The #1 global fintech radio show and podcast. Every week we explore the personalities, startups, innovators, and industry players driving disruption in financia...
Hot Takes on Banking Regulation, Standards, AI, and Fraud
In This Episode
Powered by U.S. Bank and recorded live at Fintech Xchange hosted by the Stena Center for Financial Technology, this episode dives into the most pressing issues shaping financial services today.
In our first segment, Jason Henrichs chats with Sima Ghandi, Sr Advisor FS Vector, Co-Founder of Coalition of Financial Ecosystem Standards (CFES) and Phil Goldfeder, CEO American Fintech Council (AFC). AFC, a standards-based organization representing large financial technology (Fintech) companies and innovative banks, promotes a transparent, inclusive, and customer-centric financial system supporting innovation and access to responsible financial products. CFES is a new (2024) industry-led organization with the goal of developing standards that promote safety and soundness for non-banks participating in financial services. They cover:
· The growing role of bank-fintech partnerships in innovation and growth, and expanding access to financial services.· The importance of clear risk management and compliance standards in maintaining operational and business viability in the fast-moving world of financial services
Then, the conversation shifts to AI and fraud prevention as Jason speaks with John Sun, CEO of Spring Labs, and Simon Taylor, Head of Content & Strategy at Sardine. Sardine offers an AI risk platform for fraud, credit and compliance, and Spring Labs provides an AI-Native conversational intelligence platform that turns chatter into actionable insight. Together, they explore:
· The future of financial services in a world increasingly reliant on automation and robots· The broader implications of AI and Generative AI in shaping the future of financial services
From standards setting in banking and fintech to AI and fraud this episode delivers hot takes and expert insights on the opportunities, risks, and evolving landscape of financial technology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBdMjPG1rvE
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36:38
Fintech Xchange ’25: Hot Takes into BaaS and the Future of Banking
In This Episode
This week, we bring you Part III of exclusive insights from Fintech Xchange '25 at the Stena Center for Financial Technology and the University of Utah, powered by U.S. Bank. Host Jason Henrichs engages in a dynamic discussion with Jason Mikula of Fintech Business Weekly and Chris Black, CEO & President of Thread Bank. Their conversation spans topics from Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and regulatory shifts under the new administration to the dual-edged nature of innovation in today's financial landscape.
Chris delves into Thread Bank's unique transformation as it evolved from the historic Civis Bank—established in 1906—into a fintech-enabled community bank. In 2021, new leadership recapitalized and revitalized the institution by adopting an industrial approach to BaaS and launching Thread. Thread's goal is to deliver the unparalleled value of a community bank to individuals and businesses, leveraging intuitive technology to meet customers where they are. Maintaining two local branches, Thread is delivering on its mission of embedded banking -- deposits, loans, and payments, and exemplifies the integration of traditional banking services with modern embedded banking solutions. By transcending geographical limitations and focusing on scalable, durable models, Thread collaborates with partners to manage risks and capitalize on the strengths of partnership banking.
In the second segment, University of Utah alumnus Rhett Roberts, CEO & Co-founder of LoanPro, joins "the Jasons" to discuss the evolving fintech ecosystem and APIs. Are they coming of age? Naturally they talk about cores, and how banks are in the process of conscious decoupling to build resilient infrastructures in order to weather future disruptions.
Rhett shares LoanPro's journey from inception to powering some of the biggest lenders in fintech. LoanPro offers a scalable, API-first lending and credit platform that fosters innovation by streamlining origination, servicing, collections, and payments across various loan types, lines of credit, and credit cards. This narrative underscores the transformative impact of fintech solutions in modernizing financial services.
Listen and watch to explore these compelling stories!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RC9Gt9PodA
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52:08
Hot Takes from Fintech Xchange: Diving Right in with U.S. Bank and Fintech Nexus
In This Episode
In this episode we continue the series powered by U.S. Bank and recorded at the University of Utah's Fintech Xchange. CAUTION: The episode is hot!
