One of the few bright spots for business in 2020 was the “breakout moment” for financial technology. In a time of global crisis, fintechs enabled digital financial services for consumers and were crucial in distributing much-needed stimulus checks. One company leading this charge was Square, so when Miguel Armaza WG21 G21 interviewed former Square Capital head Jackie Reses W92 on the Wharton Fintech Podcast, he asked about the company’s role in the Paycheck Protection Program. Her answer was extraordinary: Jackie, in her first public appearance post-stimulus, recounted how her team rallied to save America’s small businesses.

Moments like these give our podcast team — including Miguel and fellow hosts Ryan Zauk WG21 and Anchit Gupta WG21 — goose bumps.

Think of the podcast as a successful media startup launched by the Wharton Fintech Club. Founded in 2014 by Daniel McAuley WG16 and Steven Weiner WG16, Wharton Fintech has evolved into the world’s premier graduate fintech club, aimed at the education and career development of students interested in this booming industry. In addition to running our media channels, members moderate weekly events with industry executives, lead global career treks, and go on to take high-profile jobs at the world’s top firms. The school year culminates with the Wharton Fintech Conference, with global fintech titans taking center stage. Scheduled panelists for the virtual event in April included co-founder of Wealthfront and Benchmark Capital Andy Rachleff W80 and FT Partners founder and CEO Steve McLaughlin WG95.

Jackie Reses’s story is one of many remarkable milestones for the club’s podcast, which is supported by the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance. The show reached one million total listens in April, has received international press, earned millions of social media impressions, and is enjoyed by executives, researchers, and investors in more than 90 countries. Other highlights include CEOs discussing some of the industry’s key M&A transactions, such as Anthony Noto WG99, CEO of SoFi, explaining its $1.2 billion acquisition of Galileo, and Anand Sanwal ENG97 W97, founder of CB Insights, analyzing its acquisition of Blockdata.

From hundreds of podcasts, events, conferences, and treks, it’s clear that like the industry we love, Wharton Fintech is just getting started. Leading this club has been the highlight of our MBA experience, and we know the best is yet to come.

 

Published as “Talking Fintech” in the Spring/Summer 2021 issue of  Wharton Magazine.