Speaker 1: Now, I know last week we told everybody about all
Speaker 1: the issues with the supply chain.
Speaker 2: TT.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we told y'all. Okay, y'all are ordering too much stuff.
Speaker 3: Maybe don't order so much stuff, maybe don't buy anything
Speaker 3: at all, shop local.
Speaker 1: But y'all are showing me your Christmas wishless and so
Speaker 1: I know you're still buying things.
Speaker 3: Y'all are definitely still buying things because I saw some
Speaker 3: of y'all standing in line for the Black Friday shopping.
Speaker 3: I'm not gonna name any names, and we saw you
Speaker 3: on Instagram. We saw and we're not judging. But the
Speaker 3: landscape has really changed over the past couple of months.
Speaker 3: When we go back and think about it, there's some
Speaker 3: new players in the games when it comes to buying gifts.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 3: Yeah, a lot of these apps are popping up that
Speaker 3: make shopping very very easy.
Speaker 1: And we're ready to talk all about it. I'm TT
Speaker 1: and I'm Zachiah.
Speaker 2: And from Spotify.
Speaker 4: This is Dope Labs.
Speaker 1: Welcome to Dope Labs, a weekly podcast that mixes hardcore science,
Speaker 1: pop culture, and a healthy dose of friendship.
Speaker 3: This week, we're talking all about Mulah money. Specifically, we're
Speaker 3: interested in learning more about the financial technology or fintech
Speaker 3: that's available to help keep your finances in check.
Speaker 2: You know, one thing.
Speaker 3: We don't really think about that much is how sometimes
Speaker 3: it costs money to spend money. The most classic example
Speaker 3: of this is interest, where you pay an extra fee
Speaker 3: in order to borrow money that you don't have yet.
Speaker 1: The banks have been around a long time and they
Speaker 1: have been scamming us between subprime mortgage crisis, big bank bailouts,
Speaker 1: YadA YadA YadA.
Speaker 2: Biggest scam otters of all time.
Speaker 1: So we're really interested in how science and technology are
Speaker 1: shaking up the landscape and finance. How are we getting
Speaker 1: new online financial tools which are referred to as fintech
Speaker 1: or financial technology, and how are those things making finance
Speaker 1: more accessible for people who want to get their money
Speaker 1: matters in shape.
Speaker 2: So let's get into the recitation.
Speaker 1: So what do we know and what do we want
Speaker 1: to know.
Speaker 3: I know that there's a lot of fintech apps out there,
Speaker 3: so things like zell, Kwarna, after pay, Robinhood, Venmo, cash app,
Speaker 3: and we use it so much as now incorporated like
Speaker 3: into you know the zeitgeist in rap songs and cash
Speaker 3: app me Baby exactly. People are using it in everyday conversation,
Speaker 3: and a lot of people have their cash app in
Speaker 3: their bios now so that brandom people could just cash
Speaker 3: app them.
Speaker 2: You know, why not if you can get paid. Hey,
Speaker 2: do what you gotta do.
Speaker 1: We talked a little bit about some of those types
Speaker 1: of apps in LAP twenty one our fintech episode called
Speaker 1: New Bank Account.
Speaker 2: Who this right?
Speaker 1: So if you haven't heard that episode, press pause right
Speaker 1: now and go check it out, because we really cover
Speaker 1: a lot.
Speaker 2: Yeah, We'll wait.
Speaker 1: What else do we know?
Speaker 5: Well?
Speaker 3: I think we know that fintech apps use data science
Speaker 3: and algorithm to provide a lot of different services.
Speaker 1: And we also know there's been a huge shift in
Speaker 1: this past decade towards using online financial services and products
Speaker 1: in general. Remember when you were afraid to put in
Speaker 1: your credit card info on the web?
Speaker 3: My mom still is, But I think generally most people
Speaker 3: feel okay with putting their card information in on the
Speaker 3: internet so that they can purchase whatever they want to purchase.
Speaker 1: Yes, I think we also know that people need help
Speaker 1: and access to tools when it comes to managing their finances.
Speaker 1: There's a wage crisis. Wages have remained pretty much unchanged
Speaker 1: when you consider.
Speaker 2: The rate of inflation.
