Cihan Duezguen, CEO & Co-Founder of Green Banana | Episode 475

Your BNPL strategy can’t be “pick one provider and hope.” When you sell across borders, buy now pay later becomes a payments infrastructure problem: different countries, different regulations, different checkout habits, and a constant pressure to keep conversion high without turning your team into an integration factory.

We sit down with Cihan Duezguen, CEO and Co-Founder of Green Banana, to unpack a focused approach to payment orchestration built specifically for BNPL. We talk through why merchants and payment service providers are asking for a single, harmonized API that can connect to multiple BNPL providers while staying invisible to the shopper. 

Cihan explains what it means to be an agnostic infrastructure layer, why Green Banana doesn’t run its own risk or credit checks, and how neutrality creates flexibility for merchants that need to change providers as requirements shift. 

From there we zoom out to the bigger payments trends Cihan is watching: stablecoins as a back-end innovation that could unlock new value for PSPs, banks, and merchants, plus the rise of agentic commerce where AI agents buy products through voice prompts and automated flows. If those changes land the way he expects, the retailers and payment leaders who prepare now will win the next generation of checkout UX. 

Transcript

Show Kickoff And Context

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Leaders in Payments Podcast, where we talk to sea level leaders from across the payments landscape. We'll be discussing the products and services that impact the payment space today, as well as trends and predictions for the future of payments. We will also hear stories from our guests about their journeys to the topic.

SPEAKER_02 0:18

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Leaders in Payments Podcast. I'm your host, Greg Myers, and today's special guest is Jihan Guzdin, the CEO and co-founder of Green Banana. So, Gihan, thank you so much for being here and welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you.

Cihan’s Path Into Payments

SPEAKER_02 0:31

So before we dive into the company and what you do, can you give us a quick snapshot of your personal background, maybe where you grew up, where you call home today, a few things like that?

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Yeah, absolutely. I'm born and grow up here in Frankfurt, Germany, and um working a long time at uh retail space and moved years ago into the payment industry, working for FIS, for WaltPay, one of the largest acquirer. And now, since two years, we founded our own company. And uh yeah, thank you for having me here.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

Oh, absolutely.

The Problem That Sparked Green Banana

SPEAKER_02 1:04

So maybe tell us a little bit about how you started, why you started Green Banana.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

It's pretty simple. Uh, with my background from the retail space, e-commerce space, I I saw how people would like to pay and uh how merchants um offer their checkout to get paid. And then uh I moved into the payment industry and I realized hey, with payments you can help merchants to get uh better UX to get to get more uh turnover. And then some uh large merchants come coming to me and uh asking for for hey, we need buy now palator for other countries, for other regions. And I was wondering why the actual setup is not covering all the requirements what uh merchants got on the table. Yeah, and um after a couple of of a lot of interviews, I take over that and and and uh had a lot of interviews, and then I make my first business on the voice and just connected BMPL providers with merchants, and then I realized hey, there is a need, there is a market, and it it runs also without technology, but to scale it up, you need a gateway, you need a platform or ecosystem where you can bring and scale up bina-operator providers with merchants together. And so I founded Green Banana with a great pair of people, with great co-founders. We are working together in uh in the old company, so we have the strong uh relationship, this the strong uh knowing each other, and then um yeah, we start uh the journey, and the journey is amazing, actually.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

Okay. Well, maybe tell us a little more about the company, maybe who your target customer is. And then, of course, you had a big announcement recently, and I want to make sure you talk about that as well.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Yeah,

