Breaking Banks

We start this week's show with a PSA for those unable to make it to Austin and SXSW.  You need only listen to host Jason Henrich's recap to feel the energy and understand the value of looking at fintech through a different lens, the chance to discover burgeoning tech startups, and rethink opportunities for financial services.

In our second half, host Amber Buker connects with top leadership from First Federal Bank, Matt Deines, CEO and Christopher Riffle, COO/CDO, for a compelling interview about First Fed Bank's wild ride since converting from a thrift in 2015. The PNW bank has undergone big transitions over the last several years, from a leadership change and brand refresh to developing new lines of business and a unique joint venture with Quin, a digital wellness platform that offers benefits like "lifestyle protection." Study the bank's culture and DNA for take-aways and ideas that banks, and anyone, needing to pull off big transitions should consider.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhj7Y3psPfE

Host Brett King begins this week's episode with a conversation with Jim Johnson, President of Worldpay, FIS' Merchant Solutions arm. They discuss insights and ways to fuel the potential of every business around the world, enabling smarter commerce by focusing on key take-aways from Worldpay's Global Payments Report, an annual report which analyzes consumer behavior online and in-the-store in over 41 countries. Worldpay, serves more than a million merchants around the world – including the biggest brands you can think of. It accepts over 300 payment methods in more than 125 countries across markets covering 99% of the world’s GDP. The report is all about trends and how consumers are paying for things in their home country. Buy-Now-Pay-Later was ID'd as the fastest growing payment method online and in-store, and with the return to the store, the point-of-sale market has grown 13 percent globally in 2021, rebounding from the impact of COVID-19 more rapidly than expected. You can find the report, which covers other trends such as crypto, CBDCs, embedded finance and real-time payments, at fisglobal.com/gpr. Learn where the industry is now and where it is headed.

Brett ends this week's show with a conversation with Penny Crosman, Executive Editor, Technology at American Banker, who joins Brett to talk about the current situation in the Ukraine, what's happening with respect to fintech and share examples of what companies and leaders are doing, raising money and rising to the challenge. There's a huge developer community in the Ukraine, hear how industry colleagues are supporting those still working. There are wildcards to consider but the industry does take care of its own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqTgc0a-Msg

Just as red wine is said to be good for the heart, this episode is good for the industry. With a glass of fine red wine, host Jason Henrichs raps with Lindsay Davis, Forbes Contributor and Head of Markets, Atomic about where the fintech industry is, among other things. Money and investment continue despite the various challenges of working in a hybrid world. All validation of the fintech space and this industry near to our heart. If it takes money to change money, you need only look to JPMC which has increased fintech investment from $1B to $7B in just a few years...it has its own blockchain, a virtual branch, continues to add branches and is looking at the metaverse. Business models are changing, as is Jason's drinking vessel to a red solo cup. Solo GPs (General Partner) are on the rise, what does that mean? Spray and pray, will there be a flurry of funding and innovation?

The thirst-quenching episode ends with a view of the future and discussion on untapped markets, you'll need to listen to hear what's been identified. You’ll find Jason at SXSW, grab him for a beverage and look at your digital roadmap 7 to 10 years out, bring sneakers and a water bottle!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IATRIdD_--E

Today we feature two episodes from our Provoke family of podcasts. We start with Jennifer Tescher, host of EMERGE Everywhere and her special guest, Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. In this segment we hear about Her Majesty's passion for financial inclusion which began as a child in Argentina, navigating the impacts of hyperinflation on families and desire to act. In her role as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), she champions access to affordable and safe financial services for communities around the world, especially underserved groups. Through close collaboration with public and private sector partners, her work has driven real progress for financial health.

In our second segment, NextGen Banker host David Reiling speaks with Deloitte's chief futurist, Mike Bechtel. Mike makes predictions about the future based on current trends, but in making predictions about tomorrow, grounds himself in the past. Listen to learn how companies can prepare for the future while also tempering their expectations based on experience. He gives insights into what he feels will drive the technology of tomorrow – “going beyond the screen,” and how corporate leaders can devise a plan to keep up. The banker of the future will “lead with need.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN5NhUGOwfw

This week on Breaking Banks host Brett King interviews the 693rd Lord Mayor of the City of London, Vincent Keaveny. With his mission to invest in a better tomorrow, the head of London Corporation discusses his role in supporting Fintech in the U.K., driving investment, ESG (with his personal emphasis on the S), COP26/27, and his special role in the service of Thanksgiving to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. It’s an engaging piece from across the pond.

