Podcast 138: Criminals don’t steal money. They steal identities. With Dan Feaheny.

Having our entire mission revolve around fintech and finance, we’re bound to discuss how banking evolved in the recent years. Even more so, we’re likely to address the issue of security. In this episode of the Fintech Garden podcast, our own Igor Tomych sits down with Dan Feaheny, 

From mobile banking to real-time finance

The two fintech experts trace how banking evolved from branch-based, paper-heavy processes into mobile-first, real-time systems. Dan and Igor reflect on the early fintech wave that followed the rise of smartphones, when challenger banks redefined customer expectations around convenience, cost, and speed. 

Adoption was gradual at first, with mobile apps mainly used to check balances rather than move money, until COVID accelerated full digital usage. This shift collapsed servicing costs, enabled open banking through APIs, and exposed the limitations of legacy core banking. Banking moved from end-of-day processing to always-on infrastructure, but this technical progress outpaced how identity and trust were handled.

Why digital identity is the missing layer

As finance became faster and more automated, identity remained rooted in analog thinking. The conversation centers on the growing gap between real-time money movement and weak digital identity verification, where fraudsters target identities rather than funds. Uploading documents and selfies is framed as digitizing paper, not true digital identity. 

Dan argues that secure digital identity must be built on zero-knowledge proof, cryptography, and user-controlled consent, without centralized databases that create security honeypots. The episode points to self-sovereign identity, EU-led initiatives, and device-based approaches from big tech as early steps toward a system where individuals own and control their digital selves. Without this foundation, the next phase of fintech, AI-driven services, wallets, and stablecoins becomes faster, but not safer.