The #1 global fintech radio show and podcast. Every week we explore the personalities, startups, innovators, and industry players driving disruption in financial services; from Incumbents to unicorns, and from the latest cutting edge technology to the people who are using it to help to create a more innovative, inclusive and healthy financial future.
In this episode, Jason Henrichs and Nektarios Liolios discuss the entrepreneurial journey, focusing on the struggles, transitions, and reinventions founders face. Nektarios shares his experiences with Startup Bootcamp, Radish Credit, and the Future Farm, highlighting the importance of mental health, community support, and self-awareness. They explore co-founder relationships, investor responsibilities, and practical advice for entrepreneurs struggling with burnout and isolation.
In This Episode This week on Breaking Banks, Don Ginsel, host of our sister show Breaking Banks Europe, takes our mic and brings the conversation stateside. Don is joined by Nik Milanović, founder of This Week in Fintech, for a wide-ranging and energizing discussion of the latest forces shaping the fintech landscape. From the evolving role of traditional banks and increasing interest in stablecoins to the current state of fintech M&A, the rise of fraud, and the impact of AI on financial services...
In This Episode In a rare and inspiring crossover episode, Breaking Banks teams up with Barefoot Innovation to bring you a special dispatch from Necker Island, BVI. Hosted by Brett King and Jo Ann Barefoot, this episode captures the energy and insight of a one-of-a-kind fintech gathering organized by Virgin Unite: an event bringing together innovators from around the world, from a cross section of industry, exploring what the future of finance could (and should) look like. Podcasts hosts and spe...
In This Episode Killing It is back! Jason Henrichs' series on banking and fintech entrepreneurs returns with Cokie Hasiotis In this episode of Breaking Banks, Jason Henrichs connects with Cokie, serial entrepreneur and exited founder of Twali and drippi. Cokie candidly shares her entrepreneurial journey, providing insights into the emotional challenges and tolls inherent in entrepreneurship, and the stress of pivoting business. She also reflects on how these experiences have shaped her, undersco...
In This Episode This week on Breaking Banks, it’s a powerhouse podcast mashup you won’t want to miss. What happens when two leading voices in fintech join forces? You get a fast-paced, insight-packed conversation on the future of finance, banking innovation, and emerging technologies—recorded live in Finland. Breaking Banks host Brett King teams up with Pål Krogdahl and Ville Sointu, hosts of the Nordics’ #1 fintech podcast Fintech Daydreaming, for a high-level exploration of where the industry ...
In This Episode There’s something happening beneath the surface of every pizza order, every childcare payment, and every invoice sent by businesses across America. A quiet revolution that most people— sometimes even business owners themselves— have barely noticed. Traditional banks are being methodically extracted from the daily financial lives of businesses, replaced by something more streamlined, more embedded, as banking becomes just another node in a business operating system. We dug into th...
In This Episode Banking executives, your business customers aren’t leaving you for another bank—they’re leaving banking altogether— at least partially. For now. As a part of our “Unbreak the Bank” series we dissect the most significant existential threat to community financial institutions since the 2008 crisis: the systematic extraction of business banking services into everyday business software. Community banks are hemorrhaging 12-18% of operational deposits annually to companies that don’t e...
In This Episode Powered by U.S. Bank and recorded live at Fintech Xchange hosted by the Stena Center for Financial Technology, this episode dives into the most pressing issues shaping financial services today. In our first segment, Jason Henrichs chats with Sima Ghandi, Sr Advisor FS Vector, Co-Founder of Coalition of Financial Ecosystem Standards (CFES) and Phil Goldfeder, CEO American Fintech Council (AFC). AFC, a standards-based organization representing large financial technology (Fintech) c...
In This Episode This week, we bring you Part III of exclusive insights from Fintech Xchange '25 at the Stena Center for Financial Technology and the University of Utah, powered by U.S. Bank. Host Jason Henrichs engages in a dynamic discussion with Jason Mikula of Fintech Business Weekly and Chris Black, CEO & President of Thread Bank. Their conversation spans topics from Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and regulatory shifts under the new administration to the dual-edged nature of innovation in today...
In This Episode In this episode we continue the series powered by U.S. Bank and recorded at the University of Utah's Fintech Xchange. CAUTION: The episode is hot! Breaking Banks' Hot Takes host Jason Henrichs, regulars Alex Johnson (Fintech Takes) and Jason Mikula (Fintech Business Weekly) are joined by David Ness, U.S. Bank's SVP Innovation, R&D and Peter Renton, Fintech Nexus, Chairman & Co-Founder. The newcomers jump right in, going straight for Fintech on Fire (#11 on a scale of 1 - 10), and...
