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In this episode, I sit down with Salman Syed, CEO of Fidel API, a global financial infrastructure platform that helps build programmable experiences at the moment a transaction occurs on any payment card. They are backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Nyca Partners, QED, Citi Ventures, and Commerce Ventures. Prior to Fidel API, Salman spent over a decade in leadership roles at Mastercard and Marqeta.
In this episode, we discuss:
How Fidel API is unlocking new products and technologies by accessing and leveraging real-time transaction data
“How we think about the business, is we spend quite a bit of time working through what are the right aspects of the platform to build out. So that whether it's the use-cases that we're focused on today, or the use-cases that we may be focused on tomorrow, we've made the right investments.”
Key trends that are shaping the future of financial services
Salman gives a helpful overview of two fundamental dynamics at play in the modernization of financial services. On one hand, the FinTech sector is experiencing a significant shift with the modernization of legacy infrastructure. This transition includes adopting modern technology stacks to create new financial services and experiences, as demonstrated by companies like Marqeta. On the other hand, there's also an emergence of unexpected technologies and phenomena that are changing the way people interact with financial services. While crypto is an obvious example, there are other, less predictable evolutions in the sector. These new methodologies are introducing different economic structures, enabling diverse ways of lending, saving, and overall interacting with finances. These unforeseen approaches will likely increase the number of people accessing and using financial services.
Challenges and advantages of building a global firm with employees and customers around the world… and a lot more!
“If I just look at just my leadership team alone, we have folks from the US, we have folks from the UK, we have folks from Portugal... as a combination of that, I think it’s actually leading to very different vantage points on problems, which I think are ultimately going to lead to better outcomes for the business.”
The geographical diversity of team members from Fidel API contributes to different points of view and business-building strategies based on their cultural backgrounds and professional global experiences. This global awareness fosters an appreciation for diverse perspectives, which, according to Salman, leads to a broader understanding of problems and superior business outcomes.
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Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.
Salman Syed, CEO of Fidel API – Why CEO is a 24/7/365 Job, The Future of Financial Services, Leveraging Real-Time Transaction Data