Post by Pedersen & Partners

At Baltic Fintech Days, organised by Chris C., Nordic Fintech Magazine, ROCKIT Vilnius, and the Fintech Latvia Association, Evita Lune, Equity Partner and Global Head of the FinTech Practice Group at Pedersen & Partners, joined Jakub Więcław, CEO of Magnetiq Bank, for a podcast discussion on the evolution of Banking-as-a-Service, embedded finance, regulation, AI, and leadership in fintech. The conversation also marked an important moment for the Latvian fintech ecosystem, as Jakub was awarded FinTech Hero of the Year during the conference, recognising his significant contribution to the sector. In the discussion, Jakub reflected on Magnetiq Bank’s transformation, including a 44% increase in revenue and a turnaround from a EUR 1 million annual loss to a projected EUR 2 million profit business for 2026. He also acknowledged the support of Signet Bank and Roberts Idelsons, highlighting the importance of ownership, reputation, and market trust in building a scalable fintech platform. A few key takeaways from the conversation: - Banking-as-a-Service is reshaping the role of banks, with B2B infrastructure providers becoming increasingly important in the financial ecosystem. - Customers care less about the banking brand behind the service and more about speed, simplicity, and seamless access to payments, lending, and financial products. - Regulation remains a defining factor for fintech growth. As fintechs increasingly explore AI solutions, agentic commerce, and more automated financial services, regulatory approvals and supervisory frameworks will need to keep pace with the use of these tools. - Scaling depends less on pipeline and more on execution. Licensing timelines, technology integration, market-specific customisation, and delivery capacity remain key bottlenecks. - Leadership in fintech requires transparency, ownership, and adaptability, especially in fast-moving environments where teams need to make decisions based on data, feedback, and clear accountability. Watch the full interview below for more insights from the discussion: https://lnkd.in/dzvdktPG #Fintech #EmbeddedFinance #BankingAsAService #AI #Leadership #ExecutiveSearch #BalticFintechDays #LatvianFintech #PedersenAndPartners