Fintech Daydreaming

Here at Fintech Daydreaming, we pride ourselves on the unedited, "live" feel of our recordings. Over the years, our listeners have been treated to everything from a hotel maid walking in on Ville, to New York police sirens, to Ville's automatic hydroponic garden sounding suspiciously like someone taking a bathroom break off-camera. This week however we successfully navigated the recording (with only a brief cameo from Pål's dog) to bring you a fantastic conversation with Rolf Jensen, VP of Technology at the Nordic neobank Lunar! We explore the "trench warfare" of the Nordic financial ecosystem and look under the hood at Lunar's technology strategy, including their new banking-as-a-platform capability, Moonrise. Tune in to hear us discuss: The Build vs. Buy Dilemma: Why Lunar opted to buy a ledger but build custom, atomic components around it to stay directly connected to local infrastructure. AI Supercharging Engineering: How Lunar’s development teams used AI to achieve a 5x increase in output—while actually seeing their incident rates drop! Invisible Banking: We debate an "agentic" future where the bank fades into the background, and ask the tough questions: will autonomous AI agents eventually need their own KYC processes and bank accounts? A Shameless Plug: Pål managed to limit the promotion of his new book, Rip Out the Core, to just a single mention. Whether you are interested in the explosive growth of neobanks, the real-world ROI of AI in software development, or just want to hear how we keep the recording on track, you won't want to miss this one. 🎧 Listen to the full episode now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or watch us on YouTube! Let us know your thoughts in the comments: Are we heading toward a future where AI agents do our banking for us? Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

We are gearing up for Nordic Fintech Week with an exclusive, jam packed two guest episode! Ville and Pål sit down with two heavyweights of the European financial technology space to discuss everything from building challenger banks to the impending robot takeover. One thing we learned at least: we could’ve made this episode easily four hours long (but we didn’t, don’t worry). 🚀 Ken Villum Klausen unveils Reporto After 11 years taking on the Nordic banking cartel at Lunar, Ken drops some massive news. He exclusively reveals his new startup: Reporto. Fresh off an 8.2 million euro seed round, they are building an artificial intelligence native audit firm from the ground up to take on the Big Four. 🤖 Panagiotis Kriaris on the New Fintech Playbook The old growth playbook is officially dead. Panagiotis introduces the "agentic layer" where artificial intelligence agents make decisions and execute financial transactions for human users. His warning to legacy banks is clear: modernize your data architecture fast, or your systems will fail to communicate with these new autonomous agents. 🎟️ Books and Discounts Pål proudly refuses to not mention once again that his new book, Rip Out The Core, is officially out across all platforms! Heading to Copenhagen for Nordic Fintech Week? Use the promo code FintechDaydreamingNFW25 for a 25% discount on your ticket! Will we be seeing you in Copenhagen? Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

July in the Nordics usually consists of out-of-office autoreplies and mosquito bites, but while we were all on vacation, the European Central Bank was busy clearing the table. Pål and Ville are back to the microphones alongside the ever-insightful Janne Salminen from Helsinki Fintech Farm, to unpack it all. Here is what we are dissecting in our Nordic Fintech Highlights season 14 return: 🇪🇺 The Digital Euro Pilot: The ECB has tapped 36 payment service providers for its retail pilot, targeting mid-2027. Ville gives us a highly enthusiastic breakdown of the aggressive 12-month timeline and offline capabilities, while Pål nods along. 🇩🇰 Denmark’s "Doomsday" Bank: The Danish National Bank is building a dormant emergency backup bank to protect against "prolonged AI-driven cyber attacks." We ask the hard question: if AI breaks out, what stops it from hacking the backup too? 🇫🇮 Finnish Bank Shopping: S-Bank is acquiring Oma Savings Bank for a cool €17.20 per share. We discuss how S-Bank is turning dormant supermarket loyalty cardholders into active banking customers—and accidentally acquiring corporate banking capabilities along the way. 📖 Shameless Plugs: In case you’ve somehow managed to mis it: Pål wrote a book! Rip Out the Core is out now. We are currently accepting petitions to force Janne to narrate the Finnish-accented audiobook version. Grab your headphones and check out the full episode on your favorite podcast app or YouTube! Let us know in the comments: is a 12-month implementation window for the Digital Euro pilot a daydream or a reality? Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl, Ville Sointu & Janne Salminen Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