Platform Build And Major PSP Win

SPEAKER_01 2:52

absolutely. At first, we start just building the the platform and bringing BNPL providers from different uh kinds of regions uh to our platform and to cover wide label BNPL providers, could to cover branded solutions and also hybrid, and then also to get more into the deep dive with is it B2B or is it B2C BNPL providers? And after, as we do that, we win the first merchants who using our gateway or platform to enable with BNPL how they need. And this was a very very in a very, very short time. And uh last week we had a big announcement that now major German payment service provider, it's called Fower Payment, they using our infrastructure at their OPG platform, it's an omni-channel platform, to enable merchants with the best uh BMPL infrastructure in the international market. And this journey shows how BNPL is a new category on payment orchestration. Payment orchestration is nothing something new, it's kind of traditional if you look to the large uh acquirers like ADIN or Stripe or Xopay, it's more traditional. What we are doing is to select category on BNPL and to stay focused on BNPL and to enable all the environment with BNPL. And this makes us very, very proud, and we are very thankful for that. And what we also see in the markets that in LATAM there is a other acquire called DLocal, they're starting also with BMPL orchestration. In the UK market is one competitor, it's called PPRO. They're also starting with BMPL orchestration, and this shows us hey, we have the it's the right time to do that.

Customers And The One-API Pitch

SPEAKER_02 4:45

Okay. So who is your typical customer? Is it the merchant or is it through partners?

SPEAKER_01 4:50

When you look to our um uh RICE, at first to win the partners, and now and after that we win the the clients, the merchants, the retailers, and they are using BNPL how they wanted to use it, how their requirements are. So the first one was merchants, and now we enable payment service providers with BNPL. So we see us as an infrastructure layer to simplify BNPL for three different kinds of uh strengths: merchants, payment service provider, and also banks.

SPEAKER_02 5:25

So, what do you think is the biggest challenge that you're solving for your customers right now?

SPEAKER_01 5:31

It's pretty simple to get one API and behind this API to select the BNPL provider what you need. It's pretty simple, and if you're talking with acquirers or PSPs, everybody has a part of BMPL on their table. How we bring it to the table, it's massive.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Well, what makes you different than say your competitors out there?

SPEAKER_01 5:54

We are seeing us as a um as an agnostic of infrastructure layer. We are seamless and and and invisible. We are not a branded solution, we have no own risk check or own credit check. Everything is related on the BMPN provider. Why? Because it's their bread and butter business, they know their market as well, as best, they have the experience there, and they they cover all the requirements which is needed in the local market, and we are able and give a harmonized API to our users, to our emergency. And this makes uh very, very unique.

SPEAKER_02 6:36

Okay.

Europe’s Fragmented BNPL Reality

SPEAKER_02 6:37

Can you talk a little bit about maybe you know, in the US, I think people will be very familiar with kind of the big players, you know, the Klarnas of firms and those. But when you get into Europe, and correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there like a lot of solutions, like a lot of different BNPL solutions, even by country?

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Absolutely. If you look to my homeland, uh Germany, by now Peleta is more open invoice. Yeah, you don't need a debit card or credit card, you just need your name, address, birth date, mobile number, and email address, and then the BMPA provider will check the risk check and the credit check and uh will send you a green flag and you can will get your your goods. Yeah, and uh you don't need a debit or credit card. And if you look into the other European regions, they are also fragmented. The regulatory is very fragmented. And to cover all this, you need a player who can give you one API and give you the strengths to the markets with the regulatory aspect. And this is what we're covering.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

Okay. Was there any initial pushback from the BNPL players? Were they thinking like, why would we why would we do this? Why would we be you know put together maybe with our competitors? Did you have that kind of pushback?

SPEAKER_01 7:56

What we are enabling, we are we are neutral. Yeah, so we don't prefer any kind of BMP providers against the others. We just give the infrastructure to our immersions, and the merchant makes the selection. Hey, I want a white label, I want uh Germany, I want East Side of Europe or Nordics or Italy or France, and they choose what they want to choose. We cannot influence them, and we don't want to influence them. But what we bring for the BNPL providers more visibility, more touch points to be on their view on the merchant side. So the merchant can always change the BNPL provider how their requirements are. And this has a feel like touch and feel like sales as a service, yeah, to enable their value.

SPEAKER_02 8:47

Gotcha. Okay.

Infrastructure Growth And Embedded Finance

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Well, let's talk about the future a little bit. Where do you see the biggest growth opportunity for what you're doing?

