How to Lend Money to Strangers

I've been busy with the kids' end-of-year activities, with a bit of camping, with a bit of drinking in Belfast, with a bit of planning for a trip to Paris for the Olympics, with a bit of everything except podcast editing

Adrian Pllay has an unusually deep understanding of some of the world's more interesting markets. We've heard a lot about the US and the UK on this show but today, Adrian takes us off the beaten path: having been based at times in Africa and at times in the Middle East, he now oversees both of those regions as well as a little in-between! We talk about what he's learnt along the way, we get teased with the possibility of a future book, and we hear how Provenir is helping banks, fintechs, and other financial services providers make smarter decisions faster with their AI-Powered Risk Decisioning Platform.Provenir is online at https://www.provenir.com/ (or jump straight to their excellent resources page for their latest thought leadership)Adrian is on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianpillay/ (and last I saw, he was hiring)You can seek me out on LinkedIn, too, where I'm open to all genuine new connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - and follow the show's page while you're there.Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24And since you like podcasts, I'm also co-create hAIghtened senses with Christo van Zyl, in which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"If my mom asks me what I do, I say I work for a company that helps financial institutions worldwide to make lending simple". Paul Weiss is talking about Simbuka in this quote, a young and passionate software development company, focusing on financial institutions that operate in developing and emerging markets. And since the name Simbuka originates from the Kinyarwanda language, what better location to find Paul than in Kigali.Simbuka is online at https://www.simbuka.com/ or find and follow them on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/simbuka/)Paul is on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-weiss123/You can seek me out on LinkedIn, too, where I'm open to all genuine new connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - and follow the show's page while you're there.Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24And finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last five years, one hundred million Americans have started to monitor their credit reports with TransUnion for the first time. One hundred million. And the same thing is happening all around the world. But just because everyone is doing it, doesn't mean they're doing it for the same reason: some consumers are in a bind and looking for a way back to good credit; some are planning a major loan and want to optimise their options; some want to make sure everything is untouched and as it should be. So, in their latest global study of the phenomenon, TransUnion set out to see if each of these goals is being helped by the credit self-monitoring, and I'm chatting to Charlie Wise to find out what they learned.Charlie is Senior Vice President, Research and Consulting at TransUnion and is on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-wise-959570/TransUnion is at https://www.transunion.com/ This particular research is also being discussed here for the US and here for the UK: https://www.transunion.co.uk/lp/consumer-monitoring-motivationsPlease seek me out on LinkedIn, too, where I'm open to all genuine new connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - please also follow the show's page while you're there.Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24And finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"So as I as I always say, Brendan, India is now the coolest party in town and if you are late, you might not get in!"The story of Indian fintech is one of almost unimaginable speed and scale, and watching it from the front lines was Kabeer Chaudhary. So I sat down with him to talk about digitising loans and learning from banks and fintechs to deliver a project that works with loss rates that allow you to sleep peacefully at night.You can find ClickMyLoan at https://clickmyloan.com/ or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/clickmyloan/You can find Kabeer at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kabeer-chaudhary-18bb7984/Please seek me out on LinkedIn, too, where I'm open to all genuine new connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - please also follow the show's page while you're there.Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24And finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As an industry, we've been using scorecards as objective and comparable measures of credit risk for generations. We've used this experience to get more and more accurate in those models, but there are other uses, too, like maybe an objective and comparable measure of environmental risk...I'm sitting down with Daniel Mclean, Client Partner at 4most, a specialist credit analytics firm that became a specialist analytics firm and went on to win awards for its new "green" credit score - an ESG score that can be adapted and utilised across all regions and tailored to a lender's available data, individual portfolios and unique sustainability goals.You can find Daniel on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-mclean-351278169/ where you can also follow the 4most page https://www.linkedin.com/company/4most/But for that, you might want to jump straight to their homepage: https://4-most.co.uk/There's a page dedicated to all their wonderful insights - https://4-most.co.uk/insights/ - but go even if you're just interested int he rebrand! Please seek me out on LinkedIn, I'm open to all genuine new connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - please also follow the show's page while you're there.Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24And finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week I had the pleasure of hosting back-to-back live recordings of this podcast in the MoneyPot studio, a glass-walled thing of beauty on the Money20/20 show floor. The second of those was a data-backed dive into the world of frictionless and fair embedded business finance with Rob Straathod, CEO of Liberis - what I think could be one of the best use cases for Open Banking out there.You can find Liberis at https://www.liberis.com/ You can find Rob on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-straathof-3b56152/ (Liberis are there, too, of course)Don't leave LinkedIn before reaching out to me - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - and following the show's page.Money20/20 is the place(s) to be, find out how you can attend the next event here: https://www.money2020.com/Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24And finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week I had the pleasure of hosting back-to-back live recordings of this podcast in the MoneyPot studio, a glass-walled thing of beauty on the Money20/20 show floor. The first of those was an inspiring discussion about real-time data in collections with James Hill, CEO of Flexys Debt Management & Collections Software - what I think could be one of the best use cases for Open Banking out there.Flexys is at home online at https://www.flexys.com/ You can reach out to James on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-hill-07850167/ (where Flexys are, too)James' own podcast - Flexys meets... - is available where you're listening to this, or directly at: https://www.flexys.com/resources/podcasts/ But don't leave LinkedIn before reaching out to me - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - and following the show's page.Money20/20 is the place(s) to be, find out how you can attend the next event here: https://www.money2020.com/ Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24And finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Five years ago, cash was involved in every fourth POS transaction in China. Today, it is involved