Advertise on podcast: Fintech Chatter: Conversations with Fintech CEOs and Founders

Looking to scale your fintech leadership team? Start at tieronepeople.com After 7 years of asking we finally have Zip on the show! And it is definitely worth the wait. Zip Co is one of the jewels in the Australian fintech crown. But this show could so easily have not happened. In 2022 Zip's share price crashed, the cost of funding rose exponentially and their foundational BNPL model looked to be doomed. What has happened since then is nothing short of miraculous. But if you look under the hood you'll see a lot of the work that saved Zip was already well under way from day one. Soraya Alali leads Zip Co in Australia and New Zealand, the Australian fintech that serves 10% of the Australian population and 65,000 merchants. Soraya chats to me about the Zip turnaround, why profits rose when customer numbers fell, and how Zip moved from AI experiments to live agents in 12 months. About Soraya Alali Soraya Alali is CEO of Zip Co ANZ and has just presented her first full year of results in the role. She joined Zip from Commonwealth Bank. What we discuss How Zip grew from flexible credit into payments and Zip MobileWhy cost-of-living pressure has Australians seeking value and flexibilityWhat drove a doubled cash earnings contribution and a 750 basis point margin liftWhy fewer customers and higher profit can both be good newsHow data from 65,000 merchants shapes Zip's next betsWhat changes when you move from a major bank to a fintechHow Zip went from AI experiments to live agents, with a human in the loopWhy so many big bank hires leave scale-ups in their first six monthsWhat Zip looks for in the people it hiresTimestamps [00:00] Introduction [01:10] Welcome Soraya Alali [01:48] The Zip story [02:36] Beyond a single product [04:05] Cost of living [05:33] First year results [07:16] Fewer customers more profit [08:35] Customers not users [11:50] Zip's refreshed strategy [12:47] Choosing the next bet [13:52] Bank to fintech culture [16:40] AI at Zip [21:31] Keeping AI disciplined [23:41] Fronting the ASX results [24:38] The year ahead [25:10] Why bank hires leave [27:28] Resilience and discipline [28:50] Why join Zip [30:32] Close Links and resources Soraya Alali on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/soraya-alali-8a236687Zip: zip.co/auCareers at Zip: zip.co/careersTier One People: tieronepeople.comThis show is brought to you by Tier One People, where we work with leaders like Soraya to find the 1% who redefine what's possible. If you're scaling your leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com. Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

Looking to scale your fintech leadership team? Start at tieronepeople.com Matt Barr is CEO of Send Payments, the Australian company that embeds cross-border FX into enterprise platforms including PEXA, BoardRoom and pay.com.au. He explains why those partners choose Send on compliance ahead of price, why the bigger FX markets sit offshore, and how 140 AI agents help a team of about 70 run the business. About Matt Barr Matt Barr became CEO of Send Payments in August 2025 after more than 25 years at Australian Payments Plus, eftpos, Mastercard, Telstra and Bank of New Zealand. He spent eight years at Mastercard and was chief product officer at eftpos in 2020. Key talking points 1. Compliance wins the deal. Send built AML/CTF monitoring and a direct AUSTRAC integration into its platform, and Matt says partners choose it on those credentials ahead of price. 2. The bigger FX markets are offshore. Foreign currency makes up about ten percent of an Australian small business's invoices and about seventy-five percent in Canada, and Send plans to follow its partners into the US, Canada, the UK and New Zealand. 3. Agents are staff. Each of Send's 140 AI agents has a name, a resume and a line manager, and Matt says output per two-week sprint rose by 40% or more. Chapters [00:00] Introduction [05:26] Compliance by design [09:40] Enterprise partners and use cases [18:09] 70 people and 140 agents [27:42] Hiring for a remote-first team Links Send Payments: https://sendpayments.com Careers at Send: https://sendpayments.com/careers/ Matt Barr on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-barr-087322/ Tier One People: https://tieronepeople.com This show is brought to you by Tier One People, where we work with CEOs and founders like Matt to find the 1% who redefine what's possible. If you're scaling your leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

