On this week’s episode of Fintech Takes, Alex is joined by international man of mystery and publisher of Fintech Business Weekly, Jason Mikula, along with the Ghost of Fintech Future and cruise director of New York Fintech Week, Jon Zanoff. 

First up, the guys discuss the latest in the Capital One/Discover deal and debate the nature of mergers and acquisitions. Are M&As inherently bad for fintech? How do they impact innovation and why are consumers usually the victims of consolidation? They break down the ways that M&As affect the competition cycle and ponder what the Capital One/Discover deal means for the larger credit card industry.

Then, the guys take a trip back over to BaaS Island where things have devolved into a “Lord of the Flies” situation. Alex, Jason, and Jon unpack Lineage’s latest consent order with the FDIC and discuss why regulators are so obsessed with fast deposit growth. Which leads them to ask the question—exactly what standards should we be measuring BaaS bank size by? 

Plus, think your founder is bad? Meet the founder of Zera who raised $2.2 million from investors only to use it on… horseshoes and tropical fish? And later, Alex tries to determine just how much inflation has affected the Tooth Fairy’s pricing structure and Jon reveals what he’s looking forward to most about New York Fintech Week 2024.

And if you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for New York Fintech Week 2024 and receive 15% off with Promo Code BAASISLAND.

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Follow John: 

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

Website: https://empirestartups.com

Follow Jason:

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

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

Follow Alex: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos

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

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