Podcast
Leaders In Payments
Hosted by Greg Myers · EN
Hear directly from C-level executives in payments/fintech about industry trends, successful strategies, products, services, and what the future holds for the payments/fintech industry. We cover the entire industry from merchant acquiring, payment processing, ISOs, payfacs, fraud, security, issuing, b2b, fintech, to start-ups, if it goes on in payments we will be talking about it.
63episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Gift Cards As Payment Rails with Alex Preece, CEO & Co-Founder of Tillo | Episode 485
May 500:24:05Tap to summarizeGift cards have a branding problem and it’s costing the payments world a big idea. Alex Preece, CEO and Co-Founder of Tillo, joins us to make the case that gift cards aren’t really “gifts” at all. They’re programmable stored value, a modern redemption rail that can sit inside bank apps, fintech wallets, cashback programs, employee rewards, refunds, and payouts. Once you see them as a payment instrument, the market looks a lot less like novelty and a lot more like infrastructure.We dig into how Tillo built a two-sided marketplace that connects thousands of retail brands with the businesses that want to reward customers and employees. Alex explains why a single API matters in a fragmented global ecosystem, what it takes to support multi-country catalogs, and how better tooling and transparency can make brands more confident partners. We also talk about a surprising insight: most volume is self-use, not gifting, because people are optimizing everyday spending by converting earned value into higher-impact rewards.We zoom out to the bigger payments trends reshaping rewards and loyalty: the demand for real-time gratification, the opportunity created by open banking and faster payments like RTP and FedNow, and the emerging push toward “global but local” benefits that actually work when customers travel or live abroad. If you’re building in payments, loyalty, or fintech growth, this is a practical look at where rewards infrastructure is heading and why it can change behavior at the moment of decision.
Transcribe →Stablecoins For Enterprise Payments with Tony Tom, CRO and Co-Founder of Stable Sea | Episode 484
Apr 2800:25:40Tap to summarize“Instant” payments are usually a well-designed illusion. The customer experience feels real-time, but behind the scenes money still crawls through delayed settlement, fragmented rails, and market-by-market workarounds. That gap is exactly where stablecoins start to look less like hype and more like infrastructure.We sit down with Tony Tom, CRO and Co-Founder of Stable Sea, to unpack how enterprise stablecoin payments can improve cross-border payments, shorten settlement times, and reduce the operational drag that finance teams accept as normal. Tony shares how his journey through payments led him to Block and then to building Stable Sea, plus what he learned by watching stablecoin adoption accelerate outside the US. We talk liquidity, on-ramp and off-ramp realities, and why “bank-grade” processes matter when you’re moving serious volume.A big part of the conversation centers on trapped cash: revenue stuck in markets with capital controls or limited FX access, from Argentina to Nigeria and beyond. We also explore stablecoin treasury management, the need for a single view across wallets and bank accounts, and how automation and rules-based movement can turn visibility into action. Finally, Tony lays out why regulated, Wall Street-aligned tokenized real world assets may be the bridge that pulls stablecoin settlement deeper into mainstream enterprise payments.
Transcribe →How vSaaS Platforms are Reshaping Business Operations & the Critical Role of Payments with Brad Pinneke at Worldpay | Ep 483
Apr 2200:22:45Tap to summarizeVertical SaaS wins when it feels like it was built by someone who has actually done the job, and that same principle is reshaping payments and fintech. We sit down with Brad Pinneke, Head of Enterprise Business Development at Worldpay (is now Global Payments), to unpack why vertical SaaS platforms have become the day-to-day operating system for small businesses and why “embedded payments” is no longer a nice add-on. When the workflow lives inside the software, money flow becomes unavoidable, and the platform that handles both can deliver a cleaner experience and a stronger business model.We dig into what customers now expect from modern payment processing inside software: one login, one system of record, one support layer, and a single source of truth that connects checkout, settlement, reporting, and reconciliation. Brad explains how natively integrated payments can reduce back-office headaches, improve trust, and increase retention, plus what separates platforms that weave payments into the fabric of the product from those that simply tack it on.Then we get practical about the hard parts. Selling money is not the same as selling software, and the margin for error is smaller when uptime, compliance, PCI, funding, and fraud risk are on the line. We close with the next wave: AI in fintech and how AI plus payments data can turn a system of record into a system of action through predictive cash flow, risk modeling, automated pricing, and standout fraud detection.