Looking to scale your fintech leadership team? Start at tieronepeople.com Xavier Shay is the CEO of Up, the Australian digital bank that reached a million customers on word of mouth and has been standalone profitable for the last twelve months. He joined as employee 27, was CTO before taking the top job, and explains why Up refused buy now pay later and why it does not try to win on features. About Xavier Shay Xavier Shay is CEO of Up and chief digital officer at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, having joined Up as a software engineer in 2019 and moved through CTO before taking over as CEO in 2021. Before returning to Melbourne he spent close to seven years at Square in San Francisco, joining at around 150 staff and leaving a listed company of three and a half thousand people. Key talking points 1. Word of mouth does the marketing. About 70% of Up's new customers arrive because a friend told them to, which Xavier traces to features people want to talk about, Save Up $1000, 2Up, and a support team that answers like a mate. 2. The brand decides the roadmap. At the peak of buy now pay later Up said no and shipped Maybuy instead, a savings plan that asks whether you still want the thing. Half the customers walk away with the money. 3. Brand is the moat, not features. Australia has free instant payments and good incumbent apps, so Xavier says Up does not win a feature by feature comparison and never has. It reached standalone profitability on how it makes people feel about money. Chapters [00:00] Introduction [02:50] Why word of mouth works [07:06] Saying no to buy now pay later [18:18] Employee 27 at Ferocia [23:21] Competing in a functional market Links Up: https://up.com.au Careers at Up: https://up.com.au/careers Xavier Shay on LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/xaviershay Tier One People: https://tieronepeople.com This show is brought to you by Tier One People, where we work with CEO's and founders like Xavier to find the 1% who redefine what's possible. If you're scaling your leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

If you're looking to scale your executive leadership team - start at tieronepeople.com Welcome to our series recorded live from Interesekt/26. Dexter Cousins catches up with friends of the show at Australia's premiere Fintech event in Melbourne. Hello Clever CEO Caroline Tran gives Dexter Cousins and update of their remarkable growth across Asia, now processing over $2bn through their payments and loyalty platform. Subscribe for weekly insights from the people building the next generation of Fintech solutions and let us know in the comments what you want to hear next. Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

If you're looking to scale your executive leadership team - start at tieronepeople.com Welcome to our series recorded live from Interesekt/26. Dexter Cousins catches up with friends of the show at Australia's premiere Fintech event in Melbourne. Piers Cracknell CEO for Banking Circle Australia joins Dexter COusins to talk through their remarkable growth and success down under. Piers also shares his main takeaways from the event and his optimism for the future of Fintech. Connect with Piers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierscracknell/ https://bankingcircle.com.au/  Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

If you're looking to scale your executive leadership team - start at tieronepeople.com Welcome to our series recorded live from Intersekt. Dexter Cousins catches up with friends of the show at Australia's premiere Fintech event in Melbourne. This chat features Ben Ford aka The Body of Fintech! Ben runs Mogoplus - AI powered credit decision making and has been at the forefront of CDR since inception.  You can connect with Ben - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-ford-142a027/ Insta- https://www.instagram.com/super_fit_dad/ Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

