Podcast
Bitesize Payments
Hosted by Paul Thomalla · EN
Payments are one of things that we do every day - they just happen, really they are just like magic!!!! But we don't wake up and think today I want to make a payment - we just want to pay a bill or buy a coffee but payments make them happen.
Paradoxically we both know more about them than we think and yet at the same time very little about what they are and how they work.
I have spent a lot of time in our industry doing education and training sessions on Payments and I kinda thought it would be useful to record it. So, here we go.... In Bitesize Payments I try and explain the History of Payments, how they work and who does what. Also who get paid for what....that might surprise you!
Anyway hopefully in less than 20 mins, week after week you can become a payment experts....... or at the very least someone who can ask the tough questions :-)
Please let me have your feedback, input or question at bitesizepayments@gmail.com
Thanks for listening.......
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Programmable Value
May 1400:18:36Tap to summarizeWelcome to Bitesize Payments: Digital. I’m Paul Thomalla.The expanded Substack version is here :-https://bitesizepayments.substack.com/p/programmable-valueImagine a banknote that could decide whether you’re allowed to spend it.Or a coin that automatically splits itself when certain conditions are met.Or money that flows continuously from your account without you touching it, based on rules it’s executing. Money that acts. Money with agency. Money that doesn’t just sit there waiting for you to use it—but executes its own instructions. This sounds deeply strange. Unsettling, even.Send us Fan MailPayments Industry InsightsHistory of PaymentsPayment System ExplainedCorporate Payments StrategyPayment Regulations ImpactISO20022 StandardDigital Payments EvolutionCBDC AdvancementsCryptocurrency in PaymentsFinancial Technology Education
Transcribe →When Scarcity Isn’t the Constraint
Apr 2600:20:04Tap to summarizeWelcome to Bitesize Payments: Digital. I’m Paul Thomalla.You use money every day. You work for it. You worry about it. You plan your life around whether you have enough of it.But what is it? Not what does it buy. Not how does it work. Not who controls it.What actually is it?This seems like an obvious question. Of course we know what money is. It’s the thing in your bank account. The numbers on your screen. The stuff you use to buy coffee. But here’s what’s strange: when you try to define it — really define it — the answers start falling apart. Is it the paper notes? No, many people don’t touch paper anymore.Is it the gold backing it? No, we left that decades ago.Is it what the government says it is? Maybe, but governments are losing control of that story.Is it what banks track in their ledgers? Possibly.So what is it, exactly?Send us Fan MailPayments Industry InsightsHistory of PaymentsPayment System ExplainedCorporate Payments StrategyPayment Regulations ImpactISO20022 StandardDigital Payments EvolutionCBDC AdvancementsCryptocurrency in PaymentsFinancial Technology Education
Transcribe →The Physical-to-Digital Break
Mar 3000:22:42Tap to summarizeThere is also an expanded read here on my Substack channel hereRemember the Gringotts scene in Harry Potter? Those carts racing through underground tunnels, goblins moving gold from one vault to another, the physical reality of value stored in specific locations, transported through space, guarded by dragons.That's still how we think about payments. In 2025.You tap your phone at the coffee shop. The payment happens instantly. Money moves from your account to the merchant's account.Digital, right?Not really.What you experienced was a beautifully designed illusion. Behind that instant confirmation, your payment entered a system that would make a Victorian banker feel right at home. It got batched with other transactions. It waited for a clearing cycle. It went through settlement windows. It moved through correspondent banks. All concepts designed for a world where payments were physical objects—gold in carts—that needed to be sorted, transported, and reconciled.Your shiny iPhone? It's just a very nice entrance to tunnels full of carts.Send us Fan MailPayments Industry InsightsHistory of PaymentsPayment System ExplainedCorporate Payments StrategyPayment Regulations ImpactISO20022 StandardDigital Payments EvolutionCBDC AdvancementsCryptocurrency in PaymentsFinancial Technology Education
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Introduction to Bitesize Payments: Digital
Mar 2200:11:58Tap to summarizeThere is an extended version of this on my substack channel here https://bitesizepayments.substack.com/publish/post/191148138?r=5zpu1m&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=trueIn 1995, I picked up Nicholas Negroponte's Being Digital. The premise was simple but profound: the world was shifting from atoms to bits. Physical things were becoming digital information, and that transformation was going to change everything about how we live, work, and interact.I was entering the payments industry around that time, and I genuinely believed I was joining that transformation. That payments were making the leap from atoms to bits right alongside everything else.That was thirty years ago.And here's what I've learned: we never made that leap. Not really.Now, the payments industry will tell you we're digital. We've got mobile wallets, instant payments, ISO20022, cloud infrastructure, APIs everywhere. We tap our phones instead of swiping cards. We process billions of transactions in seconds. We think we're sophisticated. Advanced. Digital.But here's the truth: once you get past that thin layer of shiny technology, we're running on systems that were designed seventy years ago. This series is about getting to digital Payments and what we need to think and worry about. Send us Fan MailPayments Industry InsightsHistory of PaymentsPayment System ExplainedCorporate Payments StrategyPayment Regulations ImpactISO20022 StandardDigital Payments EvolutionCBDC AdvancementsCryptocurrency in PaymentsFinancial Technology Education
Transcribe →The Sovereignty Container Breaks
Mar 500:24:10Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Bitesize Payments Digital.The expanded Substack version is here: https://bitesizepayments.substack.com/p/the-sovereignty-container-breaksToday I’m going to cover a topic that one way or another is front and centre in Europe in particular. But frankly it’s a global issue. My aim here isn’t to be political but to try and explain.Today I’m covering: The Sovereignty Container Breaks. You’re in a café in Paris. You tap your phone to pay. Four euros fifty disappears from your account. The barista nods. Transaction complete. Do you know what currency actually moved?Do you care?Send us Fan MailPayments Industry InsightsHistory of PaymentsPayment System ExplainedCorporate Payments StrategyPayment Regulations ImpactISO20022 StandardDigital Payments EvolutionCBDC AdvancementsCryptocurrency in PaymentsFinancial Technology Education
