Fintech Chatter: Conversations with Fintech CEOs and Founders

Looking to upscale your fintech leadership team? Start at tieronepeople.com

Michelle Bagnall is the CEO of BankFirst, a mutual bank with 92,000 members and $4.7 billion in assets that exists to serve nurses and teachers in Australia. In this episode she tells Dexter the origin story of a bank that started with $480 in a shoebox, explains why nobody at BankFirst gets paid a bonus, and makes the case that mutuals were the original fintech startups.

00:00 Introduction 
03:08 The Origins of Bank First and Peer-to-Peer Lending
05:30 Understanding Mutual Banks and Their Model
10:54 Competing with Big Banks and Neo Banks
14:24 Leadership and Culture at Bank First
21:15 Finding Passion and Purpose in Banking
31:04 Bank First's Role in Supporting Members During Economic Challenges
36:00 The Complexity of Financial Solutions and Collaboration
40:47 Opportunities at Bank First

Links
Michelle Bagnall LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-bagnall/
BankFirst: https://www.bankfirst.com.au
Tier One People: https://www.tieronepeople.com
Dexter Cousins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins/
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Fintech Chatter is presented by www.tieronepeople.com - executive search for Fintech.

In this episode Dexter chats to Jamie Twiss CEO of Beforepay Group (ASX: B4P) and Carrington Labs. Jamie joined Beforepay pre-IPO, turning them from a startup into a profitable ASX-listed fintech writing 40,000 small loans a week with a 99% repayment rate. 
Jamie and Dexter discuss why Beforepay is on a mission to disrupt the payday lending sector, and provide a fairer system based on advanced credit risk models.
They also discuss the other business of Beforepay Group, Carrington Labs. Jamie explains their expansion into North America, supporting US lenders with the Beforepay credit risk platform, and why he believes AI will fundamentally rewire financial services.

01:00 Introduction to BeforePay Group
02:50 Understanding Consumer Lending and Risk Management
06:13 The Role of BeforePay in Economic Challenges
09:03 Product Evolution: From Pay Advances to Personal Loans
12:10 Carrington Labs: Expanding into the US Market
14:54 Journey into FinTech: From Big Banks to Startups
17:58 Navigating Market Changes Post-IPO
21:12 The Importance of a Diverse Educational Background
23:50 Company Culture and Leadership Values
26:59 The Future of AI in Lending
30:09 Looking Ahead: What’s Next for BeforePay Group

Find out more - https://www.beforepay.com.au/
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Fred Schebesta co-founded Finder in 2006, grew it to five markets over 20 years, won a landmark Federal Court case against ASIC over the Finder Earn product, and is CEO of Finder Ventures. 
In this episode of Fintech Chatter we cover where Finder Rewards is going, why stablecoins have quietly won the crypto race, what actually makes an employee irreplaceable in the AI age, and what Australia’s regulatory environment is costing the innovation economy.

What we discuss
How Finder built from Google search arbitrage in 2006 to a five-market platform in 2026
Finder Rewards: the cashback product giving Australians $250–$500 on everyday switches
Why the cost-of-living crisis has reset who uses fintech products and why
The moat question: brand, data, and regulation as defensible advantages in the AI era
Stablecoins and DeFi: why USDT’s market cap now exceeds Ripple’s
The Finder Earn case: ASIC, the Federal Court, and what it cost Australian fintech innovation
Why Australia keeps losing crypto and fintech builders to Singapore and Dubai
What makes an employee essential in 2026 (and what doesn’t)
AI adoption: why not using it is the same as refusing to use a computer in 1995
Discover Finder Rewards - https://www.finder.com.au/finder-rewards
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If you're scaling your fintech leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com
Chris Brycki founded Stockspot in 2013 with no income, no office and no VC, and built it into Australia's largest automated investment service with $1.5 billion under management. In this episode, Chris and Dexter discuss what it actually takes to build an enduring fintech in Australia: staying lean, rejecting growth-at-all-costs capital, and never losing sight of the customer.

