Paypod: The Payments Industry Podcast

No matter if you’re a field sales representative, sales manager, issuer, acquirer, ISO, agent, or connected to merchant services and payments in some other way… a sustainable career and being a part of a lucrative business is the goal. Still, the road to true success in this industry is often winding and not always easy. Fortunately, there are folks out there who have seen a lot of success and are willing to share their wisdom, such as our guest this week, Marc Beauchamp. Marc has worked in the merchant services industry since 1995 and has hired and trained several thousand merchant services professionals over the span of his career. His most recent position he served as President of a Super ISO with over 2,000 sales partners and 2B in annual processing. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

There are many industries that present incredible financial opportunities for businesses and professionals, but legal status and regulation of them are still murky. This presents unique challenges, especially when it comes to two monster industries… cannabis and cryptocurrency. One way to help navigate these challenges is to bring experts and businesspeople from around the industry together, which is what our featured guest and organization this week is doing. Scott is joined by Joshua Radbod, Co-Founder of Avantpay. Avantpay are impartial conference facilitators for private & public sector experts in payments, cannabis, and cryptocurrency Listen in to hear great insight on the business and regulatory challenges facing those in cryptocurrency and cannabis industries… and how they can be overcome. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

These days, having success in the world of payments is impossible to achieve without understanding, and embracing technology. Specifically, payments integrations are crucial as so many ISVs, ISOs, Agents, and beyond recognize the power of it for merchants and consumers. But what are some of the key things to consider when approaching technology, integrations, and payments? To cover this and more Scott was joined by Ryan Hallet, Chief Marketing Officer at Payroc, which drives commerce for businesses with any time, anywhere payment solutions. Payroc works with merchants, ISOs and Agents, and Developers/ISVs… So they have a truly unique perspective on how technology and payments can work seamlessly for the benefit of everyone. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

On this show we turn our focus to a side of the payments and finance spaces that isn’t covered enough but is so important… the realities of consumers having financial struggles. Fortunately, there are many out there who are working to help individuals tackle their financial challenges. Jim Triggs is the Senior Vice President of Operations from one such organization called Money Management International or MMI, which strives to change how America overcomes financial challenges; one person, one experience, one solution at a time. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Financial technology offers boundless opportunity for innovation… and with cryptocurrencies, the blockchain, instant payments, and more it’s never been easier to re-think existing systems. On this show, Scott is joined by a Stefan Thomas who has founded a company, Coil, that aims to completely revolutionize the way the web works. Stefan has a deep background in fintech…introducing millions of people to Bitcoin, and was in charge of the technology for the third largest cryptocurrency (Ripple). Now his mission is to help creators/businesses monetize their content in more effective and sustainable ways. His insight helps drive one of the most fascinating conversations on PayPod yet! Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

On this episode we’re talking all about credit cards from the consumer side, with a special focus on travel rewards. Scott is joined by Jason Steele, who is a journalist and a nationally recognized expert on the subjects of credit and credit cards. Jason’s work has been featured at mainstream outlets such as Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, and Business Insider. Jason’s also well known within the community of travel rewards enthusiasts as the Senior Points and Miles Contributor for The Points Guy and other outlets on the subjects of airline rewards and family travel. Lastly, he also produces the CardCon conference, where many of the experts in the credit card journalism and blogging space gather. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Some industries are too high risk for credit card processing, yet merchants with legal businesses (such as those in states with legalized Cannabis) still need to process payments. Jordan Friedman, CEO of Zodaka joins Scott to discuss his company's solutions. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

We're once again covering the world of Cryptocurrencies on this episode of PayPod: The Payments Podcast. Scott is joined by two crypto enthusiasts, Joel Comm and Travis Wright. Joel and Travis host their own wildly popular show, The Bad Crypto Podcast, and had much to say about the philosophy behind crypto, where it is today, and where it's going. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Sometimes there’s a need that can only be met when technology and innovation come together at the right time. On this episode, we talk about one fintech industry that has grown by leaps and bounds… marketplace lending, or P2P lending. Our guest today is Peter Renton, who is the founder of Lend Academy and Co-Founder of LendIt Conference LLC. Lend Academy the leading news and educational resource for the marketplace lending industry and has been instrumental in bringing businesses and professionals in the space together for almost a decade. Peter joined Scott to discuss the ins and outs of the industry, where he and his organizations fit into it all, and more. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Scott discusses the revolutionary new digital ID service in Canada offered by SecureKey, Verified.Me. He is joined by Greg Wolfond (CEO of SecureKey), Stevan Lewis (SVP Digital Transformation at Sun Life Financial) and Franklin Garrigues (VP Digital Channel at TD). Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

