93: BTC Markets, Caroline Bowler

In episode 93 of Fintech Chatter Podcast Dexter Cousins is joined by Caroline Bowler, CEO of BTC Markets,  Australia’s largest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchange.

BTC is Australian-owned and operated. With over 300,000 traders, and more than $16.5 billion traded on the BTC Markets platform.

Caroline joins me to talk about their partnership with Australian NeoBank - Volt Bank.  We dig into the debanking challenges facing Crypto exchanges in Australia and the opportunities we can expect to see in the future.

And no chat on crypto would be complete without delving into the world's of Defi and NFT's

You can connect with Caroline on LinkedIn or go to https://btcmarkets.net

A link to report is here Investor Study Report 2021-2022 | Crypto Investing Australia | BTC Markets

Fintech Insider Australia

Our friends at 11:FS approached us recently to help them put together a special show on Australian Fintech.

It was a thrill to finally be asked, having politely and persistently promoted Australian Fintech to David M. Brear, Simon Taylor and the 11:FS crew for four years!

And now it's here, the world's most listened-to Fintech podcast dedicating a whole episode to Australia.

Tune in as David M Brear, Simone Joyce Fintech Australia and Paypa Plane, Matt Baxby from Revolut and Dexter Cousins talk about the huge opportunities in Australia and how the nation is fast becoming a world-class Fintech hub.

92: World Nomads, Simon Monk

In episode 92 of Fintech Chatter Podcast Dexter Cousins is joined by a very special guest, Simon Monk co-founder of World Nomads, Australia’s first Insurtech.

In this new feature show, Dexter interviews a Fintech pioneer from a time before the word even existed.  Guests share their journey and how they launched, scaled and successfully exited a Fintech business when there were no iPhones, no Stripe, no Facebook, no Twitter and no AWS!

Travel has always been a big part of Simon’s life,  he’s been dreaming about what's over the horizon for as long as he can remember. 

Originally from the UK, he trained in design before getting involved in the very early days of the internet 

As an avid traveller, he ended up in Australia, where he founded World Nomads, an online travel insurance service for people who loved travelling and exploring.

After a successful sale of World Nomads to NIB in 2015, Simon has focussed his time on the energy and renewables sector.

Connect with Simon on LinkedIn

A big thank you for your support.

Tier One People has never been busier and we are super grateful for the calibre of clients and talent who continue to approach us after listening to the show.

If you want to show your support, you can subscribe, leave us a review or just tell your friends. It really helps us continue to provide high-quality content for free.

And if you’re a world-class fintech looking for tier-one people reach out to Dexter on Linkedin or email info@tieronepeople.com 

089: Salesforce, Stuart Ward

In episode 89 of Fintech Chatter Dexter Cousins is joined by Stuart Ward, Senior Director for Financial Services and Go-To-Market Strategy for Salesforce.

Salesforce is a global leader in CRM and SAAS. Their customer360 platform and financial services cloud is helping Australia's financial services industry get closer to their customers. 

With more than 2 decades of banking, tech and marketing experience Stuart joins me to share his insights on how Big Tech is playing an ever-growing role in Fintech.

Aussie Fintech Athena, Volt Bank, Frollo partner with Salesforce. And last year Salesforce made a strategic investment in open banking Fintech, Basiq.

Stuart shares his views on what he sees as the BIG opportunities coming from CDR.

For more information on Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/au/

Reach out to Stuart on LinkedIn

Mobiquity appoints Gus Quiroga as VP APAC.

Tier One People supports the launch of another world-class company in Australia.

Mobiquity, a full-service digital transformation enabler, announced its expansion into Asia-Pacific with the appointment of former Microsoft and IBM Watson Director, Gustavo Quiroga, as Vice President of Business Development Financial Services, APAC.

Tier One People were behind the hire, cementing our position as the go-to executive search company for world-class Fintech companies launching in the region.

Acting as advisors and executive search partners to Mobiquity, it took just four weeks to complete the search and appointment of the APAC Regional Director for financial services.

It takes Tier One People to build world-class Fintech companies.

Commenting on the announcement, Gustavo said: “I’m delighted to join Mobiquity and support the company’s rapid expansion across the Asia-Pacific region.

“I joined Mobiquity to develop, design and implement digital products and services that create meaningful experiences with customers. Giving customers a ‘Wow’ moment is what drives me, and I look forward to using my expertise to develop partnerships where we can achieve this every day.”