Transcribe →Rich Clow, Head of Innovation & Strategy, Global Payments Solutions at Bank of America | Episode 482
Apr 1600:32:43Tap to summarizeThe payments world is full of shiny objects. The hard part is deciding what actually matters to clients and then delivering it safely at global scale. I’m joined by Rich Clow, Head of Innovation and Strategies for Global Payments Solutions at Bank of America, for a grounded look at how a large financial institution evaluates emerging payments technology, turns strategy into products, and keeps the focus on real outcomes like faster settlement, better data, and lower fraud.We unpack what payment volumes and behavior patterns reveal right now: why most transactions are still domestic, why ACH remains a workhorse, and why cross-border payments are still largely wires running through SWIFT. Rich explains where real-time payments (RTP) are gaining traction, how data requirements can slow adoption, and why improving ERP integration is a turning point for reconciliation, payouts, and just-in-time corporate payments that support smarter liquidity management.From the treasury perspective, the conversation gets practical: streamlining accounts payable and accounts receivable across checks, ACH, wires, cards, lockbox, and virtual cards, while upgrading security and fraud prevention with layered controls. We also go deep on digital treasury and AI, including CashPro Forecasting, CashPro Chat, and mobile approvals, plus how “always-on” 24/7 banking changes operations, investigations, and even how upgrades are handled. If you care about payments innovation, real-time payments, treasury management, AI in banking, fraud prevention, and digital payment strategy, you’ll get plenty to take away.
Transcribe →Get Paid Faster with Garima Shah, President and Co-Founder of Biller Genie | Episode 481
Apr 800:17:47Tap to summarizeWaiting 47 days to get paid for work you already finished is more than annoying, it’s a cash-flow killer. I sat down with Garima Shah, President and Co-Founder of Biller Genie, to talk about the unglamorous part of payments that decides whether a business thrives: accounts receivable. We get practical about what actually slows payments down and why “just run the card” ignores the messy reality of invoicing, accuracy, and collections.Garima explains how accounts receivable automation tightens the whole workflow. Send invoices on time, protect data integrity so the right customer gets billed correctly, and give people an Amazon-like way to pay with a simple button for credit card or ACH. That shift can take a typical service business from getting paid in weeks to getting paid in days. We also dig into the real-world benefits beyond money, like saving 10 to 15 hours a week of admin work and giving owners time back.We also unpack what makes Biller Genie different in the payments ecosystem: a partner-first model built for banks, processors, and ISOs, deep payment gateway integrations, and bi-directional sync with accounting platforms like QuickBooks and Xero to support clean payment reconciliation. Garima shares where she sees growth in AR software, how AI in payments is accelerating product and insights, why stablecoin acceptance is “easy but early,” and what industry consolidation means when two partners suddenly become one.If you care about SMB payments, B2B invoicing, AR automation, and the future of merchant services, this one is packed with ideas you can use.
Transcribe →Special Series: The Trust Advantage with Brock Robertson, Chief Revenue Officer at Payroc | Episode 480
Apr 200:21:56Tap to summarizeOwning payments sounds like a power move until the real bill shows up. We sit down with Brock Robertson, CRO at Payroc, to unpack how payment strategy for software platforms is shifting again and why so many vertical SaaS leaders are stepping back from the “everyone should be a Payfac” era.We trace the evolution from payments as a bolt-on utility to embedded payments as a true growth engine, then get honest about what “control” actually requires: underwriting, compliance, disputes, fraud monitoring, security, systems, and specialized teams. Brock shares what he’s hearing from software companies that tried to become payments companies and felt their brand identity drift away from the features that made them win in the first place. If you have global expansion plans, we also dig into how regulation and operational complexity multiplies fast.From there, we explore what a modern referral partnership model looks like today, including hands-off referral, hybrid co-sell, and approaches that preserve customer experience while reducing operational burden. The thread that ties it all together is trust: transparency, support, aligned economics, and the confidence to represent each other well when your customers’ money is on the line.If you’re evaluating integrated payments, payment processing partners, APIs, or the Payfac path, this conversation will help you choose the level of involvement that fits your team and your product roadmap.
Transcribe →The Signal: Embedded Finance - The real value: ISV customer retention and stickiness with Whitney Ganibegovic, Worldpay | Episode 479
Mar 3100:24:19Tap to summarizePayments alone rarely make a software platform unforgettable. The moment merchants start using your product to access working capital, manage cash flow, move money through payouts, and keep reconciliation tight, the relationship changes. I sit down with Whitney Ganibegovic, Senior Sales Executive at Worldpay (now part of Global Payments), to unpack why embedded finance is quickly becoming one of the most practical drivers of retention, account growth, and long-term platform value for ISVs and software platforms.We get specific about what platforms still underestimate: embedded finance does not have to be a massive multi-year build with a new compliance team and a brand-new support motion. With the right partner infrastructure, platforms can add value-added financial tools while staying focused on the vertical software that made them successful. Whitney shares why expanding from embedded payments to a broader financial suite can increase customer lifetime value, lift revenue per merchant, and create real platform dependency because these tools plug directly into daily workflows.We also dig into where many rollouts go wrong. “Embedded” does not automatically mean adopted, so go-to-market timing, vertical nuance, and marketing automation matter. Whitney explains why working capital is often the simplest entry point, how payments data enables smart pre-qualification, and which metrics go beyond surface-level revenue: multi-product adoption, engagement, cash flow penetration, contribution margin, retention, and net revenue retention. The guiding image we keep coming back to is the “nonstop flight” experience: one login, one place to operate, fewer handoffs, less stress.If you care about embedded finance, fintech strategy, and building software platforms merchants cannot replace, listen now.
