EXCLUSIVE: “It’s All Happening Here” – Scarlett Sieber and Zach Anderson Pettet, Money20/20 in ‘The Paytech Magazine’

Ali Paterson spoke to Money20/20’s Scarlett Sieber and Zach Anderson Pettet to find out why fintech founders and startups should attend the US edition of the mega conference

Across the financial services and fintech industry, Money20/20 has become a household name. Regardless of which conference you prefer, one thing is for sure, Money20/20 events always provide a good time.

But what will make the USA version different from the rest?

The upcoming election and inevitable political upheaval bring a certain unique backdrop to proceedings and will no doubt factor in conversations on and off stage. There are also undeniable opportunities to be had for fintechs in a market still ripe for further disruption. The best people to really find out what makes Money20/20 USA tick, however, are people at the heart of the matter.

Money20/20’s chief strategy and growth officer, Scarlett Sieber and VP of strategy/director of content for the US, Zach Anderson Pettet are close to the product, of course, but they have no shortage of passion for what they do. So, if you’re a startup in Europe or Asia, why should you make the trip across the Atlantic (or Pacific) to Las Vegas this year?

We spoke to them to find out.

The Fintech Magazine How are you going to make Money 2020 USA different from last year?

Zach Anderson Pettet: “We aim to reflect the industry, while also looking ahead. We focus on what’s happening today and forecast what technology and infrastructure might look like, five to 10 years from now.

“The pace of change is so rapid that we don’t have to try to make it different each year – it just is. Take AI, for example. This year we have a distinguished architect from OpenAI alongside Klarna’s CTO discussing their earnings announcement.

“This year’s conference… happens to take place six days before a semi-important election!”

Scarlett Sieber, Money20/20

“The landscape around Open Banking in the US has also shifted significantly, with some of those changes being announced at last year’s event. While we don’t know exactly what will be announced this time, we do know there will be representatives from the CFPB at the show. The world is moving so fast that we have no choice but to keep up and maybe stay a step or two ahead.”

Scarlett Sieber: “I always think about how we can surprise and delight our customers. The way people attend events has shifted, and while there’s still a lot of business getting done, we’re focussed on facilitating that in smarter, more meaningful ways. In the next two weeks, you’ll see some exciting announcements on how we’re leveraging technology to help people do business.

“Zach’s focus is on making event experiences really resonate with our customers and the industry we love. One example is the ‘Off The Record’ stage, which we’re continuously refining. We have the world’s top speakers, but we also understand the need for open, transparent conversations. In these sessions, phones are put away, and there’s no media orpress, allowing for real, focussed discussions.

“We’ve even had founders share their pitch decks in that room – it’s where genuine conversations happen, with no one distracted by a screen. Then there’s the press briefing stage, designed to give space for conversations where the audience can ask questions in an open Q&A with the fintech community. Each year, we keep improving these experiences.”

Zach Anderson Pettet: “We’re creating two different extremes. Something purpose-built for the media and also something where no media is allowed.”

The Fintech Magazine It’s certainly unique. Who’s going to be there? What are people speaking about?

Zach Anderson Pettet: “Lynn Martin, president of the New York Stock Exchange is the big one we’re very excited about. If you’ve been paying attention, the IPO market in recent years hasn’t been awesome for fintech, or great in general.

“But the signals and the macroeconomic context suggest that 2025 and 2026 could be a new dawn for fintech IPOs. The likes of Stripe, Plaid, Chime, are right on the verge of that. We might see fintech grow up this year. A lot of the bigger speakers are talking about AI but we’re mostly treating the topic horizontally rather than allocating chunks of time to it specifically. AI is going to touch every single piece of the stack.

“For example, we’ve got Varun Krishna, the CEO of Rocket Mortgage, the number one non-bank lender in the US. They’ve found some unique ways to apply AI to the underwriting process. I could keep going…”

The Fintech Magazine: I’ve opened Pandora’s box! Scarlett, what else is impacting this year’s conference?

Scarlett Sieber: “What makes it so special is it just happens to take place six days before a… semi-important election in our country! We’re already getting a lot of questions around that, but our main focus is policy, rule-making and regulation.

“This year we have former White House CIO, Theresa Payton coming, as well as Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah and Kyle Hauptman, the vice chairman of the National Credit Union Association, who are all thinking about these topics. But beyond the US we also have the head of department for the Central Bank of Brazil.

“On topics, I’m still very bullish on embedded finance. It’s here to stay and we’re going to have some of the biggest companies and players in the world on our stages. There will be a global CEO from one of the largest payment companies in the world, who’s never spoken in the US before, talking on that.”

The Fintech Magazine There’s previously been a heavy domestic focus at the US event. Why should a company or startup in Europe and other parts of the world make that trip across the Atlantic?

Zach Anderson Pettet: “Each Money20/20 has a different focus, but we see Money20/20 USA as a global event. This year, we’re telling very Asia-centric stories and pulling in people from all over the world— so moving away from just focussing on the domestic market.

“We see it as a global event… pulling in people from all over the world”

Zach Anderson Pettet, Money20/20

“We’re also placing a strong emphasis on Latin America, particularly with the success of NuBank. In fact, we’ll have more regulators from LATAM than from the US, largely due to the upcoming election happening just six days after the show. “For startups, in my opinion, there’s no better way to spend four days. You can learn a lot, meet key people, and figure out whether expanding to the US or partnering with a US company or bank even makes sense.

“If you eventually decide not to invest in the US, four days at Money20/20 is a lot more efficient than the costly efforts some major neobanks have made trying to enter the market. Apart from that, it’s simply the best gathering of financial technology professionals in the world.”

Scarlett Sieber: “As far as content is concerned, with the amount of time our team spends on making sure it reflects what’s happening in the industry, you could get a PhD in fintech! And as Zach was saying, we also provide access to the ecosystem and decision-makers that attend. You’re not going to talk to one or two VCs. It could be 20. And you have all kinds of banks, big and small. You can make big moments happen and find your next partner immediately.”

The Fintech Magazine What does it take to make a great speaker?

Scarlett Sieber: “Sometimes the speakers I’m most excited about, only 20 people experience them. Sometimes the biggest people aren’t the most interesting, but we still work hard behind the scenes to get the value out and hone in on the exciting stuff. You can tell when you hit that sweet spot, because their eyes change, the engagement changes.

“Speakers don’t always work out but if you don’t take risks, then you’re not going to get the payoff. And if every single time it went swimmingly, then we’re not taking big enough risks.”

The Fintech Magazine Taking a step back and looking at the industry more broadly, should we be optimistic about the state of fintech and finance at this time?

Scarlett Sieber: “I’m always optimistic. Regardless of what is happening, there is always opportunity in moments like this. Even if things are not as rosy as we would hope, that’s often when the best startups are born. The ones who have the grit, the hustle, the perseverance.

“I do believe we’re going to see some success stories by the end of this year. Who that is, I have some personal opinions based on data points and who’s being hired and where the money is going. But in any case, it’s going to be an interesting time. “As far as funding is concerned I think resetting was important for fintech to focus on businesses that are having a real impact, scaling and becoming profitable.”

This article was published in The Paytech Magazine Issue 15, Page 6-7