Episode 81

Why Neofin Killed Its Niche and Rebuilt From Scratch. And What They're Launching Next | Svitlanka Sergiichuka, CEO & Co-Founder, Neofin

Recorded live at Money20/20 Bangkok, 2026

The FinTech infrastructure race isn't just about payments anymore. Neofin has spent three years rebuilding from a geo-agnostic lending tool into a full financial super app engine; and the businesses buying in aren't banks. They're retailers, telcos, and gas station networks.

In this short conversation recorded live at Money2020, I catch up with Svitlanka, Co-Founder of Neofin (and 2nd time Purpose Driven FinTech podcast guest), on what's changed, who they're building for, and why transactions alone no longer create loyalty.

Key takeaways: Why non FinTech businesses with large user bases are Neofin's core customer

  • How NeoFin sits between the retailer and the bank, and what each party covers
  • The product evolution from standalone lending to wallet, BNPL, and full financial ecosystem
  • Why 360 experiences beat pure transaction infrastructure for long-term retention
  • What's next….agentic payments and a major European launch

We cover:

(00:00) Three years on, what's changed at Neofin

(01:30) From lending infrastructure to full FinTech ecosystem

(02:30) Who NeoFin's customers are and why retailers are launching BNPL wallets

(03:45) The bank + Neofin partnership model explained

(04:30) Why transactions don't build loyalty; and what does

Follow for more discussions on building FinTech products with customer and commercial impact and to stay updated on the latest episodes.

👉 Connect with Svitlanka:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svitlanaromaniuk/

Website: https://neo-fin.com/

👉 Connect with Monica

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@moni_millares

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moni_millares

Website: https://www.purposedrivenfintech.com/

Production and marketing by Monica Millares. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email Monica at 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.

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Purpose Driven FinTech
Building & Growing FinTech Products With Customer & Commercial Impact

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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.