Episode 69

The Bold Move: How I went from Banking to Building FinTech Startups | Monica Millares, CPO at BigPay & Purpose Driven FinTech Podcast Host

The financial industry is transforming rapidly, with traditional banking giving way to innovative FinTech solutions that are reshaping how people interact with money worldwide.

In this solo episode, I share my personal journey from traditional banking to building FinTech startups and products across multiple continents, revealing the challenges, insights, and transformational lessons learned along the way. From my first steps into product leadership to scaling products to millions of users, I share the journey, what helped me succeed and the mistakes that taught me the most valuable lessons.

What you'll learn:

  • How I transitioned from traditional banking to the dynamic world of FinTech
  • My unexpected path into product leadership
  • How I ended up in Malaysia - from startup to scaleup
  • The reality of building financial products across different markets and cultures
  • Key insights from 10 years of FinTech product development

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

👉 Follow Monica:

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

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

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


We cover:

[00:00] My journey into FinTech - why I left traditional banking

[05:30] The catalyst moment that changed my career trajectory

[10:45] Discovering product leadership and the early challenges

[15:20] Building FinTech products from Mexico to Malaysia

[22:10] The unique challenges of developing products across different markets

[28:40] How purpose drives better product decisions

[34:15] Balancing innovation with compliance and security

[39:30] My framework for building high-performing product teams

[45:10] The future of FinTech and where I see the industry heading

[50:25] Critical advice for aspiring FinTech builders



SEARCH QUESTIONS

How to transition from banking to FinTech?

What skills transfer from banking to FinTech product development?

How to build FinTech products that solve real customer problems?

What are the biggest challenges when building FinTech products?

How to balance innovation with compliance in FinTech?

How to build purpose-driven financial products?

What does a FinTech product leader do?

How to build FinTech products across different markets?

What are the key differences between banking and FinTech product development?

How to build high-performing FinTech product teams?

How to create successful FinTech products with limited resources?

What is the future of FinTech product development?

How to build customer-centric financial products?

What are the most important metrics for FinTech products?

How to identify opportunities in the FinTech space?

How to navigate regulatory challenges in FinTech?

What does it take to be a successful FinTech builder?

How to scale FinTech products globally?

How to create inclusive financial products?

What are the biggest pitfalls when building FinTech products?


#FinTechBuilder #BankingToStartups #ProductLeadership #FinancialInclusion #PurposeDrivenFinTech


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.

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About the Podcast

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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.