We have somehow survived long enough to make it to Season 14, and to kick things off, Ville is putting his co-host Pål in the hot seat. Pål actually went and published a brand new book, Rip Out the Core, proving that at least one half of this podcast is capable of being productive. We start the episode with a vintage Pål joke about minting meme coins. We will not spoil the punchline here, but let's just say it is wrong on several levels. Then we dive into the hard-earned lessons from his three decades of scars in banking transformation. If you have ever wondered why so many banking projects fail to meet expectations, this episode is your survival guide. We unpack: .- How a disastrous kitchen flood inspired his unified theory of Platform Enabled Banking Transformation. .- The Goldfish Innovation Cycle where banks endlessly loop between chasing shiny new tech and retreating to painful core replacements. .- Why the traditional RFP procurement process has devolved into AI generated checkbox theatre. .- The Build Buy or Consume golden rule of banking architecture. .- The twelve month rule for execution before your strategy hits the point of diminishing returns. What is the ultimate piece of advice Pål has for any bank CxO listening? You will have to tune in to the end of the episode to find out, but we can confirm it involves a blank piece of paper and a healthy dose of caffeine. Pål also has a special offer for our listeners. Post a picture of yourself with his book on LinkedIn, tag him, and he will send you a personalized signed sticky label for your copy. And if you spot the specific Easter eggs mentioning our very own Ville in the book, reach out to him for a mystery gift (because of course Ville's culinary ego could not resist making an appearance in Pål's kitchen metaphor). Grab your copy at ripoutthecore.com and tune in to the episode on your favorite podcast platform! Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

Your favorite fintech nerd hosts Pål Krogdahl and Ville Sointu are joined by Janne Salminen from Helsinki Fintech Farm to close out the season before heading off to their summer holidays. We skipped the standard news roundup this time to reflect on the season, make some bold predictions, and let Pål shamelessly plug his upcoming book. Here’s what the guys daydreamed about in our season finale: 🤖 The Robots Are Paying: "Professor" Ville breaks down Nordea’s massive milestone with Mastercard: executing the first real, live agentic card payment transaction in the Nordics. 🏥 The Ultimate Book Launch: Pål’s new book on progressive modernization, Rip Out the Core, drops in July. Join the launch event on August 13th at Maria 01 - a former hospital, which is beautifully ironic for an event about performing surgery on legacy core systems! (Check the links below for the registration link to snag a free copy!) 🏆 **Season Highlights:**The trio looks back at their absolute favorite moments, giving flowers to Aleksi Grym for his masterclass on the Digital Euro vs. Stablecoins (you know how much Ville and Pål love those) and exploring the Vipps MobilePay interoperability journey with Baard Slaattelid. 🌍 Tech Sovereignty: A deep dive into why European institutions have to obsess over AI and payments independence before the "excrement hits the fan". 💻 Ransomware Ramblings: We wrap things up with a genuinely terrible IT joke from Janne, which naturally leads to a completely unhinged tangent about Pål’s home server being held hostage by Bitcoin hackers. Have a fantastic, relaxing summer, and we’ll see you right back here for Season 14! (Like, subscribing, and leaving a 5-star review is basically implied at this point). Links mentioned in the episode:Sign up for “Rip out the core” book launch: https://www.lyyti.fi/reg/Rip_Out_the_Core_Book_Launch_0627 Read Mobey Forum’s latest report “Payment is not just a Payment”: https://mobeyforum.org/payment-value-chain-mobey.html Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

We finally did it. We recorded an episode about legacy and somehow ended up discussing drones, artillery, aviation safety culture, and why bankers apparently don’t need pockets in their suits. In this episode of Fintech Daydreaming, we’re joined by Erik Åkesson to unpack one of the most overused and misunderstood words in banking: legacy. Is it the root of all evil? Or is it actually the thing keeping the whole system standing? Erik brings a refreshingly broad perspective (and about 20 years of banking experience) to the table, drawing parallels from: Military strategy (yes, really) Aviation and safety culture And the everyday reality of running a bank with systems older than some of its employees We explore: Why “legacy” isn’t just bad code, but the situation you’re in because of your history How banks might be underinvesting in understanding their current state (while overinvesting in PowerPoint futures) Whether AI is actually solving legacy problems… or just becoming the latest shiny object And why improving your existing systems by 3% might matter more than launching the next flashy use case Naturally, things got slightly heated towards the end as we debated what matters more: 👉 defining the target state 👉 or truly understanding where you are today (No clear winner. Just strong opinions. As usual.) Also: We recorded this before summer You’re listening to it now And we still don’t know how that keeps happening 🎧 If you’ve ever worked in banking, fintech or tried to modernize anything without breaking everything this one’s for you. 💬 Let us know: is legacy your biggest constraint or your biggest advantage Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