Speaker 1: So people already aren't starting out with receiving a lot
Speaker 1: of coins, so you're at least going to want to
Speaker 1: be able to make the best decisions you can with
Speaker 1: the money.
Speaker 4: You do have.
Speaker 1: Okay, so what do we want to know? I think
Speaker 1: I want to know about the state of finance today.
Speaker 1: It feels like the market and everything I see about
Speaker 1: the economy is just going up, up, up up, and
Speaker 1: at some point we're going to fall right And it
Speaker 1: may not be like the great economic housing collapse that
Speaker 1: we saw in two thousand and seven to two thousand
Speaker 1: and eight, but it does feel like we went through
Speaker 1: something pretty economically significant twenty twenty In twenty twenty one.
Speaker 3: Yeah, when I think back to some of the labs
Speaker 3: that we've done in the past, where we're talking about
Speaker 3: housing and food and everything like that, I mean money
Speaker 3: touches all of that feel like touches everything. Yes, I
Speaker 3: think something that I'm interested in knowing about is how
Speaker 3: they're using science and technology to create these fintech apps.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I want to know who's using this new technology
Speaker 1: and in which situations are fintech interventions most useful.
Speaker 2: That's a really good question.
Speaker 3: We know that there are barriers because of socioeconomic factors
Speaker 3: when it comes to finances. But what are some of
Speaker 3: the barriers to access with fintech.
Speaker 1: I think we're ready to jump into the dissection.
Speaker 2: I can't wait, let's do it.
Speaker 1: Our guest for today's lab is Natalia Brazenski.
Speaker 6: My name is Natalia Brazenski.
Speaker 3: I'm kind of strategy for the US for Klarna is
Speaker 3: a Sweden based shopping app you can use to buy
Speaker 3: things upfront and then pay for them later in smaller
Speaker 3: increments over time. You might have heard of the term
Speaker 3: buy now, pay later. Well, that's essentially what Klarna's for.
Speaker 3: It comes in really handy for big ticket purchases like furniture,
Speaker 3: a peloton that you might not be able to afford
Speaker 3: all at once, and unlike a credit card, it doesn't
Speaker 3: charge you interest. Similar platforms are like Affirm and after Pay.
Speaker 1: This is really great because the buy now, pay later
Speaker 1: feature lets you pay for something. Let's say I want
Speaker 1: to get a four hundred dollars chair.
Speaker 2: This is an expensive chair.
Speaker 3: It is expensive. Just go with the example. I'm sure
Speaker 3: it's very comfy.
Speaker 1: Clara lets you divide the cost into four equal payments.
Speaker 1: So now you're making for one hundred dollar payments over time,
Speaker 1: maybe after you get another paycheck, and you can afford
Speaker 1: to make that next payment instead of four hundred dollars
Speaker 1: up front. So it's really cool. It's like providing access.
Speaker 1: So if you couldn't have afforded that before, you maybe
Speaker 1: would have had to use a credit card pay interest
Speaker 1: on it. Now you can not have a ding on
Speaker 1: your credit score while you're trying to move and do
Speaker 1: whatever else, which has probably already been digging up your
Speaker 1: credit score, and you can still get the things that
Speaker 1: you need.
Speaker 3: That's perfect, like set it and forget it. Yes, it's
Speaker 3: great for folks who want to think less about everything else.
Speaker 1: And that piece about access Natalia really helped us kind
Speaker 1: of zoom in on that, and she says a lot
Speaker 1: of what she does with Kwana is informed by growing
Speaker 1: up with immigrant parents on the South Side of Chicago.
Speaker 5: I grew up with communities, including my own home, very
Speaker 5: much in debt, not speaking the language and also not
Speaker 5: speaking the financial language. And I saw that all around
Speaker 5: me there's a payday loan and a loan institution on every.
Speaker 6: Block where I grew up. I often joke, you know,
Speaker 6: I could be a billionaire.
Speaker 5: I'm not, but I could be, and I would still
Speaker 5: have that fear of being.
Speaker 6: Broke the next day, because it's just like what you
Speaker 6: grow up in.
Speaker 3: Natalia's worldview and a huge driver for her work is
Speaker 3: definitely her upbringing, not just where she grew up, but
Speaker 3: also the influence of women in her household, her mom,
Speaker 3: who had a full time job, and her grandmother who
Speaker 3: also worked outside the home.
