Fintech Finance Podcasts: The FF Salon at Sibos with Paul Thomalla, Finastra

When we talk about fintech innovation, we often focus on the supersized. Real-time, cross-border, million-dollar deals – all tremendous leaps of achievement in the industry – but they distract from the human aspect of the business, connecting people when they need the most support. 

“Everybody does payments, whether they know it or not,” says Paul Thomalla. “You have a cross-section of the entirety of the world who all touch the business you do.” 

Joining us in the FF Salon at Sibos 2022, we sat down with Thomalla, the Head of Industry and Regulatory Affairs, at Finastra to talk about the very personal core of payments and meeting customers in the middle with their preferences is invaluable today. 

“Cash is king to some people, but it is also someone else’s money mule, its another person’s fraud motif, its another terrorism methodology or abuse of society,” said Thomalla. “(Cash) has many bad practices and is very expensive to run. 

For Thomalla, cash is no longer the determiner for money movement in the world, as it is rapidly being eclipsed by alternative methods like digital wallets and mobile money – which can serve a much wider scope of customers who previously wouldn’t have access to financial services.