11 Women Fintech Leaders Breaking the Bias

Here is a list of 11 women who have broken the bias surrounding females and risen to top positions in the industry. The list is in no way exhaustive because female leaders are pouring in from all over the world, making the fintech fraternity more credible and innovative with their brilliant contributions.

Starling is a digital-only bank based in the United Kingdom, founded by Anne Boden, a Welsh tech entrepreneur with a stellar history of leading financial giants like RBS and Allied Irish Bank. Starling Bank has become one of the best banks in the UK, with a customer base of more than 275,000 people. Anne Boden has been pivotal in raising over $70 million for the bank, which has resulted in massive success. She is an integral part of the fintech leader fraternity and has enormously contributed to shaping the future of fintech.

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Nubank is one of the most renowned digital banks in the world. Cristine Junqueira is one of the founders of this revolutionary Brazilian bank. Cristina Junqueira is Brazil’s second self-made woman billionaire who has been instrumental in building Brazil’s presence on the fintech world map, for which she is also called the “Wonder Woman of F”. 

Like all other countries, Brazil’s fintech landscape was male-dominated, making it impossible for women leaders to take the helm. However, Cristina Junqueira’s brilliant efforts have brought her much-deserved recognition for her contribution to the global fintech space.

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Kathryn Petralia is one of the leading women in the tech space. Forbes list of “Most Powerful Women”, saw Kathryn Petralia’s name in 98th place. She is one of the founders of Kabbage Inc., a digital platform providing automated loans to small businesses and consumers. Kabbage has provided more than $5 billion worth of loans to SMEs. The company was taken over by the fintech giant American Express in 2020.

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Lily Liu is one of the most renowned fintech leaders, who is currently the CEO of Piñata, the first and only company that has brought a gamified platform for rent-payers and landlords. Piñata rewards rent-payers for timely rent payments and offers customizable rent plans for landlords to streamline their rent channels. Being a tech entrepreneur, Lily Liu has a booming history of founding fintech startups.

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The founder of Airwallex, Lucy Yueting Liu has been pivotal in the company’s expansion in China. Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Airwallex is a software-as-a-service provider providing foreign exchange rate insights to small and medium businesses and digital payment services. Lucy Yueting Liu’s stellar history in financial services has brought her much recognition.

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FlexM’s Global Head of Compliance and Operations, Mehek Weldon, has been at the forefront of the company since 2020, taking the helm to navigate it to its success. She has recently been awarded the “Innovator of the Year” award by the International Compliance Association (ICA) held at the Oval, London, for her innovative brilliance in the compliance field of fintech. Mehek has been pivotal in maneuvering FlexM to reach greater heights and rapid expansion.

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Headquartered in the USA, Affirm is one of the leading Buy Now, Pay Later organizations. Silvija Martincevic is the Chief Commercial Officer of this fintech giant. She has been instrumental in propelling the company’s success by managing the commercial, partnership, and marketing strategy side of the business. Silvija Martincevic has had a long and rich career in high-ranking positions in the financial services sector.

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Fintech Circle is the first networking platform for fintech investors focused on angel investors that offers funding opportunities, advisory services, education, and a lot more. Susanne Chishti is the CEO of Fintech Circle, who has won several awards for best influencers, crypto experts, inspirational women, etc. She has co-edited “The FINTECH Book” a fintech bestseller, adding many similar feathers to her cap with her incredible contribution to the fintech industry.

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Listed among the 30 under 30 of Forbes Asia, Val Yap is the founder of PolicyPal, a fintech based in Singapore offering insurance-related services. Founded in 2016, PolicyPal has earned massive seed money from angel investors. PolicyPal has also been a part of Singapore’s Monetary Authority’s sandbox, which allows companies to test their functionalities, services, KPIs, etc., in controlled but live environments. Val Yap is one of the most successful fintech entrepreneurs in recent years.

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FlexM’s Vice-President of South East Asia based in Singapore, Valerie Pho, has been central to the growth of FlexM in the South East Asian market. Valerie holds immense expertise in several fields of fintech, like neo banks, digital wallets, e-payments, cross-border remittances, etc., for which she has been honored and recognized by international platforms. She has already won the ASEAN Fintech Women Leader award and recently received a nomination for the finalist for the “Director of the Year” category at the Asia Fintech Awards.

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To Conclude

The power of women in fintech has taken full swing as startups founded and led by women have grown in number and achieved higher positions. Many obstacles hinder the growth of women-led startups even in a futuristic industry like fintech, however, as we inch towards a more competitive landscape, it opens doors for more collaborations and participation, open spaces for innovation, and diverse ideas.

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