We are out of the studio, trying our best to look respectable, and recording live in front of a real, breathing audience at the Nordic Fintech Summit right here in Helsinki! If you hear cheering, it’s probably for the free coffee, but we’ll pretend it’s for us. In this special live-stage episode, Pål and Ville manage not to trip over the stage wires while unpacking a massive lineup of regional heavyweights, policy debates, and our usual tech realism. Here is what went down on the main stage: **The Stablecoin Side-Eye: We kick off the show by breaking down the latest news on Qivalis and their recent expansion. If you’ve listened to more than two minutes of this podcast, you already know we aren't exactly waving pom-poms for stablecoins. Naturally, the segment ends with a painfully bad stablecoin joke—because if we have to suffer through the punchline, so do you. **Helsinki: Gateway to the Eurozone: Next, we host a brilliant fireside chat with Tuomas Toivonen (CEO of Holvi) and longtime friend of the pod Monika Liikamaa (Founder & Chair of Liikamaa Invest, and former CEO of Enfuce). Together, we dive deep into why Helsinki is uniquely positioned as the ultimate Nordic gateway to the Eurozone. We even managed to stay on track without getting distracted by the front-row audience. **The Core Modernization Conundrum: Lastly, we sit down with Fabian Klar (Regional Sales Manager at ERI) to tackle the technological future of banking. We look past the standard marketing buzzwords to discuss what the next decade actually means from a data architecture and core modernization perspective. (Spoiler: It involves a lot of hard work and fewer magic bullets than consultants claim). A massive thank you to everyone who showed up early, sat through our ramblings, and clapped at the right times! If you weren't there in person, you can still show us some love: hit subscribe, ring the notification bell, and leave us a glowing 5-star review. If you have notes on our stage presence, please keep them to yourself or find us at the afterparty to complain in person! Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

In this episode of Fintech Daydreaming, Ville and Pål are joined by Riikka Laine-Tolonen, CEO of S-Pankki: a bank that started from grocery shopping and somehow ended up managing billions. Riikka walks us through the origin story of S-Pankki - born from a retail cooperative, supercharged by the famous S-bonus, and launched just in time for the 2008 financial crisis (great timing, obviously). Fast forward 18 years, and it’s now one of Finland’s fastest-growing banks with 3.4 million customers. We get into: .- Why building a bank on top of a loyalty program actually works .- The reality of being a “challenger” bank… with full regulatory baggage .- The Handelsbanken Finland acquisition and what it unlocked .- And how S-Pankki is quietly moving into wealth management and private banking Which raises the obvious question: can a “bonus bank” really win over high-net-worth clients? That leads us into: .- Whether S-Pankki is Finland’s closest thing to a super app .- Why combining banking, retail, and daily life might actually work here (and nowhere else) .- And what happens when your future bank might be talking to your AI instead of you Along the way, we also learn: .- That your importance as a banking customer can be measured by the thickness of the oak table in front of you .- That private banking might be less about fancy offices and more about smart digital advice .- And that worrying about “long answers” is… not a problem on this podcast If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a loyalty program meets banking ambition, this is the episode for you. Listen now - and don’t forget to check your bonus balance. Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