Speaker 5: I saw, you know, raised by a working mom, female
Speaker 5: breadwarners in my home, grandmother and mother, and they lifted
Speaker 5: themselves out by understanding money. My mom got her MBAMCPA
Speaker 5: when I was ten. I remember going to a graduation
Speaker 5: from night school and being entrepreneurs.
Speaker 1: So thinking about what we already know about income, inequality,
Speaker 1: access to credit. One of the things we wanted to
Speaker 1: know was who uses Klarna? What are the user demographics? Well,
Speaker 1: one thing we know is that Clarna is global. Yes,
Speaker 1: we use Clara here in the US, but it was
Speaker 1: adopted by other European countries first.
Speaker 6: Before Klarna.
Speaker 5: I spent you know, ten eleven years or almost my
Speaker 5: entire adult life focusing on Sweden and Scandinavia and those
Speaker 5: values because they really looked at tech in a very
Speaker 5: different way. It was all about transparency and access.
Speaker 3: Natalia also pointed out another big difference between the US
Speaker 3: and Europe when it comes to spending.
Speaker 2: It's credit cards.
Speaker 5: I was a student studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, and
Speaker 5: like many of US Americans, we landed this city with
Speaker 5: a bunch of credit cards.
Speaker 6: And I go in to buy something and they're just like,
Speaker 6: we don't take credit cards.
Speaker 2: We do dubit.
Speaker 6: And I'm like, what or out of debt? And they said, yes,
Speaker 6: in Denmark, we only spend what we have.
Speaker 1: And that definitely isn't the attitude in the US. You know,
Speaker 1: in the United States, more than one hundred and ninety
Speaker 1: one million people have credit cards, and the average cardholder
Speaker 1: has at least two cards two point seven to be exact. Interestingly,
Speaker 1: the average American household has over five thousand dollars of
Speaker 1: credit card debt. So we're definitely not a only spend
Speaker 1: what we have kind of country.
Speaker 2: All of these numbers are so shocking to me.
Speaker 3: I didn't have any idea that that was the state
Speaker 3: of Americans until you literally just said it.
Speaker 1: That doesn't even include folks who are under banked or
Speaker 1: not banked at all, who are using alternative loan sources
Speaker 1: that can't get credit cards, and are using like payday
Speaker 1: centers like Natalia was talking about, or getting other types
Speaker 1: of loans, or pawn shops even you know, to.
Speaker 2: Liquidate cash for gold and things like that.
Speaker 1: So if we start considering all of that, I think
Speaker 1: you can understand why the United States is a good
Speaker 1: market for the buy now, pay later system.
Speaker 3: But do you remember when we were kids, Like now
Speaker 3: we're saying things like, oh, it's just buy now, pay later,
Speaker 3: But when we were young, it was called lay away,
Speaker 3: lay away, baby, and you did not want to be
Speaker 3: putting your stuff on lay away. If anybody found out,
Speaker 3: everybody was gonna be talking about you, and not in
Speaker 3: a good way.
Speaker 1: I remember lay away, but I think it's in now
Speaker 1: and it's got another perk. We can lay it away
Speaker 1: and wear it right away.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 1: And that's one of the great things about technology, right,
Speaker 1: is not will you ever come back and finish making
Speaker 1: these payments? Because we can track you digitally, so we
Speaker 1: can understand why it's becoming so popular in the United States.
Speaker 1: And in twenty twenty one, more than forty five million
Speaker 1: people will use buy now, pay later services. That's an
Speaker 1: increase of eighty point two percent over the usage in
Speaker 1: twenty twenty.
Speaker 3: And unsurprisingly, it's been young people that have been driving
Speaker 3: this shift to buy now, pay later. Almost seventy five
Speaker 3: percent of buy now pay later users in the US
Speaker 3: are Gen Z or millennials.
Speaker 1: And it makes sense, you know, this type of financial
Speaker 1: model gains a lot of traction because it offers flexibility
Speaker 1: and autonomy to purchasers. It's also good for small businesses
Speaker 1: that won't have to deal with credit card fees, which
Speaker 1: will significantly drop, you know what they get to take home,
Speaker 1: and it opens up the market for people who they
Speaker 1: may want to sell to but can't afford it upfront too.
