In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by David B. Shipper, a Strategic Advisor for Retail Banking and Payments at Datos Insights, and Rob Macmillan, the Group Product Manager for Credit at Paymentology. Together, they discuss how digital banks and fintechs are redefining credit, from instant approvals and hyper-personalization to embedded lending and next-gen infrastructure.

What You’ll Learn:

How to recognize why legacy systems are the primary barrier to credit innovation
Why consumer expectations have shifted from ‘approval in 7 days’ to ‘instant approval with 3-4 data points’
The critical difference between data access and real-time data decisioning
How to design credit products that drive customer loyalty beyond rewards
Why credit-building applications are redefining credit for emerging markets and first-time borrowers
How PayCredit enables rapid market testing, global localization, and continuous product evolution

David B. Shipper is a Strategic Advisor for Retail Banking and Payments at Datos Insights, bringing two decades of banking industry expertise in product management and credit innovation. With a vast background in analyzing consumer lending behavior across traditional cards, BNPL, installments, and emerging credit models, David has directly witnessed the transformation of credit from legacy constraints to modern customer expectations. His research at Datos Insights reveals critical insights into how neobanks and challenger banks are reshaping consumer preferences for simplified, instant credit decisions.

Rob Macmillan is the Group Product Manager for Credit at Paymentology, spearheading the development of modern credit infrastructure solutions designed for the next generation of digital financial services. With expertise in building flexible, configurable credit platforms that address the limitations of legacy systems, Rob has been instrumental in creating PayCredit, a modern credit ledger that enables rapid innovation, personalization, and compliance across global markets.

Episode Resources:

David B. Shipper on LinkedIn
Rob Macmillan on LinkedIn
Datos Insights Website
Merusha Naidu on LinkedIn
Paymentology Website

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