in 1 in 14, and in two years, it is expected to be involved in just 1 in 33. The size and speed of that evaporation are undeniably impressive, but the most important lessons will be found by studying neither the size nor the speed at which those cash transactions evaporated but from studying where those transactions went. In the West, cash transactions became debit card transactions and the big banks saw them all. In China, cash transactions went into the new mobile wallet ecosystems, and as the banks became blind, the Super Apps were born. Fed with transaction data at a scale never seen before, a new type of lender emerged, and in their growth, a thousand lessons might be found. So in today's episode, I'm speaking to Richard Turrin, a Shanghai-based fintech, AI, and innovation consultant and best-selling author. We chat about his time with IBM Watson, his move to China, and how what they're doing there might inspire new ideas in the West. Richard is the author of Cashless: China's Digital Currency Revolution and Innovation Lab Excellence both of which are available on, among other places, Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07PQP33TCBut as you will hear, he is also writing for over 2,000 followers on Substack:https://substack.com/@richturrinYou can find Richard on LinkedIn, and possibly become his 50,000th follower! https://www.linkedin.com/in/turrin/I am on LinkedIn, too, and open to new genuine connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - please also follow the show's page while you're there.Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24And finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grab is by far the largest ride-hailing platform in Southeast Asia, the largest food delivery platform, one of the largest digital payment methods, and now, thanks in part to the work of my guest, Ritwik Ghosh, the largest embedded FinTech lending business. That's an impressive set of achievements, but Ritwick and his co-founder, Sauvik Datta, still saw a gap: while Grab is an important platform for many merchants, it is never their only platform, and so any platform-specific effort to deliver revenue-based financing is doing so with at least one eye off the ball.So they created Seedflex, a frictionless - and platform agnostic - way for online merchants to stay in control of their business, capital and growth.Ritwik is on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ghosh-ritwik/ Seedflex are there, too, at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/seedflex-tech/ But you may want to jump straight to their homepage at: https://www.seedflex.com/I am on LinkedIn, too, and open to new genuine connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - please also follow the show's page while you're there.Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24And finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last time the research was done in England, 1.1 million people were borrowing from illegal lenders... and that was two years ago, before the cost of living crisis which has surely pushed that number higher, so we're looking at somewhere between 1 in 30 and 1 in 40 adults. Those borrowers are facing a combination of threats and extortionate rates, and you're losing directly, too, because "if one of your customers is paying the loan shark, they won't pay your loan because the loan shall be the priority". Stop Loan Sharks is at home online at https://www.stoploansharks.co.uk/But it also just happens to be one of their bi-annual social media weeks, so why don't you also engage with their posts on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/stoploansharksengland/I am on LinkedIn, too, and open to new genuine connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - please also follow the show's page while you're there.Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24And finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Roughly 15% of hopeful parents worldwide would be eligible for IVF - from a medical eligibility perspective - but today, only about 2% are able to access that care."It's all well and good financing cars or boats or sneakers, but sometimes we get a chance to finance something a little more important, like a house or, in this case, a family to fill it. Gaia are a wonderful example of that, embedding finance and insurance into a healthcare workflow to build the better way to pay for IVF.Gaia are at https://gaiafamily.com/On LinkedIn they're over here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gaiafamily/ and they're on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, tooJohn is on LinkedIn, too, at https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-p-aronica/As am I, and I am always open to new genuine connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - please also follow the show's page while you're there.Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24And finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was going to use a quote from Drachen here, because I remembered being quite proud of how I described Tallinn in there, but it turns out I remembered... generously So let's just say that Estonia is a fantastic place to visit this summer. But don't stop there, explore the other Baltic States while you're at it, maybe make a road trip of it and check out Poland, Czechia, and Germany, too. The borderless EU is your playground.And, before the disaster that is Brexit, I enjoyed that freedom of movement as a resident, spending two wonderful years living and working in Copenhagen. Many still do, and that's where Mifundo come into the picture. We've spoken about cross-border credit bureau solutions before, and how they help immigrants, Kaido Saar will talk about that today, too, but within Europe immigration is often more of a tidal flow than a river's unidirectional run to the sea so we'll also discuss how that's baked into their solution.Kaidoo and the team will once again be at Money20/20 in Amsterdam next month as part of the Estonian Fintech booth - https://europe.money2020.com/ I should be there, too, provided I get my logistics sorted in time, so if you're going to be in town, let's make a plan to meet up at the event or at one of the many after parties

"It started by just going out and networking, listening to people, asking them what worked, what didn't work, you know, ringing up estate agents saying, look, I'd love to do your mortgages and walking up and down the high street with my briefcase."As much as I love featuring VC-funded, AI-powered, alternative data-consuming startups on this show, it is well worth remembering that there's still a very big place for businesses built on human interactions - provided those interactions lead to better products, of course. In today's episode, I'm speaking to Chris Schutrups, founder of The Mortgage Hut and some of the UK's leading mortgage brands. We cover that story of shaking hands and building businesses, of understanding people's needs and building products for them, but we also look at the role of professional advice in a world flooded with opinions, the current mortgage landscape and its opportunities there for brokers and lenders to work together for the benefit of borrowers, and how a changing drinking culture is changing pubs.The Mortgage Hut is at home online at https://www.themortgagehut.co.uk/ They're also on LinkedIn over at https://www.linkedin.com/company/themortgagehut/ (Police Mortgages are there, too)And speaking of LinkedIn, Chris is kind of a big deal on the platform, so you can join the 20,000+ of us following his insights over at https://www.linkedin.com/in/schutrups/Or if it was the pubs that caught your interest, check out the great options at https://hendersonpub.co/. With summer finally showing signs of its approach, I might well take on the 2-hour coastal drive to get me to Romsey and The Hunters Inn.I'm on LinkedIn, too, and eager to reach Chris's heights so I'm always open to new genuine connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - and follow the show's page, tooMeanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24And finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Buy now and pay in up to 24 monthly instalments using your existing credit card.​ Zero interest. Zero fees. Zero new credit.” With copy that good, you might not actually need to listen to this week's episode