These days any business can rest assured that consumers enjoy loyalty rewards programs and the convenience of mobile apps and payment options. The trouble is, there are countless loyalty rewards programs out there which can be difficult to manage. As for mobile payments, in some places (specifically the US), adoption has been slow going. Fortunately there are companies leading the charge to simplify the consumer experience when it comes to rewards while pushing mobile payments forward. Our guest this week had so much to share on this topic. Listen in as Scott is joined by Bryan Leach who is the CEO of Ibotta, a company (and mobile app) tackling rewards and mobile payments head on with a recently launched rewarded payments platform! Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Welcome to another episode of PayPod! On this latest episode, we’re taking a high level look at the world of fintech from the investment and wealth management perspective. Technology has had a tremendously positive impact on so many areas of the financial world, and the best companies are continually innovating. Our guest this week has much to share on this topic. Scott is joined by Ron Carson, who is the founder and CEO of Carson Group, which serves financial advisors and investors. He finished 2018 by signing $4.4 billion in net new assets, bringing the company’s total committed assets under management to $7.5 billion (now over $9 billion). Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

We have covered cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, ethereum, and the blockchain extensively on this show… yet one of the biggest issues that many professionals in the world of payments and fintech continue to raise is that of volatility. Volatility makes cryptocurrency adoption in traditional financial and commerce spaces incredibly challenging. Fortunately stablecoins offer potential solutions to this problem, and that’s what Scott explores with several guests this week. Scott is joined by three experts from a fintech startup called Stably. Amiya Diwan (Chief Product Officer), Bryan Guy (Chief Legal and Compliance Officer), and Kory Hoang (CEO) each had incredible insight to share on stablecoins and how their company is aiming to bring unite crypto and payments. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Digital security is crucial to so much in modern life, and the worlds of payments, fintech, and mobile technology are no exception. Whether you’re a consumer just using your phone to complete a purchase or sign into your bank, or a business developing apps and other digital solutions that will work with sensitive data… having the best approach to security and authentication is a must. Fortunately there are great organizations out there fighting the good fight and pushing digital security and authentication forward with UX in mind – especially in the world of mobile. So we’re going to be covering that on today’s show with the help of our guest Sherif Samy, Senior Vice President, North America for Entersekt, an innovative pioneer in mobile security, transaction authentication and commerce enablement. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Blockchain technology offers a variety of benefits for those in the world of payments and Fintech. We dive into this on this latest show with the help of an expert whose company is using the blockchain to revolutionize payroll. Getting paid instantly for work done isn’t just some pipe dream, and our guest today is going to share exactly why. Scott is joined by Ryan Fyfe who is the Co-founder and CEO of Workchain.io which bills itself as "The Blockchain solution for the future of Payroll" Listen in to hear his great insight! Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Let’s face it – the world of payments can sometimes be painful. Whether you’re a merchant, a consumer, or a payments professional, there are various “pain points” in how everything in the industry fits together. Fortunately, there are great businesses and individuals working tirelessly to innovate and smooth these pain points. Scott is joined by Ed Kelley, VP of Business Development at Transcard, who shares his perspective on the world of payments, the challenges organizations and individuals face when trying to get paid quickly and efficiently, and so much more. Listen in to learn how to take the pain out of payments! Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Whether you’re an individual making a purchase online, an eCommerce business with customers all over the world, or a payments/fintech organization handling sensitive data such as credit card information... online trust and security matters. On this episode, we cover this topic in depth with the help of a technology expert from The Internet Society’s Online Trust Alliance (OTA). Scott is joined by Jeff Wilbur, who is the Technical Director for OTA. He helps Scott explore online security and trust through the lens of the 10th OTA Online Trust Audit & Honor Roll, which is an evaluation OTA does yearly. In fact, this year, OTA even added payments services to the consumer section of the audit this year. Listen in to learn what industries are leading the pack with security, what the best practices are, and much more! Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

When it comes to business and technology… sometimes it’s helpful to take a step back and reflect on the big picture. On this episode of PayPod, we do just that and answer a simple question, “Why do payments matter?” In addition to this, we explore payments on a global scale, touching on the challenges (and benefits) of taking any business international. Helping Scott to explore these topics are two professionals from a company called Modo or ModoPayments, which is a bank-grade, fintech-as-a-service platform based in Richardson, Texas. Bruce Parker, CEO and Founder of Modo, and Ryan Lee, Chief Product Officer, had excellent insight to share – so listen in! Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

One of the biggest frustrations merchants have when it comes to payments is the cost of credit card processing fees. While these fees necessary and have allowed the payments and merchant services industries to flourish and innovate… helping merchants manage them and remain competitive is a crucial task. On this episode, Scott is joined by two guests who are working to tackle these very fees by giving merchants tools to reduce their impact. Marc Howard and Allan Ratafia from BizPayO join Scott to discuss the unique payments solutions they’re working on each and every day. Listen in to hear how they view, and are addressing, the elephant in the room that is rising credit card processing fees. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

Welcome to another episode of PayPod: The Payments Industry Podcast! On this episode, Scott is joined by payments industry expert Keith Sampson to discuss how to more effectively meet the unique needs of many different merchants. Keith believes the answer lies in "solution fitting" and has much to share regarding it's potential positive impacts. Keith Sampson is the Director of National Sales for North American Bancard, an award-winning payment solutions provider. For more than 20 years, Sampson has lead strategic business development initiatives while spearheading innovative and integrated solutions in the Merchant Services, Mobile and Electronic Payments ecosystems, as well as other business-to-business industries. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/