Speaker 3: We act Natalia, what the greatest misconceptions are right now
Speaker 3: about people who use Klarna.
Speaker 5: I think the greatest misconception is like we are getting
Speaker 5: young people in debt.
Speaker 6: It comes from both sides of political structure.
Speaker 5: You know, some people say their services to buy more
Speaker 5: fast fashion from China and like put twelve year olds
Speaker 5: in debt. I mean it's just a lack of education actually,
Speaker 5: because we see that our users are actually college educated
Speaker 5: or more. They're looking for interesting budget tools. They're actually
Speaker 5: really innovative. Often like professional women just entering the workforce
Speaker 5: who are not satisfied with the with the tools out
Speaker 5: there right now.
Speaker 3: So the folks you think are using Klara are not
Speaker 3: the folks that are using Klarana the.
Speaker 2: Most and low key.
Speaker 1: Sounds pretty smart to use something that gives me greater
Speaker 1: flexibility and autonomy.
Speaker 2: With no interest. It sounds like a genius option.
Speaker 1: But I'm really interested, you know. Like we said, there
Speaker 1: were some yes, negative connotations around by now pay later,
Speaker 1: or the old school version of it, which was layaway.
Speaker 1: But what's causing the shift Is it that everybody's just
Speaker 1: spreading word of mouth. Hey affirm, Klarna and all these
Speaker 1: other apps will work for me.
Speaker 2: You should use them too.
Speaker 3: Natalia says, is that while the pandemic has definitely played
Speaker 3: a role in changing spending habits, it's also about generational
Speaker 3: change catching up our generation.
Speaker 5: We came to the workforce in our financial crisis, in
Speaker 5: a banking crisis. Basically, you've been chaos since the last
Speaker 5: ten years, like our adulthood has been so chaotic, so
Speaker 5: people want to take control of that, and money is
Speaker 5: the number one way.
Speaker 1: I think she's right, First you get the money, then
Speaker 1: you get the power, that's what they say.
Speaker 2: Then you get the power, then you get the respect.
Speaker 1: That's right, little t T. Let's take a break and
Speaker 1: when we come back, we're going to talk about what
Speaker 1: it means to be financially healthy and how wider access
Speaker 1: to fintech can actually help. Before we dive back into
Speaker 1: the dissection, ZE talk about what we've got come in.
Speaker 2: In next week's lab.
Speaker 1: We're talking all about birth control. Now, this is something
Speaker 1: that affects all of us, not just half the population.
Speaker 1: We're covering how birth control basically hasn't been changed since
Speaker 1: the sixties, and some of the new potential with personalized medicine.
Speaker 3: Okay, let's give back to fintech. We're talking to Natalia Brazinski,
Speaker 3: the head of strategy in the US for Klarna.
Speaker 1: I think I read a stat that said only thirty
Speaker 1: percent of the US population was considered financially healthy.
Speaker 3: That's crazy. So three out of ten people are financially healthy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and so when we consider that, TT, we got
Speaker 1: to figure out how do we bridge some of these gaps.
Speaker 1: You take that thirty percent of people being financially healthy,
Speaker 1: you combine that with what we already know about income inequality.
Speaker 1: You combine that with what we know about the things
Speaker 1: that are systemically disenfranchising folks from access to credit and
Speaker 1: access to housing. We need solutions, and that's where fintech
Speaker 1: could maybe play a role.
Speaker 3: That is crazy, But what does it really mean to
Speaker 3: be financially healthy.
Speaker 1: Let's take a definition from a twenty twenty study from
Speaker 1: the Urban Institute. They consider someone to be financially healthy
Speaker 1: when their daily financial systems enable them to be resilient
Speaker 1: and pursue opportunities. So this is like having the ability
Speaker 1: to spend safe, borrow, and plan effectively. What they found
Speaker 1: in that study was that in general, financially healthy people
Speaker 1: spend less than their income. They pay their bills on time,
Speaker 1: they plan ahead financially for you know, big purchases and
Speaker 1: things like that, and they have sufficient liquid and long
Speaker 1: term savings and manageable debt, a good credit score, and
Speaker 1: appropriate insurance like what all the boomers think everybody else
Speaker 1: should have as soon as they hit you know, twenty one.