Welcome back to another monthly Nordic Fintech Highlights episode of Fintech Daydreaming! In this one, your hosts start off by complaining about what a slow news month it was—only to be immediately corrected by Janne, who points out that April was actually buzzing with funding rounds. Here’s what we covered: The Agentic Economy: Pål highlights SolvaPay, a Swedish fintech that just secured 2.5 million in pre-seed funding to build payment infrastructure for AI agents. As payments shift from humans to machines, we ask the tough liability questions: if your AI agent is tasked to buy 12 eggs but buys 12 chickens instead, whose fault is it? Revolut vs. The Dinosaurs: Janne brings us the news of NoCFO integrating with Revolut Business. Pål gets characteristically bullish, calling this another "nail in the coffin" for traditional Nordic banks, warning that they are entirely too arrogant to notice Revolut slowly chewing away at their market share. Swedbank Pay & Klarna: Ville covers Swedbank Pay adding Klarna's payment options. He attempts to explain why this isn't Swedbank raising the white flag to a competitor, but rather a strategic play to maintain merchant stickiness against global giants. The Bluetooth Battle: Janne delivers a genuinely terrible joke about a payment terminal visiting the dentist because it "blew a tooth". This triggers a historically inaccurate ramble from Ville, forcing Pål to consult ChatGPT mid-episode just to prove that Ericsson and a 10th-century Danish king were involved. Come watch us live on stage at the Nordic Fintech Summit in Helsinki on May 21st, where we will be kicking off the day with a live recording! Also, look out for Pål’s new book on progressive modernisation, Rip Out the Core, dropping in late July. Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl, Ville Sointu & Janne Salminen Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

In this episode of Fintech Daydreaming, Ville and Pål are joined by Baard Slaattelid from Vipps MobilePay - a man who casually drops phrases like “closed-loop wallet,” “payment potato,” and “we accidentally enabled cross-border in five minutes” like it’s just another Tuesday in payments. We start where all great fintech podcasts begin: with bad jokes (courtesy of AI, no less), and a host who may or may not be running on too much travel and too little sleep. Baard takes us through the origin story of Vipps MobilePay featuring real-time competitive panic, strategic acquisitions, and the realization that maybe having three identical payment apps in a region of 27 million people isn’t a long-term strategy. Who knew? From there, we dive into: .- What a “wallet” actually means (spoiler: it’s not just a pretty UI on top of your bank account) .- How Vipps MobilePay ended up with 12.5 million users across the Nordics .- The surprisingly brutal reality of merging two platforms (hint: stop doing “fun stuff” for a year) .- Why Danes thought that the new app was worse and why that might just be human nature .- The economics of payments (or lack thereof), including why tapping your phone isn’t exactly a goldmine in itself We also get into the juicy stuff: .- NFC and the battle with Apple (and how Vipps became the first to break into iPhone tap-to-pay outside Apple Wallet) .- Why they’re not trying to convert Apple Pay users but instead going after your mom who still taps plastic .- The subtle art of turning a payments app into something closer to a “lifestyle platform” (super app, but we’re not calling it that… yet) And of course, no Fintech Daydreaming episode would be complete without: .- A deeply philosophical discussion on whether the digital euro is a “solution looking for a problem” or a “problem looking for a solution” .- A buffet of topics we didn’t have time for (interoperability, we’re coming back for you) Oh - and the jokes. They’re bad. Impressively bad. Almost… on brand. Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

In this episode of Fintech Daydreaming, Ville, Pål, and Janne are back with another round of Nordic Fintech Highlights—recorded somewhere between back-to-back meetings, holiday travel plans, and at least one log cabin in the Finnish wilderness (buffering included). From there, we dive into what actually happened in Nordic fintech last month: Modest funding rounds, ongoing consolidation, and the quiet realization that scale still wins. And a quick detour into Revolut casually printing profits and eyeing the Nordics like it’s their next hobby. Then we get into the real meat: Ville brings a story that sounds boring… until it isn’t: .- DNB launching Buy Now Pay Later for businesses (yes, really) .- 30-second onboarding, AI-powered credit decisions, and the ability to delay payments without paying interest. .- Or, as Pål puts it: “a new and exciting way to bankrupt companies” Which leads to a surprisingly deep debate: .- Is BNPL actually useful for SMEs or just consumer debt in a suit? .- Are we solving cash flow problems or just moving them 90 days forward? .- And how this looks suspiciously like trade finance without the blockchain and the hype Janne then doubles down on SME finance with: .- The rise of accounting platforms turning into neobanks .- Embedded finance quietly eating the value chain .- And the slightly uncomfortable truth that traditional banks are still barely showing up Meanwhile, somewhere in the background: .- French IBANs are powering Finnish businesses .- Local quirks are quietly breaking global fintech expansion strategies .- And Revolut might still have to learn that Finland is… not Sweden Finally, Pål brings it home with: .- Wolt entering the employee benefits game .- Taking on Epassi with zero merchant fees (at least for now) .- And proving, once again, that every fintech eventually becomes a payments company and every payments company eventually wants to be everything else If you enjoy fintech analysis with a side of sarcasm, mild existential dread about business models, and the occasional log cabin Wi-Fi issue this one’s for you. Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl, Ville Sointu & Janne Salminen Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on Twitter - https://twitter.com/FintechDaydream - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

