In the fourth episode of our series on financial technology, we sat down with Anju Patwardhan, a Fulbright Fellow researching fintech at Stanford University who previously served as the Chief Innovation Officer for Standard Chartered Bank, one of the world’s largest and most international banks. Anju is currently researching the potential for financial technology to increase financial inclusion, particularly for small businesses, at Stanford University. She also serves as a Venture Partner for the Fintech Investment Fund of Creditease, one of China’s largest fintech firms.

We invited Anju to speak with us about her experiences managing fintech activities at a bank, the potential for collaboration and competition between fintech start-ups and traditional banks, and her research activities at Stanford. This conversation touches on a number of interesting subjects. For example, are fintech start-ups competitors or partners for traditional financial institutions? What’s the role of fintech in expanding financial inclusion? Anju also explains how fintech firms are leveraging alternative data sources to improve SME lending.