Transcribe →Stopping Subscription Churn with Charles Rosenblatt, CEO of Butter | Episode 478
Mar 2600:23:00Tap to summarizeYour churn dashboard might be accusing your product of something your payments stack actually did. When a renewal charge fails, customers can disappear even if they still want what you sell, and that “involuntary churn” quietly drains ARR, wrecks retention analysis, and forces teams to make the wrong fixes.In this episode I sit down with Charles Rosenblatt, CEO of Butter, to unpack how subscription businesses can recover revenue from failed card payments using machine learning. We get specific about why many dunning programs rely on simple retry schedules, and how an ML-driven approach can choose the right moment for each invoice based on patterns in card and issuer behavior. Charles also shares how Butter works globally and plugs in as an abstraction layer on top of existing processors, so merchants can improve recovery without ripping out their current setup.Then we look ahead: Butter is expanding from reactive recovery to predictive modeling that helps companies anticipate payment failures before they happen. Charles walks through real operational scenarios across telehealth, AI subscriptions, physical subscription boxes, and gyms, where a predictive score can guide whether to ship, whether to pause access, and how to reduce wasted CAC. We also talk about using anonymous card transaction variables without PII, and where AI is genuinely useful versus just hype in the payments industry.If you run subscriptions, payments, billing, or growth, you’ll leave with a clearer way to separate product churn from payment friction and a roadmap for improving revenue retention. Subscribe to Leaders in Payments, share this episode with a teammate, and leave a review with your biggest churn question.
Transcribe →Agentic Commerce Explained with Sanjay Saraf, SVP & Global Chief Product Officer for Merchant Solutions at Fiserv | Episode 477
Mar 2400:23:24Tap to summarizeThe moment AI agents can buy things for us, payments stop being a simple “click to pay” problem and become a trust problem. Greg Myers sits down with Sanjay Saraf, SVP and Global Chief Product Officer for Merchant Solutions at Fiserv, to map out what agentic commerce really means for merchants, ISVs, and the broader payments industry as software moves from assisting the shopper to acting for the shopper.We break down the simplest definition: customers set intent and rules, then an AI agent handles discovery, decisioning, and transaction execution. That shift challenges infrastructure built on the assumption that a human is present for authentication, authorization, and confirmation. Sanjay explains why the biggest change is the trust layer and how dispute resolution, refunds, and chargebacks must evolve when an autonomous agent initiates the purchase.We also dig into the emerging network frameworks shaping agentic payments, including Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol and Mastercard’s Agent Pay Acceptance Framework. One emphasizes whether the agent is authorized to act, while the other emphasizes proving customer intent with a traceable record. From there, we talk practical implementation: how providers like Fiserv aim to make this seamless for integrated merchants, why SMBs can’t be left behind, and why “agentic discovery” may become as important as traditional SEO for product catalogs.Finally, we cover where early ROI may show up first, especially through reduced fraud, fewer disputes, and clearer authorization, along with real-world use cases in travel and high-impact B2B invoice and supplier payments. Subscribe for more conversations on the future of payments, and if this helped you, share it and leave a review so more builders can find the show.
Transcribe →Ran Grushkowsky, Co-Founder & CEO of MassPay | Episode 476
Mar 1900:21:55Tap to summarizeMost payments teams obsess over money in, then act surprised when slow payouts drive churn, support tickets, and lost growth. Greg Myers sits down with Ran Grushkowsky, Co-Founder and CEO of MassPay, to unpack why “time to money” is becoming a product feature and why the companies that treat payouts as strategy will outpace the ones that treat it as plumbing.We get into what MassPay actually does for corporate clients that need global payouts across multiple endpoints: local bank deposits, mobile wallets, cash pickup locations, push-to-card via Visa Direct, and even crypto. Ran explains the real challenge behind modern payout infrastructure: fragmentation. RTP, FedNow, wallets, and countless country-specific rails create a maze of integrations, compliance requirements, and operational risk. MassPay’s answer is a proprietary network with deep redundancy in every market plus smart routing that weighs speed, compliance fit, and total cost, not just the cheapest per-transaction quote.Ran also shares what’s reshaping the space right now: stablecoins as a cross-border speed and hedging tool, the shift toward embedded compliance that lets platforms control their own onboarding and payout experience, and how AI is already improving payout success rates through data normalization and faster reviews. We close with leadership lessons on where the real moat is headed in fintech and why payouts can move from cost center to profit center.
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