Embedded Finance Review Podcast, episode 23. Published 16 April 2025. Guest: Sophie Guibaud, banking-as-a-service advisor. Host: Lars Markull.
Lars Markull: Should incumbent banks be launching their own banking as a service initiatives, and why is banking as a service so crucial for Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030? These are the two topics of today's Embedded Finance Review podcast. I'm speaking with Sophie Guibaud. She was the head of product strategy at Bankable, the MD at Fidor Solutions, the chief growth officer at OpenPayd, and she's the founder of Fiat Republic. Additionally, Sophie has written a book about embedded finance.
So as you can see, Sophie has a ton of experience with different banking as a service companies, and she has recently founded her own boutique consultancy for B2B founders and executives.
In this episode I speak with Sophie about the opportunity for incumbent banks within banking as a service, and how she has experienced Saudi Arabia's fintech ecosystem since she moved there a couple of months ago. My name is Lars Markull and this is the Embedded Finance Review Podcast. Every two weeks I'm interviewing the builders and shapers of embedded finance. Let's dive in.
Welcome
Lars Markull: Hi Sophie, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today, and in what part of the world are you located right now?
Sophie Guibaud: Hi Lars. Well, I'm doing great, thank you. And I am located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where I relocated last year.