credit Union. Their conversation comes in advance of a special session at FinovateSpring next month, dedicated specifically to the credit union ecosystem.

A part of Landings Credit Union for nearly a decade, Lee has spent the last four years as CEO. He started as CFO of the Arizona-based financial institution and, before that, worked as both a regulator and in public accounting. Founded in 1953 as “Tempe Schools Credit Union,” Landings Credit Union today has more than 15,000 members and assets of more than $238 million.

Last year Landings CU received the Dementia Friendly business designation, which ensures members that credit union staff are trained to both recognize and support individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. “In Arizona we are the fastest growing state for new cases for Alzheimers,” Lee explained, “so it’s a big deal here for us.”

This year, the financial institution garnered national recognition for its commitment to financial inclusion, earning the Juntos Avanzamos designation. The designation recognizes the work done by credit unions to serve and empower Hispanic, Latino, and immigrant communities. A national network launched in 2015, the Juntos Avanzamos program has a presence in 29 states, serving more than 12 million consumers at 141+ credit unions in the U.S.

In their Finovate podcast conversation, Palmer and Lee talk about using technology to bring new projects to life in the context of these recent successful outreach efforts. “How can we comb through our data and find these new data points that we’re looking for, aggregate (them), and say ‘Let’s be the ones who are going out and reaching out to people’,” Lee explained. “Whether from our own data or community data that’s out there: how do we use that to be able to serve more people?”

Check out Episode 213 of the Finovate Podcast and the rest of Greg Palmer’s conversation with Landings Credit Union CEO Brian Lee.

Photo by Jean Balzan

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The Finovate Podcast: Greg Palmer Talks AI, Real-Time Payments, Fraud Prevention, and Financial Inclusion

By David Penn Posted on March 26, 2024
Categories: Interview, Podcasting

Have you listened to the latest episodes of the Finovate Podcast?

Over the past few weeks, Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast have hosted some of the most interesting innovators in fintech. Alan Bekker of eSelf on the future of AI in financial services, The Clearing House’s Jim Colassano on real-time payments, financial inclusion and wealth-building with Rodney Williams of SoLo Funds … these are just a handful of the interviews Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast have featured in recent weeks.

Don’t miss another conversation! Join Greg Palmer and his guests on the Finovate Podcast today!

Greg Palmer interviews Alan Bekker, co-founder and CEO of customer engagement innovator, eSelf. The two discuss the role of AI in fintech and financial services, and the future of face to “face” interactions. eSelf won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023. Episode 208.

The rise of real-time payments, especially in the U.S., is creating opportunities and challenges for fintechs and financial services companies alike. Greg Palmer sits down with Jim Colassano, SVP of Product Development and Strategy with The Clearing House, to discuss what institutions need to do in order to take advantage of one of the latest innovations in payments. Episode 207.

Greg Palmer catches up with Jack Spiers, Sales Director at Tink, to discuss the findings of a new report from the Best of Show winning company that details how to enhance affordability assessments with enriched data. Episode 206.

Dr. Adam Lowe, Chief Product & Innovation Officer with CompoSecure, talks with Finovate Podcast host Greg Palmer on how to think about fraud prevention as an asset, and the importance of balancing security and customer experience. Episode 205.

As part of the Finovate Podcast’s commemoration of Black History Month, Greg Palmer and Rodney Williams, co-founder, chairman, and President of SoLo Funds, talked about the challenges of creating wealth-building products for underserved communities. Episode 204.

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A Preview of FinovateEurope: Trends and What to Expect

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on February 26, 2024
Categories: FinovateEurope 2024, Podcasting

The first Finovate event of the year, FinovateEurope, is set to begin tomorrow. Taking place at the O2 Intercontinental in London, FinovateEurope is a great way to hear discussion on the latest trends and see the newest fintech tools and solutions.

I had the opportunity this month to sit down with podcast host and Finovate VP Greg Palmer to discuss some of the trends we expect to see unfold on stage at FinovateEurope. You can tune into the podcast to hear our conversation, or take a look at some of the sessions and metrics I highlighted during our chat.

What I’m excited about

I’m eager to listen to sessions on generative AI that filter out the hype of what’s really going on and what is actually possible. I’m also curious to listen in on the buy vs. build conversation and to hear from Jillian Godsil, Author and Broadcaster at CoinTelegraph, about the potential of a crypto spring.

Spotlighted sessions

The new Finovate Hot or Not Gameshow takes the idea of what’s hot and what’s not in fintech to gauge what the industry has its sights on. As in years past, we’ll also host the Analyst All Stars and Investors All Stars panels.

Demo company highlights

FinovateEurope 2024 will host 36 demo companies, coming from 15 different countries, on stage this year. Of the 36 demoing, 90% are demoing on the Finovate stage for the first time and 75% are either debuting a new technology or are a new company.

Demo themes

Security/ Fraud/ Risk/Authentication/ Compliance: 7 companies
Wealth management/ Investing: 6 companies
Payments: 4 companies
Digital banking: 4 companies

Other demo themes– including lending, sustainability, customer experience, life insurance, pure play generative AI solution, mortgagetech, and financial education– have three companies or fewer.

