E28: The Economics of Consumer Fintech Businesses with Matthew Newcomb, CFO of Chime

Matthew Newcomb, the CFO of Chime, joins host CJ Gustafson to delve into the complex world of the payments ecosystem. Matthew demystifies the business model of neobanks, different types of transactions, as well as how unit economics plays a key role in a neobank's business model and strategy. CJ's intro is about the controversy at Carta. Supercharge financial operations with Maxio. Request a demo at www.maxio.com/runthenumbers for 10% off your first year. --- PSA: Run The Numbers has a new Spotify and Apple show link. Follow the links to subscribe and ensure you'll never miss an episode Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run-the-numbers/id1723787140 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zQCkklNnVgMD364kCW5SV --- SPONSORS: Maxio | Tropic Maxio is the only billing and financial operations platform that was purpose built for B2B SaaS. They're helping SaaS finance teams automate billing and revenue recognition, manage collections and payments, and put together investor grade reporting packages. 🚀 Request a demo at www.maxio.com/runthenumbers for 10% off your first year. Tropic is the next-generation Procurement Platform that’s helping modern CFOs take control of their budgets and bottom line. By combining approval workflows, supplier management, and pricing benchmarks all in one place, Tropic makes savings opportunities easy to find and act on. 🌴 Visit www.tropicapp.io/metrics to learn how. --- X / TWITTER: @matthewsnewcomb (Matthew) @cjgustafson222 (CJ) @TurpentineMedia (Turpentine) --- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (00:40) What happened at Carta? (12:59) Matt talks about the ways that FinTech companies monetize their business models (15:40) Making money off of free products (17:50) Chime and the bank partnership model (22:10) On user or engagement activity and acquiring banking relations (23:26) Sponsor: Maxio (24:50) Innovating to get things to go faster without breaking the rules and stepping on some toes (27:20) How have the competitive moats either for Chime or in the industry evolved over time? (33:00) Does fundraising for companies like Chime any different than fundraising for a typical SaaS company? (35:00) The differences in costs between an ACH, a wire and an instant transfer (37:35) B2C neobanks and B2B neobanks - are there any key distinctions between the two besides the customer? (38:24) The lifetime value of a Chime user (42:44) Chime's North star metric (45:00) On the qualities that separate a good CFOs from a great CFO (49:40) Matt's example of something he's screwed up on the job (51:00) What would Matt tell his younger self knowing what he knows today? (52:10) Rep Yo Stack sponsored by Tropic 🌴 This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at [email protected].