Breaking Banks' Hot Takes host Jason Henrichs, regulars Alex Johnson (Fintech Takes) and Jason Mikula (Fintech Business Weekly) are joined by David Ness, U.S. Bank's SVP Innovation, R&D and Peter Renton, Fintech Nexus, Chairman & Co-Founder. The newcomers jump right in, going straight for Fintech on Fire (#11 on a scale of 1 - 10), and comfortably deliver hot takes from the hot seats, recapping major themes from the event, and making predictions as to what 2025 brings to our industry. Plenty of insights are shared and there's plenty for the risky spice-takers to tackle including BNPL (acronym for a popular industry term, of course, and also our new Burn Now Pay Later hot sauce). Two other clues as to what the group might have talked about....the RegTech Reaper and Stable Coin Scorch . Don't worry, there's plenty more where these came from!
Listen now on your favorite podcast platform!
It's a hot conversation, worth being in the room for...to catch the visuals check it out on YouTube (@provokefm and while you are there, hit subscribe)!
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42:42
Digital Banks and Founders Changing the World of Banking: bunq
In This Episode
This week we introduce you to a series profiling the digital banks and founders that are changing the world of banking. Focused on first hand accounts from founders all over the globe, the series chronicles the NeoBanking movement from the early days though to today, documenting the players building a new category of digital banking, reshaping the digital movement. Throughout our series we look at foundation stories, challenges each had, and the regulatory approach each took -- a look at the pioneering history of the neo and challenger bank movement.
In this episode, Breaking Banks host Brett King connects with bunq's Founder & CEO. Ali Niknam. bunq is based in The Netherlands, a small country doing big things. bunq, bank of The Free, offers mobile banking that makes life easy for every new chapter in one's life, and for the digital nomad in everyone.
Born out of Ali's interest in creating products that people like to use, bunq began in 2012 and its mobile app came out in 2015, all with the aim to help the world forward and do banking a little differently. bunq has brought lasting change to the European banking industry. Having built a product rooted in customer needs and wants, bunq quickly scaled to become the second largest neobank in the EU. Serving digital nomads across the European Economic Area, bunq makes life easy for location-independent people and businesses starting from the way they manage money: how they spend, save, budget and invest.
On a mission to build the first global neobank for digital nomads, bunq announced its bid to enter the US market (April 2023) by applying for a banking license.
It's an intriguing story, not to be missed!
https://youtu.be/xflfJpM60NI?si=oKMhKcL13Q_eJM9s
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32:41
Breaking Banks at fintechXchange: Ecosystem Building & Hot Takes for 2025
This week on Breaking Banks, we take you inside fintechXchange, hosted by the Stena Center for Financial Technology at the University of Utah. As a proud media partner of the event, we explore how industry, academia, and policymakers are coming together to drive the future of financial services.Host Jason Henrichs sits down with Meghan Kober, VP of Fintech Partnerships & Investments at U.S. Bank, Taylor Randall, President of the University of Utah, and Ryan Christiansen, Executive Director of the Stena Center for Financial Technology. Together, they discuss the power of ecosystem building, highlighting the incredible human capital fueling innovation: VCs, startups, and institutions of all sizes collaborating to shape the next wave of fintech growth and banking transformation.
Then, it’s time for the first Hot Takes of 2025, recorded live from 'Silicon Slopes'! Alex Johnson (Fintech Takes) and Jason Mikula (Fintech Business Weekly) are back in the hot seats with Jason Henrichs to break down the latest fintech headlines with sharp insights and no-holds-barred opinions. They dive into:
The latest in open banking, the CFPB and regulation
The fate of BaaS Island, Synapse, and Patriot Bank’s BSA & AML challenges
What really is possible with bankruptcy proceedings and what does it mean for fintech’s future
This episode is packed with insight, energy, and hard-hitting discussions you won’t want to miss!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ-bdJNLu60
The #1 global fintech radio show and podcast. Every week we explore the personalities, startups, innovators, and industry players driving disruption in financial services; from Incumbents to unicorns, and from the latest cutting edge technology to the people who are using it to help to create a more innovative, inclusive and healthy financial future.
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