About Chris Brycki
Chris Brycki is the founder and CEO of Stockspot, Australia's first and largest automated investment service. He left a career on the institutional side of finance in 2013 to build a lower-cost, evidence-based alternative to traditional financial advice, and has since made money for 99.3% of clients who have invested with Stockspot for at least a year.

What We Discuss
How Chris validated Stockspot's concept with friends before writing a single line of code
Why he walked away from institutional finance to start a business with no income
The Fat Cat Funds Report: how naming and shaming underperforming super funds drove real industry change
Why paid marketing fails when you're competing against CBA's use-it-or-lose-it budget
How Stockspot has made money for 99.3% of clients invested for at least a year
Why Chris rejected VC and how that decision shaped everything that followed
The discipline required to avoid meme stock temptation during the 2021 trading frenzy
What nearly $500 million in client profits means in terms of real lives changed
Why the next generation of fintech will be built with smaller teams and less capital raised
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background of StockSpot
05:14 The Journey of Entrepreneurship
12:16 Growth Strategies and Media Influence
16:19 Regulatory Challenges in FinTech
20:03 Staying True to Core Values
25:57 The Future of FinTech and AI
30:11 The Evolution of Founders and Startups
35:07 Impact of FinTech on Society
39:10 Maintaining Innovation and Customer Focus

Links and resources
Chris Brycki on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brycki/
Stockspot: stockspot.com.au
Fat Cat Funds Report: https://www.stockspot.com.au/fatcat/
Fintech Chatter: fintechchatter.com
Tier One People: https://tieronepeople.com/

This show is brought to you by Tier One People, where we work with founders like Chris to find the 1% who redefine what's possible. If you're scaling your leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com.

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Brendan Malone, CEO of Raiz Invest, joins Dexter Cousins to mark 10 years since Raiz launched to Australian retail investors. From a joint venture with US micro-investing app Acorns in 2015, Raiz has grown to $2.1 billion in funds under management, over 330,000 active monthly users and over $5.5 billion invested for Australians. 
What We Discuss
How Raiz started as a joint venture with US app Acorns in March 2015 before listing on the ASX as Raiz in April 2018
The roundup innovation that put $2.2 billion to work for 340,000 Australians through small amounts consistently over time.
Why Raiz expanded into Southeast Asia, the 280 million person opportunity in Indonesia and what made it harder than expected
The ASX listing as a capital strategy when VC appetite for fintech was thin in 2018
Brendan's frustration with CDR after a decade of roundtables, policy submissions and no meaningful consumer outcome
How a 42-person team manages $2.2 billion using AI and machine learning, and why Brendan would not start again from scratch even in the AI era
Raiz's product roadmap including the Raiz Kids ecosystem and why Brendan expects consolidation among micro-investing platforms within the next few years
The endurance principles shared by Australian fintechs that have survived a decade: stay close to customers, resist the bright shiny things, and stick to the strategy
Key Timestamps
01:00 Celebrating a Decade in Business
02:11 The Genesis of Raze and Early Challenges
05:13 Breaking Down Barriers to Investing
08:08 Innovative Wealth Management Solutions
10:49 Growth Plans and Market Strategies
13:18 Exploring Southeast Asia's Market Potential
15:50 The Scale Game: Financial Inclusion in Indonesia
18:28 Lessons from Early Adopters: The CDR Experience
19:51 Navigating Regulatory Challenges in FinTech
23:04 Customer-Centric Innovation: Listening to the Market
24:19 The Impact of AI on Business Transformation
28:21 Building an Ecosystem for Sustainable Growth

Links and Resources
Raiz Invest: raizinvest.com.au
Brendan Malone on LinkedIn
Tier One People: tieronepeople.com
This show is brought to you by Tier One People, where we work with founders like Brendan to find the 1% who redefine what's possible. If you're scaling your leadership team, start at tieronepeople.com.

Send us Fan Mail
Contact: [email protected]
Connect on with Dexter Cousins on Linkedin
Hire Exceptional Fintech Talent
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