In this episode, Pål and Ville sit down with Markus Niemi-Nikkola, Chief Procurement Officer at Savings Bank and quickly realise that procurement might be one of the most misunderstood (and critical) functions in banking. What starts as a conversation about sourcing and vendor management turns into a deeper look at how banks actually get things done behind the scenes: from navigating legacy systems and regulatory expectations to balancing cost, control, and innovation without breaking everything in the process. Markus shares: .- Why procurement in banking is far more strategic than most people think .- How vendor ecosystems shape what banks can (and can’t) build .- The real-world tension between innovation ambitions and procurement realities .- Why “just buy the best solution” is rarely that simple .- Why AI bots are not going to handle all sides of procurement anytime soon (if ever) in banking. Naturally, Pål and Ville do their part by poking at the usual pressure points of speed vs control, build vs buy, and whether procurement is enabling innovation or politely slowing it down for everyone’s safety. Somewhere along the way, it becomes clear that while fintech loves to talk about disruption, someone still has to sign the contracts, manage the risks, and make sure the whole thing doesn’t collapse under its own enthusiasm. As it turns out, procurement isn’t boring; it’s a fascinating topic hiding in plain sight. Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on Twitter - https://twitter.com/FintechDaydream - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

Another month, another set of headlines quietly orbiting the same big question: Where does AI actually change the game and where does it just sit on top of old problems? In this Nordic Fintech Highlights episode, Ville, Pål and Janne connect three very different stories through a familiar thread: automation is moving fast, but reality is still catching up. On the agenda: Janne: Lunar x Wolt.Banking perks meet delivery platforms as Lunar partners with Wolt across the Nordics. Beneath the lifestyle angle sits a bigger question: when financial services blend into daily apps, who owns the customer relationship and what happens when AI starts orchestrating those ecosystems behind the scenes Pål: Swedbank AML probe.Sweden’s FSA takes a closer look at Swedbank’s AML compliance, reminding everyone that while AI promises smarter monitoring and better detection, financial crime still evolves faster than most dashboards. Regulation remains stubbornly human, even as the tooling gets smarter. Ville: Basware’s AI agents.Enterprise finance steps into the age of autonomous assistance, as Basware introduces AI agents into procurement and financial workflows. The discussion turns to what happens when machines stop just analysing data and start taking action and whether back-office functions are quietly becoming the most AI-disrupted part of finance. Along the way, we touch on AI as infrastructure rather than headline feature, the tension between automation and accountability, and the growing sense that fintech’s next battleground may be operational intelligence rather than customer-facing flash. Smart systems, messy reality: business as usual in fintech. Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl, Ville Sointu & Janne Salminen Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on Twitter - https://twitter.com/FintechDaydream - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

In this episode, Pål and Ville sit down with Joonas Tomperi, CEO and co-founder of Enable Banking — and quickly realise this is less about APIs and more about mindset. Yes, we talk open banking. Yes, PSD2 makes an appearance. But the real story is what it takes to build a fintech in a heavily regulated industry when half the market says “you’re too late” and the other half says “nothing works yet.” Joonas shares: .- Why starting a fintech at 35 (not 22) was a strength, not a weakness .- What it’s like launching into PSD2 when the APIs technically exist… but not really .- How to turn regulatory slowness and pandemic chaos into competitive advantage .- Why Enable Banking chose product over consulting — even when cash flow would have been easier the other way .- The uncomfortable truth about fundraising: it’s basically advanced dating, but with more spreadsheets We also get into founder psychology — risk vs opportunity, when to bring in stronger operators, and why the best CEOs are willing to replace themselves if it’s right for the company. And in true Nordic fashion, we ask the big question: Why doesn’t Finland have five fintech Nokias yet? Along the way, there’s flu, pirate eye patches, 90s bank servers covered in dust, and a gentle reminder that connecting to “thousands of APIs” is slightly harder than plugging in a phone charger abroad. If you care about open banking, founder grit, or building something meaningful in a market that moves slower than your pitch deck suggests — this one’s for you. Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on Twitter - https://twitter.com/FintechDaydream - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

