🎧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.

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ANECDOTE

Empathy Drives Compliance Culture

Compliance starts with empathy for the consumer whose money you hold and manage.
Broken trust from failing to return money quickly destroys the entire fintech relationship.

ADVICE

Leverage Tech to Scale Compliance

Get bank buy-in by sharing variants of marketing messages instead of controlling every change.
Use technology and AI to make compliance processes more efficient, reducing the need for large manual teams.

ADVICE

Set Timelines and Hire Specialists

Set realistic timelines for launching fintech programs, typically three to six months.
Engage specialized payments lawyers early to avoid costly contract mistakes and misunderstandings.

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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.