Fintech Takes

Welcome back to Not Fintech Investment Advice, where Simon Taylor and I do what we do best: talk about fintech startups we’re absolutely not giving investment advice on. First up is Trudenty, a fraud intelligence network tackling first-party fraud. It uses federated learning to let issuers, PSPs, and merchants identify repeat abusers without sharing raw data. They’re starting with Worldline, JPMorgan Chase, and Mastercard, and keeping the pitch simple: they only sell one thing, and that one thing works. The stat that stuck with us? 80% of chargebacks are fraudulent. Next is TidalWave, agentic AI for mortgage point-of-sale. Instead of replacing loan officers, it works like a 24/7 assistant (one that handles follow-ups, corrects docs, and chases data). They’ve raised $22M, with the largest homebuilder in the U.S. on the cap table. It’s mortgage tech that avoids the loan origination system entirely, steering clear of regulated decisions while cleaning up the messy front-end workflow that still kills conversion.  Then there’s Kaaj, which is aimed at the part of small business lending that no software platform has ever fully cracked. Think about a business applying for a government-guaranteed loan or financing a new piece of equipment; lenders have to parse tax returns, bank statements, and identity documents that never look the same twice. The loans are too small for a credit team, but too complex for automation. Kaaj trains AI agents to read those documents and create the first draft of a credit memo that a human can review. The product solves a real problem, but the question is: can they win the category? Finally, FinReach Solutions in India tackles the gap between micro and small business credit. Lenders have money. Credit guarantors are willing to share risk. What’s missing is the infrastructure between them. Every guarantee program runs on bespoke rules and manual forms. FinReach standardizes that process, automates the guarantees, and makes collateral-free lending possible at scale. Think of the US SBA, but rebuilt as actual software instead of paperwork. Plus, some closing manifestations: AI for mortgage POS should fix the front-end friction that causes borrowers to drop out; SMB lending needs an actual platform between public money and private lenders; and rising chargebacks might say less about fraud and more about good customers who are tired of being treated like suspects. Thanks for listening!  This episode was brought to you by Marqeta. Don’t sacrifice agility for stability. With Marqeta, launch payments experiences that perform at scale and flex with your business. Learn more at https://marqeta.com/ftt  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   Follow Alex:  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson Companies featured: https://trudenty.com/ https://www.tidalwave.ai/ https://kaaj.ai/ https://www.finreach.in/

Dave Wasik, a partner at Second Order Solutions with expertise in credit risk and consumer lending, discusses the evolving landscape of lending. He highlights persistent delinquency rates and the resilience of credit cards, emphasizing their clear benefits and issuer concentration. The conversation delves into the concerning shift of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) from big-ticket items to everyday expenses, alongside the risks posed by private credit's rapid growth and lack of transparency. Finally, Dave shares insights on the future of credit scoring systems.

Dive into the latest in open banking as JPMC strikes major deals with data aggregators like Plaid, while the CFPB pushes to finalize its 1033 rule amidst concerns over data fees and market leverage. Explore Apple's new digital ID credentials, tested by Jason, but facing slow adoption and potential airport glitches. On the business front, Green Dot is going private with a split structure under Smith Ventures, prompting discussions on the valuation challenges of merging banking and tech. Plus, a surprising endorsement for prediction markets from Roblox's CEO raises safety concerns!

Welcome back to our Engineering the SMB Capital Stack, sponsored by our friends at Fundbox. In this four-part series, we’re exploring small businesses, small business lending, and the forces shaping how small businesses access capital. I’m joined by Prashant Fuloria, CEO of Fundbox, as cohost. In Episode 4 (our finale!), we turn to the role of banks (and how they fit into an increasingly unbundled lending ecosystem), and what collaboration between banks and fintechs really looks like in 2025. To unpack it all, we’re joined by Jackie Reses, CEO of Lead Bank (and former Head of Square Capital, a pioneer in embedded capital for SMBs, particularly for B2C SMBs). Highlights include: How Square Capital redefined micro-lending, serving millions of U.S. businesses under traditional bank thresholds Why embedding loans in software (not branches) rewrote the risk model for SMB credit The rise of unbundled lending: fintechs, balance-sheet partners, and the capital markets “maturity curve” How banks like Lead are re-bundling infrastructure to power fintech lending safely and at scale The regulatory horizon (from agentic commerce to stablecoins and the next wave of small-business oversight) From unserved salon owners to national infrastructure shifts, Jackie reminds us why access to capital is still deeply human, and why technology wins when it’s built with empathy for the entrepreneur. If you want to understand where banks truly fit in the future of SMB lending, this finale is essential listening. This episode was brought to you by Fundbox.  As a leading capital infrastructure provider behind the digital SMB economy, Fundbox is focused on enabling platforms to embed financial tools directly into their user experiences. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/4o1cWVG 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 Alex:  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson Follow Prashant: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fuloria/ Follow Jackie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-reses-938b7850/Learn more about Fundbox here: https://bit.ly/4o1cWVG

