Barefoot Innovation Podcast

Dante Disparte of Circle joins Jo Ann to explore stablecoins, AI and the future of money, including the hidden cost of gradualism, why trust is everything, and how we can make both financial systems and regulation more adaptable. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/barefoot-innovation-podcast/.

A glimpse into the regulator of the future: FINRA's Greg Ruppert joins Jo Ann to discuss AI, data, financial crime, fusion cells, FINRA Forward, and how regulators can break silos and move at the speed of markets. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/barefoot-innovation-podcast/.

Yaya Fanusie of Aleo joins Jo Ann to explore privacy-preserving blockchain, stablecoins, zero-knowledge proofs, illicit finance, China's digital currency strategy, and the race to build democratic financial infrastructure. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast/yaya-fanusie-on-building-privacy-into-blockchain/.

Saket Narayan of AWS joins Jo Ann to explore how regulators can move beyond pilots and sandboxes, using cloud, data, AI, and secure experimentation to build faster, smarter, more adaptive supervision. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast/beyond-pilots-sandboxes/.

Live from ABA RCC, Jo Ann talks with Raj Date and Konrad Alt about AI's promise and peril for bank risk, compliance, supervision, financial crime, agentic commerce, and the future of regulated finance. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast/live-episode-ai-risk-the-future-of-bank-compliance/. Video recording courtesy of the American Bankers Association. 

Wendy Teleki and Tatiana Alonso join Jo Ann to explore why gender-disaggregated data is essential to inclusive finance, smarter supervision, and unlocking capital for women entrepreneurs worldwide. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast/seeing-the-gaps-gender-data-and-the-future-of-inclusive-finance/.

FCA leaders Colin Payne and Matt Lowe join Jo Ann to explore tech-positive regulation, AI labs, sandboxes, policy sprints, stablecoins, and how regulators can move faster without sacrificing trust. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast/move-fast-make-things-the-fca-is-still-leading-on-regulatory-innovation/.

Column N.A.'s Meredith Turner joins Jo Ann to unpack the future of partner banking — where clean tech stacks, real-time data, and compliance-by-design can help fintech innovation move faster, safer, and smarter. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast/compliance-as-an-enabler/.

For Barefoot Innovation's 250th episode, Jo Ann looks back on 11 years of fintech transformation — and ahead to the AI-shaped future — with Kabir Kumar, Matt Van Buskirk, and Nick Cook in a special conversation. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast/episode-250-my-favorite-thought-partners/.

Jo Ann speaks with Radius co-founders Bob Bench and Anders Brownworth on building payment systems for an AI-driven economy, the role of stablecoins, and why the future of money may be shaped more by machines than people. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast/rebuilding-money-for-an-ai-world/.

AI-powered scams, crypto crime, and global networks are accelerating financial crime — but solutions are within reach. Experts Ari Redbord, Carole House, and Matt Van Buskirk debate how tech, data sharing, and new policy frameworks could finally turn the tide. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast/solvable-we-can-beat-financial-crime-pt-2-feat-house-redbord-van-buskirk/

What does it mean to regulate trust in a digital economy? Patrick Murck of Surus joins Jo Ann to talk stablecoins, tokenization, AI, and why financial innovation keeps challenging old assumptions. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast/building-trust-in-the-age-of-tokenization/

Crypto is moving from the margins to the mainstream. Stu Alderoty of Ripple and the National Cryptocurrency Association joins Jo Ann to unpack regulation, trust, and how everyday Americans are learning to use crypto with confidence. Episode show notes, transcript and related links available online at: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast/crypto-comes-of-age-trust-rules-and-real-world-use/

Flourish Ventures investor Efayomi Carr and GDF executive Elise Soucie Watts join Jo Ann to unpack Africa's fintech boom, the rise of stablecoins, trust gaps, and what it takes to build inclusive, responsible regulation. Read the full show notes and related resources here online.

Recorded live at Aspen Ideas: Economy — Jo Ann talks with Biswarup Chatterjee from Citi and Jennifer Lassiter of Standard Chartered about how stablecoins, digital assets, and new regulation are reshaping the very future of money. View the episode transcript, show notes, and related links on AIR's website.

Financial crime is a G7‑sized economy. Carole House, Ari Redbord and Matt Van Buskirk join Jo Ann to expose how AI has turbocharged scams and why the AML system is failing — and to chart a new path powered by trust tech and real‑time collaboration. Read the full show notes at: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast/we-can-beat-financial-crime-pt-1-carole-house-ari-redbord-and-matt-van-buskirk/

DARPA's David R. Dewhurst joins Jo Ann to explain A3ML, an audacious plan to make money laundering too expensive to exist. Hear how new graph algorithms, incentives and privacy‑first design could turn the tide on illicit finance.

Join us as Sean Neville, co-founder of Circle & architect of the USDC stablecoin, discusses Catena Labs — building the first regulated, AI-native financial institution for a future where autonomous AI agents directly participate in the economy.

U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce discusses the evolving U.S. digital asset policy landscape, including new legislation, crypto's potential and risks, and environments that enable market innovation.

Tyler Williams, Treasury's Counselor for Digital Assets, discusses the Administration's crypto strategy, stablecoin legislation, and managing risks. He shares insights from 400+ stakeholder meetings and how digital assets impact the U.S. role globally and the dollar.

This special episode explores AIR's work tackling financial crime & regulatory modernization, & highlights 4 upcoming events: Battlefront: Fraud in the Age of AI, West Africa Payments & Fraud Policy Sprint, Innovation Elements Cohort, & Converge.

