Coworking: Whitney LaRow sees promise in real-time payments, open banking

Coworking is a weekly segment where we spotlight Tech Brew readers who work with emerging technologies. Click here if you’d like a chance to be featured.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?

I work with our talented product and engineering team to build, maintain, and improve our product. Catch innovates e-commerce payments and rewards by eliminating credit-card processing fees and transforming these savings into store credit for shoppers. We’re committed to a mutually beneficial model that supports both merchants and shoppers, which generates a dynamic landscape where there’s always room for growth and refinement. I help the team identify and execute on the most high-impact work we can do to enhance the product for all our customers.

What’s the most compelling tech project you’ve worked on, and why?

I loved building the first release of our product. We moved quickly to get something out in front of customers so we could then begin collecting feedback and iterating on it. I learned more in that period of time than any other in my career, not only about the payments and e-commerce industries, but about how to build something from zero to one and teach yourself new things when there’s much less structure around to guide you.

What technologies are you most optimistic about? Least? And why?

It’s hard not to be excited about AI assistants given all the recent advancements. They’re making us much more efficient and automating out some of the tedious and less exciting parts of work so that we can all dedicate more time to what’s energizing and needle-moving.

On a different thread, I’m also excited about the future of real-time payment rails, and open banking. Payments and banking infrastructure look very different from country to country, and there’s a lot that we can improve upon by learning from what’s working well elsewhere.

What’s the best tech-related media you read/watch/listen to?

I enjoy listening to The Journal podcast. It does a great job covering recent events in business more broadly and is the perfect duration for my 20-minute walk to work.

What’s something about you we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile?

I love being outside—hiking, biking, playing pickleball, doing yard work, reading a book in the park, you name it.

What do you think about when you’re not thinking about tech?

Which fun new adventure I should embark on this weekend. I love exploring new NYC neighborhoods, trying out restaurants, visiting museums, and taking weekend trips.