Speaker 3: Right, So you got to make sure that your finances
Speaker 3: are eating their vegetables and drinking enough water and all
Speaker 3: the working out doing push ups and sit ups and
Speaker 3: make sure it can handle everything that's coming at it.
Speaker 3: It's like, oh, you want to purchase a car, I'm ready.
Speaker 3: That's a lot though.
Speaker 2: It's a lot.
Speaker 3: I mean, when I think about my own personal health,
Speaker 3: it is exhausting, and having to think about all these
Speaker 3: little things that contribute to financial health, I'm just like,
Speaker 3: that's a lot to consider.
Speaker 1: And knowing the current state of the economy, that requires
Speaker 1: a lot of cars to line up in your favor. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: And so when we think about that, leverage and fintech
Speaker 1: is a crucial part of helping some people become really
Speaker 1: financially healthy.
Speaker 5: We're not going to beat people over the head with
Speaker 5: you know, we know how to do things and this
Speaker 5: is how you should act responsibly. But I think if
Speaker 5: you give people the tools and the awareness and the education,
Speaker 5: then then you make.
Speaker 6: Your own decisions.
Speaker 3: And because of COVID, well really because of the recession, it.
Speaker 1: Really kind of feels like maybe because of society.
Speaker 3: And really because of just life in general, the universe
Speaker 3: existing breathing. When you take all of that, When you
Speaker 3: take all of that, younger generations are especially vulnerable when
Speaker 3: it comes to access and education.
Speaker 6: I think we're gonna have a gen Z, you know.
Speaker 5: Unfortunately that is less equal, less access, like unless we
Speaker 5: make up that lost time of like now you know,
Speaker 5: two years of physical school, but like probably four to
Speaker 5: five years really, and we really need these tech platforms,
Speaker 5: Like everybody's got to be doing as much as they
Speaker 5: can to drive education and awareness and change and access
Speaker 5: because it's gonna be tough.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: I hadn't really thought about the idea of there being
Speaker 1: less equity among gen Zers, you know, or them having
Speaker 1: less access either.
Speaker 3: Really less anything. It feels like the world is conforming
Speaker 3: to what gen Z wants. But Natalia brought up a
Speaker 3: good point.
Speaker 1: So if we're considering less access, even though we think
Speaker 1: of gen Z as this like connected generation, because they're
Speaker 1: always finding, you know, new ways to exchange ideas and information.
Speaker 1: Think TikTok they coming up with all the crazy dances.
Speaker 1: We had AOL instant messenger and we weren't sharing anything
Speaker 1: of significance.
Speaker 3: Okay, no, we were just talking about age, sex locations.
Speaker 1: And I think the thing to remember is that there
Speaker 1: are these disparities as far as who's connected to the web,
Speaker 1: who's not, who has high speed internet access who doesn't.
Speaker 1: And even if you do have a con that alone
Speaker 1: doesn't set you up for success.
Speaker 3: Right when it comes to financial health, it's really important
Speaker 3: to give everyone the tools and access to set goals
Speaker 3: and take control of their own money.
Speaker 1: And even when we think younger generations, older generations too.
Speaker 1: Even if you have all of those things, do you
Speaker 1: have the skills to navigate and know how to use
Speaker 1: the app store and what to download? And are you
Speaker 1: downloading the right apps? Is it safe or are you
Speaker 1: making yourself susceptible to ransomware or whatever. What it comes
Speaker 1: down to is meeting people where they are, and money
Speaker 1: is only one of the messy, complicated factors in human relationships,
Speaker 1: especially driven by the chaos of the past couple of years.
Speaker 1: We see this in disaster relief. Oh yes, you know
Speaker 1: when you think about when something happens, do you know
Speaker 1: how many people are financially healthy enough to stop what
Speaker 1: they're doing, pack up their whole life, and have a
Speaker 1: place that they can go to.