In This Episode This week we introduce you to a series profiling the digital banks and founders that are changing the world of banking. Focused on first hand accounts from founders all over the globe, the series chronicles the NeoBanking movement from the early days though to today, documenting the players building a new category of digital banking, reshaping the digital movement. Throughout our series we look at foundation stories, challenges each had, and the regulatory approach each took -- a...
This week on Breaking Banks, we take you inside fintechXchange, hosted by the Stena Center for Financial Technology at the University of Utah. As a proud media partner of the event, we explore how industry, academia, and policymakers are coming together to drive the future of financial services.Host Jason Henrichs sits down with Meghan Kober, VP of Fintech Partnerships & Investments at U.S. Bank, Taylor Randall, President of the University of Utah, and Ryan Christiansen, Executive Director of th...
In This Episode We are excited to introduce you to Provoke.fm's newest podcast....a-spinoff-of-a-spinoff of Breaking Banks. Bankers Bookshelf brings cutting edge banking and fintech research to life, sharing the stories and strategies behind financial innovation, bridging the gap between technology and finance -- a perfect fit for the Breaking Banks family! Host Paolo Sironi, global research leader in banking and financial markets at IBM Institute for Business Value, is a trailblazer in fintech ...
In This Episode Getting digital right can be challenging for anyone --small banks, big banks, incumbents, challengers, you name it. In this episode, Brett King meets up with Akbank's Consumer Banking & Digital Solutions, EVP, Burcu Civelek Yuce to talk about Akbank and Akbank LAB, Akbank's Innovation Lab. The discussion focuses on the incumbent bank 's digital engagement and excellence in collaborating and partnering with fintechs and big tech. Turkey is the 18th largest country in the world in ...
In This Episode What’s the key to financial security today? As technology and a shifting economy reshape how we save, spend, borrow, and plan for the future, mastering the art of money management is critical for achieving financial health. Listen as Jennifer Tescher, host of sister podcast Emerge Everywhere and Founder of the Financial Health Network, speaks with Suze Orman – personal finance expert, author, Emmy Award winner, and Co-Founder of workplace emergency savings platform SecureSave – a...
In This Episode 2024 is a wrap! Listen as industry leaders and fintech influencers share insights on the year that was before turning the lens forward to 2025. What will be hot in this new year? Back by popular demand, Breaking Banks hosts Brett King and JP Nicols assemble banking industry leaders and fintech influencers to get their takes and predictions on what 2025 has in store for the banking industry. Joining the discussion are Jim Marous (The Financial Brand, Banking Transformed), Ron Shev...
In This Episode Regular listeners of Breaking Banks are likely familiar with the Killing It series, hosted by Jason Henrichs and Alex Johnson, where they explore candid stories of success, failure, and the pivotal and sometimes tough decisions that drive the journey from VCs to unicorns in the high stakes world of entrepreneurship. (If you’re not, check it out!) In this episode, Brett King shifts gears with a “Starting It” theme, sitting down with industry veteran Anthony Thomson —an entrepreneu...
This week, host Brett King sits down with Colin Walsh, Founder and CEO of Varo Bank, to explore the journey of building the first all-digital, FDIC-insured de novo bank in U.S. history. Designed to improve financial health and serve a diverse range of customers—from those with financial abundance to those facing economic hardship—Varo Bank is on a mission to create a banking experience that truly works for everyone. With the unique distinction of being the first consumer fintech to be granted a ...
In This Episode Southeast Asia’s fintech revolution is here, and GXBank is leading the charge. From its roots as a ride-hailing service to becoming Malaysia’s first digital bank, GXBank is transforming how Malaysians access and manage their money. This week on Breaking Banks, host Brett King sat down with GXBank’s Chief Commercial Officer, Kaushik Chowdhury, and Mastercard’s Senior Vice President & Country Manager for Malaysia and Brunei, Beena Pothen. They discuss the incredible journey of GXBa...
In This Episode Good leaders drive day-to-day results. Great leaders share visionary ideas and then inspire organizations and stakeholders to find a way to get there. In today's second segment, Jennifer Tescher, host of sister podcast Emerge Everywhere, introduces this year’s Financial Health Visionary Award honoree, Brian Moynihan, Chair and CEO of Bank of America. The Visionary Award recognizes those who have shown unparalleled leadership in building a more inclusive financial system and empow...