Welcome back to the Fintech Takes podcast. I’m Alex Johnson, joined by Carlos Caro (author of the Free Toaster newsletter and host of the Free Toaster podcast) for the second episode of Facing Credit, where we unpack what’s really happening in lending right now. This one’s about marketing; the overlooked starting point of every loan.  Everything in lending sits downstream of how you acquire customers and what it costs to reach them. And right now, that system is in flux. AI has upended the old rules of digital acquisition. Google’s “Helpful Content” update triggered what Carlos describes in his writing as the “SEO Apocalypse”, a collapse that’s wiping out 50–90% of organic traffic and forcing publishers, affiliates, and lenders to rewrite their playbooks. The rise of AI-generated search results and zero-click answers means the economics of attention have changed for good. Carlos and I dig into: How AI is breaking traditional digital marketing and reshaping lender acquisition costs What Google’s updates mean for SEO, SEM, and the affiliate ecosystem How creators like My Rich BFF and MrBeast are becoming the new distribution channels for lenders And what “Generative Engine Optimization” (GEO) might mean for the next phase of search Tune in for Carlos’s take on how lenders, publishers, and fintechs can survive the SEO extinction event (and what it’ll take to win attention in the AI age). Plus, we reference these three Free Toaster pieces throughout the conversation; consider them required reading: The SEO Apocalypse Has Arrived How New Balance's CMO Turned Around A 15-Year Decline Reddit Isn't an Affiliate Channel This episode was brought to you by Marqeta. Don’t sacrifice agility for stability. With Marqeta, launch payments experiences that perform at scale and flex with your business. Learn more at https://marqeta.com/ftt 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 Carlos Caro: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-carlos-caro/ Follow Alex Johnson:  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson X: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

Bernardo Martinez, a seasoned small business lending executive at SoFi, dives into the complexities of SMB underwriting. He discusses how outdated operations and data gaps have hindered progress but highlights how digitization is transforming the landscape. The conversation explores the benefits of integrating various transaction data for a comprehensive cash-flow picture, and he touches on the role of non-financial signals and generative AI in enhancing lending strategies. Ultimately, Bernardo emphasizes the need for banks to evolve into supportive CFO partners for SMBs.

Welcome back to the Fintech Takes podcast. I’m Alex Johnson, joined by Mike Milotich, CEO of Marqeta (who stepped into the role after serving as CFO,) and now leads a cloud based issuing platform approaching 400B in annual payment volume.  First up, we focus on Marqeta’s platform. It’s built out of configurable building blocks, and Mike gets specific about what that means in practice; walking us through clear examples, including how delivery platforms used virtual credentials to remove driver fraud, and how early BNPL providers relied on Marqeta to pay merchants behind the scenes (without integrating with every retailer). From there, we shift to agentic commerce and why the issuer’s vantage point changes the conversation. Issuers face different constraints. They create the credential, set the controls, and carry the risk when something goes wrong. Mike unpacks how an AI agent could fund and configure a virtual card with narrow parameters so it can only execute the purchase the user intended, and how AI is being applied to fraud, risk, and disputes (plus how dynamic rewards will push cards toward real personalization). We also dig into the insights Marqeta is seeing across its network. BNPL is moving into more everyday categories as a cashflow tool. And SMBs are starting to treat modern payments as real operational leverage (because automated controls and real-time tools replace the manual work that used to eat their time).  For more insights, their 2025 State of Payments Report is linked below. Thanks for listening!   This episode was brought to you by Marqeta. Don’t sacrifice agility for stability. With Marqeta, launch payments experiences that perform at scale and flex with your business. Learn more at https://marqeta.com/ftt 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 Mike Milotich: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-milotich-7b78402/ Access Marqeta’s 2025 State of Payments Report here:  https://www.marqeta.com/asset/state-of-payments-2025 Follow Alex Johnson:  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson X: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

Join Jennifer Tescher, founder and CEO of the Financial Health Network, as she reveals the alarming $455B that U.S. households paid in interest and fees last year. Discover how student loans and credit card debt have heightened financial fragility. She discusses the unintended consequences of Buy Now, Pay Later schemes and the risks of AI becoming merely a sales tool. Tescher also shares insights on new product standards that could reshape financial health, emphasizing the importance of balancing friction in finance for better consumer outcomes.

Tanay Jaeel, Head of Product at Stripe Capital, shares insights on embedded lending and how it addresses small businesses' capital access challenges. He highlights the shift towards powering financing via vertical SaaS platforms instead of direct lending. Tanay explains the key role of AI in providing contextual lending solutions, ensuring financing appears precisely when needed. The conversation also covers Stripe's partnership strategies for international expansion and the benefits of using platform data to enhance lending structures.

Live from Money20/20, the buzz around AI takes center stage as industry leaders discuss practical use cases for agentic AI in compliance. Stablecoins are hot topics too, especially in cross-border payments for inflation-hit economies. A glance at the flood of comments on open banking reveals banks wrestling with cost recovery while smaller institutions seek support. Meanwhile, the rapid rise of Erebor Bank raises eyebrows about possible political influence in new banking charters. Plus, debates around crypto lobbying stir up controversy!