Paypod: The Payments Industry Podcast

Many businesses need to process transactions across borders, between large companies, and beyond… but how can it all run efficiently? How does the B2B eCommerce space differ from B2C eCommerce? Our podcast guest on this episode will answer these questions and more. Brandon Spear is the president of MSTS. MSTS is a global B2B payment and credit solutions provider that specializes in commercial transaction management, facilitating transactions for customers in over 190 countries with 40 years of experience. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

There are so many organizations out there where payments and money transfer are crucial part of their operations… efficiency and function can have direct impacts on bottom lines and growth. Given that, goals for speed, less friction, excellent security, and beyond put payments tech at the strategic forefront for many of these organizations. Our guest is Laurence Cooke, who is the founder and CEO of nanopay, a fintech working to reimagine payments by empowering businesses and banks to scale with innovative payment and liquidity management products. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

We’re back to discussing Bitcoin on this podcast episode! No matter how you view cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin certainly is making an impact on the fintech world and the future of financial systems themselves. Our guest is entrepreneur and bitcoin enthusiast Aleksandar Svetski. Aleks is the founder and CEO of Amber, an app that makes buying bitcoin easy, and even allows users to do it passively. Aleks had tremendous insight – and passion – to share about why Bitcoin is so important and everyone should own some. Listen in! Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Achieving mainstream adoption for commerce is one of the biggest challenges cryptocurrencies face according to many. On this show, we discuss this and cover a company that is leading the charge for allowing consumers to use cryptocurrencies to buy real world products and services… with a little help from gift cards. Our guest is Sergej Kotliar, who is CEO of Bitrefill, a company that allows people to turn their crypto into gift cards, prepaid phone cards, and more. Bitrefill allows consumers to exchange their digital currency for gift cards from companies located all over the world. Furthermore, Bitrefill is now working to develop networks for cryptocurrency exchange as well. Listen in for Sergej’s excellent perspective on the world of cryptocurrency and commerce! Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

No matter how you cut it, fraud can happen… especially in our increasingly digital world. Not only do payments businesses need to worry about this, but any organization with a digital presence also must be vigilant. Fortunately there are solutions to combat fraud… “good guys” out there fighting the good fight against “bad guys” with the help of technology. On this episode, we explore this with our guest, Priya Rajan, who is the Vice President of Marketing at DataVisor. DataVisor is actively working to leverage technology (such as machine learning), to help organizations manage fraud, fight spam and more. Priya had a tremendous amount to share about both the business costs of fraud, the challenges presented by fraudsters, and how technology is bridging the gap. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

POS systems offer great opportunities for both merchants and payments businesses alike. Whether you’re an agent, ISO, there’s a tremendous benefit to having enticing POS offerings. If you’re a merchant, a streamlined POS solution can save your business time and money. On this episode, we’re exploring this with the help of Danny Schard, who is the Director of ISO sales at PayProtec. Danny has extensive experience in the merchant services industry, particularly on the sales side, and he has seen how POS systems can transform all kinds of businesses. Listen in to hear his excellent insight into the world of POS sales and technology. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

These days, digital products are the lifeblood for many businesses, especially fintechs. New (or updated) offerings from mobile banks, financial tools, payment apps, and beyond are being released daily. Success is not a given when a new digital product is released, so having quality strategies and execution are crucial. Our guest on this episode had incredible insight to share on what does (and doesn’t) work when it comes to digital product strategy. Leon Gauhman is the founder and Director of Product and Strategy at Elsewhen. Elsewhen is a London based digital product consultancy. Since their founding in 2011, Elsewhen has endeavored to provide a different approach to digital consultancy—one that combines strategy, design and engineering into one unified process. Their clients have included Google, Mastercard, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Citi, and more, and they specialize in the financial services, data, banking and insurance sectors. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

The world of payments is incredibly competitive, and technology is constantly pushing the industry forward. Though their demise has been incorrectly predicted for years, POS systems are still a key part of the payments ecosystem for merchants. So it goes without saying that whether you're an ISO or ISV, having an effective POS system strategy can be a game changer... Listen in as Scott chats with Many Zenou, founder and CEO of Dejavoo systems about POS System strategies (including cloud based POS systems) revolutionizing the payments world. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Obtaining loans and other financial services can be challenging for underbanked individuals and organizations in emerging markets. Scott is joined by Florentine Lenoir of LenddoEFL, a company leveraging fintech solutions to address this, to discuss. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Careers in the payments and fintech industries are far reaching and unique. Opportunities can be found everywhere... be they with ISOs, acquirers, banks, payfacs, fintech startups, and more. But how do you find those opportunities? Our guest on this episode has significant knowledge about the world of recruiting in fintech and payments. Marc Badalucco is the managing partner and recruiting expert for IMPACT Payments Recruiting, a recruitment agency specializing in the payments, e-commerce and fintech industry. Since 2000, they have been the Payments, Cards, and Fintech industries most trusted recruitment partner; touting the largest database of payments professionals worldwide (110,000+). Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