January may have looked quiet on the surface, but the Nordic fintech engine was very much running. In this Nordic Fintech Highlights episode, Ville, Pål and Janne unpack what actually mattered beneath the seasonal slowdown — where peer-to-peer payments, SME banking, and the future of merchant acquiring all collide in very Nordic ways. On the agenda: .- Klarna goes P2P. From BNPL to bank to sending money between friends, Klarna steps into an already crowded wallet space — starting closed-loop, with bigger ambitions ahead. We dig into ecosystems, cross-border logic, and why P2P always ends up being about much more than just P2P. .- Lunar raises €46m and doubles down on SMEs. Fresh capital, sharper focus on business banking, and Moonrise as a platform play. Underserved SMEs return to the spotlight — this time backed by a proper war chest. .- Loomis Pay and Android POS. Cash heritage meets programmable terminals as Loomis pushes deeper into digital acquiring. We explore why open POS platforms matter, how new payment rails complicate acquiring, and why instant payments still give merchants plenty of operational headaches. Naturally, the conversation takes a few familiar side roads: embedded finance, platform economics, gig workers, AI agents as future bank customers — and a shared realization that merchant acquiring has become one of the most quietly complicated parts of fintech. A calm start to the year, a surprisingly busy news cycle, and just enough skepticism to keep everyone honest. Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl, Ville Sointu & Janne Salminen Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on Twitter - https://twitter.com/FintechDaydream - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

We’re back in central-bank territory with Aleksi Grym from the Bank of Finland, and once again manage to turn a perfectly sensible conversation into a deep dive on money, payments, and why nothing in this space is ever as straightforward as it sounds. Starting with what central banks actually do (spoiler: more than just printing money), we move into crypto, stablecoins, and why most of their real-world impact still happens inside the crypto ecosystem (or is it.a casino?) itself. Aleksi calmly explains why hype is cheap, plumbing is hard, and payments tend to break in very predictable ways. Naturally, we end up talking about the digital euro — not as a shiny new payment rail, but as a long-term infrastructure project. Less “instant innovation,” more “who controls the rails, and should Europe care?” Along the way, Finland’s 1990s Avant card makes a comeback, proving that many of today’s “new” problems have already been tried once — just with worse UX. We also touch on: .- Why merchant acceptance matters more than speed .- Why prefunding sounds logical until users meet it .- And why most people won’t care about payment sovereignty… until they suddenly have to In short: the kind of episode where you learn something useful and still laugh a little at how we keep learning the same lessons over and over again. Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

New year, new season, same format. Ville, Janne, and Pål are back with Nordic Fintech Highlights, opening the season by unpacking three stories that quietly say a lot about where Nordic and European fintech are heading. Ville starts with the ECB hiring up for the digital euro project, bringing in market infrastructure specialists to work on rulebooks, rollout planning, and the role of intermediaries. The takeaway: less theory, more plumbing — and another sign that the digital euro continues to move forward in the background - but at what cost? Janne follows with NOBA Bank Group’s acquisition of DBT Capital, strengthening its position in digital SME lending. The discussion focuses on scale, technology, and why acquiring a ready-made lending platform can be a faster and more predictable path than building everything in-house. Pål rounds things off with Enfuce’s expansion into Belgium and Luxembourg together with Monizze, which sparks a broader discussion about employee benefit cards, open-loop versus closed-loop systems, and why this model feels very familiar in a Nordic context. Parallels are quickly drawn to ePassi and other closed-loop benefit platforms, raising questions about distribution, user experience, and whether closed ecosystems still have an edge when regulation and interoperability keep pushing everything toward open networks. As always, the conversation is grounded in practical experience, dry (or is it just bad?) Nordic humour, and a shared sense that fintech progress is usually more evolutionary than revolutionary. A calm, thoughtful start to the season — and your regular reminder that the same payment ideas tend to come back, just with slightly different logos. Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl, Ville Sointu & Janne Salminen Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on Twitter - https://twitter.com/FintechDaydream - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