Scaling your Fintech executive team? Start at tieronepeople.com Can Australian startups thrive under current policy? Shadow Minister Aaron Violi discusses the future of our tech sector. In this episode of FinTech Chatter, Dexter Cousins sits down with Aaron Violi, Federal Member for Casey and Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy, Science, Technology and Innovation. They examine how upcoming 2026 budget changes to capital gains and employee equity impact the broader startup ecosystem. Aaron draws on his fifteen years of private sector experience, including his time at Ritual, to explain how government policy can better support innovation and job creation. The conversation covers the practical hurdles facing founders today, from tax policy to attracting global talent. By comparing our approach to international models like Singapore, Aaron provides a clear perspective on the role of government in fostering a robust digital economy. Whether you are an entrepreneur or a policy enthusiast, this breakdown offers insights into the regulatory shifts shaping the future of fintech regulation in Australia. Subscribe to FinTech Chatter for weekly insights on the leaders shaping the Fintech industry. What is the biggest challenge facing your startup right now? Let us know in the comments. 0:00 Introduction 1:02 Aaron Violi background and portfolio 2:19 What the digital economy means 4:39 Lessons from Singapore 9:19 Budget impact on startups 14:33 Challenges facing startups 24:34 The role of government 28:46 Taxation and innovation 30:43 Attracting talent back 36:48 Vision for an innovative Australia 43:49 Connecting with Aaron LINKS Aaron Violi on LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aaronviolimp Aaron Violi MP website: https://www.aaronvioli.com.au Aaron Violi electorate email: [email protected] Tier One People: https://tieronepeople.com Fintech Chatter: https://fintechchatter.com Dexter Cousins on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins/ Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

If you're scaling a fintech leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com   Karl Durrance is Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand at Stripe, the payments infrastructure company. Australia NZ is Stripes 3rd largest region globally, serving over one million customers and onboards 37,000 new local businesses every month.  In this episode, recorded live at Stripe Tour Sydney, Karl explains how Australia became Stripe's third biggest market in the world, why 23 percent of Stripe's Australian businesses sell cross-border against a national average of 2 percent, and what the AI economy is doing to business formation. He also talks candidly about the country manager role, why he coaches his team to answer for the customer rather than the forecast, and where Stripe is hiring in Australia.     0:00 Introduction 1:24 Stripe Tour Sydney 2:36 One million ANZ customers 3:49 Cracking the Australian market 5:30 Cross-border and global reach 6:24 Solopreneurs and small business 8:08 AI and job creation 9:29 Day 231 of the singularity 11:11 Building the highways 13:05 Growing the GDP of the internet 14:37 Why Karl joined Stripe 18:12 The country manager role 21:36 How founders reach Stripe 22:26 Careers at Stripe   Karl Durrance on LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/karldurrance Stripe: https://stripe.com Stripe Tour Sydney: https://stripetour.com/sydney Stripe Tour Sydney 2026 announcements: https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/tour-sydney-2026 Careers at Stripe: https://stripe.com/jobs Tier One People: https://tieronepeople.com Dexter Cousins on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins/ Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

If you're building an executive team to scale your Fintech, start at tieronepeople.com Move Bank has become the first bank in the world to move its entire operation, technology, product, operations and compliance, onto Constantinople's platform.  In this episode Dexter Cousins is joined by Move Bank CEO Mike Currie and Constantinople co-CEOs Macgregor Duncan and Di Challenor.  They unpack an 18 month migration of around 25,000 members that cut cost to income by roughly 30 percent. It is a story about culture and courage as much as technology, and what it means for every customer owned bank in Australia. Chapters 0:00 Introduction 0:36 Inside Move Bank and how the partnership began 2:48 A banking operating system 4:55 Busting the CEO killer myth 8:26 Fintechs reputation problem 10:26 Why a domestic team mattered 13:12 Challenger culture - Building a true partnership 17:00 Go live - A world first transformation  21:03 Synthetic scale and the problem with mergers 24:35 Going global 31:02 The next decade of AI 31:49 Advice for bank CEOs 39:39 Where to find Move Bank Find out more. Move Bank: https://www.movebank.com.au Constantinople: https://www.cxnpl.com ** Connect With Dexter ** https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins/ Follow us  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/fintech-chatter-podcast Contact us - https://tieronepeople.com/contact/ Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

