FinTech 101 with Tristan Pelloux | Ep. 171

• Tristan shares how he entered financial services before fintech became trendy, moving to London in late 2014 and starting corporate strategy work at a large UK bank in summer 2015. His interest grew organically through exposure to innovation and new technologies in financial services.

• He began writing research papers, working with fintech companies on partnerships, and eventually launched Fintech Review in January 2020 as a platform to channel his enthusiasm through writing, interviews, and opinionated content.

• Fintech Review covers business topics like the effect of interest rates on fintech companies, company reviews, and interviews with industry professionals. The platform features strong, opinionated takes rather than neutral coverage, ranging from basic finance explanations to complex topics.

They started as a money transmission business... now they've evolved and they're providing bank accounts... They're beating the competition on price, but the service is still super good.

• Wise successfully expanded from Europe to the US—a challenge where many fintechs fail due to high costs. Tristan and Tiffany both use Wise for international payments, praising its ease, low cost, and reliability.

• The current environment is slowing fundraising after years of high investment. This leads to fewer new businesses, but benefits the industry by filtering for companies with strong models. Weaker, unprofitable companies will struggle or fail, resulting in consolidation and some liquidations.

• The market has too many players in some spaces, meaning not enough 'food for everybody'—a natural correction is underway.

• Retail neobanks/challenger banks are overcrowded—new entrants often lack differentiation and target niches too narrow to sustain. In contrast, business banking, accounting integration, and business lending remain underserved, with few solutions addressing the needs of early-stage companies or those without years of operating history.

• Personal debt is another major unsolved problem lacking major fintech attention at scale.

• Listeners can find Tristan at fintechreview.net, subscribe to his weekly newsletter, connect on LinkedIn, or follow @fintech_review on Twitter for ongoing fintech commentary.