Fintech Takes

In this week’s episode of Fintech Recap, Alex is joined by Jason Mikula to dive into the latest on fintech.

With BaaS Island quiet, the guys head over to BNPL for some fresh juice.

First up, Klarna’s U.S. launch and its new “Balance” feature — despite the hype, it’s not quite banking. In the U.S., “Balance” is more of a wallet within Klarna's app, far from their European banking model. Klarna’s shooting for global banking glory, but the fine print reveals a different tale — more shopping convenience than banking breakthrough.

Next, they break down Affirm’s Q4 earnings. Looks like Affirm isn't just riding the BNPL wave — they're hanging ten. The big question: is success in BNPL about flashy growth or building a resilient model? The answer might surprise you.

Plus, they dig into broader fintech shifts: Comune’s standout $21.5M raise targeting underserved immigrants alongside Apple’s decision to allow third-party access to its NFC chip. Will these moves change the game or just tweak the status quo? Tune in to find out!

00:06:58 Klarna Buzz vs Klarna Reality 

00:19:55 Affirm Affirms Steady, Cautious Growth

00:32:54 Niche Neobanks: The Next Big Thing, Again?

00:41:36 Apple “Kinda” Opens Up NFC

00:51:42 Can’t Let It Go

Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/ 

And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page.

Follow Jason:

Newsletter: https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmikula/

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Alex catches up with fintech storyteller Mary Wisniewski, Editor-at-Large at Cornerstone Advisors and host of the podcast Money Isn't Everything.

In this episode, they dive into Mary’s latest research on Gen Z's financial habits—spoiler alert: Gen Z is more anxious and open about money than any generation before. 

From spilling the tea on student loans to salaries on TikTok, Gen Z is reshaping how we talk about money while grappling with social media pressures and major gaps in basic financial knowledge.

The conversation also dives into a hot topic at the other end of the spectrum: the rising focus on fintech for the elderly. Fintechs like Charlie are stepping up with products to protect older adults from fraud and financial insecurity. Will this shift be a game-changer? And what can both young and old teach us about the future of money? 

Plus, they tackle Synapse’s impact on trust in fintech. Are consumers becoming more cautious, or is the lure of instant access still too tempting to pass up?  Tune in for a fun, frank discussion on fintech’s future, emphasizing the need for greater empathy, understanding, and innovative solutions to better serve all gens.

00:01:51 - Are the Kids Alright?

00:08:07 - The Gen Z Psyche

00:23:01 - The “Boom” Moment

00:37:16 - Synapse’s Impact on Consumer Trust

Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/

And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page.

Follow Mary:

Listen to the Money Isn't Everything Podcast HERE

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In this episode of Not Fintech Investment Advice, Alex and Simon spotlight the latest up and comers solving cool problems in fintech.

First up is Revenir, which helps travelers and businesses recover sales tax on their purchases, making rebates happen "automagically" through its API. As a prime "found money" use case for AI, what's Revenir’s long-term strategy? Could a neo-bank leverage this feature as an exclusive advantage?

Then, it’s Summer (the product, not the season) which helps grads manage student debt—combining loan repayment and forgiveness into an HR-friendly package. Selling to HR is tough, but is Summer’s recent acquisition the key to dominating this space? Or would a DTC approach be more effective?

Next, Jeff (the product, not the person) is expanding credit access for the underbanked in the Asia-Pacific with non-traditional data for detailed credit profiles and scores. With its "FICO 2.0" approach, could Jeff set a new standard in credit evaluation?

Plus, Axle automates compliance workflows with AI agents, handling tasks like sanction screening and KYC. Axle offers a clear value prop to firms overwhelmed by regulatory processes, but can their specialized AI scale across different fintech sectors?

Finally, Alex and Simon try to manifest their fintech dreams: interoperable payment rails and unified AnnualCreditReport.com but not terrible.

00:02:20 - Revenir

00:15:15 - Summer

00:27:42 - Jeff

00:40:53 - Axle

00:58:03 - Manifesting Fintech Ideas 

Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/

And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page.

