Organizing Life Through Fintech: Fraser Stewart on Building Lyfeguard – Fintech Garden Episode 126

Podcast #126: From Legacy to Lyfeguard—Fraser Stewart on Building a Secure Future for Financial Data

In this episode of the Fintech Garden podcast, Igor Tomych sits down with Fraser Stewart, founder of Lyfeguard, to explore how fintech can help people organize, protect, and share their most valuable asset: personal and financial information.

Born from a deeply personal story, Lyfeguard began when Fraser’s father struggled to settle two friends’ estates after their passing. Eighteen months of confusion revealed a painful truth: people don’t have a single, secure place to manage life-critical information. That experience became the foundation for Lyfeguard, a digital vault for managing everything that matters, from financial data to personal documents and family access.

The Mission: From Death Planning to Life Management

Lyfeguard aims to shift the taboo around financial preparedness. Instead of focusing on end-of-life, the platform empowers users to manage life—bills, policies, pensions, assets, and digital identity—in one intuitive, encrypted space.

Through open banking and open finance integrations, Lyfeguard connects with banks, cards, loans, mortgages, pensions, and soon, crypto wallets. The platform doesn’t just store data—it visualizes it, keeps it up-to-date, and allows users to share specific parts (like a passport or a will) securely with family or advisers.

Technology Behind Trust

• AES-256 encryption protects all user data in transit and at rest.
• Granular permissioning allows users to share information selectively; full control stays with them.
• Open banking integrations via Moneyhub provide real-time balances and insights.
• AI roadmap aims to assist users with intelligent data entry and financial pattern recognition.

The Business Model: B2B2C with a Human Touch

Initially launched as a B2C product, Lyfeguard soon expanded into a B2B2C model. The platform now partners with financial advisers, private lawyers, and insurers who offer Lyfeguard to clients during key moments—annual reviews, will writing, or policy signings.

This model enhances client engagement, gives advisers richer data, and bridges a critical industry gap: when clients pass away, 90% of beneficiaries leave their adviser. Lyfeguard helps maintain those relationships across generations.

Lessons and Challenges

• Positioning matters: shifting from “end-of-life planning” to “life organization” was key to adoption.
• Purpose-driven onboarding: users engage most when introduced through trusted moments.
• Regulation & privacy: data security is non-negotiable; compliance defines trust.
• Market readiness: open banking is just the start—open finance and open data will redefine the next decade.

Why This Episode Matters

As financial services evolve from accounts to ecosystems, Lyfeguard stands at the intersection of data security, open finance, and human connection. Stuart’s journey is a case study in building fintech with purpose, blending empathy, compliance, and innovation.

📚 Book recommendations: The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel and Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine.

🎧 Listen to Episode 126 to explore how fintech is changing not just how we pay — but how we prepare for life itself.