Thereafter JP Nicols and Brett speak with author, advisor, and regular commentator on digital financial services David Birch about the modern face of fraud. With Razzlekahn con, a $500 Walmart gift card helped unravel a $4.5 billion crypto money laundering scheme that challenged investigators for years. The face of fraud now has many visages and the devil truly is in the details. Enjoy the episode!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1A1Rvsd49A

What is a DAO? Brett King kicks things off this week by interviewing Marcello Mari, CEO, SingularityDAO. DAOs (Distributed Autonomous Organizations) are gaining traction as the industry looks at company mechanisms and operations and tries to heavily automate them in the blockchain and crypto world, Think of corporations as elements of computer code built from the ground up vs. prior classification as legal institution and you are on your way.

Then, host Jason Henrichs squares off with Kate Fitzgerald, Senior Editor, Payments, American Banker and Ron Shevlin, Chief Research Officer, Cornerstone Advisors and Forbes Contributing Editor about Fraud & Friction and PayPal's recent admission of 4.5 million bogus accounts sitting on their books. With fraud on the rise, listen as the panel discusses the role of marketing incentivizing account growth, bots, synthetic accounts, and handmade fraud. Are SuperApps a solution?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCqVjUCyEtg

Leading edge execs Ginger Baker, Plaid's Head of Financial Access and Adam Blue, Q2's CTO chat Open Finance, platformization and the opportunity that Plaid-Q2's recent partnership offers to smaller regional banks and tens of millions of customers with host Brett King. The pandemic increased awareness of problems associated with inequality and amplified the need to expand services and access to more diversified accounts and people. Open Finance is helping to bring solutions for inclusion and access to credit for the underbanked and those less well-served, with banks as the primary, recognizing that people's responsible behavior may not always look traditional. Lean in to learn how these partners are working to land their universal access initiative. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcPGtasd39M

In today's episode, Brett King starts us off with an interview with Auriga's Mark Aldred about next gen branches. Branches need to continue to adapt -- change their nature and the economics in parallel with offering better mobile and digital engagement. The in-branch journey is more than design, the bank of the future right sizes and incorporates behavior and technology -- inside and outside -- to be smarter and better as banks rethink branch role. Economics are important, listen to Italian bank, Banca Carige, who has lowered operational cost 38%. Customers can have their desired journey, physical and digital, and branches can be brand embassies.

We follow with Amber Buker's fast-moving conversation with Robert E. Siegel, Lecturer in Management at Stanford Graduate School of Business about the Industrialist Dilemma. What is the Industrial Dilemma? It all boils down to the need for a mix of both digital and physical products, and how leaders can innovate to combine the two and create a more holistic customer experience. Even digital natives need physical presence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvJTyGSyMAc

Everyone is talking about CHUCK. But who or what is CHUCK? CHUCK is none other than the newest payment method collaboratively developed by a consortium of community banks, for community banks, mid-sized institutions and credit unions, yes, credit unions!

Listen as Amber Buker speaks with DJ Seeterlin, CIO, Chesapeake Bank and Julie Thurlow, CEO, Reading Cooperative Bank, two stakeholders who had a hand in creating CHUCK, and Ron Shevlin, Chief Research Officer, Cornerstone Advisors, as they introduce CHUCK to the banking market.

Community banks want a more active role in P2P, CHUCK will allow just that! P2P is the first use case, other solutions planned, and CHUCK comes with a light lift and economic feasibility for adoptive banks. It's not a winner take all situation with other payment networks. Customers benefit from more choice and bank reach will help to cover the digital divide. Use CHUCK through your trusted bank app and connect to a variety of disparate payment systems -- no need to worry about shadow balances. fintech wallets or payment rails. Get your bank back into the payment ecosystem and help customers get a clearer understanding of money in accounts and apps. Nice to meet you CHUCK! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDgOaEzn7IM

BankProv's EVP and COO Joe Mancini speaks with host Amber Buker about innovations at this nearly 200-year-old MA-based bank which is anything but traditional—it is helping lead the industry forward with its tech first approach and focus on emerging markets supporting crypto currency, offering full-service banking to crypto-related businesses, BTMs, BaaS and alternative energy. But first, JP Nicols continues our look back to look forward with an informed conversation with Greg Palmer, VP Finovate, Director of Fintech Strategy, Informa Connect and host of Finovate podcast. With $1 out of every $5 of VC funding going into Fintech we now have herds of unicorns.  As things become more top of mind, there's opportunity and the increased competition will only drive innovation and solutions so everyone has a better financial future. Listen as they cover embedded finance, back-end and core solutions, customer experience and services to make customer life better. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZoNqScB3ds