Yes, it is a difficult industry for a woman, but which industry isn't.

Andgentic payment sounds all very fancy and complex, but the idea is actually pretty simple.

So it's when the AI, like a bot or an assistant, is actually executing a payment

on your behalf without you having to physically authorise that payment.

We need to have legislation and a regulatory framework that keeps businesses here that enables businesses to continuously

innovate out of the UK because otherwise we do risk losing to the US.

And now a message from our podcast sponsor, HSBC Innovation Banking.

You're not ordinary.

No nine to five meetings about meetings or compulsory corporate team building for you.

Your business is extraordinary and you need an extraordinary bank.

From pre-seed to IPO and beyond, HSBC Innovation Banking offers VC-backed tech and life science businesses custom solutions, co-created by actual industry experts and delivered by a dedicated team you can call whenever you need.

Discover extraordinary at HSBCinnoving.com.com.com.com. Hello and welcome to the UKTM

podcast, a weekly chat with the movers and shakers of the UK tech industry and the destination for

all things UK tech related. I'm your host, Jane Wakefield, and today I am joined by

Iiana Dimitrava, the CEO of OpenPaid, a financial services infrastructure firm. Welcome.

Jane, thank you so much for having me and for having OpenPaid. It's an absolute pleasure

to join you today. So let's start with a little bit about

yourself. How did you get into the world of fintech? Oh, how I got in the world of fintech. It was

by accident, not by design. By way of background, I studied and qualified as a lawyer. So I started

my early career in private practice as any young aspiring lawyer.

Spent a couple of years in private practice in corporate law, employment law, just general

legal work. And at some point, I realized that I would like to be much closer to business

...