Fintech Chatter: Conversations with Fintech Leaders

Looking to scale your fintech leadership team? Start at tieronepeople.com
Xavier Shay is the CEO of Up, the Australian digital bank that reached a million customers on word of mouth and has been standalone profitable for the last twelve months. He joined as employee 27, was CTO before taking the top job, and explains why Up refused buy now pay later and why it does not try to win on features.
About Xavier Shay
Xavier Shay is CEO of Up and chief digital officer at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, having joined Up as a software engineer in 2019 and moved through CTO before taking over as CEO in 2021. Before returning to Melbourne he spent close to seven years at Square in San Francisco, joining at around 150 staff and leaving a listed company of three and a half thousand people.
Key talking points
1. Word of mouth does the marketing. About 70% of Up's new customers arrive because a friend told them to, which Xavier traces to features people want to talk about, Save Up $1000, 2Up, and a support team that answers like a mate.
2. The brand decides the roadmap. At the peak of buy now pay later Up said no and shipped Maybuy instead, a savings plan that asks whether you still want the thing. Half the customers walk away with the money.
3. Brand is the moat, not features. Australia has free instant payments and good incumbent apps, so Xavier says Up does not win a feature by feature comparison and never has. It reached standalone profitability on how it makes people feel about money.

Chapters
[00:00] Introduction
[02:50] Why word of mouth works
[07:06] Saying no to buy now pay later
[18:18] Employee 27 at Ferocia
[23:21] Competing in a functional market

Links
Up: https://up.com.au
Careers at Up: https://up.com.au/careers
Xavier Shay on LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/xaviershay
Tier One People: https://tieronepeople.com
This show is brought to you by Tier One People, where we work with CEO's and founders like Xavier to find the 1% who redefine what's possible. If you're scaling your leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com
Send us Fan Mail
Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin
Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent
Subscribe on LinkedIn

If you're looking to scale your executive leadership team - start at tieronepeople.com

Welcome to our series recorded live from Interesekt/26. Dexter Cousins catches up with friends of the show at Australia's premiere Fintech event in Melbourne.

Hello Clever CEO Caroline Tran gives Dexter Cousins and update of their remarkable growth across Asia, now processing over $2bn through their payments and loyalty platform.

Subscribe for weekly insights from the people building the next generation of Fintech solutions and let us know in the comments what you want to hear next.

Send us Fan Mail
Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin
Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent
Subscribe on LinkedIn

If you're looking to scale your executive leadership team - start at tieronepeople.com
Welcome to our series recorded live from Interesekt/26. Dexter Cousins catches up with friends of the show at Australia's premiere Fintech event in Melbourne.
Piers Cracknell CEO for Banking Circle Australia joins Dexter COusins to talk through their remarkable growth and success down under. Piers also shares his main takeaways from the event and his optimism for the future of Fintech.

Connect with Piers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierscracknell/
https://bankingcircle.com.au/ 
Send us Fan Mail
Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin
Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent
Subscribe on LinkedIn

If you're looking to scale your executive leadership team - start at tieronepeople.com
Welcome to our series recorded live from Intersekt. Dexter Cousins catches up with friends of the show at Australia's premiere Fintech event in Melbourne.
This chat features Ben Ford aka The Body of Fintech! Ben runs Mogoplus - AI powered credit decision making and has been at the forefront of CDR since inception. 
You can connect with Ben - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-ford-142a027/
Insta- https://www.instagram.com/super_fit_dad/

Send us Fan Mail
Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin
Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent
Subscribe on LinkedIn

Scaling your Fintech executive team? Start at tieronepeople.com
Can Australian startups thrive under current policy? Shadow Minister Aaron Violi discusses the future of our tech sector.

In this episode of FinTech Chatter, Dexter Cousins sits down with Aaron Violi, Federal Member for Casey and Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy, Science, Technology and Innovation. They examine how upcoming 2026 budget changes to capital gains and employee equity impact the broader startup ecosystem. Aaron draws on his fifteen years of private sector experience, including his time at Ritual, to explain how government policy can better support innovation and job creation.

The conversation covers the practical hurdles facing founders today, from tax policy to attracting global talent. By comparing our approach to international models like Singapore, Aaron provides a clear perspective on the role of government in fostering a robust digital economy. Whether you are an entrepreneur or a policy enthusiast, this breakdown offers insights into the regulatory shifts shaping the future of fintech regulation in Australia.

Subscribe to FinTech Chatter for weekly insights on the leaders shaping the Fintech industry. What is the biggest challenge facing your startup right now? Let us know in the comments.

0:00 Introduction
1:02 Aaron Violi background and portfolio
2:19 What the digital economy means
4:39 Lessons from Singapore
9:19 Budget impact on startups
14:33 Challenges facing startups
24:34 The role of government
28:46 Taxation and innovation
30:43 Attracting talent back
36:48 Vision for an innovative Australia
43:49 Connecting with Aaron

LINKS
Aaron Violi on LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aaronviolimp
Aaron Violi MP website: https://www.aaronvioli.com.au
Aaron Violi electorate email: aaron.violi.mp@aph.gov.au
Tier One People: https://tieronepeople.com
Fintech Chatter: https://fintechchatter.com
Dexter Cousins on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins/
Send us Fan Mail
Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin
Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent
Subscribe on LinkedIn