Speaker 3: I was literally just talking about this last night. Like
Speaker 3: every time a hurricane comes and hits a part of
Speaker 3: the United States, people are like, why'd you stay? Like,
Speaker 3: just get out of there. I'm like, first of all,
Speaker 3: some of these people, this is the only home they've
Speaker 3: ever known, and they need to try and protect it
Speaker 3: because if they have to rebuild or purchase a new home,
Speaker 3: it's not happening. They don't have the funds to be
Speaker 3: able to do that. A lot of people they have
Speaker 3: generations of family who have all lived in the same place,
Speaker 3: so they don't even have the option of going to
Speaker 3: family that's elsewhere. All of their family is right there,
Speaker 3: so they don't have a place they can go and
Speaker 3: then go to a hotel. Not everyone can afford that.
Speaker 3: Not everyone has a car to be able to say, oh,
Speaker 3: I'm just gonna hop in my car and drive somewhere else.
Speaker 2: Like, there's a lot of barriers in place. Money in a.
Speaker 3: Capitalistic society is the ruler of all things. Yes, And
Speaker 3: so as much as we want to tell ourselves like, oh,
Speaker 3: money doesn't rule my life, I do things that make
Speaker 3: me happy that da da da da da dah, no, Like,
Speaker 3: this capitalistic society is definitely driving this bus.
Speaker 1: And there's so much emotional connection to money too, right
Speaker 1: or shame around money that can then further exclude people
Speaker 1: or keep them from even looking into the state of
Speaker 1: their finances.
Speaker 6: Emotion drives everything. I mean, how many women do you know.
Speaker 5: That have stayed and abusive relationships because of money.
Speaker 6: Or have been forced to do things for money?
Speaker 5: I mean, unfortunately, you can't feel free unless.
Speaker 6: You control that.
Speaker 1: Money gives you wings from crawling to flying.
Speaker 3: Right, money is the red bull. Trying to become financially
Speaker 3: healthy if you consider yourself not financially healthy, can be embarrassing.
Speaker 3: Like imagine you have a credit score that's low, and
Speaker 3: trying to rebuild can be a daunting task.
Speaker 2: It's really difficult.
Speaker 1: We've seen credit scores get weaponized against different groups, right
Speaker 1: when we think back to predatory loans and things like that. Yes,
Speaker 1: and that leads people not to trust institutions. I think
Speaker 1: I saw a few research studies recently that showed us
Speaker 1: increasingly the public does not trust large institutions as much
Speaker 1: as they used to. And I think that's because some
Speaker 1: people don't feel safe, and they don't feel safe with
Speaker 1: their money in the bank. We've seen a lot of
Speaker 1: volatility in a short amount of time, and you don't
Speaker 1: know what that means. People want to have cash in hand,
Speaker 1: or they're not sure about what to do with their money,
Speaker 1: and that's a place where fintech could possibly help. I'm
Speaker 1: interested to see what happens over the next couple of years.
Speaker 1: So when it comes to the future of fintech, what's
Speaker 1: in store. We asked Natalia about Clarnate's priorities moving forward.
Speaker 6: I want to feel safe.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 5: I want to feel safe personally. I want to feel
Speaker 5: safe in relationships. I want to feel safe, especially with
Speaker 5: how I spend my heart earned money that I've sacrificed
Speaker 5: a lot for. We don't have that safety or trust,
Speaker 5: not in America. I think consumer protection is going to
Speaker 5: be a major focus of Congress, and rightfully so, you know,
Speaker 5: there should be more regulation in some sense.
Speaker 6: And I think we're also in.
Speaker 5: A moment where we recognize that we're a fifty billion
Speaker 5: dollar company, we're seventeen years old.
Speaker 6: We need to do something with our platform.
Speaker 5: We need to use it for change, we need to
Speaker 5: use it to drive and act. So you're gonna see
Speaker 5: a lot of that coming out of us, especially in
Speaker 5: the US as well, Like we just launched a lot
Speaker 5: of sustainability work. So you know, overnight on Earth Day,
Speaker 5: all of our users over ninety million.
Speaker 6: You see your CO two.
Speaker 5: Footprint net checkout, do you really want to buy those
Speaker 5: pants from you know, shean. We've seen it actually causing
Speaker 5: users to reflect down like hey, do I really need
Speaker 5: that lipstick?
Speaker 2: But honestly, money can also make you very happy.
