Digitization, Regulation, and Execution: An Operator’s View on Germany’s FinTech Reality

Speed has become a decisive competitive advantage in financial services. Yet in Germany, execution is still too often blocked by regulatory complexity, slow decision cycles, and a risk-averse mindset.

In a recent episode of the FWD Podcast, Nicolas Kipp, Founder and CEO of Credibur and Board Member at Bitkom, shared an unfiltered operator perspective on digitization, FinTech, and AI in regulated environments. The conversation goes beyond theory and focuses on what actually works when building and scaling companies under real regulatory constraints.

The episode covers why other countries execute faster and more reliably, how regulation can be used as a competitive advantage instead of an excuse, and where leadership in Germany needs to act more decisively. It also explores concrete lessons from markets like Estonia and Finland, the role of lobbying and industry engagement, and why reforms in payments, crypto, and stablecoins could fundamentally change financial infrastructure.

Rather than more strategy decks, the discussion argues for hands-on execution, clear ownership, and the courage to move from hype to sustainable cash flows.

Podcast Episode

The full conversation with Nicolas Kipp is available here as a German-language episode of the FWD Podcast.