Always curious, always outspoken, Carolyn Rohm has a deep passion for helping analysts and analytical teams to engage with the wider business and stakeholders to deliver solutions that provide real value and bottom-line benefits. In today's episode, we talk about her career in credit risk, about the different nuances of credit risk analytics in high-risk and low-risk environments, about credit scores and credit strategies, about analytics for modern collections, and about how to build teams with hard and soft skills.Carolyn is at home online at https://www.carolynrohm.com/ (or just straight in and book a complimentary 30 minute chat at https://calendly.com/carolynrohm/30min?month=2024-04) Luckily, much of Carolyn's insight and wisdom is captured in her book - It's a Risky Business: A field Guide to Retail Consumer Credit Analytics - which you can get from her site but also on Amazon.com and .co.uk and, I imagine, all the others.But also feel free to find her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynrohm/ Scores4All is on LinkedIn, too, but their homepage is over here: https://www.scores4all.io/ I'm on LinkedIn and always open to new genuine connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - please do reach out, and follow the show's page, tooAnd finally, I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The global covid pandemic shut down a lot of things, but new vehicle supply chains were among the hardest hit. A knock-on effect of that was that Taran, an advanced analytics and AI consultancy saw their hot lead for a new contract evaporate. But sometimes setbacks are really opportunities in disguise, and as Taran's leadership team adjusted to put all their eggs in their remaining project, they realised that they were more than a consultancy, they had a product on their hands - and, more or less, that's how Taran Decision Manager was born.In today's episode, I'm speaking to Martin Chudoba, co-founder and CEO about that journey, and about how Taran DM can help lenders to automate and improve their complex, data-driven decisions.As you'll hear, you can find Taran on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/taran-ai/ Which is also where you'll be able to reach out to Martin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-chudoba-76703b15/) or Steve Henderson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveghenderson/) who is the MD of their North American operationsOr you can go straight to the source, and find what you need over at https://tarandm.com/ I'm on LinkedIn and always open to new genuine connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - please do reach out, and follow the show's page, tooMeanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24But I'm also co-creating a new podcast called hAIghtened senses which will look at the intersection between human senses and technology, especially AI-powered technology. You can already start to follow it wherever you're listening to this one - there's only a trailer there at the moment, but we've recorded some of the early episodes and it's going to be a fun ride!Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caleb Maru called M-Pesa the "company that changed Kenya forever", and the crazy thing is, its impact was even bigger than that - because the dominoes that M-Pesafirst tipped over in Kenya, seventeen years ago, are still having an impact all over East Africa. In today's episode, I'm speaking to Nassor Abubakar, an M-Pesa veteran and digital lending expert who is spreading mobile-first digital loans across Tanzania with NMB Bank.You should follow Nassor on LinkedIn for https://www.linkedin.com/in/nassabuba/ NMB is at https://www.nmbbank.co.tz/ and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/nmb-plc/ and on Twitter, Facebook, InstagramThe Finscope Report mentioned can be accessed here: https://www.afi-global.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Finscope-Tanzania-2023-Report-Insights-that-Drive-Innovation.pdf Caleb Maru's TechSafari is at https://www.techsafari.io/ or jump straight to the M-Pesa story at https://techsafari.beehiiv.com/p/company-changed-kenya-forever I'm on LinkedIn and always open to new genuine connections - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange - please do reach out, and follow the show's page, tooMeanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the world of data science, there are people like me, who have signed up for an online Python course but just not got around to starting it yet, and then there are people like Ayhan Diᶊ, who, given a spare month, create a Python package to succeed the highly successful CreditR by simplifying tasks such as variable analysis, model development, and calibration and validation with unparalleled efficiency

"Data is a bit like the blood of an organisation. It goes everywhere. However, because it goes everywhere, you cannot just silo it somewhere. Of course, you need to have some standards around data, but every part of the of a business has to be responsible for the data". Daniele Forni cuts through systems and technologies to solve the complex data issues that otherwise prevent financial institutions and startups from unlocking their data potential. And luckily, he loves sharing those insights with us: on LinkedIn, at conferences, in articles, in free-to-download reports such as his Guide to Data for AI, and in books for professionals and their kids alike! You can find all of Daniele's work at https://www.danieleforni.com/ Or follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieleforni/ And he's just moved to Hong Kong, so if you're there, pop into HSBC and say hello

Designers speak about 'the job to be done' - you don't need a taxi or an Uber or tuk-tuk, you need to get home to bed; you don't need a mortgage, you need to finance your house purchase; you don't need to spend every second weekend researching market rates, you just need to be on the best deal you qualify for. In this episode, I speak to Vincent Turner about Australian mortgages, about startups and why ‘early-stage businesses' is perhaps a better term, about design thinking and deep working, and about a rather special belt.Uno is at home online at https://unohomeloans.com.au/ Or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/uno-home-loans/ You should check out Yoku belts at https://yokumensbelt.com/ (you know you need a smart new belt)And you should also follow Vincent at https://www.linkedin.com/in/vhturner/ LinkedIn is also where you can find and connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange (please do reach out, follow the show's page, and share the content with your networks)Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rwanda is rising as a regional financial centre, catching the East African fintech wave to drive economic and social transformation and to broaden financial inclusion. In today's episode, I'm speaking to TransUnion's CEO for Rwanda and Head of Africa Growth Regions, Sam Tayengwa to hear about the energy and progress that's bubbling to the surface there. We talk about mobile loans, of course, but also the emergence of old classics like mortgages and vehicle loans.TransUnion is, as Sam said, at https://www.transunion.com/ but also at https://www.transunion.co.za/ and https://www.transunionafrica.com/rwanda (I think he got that a little wrong in the episode)You can jump straight to Sam at https://www.linkedin.com/in/samtayengwa/, he's well worth the follow, and also check our TransUnion Africa's regional president, Lee Naik at https://www.linkedin.com/in/naikl/ and subscribe to his Elewa newsletter at https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/elewa-africa-thinking-6706525337850781696/ LinkedIn is where you can find and connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange (please do reach out, follow the show's page, and share the content with your networks)Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The story of East African fintech is built around the mobile phone. Not the smartphone, mind you, but the humble feature phone. In markets where all but the most significant of locations lacked an established infrastructure of landlines and local bank branches, these phones leapfrogged both: powered by pre-paid sim cards that often served as a secondary currency and cleverly leveraged USSD technologies. But it has been seventeen years since M-PESA arrived on the scenes and yet traditional credit tools have often failed to cross the floor - in Uganda, the credit bureaus are filled with the data of there are just 2.4 million traditionally banked consumers, while a further 14 million sit waiting, with their data-rich mobile banking histories all but ignored.But no more. In today's epsidoe I'm speaking to Charles Wandia of gnuGRID who, with Airtel, have built a national-level mobile credit score.gnuGRID is the first and only indigenous credit reference bureau in Uganda, enabling financial inclusion through credit information sharing - and you can find them online at https://gnugridcrb.com/ You can also watch the official launch of that score at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VbEI_0l57A&t=19s gnuGRID is also on LinkedIn, of course, as is Charles Wandia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-wandia-983b4a65/As you'll hear on the show, Charles also offers tailor-made training on credit scorecard development via Credit Tick Consulting at https://www.linkedin.com/company/credit-risk-tick-consulting/Speaking of LinkedIn, that's where you can also find and connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange (please do reach out, follow the show's page, and share the content with your networks)Meanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"At its core, Credit Canary is a data platform that consolidates and reconciles multiple different data sources in a standardised way to produce a really rich set of flags and real contextual insights. And the essence of that is flexibility within lending. With the data that we have, there is a great opportunity not just to help make better decisions, but to help make better lending products." - James Fell, Founder and CEOAll too often, a borrower and their unique circumstances are thought about at the point of application and then entirely forgotten until a payment or two is missed. That might have been OK in a world of slow and scarce data, because what else could you do, but that excuse doesn't hold up any more - and with credit data, open banking data, and more, Credit Canary are helping us to put that right.You can find Credit Canary and view their offerings at https://www.creditcanary.co.uk/ James gives his email in the episode, or you can find him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesafell/ In fact, the whole team is available there (https://www.creditcanary.co.uk/about) And while you're there, find and connect with me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeMeanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"It's important that in every interest rate environment, in every market environment, an average family can afford an average home" - Arjan Verbeek, co-founder at Perenna Bank.The UK mortgage market has long been underpinned by the belief that, as long as the music kept playing, you would be able to refinance from one lender's short-term teaser rate to the next, without ever having to pay the full price... but then the music stopped and UK borrowers found themselves saddled with fast-rising standard variable rates. Household budgets were torn to shreds, and all while inflation ran rampant on the High Street, too.Few escaped. And perhaps fewer still realised that variable rates were the reason they'd been unable to qualify for a mortgage in the first place. Variable rates can, of course, vary, and so, not wanting to carry the risk for this, lenders build a buffer to protect themselves through both a regulatory stress-test applied to affordability calculation and a significant down payment requirement. In a world where we all have to stretch ourselves incredibly thin to afford a house, that can be the difference between renting again and owning.If only there was another way... like, say, the way they've been doing it in Denmark for the last two hundred years! In today's episode, I'm speaking to Arjan Verbeek, co-founder and CEO at Perenna Bank and vocal proponent of fixed-price long-term mortgages in the UK.Perenna Bank is over at: https://perenna.com/They're also on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/perenna/As is Arjan himself, who is well worth the follow: https://www.linkedin.com/in/%F0%9F%87%B3%F0%9F%87%B1-arjan-verbeek-5884681/And while you're there, find and connect with me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeMeanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Big data analytics used to require multiple sources of data, fed into your systems via a complex array of pipes of varying structural integrity: leaks, hassles, and something to be left to only the most advanced of data organisations. In today's episode, we find out how all that has changed:"As the name suggests, we are one big data pipe with a lot of information flowing through it, and we fuse that with AI to produce some high-value analytical products coming out the other end. And this 360 degree view of a customer, with more than 500 unique attributes, is a pretty powerful position to be in. And from there, we can do some wonderful things in real-time."1datapipe is at home at https://www.1datapipe.com/ and that's where you can arrange a demoOr you can find both 1datapipe (https://www.linkedin.com/company/1datapipe/) and the wider Provenir Group (https://www.linkedin.com/company/provenir-global/) on LinkedInAnd while you're there, come and find and connect at https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeMeanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Japan is an uncommon blend of known and unknown: I drive a Nissan, you might drive a Toyota, my TV is a Sony, and since my time in Hong Kong, my go-to beer on hot days is an ice-cold pint of Asahi... but I don't think I could name a Japanese FinTech. In fact, I don't think I could name a foreign FinTech that was getting traction there. Enter Morris Iwai, a seasoned business executive with 20+ years of experience in the credit card, consumer lending, and payments industries of the US, Taiwan, Singapore, and, of course, Japan.Morris shares that experience - and some hard numbers - as we cover:An overview of the credit card and payments markets in Japan Tokyo, the new Fintech Hub in AsiaDigital Payment trends and the push towards cashless Insight on the Japanese consumer mindset The rise of BNPL and leading players in Japan Acceleration of e-commerce spend Challenges with the credit underwriting process The state of Open Banking in Japan The impact of Digital Wallets and QR payment providers Future of payments in Japan and new opportunities You can find Morris on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/morris-iwai/And while you're there, come and find and connect at https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeOr see this all happening in the flesh by attending one of these great upcoming events: Japan Fintech Festival, Sushi Tech Tokyo, or Fintech SummitMeanwhile, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is discussed at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can't afford rigid systems in a world that moves fast, but also, for a long time at least, you couldn't afford agile systems in a more dollars and cents sort of way. But these days you can.Timvero's solutions are all laid out at https://timvero.com/ or head towards a demo by jumping straight to https://timvero.com/request-a-demo/ You're welcome to start a discussion with Dmitriy over on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitriy-wolkenstein-7a19b79a/ And while you're there, come and find and connect at https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeAs mentioned more than once in this episode, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you want a model, you typically start with a target variable in mind. But sometimes that's not possible. Perhaps you're entering a new market or expanding into a new niche, you could start lending on a small scale and wait to see what happens. We used to call that a deep risk test, often somewhat euphemistically when a cohort was accidentally approved through a gap in the system. But even if you're happy to take a chance, that takes time - there's no way to shortcut a 12-month outcome. Enter the u-score, Matogen AI's novel approach to applying an analytical layer to the old-fashioned expert model. In today's episode, I'm speaking to Jacobus Eksteen to learn more about how they did this with Open Banking data from DirectID. This provides a way to jumpstart an Open Banking modelling project, but Open Banking has many arrows in its quiver, so I also speak to Clare McCaffery about the state of the landscape.Clare is Chief Commercial Officer at DirectID and can be found at https://www.direct.id/ Jacobus is CEO at Matogen Applied Insights and they can be found at https://ai.matogen.com/ And of course, they're both on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/clare-mccaffery-045a7113/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobuseksteen/ And while you're there, come and find and connect at https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeAs mentioned more than once in this episode, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Causality is the new explainability."We all know credit limit increases are one of the most, if not the most, important levers in the card profit model. And we all know the reality of managing credit limits is far more complicated than the theory - every action has a reaction and all of that. So we focus on pulling back and releasing the spring of the pinball machine and then just get ready to react as best we can.But as data analytic techniques become more advanced, we can plan more and leave less to chance. So in this episode, I sit down with Dr Cristian Bravo, from Ontario's Western University, to talk about Sherly Alfonso-Sánchez's research into "Causal Learning for Credit Limit Adjustment in Revolving Lending Under Adversarial Goals"Western University has data science programs at https://uwo.ca/sci/datascience/index.htmlThe Banking Analytics Lab is at https://thebal.ai/If you'd like to speak to Cristian, or just stay up to date with the work he and the BAL are publishing, you can find him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristianbravor/In our chat, Cristian mentions an early version of this research - that paper can be found and downloaded here: https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.15585Or go read Sheryl's blog on this same topic at https://thebal.ai/2023/07/11/optimizing-credit-limit-adjustments-under-adversarial-goals-using-reinforcement-learning/Then come and find me on LinkedIn, and while you're there, send me a connection request: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeAs mentioned more than once in this episode, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I've got a drawer in my bedside table that is filled with an assortment of foreign notes and coins: euros and dollars and Rands that I need relatively often but that I'll nevertheless forget to take when I travel next; some Indian rupees that have long since been decommissioned; some Hong Kong dollars because how can it have taken me four years to find an excuse to get back; some, what I think are Cambodian riel; and an unseemly number of hotel room keys. It's chaotic, but even more organised people than me have to work extremely hard to keep international trade relatively efficient, with multiple accounts at different banking institutes to Rands into American dollars so those can be turned into Hong Kong dollars.Or at least they did, Currencycloud makes this easy to do, enabling efficient cross-border lending at cross-border lending operations at scale. One example doing it really well, is the Spanish startup Ritmo.Ritmo is at home online at https://www.getritmo.com/ and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritmo-capital/And as he mentions on the show, you can either email Jorge directly, or find him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorge-juttner-cfa-55a3a068/Currencycloud can be found at https://www.currencycloud.com/ and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-currency-cloud/And if you'd like to learn more about what Currencycloud can do for your international business, Maggie can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggie-gemmill-779697119/LinkedIn is also where you'll find me, and when you do, send me a connection request: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeAs mentioned more than once in this episode, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No good deed goes unpunished and no well-intentioned government loan program goes undefaulted upon, even more so when that government program was designed and implemented in the chaotic early days of the COVID lockdowns.We've all seen the headlines, but what do the numbers say, what sort of businesses have been defaulting on COVID loans in the UK? Well, Dr Maurizio Fiaschetti is writing the paper on it - along with Drs Ahmed Barakat, Meryem Duygun, Eddie Gerba (PhD), Tian Han, Enrico Onali, Afshin Sabri, Mike Tsionas and Huamao Wang - so I sat down with him to learn more.You can reach out to Maurizio at https://www.linkedin.com/in/maurizio-fiaschetti-6979073/ to learn more about the research and the publication scheduleIf you're interested in studying further at UCL, or indeed in reading their research, you can find the Institute of Finance & Technology at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-finance-technology/ucl-institute-finance-technologyAnd they're also on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/ucl-institute-of-finance-and-technology/)Surprise, surprise, LinkedIn is also where you'll find me, and when you do, send me a connection request: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeMy action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24I met Maurizio while in Edinburgh at the 18th meeting of the Credit Scoring and Credit Control Conference - the next one is in two years' time and it's well-worth planning for. In the meantime, follow the CRC's work at https://www.crc.business-school.ed.ac.uk/homeIf you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly two out of every three Colombian jobs are in the informal economy! That's a huge number that needs to come down, and no doubt it will, but until then, someone really needs to bring the benefits of formal financing to the small business owners in the informal sector. Enter Quipu with whose AI-powered loan decisions "growing is easier, fairer and more alternative".You can find Viviana on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/viviana-siless/There's a Quipu page there, too, https://www.linkedin.com/company/quipulatam/ but there's even more information on their homepage over at https://quipu.com.co/I am on LinkedIn, too, so feel free to find me and send me a connection request there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeMy action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24I met Viviana while in Edinburgh at the 18th meeting of the Credit Scoring and Credit Control Conference - the next one is in two years time and it's well-wroth planning for. In the meantime, follow the CRC's work at https://www.crc.business-school.ed.ac.uk/home If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all love how easy it is to change bank accounts these days... until it is our customers (and their planned-on deposits) who are moving. After all, we just sent them a pamphlet that very clearly invited them to apply for a loan at an APR