Today’s special episode of Breaking Banks comes to you live from Fintech House @SXSW. Listen as guest host Dara Tarkowski, Managing Partner, Actuate Law and host of Breaking Banks’ sister podcast Tech on Reg speaks with Mike Bechtel, Chief Futurist at Deloitte Consulting and David Reiling, Chairman and CEO, Sunrise Banks; Author, Fintech for Good; and host of Provoke.fm‘s NextGen Banker. These are wild times, it helps to have a futurist with a background in anthropology to put things in perspective. Where are the opportunities in evolving technology, what’s hype and nonsense? At times we are so busy wondering if we can do something, that we don’t always think if we should. Intentionality and mindfulness are good things, and mild chaos is where opportunity lies, where niches and new angles can be discovered.
In 2013 there were 2.7 billion unbanked people in the world. Today the number stands at 1.3 billion. Huge strides have been made in the last decade vs. the last hundred years. Listen as Brett King connects with Kosta Peric, Deputy Director, Financial Services for the Poor, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the second half of the show. It’s important for everyone to be part of the economy — an economy that includes everyone benefits everyone. Listen as they discuss global advances in banking and payments, digital public infrastructure, and the importance of mobile wallets and identity. Game changing innovation at work!
Making lemonade out of a lemon….being sued is not necessarily a bad thing, in this case it spurred the development of a personal financial management tool that is helping many clear debt and learn to budget. Gone are spreadsheets and lessons from our elders on how best to budget. It sometimes takes a village and a community, as users share tips and stories so that everyone wins. Listen as Jason Henrichs connects with Carmen Perez, CEO and Founder, Much, about her journey and inspiration in creating a budgeting app to help others win with money management. Much is changing the way people think about money and helping users take control of their financial journey.
Then we spotlight sister podcast NextGen Banker. The digital banking world is no doubt convenient. Delicia Hand wants to make sure it’s fair, too. David Reiling, host of NextGen Banker, speaks with Hand, the director of financial fairness at Consumer Reports, who helped put together a framework that evaluates how well digital financial products are working for consumers. Delicia talks about the framework — which includes principles like privacy, inclusivity and transparency — as well as how working on Capitol Hill during the Great Recession framed her perspective on developing financial policy.