John MacIlwaine, Co-Founder & CEO at Highnote - On unlocking the embedded finance opportunity

Wharton FinTech Podcast

In today’s episode, Rhea Advani hosts John MacIlwaine, Co-Founder & CEO at Highnote. They delve into the evolving payments processing space, emphasizing the rise of innovative embedded finance platforms like Highnote. The conversation also unveils insights into Highnote's latest Credit Issuing product. In this episode, you will hear about: The complexities of payments processing and regulatory challenges faced by fintech companies. Highnote's innovative approach as an embedded platform, emphasizing differentiation and flexibility. Insights into Highnote's latest product, the Credit Issuing platform, and its implications for the market. The future of issuer processing, where legacy platforms coexist with cutting-edge solutions like Highnote. Highnote's strategies for navigating the competitive fintech industry and their vision for the evolving market landscape. About John MacIlwaine John MacIlwaine is the the CEO and co-founder of Highnote, an embedded finance company setting the new standard for modern card platform management through differentiated payment experiences. John has over two decades of experience leading in technical and management roles at global financial companies. Prior to founding Highnote, he served as General Manager of Braintree, a leading global payments platform that powers some of the world's most innovative and fast-growing companies, including Uber, Airbnb, and Dropbox. During his tenure at Braintree, John was instrumental in driving the company's global growth and expansion. Before joining Braintree, MacIlwaine served as the Chief Technology Officer of Lending Club, a pioneering online lending platform that connects borrowers with investors. In his role, John laid the groundwork to establish the company’s technical foundation while driving innovation across the organization. Throughout his career, John has been committed to helping businesses move faster and innovate more through differentiated payment experiences. He believes that payments are a critical touchpoint in the customer journey and that businesses must deliver seamless, personalized experiences to stand out in today's competitive landscape. About Highnote Highnote is an embedded finance company setting the new standard in modern card platform management. Purpose-built to realize customer loyalty and engagement through embedded card experiences, Highnote’s fully integrated tech stack provides every service needed for innovative companies to launch new ways to use card payments. Utilizing the developer-friendly Highnote platform, product and engineering teams at digital enterprises of all sizes can easily and efficiently embed virtual and physical payment cards (commercial and consumer prepaid, debit, credit, and charge), ledger, and wallet capabilities into their existing products, creating compelling value for users while growing revenue and building a unique and differentiated brand. The company has raised more than $100 million from leading investors and strategic partners and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For additional information, please visit www.highnote.com. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Rhea’s Twitter: @rheaadvani Rhea’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rheaa/