A Full House of Bank CEOs (and One Central Banker) We took Fintech Daydreaming on the road to the Nordic Banking Forum in Helsinki, and somehow ended up interviewing more CEOs in one day than we usually see in a year. In this special episode, Pål, Ville — and Janne, once we caught him mid–event sprint — sat down with: .-Prag Sharma (Citi) on agentic AI, future-of-finance vibes, and why 80–90% of bank data suddenly matters. .-Janne Salminen (Helsinki Fintech Farm) pops in for a quick Nordic Fintech Highlights segment and shares the annual event-planner panic cycle with us. .- Sampsa Laine (Alisa Bank) on SME banking, partner ecosystems, and why mortgages are still a “not yet.” .-Riikka Laine-Tolonen (S-Bank) on running a bank inside a retail empire, loyalty economics, and scaling to 3.4M customers. .-Jarkko Mäensivu (Saldo Bank) on embedded finance, European expansion, and building a lean, credit-focused bank. .-Aleksi Grym (Bank of Finland) on fraud in instant payments, CBDCs, and why Finland quietly invented half this stuff in the ’90s (and already shut it all down long time ago). Been there. Got the t-shirt. Wrote an excellent paper about it. With Citi, Alisa, S-Bank, Saldo Bank, and the actual central bank represented — plus Janne’s news segment — this turned into perhaps the most executive-heavy episode we’ve ever recorded. We celebrated: Zero vendor interference Zero stablecoin panels A rare concentration of bank CEOs voluntarily talking to us And the survival of an entire live recording day with minimal technical disasters (backdrop changes don’t count) And yes, we ended with a fintech dad joke. Naturally. Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl & Ville Sointu Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on Twitter - https://twitter.com/FintechDaydream - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

In this episode, Pål and Ville sit down with Rik Coeckelbergs, founder of The Banking Scene and author of Ethos in Banking, for a surprisingly philosophical conversation. Yes, this is the first Fintech Daydreaming episode where we willingly tumble down an Aristotle-themed rabbit hole. Rik’s book dives into how the ancient trio of ethos, pathos, and logos can shape modern banking culture. Tturns out, these aren’t just concepts reserved for toga-wearing philosophers: .- Ethos: Banks need credibility that runs deeper than slogans and “purpose” posters. .- Pathos: Customers want to feel understood — not just “KYC’d.” .- Logos: Logic and competence still matter (even if your strategy deck has far too many slides). As Rik unpacks how these pillars can help rebuild trust in the industry, we catch ourselves wondering things like, “Did Aristotle ever have to deal with compliance?” and whether all those countless hours spent in corporate value workshops were really time well spent. Together, we wander into questions such as: .- Can a large bank genuinely live its values without getting lost in the org-chart wilderness? .- Do customers actually want ethical banking, or just fewer fees and fewer headaches? .- And how do you build trust in an industry where most good decisions are the invisible ones? In summary: jokes, tangents, and at least one moment where someone wonders if Aristotle would’ve made a good fintech founder. (Consensus: he would’ve hated the pitch decks.) - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on Twitter - https://twitter.com/FintechDaydream - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/

October brought AI hype, digital euro déjà vu, and the shocking return of crypto — which means it was just another totally normal month in Nordic fintech. Pål, Ville, and Janne reunite to unpack the biggest stories from the Helsinki Fintech Farm newsletter. Spoiler: every startup is now an AI company. From automated compliance tools to AI-powered CFOs and even kiosks that buy your old phone via Swish — if it’s got electricity, someone’s calling it AI. Meanwhile, Klarna is back in the headlines with a new subscription model that makes Ville long for more gamified tiers, Pål rant about paying to breathe, and Janne quietly celebrate another strong month for dad jokes. The trio also tackle the ECB’s digital euro saga — now entering its “we promise it’s still happening” phase — and Nordea’s cautious dip into crypto trading, which Ville swears has absolutely nothing to do with his day job. Your biweekly dose of fintech group therapy is here — complete with skepticism, sarcasm, and just enough substance to make it count. In other words: business as usual at Fintech Daydreaming. Episode hosted by Pål Krogdahl, Ville Sointu & Janne Salminen Episode produced and edited by Fintech Daydreaming - Email us on Hello@FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming home page - https://www.FintechDaydreaming.com - Fintech Daydreaming on Twitter - https://twitter.com/FintechDaydream - Fintech Daydreaming on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-daydreaming - Pål Krogdahl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krogdahl/ - Ville Sointu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ville-sointu-54682b/