If you're building a fintech leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com - executive search for Fintech. Sam Everington joined Starling Bank ten years ago as one of its first twenty employees. He led the build of the technology that has made Starling a Fintech giant - 4.5 million customers and a 9% share of UK business banking.  Mark Bernhardi leads Engine's growth across Australia and New Zealand, having previously held technology roles at Atlassian, nCino and Westpac.  Both join Dexter Cousins on a special episode of Fintech Chatter Podcast recorded at the World Credit Union Conference in Sydney July 2026. Engine is the software business Starling spun out four years ago to license its platform to other banks. Sam and Mark explain how Engine gets banks like AMP live on a full core banking platform in under twelve months.  They also discuss the opportunity for mutuals and credit unions to compete with much bigger banks and offer their customers the Starling Bank experience using technology platforms like Engine. Sam Everington LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sameverington Mark Bernhardi LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/mark-bernhardi Engine by Starling: https://enginebystarling.com Tier One People: https://tieronepeople.com Dexter Cousins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

Looking to take your leadership team to the next level? Start at tieronepeople.com Peter Jones co-founded Nimo Industries with Leann Jones after living the core banking problem himself as a mutual bank CEO. Ten years ago he decided solve the problem for himself. Today, Nimo is a platform serving over 20 Australian banks and lenders, entirely bootstrapped.  In this episode of Fintech Chatter Dexter asks Peter how his mutual sector background shaped the product. Peter shares his journey bootstrapping a bank grade technology platform through APRA-grade compliance. And shares real examples of how mutual banks are growing nationally on the Nimo platform. About Peter Jones Peter Jones is co-founder and COO of Nimo Industries, the Melbourne fintech building loan origination and core banking technology for Australian mutual banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders. Before starting Nimo in 2016, he spent close to two decades in banking, including as CEO of Plenty Credit Union and in roles at ANZ, NAB and ME Bank. What we discuss Why living the “CEO killer” problem of fragmented core banking as a mutual bank CEO shaped how Nimo builds its platformHow Nimo has stayed 100% self-funded for close to a decade Why Nimo dropped the word “startup” for “scale up” internally, and how that shift changed hiring standardsHow South West Slopes Credit Union used Nimo to drive its open banking and CDR strategyHow one mutual bank client went live on Nimo's platform in five to six weeks and a regional bank hit 30% growth and landed national exposureWhy critical thinking, not competency-based interviewing, is now Nimo's deciding hiring factorWhy Nimo is opening the door to outside investment after a decade of bootstrappingTimestamps 00:00 Introduction  02:32 Understanding Nimo's Banking Solutions 05:45 The Journey of Building Nimo Industries 12:48 Addressing Regulatory and Technology challenges in Mutual Banks 18:45 Building Trust with Mutual Banks 21:51 Talent Acquisition Strategies in a Competitive Market 29:07 Navigating Growth and Recruitment Challenges 32:25 Lessons Learned from a Decade of Business 34:38 The Importance of Resilience and Adaptability 36:36 Cultural Fit in Scaling Teams 38:08 The Role of Mindset in Organizational Success 43:53 Navigating Change and Embracing AI 47:45 Opportunities for Nimo Links & resources Peter Jones LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjonesaust/ Nimo Industries website: https://nimoindustries.com/ Nimo Industries LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nimoindustries/ Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

If you're scaling a fintech leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com Andy Taylor is the founder and CEO of ASX-listed Stakk Limited (ASX: SKK), an embedded trust and fraud prevention platform used by Chime, Robinhood, T-Mobile and H&R Block.  In this episode Andy breaks down Stakk's proposed US$63 million acquisition of document intelligence firm ParaScript, and how the deal turns a decade of building into an AI-powered fraud detection engine.  I ask Andy about Stakk's pivot from consumer neobanking under the Douugh brand into B2B infrastructure. He shares where the business is headed next as it expands into healthcare. Before Stakk, Andy co-founded SocietyOne, Australia's first peer-to-peer lending platform, and later founded Douugh, an AI-first neobank that listed on the ASX pre-revenue. He has spent close to two decades building fintech businesses in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Find out more - https://stakk.tech/ Chapters 00:00 Welcome to FinTech Chatter 01:16 Introduction to Stakk and Andy Taylor 03:44 The Journey of Stakk: From Douugh to Success 10:54 Reflections on Society One and Early FinTech Days 17:17 Navigating Challenges in the Current FinTech Landscape 23:15 Consumer Behavior Shifts and Market Dynamics 25:55 Future Expectations for Stakk 34:55 Advice for Founders Facing Adversity Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