Matthew Williamson, Vice President of Global Financial Services, Mobiquity said: “Our appointment of Gustavo demonstrates Mobiquity’s commitment to hiring an A-list team of talent that has far-reaching industry expertise.

Expect additional announcements over the coming weeks as we help Mobiquity build a world-class team of tier-one people. Mobiquity has secured Adrian Nowell from Digizoo. Adrian was instrumental in building Aussie Smart Bank, 86 400 from idea to a pioneering digital bank in record time.

You can read the full article in Finextra

Looking to launch in Australia? Speak to the experts. We've helped Revolut, TrueLayer, 10x and many others launch successfully in Australia. - Contact Dexter Cousins for a confidential discussion.

88: Revolut, Matt Baxby on Fintech Chatter

In episode 88 of Fintech Chatter Podcast Dexter Cousins reconnects with Matt Baxby, Country CEO of Revolut.

Recorded the week after Revolut became the UK's undisputed Fintech leader, Revolut needs no introduction to our listeners.

A MASSIVE Series E raise values Revolut at US $33bn with investors including Tiger and Softbank getting behind the financial super app last week.

Matt Baxby Revolut Australia CEO

It has been 12 months since Matt was last on the show and 18 months since Tier One People placed Matt in the Revolut Australia CEO role.

For Matt, it's been a career-defining experience. Since September he has been acting Global Banking CEO overseeing the launch of new businesses in Australia, India, North America and Asia, giving him a unique perspective on how Fintech is taking off globally.

It takes Tier One People to build world-class Fintech companies.

It has been a record-breaking 12 months for Revolut. Many people thought the global travel restrictions would have crushed Revolut's business model. Instead, they have grown to 16 million customers, launched a stack of new products, and even hit break-even.

The raise makes Revolut more valuable than Natwest Bank. Find out how they've done it and what makes this business so unique in the world of Fintech and digital banking.

Matt talks about his own personal journey from incumbent bank to Fintech rocket ship. And we also get his insights on how to build a high-performing remote-first team, who had never met each other for the first 18 months of operation!

There are some great tips on the hiring process and the skills you need to focus on to deliver long-term success.

Find out more about Revolut - https://www.revolut.com/en-AU/

LIMITED OFFER - Sign up with my link and get 40 AUD after your first 3 purchases with your free Revolut card. 

087: ClearScore, Stephen Smyth

In episode 87 of Fintech Chatter Podcast, Dexter Cousins is joined by Stephen Smyth, Chief International Officer at ClearScore, as they help users improve their financial wellbeing.

ClearScore aims to help users around the world manage their finances better by accessing credit report information, coaching and great offers. 

They are now the #1 way for over 12 million users in Australia, South Africa and the UK to access their financial data, including credit reporting/scores, and Open Banking data. 

Stephen heads up the expansion of ClearScore business to new markets overseas and runs the Australian team, based in Sydney.

Tune in as Stephen talks about their recent $200m raise, regulation around BNPL and why Australia has a great opportunity to lead in open banking.

And Stephen also shares his tips on how to launch and scale in new markets plus the mission-critical hires you need to make to ensure success.

Find out more about ClearScore

86: Mambu, Kristofer Rogers on Fintech Chatter

In episode 86 of Fintech Chatter Podcast, Dexter Cousins is joined by Kristofer Rogers, General Manager for Australia and New Zealand at Mambu, the cloud-native digital banking platform.

Kris is instrumental in solidifying Mambu’s presence in this region. In this exclusive interview, he shares the company plans for the region and why Mambu sees Australia as a great place to grow.

Kris gives his thoughts on open banking and where Mambu can play an active role in creating ecosystems between incumbents and Fintechs. He and Dexter discuss the rapidly blurring boundaries of where Fintech and other industries are blurring.

And Kris gives advice on leadership, launching businesses and he also shares his tips on how to be successful in a Country Manager style role.

About Kristofer Rogers

In November 2019, Kris was named the Start-Up Executive of the Year at the CEO Magazine’s Executive of the Year Awards for his work as the CEO of Split Payments. 

Kris was the driving force behind Split Payments’ success and transformation into a key player in direct debit and real-time payments solutions. 

Kris is recognised as an innovator in the tech industry and a thought leader in emerging payments and, specifically, open banking. He regularly speaks at events and on panels.

