The Fintech Blueprint Podcast Por Lex Sokolin arte de portada

The Fintech Blueprint

The Fintech Blueprint

De: Lex Sokolin
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Finance is being pulled apart by the forces of frontier technology. From AI, to blockchain and DeFi, mixed reality, chatbots, neobanks, and roboadvisors — the industry will never be the same. Here is the blueprint for navigating the shift.2021 The FinTech Blueprint Economía Finanzas Personales Gestión y Liderazgo Liderazgo
Episodios
  • How the Central Bank of Brazil built Pix, powering 6 billion monthly transactions

    How the Central Bank of Brazil built Pix, powering 6 billion monthly transactions
    Jul 25 2025
    Lex chats with Harish Natarajan - Practice Manager, Financial Inclusion and Infrastructure, Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation at the World Bank, and Carlos Brandt - The Senior Advisor for Pix at the Central Bank of Brazil. Together they discuss the remarkable success of Pix, Brazil's real-time payment system, which now sees over 6 billion transactions per month and is used by more than 90% of the adult population and 80% of companies. Lex explores how Pix was created by the Central Bank of Brazil with strong public-private collaboration, backed by regulatory authority and supported by a co-creation model with stakeholders. Key to its adoption were a low-cost centralized infrastructure, clear branding, mandatory participation by large banks, and a robust national communication strategy. Globally, Pix is seen as a leading example of fast payment system deployment, driven by the central bank acting as a neutral coordinator and scheme owner. Lex also examines the technical architecture, built in-house by a surprisingly small team of 55–65 people, and how scalable infrastructure and extensibility have enabled rapid growth and innovation. NOTABLE DISCUSSION POINTS: 1. Pix achieved mass adoption through public-private co-creation and legal mandate:Pix now processes over 6 billion transactions per month, with 90% of Brazil’s adult population and 80% of businesses actively using it. Its success stems from a strategic legal mandate in 2013 granting the Central Bank regulatory and operational authority over retail payments. The Central Bank then led a co-creation process involving both public and private stakeholders through the Pix Forum, fostering alignment, inclusivity, and strong network effects.2. A lean but powerful team built a nation-scale real-time payments system:The Pix infrastructure was built entirely in-house by a relatively small team, 30-40 people for the technical infrastructure layer and around 25 for the payment scheme layer. It operates 24/7 with real-time settlement and uses centralized infrastructure separate from Brazil’s traditional large-value payment rails. This centralized, purpose-built architecture dramatically lowered costs and enabled rapid rollout.3. Strategic communication and mandated participation drove adoption at scale:The Central Bank led a national communication campaign to build trust, establish a strong brand identity, and educate the public. Simultaneously, it mandated major banks (with over 500,000 active accounts) to join Pix, triggering widespread voluntary adoption from smaller PSPs. The rollout included a restricted pilot phase and emphasized user-friendly features like QR codes and aliases to boost convenience and usage from day one. TOPICS Pix, Central Bank of Brazil, World Bank, Visa, Citibank, M-Pesa, Alipay, SPI, fintech, payments, PSP, API, Fast Payments, Payments Infrastructure, PayTech ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin TIMESTAMPS 1’19: Building Pix from the Ground Up: Carlos Brandt on Modernizing Brazil’s Payment Infrastructure 3’03: Fast Payments for Financial Inclusion: Harish Natarajan on the World Bank’s Role in Modern Payment Infrastructure 4’29: From Cash to 5 Billion Transactions a Month: How Pix Transformed Brazil’s Payment Ecosystem Through Public-Private Collaboration 10’41: Why Pix Succeeded Where Others Struggled: The Power of Neutral Coordination and Public-Private Synergy 12’40: Inside the Pix Forum: How Brazil Built a Collaborative Process for Payment Innovation 15’07: Fast Payments at Scale: Market Coordination, Infrastructure, and Global Lessons from Pix 20’55: Engineering Pix: How a Small Team Built Brazil’s 24/7 National Payments Infrastructure from Scratch 27’28: Driving Nationwide Adoption: How Strategic Communication and Mandates Powered Pix’s Rollout Across Brazil 34’14: Scaling for Success: Why Communication, Extensibility, and API Design Are Key to Evolving Payment Systems 37’23: Building Trust Through Cooperation: How Regulators Can Foster Innovation While Balancing Public and Private Interests 40’06: The channels used to connect with Carlos & learn more about The Central Bank of Brazil. 40’39: The channels used to connect with Harish & learn more about The World Bank Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.
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    42 m
  • Building the €8 Billion neobank, with Bunq CEO Ali Niknam

    Building the €8 Billion neobank, with Bunq CEO Ali Niknam
    Jul 15 2025

    Lex speaks with Ali Niknam, CEO and founder of Bunq, a leading European neobank. Ali shares Bunq’s journey from its founding during the financial crisis to becoming Europe’s second-largest neobank. The conversation explores Bunq’s user-centric philosophy, innovative products, and unique organizational design. Ali discusses overcoming regulatory challenges, prioritizing cultural values, and fostering accountability within teams. The episode also examines the complexities of the European fintech landscape and Bunq’s mission to revolutionize banking by focusing on user needs and continuous improvement.

    MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION

    Topics: Bunq, ING, Revolut, Betterment, Synapse, TransIP, Fintech, banking, crypto, neobank, challenger bank, culture, Europe, VC

    ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT

    🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2

    🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV

    👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin

    TIMESTAMPS

    1’09: Bunq’s Bold Mission: Ali Niknam on Reinventing Banking for the Modern User

    6’27: Building from the Core: Why Bunq Chose the Hard Road to Reinvent Banking

    10’08: Bootstrapped Banking: Building Bunq Without External Capital or Compromise

    13’56: Launching the Future: Bringing Innovation to Market with Bunq’s First 45-Person Team

    17’35: From Payments to Personalization: How Users Drove a Decade of Product Innovation

    19’52: Designing for Eva: How Bunq Rebuilt Its Organization Around the User, Not the Org Chart

    22’02: Beyond Titles: How Bunq’s Ownership-Driven Culture Redefines Teams, KPIs, and Hierarchy

    28’14: Culture Over Compensation: How Bunq Attracts Mission-Aligned Talent Without Relying on Equity

    35’06: Europe’s Tech Paradox: Why Innovation Thrives Despite Fragmentation—and What Must Change

    39’11: The channels used to connect with Ali & learn more about Bunq

    43’07: The channels used to connect with Edward & learn more about Zerohash

    Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.

    Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, Daniella

    Want to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.
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    40 m
  • Growing to $45B in volume on Zerohash crypto infra, with CEO Edward Woodford

    Growing to $45B in volume on Zerohash crypto infra, with CEO Edward Woodford
    Jun 27 2025

    Lex chats with Edward Woodford - CEO of Zerohash. They discuss Zerohash’s growth, the rise of stablecoins, and the evolving fintech landscape. Edward explains how stablecoins now make up half of Zerohash’s volume, highlights regulatory shifts in the U.S. and abroad, and explores the distinction between crypto and stablecoins. The conversation covers usability challenges, emerging payment use cases, and the future of embedded finance, emphasizing the need for regulatory clarity and collaboration between fintechs and traditional financial institutions.

    Notable discussion points:

    1. Stablecoins Overtake Crypto in Volume: Stablecoins now make up over 50% of Zerohash’s volume, driven by regulatory clarity and real-world use cases like payments and treasury. Institutions prefer them for their centralized control and ease of integration.

    2. Brokerage and Payments Are Converging: Zerohash sees strong demand across brokerage and payment rails, with banks and fintechs embedding stablecoin infrastructure. Global payouts, account funding, and subscriptions are key growth areas despite UX friction.

    3. Regulatory Climate Is Rapidly Improving: U.S. policy has shifted from regulatory overreach to bipartisan support for stablecoin legislation. This change is unlocking institutional adoption, with banks now moving aggressively into crypto and digital assets.

    MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION

    Topics: Zerohash, MoonPay, Transak, Ramp, Stripe, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Hamilton Lane, Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab, SoFi, Uniswap, fintech, web3, digital assets, blockchain, tokenization, rwas, stablecoin, crypto, regulation

    ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT

    🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2

    🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV

    👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin

    TIMESTAMPS

    1’51: From Crisis to Convergence: Edward Woodford on Scaling Zerohash and the Future of Embedded Crypto Infrastructure

    5’06: Scaling the Pie, Not Stealing Slices: Rethinking Volume, Margins, and Meaningful Growth in Digital Asset Infrastructure

    10’02: The Great Rebrand: How Stablecoins Are Shedding the 'Crypto' Label and Reshaping Digital Finance

    15’22: From Overreach to Opportunity: How Regulatory Pushback in the U.S. Sparked a Global Shift Toward Stablecoin Adoption

    20’31: The Semantics of Trust: Why ‘Stablecoin’ Sells and ‘Crypto’ Scares - and Why the Framing Now Matters More Than Ever

    22’36: Unlocking Real Utility: Why Stablecoin Payments Are Finally Poised to Scale Across Commerce and Subscriptions

    30’50: Disrupting the Rails: How Stablecoins Are Reshaping the Power Dynamics of Global Payments

    34’49: The New Brokerage Mandate: Why Every Platform Is Racing to Add Crypto - and What’s Unlocking the Shift

    39’03: Rewiring Financial Infrastructure: How Stablecoins and Super Apps Are Forcing Banks to Rethink Risk and Relevance

    43’07: The channels used to connect with Edward & learn more about Zerohash

    Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.

    Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, Daniella

    Want to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.
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    44 m
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