Fintech Business Podcast

This month, we were joined by Jon Zanoff of Empire Startups, and we had the chance to talk about:

* The deal of the century: Capital One’s acquisition of Discover

* Another trip to “BaaS Island,” to discuss Lineage’s consent order and other developments

* A preview of New York Fintech Week & Jon’s Empire Fintech Conference

* And what we just can’t let go of

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In this episode, I spoke with Michal Cieplinski, founder and CEO at CapStack.

CapStack is the first integrated operating system for banks enabling cooperation across banks and other financial services institutions in order to drive profitability and asset diversification. Michal and I had a chance to talk about:

* The importance and challenges of asset/liability management for banks

* The risks that come from asset, geographic, and sectoral concentration, especially with current concerns around commercial real estate

* How CapStack can help banks mitigate these risks

* Moving from manual, Excel-and-email-based processes to technology-powered, automated exchanges for buying and selling loan participation stakes

* and more!

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

* Another trip to “BaaS Island” to discuss Blue Ridge & Choice Bank enforcement actions amid the ongoing regulatory sweep of banking-as-a-service

* Buy now, pay later expansion strategies: subscription plans? Savings accounts? What is more or less likely to work and why.

* PayPal’s attempt to “shock” the world falls flat

* Alex tries to explain Bilt Rewards to me

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

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:

* Changing dynamics in reimbursement rules for victims of authorized push payment fraud.

* Revolut’s claims that is growing quickly and a UK bank license is imminent.

* The next fintech trend: unlocking benefits of tax-advantage accounts. Are these companies, or features?

* Alex’s favorite topic: credit building. A quick recap of TomoCredit’s dubious credit builder offering.

* Alex and I take our first visit to “BaaS Island.”

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

In this episode, I spoke with Jon Lear, President and cofounder of Fintech Meetup, taking place in Las Vegas March 3-6, 2024 (learn more and get your tickets here.) We had the chance to discuss:

* the crazy year in fintech and banking that was 2023

* looking for silver linings in a challenging operating and fundraising environment

* what’s in store for 2024

* key themes and topics for next year’s Fintech Meetup event

* and more!

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

* the growing “fintech reckoning,” especially among consumer fintechs, with reports of possible shutdowns, sales, and pivots for companies like HMBradley, Petal, Apple/Goldman Sachs, Mint, Braid, Catch, and many others you probably haven’t even heard of

* Alex’s favorite topic, credit builder products: including Tomo’s perplexing offering, Region’s partnership with Self, and the wider product space

* as well as a quick discussion of the Fed’s proposed lowering of the Durbin interchange cap and Plaid’s decision to create a consumer reporting agency subsidiary

* and, like every month, what Alex and Jason just can’t let go of

Alex and I had a chance to catch up LIVE at Money2020. We had a chance to talk about our hot takes and trends from Money2020, including:

* what’s off trend (crypto) and on trend (generative AI, compliance)

* trying to parse fact vs. fiction in companies saying they’re “AI-powered”

* fintech infrastructure, including Alex’s visit to the FedNow® booth

* cannabis banking and the SAFE (and SAFE-R) Banking Act

* realizing that most in Congress have no idea what “fintech” is

* and much more!

In this episode, I spoke with Neal Desai, CEO of lease-to-own startup Kafene. We had the chance to discuss:

* Kafene’s recently announced Series B extension

* The impact of an uncertain economic environment on Kafene’s business

* Regulatory activity in the lease-to-own space

* Where Kafene is heading in 2024

* and much, much more!

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Hey all, Jason here.

In this episode, I spoke with David Brear, CEO of challenger banking and fintech consultancy 11FS. We had the chance to discuss:

* The origin story of 11FS, including its “Pulse” and “Foundry” offerings

* Some of the most interesting client projects David has worked on

* How David and 11FS think about creating stand-out content in an extremely crowded information space

* Where David thinks banking and fintech are headed in 2024

* and much, much 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, we were joined by special guest Matthew Goldman, card expert and author of CardsFTW, to talk about:

* A grab bag of banking-as-a-service topics, including the situation at Solid, Stripe and Goldman’s partnership, and where things may be headed in 2024

* Mastercard’s letter clapping back at reporting it plans to hike rates

* Varo’s launch of “Varo to Anyone,” a P2P service that enables Varo users to send money to any US debit card

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