Podcast: Next in Finance (Ep 4: Michael Petrilli x Jason Leong)

In financial services, trust isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s the foundation.

Whether someone is managing their monthly expenses or a broker is enabling cross-border investing at scale, the expectations are the same: systems must work, information must be clear, and confidence must be earned over time.

That idea is at the centre of this episode of Next in Finance, where Michael Petrilli, Director of NextGen Investing, speaks with Jason Leong, CEO and co-founder of PocketSmith. While PocketSmith focuses on personal finance, the lessons from its 15+ year journey apply just as strongly to global investing and brokerage infrastructure.

For companies like ViewTrade, the audience may be different—but the challenge is the same: building financial technology people can trust with their money.

Episode 4: From Personal Finance to Global Market – How Trust-Driven FinTech Is Redefining Investing Infrastructure

Host: Michael Petrilli, Director of NextGen Investing

Guest: Jason Leong, CEO and co-founder of PocketSmith

This conversation offers a broader blueprint for building sustainable, trust-driven FinTech across both B2C and B2B models.

Solving a Real Financial Problem Before Scaling Technology

PocketSmith didn’t start by trying to disrupt finance. It started by solving a simple, human problem: lack of cashflow visibility. Instead of traditional budgeting, Jason built a forward-looking cashflow calendar that shows when money comes in and when it goes out. That shift from static budgets to dynamic forecasting helped users replace uncertainty with clarity and reduce financial anxiety.

The same principle applies to global investing infrastructure. At ViewTrade, success isn’t just about enabling access to markets. It’s about delivering clarity, predictability, and confidence for brokers, platforms, and their end investors. Strong infrastructure simplifies complexity and keeps it out of sight.

In both cases:
• Flexibility beats rigidity
• Customization drives adoption
• Listening leads to product-market fit

Key takeaways:

• Trust Is Earned Daily in Financial Services: Whether consumer-facing or infrastructure-led, FinTech companies must build trust through transparency, reliability, and honest communication, especially when systems or integrations fail.
• Financial Clarity Beats Traditional Budgeting: Understanding cashflow timing and future visibility matters more than rigid budgeting, helping individuals and institutions make better financial decisions.
• Sustainable, Self-Funded Growth Creates Long-Term Freedom: Avoiding growth-at-all-costs enables fintechs to stay independent, customer-focused, and resilient through market cycles.
• One-Size-Fits-All Finance Doesn’t Work Globally: Successful platforms adapt to different user behaviours, markets, and regulatory environments rather than forcing a single financial model.
• Data Ownership Is Central to User Confidence: Users should control their financial data, with open banking designed to empower not monetize or restrict access to their own information.
• AI Should Support Humans, Not Control Money: AI adds value by surfacing insights and reducing manual work, but decision-making and accountability must remain firmly human-led in finance.

The “Household CFO” and the Institutional Parallel

PocketSmith popularized the idea of the Household CFO, the person quietly managing financial rhythm, bills, and planning. In institutional finance, there’s a parallel: operations teams, compliance leaders, and technology decision-makers who ensure markets function smoothly behind the scenes.

ViewTrade serves these unsung professionals by enabling them to:

• Expand global market access
• Maintain regulatory confidence
• Deliver reliable investing experiences

In both cases, FinTech succeeds when it empowers the people doing the real work—often invisibly.

A Shared Vision for the Future of FinTech

Though PocketSmith and ViewTrade serve different parts of the financial ecosystem, their philosophies converge on what truly matters:

• Trust over hype
• Clarity over complexity
• Sustainability over speed
• Responsibility over automation

As global investing and personal finance continue to intersect, FinTech leaders who embrace these principles won’t just grow, they’ll endure.

Why This Conversation Matters Now

As financial services continue to evolve at unprecedented speed, this conversation serves as a timely reminder that technology alone doesn’t create progress trust does. Whether it’s a personal finance platform helping individuals understand their cashflow or a global infrastructure provider enabling cross-border investing, the fundamentals remain the same: clarity, transparency, and responsibility.

The lessons from this episode reinforce an important truth for the FinTech ecosystem: sustainable companies are built by listening to users, respecting data, and designing systems that work reliably in the real world not just in ideal conditions.

For platforms like ViewTrade, operating at the intersection of technology, regulation, and global markets, these principles are not just strategic choices they are prerequisites. The future of FinTech belongs to companies that build patiently, act responsibly, and never lose sight of the humans behind every transaction.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this episode are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of ViewTrade or its affiliates. This discussion is for informational purposes only and is not investment, legal or tax advice, nor an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security. Private-market and pre-IPO investments involve significant risk, may be illiquid, and are not suitable for all investors.