In this episode, Alex and I discussed:

* Unpacking Chime’s IPO plans

* What the hell is going with 1033?

* The GENIUS bill advances in the Senate

* And, as always, what Alex and I just can’t let go of

In this episode, I had the chance to talk with Arad Levertov, cofounder and CEO of buy now, pay later lender Sunbit. Arad started Sunbit 10 years ago — long before BNPL as we know it today exploded in popularity during the early days of the COVID pandemic. Arad and I had a chance to discuss:

* What differentiates Sunbit from other BNPL providers in a crowded market

* Why distribution is key in lending, particularly in BNPL

* Sunbit’s unique approach to underwriting borrowers that allows it to approve 9 out of 10 applicants

* How Sunbit stays ahead of emerging macroeconomic shifts

* And more!

In this episode Alex Johnson, of Fintech Takes, and Jesse Silverman, of Troutman Pepper, joined me to talk about:

* Recent developments in the bankruptcy case (spoiler: Jesse isn’t a bankruptcy lawyer!)

* Who’s to blame for the Synapse disaster

* Reflections on some of the regulatory response, including former FDIC Chair Gruenberg’s effort to roll back the 2020 brokered deposit rule and the “Synapse” ledgering and reconciliation rule

* What lessons stakeholders — banks, fintechs, regulators, VCs — can and should take from this situation

* And more!

In this episode, Alex and I discussed:

* Alex’s trip to BaaS Island: the founder/CEO of Increase seeking approval to acquire a controlling stake in a bank & the Hatch Bank’s consent order with the California DFPI

* Ryan Breslow’s return to one-click checkout / “super app” Bolt

* Crypto firms seeking bank charters

* And, as always, what Alex and Jason just can’t let go of

In this episode, I had the chance to talk with Michele Alt, cofounder and managing director of Klaros Group and a 22-year veteran of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Michele and I had the chance to discuss:

* What the opening of the “charter window” means and how fintechs should think about the opportunity

* The de novo process vs. acquiring an existing bank

* Michele and Klaro’s recent work on SmartBiz’s acquisition of United Community Bancshares and its subsidiary, Centrust Bank

* Thinking through when becoming or buying a bank makes sense vs. when it might not

* The open letter Michele coauthored alongside many other industry experts advocating for changes the federal bank regulators can make to streamline de novo bank formation

* What Michele is keeping her eye on in DC at the moment

* And much more!

In this episode, we discussed:

* Alex and I recorded this before “Liberation Day” and thus before Klarna chose to delay its IPO; that said, our analysis of Klarna’s F-1 registration statement stands!

* A return to BaaS Island: a first-hand account of Mercury and Evolve’s abrupt public parting of ways; what other banks, fintechs, and regulators can learn from the chaotic split.

* It’s charter time: a brief discussion of SmartBiz, OakNorth, and OneMain’s progress on charters; prescient, given the news this week that Stripe has applied for Georgia’s merchant acquirer limit purpose bank (MALPB) charter (more on Stripe’s news from me here, including a copy of the public portion of its application.)

* And, as always, what Alex and I just can’t let go of.

In this episode, I had the chance to talk with Matthew Goldman, a true expert in the card space. Matthew has done stints at Green Dot, AT&T, Bankrate, and Apto Payments, as well as starting multiple of his own ventures. Matthew currently published the CardsFTW newsletter and is the founder and managing member of boutique fintech consultancy Totavi.

We had a chance to discuss:

* Matthew’s thoughts on where fintech debit & credit card businesses stand in 2025, including if interchange alone is a sustainability business model (hint: it’s not)

* Whether or not there’s room for another big consumer fintech out there

* The changing infrastructure space, including the difference between issuer processors and program managers

* Crypto & stablecoins

* and more!

In this episode, I had the chance to speak with ledgering, reconciliation, and compliance startup NAYA’s CEO Sherif Kozman. We had a chance to discuss:

* Why ledgering and reconciliation, especially in fintech-bank partnerships, is so dang difficult (hint: legacy cores, batch payment files & more)

* The consequences of poor ledgering and reconciliation

* Advice for banks and fintechs struggling to manage manual processes

* And more

In this episode, I had the chance to speak Current’s cofounder and CTO, Trevor Marshall, and Cross River Bank’s Head of Strategy and Development, Hillel Olivestone. We had the chance to talk about:

* Why Current decided to build its own tech stack & what it’s enabled the company to do

* How Current and Cross River think about the “buy vs. build” debate

* The “jobs to be done” addressed by Current’s Build Card

* Current’s latest Datos Insight case study

* The beauty and resiliency of ACH flat files (yes, really)

* And more!

In this episode, Alex Johnson and I discuss:

* The chaos in DC. What might in mean for banking, fintech & consumers?* Varo Bank struggles on, with a new CEO and some additional capital.* A grab bag of BNPL topics.* And, as always, what Alex and Jason just can’t let go of.