Episode 27

bonus
Published on:

14th Dec 2023

Bonus. Monica Millares on A Girl in the Product World Podcast, with Aamna Hussain

Aamna Hussain, host of  “A girl in the product world”, interviews me with her somewhat tricksy questions….

We worked together in Tandem Bank, while she worked with one of our Tech Partners back then, so she brings this perspective of seeing us grow the bank from scratch. She queries me on our culture in Tandem Bank, how was it actually working with our Tandem CEO. 

As a curious product leader she is, she then gets deeper into my mind to understand the real journey on how come I ended up moving to Malaysia to help launch and grow BigPay. We explore the FinTech trends (at the time of recording), how to go about Market Expansion, and how to challenge your CEO when you believe what we are about to do is not the right thing. We share a passion for personal development, so she asked about my “worst day in this crazy financial services world”, how did I overcome it, and  why mentoring is so important to me.

If you enjoy this Purpose Driven FinTech episode it would mean the world if you subscribe and give it a follow so that we can have more impact. Remember to connect in YouTube or LinkedIn to keep the conversation going.

Let’s dive into it!

👉 You can find Aamna here

👉 And you can find Monica here:

If you enjoy this pod, please follow and leave a 5 star rating on Spotify and a review on Apple podcasts

For inquiries about coaching, collabs, sponsoring the podcast or creating or editing your podcast email fintechwithmoni@gmail.com

Disclaimer: This episode does not constitute professional nor financial advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past or future employers. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion in social media.

This episode was first released in June 2023 at A Girl in the Product World Podcast here - https://open.spotify.com/show/62HPd4JRR85Sofut4Z2Rck

Listen for free

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About the Podcast

Purpose Driven FinTech
Building products with impact
Welcome to Purpose Driven FinTech!

I'm your host, Monica Millares - Product Leader and fellow FinTecher.

These days, with the rising cost of living, financial stress among customers, loss of trust in banks, speculation of crypto, and uncertainty, we're facing unprecedented challenges. But there is hope. We as FinTechers have the power to make a positive impact.

Our products, the how we do product, and our people can make a difference on customers’ financial lives - and as a result, in the quality of their lives.

However, more than ever Founders, CEOs, Leadership teams and all FinTechers have a ton of pressure to build solutions that actually solve customer problems, that people want, that are differentiated And profitable

Yes that's you and me too!

That's why I've created this podcast!

I speak with Founders, Product Leaders, VCs, and industry experts to uncover their stories, challenges, and lessons learnt in building products with impact.

You'll get to hear real-life conversations, and you’ll walk away with practical questions, frameworks and insights that you can apply to your own FinTech products. So, are you ready to make a bigger difference in FinTech?

Let's come together and discover how Purpose, Product, and People can help us create a future of better financial wellbeing while building sustainable and profitable FinTechs.

Follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok, and  YouTube to stay connected and be part of the conversation.

Cheers to making better FinTech and making FinTech better!

Love, Moni 

About your host

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Monica Millares

Monica advocates for financial safety for all. She is the Product Principal at BigPay, where she leads Product and Design. As part of the founding team, Monica led building BigPay’s product from zero to one, to multi product line, and international expansion. Her leadership shaped the culture and ways of working to grow from startup to scaleup. BigPay has over 1.4 million customers, and has presence in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Monica has almost 20 years’ experience in Financial Services. Prior to BigPay, she was one of the first joiners in UK’s challenger Tandem Bank, where she focused on building credit cards from scratch. Previously she worked in leading Financial Services brands like Visa, Barclays, and a Mexican Development Bank.

She sits on the Board of PayEd, and is recognised as Singapore’s #Fintech65 Product Leaders and Women in FinTech. She’s been multiple times speaker at the prestigious conference Money2020 and shared stage with JP Morgan, Standard Chartered Bank, Konsentus, and Money2020’s Rise Up. Her commitment to innovation and financial inclusion resonates in her podcast “Purpose Driven FinTech” where she explores how FinTech’s can have 10x more impact.

Monica has a background in Engineering and a Master’s Degree on Analysis, Design, and Management of Information Systems from the London School of Economics.