Follow Simon:

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Companies featured:

https://www.revenir.ai/

https://www.meetsummer.com/

https://www.jeff-app.com/

https://www.axleruns.com/

On this super special bonus ep from The Consumer Finance Podcast, Alex joins Chris Willis and Jesse Silverman at Troutman Pepper to dissect fintech’s volatile lifecycle and its effects on bank-fintech partnerships. 

Have you ever wondered why a new fintech VC seems to magically appear in the spotlight every 4 to 7 years? The guys explain the technological waves that shape entrepreneurs as they’re dumped into the fintech ecosystem. How do new waves of VCs affect the industry’s ability to innovate? And is there a way to allow wedge operators like minorities and women to succeed (*cough* novel charters *cough*)?

Chris, Jesse, and Alex also discuss how to think about existential risks in fintech. Should more robust regulatory frameworks, improved consumer disclosures, and more secure partnerships be at the forefront of fintech’s future concerns? Or were innovation and security never designed to go hand in hand?

Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/

And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page.

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This week on Bank Nerd Corner, special guest and partner at Arnold & Porter, Jim Bergin joins the pod. Having worked for the Federal Reserve for 18 years, Kiah and Alex pry into his legal expertise to get answers to some lingering questions.

Jim explains the history and purpose of the Bank Service Company Act, a law enacted in the 1960s in response to the burgeoning technology needs of banks. He explains what the BSCA was originally designed for, and how it has evolved over the decades.

Alex, Kiah, and Jim also discuss the recent Supreme Court decision that ended the Chevron deference, as well as a pile of other recent Supreme Court decisions that have the potential to impact banks and fintech companies.

Plus, our girl Kiah has some major thoughts when it comes to brokered deposits. We all know that deposits behave differently— so why, in this day and age, is the FDIC still acting like the most important thing it can do is reclassify fintech deposits from non-brokered to brokered?

Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/

And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page.

Follow Jim:

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In this week’s episode of Fintech Recap, Alex is joined by Jason Mikula to discuss the latest news and trends in the fintech industry.

What if BaaS Island wasn’t really an island at all, but the gateway to a multiverse filled by other BaaS Islands? That’s right — BaaS Island is fracturing as Jason and Alex venture into the multiverse. What’s going on with Mercury and the extended Synapse/Evolve multiverse? Alex and Jason explain the lengths Mercury went to in order to get around compliance requirements. Are we living in the darkest timeline where Synapse might have been the good guy all along?

Then, the guys discuss the request for information put out by the Fed, the FDIC, and the OCC regarding bank fintech partnerships. How much did the Synapse and Evolve case influence this list of questions? And what can it do to help address consumer confusion around who or what entities are worthy of trust?

Plus, Jason and Alex also chat about the CFPB’s proposed interpretive rule around earned wage access and briefly chat about the FDIC’s rollback of the 2020 rule on brokered deposits.. And what do the guys refuse to let go of this week? Tune in to find out!

00:03:49 The BaaS Multiverse

00:23:28 Request for Information

00:48:15 CFPB and Earned Wage Access

01:06:35 60 Seconds of Nerd Talk on Brokered Deposits

01:14:07 Can’t Let It Go 

Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/ 

And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page.

Follow Jason:

Newsletter: https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmikula/

Follow Alex: 

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Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

Can you tell me how to get to FAFO Street?

Jason Henrichs (CEO of Alloy Labs and host of the Breaking Banks podcast) certainly can, and he’s pointing the finger at, well, everyone. He and Alex have a laundry list of juicy questions for bankers, regulators, entrepreneurs, and investors. And even if they are unanswerable, the guys are doing their best to answer them. 

Is there a right way to regulate fintech? And are banks looking at things from the wrong perspective? Instead of cutting corners to scale, what would happen if banks started viewing consent orders as productive stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks?

Jason and Alex also debate whether entrepreneurs and investors should be held personally accountable when things go awry. With so many board members acting as if compliance is a mere matter of semantics, shouldn’t they also bear some culpability when things fall apart? It’s clear that the move-fast-and-break-things approach doesn’t work when people’s livelihoods are at stake— so why aren’t the people pulling the strings being held accountable when consumer protections fall by the wayside?

Plus, the guys discuss whether failed or less successful entrepreneurs might be the ultimate solution against high-risk, high-momentum venture capitalists and ponder if regulators can ever get out of the corner they’ve been backed into.

Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/

And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page.

Follow Jason:

Listen to the Breaking Banks Podcast HERE

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonhenrichs/

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Simon Taylor’s back in action and ready to break down some of the hottest up and comers in the fintech world with Alex.

First, he and Alex discuss Niva, the global business identity platform using AI to help lenders and fintech companies onboard business customers through a Know Your Business (KYB) process. Focused primarily on growth in Brazil and Mexico, the platform claims it can bring the onboarding process for business customers down to 10 minutes. KYB growth is hot in the US— but can KYB hold the same growth velocity in Latin America?

Then, it’s the company that sounds like a milk alternative, but we promise isn’t. Meet OatFi, the embeddable Lending-as-a-Service platform for capital loans. Not everyone has a Shopify-sized business to build their own lending process— so how is OatFi’s API helping smaller B2Bs to underwrite their capital loans?

Plus, Alex and Simon also discuss Tapi, the Stripe for Latin American countries. How is Tapi filling a major wedge in the LATAM market? And how much does brand really matter when you’re trying to tap into market like this? They also discuss Aven’s series D funding and explain how the company is helping to refinance debt at a lower rate using home equity, before manifesting a few fintech ideas. Isn’t there a better infrastructure where regulatory insights can be shared? Alex and Simon mull over the challenges of confidential data sharing.

02:36 Niva

16:37 OatFi

26:36 Tapi

36:06 Aven

49:24 Manifesting Fintech Ideas

Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/

And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page.

Follow Simon:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sytaylor/

Substack: https://sytaylor.substack.com

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What is shadow banking? It sounds nefarious… right? But what does it really mean? 

Alex is joined by Kiah Haslett and special guest, Todd Phillips, the assistant professor at the Robinson College of Business at George State University, to break down the topic of shadow banking and to discuss the challenges it poses for bank supervisors, regulators, and consumers alike.

They unpack the inherent risks of shadow banking and explore the role shadow banking played in the downfall of Synapse. What weight does the term “FDIC insured” actually hold? And is there a way to prioritize consumer safety when it comes to shadow banking?

Then, Alex, Kiah, and Todd also chat about the push-pull dynamics of regulator/bank relationships and postulate on the correct balance between regulation and innovation. And later, Kiah has a bone to pick with the CFPB, and she’s determined to figure out a better way to organize their chore chart. 

00:03:10 Who is Christy Goldsmith Romero?

00:08:00 Stabilizing Shadow Banks

00:26:37 Synapse Bankruptcy

00:38:41 Breaking Down Bank Supervision

01:04:59 Go Off, Kiah!

Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/

And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page.

Follow Todd:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-phillips-b1570110/

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He’s been wise. He’s been powerful. But guess what? It’s the first episode we can officially call Jason Mikula an author! Jason chats about his new book, “Banking as a Service: Opportunities, Challenges, and Risks of New Banking Business Models” and reveals what you can expect from his debut book, which is currently available for pre-order. If you haven’t ordered your copy yet, don’t forget to order it here using the promo code “BaaSIsland” for 20% off!

And speaking of BaaS Island, beware of where you set sail because the seas are unsafe with pirates roaming the dark waters. With a massive cyber security breach, a brand new consent order, and a middleware platform partner at the bottom of the ocean, is Evolve trying to win an award for the worst bank ever? 

The guys also discuss the death of Apple Pay Later, and Apple’s announcement that both issuers and Affirm can compete for Buy Now, Pay Later in Apple Pay. What caused the sudden shift in strategy for Apple? Alex and Jason explain how regulatory risk and heightened scrutiny for lending products might have been the catalyst for change. Is Apple Card next on the hit list?

And later, they discuss what the overturning of the Chevron Doctrine means for regulators. Plus, Alex just can’t let it go that Klarna intends to replace its customer service staff with AI. As if we needed one more automated customer service line that doesn’t answer any of our questions…

Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/

And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page.

Follow Jason:

Newsletter: https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmikula/

Buy His Book (use promo code BaaSIsland for 20% off) here

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