ID Check: Credolab’s Michele Tucci – Optimise your learning

Payment Expert’s ID Check: Payments Professionals offers insight from industry leaders and experts on how they got their start in the financial industry, from their early years in education, to how they have been able to climb the corporate ladder.

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This week, Michele Tucci, Co-Founder of Credolab, details his deep expertise of local emerging markets, how this led him to launching Capitol One in his native Italy, and why you should always be mindful of carving out a career that is right for you.

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Where did you go to university and what did you study? What impact did this have on your current journey?

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I’m something of a chronic student. I studied business economics at Università degli Studi di Bari in Southern Italy for undergrad, then received my master’s in marketing and communication at the Marketing University of Rome. A few years later, I studied in Boston and Shanghai through Hult International Business School for my MBA, followed by a non-degree program in gamification theory and behavioral sciences at UPenn while between jobs.

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This combination of finance, marketing, and behavioral science is the foundation of my work in credit cards, payments, risk, and fraud. It taught me to connect quantitative evidence with human behavior and cultural context. I’ve conducted business in 45 countries and that training helped me navigate local expectations while building global products.

What was the first job you had in the industry and are there any lessons from this you still draw on?

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I began my journey in the industry as a Project Manager at Capital One, helping launch the Italian business. At that time, Capital One USA considered Italy an emerging market with payments made mostly via debit cards and cash. They thought Italians only spent what they had on their bank accounts and kept cash stashed under the mattress. Fast forward 20 years into my career, now deeply involved in actual emerging markets, I had to laugh.

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It was such a misguided view, yet still somehow relevant in today’s world with debit card-based BNPL purchases and a good portion of many populations still preferring debit cards to credit cards. Whilst Capital One’s culture centered on test-and-learn rigor and the famous Information Based Strategy, it also taught me a principle I use even at Credolab today: analysis can become paralysis. In other words, analysis informs the choice, but judgment makes the decision.

Who was your biggest role model – inside or outside of your industry – who continues to inspire you in your current career?

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My biggest role model was Niccolò Polli, from my Capital One days. He modeled disciplined prioritization, clarity under pressure, and the ability to move quickly without compromising quality.

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The key lesson I took from working for him was that data gets you to high-quality shortlisted options, then leadership judgment selects the way forward. I believe I apply the same blend of evidence and judgment when shaping product strategy and partnerships at Credolab today.

When was your first big break in the industry? Why was this such a significant moment for you?

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Launching Capital One Italy was my first major break. It placed me at the intersection of product, risk, and operations in a market with limited credit card penetration but otherwise highly regulated. It also exposed me to the power of co-branding and partnering as ways to open up a distribution channel and leverage someone else’s capabilities to create a win-win product proposition for consumers.

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Building from that baseline accelerated my understanding of consumer behavior, underwriting, and go-to-market mechanics. It also made the later transition to alternative data, risk assessment, and fraud prevention in fintech a natural progression.

Was there a moment you faced in the industry that really challenged you? How did you overcome this?

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The Covid period compressed our global business into video calls and disrupted product and client roadmaps. I went from traveling and meeting clients face-to-face three times a week to sitting in my home office and talking to a screen for hours.

I averaged 37 hours of video calls per week for the first three months of the lockdown. It was tough but we stayed focused, tracked team members’ productivity, and pivoted from a global/regional scope to a country-specific operating model that tracked reopenings as a way to align with clients and keep revenue coming in.

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We also deepened a strategic partnership with GBG, a global identity verification and fraud prevention provider. This culminated in GBG leading our Series A round at the height of the pandemic.

What are some of the skills you deem essential to starting in your industry and how have yours developed over the years?

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There are a few skills I wish I knew earlier in my career. In some ways, I’m still developing these skills. First, learn to comprehend data. You do not need to be a data scientist, but you must interrogate metrics, understand them, and translate analyses into actionable insights.

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Second, manage up. Especially in large organisations, perception matters as much as performance and output. Framing and communicating decisions clearly can make the difference between being promoted or let go. Third, develop cross-cultural competence. Results vary by market norms, so listening first saves time and prevents mistakes, especially when building international partnerships.

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Finally, embrace early apprenticeships and pay your dues. In Italian, we say ‘fare la gavetta’. Do the unglamorous work while you’re still young and full of energy. It builds resilience and a tolerance for hard work under pressure.

Lastly, what is some advice you would give to an aspiring person looking to get a start in your respective industry?

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Choose roles that align with the work you enjoy and the skills you want to build. If you want ownership and speed, join a startup. I still remember the motto of 12Snap, a B2C mobile commerce startup I joined in 2000: “Faster is better than better”.

If you prefer certainty and structure, choose an established corporation. Either ways, optimise for learning, mentorship, and the chance to deliver real results. Build a portfolio of small wins you can measure, stay close to the customer problem, and develop the habit of turning analysis into action.

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Don’t chase a higher salary. If you are good, the money will follow.

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The original article can be found here: https://paymentexpert.com/2025/10/03/id-check-credolabs-michele-tucci-optimise-your-learning/