If you're looking for AI Native leaders - start at www.tieronepeople.com Steve Hind is the co-founder and CEO of Lorikeet, an Australian AI startup that has raised more than $50 million USD to build AI concierges for high-regulation businesses in fintech, healthcare and energy. Lorikeet's customers include Airwallex, Linktree and Eucalyptus, the telehealth company recently acquired by Hims & Hers in a deal worth up to $1.15 billion. Before founding Lorikeet with former Google Brain researcher Jamie Hall, Steve worked in product roles at Stripe and climate tech company Watershed, following an earlier career at BCG and Bridgewater Associates and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  He first connected with Dexter in 2019 while working in Silicon Valley. Here's what they discuss in this episode: 00:00 Introduction 01:32 Understanding Lorikeet and Its AI Concierge Solutions 05:54 The Origin of Lorikeet and Its Founding Story 09:50 Navigating the AI Landscape and Company Growth 12:49 Regulatory Challenges in FinTech and AI Compliance 15:12 The Role of AI in Compliance and Customer Relationships 20:03 Steve's Career Journey and Lessons Learned 23:51 The Art of Startup Hiring 28:34 Navigating AI's Impact on Work 33:36 The Future of Work and Leadership 39:05 Optimism in the Age of AI 41:57 Advice for Aspiring Founders Find out more about careers - https://www.lorikeetcx.ai/careers Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

If you're scaling a fintech leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com Clayton Howes is the CEO of MONEYME (ASX: MME), an Australian non-bank lender that has originated over $5 billion in consumer credit and now manages a $1.9 billion loan book across personal loans, credit cards, and car finance. In this episode, Clayton walks through the full 13-year journey: bootstrapping from a desk-sized office, listing on the ASX in December 2019, acquiring SocietyOne during the Ukraine invasion, and engineering the Horizon technology platform that now powers everything. 0:00 Introduction 1:34 What MONEYME does and 13 years of milestones 3:37 From corporate to founder 5:32 Why consumer finance over any other vertical 9:53 Why consumer fintech is the hardest category 11:25 The ASX listing decision 14:38 The SocietyOne acquisition 19:53 The Horizon technology platform 23:00 Leadership evolution from player to coach 28:37 Staying close to the front line 32:28 Why the office is always full 36:18 Product innovation and the path forward 42:10 Careers at MONEYME Links Clayton Howes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claytonhowes/ MONEYME Website: https://www.moneyme.com.au ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** Hire exceptional Fintech Talent ** https://tieronepeople.com/ ** Connect With Dexter ** https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins/ Follow us  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/fintech-chatter-podcast Contact us - https://tieronepeople.com/contact/ Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn

Looking to upscale your fintech leadership team? Start at tieronepeople.com Michelle Bagnall is the CEO of BankFirst, a mutual bank with 92,000 members and $4.7 billion in assets that exists to serve nurses and teachers in Australia. In this episode she tells Dexter the origin story of a bank that started with $480 in a shoebox, explains why nobody at BankFirst gets paid a bonus, and makes the case that mutuals were the original fintech startups. 00:00 Introduction  03:08 The Origins of Bank First and Peer-to-Peer Lending 05:30 Understanding Mutual Banks and Their Model 10:54 Competing with Big Banks and Neo Banks 14:24 Leadership and Culture at Bank First 21:15 Finding Passion and Purpose in Banking 31:04 Bank First's Role in Supporting Members During Economic Challenges 36:00 The Complexity of Financial Solutions and Collaboration 40:47 Opportunities at Bank First Links Michelle Bagnall LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-bagnall/ BankFirst: https://www.bankfirst.com.au Tier One People: https://www.tieronepeople.com Dexter Cousins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins/ Send us Fan Mail Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent Subscribe on LinkedIn