Lex chats with Arik Shtilman, CEO of Rapyd - a leading fintech-as-a-service platform. In this episode, Shtilman discusses his background in technology and financial services, as well as the journey of building Rapyd into a leading payment company. He talks about the challenges of starting a consumer payment company and the pivot to becoming a fintech-as-a-service platform. Shtilman explains the importance of building a global business and the need for a platform that enables companies to build financial services at scale. He also discusses the growth of different products within Rapyd, such as the wallet and payment collection capabilities, and the importance of serving marketplace structures. Shtilman shares insights on failure modes in fintech, including the challenges of onboarding SMB clients and the complexities of high-velocity payment processing in the cloud. He also discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the fintech sector and the outlook for financial recovery. Finally, Shtilman highlights the increasing role of developers in the buying process and the importance of building relationships with developers through developer communities and tailored documentation.

MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION

Rapyd's Website: https://bit.ly/3EVv0ei

Arik's LinkedIn profile: https://bit.ly/45efpBg

Topics: fintech, fintech-as-a-service, payments, VOIP, Cloud, API, embedded banking

Companies: Rapyd, PayPal, Brex, RobinHood, Stripe

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TIMESTAMPS

1’22”: Navigating the early career: Entering technology and financial services

5’03”: Global business expansion: Strategies and expanding geographical reach, touching on Rapyd

8’33”: Evaluating opportunities: The quest for the ideal fintech platform

10’41”: Identifying the gap: Exploring unmet needs in the fintech platform landscape

15’52”: Landing marquee clients: The go-to-market journey of a fintech platform

19’12”: Driving growth: Exploring fintech product expansion and the mechanics of cross-border payments

25’02”: Beyond borders: Navigating the payments landscape and the global e-money licensing surge

28’46”: Investing in marketplace structures: Admired companies, lessons learned, and avoiding fintech failure modes

34’44”: COVID acceleration and financial recovery in fintech: Navigating strategic direction errors and shifting landscapes

38’42”: Empowering developers: Rapyd's role in the shift from financiers to developers

41’25”: The channels used to connect with Arik & learn more about Rapyd

Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.

Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, Daniella

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How to build a $60B volume global payments platform, with Rapyd CEO Arik Shtilman

The Fintech Blueprint