A Tearsheet Production. Editor Zack Miller is joined by fintech pros, Russell Weiss and Josh Liggett, as they explore innovative fintech investment opportunities in emerging markets.

Beyond Borders, The 4dFI fintech investment series

Tearsheet is a leading modern media publication, a daily must-read among influencers obsessed with the future of money.

Based in New York City, Tearsheet has deep experience identifying and analyzing existing and future trends, in its coverage of rising startups raising new capital to the digital moves of the largest players in finance and investing.

Tearsheet was launched as Tradestreaming in 2007 and has been an active participant in the rise of the global fintech industry. In 2016, it was acquired and relaunched by Digiday Media. In 2017, it was rebranded to Tearsheet.

Tearsheet Podcast: Exploring financial services together

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Today I'm excited to introduce you to 4dFI Capital Partners — or as we call it, 4dFI — a new initiative bringing together the worlds of traditional finance and innovative fintech.

In this episode, we're diving into three key themes reshaping global financial services:

Hidden Innovations in Emerging Markets

As Russell Weiss points out, "There's some incredible innovations happening in emerging markets, and oftentimes investors and executives in the US and Europe are sort of missing it. They're not hearing those stories. They're not getting access to that technology." We'll explore how companies like Nubank are just the beginning of a wave of groundbreaking financial solutions coming from regions outside traditional financial centers.

From Fintech to Impact Investment

In regions where traditional credit infrastructure is lacking, services like earned wage access aren't just convenient—they're transformative. Josh Liggett explains how these solutions are "where a FinTech turns from a FinTech company to also an impact investment," creating both financial returns and meaningful change in consumers' lives.

Building a Value-Add Investment Community

Beyond just providing capital, Fortify aims to create a network of experienced professionals who can offer expertise, connections, and insights to emerging market fintechs. This collaborative approach benefits everyone involved—investors gain exposure to new models, startups receive valuable guidance, and ultimately, consumers get better financial products.

I'm joined today by my partners Russell Weiss and Josh Liggett, who bring complementary skills in data science, VC deal-making, and fintech expertise to this exciting venture. Whether you're a financial industry veteran looking for new horizons or simply curious about where global fintech is heading, today's conversation offers valuable insights into the future of finance beyond traditional markets.

Let's dive in.

Beyond Borders: The 4dFI fintech investment series, Part 1

In a world where financial inclusion remains one of our generation's greatest challenges, emerging markets are becoming the true laboratories of fintech innovation. While developed economies iterate on convenience, companies operating in regions with limited banking infrastructure are fundamentally reimagining what financial services can look like from the ground up.

Today, we're diving into this fascinating intersection of opportunity and impact with David Lask from Tala. Tala has built a reputation as a pioneer in financial inclusion, providing access to credit and financial services to underbanked populations across multiple continents.

David joins us fresh from the Fintech Americas Miami conference to share his insights on the rapidly evolving Latin American fintech landscape. We'll explore how the unique challenges and opportunities in this region are fostering innovative approaches to financial services, with a special focus on Mexico as a compelling case study of fintech evolution.

Serving the global majority: How Tala is reshaping financial inclusion in Latin America and beyond

Tearsheet is excited to launch 4dFI Capital Partners, an exclusive group of out-of-the-box builders and investors building a community to invest in the next wave of fintech startups around the world. If you are an accredited investor and want to learn more, sign up here

Across Latin America, we’re witnessing a massive shift as regions traditionally dominated by cash transactions begin embracing digital financial tools. This transition represents more than just technological adoption—it’s creating new economic opportunities, enhancing financial inclusion, and building resilience against growing cybersecurity threats.

The numbers tell a compelling story: a $448.4 billion digital payment opportunity exists across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the U.S. With nearly 12 million small retailers processing $362 billion in B2C sales — 43% still in cash —a nd 90% of B2B transactions between small retailers and suppliers handled through traditional methods, we’re looking at a financial transformation that’s just beginning.

Today, I’m joined by someone at the forefront of this transition. Walter Pimenta serves as Executive Vice President of Commercial and New Payment Flows for Mastercard Latin America, where he’s leading initiatives to expand SME acceptance solutions, scale enablement through strategic partnerships, and strengthen cross-border payment capabilities.

Walter’s team is also tackling another critical trend: the growing cybersecurity challenges facing SMEs, with recent research showing 46% of small businesses have experienced cyber-attacks, resulting in bankruptcy for nearly 1 in 5 affected companies.