SPEAKER_01 8:53

Infrastructure. We offer infrastructure, white label infrastructure, invisible infrastructure, and uh strong partnership, strong collaboration, and um this to building an international BNPL network wherever our merchants are to help them there. They don't need to think, hey, who I have to select. Yeah, they just have to think, hey, I can choose being a green banana, and they will bring me the the best one, what I need in my checkout. And and this is a big, big opportunity. And what we see also for for banks is a big opportunity, for PSPs, it's a big opportunity, and everything between them. Embedded finance is a is a great buzzword to have a feeling what happens actually. If you look to neo banks behind uh or against the traditional banks, you see there is so much embedded features like mobile phone. Yeah, if you look to Revolut, you can use uh Revolut to get a SIM eSIM card, yeah. Or Clana, the same, yeah. They're offering a lot of embedded services, and we see as uh like uh BNPL embedded services to bring what the merchants need at the max.

SPEAKER_02 10:08

Okay. So what does success look like for your company over say the next three to five years?

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Yeah, to to be the one and only BNPL orchestrator, to be involved at more PSPs, more carnivores also in the banking infrastructure, to enable every ecosystem to build the ecosystem which is behind, and um to be that uh the the first one.

SPEAKER_02 10:34

Okay.

The Meaning Behind Green Banana

SPEAKER_02 10:35

Well, before we go any further, I have to ask this question, and I'm sure people who are are listening and watching are gonna want to know where the name Green Banana came from.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

It's so pretty when you heard the name, you're feeling good. Yeah, and feeling good is uh something very, very important. And banana, what presents banana? Banana is simply is to simplify things. And with um our attitude to simplify by now by later, it's to simplify APIs, to simplify requirements. And uh with green, we mentioned a green field, always to think how we can enable customers, BMPL providers, merchants, banks to get the best solution. And nothing when you looked into the past, as I started my career in the in the retail space, online shopping was something. Are you crazy? Who needs online shopping? You you can go to the store behind your house and get the things immediately. Yeah, and now everything is online. It's streaming, it's music, it's chatting, it's shopping, it's food, everything is online. Yeah, and um what we are doing is Greenfield is fresh, and in in a couple of years it's more traditional. Why? Because technical is moving fast. Yeah, if you look to the market of payments as with stable coins, in the past, stable coins everybody would mention, hey, are you crazy? Are you who why I need stable coins, why I need uh crypto or blockchain? And now it's coming more and more not traditional, but but more and more normal. Yeah, and this is what I learned in my in my career from retail payments and banking, everything is just is in the moment just a time slot. Yeah, and when you go forward, you always need to be more innovative. And what we are doing is very, very innovative.

Stablecoins As A Back-End Shift

SPEAKER_02 12:31

Well, when you kind of zoom out and look at at a big picture, what are some of the biggest trends that you think are reshaping the payments industry today?

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Stablecoins. Short answer, stable coins. Why? Because I think it's not in the front end, the new trend, it's more on the back end the new trend. The front rent for the uh shoppers should be the same as they pay it today, intuitive front end, but back end, the stable coins will bring a lot of value, a lot of enablement for the payment service providers, for the banks, for the customer, for the merchants. And this is really, really, very, very, very unique for me. Stablecoins has the same same impact as starting online shopping. Yeah, nobody believes at the first air, and uh years later, everything runs on online business. And stablecoins the same. Actually, it's it's it's running similar to the traditional payments, to the traditional uh network, but in the future or more, as we see, will it be the the the next generation and yeah, normal.

unknown 13:38

Okay.

Agentic Commerce And Retail Readiness

SPEAKER_02 13:39

What are your thoughts on a gentic commerce having agents buying for people?

SPEAKER_01 13:43

This is really, really something. Wow. I have no words for that. Why? Because um you just need to to act with your voice. I want blue shoes, and everything will be done. You do this is really really like Star Trek. Yeah, I I loved Star Trek. Why? Because when you look to Star Trek, there was a iPad was there, there was a serial or Alexa was there, and uh all this vision coming true, more and more true. Now you can just tell, hey, I want red shoes or blue shoes from Nike or Adias, and it will do. It will happen. And this is really, really amazing for retailers, and retailers have to be prepared on agente commerce. It's the next generation, and when you as a retailer don't act in the space with the right shop system, with the right payment service provider, you will lose your future business because it's like you a traditional retailer with no online shop, and this will enable you to be a part of the of the new generation.

