For this second episode of Two for Tea and Tea for Two, i received Goran Bosankic, Chief Revenue Officer of Field39, a Croatian tech company specialised in Card Payment Processing solution
Similarly to Vassilina, I met Goran thanks to LinkedIn, he regularly interacts with my posts.
While discussing with him, I immediately felt his “guest potential”, and the conversation with Goran flew easily
This episode was recorded the day before I attended at MoneyMotion’s end of March in Zagreb.
Jordan introduces the vision behind Tea for Two, and Two for Tea — a podcast to spill real insights in payments, far from the marketing noise. He sets the tone: independent, curious, and a bit cheeky. Guest of episode: Goran Bosankic, CRO of Field39
The conversation explores why cash remains widely used in Croatia despite strong card infrastructure. Goran explains that many small merchants prefer cash due to liquidity and acquirer fee structures, while cultural habits and past economic instability (e.g. inflation, Yugoslav legacy) also play a role. He emphasizes that although card usage is growing, cash offers resilience, especially in crises, and continues to be supported by state infrastructure like FINA.
Jordan and Goran highlight that while digital payments are easy to trace, cash transactions are inherently invisible, making statistics like “64.5% cash usage” hard to verify. However, in Croatia, advanced fiscalization systems help estimate cash use, and state initiatives like FINA show that cash can be modernized rather than dismissed as obsolete.
The conversation shifts to the idea of “leapfrogging” from cash directly to digital wallets or super apps. Goran argues that such transitions are far more nuanced than they appear, and successful examples like M-Pesa or Alipay are deeply rooted in local context. He stresses that Europe’s diversity, across cultures, regulations, and infrastructures, makes it nearly impossible to replicate these models, and reminds listeners that consumers ultimately seek simplicity, not flashy new channels.
Goran emphasizes that consumers don’t care about abstract concepts like “omnichannel”—they care about convenience, interoperability, and safety. He explains that current card systems already deliver these values and that any new payment method must meet or exceed them. Using a simple restaurant scenario, he illustrates that people just want to pay effortlessly and reliably, without extra steps or complications.
the discussion turns to the gap between e-commerce and face-to-face payments. Goran explains that while face-to-face payments prioritize speed and reliability, e-commerce requires smoother, low-friction checkout experiences to reduce cart abandonment. He also highlights how e-commerce integration is more complex, affecting customer journey, branding, and inventory, whereas physical payments rely on simple terminal setups. This makes selling e-commerce solutions more demanding and nuanced than selling traditional point-of-sale systems.
the conversation explores the evolving relationship between banks and paytechs. Goran explains that historically, banks didn’t view retail payments as core business and often offloaded acquiring to paytechs, leading to consolidation (e.g. Nexi, Worldline). However, the success of players like Adyen and Stripe is prompting some banks, especially in transitional markets such as Croatia, to reassess their role. Banks are now shifting toward infrastructure providers, collaborating with paytechs through fintech hubs and enabling innovation on top of their licensed capabilities.
The discussion focuses on regulatory pressure and the maturing of the fintech ecosystem. Goran and Jordan agree that while fintechs initially thrived under relaxed oversight post-PSD1 and PSD2, regulators are now cracking down, especially on compliance, KYC, and onboarding. Goran stresses that serious fintech growth requires regulatory rigour, which is costly and often underestimated, and that many players will struggle to scale if they can’t absorb the financial and operational demands of compliance.
The conversation wraps up with a look at the future of European payments, particularly SEPA Instant. Goran sees potential for innovation if SEPA Instant is implemented well, despite current issues like the 10-second limit and lack of chargebacks. He also critiques models like UPI, noting they worked in India due to specific local needs, while Europe’s situation is fundamentally different. Both agree that without clear business incentives, there will be no sustained innovation—payments may be free to consumers, but someone must ultimately fund and maintain the infrastructure.
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About the Spill the tea on Payment:
Spill the tea on Payment is a blog on payment industry. We aim at providing independent opinions, educations and inspiring content on Payment Industry, E-commerce and Retail industry. All opinions are the ones from their respective authors.