This Week in Fintech's Podcast

🎧BaaS and Compliance, a Conversation with Synctera CEO Peter Hazlehurst and Wolf & Company's Matt MacDonald

May 7, 2025

Join Peter Hazlehurst, Co-Founder and CEO of Synctera, and Matt MacDonald from Wolf & Company as they dive into the evolving landscape of banking as a service. They discuss the partnership model between banks and fintechs, emphasizing compliance not as a hurdle but as a growth strategy. The conversation also sheds light on the importance of establishing strong compliance cultures in fintech startups and navigating the challenges of regulatory management. Founders will find invaluable insights on innovation, trust-building, and fostering successful banking relationships.

49:46

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Episode guests

Matt MacDonald

Peter Hazlehurst

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The partnership between Wolf & Company and Synctera exemplifies how compliant bank-fintech models can drive growth and innovation in the financial services sector.

Peter Hazlehurst emphasizes the importance of integrating compliance into the operational framework of fintech startups to ensure both trust and sustainability.

Matt McDonald highlights the need for open communication between banks and fintechs to address challenges in banking-as-a-service partnerships effectively.

Deep dives

Overview of Wolf& Company and Synctera

Wolf& Company is a CPA and business consulting firm that specializes in providing tailored services to clients in the fintech industry, having operated since 1911. The firm offers assurance, tax management, risk management, and business consulting services, adapting to the unique needs of fintech clients. Synctera, co-founded by Peter Hazlehurst, equips companies with a flexible technology infrastructure for launching banking products and services. Their platform enables businesses to efficiently create and scale financial products while ensuring compliance through a robust API framework.

Intro

2min

Revolutionizing B2B Payments and Fostering Fintech-Bank Relationships

6min

Navigating Fintech Partnerships and Compliance Challenges

6min

The Vital Role of Compliance in Fintech: Building Trust and Safety

3min

Navigating Compliance in Fintech Growth

9min

Navigating Compliance and Launch Challenges in Fintech

4min

Navigating Fintech Compliance Challenges

21min

Welcome back to our weekly fintech podcast!

This week, I had the chance to sit down with Peter Hazlehurst, Co-Founder and CEO of Synctera, and Matt MacDonald Financial Technology Service Leader & IT Assurance Senior Manager at Wolf & Company.

The conversation was wide-ranging, starting with Wolf & Synctera's partnership to build a compliant bank-fintech partnership model that Synctera has scaled for their customers. We spent a lot of time talking about compliance and regulation not as a restraint, but as a strategy, and as a driver of growth. In light of the last couple years, in which the BaaS model has come under stress, we also spent some time talking about the future of the bank-fintech partnership model, and what changes Matt and Peter wish that startup founders would make.

Any fintech builders and founders will find the conversation interesting – I easily could have gone over the hour!

Before getting into it, here is a little more background on Wolf & Co. and Synctera themselves.

Wolf & Company P.C. is a national CPA and business consulting firm with a regional feel offering clients a wide range of services custom-tailored to suit their industry's unique needs. Since 1911, Wolf has provided clients with industry-leading assurance, tax, risk management, business consulting, and WolfPAC Integrated Risk Management services. They pride themselves on delivering customized solutions with deep involvement by their team of dedicated professionals and leaders.

Synctera’s platform gives companies of all sizes the technology infrastructure, sponsor bank connection, and compliance framework they need to launch FinTech or embedded banking products. With a single set of powerful APIs, companies are able to quickly launch and scale products such as debit cards, bank accounts, charge cards, lines of credit, and money movement. Whether you are a FinTech company or an established business wanting to embed banking into your existing product set, Synctera can help you bring your vision to life.