Episode description

Lex interviews Andrew Jamison - CEO and Co-founder of Extend - a financial infrastructure platform that helps banks innovate financial product development with capabilities while working with their existing systems, starting with virtual cards. Andrew shares his journey into fintech, detailing his experiences at American Express and the evolution of virtual cards. He discusses the challenges and opportunities in the virtual card space, the founding of Extend, and its innovative approach to simplifying spend management. The episode highlights Extend's rapid growth, unique market position, and the future of financial management, emphasizing real-time transactions and integrated solutions for businesses.

Notable discussion points:

Virtual Cards = Smarter Spend ManagementVirtual credit cards revolutionize payments by enabling real-time reconciliation, reducing fraud, and improving financial control—especially for SaaS, digital ads, and legal expenses.

Extend’s Edge: Partnering with Banks, Not Disrupting ThemUnlike Brex and Ramp, Extend powers virtual cards on existing bank-issued cards, making adoption seamless for businesses while strengthening bank relationships.

B2B Payments Go EmbeddedThe future of finance is embedding payments directly into platforms like SAP Concur - letting CFOs manage expenses within the tools they already use.

From Enterprise-Only to Instant AccessVirtual cards once took months to implement. Extend’s API-first approach makes them deployable in minutes, bridging the gap between legacy banking and modern finance.

MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION

Topics: Extend, American Express, AMEX, SAP,  fintech, credit cards, spend management, virtual cards, B2B, API, banking infrastructure, embedded payments

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TIMESTAMPS

1’10: From Green Screens to the Cloud: How Early Tech Shaped Andrew Jamison’s Approach to Business and Automation

5’12: Scaling Amex: Expanding Beyond Travel to B2B Payments and Virtual Cards

10’27: Virtual Cards in Travel: Solving Payments but Struggling with Scale

15’19: Virtual Cards and On-Demand Growth: How APIs Unlocked a New Payments Model

19’17: From Amex to Extend: Reinventing Virtual Cards for Everyday Business

26’00: Scaling Smart Payments: How Extend is Reshaping B2B Credit Cards

29’33: Rethinking Spend Management: How Extend Partners with Banks Instead of Replacing Them

31’47: Built for CFOs: How Extend Streamlines Payments and Expense Management

35’08: The Future of Finance: How Embedded Payments and APIs Are Reshaping the CFO’s Role

40’34: The channels used to connect with Andrew & learn more about Extend

Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.

Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, Daniella

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