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Sam Everington joined Starling Bank ten years ago as one of its first twenty employees. He led the build of the technology that has made Starling a Fintech giant - 4.5 million customers and a 9% share of UK business banking.

Mark Bernhardi leads Engine's growth across Australia and New Zealand, having previously held technology roles at Atlassian, nCino and Westpac.

Both join Dexter Cousins on a special episode of Fintech Chatter Podcast recorded at the World Credit Union Conference in Sydney July 2026.

Engine is the software business Starling spun out four years ago to license its platform to other banks. Sam and Mark explain how Engine gets banks like AMP live on a full core banking platform in under twelve months.

They also discuss the opportunity for mutuals and credit unions to compete with much bigger banks and offer their customers the Starling Bank experience using technology platforms like Engine.

Sam Everington LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sameverington

Mark Bernhardi LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/mark-bernhardi

Engine by Starling: https://enginebystarling.com

Tier One People: https://tieronepeople.com

Dexter Cousins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins

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Peter Jones co-founded Nimo Industries with Leann Jones after living the core banking problem himself as a mutual bank CEO. Ten years ago he decided solve the problem for himself. Today, Nimo is a platform serving over 20 Australian banks and lenders, entirely bootstrapped.

In this episode of Fintech Chatter Dexter asks Peter how his mutual sector background shaped the product. Peter shares his journey bootstrapping a bank grade technology platform through APRA-grade compliance. And shares real examples of how mutual banks are growing nationally on the Nimo platform.

About Peter Jones

Peter Jones is co-founder and COO of Nimo Industries, the Melbourne fintech building loan origination and core banking technology for Australian mutual banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders. Before starting Nimo in 2016, he spent close to two decades in banking, including as CEO of Plenty Credit Union and in roles at ANZ, NAB and ME Bank.

What we discuss

• Why living the “CEO killer” problem of fragmented core banking as a mutual bank CEO shaped how Nimo builds its platform
• How Nimo has stayed 100% self-funded for close to a decade
• Why Nimo dropped the word “startup” for “scale up” internally, and how that shift changed hiring standards
• How South West Slopes Credit Union used Nimo to drive its open banking and CDR strategy
• How one mutual bank client went live on Nimo's platform in five to six weeks and a regional bank hit 30% growth and landed national exposure
• Why critical thinking, not competency-based interviewing, is now Nimo's deciding hiring factor
• Why Nimo is opening the door to outside investment after a decade of bootstrapping

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

02:32 Understanding Nimo's Banking Solutions

05:45 The Journey of Building Nimo Industries

12:48 Addressing Regulatory and Technology challenges in Mutual Banks

18:45 Building Trust with Mutual Banks

21:51 Talent Acquisition Strategies in a Competitive Market

29:07 Navigating Growth and Recruitment Challenges

32:25 Lessons Learned from a Decade of Business

34:38 The Importance of Resilience and Adaptability

36:36 Cultural Fit in Scaling Teams

38:08 The Role of Mindset in Organizational Success

43:53 Navigating Change and Embracing AI

47:45 Opportunities for Nimo

Links & resources

Peter Jones LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjonesaust/

Nimo Industries website: https://nimoindustries.com/

Nimo Industries LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nimoindustries/

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Andy Taylor is the founder and CEO of ASX-listed Stakk Limited (ASX: SKK), an embedded trust and fraud prevention platform used by Chime, Robinhood, T-Mobile and H&R Block.

In this episode Andy breaks down Stakk's proposed US$63 million acquisition of document intelligence firm ParaScript, and how the deal turns a decade of building into an AI-powered fraud detection engine.

I ask Andy about Stakk's pivot from consumer neobanking under the Douugh brand into B2B infrastructure. He shares where the business is headed next as it expands into healthcare.

Before Stakk, Andy co-founded SocietyOne, Australia's first peer-to-peer lending platform, and later founded Douugh, an AI-first neobank that listed on the ASX pre-revenue. He has spent close to two decades building fintech businesses in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Find out more - https://stakk.tech/

Chapters
00:00 Welcome to FinTech Chatter
01:16 Introduction to Stakk and Andy Taylor
03:44 The Journey of Stakk: From Douugh to Success
10:54 Reflections on Society One and Early FinTech Days
17:17 Navigating Challenges in the Current FinTech Landscape
23:15 Consumer Behavior Shifts and Market Dynamics
25:55 Future Expectations for Stakk
34:55 Advice for Founders Facing Adversity

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