Register for Mambu's Future Forum - https://www.mambu.com/insights/events/the-future-forum-2021


85: Auror, Phil Thomson on Fintech Chatter.

Dexter Cousins is joined by Phil Thomson, Co-CEO of Auror for episode 85 of Fintech Chatter Podcast.


Auror was founded in 2013 after realising that $100B+ was lost every year by retailers but there was no effective technology being used to report, solve, or prevent crime.

Through their data-driven crime management platform, Auror is helping to tackle crime by providing visibility over criminal activity. 

The platform enables retailers and police to harness the power of data to prevent crime and protect customers and employees.

Backed by Reinventure and now supporting Australia and New Zealand's biggest retailers, the business is expanding to North America and Europe.

Phil talks about what it means to be a force for good in Fintech and why New Zealand is producing some world-class Fintech's. Phil candidly shares some of the leadership challenges he has faced as a first-time founder.

This is a fantastic chat, we hope you enjoy it. If you do, please leave us a review and subscribe using your favourite player so you don't miss our upcoming shows and a fantastic lineup of guests.

To find out more about Auror https://www.auror.co/

84: mx51, Victor Zheng

Tier One People starts a new financial year with a new season of Fintech Chatter Podcast.

Join Dexter Cousins as he chats to mx51 CEO Victor Zheng.

Victor Zheng is the CEO of mx51 and previously the co-CEO of Assembly Payments.

mx51 partners with banks and acquirers to deliver exceptional merchant experiences. Through a white-label Payments-as-a-Service platform, mx51 seamlessly connects the world of commerce into multi-channel payments.

Victor chats about payments innovation, pivots, splits, team rebuilds and leading throughout a pandemic.

And a special mention to Fintech Chatter Podcast no1 fan Harry Cousins who stepped in as production assistant for this episode.

Subscribe on your favourite player and if you like the show, please leave us a review as it helps other Fintech fans find the show and makes us feel good!

Top Fintech executive search firm

Celebrating 5 years in business, here is a message from Tier One People's founder, Dexter Cousins.

Tier One People launched on 2nd June 2016 to provide executive search expertise to the Fintech industry.

As Joanne and I celebrate 5 years of Tier One People we wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to....

Five Things I've learned from 5 years of Tier One People.

  1. Do the right thing by people - The measure of my success is how easily I can put my head on the pillow and sleep at night. Being nice is massively underrated.
  2. Learn to say 'No' - Shooting at rabbits scares off big game. In the early days, I chased after and said yes to everything. It created confusion for potential clients and I missed out on big opportunities. A big lesson learned which set me on the path of.....
  3. Focus - We laser-focused our vision in late 2017 to help Australia become the no1 destination for Fintech innovation and to become the leading executive search brand in Fintech. By finding a purpose bigger than Tier One and staying true to our vision we've attracted some of the world's most revered Fintech brands as clients.
  4. Believe it to achieve it - In 2016 Zip and Afterpay had just listed, Fintech Australia had just been formed and most of our clients didn't exist. It wasn't until late 2018 that Fintech began to take off in Australia. But our belief in the huge potential of the sector saw us through a lean two years.
  5. One day you are the pigeon the next you are the statue - In the early days, this was a metaphor/belief I had around luck and good fortune, but I've since changed its meaning to become a daily reminder If you stand still you will get shat on! If you don't want to be shat on from a great height, keep flying, don't stand still.

80: AgriDigital, Jins Kadwood

In episode 80 of the Fintech Chatter Podcast, Dexter Cousins is joined by Jins Kadwood, Chief Technology Officer of Agridigital.

Dexter first met Jins in 2018 alongside the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison handing Jins the CTO of the year at the Fintech Awards. 

So it was cool to see Jins join another Fintech Chatter guest, Agridigital as CTO.

Backed by Square Peg Capital and founded by Emma Weston and Bob McKay, Agridigital is an Australian Fintech providing farmers with a digital way to manage grain from production to payment anywhere, anytime.

Jins chats about how Agridigital is combining technologies across blockchain,  smart contracts, Defi and peer 2 peer lending to revolutionise the farming industry.

Jins also shares how his past experience as a professional soccer coach influences his approach to building and leading tech teams.

You can find out more about Agridigital

And finally, we promised to plug Jins' latest passion project Stylish CTO

And Ms Tyler