What happens when all the world's money moves on chain? That's not a hypothetical for Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, it's the company's mission. In this episode, Marc explains how Polygon is evolving from its roots as an Ethereum layer two into the blockchain for global payments, detailing two recent acquisitions that form the foundation of what he calls the "open money stack" - a single API combining on-ramps, wallets, and cross-chain interoperability.

With over $2.5 trillion in transaction volume already processed and partnerships with Revolut, Stripe, Nubank, and dozens of fintechs across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, Marc makes the case that stablecoins are just the beginning. He shares why tokenized bank deposits will be the real game-changer, how banks are already positioning to profit from this shift, and why in 10 years he believes every dollar, whether paying a merchant down the street or sending a remittance across the globe, will move on a blockchain without anyone even thinking about it.

In this podcast you will learn:

• How Marc first got interested in blockchain and crypto technology.
• Why he decided to make the move to Polygon Labs.
• Why Polygon decided to focus on payments.
• All the components you need to move money around the world on blockchain.
• The idea behind the open money stack.
• How Polygon is working with the likes of Revolut and Stripe.
• How they differentiate themselves from the other payments blockchains.
• What they are doing in AML and sanctions policy.
• The scale that Polygon is at today when it comes to transaction volume.
• What will the financial system look like when more money stays on chain.
• The two things banks ask in their initial conversations with Polygon.
• How money will transform in the next 10 years and why most people will not notice.

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• Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Aaron Schumm, CEO and Founder of Vestwell, knows firsthand how broken America's savings system is. When he tried to set up a 401k for his previous 30-person company back in 2010, the process was so difficult, expensive, and confusing that he decided to build a better solution. Today, Vestwell serves 2 million savers with $50 billion in assets, has reduced 401k setup times from 40-70 hours down to just minutes, and runs 14 state-sponsored auto IRA programs including New York's Secure Choice.

In this episode, Aaron explains why fintech has largely failed to move the needle on financial health, too many point solutions that put the onus back on individuals to figure out what to do and then implement it across multiple accounts. His solution? AI agents that will automatically route money from your paycheck to the optimal savings vehicle based on your income, location, tax rates, existing savings, and life circumstances. And he says we're less than a year away from making that a reality.

In this podcast you will learn:

• What is broken with the current savings system in America.
• The problem at his previous business that was the a-ha moment for Vestwell.
• Their initial use case and how they got going.
• How their product works exactly.
• The three channels they work with.
• How they are working with New York State and other government programs.
• The conversations they are having with the Federal government around savings programs.
• The percentage of employees who typically sign up for an auto-enroll program.
• The scale that Vestwell is at today.
• What their technology stack looks like.
• How much easier it is to set up a workplace savings plan through Vestwell than traditional companies.
• The different revenue lines for Vestwell.
• How they are working with Amazon.
• Why we are not further along in helping Americans with their financial health.
• How autonomous AI agents are going to optimize our financial lives in the future.

Connect with Fintech One-on-One:

• Tweet me @PeterRenton
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The financial system has run on basically the same payments rails for the past several decades. But there is new infrastructure being built today that takes advantage of the unique capabilities of stablecoins. In some ways, the future is already here as Visa has processed several billion dollars in transactions that have been settled in stablecoins. But who will build the infrastructure needed for credit when we move to this new system?

Today’s guest is Rhett Roberts, the CEO and Founder of LoanPro. I last had Rhett on the show back in 2021, and needless to say, a lot has changed since then. Part of Rhett’s thesis is that this talk around interest rate caps could actually be a catalyst to hasten a movement away from the traditional credit rails. And his company is already working on the systems and protocols to create a new credit infrastructure that runs on stablecoins.

In this podcast you will learn:

• How LoanPro has evolved over the past five years.
• Why most fintechs are now moving into credit products.
• Why both banks and fintechs are using LoanPro to launch new credit products.
• Why the idea of an interest rate cap on credit cards is resonating today.
• What would happen if a 10% rate cap went into effect.
• Why this could be great news for BNPL and the other alternative lending products.
• Rhett’s thesis around stablecoins and the value proposition.
• The elephant in the room for a stablecoin payments network.
• How a line of credit backed by stablecoins could work in reality.
• Where the card networks will sit within this new system.
• How LoanPro is helping to create these processes and protocols.
• Where we will be in five years time with this new infrastructure.

Connect with Fintech One-on-One:

• Tweet me @PeterRenton
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes