Fintech Nexus

On today's episode, I’m joined by Craig McLaughlin, Co-Founder & CEO of Finalytics.

Finalytics.ai is the first customer-centric data platform designed to help credit unions translate high-touch service onto the digital channel. I find the community bank and credit union space fascinating, they do not have the luxury of throwing money at problems as they have to be strategic in how they solve their tech needs.

Craig and I talked about the community bank and credit union market, how small financial institutions differ from large ones, current economic conditions, raising capital, the San Francisco 49ers, and much more.

We have a lot of great offerings available at Fintech Nexus, you can sponsor the pod, sponsor a webinar, or one of our large-scale events. Feel free to reach out to me anytime, at [email protected]. 

Now with our further ado, my conversation with Craig McLaughlin, Co-Founder & CEO of Finalytics. I hope you enjoy the show. 

Episode highlights include:

• Craig’s journey to Finalytics
• The importance of the cloud
• The community bank and credit union tech mindset
• Why data is so critical
• Common mistakes made by community banks and credit unions
• The evolution of the fintech-bank relationship
• Human high touch vs. digital high touch
• Raising capital
• The San Francisco 49ers
• And much more…

Connect with Craig on LinkedIn

Connect with PitchIt:

• Tweet me @ToddFintech
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Find previous PitchIt episodes
• Email me at [email protected]

The fintech industry has become much more sophisticated in how it engages with lawmakers and regulators in Washington. There are now many people in leadership positions, both within fintech companies and within the trade associations, with deep experience in government who can make sure our voice is heard. And that the issues that are most important to fintech companies are being discussed at the highest levels with Washington.

Our next guest on the Fintech One-on-One Podcast is Penny Lee, the CEO of the Financial Technology Association (FTA). She has been around politics and government her entire career and now is bringing her expertise and connections to help the fintech industry engage with leaders in Washington.

In this podcast you will learn:

• What attracted Penny to the role at the FTA.
• Their mission and the types of fintech companies they represent.
• Some of the big names on their board.
• How they are engaging specifically with lawmakers and regulators.
• Their plans for engaging with some specific state fintech issues.
• What initiatives have a shot at passing a divided Congress.
• How they are specifically engaging with the CFPB.
• The FTA's perspective on FedNow and what it could mean for fintech.
• How they are supporting the bank-fintech partnership model.
• How the FTA interacts with other fintech trade associations.
• What Penny is most excited about for 2023.

Connect with Penny on LinkedIn

Connect with Fintech One-on-One:

• Tweet me @PeterRenton
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

On the news show today we discussed big fintech news from Genesis, Goldman Sachs, Bitzlato, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Cornerstone Advisors, Jifiti, card processing costs, fintech layoffs, big bank mobile app usage and more.

Pix is probably the most successful fintech product in the history of the world. It is Brazil’s instant payment system that launched in November 2020 and has taken the country by storm. More than 130 million Brazilians now use Pix and for around half of those people, it is the first digital payment tool they have ever used. If you are interested in fintech, you need to understand the Pix phenomenon.

Our next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Carlos Brandt, the Head of the Management & Operations of Pix at the Central Bank of Brazil. I spoke with Carlos at Fintech Nexus LatAm held in Miami on December 13-14 and it was the highlight of the event for many of the attendees.

In this podcast you will learn:

• The role Carlos played in the development of Pix.
• How his nine-year-old son helped in user experience and design.
• Why they rolled out Pix to both banks as well as non-banks on day one.
• Why they mandated all large financial institutions to join.
• The huge number of people who have done a digital transaction for the first time.
• What this means for Brazil’s economy.
• How Pix has impacted the growth of e-commerce.
• How they are encouraging B2B payments.
• Why the Central Bank of Brazil is opening up Pix’s protocols to other central banks.
• How Pix sits in relation to credit cards.
• If there is a place for crypto payments rails alongside Pix.
• How they are working to reduce fraud.
• What is on the roadmap for 2023 and the next five years.

Connect with Carlos on LinkedIn

User-permissioned financial data is becoming a bedrock of fintech innovation. Ever since Plaid came on the scene and enabled us to connect our bank accounts to other financial institutions, consumers have appreciated the advantages of this concept. But what the industry has really needed is an independent standard for this data sharing.

My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One Podcast is Don Cardinal, the Managing Director of the Financial Data Exchange (FDX). This non-profit organization has created a common standard for the secure and convenient access of permissioned consumer and business financial data.

In this podcast you will learn:

• What attracted Don to the opportunity at Financial Data Exchange.
• Don’s work at FS-ISAC and what that organization does.
• The original vision for FDX and how it has evolved today.
• The state of open banking in the US today.
• The five core principles of financial data that FDX adheres to.
• Details of the FDX API standard they have developed.
• How that interfaces to the work that Plaid is doing.
• How the authentication of credentials works.
• Why biometric authentication is so much better than passwords.
• Some of the big names who are members are FDX.
• How they balance the different perspectives of banks, fintechs and consumer groups.
• The connection between FDX and the Open Financial Exchange (OFX).
• How they keep their own technology updated.
• Don’s vision for the future of open finance.

While there are plenty of instant payment options for consumer like Cash App, PayPal, Venmo and Zelle. But when it comes to business payments it is a different story. And those aforementioned payments are not really instant, they still settle like all other bank transactions, typically in two business days. This is all about to change.

My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One Podcast is Kevin Greene, the Chairman and CEO of Tassat Group. His company has created a blockchain-based instant payment network for banks. It works within existing banking regulations and it is live today processing around $50 billion in payments a month.

In this podcast you will learn:

• What led to the founding of the Tassat Group.
• The two components that differentiates what Tassat is doing.
• Why he decided to join as CEO after being on the Board from the beginning.
• The state of the B2B bank payments market today.
• What TassatPay does and how it works.
• The percentage of TassatPay transactions that occurs outside of banking hours.
• How they might use smart contracts within their payments system.
• How the flow of funds work for banks on the Digital Interbank Network.
• The size of bank they are targeting.
• What is involved in getting this setup at a bank.
• Why they decided to build their system on a private permissioned blockchain.
• Why Kevin is super excited about FedNow.
• The state of blockchain knowledge among bank CEOs today.
• Their biggest obstacle to getting people comfortable with TassatPay.
• How they are working with regulators to help them understand.
• What the payments system will look like in ten years.

Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn
Connect with Tassat on LinkedIn

Connect with Fintech One-on-One:

• Tweet me @PeterRenton
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

On the first weekly news show of 2023 we discussed big fintech news from TikTok, J.P. Morgan, Accenture, Visa, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, The Artemis Fund , Silvergate Bank, Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX, Coinbase and more.