Exploring Stripe's growth in embedded finance, with Stripe Head of Startups for Banking-as-a-Service, Ashwin Kumar

Lex interviews Ashwin Kumar - Stripe's Head of Startups for Banking-as-a-Service. Stripe is a financial technology (FinTech) company based in San Francisco, CA, whose software allows individuals and businesses to make and receive payments online. In this episode, Lex and Ashwin explore Stripe's strategic positioning in the transformative world of fintech. From unraveling Stripe's core mission and approach, Ashwin and Lex provide an enlightening comparison with Amazon's strategy, shedding light on Stripe's unique ability to integrate across platforms for exponential reach. Additionally, Ashwin and Lex touch on the rich understanding of embedded finance and Banking-as-a-Service, key insights into the pivotal role of banking partnerships, and the evolving dynamics of fintech startups in the market landscape. MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION Stripe's Website: https://bit.ly/3NvD9LX Ashwin's LinkedIn profile: https://bit.ly/3X1bNjW Topics: Payments, Banking-as-a-service, banking, fintech, embedded finance, BaaS Companies: Stripe, Chime, Karat, Ramp, Apple ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin TIMESTAMPS 1’18”: Understanding Stripe: Deciphering the core bet, its mission, and defining the concept of a digital company 3’18”: Defining the landscape of fintech: The role of stripe in niche user group services, embedding financial services in SaaS companies, and the evolution towards becoming a financial services arm 6’43”: Exploring Stripe's unique position in the industry: The exponential reach through platform integrations, a comparative study with Amazon's strategy, and the unfolding of Stripe's architectural framework for third party utilization 12’14”: Distribution to the long tail and solving the last mile problem: Differentiating between embedded finance and Banking-as-a-Service, and understanding the relationship with underlying regulated financial entities 17’15”: Expanding the role of Banks in embedded finance: Regulatory perspectives, compliance work, and the impact of the shrinking U.S. banking sector 18’17”: Stripe's vision for Bank partnerships: Diversifying distribution and empowering financial institutions in the era of centralizing forces 21’04”: Observing the evolution of fintech: Changes in quality, screening, and focus of emerging tech companies seeking cutting-edge fintech solutions 22’08”: Strategies for fintech startups: Considering distribution, value addition and comprehensive business models for sustainable growth and success in the financial technology landscape