of between 5% and 25% variable on term and risk and changes in the base rate, and subject to final credit checks, and late fees and penalties could apply in certain circumstances - that's a good deal, what was there to not understand?Our lending business have changed dramatically, the way in which we communicate with our customers needs to change, too. In this episode, we chat about deposits and, in particular, about how influencer marketing and affiliate marketing is moving attention and balances to the organisations who know how best to speak to their customer baseIn this episode, I'm speaking to Nicky Senyard from Fintel Connect: the leading partner marketing solution for financial services.Fintel Connect is at https://www.fintelconnect.com/ but of course, being in the influencer game, they're all over social media, too. Find them at LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintelconnect/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fintelconnect/) for a start.Nicky is on LinkedIn, too https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickysenyard/ And that's where you'll find me https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange (send me a connection request there)My action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Oh, and as mentioned, you should be following Marcel van Oost if you are not already https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelvanoost/Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's only thirty years since Lithuania's broke free from the Soviet Union, but already it's home a buzzing fintech scene: "Leapfrogging was probably the largest idea behind the Lithuanian success". Join me and Jekaterina Rojaka, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Creditinfo Lietuva, as we explore the roots of that success.Creditinfo Lithuania can be found at https://lt.creditinfo.com/en/ or jump straight to https://lt.creditinfo.com/en/strongest-in-lithuania/ for award-winning Lithuanian businessesBut, as we've covered on this show before, they've got operations all over the world, so you can also head to https://creditinfo.com/ to find your closest officeOn LinkedIn, you can follow them at https://www.linkedin.com/company/creditinfo-lietuva/ but they're also on Facebook and YoutubeAnd that's where you'll find Jekatarina, too: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jekaterina-rojaka-49909910/I am on LinkedIn, too, so feel free to find me and send me a connection request there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeMy action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Trust matters more than ever, but in today's anonymous landscape, it is becoming rarer by the day. (At Bondafidee) we want to change that."I recently sat down with Sasha Marley for one of the most personal interviews I've done here, because fraud isn't just a numbers thing, it has very real human impacts.Bonafidee is at home online home at https://bonafidee.com/ (or jump straight to YourQNA at https://bonafidee.com/features/your-qna-kba/)As she mentioned in our chat, Sahsa is very active on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sasha-marley-19156a2/), where you can also find Bonafidee (https://www.linkedin.com/company/bonafidee-com/) But as I went to get the right links, I saw they have just been awarded the Digital Innovation of the Year - Cyber Security/ID Verification Award at the Motor Finance Europe Awards for the Consumer Duty Package we discussed, so you might also want to read more about that (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7122962260506882048/)Find the police's tips at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ Or walk a very different path by going on your own reiki retreat https://fayjohnstone.com/ I am on LinkedIn, too, so feel free to find me and send me a connection request there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeMy action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nigeria is Africa's biggest economy. Or maybe not quite, economic variables can be hard to measure and somewhat fickle, but whatever way you slice this cake, it is in the top three with Egypt and South Africa. Fintech has played a growing role in that economy, but until now, almost none of the 'fin' that the 'tech' has been modernising was lending-related."I knew that if Nigeria was going to grow and the middle class was going to emerge, there has to be a credit culture, right? And I knew that one person wouldn't be able to do it... so I want to be that platform that makes the creation and discovery of credit significantly easy, cheap and very secure."Adedeji is a Top Leadership Voice on LinkedIn, follow him there for his regular insights at https://www.linkedin.com/in/adedejiolowe/ Check out his work at Lendsqr (https://www.linkedin.com/company/lendsqr/) and Open Banking Nigeria (https://www.linkedin.com/company/openbankingnigeria/) while you're thereBut Lendsqr's real home on the internet is https://lendsqr.com/ - go see how they've 'cracked the lending code'I am on LinkedIn, of course, so feel free to send me a connection request there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeMy action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Moishe Gubin is a workhorse, a mule. And now it's paying off: for him, for the banks he leads, and for the communities they serve. In today's episode we chat about work ethic and an old-fashioned path from the bottom to the top, we chat about what communities are, and we talk about bankers becoming a footnote in someone else's success story.Optimum Bank are at home at https://www.optimumbank.com/ (but as mentioned, you can also find more investor news by searching OPHC on the NASDAQ and financial press, https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/OPHC/)You can find Optimum Bank on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/optimumbank/ LinkedIn is also where you'll find me (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrange/) and this show (https://www.linkedin.com/company/how-to-lend-money-to-strangers/) - so pop over and send me a connection requestMy action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Distressed property can always be repaired, not so distressed people. And so we focus on distressed properties. And that platform has worked very, very well for us: I've done a billion dollars of this, and I will tell you, I have never ever lent on a property that I was not able to fix."The modern mortgage model is designed to work at scale, so when a deal pops up that's a little outside the norm it can often be more efficient to say no quickly than to spend time thinking it over. But that means that a lot of great deals never see the light of day within the big lenders. But it has to be that way... doesn't it? You couldn't possibly employ a team of property experts to select hidden gems in good neighbourhoods and then ensure they're well restored while still protecting your margin... could you?I love a lending model that leverages community knowledge and that's what ZINC does - providing financing to contractors who are looking to improve neighbourhoods by buying good but distressed properties and fixing them up. Margins are good. Collateral grows in value. Borrowers have skin in the game and every reason to make it work for your mutual benefit. In this episode, I speak to Todd Pigott about their win-win-win-win approach to private lending for property developers.ZINC Financial's homepage is at https://zincfinancial.com/ (or at https://zincinvesting.com/ for investors)But you can also find the ZINC companies on LinkedIn: the lending side at https://www.linkedin.com/company/zinc-financial-inc-/ and the capital side at https://www.linkedin.com/company/zinc-income-fund/Todd is there, too, at https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-pigott-893aa861/My action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"If you help a bank to create lending IP, there's always a question around 'who now understands how it works' and 'who owns it'. And the lending IP, that is something