Author

About the Author
Rachel is a science and business journalist from New Zealand, writing and podcasting about technology, banking and climate change. As a foreign correspondent, her career has spanned the Middle East, South Asia and the Horn of Africa. Rachel has interviewed Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, politicians and Egyptian revolutionaries, Middle Eastern billionaires, Australian business leaders and former Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. She is the Host of Breaking Banks Asia and Co-founder of Soundcraft Media.

Episode 14: How Asia’s Gen Z will change global fintech

There’s no doubt Gen Zs will change fintech as we know it, but the ones likely to have the most influence? Kids today in Asia.  Fintech ideas born in Asia are starting to influence trends around the world. That means the almost 1 billion children and young adults who count as Gen Z, and who were…

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Episode 508: When Does a Fintech Become a Bank

In This Episode When does a fintech become what they set out to disrupt?  In this episode sister pod, Breaking Banks Asia Pacific, asks whether this is good, bad, or something else for competition. The Asian Banker founder Emmanuel Daniel says fintechs struggle to maintain their innovative edge when they get sucked into the bid…

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Episode 13: YOLO: Is the activist mindset hitting banking yet? 

There’s a whole movie coming out about the YOLO investing that really messed up some hedge funds and short sellers in 2021. Could we one day expect a movie (we’d even be ok with a made-for-streaming series) about the same kind of you-only-live-once, grassroots take down of… banking?  Dr Usman Chohan says that attitude is…

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Episode 12: When does a fintech become a bank? 

When does a fintech become what they set out to disrupt? Is it when they start offering bank-like products? Get a banking licence? Is it when they go all-in and buy an actual bank? In this episode we ask whether this is good, bad, or something else for competition. The Asian Banker founder Emmanuel Daniel…

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Episode 11: Conflict fintech: what it’s like to lead a company through civil war and crisis

In 2021 Myanmar went through a series of shocks, beginning with a coup d’état in February when the military overthrew the government and ending with a bank run. Brad Jones, the founding CEO of smartphone-based fintech Wave Money, was in the thick of it, working through the Internet ban and supporting staff as well as…

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Episode 9: China’s CBDC & the new financial order

China continues to forge ahead with its central bank digital currency, notching up millions of transactions through giveaways and lottos. But beyond the consumer headlines lies a long-term strategy that could disrupt both banks and international trade.  We speak with two experts, ‘Cashless’ author Richard Turrin and Singapore Management University professor and China economic law scholar…

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Episode 8: Can ChatGPT speak bank? 

Description: The promise of conversational AI has so far been a disappointing series of chatbots helping banks reduce cost but doing little to inspire customers or improve the service experience. Can ChatGPT help the sector do better? We ask Sandra Ernst, the COO of a Singapore-based insurtech firm already using big data and AI to help…

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Episode 7: Neobanks – sifting through the carnage for green shoots

What looked to be an emerging wave of challenger banks has in Australia fizzled, leaving few real challengers to the big 4. And after what was a much needed fintech correction in US and UK markets, only the best are left standing. In this special episode, and the first ever podcast interview with an APRA…

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Episode 6: Cyber security fails: it will get worse before it gets better

If 2022 felt like the year of the ‘perfect storm’ for cyber incidents, then it’s likely the weather will not improve in 2023 as banks along with many other enterprises continue to build, harden and invest in their cyber security capabilities, using new technologies and new approaches. We ask Rene Morel from Deloitte and Nick…

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Episode 4: Bank venture funds: what the recession-proof money is doing in Australia

With a global recession on the cards, capital-rich bank venture funds are in a powerful position. We explore how they are using that power and whether they are capitalizing on opportunities created by private venture capital drying up — or not.

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Episode 3: Open banking in India and Philippines: opportunity and inclusion

Open banking in India and the Philippines is opening the door for millions of people to take part in the formal banking sector, be it an individual opening a bank account or a small business getting a loan. We explore how new business models are being built in a region of empowered citizens who are…

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Episode 2: Open banking – when will reality catch up with the promise in Australia? 

Open banking in Australia has stalled. It’s been active for two years, and before that had a three year runway to get the ground rules sorted out, but the promised influx of third party players hasn’t yet happened. Some have even left. Furthermore, a series of data hacks this year across the Australian economy is…

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