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Aika’s Newsletter

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Revolut's Puzzle
Revolut is shipping products and launching in new countries at a breakneck pace. Will it be a paradigm shifting company?
May 5, 2021 • 
Aika Ussenova
20

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Revolut's Puzzle
Fintech in LatAm: Banking the Unbanked
Nubank, Ualá and others building path to LatAm customer
Sep 9, 2021 • 
Aika Ussenova
16

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Fintech in LatAm: Banking the Unbanked
Where are $100B fintechs?
There are only few big ($100B) companies in finance and almost all of them are incumbents. Where are $100B fintechs?
Feb 14, 2024 • 
Aika Ussenova
17

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Where are $100B fintechs?
5
CashApp Is King
CashApp is a part of Square, a $100b company founded by Jack Dorsey. I provide breakdown of CashApp's business model and economics.
Jan 18, 2021 • 
Aika Ussenova
9

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CashApp Is King
6
Kaspi.kz - What’s Next for the Most Important Company in Kazakhstan
A profile on Kaspi.kz - a bank turned technology company that IPO’d in London last month raising over $1 billion and becoming the largest listing out of…
Nov 12, 2020 • 
Aika Ussenova
11

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Kaspi.kz - What’s Next for the Most Important Company in Kazakhstan
11
Network Effects in Fintech
Can they provide an enduring competitive advantage to consumer fintech companies?
Apr 8, 2022 • 
Aika Ussenova
17

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Network Effects in Fintech
4
Understanding Klarna
Plus: How customers use CashApp and Kaspi.kz financial results
Mar 4, 2021 • 
Aika Ussenova
8

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Understanding Klarna
Tinkoff and Russia's Ecosystems
In Russia, everyone is building ecosystems - Tinkoff, Yandex, Sber, Mail.ru and many more. But Tinkoff is a great bank and perhaps it should stay as…
Feb 8, 2021 • 
Aika Ussenova
11

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Tinkoff and Russia's Ecosystems
1
TransferWise and its Many Pivots
TransferWise proved that fintechs can be profitable. Along the way it didn’t shy away from pivoting. I think its transitioning from B2C to B2B and it…
Nov 27, 2020 • 
Aika Ussenova
5

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TransferWise and its Many Pivots
1
Stripe Should Be a Bank
Stripe is building the internet infrastructure. Paul Graham thinks it's the next Google. Should it become a bank?
Nov 20, 2020 • 
Aika Ussenova
4

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Stripe Should Be a Bank
3
Banking on Young People: gohenry, Current, Step, Greenlight
Banking apps for young people collectively raised over $350 million in recent months. I am looking at their strategies.
Dec 11, 2020 • 
Aika Ussenova
5

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Banking on Young People: gohenry, Current, Step, Greenlight
Why Be a Bank?
There are two types of digital banks: bottom-up and top-down.
Dec 4, 2020 • 
Aika Ussenova
7

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Why Be a Bank?
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