Inside Mastercard's push to move LATAM's small retailers beyond cash

While attention often focuses on developed markets, the most exciting fintech innovations are emerging where mobile technology, young digital-native populations, and gaps in traditional banking converge. These regions aren’t just adopting Western models – they’re creating entirely new paradigms that may eventually reshape global finance.

Today I’m joined by Nadia Costanzo, Director of Banking for the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America at Wise. Nadia drives Wise’s expansion across these regions by building banking relationships, securing licenses, and navigating complex regulatory frameworks.

Her background is uniquely valuable – before Wise, she worked with Kiva in Nairobi facilitating microfinance across Africa, contributed to the World Bank’s Universal Financial Access agenda, and worked directly with microfinance institutions in Paraguay.

Today, we’ll explore how fintech evolves differently across emerging markets, examine key challenges, and discuss surprising innovations where traditional banking is limited. We’ll also consider what these developments mean for established financial institutions looking to engage with these dynamic markets.

How Wise captured 25% of Brazil's cross-border market

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Zack Miller.

SMBs have taken it on the chin during this crisis.

Nicole Jass, senior vice president of small business and fraud products at FIS joins us to discuss how small business needs have changed and how FIS has responded with product and an evolving product roadmap. The payments technology firm has rolled out upgrades and new products for customers in the past couple of months and Nicole checks in to describe how they’re using them.

Nicole Jass is my guest today on the Tearsheet Podcast.

FIS' Nicole Jass on helping SMBs with new products during this crisis

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Zack Miller.

Artificial intelligence in finance has long been overhyped, but AI is making an impact in lending decisions. Online lender Upstart exemplifies how the set of technologies can expand lenders’ inclusiveness without necessarily taking on any more risk.

Paul Gu, a co-founder at Upstart, joins us on the podcast to talk about his firm’s new AI-powered credit decisioning API that’s letting banks and other lenders deliver instant credit decisions for auto, personal, and student loans. We discuss Upstart’s performance during COVID as well.

Paul Gu is my guest today on the Tearsheet Podcast

Upstart's Paul Gu: 'AI is a mindboggling change in the economics of lending'

Welcome to Tearsheet’s Outlier Briefing. This subscriber-only content is exclusive for our Outlier members. We go deeper with subject matter experts, to take actionable steps that can impact your business and practice.

Rina Plapler has been working in brand strategy for over 20 years. That means she’s worked with many of today’s top financial brands with market positioning, messaging, and their product portfolios. As a partner at MBLM, she was instrumental in creating her firm’s research on brand intimacy — the emotional science that measures the bonds we form with the brands we use and love. She’s applied this research to the financial industry in an effort to rank the companies and characteristics that make for today’s strongest brands.

Rina joins to discuss what makes up brand intimacy and how emotional people feel around financial services. We look at her rankings and the attributes of today’s strongest financial brands. Lastly, she provides advice to companies to make themselves into more intimate brands.

To hear the full audio and to access all of our exclusive, member-only material, head on over to Tearsheet.co/outlier

Outlier Briefing: MBLM's Rina Plapler on improving brand intimacy in financial services

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Zack Miller.

Student lending is undergoing a significant transformation. Earnest 

Earnest has refinanced over $10 billion for over 124,000 people, helping them pay off their debt and giving them the financial capital to reach their goals.

The company combines design and data to build an innovative model for consumer lending, available through a simple, easy to use mobile application. David Green, chief product officer at Earnest, joins us on the podcast to talk about lending in our economic environment, as well as the firm’s relatively new product, in-school student loans. Lastly, we talk about the lender’s product pipeline.

David Green is my guest today on the Tearsheet Podcast.

Earnest's David Green on student lending in the current economic environment

A few weeks back, payments API firm, Galileo launched Instant, which dramatically simplifies and accelerates launching a debit card — taking what can be a multi-month process and turning it into a couple of weeks. Galileo claims it had hundreds of companies signed up for a beta when it went live and the interest is still very strong. Founder and CEO Clay Wilkes talked about Instant when he addressed Tearsheet’s Resilience Conference a couple of weeks ago. 

Galileo Managing Director Cole Wilkes joins us on the podcast today to talk more about Instant.

Galileo's Clay Wilkes on launching Galileo Instant

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