Speaker 5: I mean there were times where it was so low
Speaker 5: and lonely during this period that like that new lipstick
Speaker 5: and putting it on, even to myself, like really really
Speaker 5: freaking made me feel good.
Speaker 6: Like if that makes me.
Speaker 5: Feel beautiful, If I'm having a tough time, like I'm
Speaker 5: gonna do it, and if something can help me do
Speaker 5: that in a responsible way.
Speaker 6: Like why not, Like we all need a little damn joy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: Like sometimes you having a bad day and you want
Speaker 3: to stop by and get a scuba ice cream from
Speaker 3: your favorite ice cream shit.
Speaker 1: A sprite from McDonald's with all the fizz.
Speaker 3: Let me tell you, sprite from McDonald's is just built different.
Speaker 3: It's not like any other sprite from any other place.
Speaker 3: Sometimes you need that nice fizzy treat.
Speaker 1: You need that level of effervescence to keep you going.
Speaker 1: When I think about fintech, the options feel limitless. The
Speaker 1: potential to do good feels limitless to me. Right when
Speaker 1: I think about the flexibility that it gives folks. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, there are things when I look back on
Speaker 1: it now and I'm like fintech micro loans, go fund
Speaker 1: me apps like Clara that allow you to pay an installments.
Speaker 1: Imagine if you could do that at the grocery store.
Speaker 3: I remember when Square came out that felt revolutionary to me.
Speaker 3: And so imagine something like Klarina at the grocery store
Speaker 3: where it's like you can guarantee food for somebody and
Speaker 3: they don't necessarily have to have all the money up
Speaker 3: front for paying installments, rather than going to the grocery
Speaker 3: store and not being able to feed your whole family
Speaker 3: because you don't have them all of the money right then,
Speaker 3: And then think about what it means you don't have
Speaker 3: to do so. That means you don't have to use
Speaker 3: like payday loan services that eat up so much.
Speaker 1: Of your pay in fees. It means that you are
Speaker 1: also in some cases able to build some type of
Speaker 1: financial credibility that could be then converted into boosting your
Speaker 1: credit score if you aren't able to do that under
Speaker 1: traditional methods or means.
Speaker 3: I think a really important note is that these tools,
Speaker 3: these buy now, pay later tools that are put out
Speaker 3: there are meant to help us. But with anything like
Speaker 3: this that deals with our money, we have to also
Speaker 3: be very, very careful because if not used in the
Speaker 3: right way, these tools that were put out there to
Speaker 3: help us become more financially healthy can make us more
Speaker 3: financially unhealthy. So in the ways that we think it
Speaker 3: might boost your credit score, it might also hurt your
Speaker 3: credit score if you aren't making your payments on time
Speaker 3: or at all. These are all things that you have
Speaker 3: to take into consideration because these tools are meant to
Speaker 3: give us access.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think the Internet, you know, if you
Speaker 1: look at it, it's just like the sun. You look
Speaker 1: at it too long, not good for you. But I
Speaker 1: think it can be used for good. And it just
Speaker 1: seems like combining that with finances, which seem to be
Speaker 1: the key to unlocking everything in this capitalistic society.
Speaker 3: Like you saidt tt yeah, giving people access to every
Speaker 3: part of society, regardless of their income, I think is
Speaker 3: really important in having a better, happier, healthier society. People
Speaker 3: can afford better food, fruits and vegetables. Fast food in
Speaker 3: the United States of America is very inexpensive, but an
Speaker 3: apple or grapes or a watermelon or lettuce is very expensive,
Speaker 3: and we need to be giving people the ability to
Speaker 3: have options. I want to have something healthy, I can
Speaker 3: have something healthy. I don't have the right income level
Speaker 3: to eat healthy.
Speaker 1: And I think it also just can help us open
Speaker 1: the door at the level of decisions I'm making day
Speaker 1: to day about groceries, about gas, about my basics, and
Speaker 1: decisions I'm making about my long term financial health. You
Speaker 1: know this thing I've seen where they say, if you
Speaker 1: pay this much right now, you avoid this much in
Speaker 1: interest charges, you know, or if you continue to pay this,
Speaker 1: this is how much you will pay over time, or
Speaker 1: this is how long it'll take. Just informing people of
Speaker 1: how these systems work.
Speaker 2: Let me know what I'm getting myself into.