that, as a fintech, as a bank, you should own yourself. And that is why (instead of consulting) we decided to build software that helps internal risk teams and internal credit teams to create more lending IP, faster, and on their own without having any external dependencies."Data used to be scarce and rigid, and so the legacy systems we built were designed with that in mind. But data is now everywhere and fluid, and those rigid legacy systems are starting to hold us back. Taktile is a modern decision engine built on a local no-code platform that makes it really easy for credit and risk teams to build and run automated underwriting decisions with a really high level of accuracy. Find Taktile at https://www.taktile.com/ or jump directly to their State of Lending report at https://www.taktile.com/state-of-lending-2023 As Maik mentions on here, both he (https://www.linkedin.com/in/maik-taro-wehmeyer) and Taktile (https://www.linkedin.com/company/taktile1/) are active on LinkedIn. I'm there, too, so feel free to send me a connection request while you're there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeMy action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've spoken about lending systems, we've spoken about lending models, and we've spoken about the nuance of diverse markets and even more diverse market niches, but in the end, there's one thing that ties every successful lending business together: people. In this episode, I welcome Northreach's Robbie Blake about how fintechs can attract and grow the right talent, and about how the current market conditions are bringing new recruiting strategies to the fore.Northreach is over at https://northreach.uk/ (or jump straight to their jobs at https://northreach.uk/search-jobs/) You can find Robbie on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbie-blake-16095616a/ and while you're there, follow the Northreach page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/northreach-uk/If Instagram is more your flavour, they're here: https://www.instagram.com/northreach_uk/ But as mentioned, you can also find their own podcast, called Coffee Mornings with Northreach, on all the main platforms of by clicking here https://open.spotify.com/show/62vRWLXSzz7FUi7SOtMZSyI am on LinkedIn, of course, so feel free to send me a connection request there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeMy action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the most exciting things about working in emerging markets is the opportunity to leap frog old systems - a tool that once had a cutting edge is now an anchor, and to be free of it a means to be nimble.Now, I'm not suggesting traditional data has reached the point of being an anchor, but markets rich with it have created fully developed ecosystems that may be stifling innovation on other alternative data fronts.This is why it was so exciting for me to be given a chance to see what's happening in Latin America, a region that, by and large, fixing gaps in traditional with new and varied alternative data experiments.I'm spoke to Santiago Espinoza, LexisNexis's Director of Market Planning for LATAM, to learn more.You can find LexisNexis Risk Solutions at: https://risk.lexisnexis.com/They're also on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/lexisnexis-risk-solutions/Santiago is also on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/santiago-espinoza-6385baI am on LinkedIn, of course, so feel free to send me a connection request there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanlegrangeMy action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Keep well, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Fifa World Cup is the biggest prize in football. So, about ten years ago now, the world's best men's team headed to Brazil with glory on their minds, but it wouldn't be easy: home to loud and loyal fans of the sport's most storied national team, winning in Brazil would take a monumental effort. In fact, many thought it would be impossible. Global lenders know the feeling. Home to half of the people in South America, the Brazilian market is oh so tempting, but oh so hard to break into. But not impossible. Like Germany ten years ago, if you play it right, you can win.In today's episode, I'm speaking to Vinícius de Andrade Vieira, Head of Business Development at BEXS - connecting Brazil to the world through a digital platform with payment and exchange solutions. We chat about fintech and BNPL in Brazil, the growing global trade, and how international companies can crack the market.Bexs is over at: https://www.bexs.com.br/Vinicisu is on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viniciusdeandradevieira/And I' writing this from the airport, having lost track of the day in the pre-holiday chaos

Dr Joseph Breeden is an entrepreneur and a researcher. or perhaps I should describe him as an entrepreneur and a discoverer, so keen is his curiosity. And, with 30 years spent at the sharp point of credit analytics innovation, he is also a fantastic speaker on some of the most important topics of the day: machine learning, AI, and managing economic cycles among others. In fact, just yesterday, he delivered a phenomenal keynote address on the topics at the Credit Scoring and Credit Control Conference in Edinburgh.I was there, but if you weren't, don't worry, we have those insights and more on today's episode of HTLMTS.Deep Future Analytics is at home on the internet at: https://deepfutureanalytics.com/Joseph himself can be found on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephlbreeden/, or, if it is his research you're after, the root to all of that starts here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joseph-BreedenNot content with just that, Jospeh is also the associate editor of two journals you may want to add to your reading list: https://www.risk.net/journal-of-risk-model-validation and https://www.risk.net/journal-of-credit-riskOh, and his work on forecasting the auction prices of fine wine can be found here: https://auctionforecast.com/As mentioned, yesterday saw Joseph on the stage at a packed Credit Scoring and Credit Control Conference in Edinburgh, delivering the opening keynote. It's an exceptional event for those in the industry and while you're busy missing this year's edition, it will be back in two years https://www.crc.business-school.ed.ac.uk/conferencesYou can also find and follow me on LinkedIn (or connect) at: www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=brendanlegrangeOtherwise, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Regards, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today is Ukraine's National Day, so there's no better time than to support the people in their endeavours to survive and resist the Russian invasion: donate to World Kitchen at https://donate.wck.org/give/499865/#!/donation/checkout or to Save Life in UA at https://savelife.in.ua/en/donate-en/#donate-army-card-monthly “Launch any lending business in an hour.” Normally I write a bit of a blurb here, but really it comes down to that. Launch any lending business in an hour. Actually, as you'll hear, it's more like 20 minutes. In a world that is changing, you need to be able to change even faster, which is where no code solutions come to the fore. In today's episode, I'm speaking to Svitlanka Sergiichuk Romaniuk, co-founder at Neofin - Ukrainian tech going global.Follow the Neofin story over at https://neo-fin.com/ Svitlanka is on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/svitlanaromaniuk/ And follow Neofin while you're there: https://www.linkedin.com/company/neofin-solutions/ You can also find and follow me on LinkedIn (or connect) at: www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=brendanlegrangeOtherwise, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Regards, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's hard enough for consumers who earn precipitable salaries to manage unpredictable expenses, so imagine the situation for fast-growing e-commerce businesses that have unpredictable incomes and unpredictable