Fintech Chatter: Conversations with Fintech Leaders

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Sam Everington joined Starling Bank ten years ago as one of its first twenty employees. He led the build of the technology that has made Starling a Fintech giant - 4.5 million customers and a 9% share of UK business banking. 
Mark Bernhardi leads Engine's growth across Australia and New Zealand, having previously held technology roles at Atlassian, nCino and Westpac. 

Both join Dexter Cousins on a special episode of Fintech Chatter Podcast recorded at the World Credit Union Conference in Sydney July 2026.

Engine is the software business Starling spun out four years ago to license its platform to other banks. Sam and Mark explain how Engine gets banks like AMP live on a full core banking platform in under twelve months. 
They also discuss the opportunity for mutuals and credit unions to compete with much bigger banks and offer their customers the Starling Bank experience using technology platforms like Engine.

Sam Everington LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sameverington
Mark Bernhardi LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/mark-bernhardi
Engine by Starling: https://enginebystarling.com
Tier One People: https://tieronepeople.com
Dexter Cousins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins

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Peter Jones co-founded Nimo Industries with Leann Jones after living the core banking problem himself as a mutual bank CEO. Ten years ago he decided solve the problem for himself. Today, Nimo is a platform serving over 20 Australian banks and lenders, entirely bootstrapped. 
In this episode of Fintech Chatter Dexter asks Peter how his mutual sector background shaped the product. Peter shares his journey bootstrapping a bank grade technology platform through APRA-grade compliance. And shares real examples of how mutual banks are growing nationally on the Nimo platform.
About Peter Jones
Peter Jones is co-founder and COO of Nimo Industries, the Melbourne fintech building loan origination and core banking technology for Australian mutual banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders. Before starting Nimo in 2016, he spent close to two decades in banking, including as CEO of Plenty Credit Union and in roles at ANZ, NAB and ME Bank.
What we discuss
Why living the “CEO killer” problem of fragmented core banking as a mutual bank CEO shaped how Nimo builds its platform
How Nimo has stayed 100% self-funded for close to a decade 
Why Nimo dropped the word “startup” for “scale up” internally, and how that shift changed hiring standards
How South West Slopes Credit Union used Nimo to drive its open banking and CDR strategy
How one mutual bank client went live on Nimo's platform in five to six weeks and a regional bank hit 30% growth and landed national exposure
Why critical thinking, not competency-based interviewing, is now Nimo's deciding hiring factor
Why Nimo is opening the door to outside investment after a decade of bootstrapping
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction 
02:32 Understanding Nimo's Banking Solutions
05:45 The Journey of Building Nimo Industries
12:48 Addressing Regulatory and Technology challenges in Mutual Banks
18:45 Building Trust with Mutual Banks
21:51 Talent Acquisition Strategies in a Competitive Market
29:07 Navigating Growth and Recruitment Challenges
32:25 Lessons Learned from a Decade of Business
34:38 The Importance of Resilience and Adaptability
36:36 Cultural Fit in Scaling Teams
38:08 The Role of Mindset in Organizational Success
43:53 Navigating Change and Embracing AI
47:45 Opportunities for Nimo
Links & resources
Peter Jones LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjonesaust/
Nimo Industries website: https://nimoindustries.com/
Nimo Industries LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nimoindustries/

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Andy Taylor is the founder and CEO of ASX-listed Stakk Limited (ASX: SKK), an embedded trust and fraud prevention platform used by Chime, Robinhood, T-Mobile and H&R Block. 

In this episode Andy breaks down Stakk's proposed US$63 million acquisition of document intelligence firm ParaScript, and how the deal turns a decade of building into an AI-powered fraud detection engine. 

I ask Andy about Stakk's pivot from consumer neobanking under the Douugh brand into B2B infrastructure. He shares where the business is headed next as it expands into healthcare.

Before Stakk, Andy co-founded SocietyOne, Australia's first peer-to-peer lending platform, and later founded Douugh, an AI-first neobank that listed on the ASX pre-revenue. He has spent close to two decades building fintech businesses in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Find out more - https://stakk.tech/

Chapters
00:00 Welcome to FinTech Chatter
01:16 Introduction to Stakk and Andy Taylor
03:44 The Journey of Stakk: From Douugh to Success
10:54 Reflections on Society One and Early FinTech Days
17:17 Navigating Challenges in the Current FinTech Landscape
23:15 Consumer Behavior Shifts and Market Dynamics
25:55 Future Expectations for Stakk
34:55 Advice for Founders Facing Adversity
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Steve Hind is the co-founder and CEO of Lorikeet, an Australian AI startup that has raised more than $50 million USD to build AI concierges for high-regulation businesses in fintech, healthcare and energy.

Lorikeet's customers include Airwallex, Linktree and Eucalyptus, the telehealth company recently acquired by Hims & Hers in a deal worth up to $1.15 billion.

Before founding Lorikeet with former Google Brain researcher Jamie Hall, Steve worked in product roles at Stripe and climate tech company Watershed, following an earlier career at BCG and Bridgewater Associates and an MBA from Harvard Business School. 

He first connected with Dexter in 2019 while working in Silicon Valley. Here's what they discuss in this episode:

00:00 Introduction
01:32 Understanding Lorikeet and Its AI Concierge Solutions
05:54 The Origin of Lorikeet and Its Founding Story
09:50 Navigating the AI Landscape and Company Growth
12:49 Regulatory Challenges in FinTech and AI Compliance
15:12 The Role of AI in Compliance and Customer Relationships
20:03 Steve's Career Journey and Lessons Learned
23:51 The Art of Startup Hiring
28:34 Navigating AI's Impact on Work
33:36 The Future of Work and Leadership
39:05 Optimism in the Age of AI
41:57 Advice for Aspiring Founders

Find out more about careers - https://www.lorikeetcx.ai/careers
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Clayton Howes is the CEO of MONEYME (ASX: MME), an Australian non-bank lender that has originated over $5 billion in consumer credit and now manages a $1.9 billion loan book across personal loans, credit cards, and car finance. In this episode, Clayton walks through the full 13-year journey: bootstrapping from a desk-sized office, listing on the ASX in December 2019, acquiring SocietyOne during the Ukraine invasion, and engineering the Horizon technology platform that now powers everything.

0:00 Introduction
1:34 What MONEYME does and 13 years of milestones
3:37 From corporate to founder
5:32 Why consumer finance over any other vertical
9:53 Why consumer fintech is the hardest category
11:25 The ASX listing decision
14:38 The SocietyOne acquisition
19:53 The Horizon technology platform
23:00 Leadership evolution from player to coach
28:37 Staying close to the front line
32:28 Why the office is always full
36:18 Product innovation and the path forward
42:10 Careers at MONEYME

Links
Clayton Howes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claytonhowes/
MONEYME Website: https://www.moneyme.com.au
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