In this edition of YAP On The Record, we speak with Matt Jones, Co-Editor for This Week in Fintech’s UK and Europe newsletter. Matt shares his journey from traditional banking into fintech, the evolution of payments in Europe, and how crypto, stablecoins, and geopolitics are reshaping today’s financial technology landscape.
Matt has over 15 years of experience in the fintech sector. As a Co-Editor at This Week in Fintech, he covers fintech, payments, and financial infrastructure developments across the UK and Europe. In addition to his editorial role, Matt also runs Payments Culture, a popular Substack exploring “how money moves differently around the world”.
Tell us about yourself and how you got into fintech:
I started out at an acquiring bank in Frankfurt during the summer of 2007, well before the payments industry became what we now understand as fintech—pioneers like Square wouldn’t appear until 2009. Back then, the payments landscape was dominated by banks. They not only issued cards but also processed payments for businesses, often running issuing divisions alongside their personal and business banking services.
The 2008 financial crisis spurred many European banks to redefine their core activities. They sold overseas operations and ditched business areas that no longer fit their strategy. Worldpay and HSBC, for example, sold their card acquiring businesses to private equity firms or other third parties. What followed was fintech startups that leveraged emerging technologies such as the iPhone, app stores as a distribution mechanism, and cloud computing. These innovations were revolutionary in their times and laid the foundation for the industry we see today.
It was through seeing the world’s largest banks turn their back on payments and seeing the opportunities created that I found myself moving into fintech.
With more than 15 years of experience in the fintech and payments industry, were there any industry-wide developments that caught you by surprise? When did crypto come into the picture?
One of the biggest industry shifts I hadn’t expected was the move to API-first, developer-first payments architecture. Previously, payment processors acted as gatekeepers, and businesses could wait weeks for a merchant account to be approved before they could start accepting payments. The process wasn’t tech-first; it was slow, manual, and operationally heavy.
This began to change when Stripe started breaking through in Europe. While most established payments lacked public-facing APIs, Stripe allows any developer to write code that connects directly to Stripe’s payment system and for merchants to go live quickly. Instead of competing on price, Stripe focused on ease of integration and speed, quickly winning over much of the startup world.
As for crypto, I first learned about the sector in 2015 whilst reading Nathaniel Popper’s Digital Gold on a beach in Malta. The book highlights Bitcoin’s origins as a libertarian initiative, its early momentum, and the remarkable returns for early buyers. Buying Bitcoin used to involve a lot of hard work and high transaction fees, but those who got in at around $5,000 per token and held on saw roughly a 20x return.
How would you describe the fintech landscape or by extension — the crypto sector in Europe?
European countries have followed distinct paths when it comes to money, payments, and emerging technology. There’s both a technical and cultural aspect to this: Germany, for example, has long been a cash-heavy economy. Even in today’s seemingly cashless society, you wouldn’t want to visit Berlin without some Euro notes. In contrast, the UK has widely accepted card payments for over a decade. The Netherlands relies on iDeal, an account-to-account system soon to be integrated into the pan-European payment option Wero.
Despite these differences, the EU benefits from a shared currency and regulatory framework. National nuances exist, but EU-based fintechs can generally passport their licenses across the bloc. Take deblock, which offers crypto alongside current accounts— MiCA allows it to expand from France to other EU markets with ease. Meanwhile, the UK is self-regulating post-Brexit, requiring UK-specific authorization and entities for its own crypto regime.
Having covered fintech and crypto, are there any interesting similarities or differences in how the two industries operate or communicate?
I personally think of fintech and crypto as two sides of the same coin. Both deal with “financial technology”, but the industries still operate in silos, with most people identifying as either fintech or Web3. This is starting to change with the rising popularity of stablecoins in 2025. The GENIUS Act brought regulatory clarity for the asset, encouraging companies like Visa and Mastercard to start integrating stablecoins into their infrastructure.
From a marketing perspective, crypto teams move faster than their fintech counterparts. The industry operates 24/7, and many founders see themselves at the forefront of innovation, openly discussing their products and vision for the future.
What is your usual process when picking a main story to cover in TWIF’s newsletter?
I edit the UK and Europe edition, with some scope to feature global stories. I usually select a local story to lead with. For example, the 12 Jan entry highlighted UK fintech unicorn Zilch’s acquisition of Lithuania’s Fjord Bank, allowing the company to operate across the EU.
This story was interesting as it reflects the post-Brexit strategy of UK companies: Should they expand their presence in the US or the EU? The US can look like a juicy proposition, but complex regulation and intense competition make it a challenging market to crack.With Monzo obtaining its Irish licence last December and Zilch following a similar path, the lead invites readers to consider whether 2026 will be the year UK fintech unicorns start scaling across the continent.
Essentially, I look for stories that matter in the moment but also point to broader trends likely to unfold over time.
Do you have a preferred format for incoming pitches?
I like to stay open-minded on the format, as long as it outlines the story and explains why it matters. Speaking from experience as a writer and consultant in fintech, many products and announcements also claim to be “game-changers”. An authentic, well-reasoned pitch always stands out over an exaggerated one.
What is one thing you wish that people get right when pitching or writing about fintech?
Good fintech writing walks a fine line: it explains news and concepts simply enough for newcomers to understand, whilst still offering value to industry experts. This balance comes from clear writing and the ability to present concepts effectively.
When pitching or drafting a story, a key question worth asking is “Why should the reader care?” Too often, news is framed around what it means internally for a company, rather than its relevance to the wider industry and publication audience. Setting the scene and explaining the significance from the reader’s perspective makes all the difference.
What is one fintech trend or narrative that you look forward to covering in 2026?
One macro trend I’ve been thinking about is the growing role of geopolitics in fintech. This includes topics like payments sovereignty through domestic digital wallets, currency competition via CBDCs and stablecoins, and rival international settlement systems such as SWIFT and China’s CIPS— all of which tie back to global power dynamics. As the world becomes more fragmented and unpredictable, the geopolitical dimension of fintech will only be more important to understand in 2026 and beyond.