This week on Breaking Banks, host Brett King takes us to Shanghai for a riveting discussion with Jason Cao, CEO of Huawei's Global Financial Services competency. In this eye-opening episode, they uncover how China is shaping the future with AI—not as a mere tool for profit, but as core infrastructure driving the world's fastest-growing economy. Discover why GenFi LLMs (Generational Financial Language Models) don’t exist yet—and what’s holding AI like ChatGPT back from transforming banking as we ...
In This Episode Strong partnerships and value creation can make even solid companies better! Serving over 80% of the top digital payment and neobank fintechs on the CNBC Global Fintech list, Mastercard takes a collaborative approach to innovation. By viewing fintechs as true partners—and bringing data insights, market expertise, and solutions to the table—Mastercard helps fintechs scale by unlocking new opportunities and driving smarter decisions for better outcomes. In today’s episode, Brett Ki...
In This Episode We kick off with a crossover segment featuring Fintech Takes host and fintech insider Alex Johnson, who joins Jason to break down major themes from Money20/20 2024. Together, they explore the hot topics shaping fintech right now: bank-fintech partnerships, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), open banking (1033), and the evolving role of AI. Alex shares highlights from his on-stage interview with CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, where they discussed the finalized 1033 rule, the ongoing legal ...
In This Episode How can merchants take control of their finances and fuel growth directly through their commerce platform? This week, Shopify unveils Shopify Finance, a powerful new hub that unifies financial tools for merchants directly within the Shopify admin and mobile app. In this episode of Breaking Banks, Brett King sits down with Vikram Anreddy, Head of Product, Financial Services for Shopify, to break down how Shopify Finance empowers merchants to manage their business, cash flow, and m...
In This Episode This week, we’re shining a spotlight on our sister podcast, Breaking Banks Europe, as they celebrate their 250th episode! Host Matteo Rizzi marks the milestone by reflecting on five incredible years and 500 unique guests. He’s joined by six of the show’s hosts for an engaging conversation on what fintech means to them, each summing up the past 15 years with a single word. From culture (which shapes fintech’s future) to strategy (the key to success), and foresight (looking ahead a...
In This Episode This week cohosts Brett King and Jason Henrichs have a far reaching conversation, tapping into guest expertise on all things open banking and digital finance. John Pitts, Global Head of Policy at Plaid, Christy Sunquist, Head of Open Finance at Plaid, and Cameron Taylor, Chief Product Officer at Ninth Wave join Jason and Brett as they dive into topics from international open banking and the standards that we can expect out of open banking in the U.S., to how Plaid and Ninth Wave ...
In This Episode The Fed just cut rates. The 50-basis point cut was welcome news for many financial institutions, but the pressures the industry faces are not going away. In fact, rate cuts may mask the underlying changes going on. In our first segment, Jason Henrichs connects with Lake Michigan Credit Union's EVP, Chief Lending and Experience Officer, Eric Burgoon and James White, General Manager, Banking at Total Expert talk about the future of banking. Customers are always in search of highest...
In This Episode AI is simultaneously taking over the world and disappointing in it’s ability to take over the world depending on the publication you read. No doubt we are in the first innings. Today Derek Higginbotham, CEO of First Electronic Bank, Matt Bochenek CEO of Avant and John Sun, CEO of Spring Labs, and Jason Henrichs talk about why everyone needs to be getting up to bat with AI, no matter the size of institution you work for. Spring Labs AI Native Banking and Fintech conference is next...
In This Episode Globetrotter and Host Brett King shares banking news and investment conversations from around the world We start today's podcast on banking with Brett's one on one discussion on tech in Thailand with Dr. Supachai Kid Parchariyanon. Dr. Kid is CEO and Co-Founder of consulting company Rise, and managing partner for SeaX Ventures, a Thai venture capital firm with presence in Silicon Valley. Rise’s company goal is to drive 1% of the GDP in Thailand as well as reduce 1% of carbon emis...
In This Episode Warning: Extra spice added -- new sauces and participants! The stream of consent orders against banks that offer BaaS continues. Fintech partner banks drew 1/3 of all formal enforcement orders by federal banking agencies in the 4th quarter of 2023, that's quite a bit when you consider that fintech partner banks only account for roughly 3% of all U.S. banks. BaaS is here to stay -- it's a great way for community banks to grow, big banks are already on board and will do more, and e...
