Fintech for People: Transparent Payments & Values-Driven Innovation - Alan Ward | Ep 124

Alan Ward is a fintech innovator on a mission to make finance serve people, not middlemen. He is the founder of Securely, a payments platform that cuts out hidden transaction fees and brings fairness, transparency, and simplicity back to finance, helping businesses and families keep more of what they earn.In this episode, Alan shares the origin of his personal mission to eliminate unnecessary transaction fees, a journey that began in the distribution world and led to the founding of Securely. He explains the architecture of Securely's platform, which works within existing financial infrastructure to identify costs while also offering proprietary payment methods like "digital cash" that bypass traditional fee structures entirely. Alan draws an analogy to the evolution of the automobile to describe Securely's revolutionary yet accessible approach. He discusses the technical and business steps required to build trust in a financial platform, including adherence to strict certifications like PCI. Alan also addresses the significant mindset shift needed for businesses to understand and adopt transparent payment models, sharing real-world examples of initial skepticism.Alan, a father of six, discusses how his values influence his technology, aiming to provide businesses with the same granular visibility into costs that a family budget requires. He touches on the future of finance with emerging technologies like stablecoins. For developers and entrepreneurs, Alan offers counterintuitive advice on building a values-driven tech company, emphasizing the importance of having few, but unshakable, core values. Finally, he defines innovation as the process of realizing a thing's full potential, going from where it is to where it can be.In this episode, you’ll discover:· Alan's mission to make money serve people, not middlemen.· The architecture of Securely's transparent payment platform and "digital cash."· The analogy of evolutionary vs. revolutionary technology in payments.· Building trust in fintech through security certifications and operational integrity.· The mindset shift required for businesses to adopt transparent payment models.· How family values and budgeting principles influence Securely's features.· The future of finance with emerging technologies like stablecoins.· Advice for building a values-driven tech company: having few, unshakable values.· Alan's definition of innovation: realizing full potential.Connect With Alan Ward & Securely:· Website: https://securely.io/· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-ward-63938020a/· Resources: https://securely.io/resources/Chapters:00:00 Welcome Alan Ward: Fintech Innovator & Founder of Securely01:02 The Mission: Money Should Serve People, Not Middlemen03:09 Architecting Transparent Payments: Bypassing Fees with Digital Cash06:09 Evolutionary vs. Revolutionary Technology in Finance07:30 Aligning Tech with Family Values: Granular Cost Visibility10:18 Overcoming Early Challenges: Building Bridges with Future Tech12:25 Building Trust: Security, Certifications, and Integrity in Fintech14:11 Advice for Values-Driven Entrepreneurs: Few, Unshakable Values15:16 The Mindset Shift: Adoption Challenges for Revolutionary Tech20:47 Future of Finance: Stablecoins and Blockchain Potential21:52 Finding the Intersection of Tech Skills and Human Need23:25 Innovation Defined: Realizing Full Potential24:45 Connect with Alan Ward & SecurelySupport the Show:· Fuel the podcast: https://iferia.nestuge.com/supportme· Subscribe and leave a review!· ShareWant to Be a Guest on The Iferia TechCast?· Reach out to Ezekiel on PodMatch· PodMatch Host Profile: https://podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/theiferiatechcast