SPEAKER_02 14:58

Do you think this this whole AI agentic commerce is it gonna positively or negatively affect your business? Or what what do you see there?

SPEAKER_01 15:06

I see new trends and new technology always as a new chance. Why, when you look into the past, everything was what comes as a new trend. People are frightened, people are uh oh, it will uh yeah, it's not feeling good as a good act, but if you look to the future, it will help to bring more synekies, it will help to bring more a better UX, and this will enable everybody from from the local retailer to the enterprise retailer to act more and better in a better way.

SPEAKER_02 15:43

Okay, well, a couple of final questions before

Career Advice On Execution

SPEAKER_02 15:46

we wrap up. So if you could go back and give your younger self some advice at the start of your career, what would that advice be?

SPEAKER_01 15:52

It would be a believe more in yourself, in your own strengths, and there is nothing which is right or wrong. It's just try and error. Try and error, to be more more uh in this way, to lead with with integrity, to take more risk on on this by your yourself and uh life is too short. Just to looking back, hey, I missed an opportunity or miss um a possibility. It was very funny as as Napster starting and fail. I think hey, what can be the next trend? And I I think about movies and series, yeah. I think hey, how would the world look like if movies would be available on internet? And then I reach out to to one of the largest um publishers of movies. I don't want to say any kind of name, but they they looked to me and mentioned, hey, it's a crazy idea, but we're selling a lot of DVDs, and uh this will never happen. Why? Because if you look to the internet, it would take so much time to bring all this data into the net, to the internet. Yeah, and if you look now, there's a huge uh streaming uh portals who are covering and uh big competition is there, and idea is good, but the execution is the most important thing. To get ideas can be challenging, maybe, but to bring that on the street, this is what makes the difference. And from my perspective, A, I had this idea. Other people outside uh European has also the same idea, but they're starting with a different kind of approach. And this shows everything what you're thinking can think from other people. The differentiator is to execute that.

SPEAKER_02 17:42

Yeah, I love it. I think that's great, great advice, great uh great wisdom there. So uh two final questions.

What Payment Leaders Should Track

SPEAKER_02 17:49

What's the one thing that you think payment leaders today that are maybe listening to the show, what should they be thinking about being in the payments industry right now?

SPEAKER_01 17:57

I think as a payment leader, stay in focus, what you are doing, be the best, what you are doing, and also to look behind what's happening in the other businesses or in other verticals, to have this adaptation. Hey, there is a trend, how it can impact my own payment business, and how I can be maybe the first mover, or if I want to be the second mover, to look who are doing something new and maybe to follow up on this. And I think as a payment leader, this is very, very important because technology moves so fast, everything changing so fast. Speaking today about agentic commerce, 10 years ago, it was not uh visible, it was not um thinkable. Yeah, and uh to don't lose the opportunity to to all also can change the driver's where you're sitting. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:53

Okay, so one final question.

Takeaways And Closing

SPEAKER_02 18:55

What would you have as the key takeaways from this episode? What do you want people to remember about Green Banana?

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Just starting when you have an idea, just starting, have a lot of interviews and to believe in yourself. Yeah, this is very, very important to create a great team where you can take over the needs of the market. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:16

Okay. Well, John, this has been a great show. I really appreciate you being on and sharing your journey and and your story and about Green Banana and what you're doing in the BNPL space. So I know your time is very valuable. So I really thank you so much for being here and I really appreciate your time today.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

And thank you so much. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 19:36

Yeah, absolutely. And to all your listeners out there, I thank you for your time as well. And until the next story.

SPEAKER_00 19:41

Thank you for joining us this week on the Leaders in Payments Podcast. Make sure you visit our website at leadersinpayments.com, where you can subscribe to the show and where you'll find our show notes. If you enjoyed listening, please share on your social channels as well.