Hey, fintech fam! 💜

Burning the midnight oil for this one — writing to you from the Las Vegas airport after an incredible few days at Money20/20.

Team Fintech Is Femme packed a lot into just 72 hours. From taking the stage on Sunday, to hosting two penthouse live podcast events, to recording Humans of Fintech and Fintech Mavericks episodes right on the show floor — it was the best kind of whirlwind.

This was my sixth Money20/20, and my first with a full team by my side. To go from walking the show alone to leading an entire media and community brand across multiple productions felt surreal.

Every conversation, every connection reminded me just how far we’ve come — and how much bigger this movement is becoming as we plan ahead for our 2026 activations and content.

But… after 72 hours of nonstop conversations, panels, and podcasts, I need a moment to sit with everything I learned and distill it into something meaningful for you.

So before I dive into unpacking everything I learned this week, I’m revisiting three Humans of Fintech episodes recorded live from Money20/20 that still hit just as hard today.

INNOVATION

#1 The Crossroads of Identity and Innovation: Solving Fraud in the Digital Age — with Frances Zelazny

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when identity, technology, and ethics collide — this one’s for you.

I recorded this episode with Frances Zelazny, Founder & CEO of Anonybit, last year, but it feels even more relevant today. We talked about her journey from foreign policy to biometrics, and how her multicultural upbringing shaped her mission to tackle one of the world’s biggest digital challenges: fraud.

In a time when AI deepfakes and synthetic identities are testing every corner of fintech’s infrastructure, Frances reminds us that innovation without accountability is a liability.

She said something I still think about often: “Identity isn’t just a login. It’s trust.”

Her work — and this conversation — reframed how I think about the future of security and the responsibility that comes with building technology meant to protect people.

🎧 Listen here.

#2 Feminism, Fintech, and OnlyFans — with Keily Blair, CEO of OnlyFans

When I tell people this episode is one of my all-time favorites, I usually get a raised eyebrow — and that’s exactly the point.

Recorded live at Money20/20 Europe in 2023, just weeks before Keily Blair was officially named CEO of OnlyFans, this conversation challenged every preconceived notion about what feminism in fintech can look like.

Keily and I talked about the power dynamics in the $250 billion creator economy — where women are not just creators, but business owners, investors, and disruptors of traditional finance.

She unpacked how OnlyFans is rewriting narratives about ownership, safety, and financial independence — giving women an equal seat at the table from the C-suite down.

More recently, OnlyFans has paid creators $25 billion, according to Bloomberg.

It was a reminder that fintech isn’t limited to banks, budgets, or blockchain. It’s also about platforms giving people the tools to build, monetize, and own their power — on their own terms.

🎧 Listen here.

#3 Financial Inclusion Is The Only Thing Keeping Fintech From Failing — with Mary Ellen Iskenderian & Shivani Siroya

This one takes us back to 2022 — the first time I hosted a Humans of Fintech live recording on the Money20/20 stage.

I was joined by two icons of inclusive finance: Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President of Women’s World Banking, and Shivani Siroya, Founder & CEO of Tala.

Together, we tackled what I called the “$720 billion question” — the cost of excluding women and marginalized communities from the global financial system.

That conversation changed how I think about fintech’s purpose. Both women spoke about building products rooted in empathy — not just equity — and how financial inclusion isn’t a nice-to-have metric. It’s the make-or-break factor for whether fintech succeeds as an industry.

In a landscape obsessed with speed and scale, their message remains timeless: if fintech doesn’t serve everyone, it serves no one.

🎧 Listen here.

✈️ Flying Home with a Reminder

As I pack up from Vegas and look ahead to 2026, one theme keeps echoing through all these conversations — from identity and inclusion to leadership and longevity:

The future of fintech will be defined by trust, empathy, and intention.

It’s not about who raises the most, but who builds what lasts.

And as always, I’ll be here to help you make sense of it — one story, one conversation, and one human at a time.

_FINTUNES

🎶 Sabrina Carpenter - House Tour

The unofficial theme song of the entire Fintech Penthouse experience.

If you haven’t seen our behind-the-scenes tour yet — by our social producer — check it out on LinkedIn here.

_{LET’S CONNECT}

📰 Share this newsletter with a friend and start growing your network.

🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn for daily insights on female leadership.

📚 The holidays are coming, in charge of purchasing office gifts? Grab my book, Fintech Feminists! It looks nice on the coffee table 😉

That wraps up today’s edition—thanks as always for reading! Until next time, keep innovating and challenging the status quo. 

See you Thursday!

Love,

Nicole 💜