If you’re in the world of Payments or Fintech, you may find yourself working with merchants.... Business owners and individuals who are potentially interested in your services (such as payment processing, billing, payroll, and so on). How do you break through all the noise? How do you present your offerings in a compelling way with competition that’s only increasing? On this episode, Jared Spears, a sales rep for Gravity Payments joins Scott to discuss how to reach merchants with your services. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

This week we’re diving into another fascinating area of payments… media payments. Whether you’re browsing the web, watching TV, or listening to the radio – you may come across content and ads that have been facilitated by payments between organizations. But how does it all work? Media payments also have a special application when it comes to the political arena and upcoming elections – so in the advance of the presidential election it’s worth covering! Joining Scott to explore all of this is David Frogel, Chief Strategy Officer of FastPay. FastPay is a company which was founded in 2009 that functions to meet the needs of the media industry – specifically when it comes to payments. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

On this episode, we turn our attention back to the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Specifically, we focus in on the entrepreneurial side of these industries to discuss the keys to success, and just who these "cryptopreneurs" are. Scott is joined by Dennis Lewis, who is a seasoned digital storyteller and blockchain marketing specialist with a proven track record both in Europe and in the US. Dennis has successfully led to market and exited multiple startup companies, and his latest effort is in launching a book entitled “Behold the Cryptopreneurs” all about the entrepreneurial side of blockchain and crypto. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Throughout your working life, have you ever wanted, or needed, payday to arrive a little sooner? On today's show, we cover instant payroll, which has made these payroll schedule challenges a thing of the past. Scott is joined by Jeanniey Mullen, who is the Chief Marketing Officer for DailyPay. DailyPay is the leading provider of the daily pay benefit — a benefit offered through employers that allows employees to receive instant access to their earned wages. Instant wage access has helped businesses retain employees longer, increasing employee job satisfaction, and beyond. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

The payments industry offers many unique opportunities for professionals from all kinds of backgrounds. On this episode we focus in on how payments is helping one important group… women who have rejoined the workforce after having or raising children. Scott is joined by Samantha Ettus, who has recently launched Park Place Payments, a women-owned company fundamentally changing the lives of people seeking opportunities to reenter the workforce and revolutionizing the payment processing industry at the same time. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

It’s no secret that the global economy and the environment are two important umbrella topics these days. The multitude of important challenges under these categories are worthy of discussion.... especially because payments businesses and fintechs can offer many solutions to help both consumers and our global future. Some say that we need to think even bigger, and look at how some of our very financial systems are structured. Enter our guest this week, David Clarke, who is the Head of Policy and Advocacy for Positive Money. Positive Money is a non-profit organization that campaigns for a money and banking system which supports a fair, democratic and sustainable economy. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Whether you’re considering individual merchants accepting cards from customers, or ISOs building portfolios of merchants, using tech tools and processes to manage security issues and compliance is crucial. On this week’s show, Scott is joined by an expert guest who has spent his fintech career working on solutions for these kinds of challenges, including his latest venture. Darrel Anderson is the President and CEO of Conformance Technologies, a company offering compliance, security, and other merchant portfolio management tools for payments businesses. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Business to business payments may not get the same amount of coverage as other areas in the payments world, but they are just as important! When it comes to B2B payments though there are challenges that need to be navigated, as enterprise payments in particular, are susceptible to fraud, unnecessary labor costs and potential errors. Our guest this week is Kurt Knackstedt who is the CEO of Troovo, a technology company focused on virtualizing and removing manual intervention within transaction-based industries. This focus on tech has enabled Troovo to improve the B2B payment systems for a wide variety of organizations using Robotic Process Automation or RPA. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

These days, consumers make so many decisions based on ratings and reviews… and it’s no different when it comes to credit cards. But how do you determine what the top credit card is, and how can you trust online reviews? Our guest this week is Brooklyn Lowery who is the Senior Manager & Site Editor for CardRatings.com, a website that aims to provide useful resources, tools, and reviews for credit cards. Brooklyn had much to say about how the site works, remains unbiased, and what consumers really should be looking for in a credit card. Listen in! Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Sharing the company credit card with employees and contractors is inherently insecure... Extend Payments and our guest Andrew Jamison have a new way of approaching it. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/