In this episode, I sit down with Deniz Güven, CEO of Wamo.

Deniz Güven is a senior fintech and digital banking executive with extensive experience building financial services across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He is currently Group CEO and Chair of the Board at wamo, and has held leadership and board roles at AKTech, Platform XIT, Colendi, Trust Bank, and Beşiktaş JK.

Previously, Deniz served as CEO of Mox Bank in Hong Kong, the virtual bank backed by Standard Chartered, and held senior digital leadership roles at Standard Chartered and Garanti BBVA. His career spans digital banking, fintech ventures, product innovation, and alternative revenue streams. Deniz has also mentored fintech start ups through Garanti Partners and brings a global perspective on how digital platforms are reshaping financial services.

With him, we will talk about SMEs banking in Europe, but also about his incredible careers in banking across APAC and MENA, and the future of banking.

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Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853

In this episode, I sit down with Sander Janca-Jensen, CEO and co-founder of FlatPay

Sander is the CEO and cofounder of Flatpay, the Danish fintech company building payments, point of sale and financial services for small and medium sized physical merchants, including restaurants, cafés and independent shops.

Founded in 2022, Flatpay has quickly become one of Denmark’s fastest growing fintech scaleups, reaching unicorn status after a €145 million funding round that valued the company at around €1.5 billion, up from roughly $100 million in 2024.

Before launching the company, he spent almost six years at Verisure, where he held senior roles including Deputy Managing Director and Field Sales Director, managing more than 450 salespeople and overseeing around DKK 300 million in annual profit and loss responsibility. Earlier in his career, he held multiple sales leadership roles at Berlingske Media and cofounded SimplyJob, which reached more than 125,000 users within one year before its exit in 2018.

With him, we will talk about the importance of physical sales in payments, hiring in fast growing environments, and the fintech trends in the payment space in Europe.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB
Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853

In this episode, I sit down with Bhavin Shah, founder and CEO of Sherlocq.

Bhavin is the Founder and CEO of Sherlocq, an AI-powered regulatory intelligence company helping compliance professionals, law firms, and regulators navigate complex global regulations with greater speed, accuracy, and security. With more than 20 years of experience across the U.S., UK, Middle East, and Asia, Bhavin has built a global reputation in financial crime, compliance, investigations, and governance.

Before launching Sherlocq, he held senior leadership roles at Deloitte, PwC, EY, Roland Berger, Forensic Risk Alliance, and Secretariat, advising global banks, sovereign institutions, private equity firms, and digital platforms on high-stakes regulatory matters. Bhavin is also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a recognised thought leader in AI and compliance, and an advisor on financial and regulatory innovation.

With him, we will talk about the fintech market in the MENA region, how regulations are shaping this market, but also the differences between investing in fintech in different parts of the world.

Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter and my podcast:

Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/fintech-weekly

Substack: https://michelemattei.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersinfintech

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L6L7uj3IIYEHbBStLXi8M?si=fa10d8cefe2741aa

ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB
Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853