4 Nov · 24 min

The MoneyPot Live: Architecting a Better Borrowing Experience

In this episode of The Money Pot, host Oliver Smith sits down with Terry O'Neil, Chief Commercial Officer at Pagaya, live from Money20/20 USA in Las Vegas, to explore how AI-led lending is transforming the relationship between banks, borrowers, and capital markets. Terry, who spent over two decades at Citi before joining Pagaya, shares what drew him to the company and explains how Pagaya's network allows banks to approve more customers responsibly without taking on additional balance sheet risk. The conversation dives into why banks struggle to say yes to near prime and subprime borrowers, how Pagaya's API-based integration works invisibly behind the scenes so the customer experience remains entirely within the bank's own branding, and why that seamlessness matters so much, particularly in emotional moments like debt consolidation. Terry also unpacks Pagaya's approach to risk, including how the company uses alternative data sources and insights drawn from four trillion dollars in lifetime application data to responsibly expand credit access while maintaining a highly selective approval rate. He explains the commercial model for banks, built around fee-based revenue and customer lifetime value rather than interest income alone, and discusses how Pagaya's network of more than 150 institutional investors provides the stability needed to navigate changing economic cycles. The episode closes with Terry's practical advice for bank leaders: look at the balances your customers hold elsewhere, keep the user experience seamless, and never stop at the loan itself. Build a long-term cross-sell strategy because the customers you almost missed may turn out to be your most valuable. Pagaya: https://pagaya.com/ Follow Terry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrenceoneil/ Follow Money20/20: YouTube:@Money2020Tv (https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCip4CIpmM13NOAH-j9GiAzg) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/money2020/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/money20_20 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Money2020 X: https://www.twitter.com/Money2020 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@money20_20