The FinTech infrastructure race isn't just about payments anymore. Neofin has spent three years rebuilding from a geo-agnostic lending tool into a full financial super app engine; and the businesses buying in aren't banks. They're retailers, telcos, and gas station networks.
In this short conversation recorded live at Money2020, I catch up with Svitlanka, Co-Founder of Neofin (and 2nd time Purpose Driven FinTech podcast guest), on what's changed, who they're building for, and why transactions alone no longer create loyalty.
Key takeaways: Why non FinTech businesses with large user bases are Neofin's core customer
How NeoFin sits between the retailer and the bank, and what each party covers
The product evolution from standalone lending to wallet, BNPL, and full financial ecosystem
Why 360 experiences beat pure transaction infrastructure for long-term retention
What's next….agentic payments and a major European launch
We cover:
(00:00) Three years on, what's changed at Neofin
(01:30) From lending infrastructure to full FinTech ecosystem
(02:30) Who NeoFin's customers are and why retailers are launching BNPL wallets
(03:45) The bank + Neofin partnership model explained
(04:30) Why transactions don't build loyalty; and what does
Follow for more discussions on building FinTech products with customer and commercial impact and to stay updated on the latest episodes.
Production and marketing by Monica Millares. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email Monica at [email protected]
Disclaimer: This episode does not constitute professional nor financial advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.
Transcripts
Svitlanka. For Youtube
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Monica: [:
Svitlanka: we first launched live in the US. We expanded to more countries in, Europe and. The Middle East and
we had a product evolution to the infrastructure that is building the whole FinTech ecosystem with a wallet, a financial super app , lending products
Monica: what is making Neofin different from all the other infrastructure players
Svitlanka: we are the whole product engine. Every business can take an application, can have all the components
Monica: what's the role of agentic payments and everything that you're doing?
So who are your core customers now?
C businesses right [:
Monica: what's next? What's in the pipeline?
Svitlanka: I cannot disclose fully what's in a pipeline, but we expect, quite a major launch with quite a large European audience
Monica: what is the core need that you see in the market.
Svitlanka: The core need is to ..... because
Monica: It's been three years since we last
Svitlanka: three years.
Monica: Okay. So what has changed since we spoke
was our last. Podcast was in:
Since then, in August,:
Mobile financial experience for the consumer that every business can build using Neo fin.
Monica: So you've gone from super niche lending to now you are doing an infrastructure play for multiple geographies?
Svitlanka: For multiple geographies and multiple business. Yeah. Yeah.
Monica: What is making [:
market
Svitlanka: Product component. We are not just the infrastructure player, we are the whole product engine. So with our solution, every business can take an application, can have all the components of the lending ecosystem that are required to launch all the financial ecosystem around identification, fraud, and connection to loyalty.
So we have the full 360 components of the product So the company that is not a FinTech and does not want to become an expert in FinTech but wants to launch a financial service line and has amazing loyal group of customers that they want to monetize in a new way can just come to Neofin and launch the whole ecosystem together.
Cool.
Monica: So who are your core customers now?
Svitlanka: Currently our [:
Massive user bases that are usually a part of the loyalty program, but for them, they're just a database, just a list of the names and contacts But with launching a financial and mobile experience, they're opening a lot of perks for the users and a lot of new ways of monetization for themselves as a business.
a work with you, do you help [:
Svitlanka: if you are a retail customer, you would usually be in partnership with a certain bank or financial institution that would be covering the financial part of regulatory and compliance. Whereas FIN would be covering all the technological part of compliance and regulatory ISO certification.
SOC two, uh, help you be compliant with P-C-I-D-S-S and everything you need to function.
Monica: So what's, what's next? What's in the pipeline?
Svitlanka: I cannot disclose fully what's in a pipeline, but I must say that we expect, um, quite a major launch with, quite a large European audience. And I will definitely let you know once we launch
Monica: Yeah.
Yeah. So that then we can cover that properly.
Yeah.
t what's the role of agentic [:
Svitlanka: Uh, currently in this exact solution, we do not have agentic payments, but this is definitely getting on the roadmap. We have several good, uh, discussions on that topic.
Monica: Okay. And then just to build on that, like of course you're speaking with different businesses across the world. What is the core need that you see in the market.
Svitlanka: The core need is to 360 experiences for the customers because just transacting for the sake of transaction does not work anymore because only transaction is a money movement.
It does not create the relationship. It does not build loyalty. It does not work for your business in a long-term perspective. Now, it's all about experiences, not just transactions.
