Episode 63

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Published on:

11th Jan 2025

Building Trust in the Metaverse: A Strategy Playbook for FinTech | Victoria Richardson and David Birch , Authors

The Metaverse isn't just a GenZ trend -- it's our chance to rebuild financial services with trust at the core! 🔥

Join Victoria Richardson, David Birch and I as they share their findings from their book "Money in the Metaverse". We explore why identity infrastructure must be built differently this time, how native metaverse payments will transform commerce, what it really means to build safe spaces in virtual worlds, and what Gen Z is teaching us about virtual economies.

Finally, Victoria and David reveal their framework for financial institutions to navigate this transformation: from establishing presence to creating entirely new products for virtual economies, and yup, they explain why it's not about building another app! 😎

We cover:

(00:00) The Future of the Metaverse: Beyond Commerce

(06:13) Purpose Driven Innovation and the Human Element

(15:30) Trust: The Foundation of Virtual Worlds

(23:15) Digital Identity and Authentication

(27:45) The Evolution from Virtual Worlds to Metaverse

(33:20) Building Experiences vs Building Platforms

(37:00) The Future of Payments and Digital Assets

(40:15) Three-Stage Strategy for Financial Institutions

(42:45) Risk Management and Training in Virtual Spaces

(43:26) The Power of Shared Experiences

(45:32) Building Trust Through Mutual Authentication

👉Get their book "Money in the Metaverse" HERE

👉 Connect with Victoria:

  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-richardson-40a48b6/

👉 Connect with David:

  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dgwbirch/
  • Website: https://dgwbirch.com/


👉 Connect with Monica:


Key Takeaways:


1. The Metaverse Purpose

  • It's not just about new ways to buy - it's about human connection
  • Will create entirely new job categories and ways of working
  • Success depends on building safe, trusted spaces first

2.Trust Architecture

  • Mutual authentication is critical (both users and companies need verification)
  • Trust indicators should be built into the infrastructure (like color coding for verification status)
  • Move from consumer-verified to system-verified trust

3.Metaverse Strategy Framework

  • Stage 1: Establish Presence
  • Stage 2: Enable Transactions
  • Stage 3: Create Native Products

4.On Payments

  • Keep transactions within the metaverse
  • Use tokenization for efficiency
  • Focus on seamless wallet experiences

5.On Risk Management

  • Use the metaverse for training and risk reduction
  • Consider new types of risks in virtual spaces
  • Think about liability and monetization models


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.

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About the Podcast

Purpose Driven FinTech
Building FinTech Products & AI in FinTech 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 FinTech CEOs, Founders, and Csuites 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.