expenses. To compensate for the perceived risk, big banks tend to take a very conservative view of repeatable earnings, hampering these businesses' ability to fund their growth.But what if loan obligations were tied to revenue instead of fixed every month? That's a great question, and one answered by revenue-based finance. In today's episode, Pratik Sawal teaches me about revenue-based finance and what it means to turn e-commerce data into growth-powering loans.Pratik is on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/pratiksawal/ You can find and follow me on LinkedIn (or connect) at: www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=brendanlegrangeOtherwise, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Regards, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Profitability is paramount for the global lending industry in 2023. But for lenders to increase profitability under the new status quo, much of the industry must undergo change. To stay ahead of the game, lenders need to fully enable every level of their business to react quickly to market changes and proactively steer their risk selection."Taktile is using cutting edge data tech to allow businesses to build, run and evaluate automated decision flows quicker and more data-driven than ever before. You can't guess your way to the right decision, as they say. That's right in the target area of this show and yet, we're largely skipping over their skills for this episode, and delving instead into the results of their first annual State of Lending Report. When people ask me about this show, one of the first questions they ask is about reach. And my answer is it's small. But it is also mighty: the most common job titles in my audience run, in descending order, from CEO to founder to co-founder to Managing Director to Credit Manager. Quality over quantity and all of that.That's also one of the reasons I love this State of Lending Report - at a time we need it more than ever, it builds a guiding star from the combined insights of global lending leaders, half of whom are credit leaders and another quarter of whom are CEO, CPOs, or CTOs. It's a treasure trove, and today we going through it with Maik Taro Wehmeyer, Taktile's co-founder and CEO.You can - and should - download your own version of the report over here: https://www.taktile.com/articles/taktile-s-state-of-lending-report-reveals-how-lenders-plan-to-grow-more-profitably-in-2023Or read more about Taktile over here: https://www.taktile.com/If you're more socially minded, you can - and should again - follow the Taktile journey over on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/taktile1/) Since we're talking bout LinkedIn, you can - and should - follow me there, too: www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=brendanlegrangeOtherwise, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Oh, and Taktile are one fo the big sponsors of the big AltFi Lending Summit coming to London on the 18th of October - register to meet the team there: https://www.altfi.com/events/altfi-lending-summit-2023 Regards, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Criminals keep changing the game. Which is annoying, don't they know our models depend on them re-enacting the past behaviours over and over and over again? Sygno have flipped the script by modelling the good behaviour of your customers... because they're not trying to outmanoeuvre you. Also, there are a lot more of them. Sygno's automated machine learning technology generates monitoring models for Anti-Money Laundering and fraud to make transaction monitoring more effective at a lower cost.You can start a conversation with Sjoerd over on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjoerdslot/Sygno is at home at https://www.sygno.com/ but also on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/sygno/ You can learn more about myself, Brendan le Grange, on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback or questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Regards, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week sees a Dutch double-header on HTLMTS, with two episodes I recorded in Rotterdam while attending Money20/20. First up, a bonus episode that explores how Lendahand gathers capital from socially conscious European investors to empower loans to entrepreneurs in the developing world. 250+ investors are backing d.light, for example, who, with a next loan of EUR 120,000, will provide product financing to families living in rural off-grid communities of Kenya. That project is currently fund-raising over here, by the way; Kaebauk Investimentu no Finansas is raising $150,000 to fund agri-loans to small farmers in Timor-Leste; or, if Modlova is more your scene, Mikro Kapital will provide loans to about 17 small and micro-entrepreneurs there. You get the picture. Choose from proven companies. Invest in the projects that fit your needs. Fight poverty in emerging markets. It is a simple but effective model. Lendahand is at https://www.lendahand.com/ (or jump straight to the Impact Report at https://www.lendahand.com/en-EU/blog/856-5-surprising-insights-from-the-impact-report)Have you ever wondered why your non-ginger friend has a ginger beard? As you'll hear, Adriaan also has you covered on that in one of Vice's most-read articles: https://www.vice.com/en/article/ezv38a/why-do-so-many-men-have-red-beards-but-not-red-hair You can learn more about myself, Brendan le Grange, on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback, questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Regards, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We Finance Progress... when you visit www.m-kopa.com you're met with this brief but powerful message that, I think, captures the dual business and social impacts of their connected financing platform. In today's episode, I speak to Mayur Patel, Chief Commercial Officer at M-KOPA, about financing life-changing assets collateralized by the service those assets provide. And we talk about a lot more. M-KOPA was founded in 2010 to combine the power of digital micropayments with GSM connectivity to make life-enhancing assets more accessible and has since deployed $1 billion in products and credit to the financially excluded."For the majority of our customers - over three-quarters of our customers today - this is the first time they are owning a 4G handset. Those individuals are living under 4G wireless spectrum that's above their heads, but it's really been the affordability of the handset, which is the gateway into that. We've been able to build a strong credit profile for them. That's unique. We're building a consumer FinTech business here, where the first step with our customers is to help them get access to a productive asset, and then use that as a way to bring them into a much broader financial relationship."M-Kopa is at https://m-kopa.com/ (and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/m-kopa/)Mayur Patel is on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayur-h-patel/You can learn more about myself, Brendan le Grange, on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you have any feedback, questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.Regards, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode stretches the lending niche, but fifty-four years ago, humanity landed on the moon, so I'm feeling flexible. And anyway, people lend to airport operators all the time, so it won't be too long until spaceports are seen as similarly stable fixed-cost operators.When I was younger, if a conversation involved a South African tech billionaire and space, you were talking about Mark Shuttleworth (lovely nominative determinism there, by the way). More recently, the same talking points would more of course be associated with Elon Musk. I'll never not enjoy seeing a SpaceX rocket land back on a barge after a successful launch. But Elon's been busy with other matters, and now there's a new name in the Industry: Russell Shaw. Is Russell a tech billionaire? No. But I'm not Joe Rogan, so I can't exactly point fingers