Tune in to Finovate podcast episode 203 to hear more.

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Kevin Dinino of KCD PR Joins the Finovate Podcast

By David Penn Posted on January 25, 2024
Categories: Interview, Podcasting, Speaker series

This week on the Finovate Podcast, Finovate VP and podcast host Greg Palmer sat down with fintech strategist, host of the Cyber Insiders Podcast, and owner of PR firm KCD PR, Kevin Dinino.

Dinino is founder and President of KCD PR, one of the top ranked public relations and marketing firms with an emphasis on financial services, fintech, technology, and transportation. He manages the day-to-day business operations for the firm, and leads business development while providing strategic counsel to clients on high profile issues.

Dinino is also host of Cyber Insiders, an iHeartRadio podcast series that features industry leaders involved in the cybersecurity industry.

In his Finovate Podcast interview, Dinino talks with host Greg Palmer about the “wonders and blunders” from 2023. Dinino also shares his ideas about what to expect from the world of fintech and financial services in 2024.

Last year was really quite an eventful year in terms of fintech and banking. Look at the Super Bowl last year to kick of 2023. We had TV commercials with the amazing Larry David in it for FTX and, in the ad, the irony of the campaign was that it was called Don’t Miss Out. And his character was like, ‘Eh, maybe I don’t want to do that’.

So it’s hard not to lump in what happened with crypto in general last year. Various scandals, FTX, and everything that happened with SBF probably being among the bigger ones, for sure. There was plenty on the ‘blunder’ side with that.

Check out Episode 201 of the Finovate Podcast and the rest of the conversation featuring Greg Palmer and Kevin Dinino of KCD PR.

Photo by Seej Nguyen

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Finovate Podcast Airs Episode 200!

By David Penn Posted on January 18, 2024
Categories: Podcasting

Just weeks into 2024 and we’re celebrating a major new Finovate milestone: the 200th episode of the Finovate Podcast!

“I can’t believe I’ve now got 200 episodes under my belt!” Finovate VP and Podcast host Greg Palmer shared on X after the 200th episode dropped on Wednesday.

In this most recent show, Greg Palmer shares his four, big-picture takeaways from the Podcast’s first 199 episodes. Through years of conversations with fintech entrepreneurs, veteran analysts, and insightful authors, Palmer has developed a unique perspective on the trends driving innovation in fintech and financial services today.

Be sure to join Greg Palmer for the Finovate Podcast’s historic 200th episode as he reflects on fintech’s journey to the present moment, as well as where fintech is headed in the year (and years) to come.

And while you’re at it, why not browse the podcast archives and hear for yourself what listeners have enjoyed since the first episode of the podcast first dropped back in the fall of 2019.

Photo by Ann H

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The Finovate Podcast: Fintech Funding in 2024; Neurodiversity in Banking

By David Penn Posted on January 11, 2024
Categories: Mahalo Banking, Podcasting

Start your year with a pair of brand new conversations from the Finovate Podcast!

First, join podcast host and Finovate VP Greg Palmer as he sits down with Tamara Steffens, Managing Director, TR Ventures.

An early stage venture investor with more than 20 years of experience, Steffens shares her insights and perspective on what’s in store for fintech and the funding ecosystem in 2024. Episode 198.

Next, catch up with Greg Palmer as he talks with Denny Howell, Chief Operating Officer with Mahalo Banking.

Mahalo Banking won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall last September. In this conversation, Howell explains why Mahalo emphasized neurodiversity as part of its goal of building inclusive technologies. Episode 199.

Photo by Blaz Erzetic

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Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast: Wrapping Up 2023 and Getting Ready for 2024

By David Penn Posted on December 21, 2023
Categories: Podcasting

Join Finovate VP and host of the Finovate Podcast Greg Palmer as he wraps up 2023 and gets us ready for 2024 with a quartet of conversations about the latest trends in fintech and financial services.

From life stories about women and men who became fintech converts, founders, and innovators later in their professional careers to discussions on enabling technologies like Generative AI, the Finovate Podcast is a great place to hear some of the smartest voices in our business talk about what matters most.

Follow Greg on X at @GregPalmer47.

Podcast host Greg Palmer sits down with Barry Kirby and Dave Buerger of Union Credit, winners of the “Best Emerging Technology” category of the 2023 Finovate Awards. EP 197.

Greg Palmer interviews Dhairya Dholiya, Vice President of Growth & Innovation at Celtic Bank, on his transition from innovator to banker. EP 196.

Greg Palmer talks with tech founder, venture investor, and Head of Innovation for Better, Nneka Ukpai, on the lessons learned from a recovering lawyer turned innovator. EP 195.

Host Greg Palmer and Experian VP of Strategy, Global ID and Fraud David Britton discuss Generative AI and fraud – why it’s so scary and what you can do about it. EP 194.

Photo by Ron Lach

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