Speaker 1: Well, I for one, can't wait to see what's next.
Speaker 1: It feels like this area keeps growing and I'm like more, more, please,
Speaker 1: let's see it.
Speaker 3: Yes, technology is taking us to the next level. I
Speaker 3: don't heard enough word.
Speaker 1: All right, it's time for this week's one thing. Tt
Speaker 1: My one thing is really one person. I am enjoying
Speaker 1: the art of Ashley Johnson. You can find Ashley on
Speaker 1: Instagram at hiaj or you can go to a website
Speaker 1: hiaj dot Co. I am loving Ashley's art and just
Speaker 1: her whole curation of life on her Instagram page, there's food, art,
Speaker 1: things about communication. It is beautiful and I am into it.
Speaker 1: And the other cool thing TT is that Ashley's work
Speaker 1: is going to be on display at the Nasher Museum
Speaker 1: on Duke's campus in January, and we'll be there in
Speaker 1: January so we can get to see it.
Speaker 2: I love that.
Speaker 3: So my one thing is this app that I was
Speaker 3: told about by a friend. It's called I Talkie, and
Speaker 3: on I Talkie you can learn pretty much any language.
Speaker 3: It's not like other language apps where you know, you
Speaker 3: kind of just type things in and you're listening. It
Speaker 3: actually pairs you with someone who is fluent in the
Speaker 3: language that you are interested in learning. So for me,
Speaker 3: I wanted to learn Yuruba. My father's from Nigeria, so
Speaker 3: I went on there looking for a Yuroba teacher and
Speaker 3: I came across my Yuruba teacher, Mochisla, and she lives
Speaker 3: in Nigeria, and so for the last four months, two
Speaker 3: to three times a week I meet with her to
Speaker 3: learn the language and it has been revolutionary.
Speaker 2: I've tried a lot of different.
Speaker 3: Ways to learn earn languages over the years, and especially
Speaker 3: at the age that I'm at now, this big age
Speaker 3: is really difficult. But I Talkie because they're pairing you
Speaker 3: with an actual person who can cater lessons to you
Speaker 3: and go at the speed that you need. It's perfect.
Speaker 3: I feel like I am learning the language at a
Speaker 3: pace that works for me, and it's sticking because she's
Speaker 3: such an amazing teacher. If you're thinking about learning a
Speaker 3: language and you want to learn from a person, I talk.
Speaker 2: He is the way to go. And it's spelled I
Speaker 2: T A L K I.
Speaker 3: So that's what you're looking for in the app store.
Speaker 3: Nope Cabs is a Spotify original production from Mega Owned
Speaker 3: Media Group. Our producers are Jenny Radlan Mask and Lydia
Speaker 3: Smith of Wave Runner Studios.
Speaker 2: Editing and sound design by Rob.
Speaker 1: Smerciak, Mixing by Hannes Brown.
Speaker 3: Original music composed and produced by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex.
Speaker 1: Suguer from Spotify. Our executive producer is Gina Yack and
Speaker 1: creative producers are Baron Farmer and Candice Benriquez Friends.
Speaker 3: Special thanks to Shirley Ramos, Yasmin a Fifi Camu Alolia,
Speaker 3: Till Krackkee and Brian Marquis.
Speaker 1: Executive producers from Mega Own Media Group are us T.
Speaker 1: T Show, Dia and Zakiah Wattie.
Speaker 2: Do you like Baja Blast from Taco Bell.
Speaker 1: No, I'm saying no, but I've never had it.
Speaker 3: It's probably one of the best sodas I've ever had
Speaker 3: in my life. I've been drinking Baja Blast for very
Speaker 3: many years, and I swear by it like I even
Speaker 3: prefer it over McDonald's Sprite, which.
Speaker 1: Really my top drink is actually McDonald's Doctor Pepper.
Speaker 3: Oh for real, Mine is Baja Blast from Taco Bell,
Speaker 3: a coke from McDonald's, then sprite for McDonald's.
Speaker 1: Yes, I do remember coke from McDonald's in grad school.
Speaker 1: I do remember that if you.
Speaker 2: Cut me, I was bleeding coke from McDonald's. It kept
Speaker 2: me going, it did
Speaker 4: H