Alex Johnson, creator of the Fintech Takes newsletter, and I are happy to bring you the latest episode of our monthly podcast, Fintech Recap, where we unpack some of the biggest stories in fintech, banking, and crypto.

This month we had the chance to talk about:

* Mercury, which partners with Evolve Bank & Trust and Choice Bank, informed users based in or with ties to certain countries, including Ukraine and Nigeria, that it would close their accounts — what’s happening and how Mercury is handling it

* Bank regulators’ request for information on bank-fintech partnerships offers clues about what the they may be worried about

* CFPB drops interpretive guidance saying earned wage access may be considered “credit” for certain purposes under TILA

* FDIC votes on rule to effectively reverse 2020’s brokered deposits rule

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

If you enjoy listening to this podcast and find value in it, please consider supporting me (and finhealth non-profits!) by signing up for a paid subscription. It wouldn’t be possible to do what I do without the support of listeners like you!

In this episode, I had the chance to sit down with Kelly A. Brown, Chairman and CEO at deposit management startup Ampersand. Previously, she spent 13 years at the American Deposit Management Company. Kelly and I had a chance to talk about:

* What inspired Kelly to get into banking

* The sudden attention paid to deposit insurance in the wake of SVB’s collapse

* How FBO and deposit insurance pass through models should be structured

* Consumers’ misapprehensions about what deposit insurance does and doesn’t cover

* And more!

Frank Rotman of QED, Jason Henrichs of Alloy Labs, and I discussed “Balancing Growth With Risk In The Post-ZIRP Era,” including touching on:

* How the extended low-interest rate environment impacted venture capital and fintech

* How the evolving regulatory climate is shaping fintechs’ and banks’ risk appetite and strategies

* What the next 12 months will look like

* And more!

Regular programming will resume next Sunday, August 4th.

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In this episode, I had the chance to sit down with Wade Arnold, cofounder and CEO of Moov, a fintech infrastructure company that enables and simplifies push and pull card payments. Moov also puts on the Fintech Devcon conference, which is August 7th-9th in Austin — more info and tickets here. We had a chance to talk about:

* What to expect at (and what I should wear to) Fintech Devcon

* Payment and core banking infrastructure in the US

* Implications of and lessons from the Synapse bankruptcy

* Reasons to be optimistic about the future of fintech

* and more!

Existing subscriber? Please consider supporting this newsletter by upgrading to a paid subscription. New here? Subscribe to get Fintech Business Weekly each Sunday:

This month Alex Johnson and I had the chance to talk about:

* Jason’s special news: I wrote a book! The book, Banking as a Service: Opportunities, Challenges and Risks of New Banking Business Models, will be available toward the end of the year — but you can preorder now, and if you order directly from the publisher here and use promo code “BAASISLAND,” you get 20% off!

* Pirates invade BaaS island: Evolve Bank & Trust, partner to dozens of fintech programs, hacked by Russian ransomware group LockBit

* Elsewhere in BaaS news: Thread’s consent order

* Apple drops Apple Pay Later, will partner with issuers and BNPL firms instead

* Chevron decision drops (disclosure: neither Alex nor Jason are lawyers)

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

In this episode, I had the chance to sit down with Rhett Roberts, cofounder and CEO of API-first lending and credit platform LoanPro. Rhett and I had the chance to talk about:

* LoanPro’s recent announcement of integrating with Visa DPS (and some background for folks who might not know why that’s important!)

* LoanPro’s journey from homegrown software to powering some of the biggest lenders in fintech

* How LoanPro helps its customers stay ahead of evolving legal and regulatory issues

* How LoanPro structures its organization to ship code quickly

* and more!

In this episode, I had the chance to sit down with Stuart Sopp, CEO and cofounder of Current. Stuart and I had the chance to talk about:

* What’s change in fintech and banking since the last time we talked in 2023 (hint: a lot)

* Current’s new products and features, including its credit builder card and an EWA-style offering

* The challenges of state-by-state licensing and importance of compliance

* Balancing the need for growth with profitable unit economics

* What’s on the road map for Current

* and more!

In this episode, I had the chance to sit down with Nicolas Benady, the CEO of French embedded finance platform Swan, live at Money2020 Europe earlier this month. Nicolas and I had the chance to talk about:

* embedded finance and banking-as-a-service in Europe vs. the US

* what being licensed as an emoney institution enables Swan to do and how it’s different than being or partnering with a bank

* why Swan is confident in its ability to effectively oversee its third-party partners

* how Swan’s clients leverage its capabilities

* and more!

Special thanks to the entire Money2020 crew for hosting us in the MoneyPot podcast booth and putting on another great event!

In this episode, I had the chance to sit down with John Stuart, the general manager of fintech and international at Apex Fintech Solutions, an investing and wealth management infrastructure platform. John and I had the chance to talk about:

* What the capabilities Apex provides, including custody, clearing, and execution, enable its customers to build

* How Apex scaled its platform across 150 countries

* What Apex has learned and how its refined its offering over 10+ years in market

* Some novel use cases for the infrastructure Apex has built

* And more

Alex Johnson, creator of the Fintech Takes newsletter, and I are happy to bring you the latest episode of our monthly podcast, Fintech Recap, where we unpack some of the biggest stories in fintech, banking, and crypto.

This month we had the chance to talk about:

* Latest on Synapse bankruptcy and what it may mean for banking-as-a-service & fintech (this episode was recorded May 29th)

* Visa’s new “crebit” credential

* The CFPB’s interpretative guidance on buy now, pay later

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

If you enjoy listening to this podcast and find value in it, please consider supporting me (and finhealth non-profits!) by signing up for a paid subscription. It wouldn’t be possible to do what I do without the support of listeners like you!