In this episode, Jo Ann explores how digital financial services are impacting consumer protection in West Africa and globally, including the rising incidence of fraud. Hear from Aishah Ahmad, CFA, Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and board member of the Financial Alliance for Women. 

Rodney Hood, Acting Comptroller of the Currency, chats about bank innovation, digital assets, and tech's role in financial inclusion. He shares insights on modernizing regulation and how the OCC supports fintech partnerships.

In this episode, NCUA Chair Kyle Hauptman discusses tech's role in credit unions. He highlights NCUA's open approach to digital assets, AI/blockchain use cases and DOGE's project to streamline the federal government.

Oscilar CEO Neha Narkhede discusses AI for risk management, focusing on fraud & financial crime detection. Learn how AI breaks data silos & improves security.

Jo Ann sits down with her friend Brett King and M-Pesa founder Nick Hughes on this special crossover episode of Barefoot Innovation & Breaking Banks, recorded live at Virgin Unite's "Change: Fintech Leaders Gathering" on Necker Island.

Explore the rise of Earned Wage Access (EWA). Experts discuss its benefits, risks, and the evolving regulatory landscape. Learn how EWA is reshaping financial services and consumer access to funds in this special live episode.

GenAI is revolutionizing finance! Hear from the winners of AIR's NextGenAI Call for Papers: Delicia Reynolds Hand, Dr. Henry Balani & Dr. Adrienne Heinrich. They discuss GenAI's impact on consumer protection, financial crime & ethical governance.

Jo Ann briefly discusses the changes underway at the U.S. financial regulatory agencies, including thoughts on the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and potential impacts on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Financial crime is surging. Hear Sardine CEO Soups Ranjan discuss AI-driven scams, deepfakes vs. KYC, and why traditional fraud controls fail. Listen and learn how to fight back. Watch this episode as a video here and check out the full show notes here. 

In this episode, Jo Ann explores the potential for rapid change in financial regulation in 2025, likening it to other historical periods of sudden change. She argues that the convergence of six factors could lead to the emergence of "Regulation 2.0," a new paradigm of financial regulation enabled by technology.

Join Jo Ann Barefoot, Dr. Dave Castillo, Cat Tucker, and Dr. Michael Akinwumi as they explore the future of AI in finance — from the potential to pitfalls — live at the National Bankers Association 2024 Annual Conference.

Behnaz Kibria of Google talks about the fundamental principles that guide model risk management (MRM) frameworks and explores the unique issues emerging for financial institutions from GenAI. 

Jane Barratt, Chief Advocacy Officer and Head of Global Public Policy at MX Technologies, Inc., discusses the impending game-changing regulations from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to implement Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. 

Congressman and physicist Bill Foster returns to the podcast to talk about artificial intelligence (AI) and digital identity technologies, and how they present great potential and peril for consumers. 

AIR's Nick Cook discusses the "Financial Regulators' Odyssey" — the journey that lies ahead for virtually every financial regulatory body in the world, in catching up their own technology and cultures to the age of digitized data and AI.

Penny Lee, President & CEO of the Financial Technology Association (FTA), discusses how fintechs are trying to change financial services, their evolving relationships with traditional institutions, and new challenges and opportunities.

It's easy to underestimate the importance of system-building in public policy, but Rep. Erin Houchin's bipartisan FUTURES Act would require financial regulators to self-assess their own tech readiness to oversee the tech transformation underway. 

The drive for modern financial regulation has transitioned rapidly to move beyond suptech. Sonny Hashmi, Head of Public Sector at Unqork, shares advice on how government leaders can transform their core technology infrastructure. 

Generative AI is revolutionizing the financial world across sectors. Christopher Calabia, Head of MIT's Central Bank Digital Currency Program, weighs the pros and cons of this new technology while emphasizing regulatory and ethical frameworks. 

Nthupang Magolego from the National Credit Regulator (NCR) of South Africa and Collen Masunda of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) join Jo Ann to discuss using a TechSprint model to tackle really hard problems in financial inclusion. 

AI Ethicist Nell Watson and author of Taming the Machine describes the foundations we need to put in place to build legal, regulatory and ethical systems to channel fiercely powerful new AI technology away from the bad, and toward the good.

Community banks face a tech revolution. Explore the challenges & opportunities with Increase CEO Darragh Buckley, who has a unique perspective and novel ideas. Hear his thoughts on how smaller banks can survive & thrive in a changing landscape.

Upgrade's visionary CEO, Renaud Laplanche, unpacks his pioneering thinking on consumer finance. He unveils 3 key financial consumer needs and explores the evolving landscape of fintechs — progress, challenges and what's next.

To mark Women's History Month, AIR's Shelley Anderson interviews Barefoot Innovation host Jo Ann on her perspective about the progress, and lack thereof, on efforts to drive toward gender equality.

Itai Damti and Alex Acree delve into Unit's design as a "technology operating system" for bank-fintech partnerships, the legal framework they establish between partners, and their view that compliance must be built into these systems from the start.

Kwame is the charismatic head of innovation at the Bank of Ghana. He shares advice for regulators on how to adapt to tech transformation and emphasizes collaboration to break down silos and  foster innovation

Michael talks about the global evolution of financial inclusion and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's ongoing efforts. Learn about digital financial inclusion, consumer protection, digital public infrastructure, and barriers to fair finance. 

Kelly serves on the White House National Economic Council and helped lead the executive order issued in 2023 on AI. She discusses what the order requires, the challenges it aims to address and the upside opportunity of the technology.  

Former CFTC Chairman Christopher Giancarlo updates on the evolution of Central Bank Digital Currencies around the world and predicts where we're headed.