CBDC Digital Currency European Union

Episode 301 - Casting Light on the Digital Euro, with Nicola Branzoli, Banca d'Italia

In this episode, Nicola Branzoli, Head of Division for the Digital Euro Regulation, Research, and Technical Support at the Banca d'Italia, joins Glenbrook's Ashley Lannquist and Simon Skinner for an in-depth exploration of the digital euro. Listen in as they cover the objectives and value proposition, design choices and pilot details, and what the digital euro means in the broader European payment context. 

ACH Artificial Intelligence Bitcoin Digital Currency Fast Payments Financial Inclusion Payments Fraud Payments on Fire Podcasts Tokenization

Episode 300 - Reflecting on 12 Years of Payments on Fire

2026 is a milestone year for Glenbrook as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the firm. We also find ourselves airing the 300th episode of our Payments on Fire podcast - founded by George Peabody in 2014, nurtured by Yvette Bohanan, and now continued on through the hosting efforts of most of the team. We thought there would be no better way to mark the 12 year achievement - and pay respect to what George and Yvette built - than to revisit the journey with clips from the first 299 episodes. From early episodes on digital currency and AI, to fast payments evolution and financial inclusion efforts (and how could we leave out tokenization), listen in as Bryan Derman and Jill Wurst guide you through significant moments in the podcast’s history.

Cross-border Payments ECommerce Global Payments Merchants Payments Acceptance

Episode 293 - Unlocking Merchant Growth in Emerging Markets, with João Del Valle, EBANX

In this episode, Drew Edmond is joined by João Del Valle, CEO and co-founder of EBANX, to talk about the origin story of EBANX, why Brazil has historically been such a difficult market for non-Brazilian merchants, and what João has learned as the company has expanded into new regions. Listen in as they cover some of the biggest topics shaping the next phase of global payments, including Pix and Pix Automático in Brazil, payment optimization when looking at local payment methods, and perspectives on agentic commerce and stablecoins.

Glenbrook Innovation

Episode 288 - The First 25 Years of Glenbrook - Fanning the Flames with our Founders

For Glenbrook's 25th Anniversary, we speak with the three founding partners - Carol Coye Benson, Scott Loftesness, and Allen Weinberg - to celebrate the progress of the industry and the firm. Listen in as they recall the early days of the firm, discuss how Glenbrook’s strategy work expanded to form our education and global practices, consider the evolution of the “payments professional”, and reflect on payments industry shifts over their years both in and out of Glenbrook.

Artificial Intelligence Card Networks Fast Payments Payments Fraud Regulatory Environment Stablecoins

Episode 285 - Fanning the Flames - What We're Watching in Payments in 2026

2026 is set to be another dynamic year in payments. Join our Glenbrook partners as they discuss their perspectives on industry trends and what they'll be keeping an eye on this year.

Financial Inclusion Global Payments

Episode 269 - Designing Digital Financial Services for Women is Designing for All, with Sonja Kelly, Women's World Banking Institute

In our third episode in a series to spotlight the latest in global developments in payment systems from a financial inclusion lens, Sonja Kelly, Global Head of Women’s World Banking Institute, joins Joanna Wisniecka to dive into design principles for inclusive digital financial systems and how all end users benefit when design considers the specific needs of women.

Cross-border Payments Fast Payments Financial Inclusion

Episode 266 - Innovating Inclusive Financial Systems on the African Continent, with Sabine Mensah, AfricaNenda

In this episode, Joanna Wisniecka welcomes Sabine Mensah, Deputy CEO of AfricaNenda, a leader in financial inclusion, to explore Africa's dynamic path towards inclusive instant payment systems and the need for continued innovation and collaboration to enable access to financial services for all Africans on the continent by 2030.

Cross-border Payments Fast Payments Financial Inclusion Instant Payments

Episode 263 - Driving Digital Financial Inclusion: The Journey We’re On and the Road Ahead - Michael Wiegand, Gates Foundation

In this episode, Joanna Wisniecka joins Yvette Bohanan to chat with Michael Wiegand, Director of Inclusive Financial Systems at the Gates Foundation, about the work the Foundation is doing globally and the transformative impact of digital financial inclusion on economies and societies. 

Banking Industry Embedded Finance Financial Inclusion Fintech Regulatory Environment

Episode 256 - Banking on Fintech, with Anthony Sharett, Pathward

In this episode, Anthony Sharett, President of Pathward, joins Glenbrook’s Bryan Derman to share insights on the evolving partner banking space, the importance of risk and compliance frameworks, and Pathward's mission of financial inclusion. Tune in as they also discuss potential policy and regulatory changes due to implications of major discrepancies in the banking-as-a-service arrangement between fintech platform Synapse and its banking partners.

Payments Testing Technology

Episode 252 - Testing, Testing, 123: Payments has evolved in the past 20 years, what about payments testing? with Steve Semelsberger, Testlio

Steve Semelsberger, CEO of Testlio, joins Yvette Bohanan and Drew Edmond to discuss the evolution of quality management alongside payments testing.

Banking Industry Cross-border Payments Data Financial Inclusion Treasury & Cash Management

Episode 251 - Bridging the Communication Gap Between Treasury and Payments with Debopama Sen, Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions

Debopama Sen, Head of Payments at Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions, joins Glenbrook for this episode to explore how treasury and payments professionals can collaborate on opportunities presented by the evolving payments landscape.

Fast Payments Instant Payments Mastercard Vocalink

Episode 235 - Taking Stock in Fast Payments with Gregor Dobbie, CEO of TFPA and former CEO of Vocalink

Vocalink’s origin story, which began in 1998, spurred payments modernization efforts worldwide. For this episode, we sat down with Gregor Dobbie, CEO of TFPA and former CEO of Vocalink, to discuss what we can learn from Vocalink’s journey and what the future holds for core payment systems.

CBDC Digital Currency Federal Reserve

Episode 230 - Talking Central Bank Digital Currencies with Jim Cunha, Former EVP, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Glenbrook sat down with Jim Cunha, former EVP at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, to discuss the capstone project of his career - Project Hamilton - and the questions he and his team sought to answer as they embarked on their CBDC experiment.

Artificial Intelligence Glenbrook Merchants Payments Fraud Regulatory Environment

Episode 229 - What Glenbrook is Watching in Payments in 2024

Glenbrook is kicking off the new year with a (lengthy) conversation on what payments industry trends and developments we think are the most interesting, compelling, and controversial at the moment, and what to watch as we move into 2024.

Cross-border Payments Financial Inclusion

Episode 219 - Smart Takes on Cross-border Payments with Ryan Zagone, Head of Americas, Wise for Banks, and Joanna Wisniecka, Glenbrook

Ryan Zagone, Head of Americas for Wise for Banks, and Glenbrook’s Joanna Wisniecka join Yvette on this episode of Payments on Fire to help untangle the innovators' and incumbents' dilemmas in improving cross-border payments.