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Wrapping Up Series 1: Why I Started Bitesize Payments — and What Comes Next
Sep 100:19:32Tap to summarizeAfter more than 30 episodes, I wanted to take a moment to reflect.This isn’t a deep dive into real-time payments, standards, or compliance. This episode is about why Bitesize Paymentsexists in the first place — and what I’ve learned from doing it.I started the series to give back. To share what I’ve learned from years in payments — and from the many brilliant people I’ve worked alongside. The goal was always to make complex topics clearer, more human, and a little easier to navigate.In this final episode of Series 1, I talk about:Why I launched Bitesize PaymentsWhat the industry sometimes misses when it doesn’t share or mentorWhat we’ve covered so far — from cheques to CBDCs, from compliance to sovereigntyWho the key players really are — banks, merchants, citizens, regulatorsAnd what Series 2 might explore as we move into a truly digital eraWhether you listened to one episode or the whole series, thank you.This podcast has been a joy to create — and I hope it’s helped connect a few dots along the way.Send us Fan MailPayments Industry InsightsHistory of PaymentsPayment System ExplainedCorporate Payments StrategyPayment Regulations ImpactISO20022 StandardDigital Payments EvolutionCBDC AdvancementsCryptocurrency in PaymentsFinancial Technology Education
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Sovereignty (and Payments)
Jul 400:24:58Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Bitesize Payments, we zoom out from the usual rails and rules of payments to explore a much bigger force shaping the industry: sovereignty. From the ancient control of coinage by kings to today’s battles over digital currencies, data, and cross-border standards, sovereignty has always been about power — who has it, who wants it, and what happens when that power is challenged.We unpack the history, the players (from governments and central banks to Big Tech and crypto), and the growing tension between national control and global commerce. As digital ecosystems evolve, what does sovereignty mean for the future of payments — and who gets to decide?This one’s about more than your pound, dollar, or euro…..Here we go....Send us Fan MailPayments Industry InsightsHistory of PaymentsPayment System ExplainedCorporate Payments StrategyPayment Regulations ImpactISO20022 StandardDigital Payments EvolutionCBDC AdvancementsCryptocurrency in PaymentsFinancial Technology Education
Transcribe →Compliance, KYC, and All That Stuff
Mar 10, 202500:27:44Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Bite-Size Payments, where we dive into their history, how they work, and, of course, who does what. Today, we’re tackling compliance—yes, that lovely, complex topic that often seems like it gets in the way. But it’s essential, and we’ll explain why. Yes, it’s complex, but it’s also the backbone of a secure financial system. Today, I am joined by the rock star that is Susan Hall to walk you through it...... Here we go… Send us Fan MailPayments Industry InsightsHistory of PaymentsPayment System ExplainedCorporate Payments StrategyPayment Regulations ImpactISO20022 StandardDigital Payments EvolutionCBDC AdvancementsCryptocurrency in PaymentsFinancial Technology Education
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Cross border Payments
Jan 6, 202500:38:06Tap to summarizeWelcome to Bitesize Payments where we discuss their history how they work and of course who does what. In today’s episode, we’ll unravel the fascinating world of Cross-Border Payments. With so many payment terms, brand names, and confusing jargon out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But at its core, cross-border payments are actually a straightforward concept—and we’re here to simplify it for you.Let’s start with the history of cross-border payments, which stretches all the way back to the time of the Silk Road. Back then, trade flourished across vast distances, and the challenge was figuring out how to exchange value between parties who didn’t know—or necessarily trust—each other.This led to the creation of what we now call correspondent banking, a system built on a network of trust. Here’s an example:If I wanted to trade with someone in China but didn’t know or trust them, I’d have a problem. But what if I trusted someone in France, who in turn trusted someone in Prussia, and they trusted the trader in China? This chain of trust created a secure way for value to flow between distant and unfamiliar parties—one of the earliest examples of how cross-border payments worked.Fast forward to today, and cross-border payments are a cornerstone of global trade and commerce. Yet, the principles of trust and intermediaries remain at their heart.To help us break this all down, I’m thrilled to be joined by my good friend Susan Hall, a seasoned expert in the field of cross-border payments. Susan has dedicated much of her career to understanding and explaining how these payments work, and I can’t wait to dive into her insights. Send us Fan MailPayments Industry InsightsHistory of PaymentsPayment System ExplainedCorporate Payments StrategyPayment Regulations ImpactISO20022 StandardDigital Payments EvolutionCBDC AdvancementsCryptocurrency in PaymentsFinancial Technology Education
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Fintechs - the disruptors
Oct 7, 202400:35:06Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Bitesize Payments where we discuss their history, how they work and of course who does what…. Today we are looking at key stakeholder in payments, fintech's… The new young things of the industry or are they… ? So today we are discussing Fintech’s, and I am super pleased to be joined by Caleb, CEO of Tilled.It was not long ago that the industry was the Fintech's were all tech and no fin….. not so sure that is true any longer … anyway we shall see ….. Hold on, here we go……Send us Fan MailPayments Industry InsightsHistory of PaymentsPayment System ExplainedCorporate Payments StrategyPayment Regulations ImpactISO20022 StandardDigital Payments EvolutionCBDC AdvancementsCryptocurrency in PaymentsFinancial Technology Education
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