Fintech Takes

In this month’s special episode of “Not Fintech Investment Advice,” Alex sits down with fintech guru Simon Taylor to talk through some fintech companies that have recently caught their attention.They delve into how AI is reshaping risk assessment and unpack how platforms like Chorus are utilizing custom GPT models to screen for risks, allowing financial professionals to focus on what truly matters most and leave the mundane paperwork behind. Is fintech a more creative process than most give it credit for? Plus, Simon and Alex explore the potential of Grounded Technologies, a new-age platform aiming to reshape community banks' access to deposits and other assets. In a world where demand isn't the problem, but supply is, can community banks find their way to profitability without necessarily scaling up?And, with PayPal stepping into the stablecoin arena, Simon sheds light on his decades’ worth of crypto insights. For a deep dive into the future of finance and the innovations at its forefront, this conversation is a must-listen. 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/ Follow Simon:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sytaylor/Newsletter: https://sytaylor.substack.com Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

Chief Payments Executive of the Federal Reserve, Mark Gould, stops by the studio for this special episode of Fintech Recap with Alex and Jason to chat about the evolution of instant payment and how FedNow is attempting to make the clearing and settling of payments instant and final. Are checks obsolete? How much money does the Fed clear daily? And has the amount of money in circulation increased or decreased within the last ten years? Mark’s answering all of Alex’s and Jason’s questions and unraveling what a successful rollout of FedNow will look like in the imminent and distant future. 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/ Follow Mark:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-gould-7241098/ Follow Jason:Newsletter: https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmikula/ Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

It’s time for another episode of Bank Nerd Corner with America’s favorite banking and fintech editor, Kiah Haslett, and there’s only been one bank failure since she Alex last talked!This week they’re discussing Apple’s latest savings product and the company’s complete disinterest in playing the deposit gathering game the way that the big banks do.Then, what’s causing credit card balances to spike? Is it the weird ripples in the economy, or do consumers simply feel overly confident they can pay off their balances? Could it be a sign that consumer financial health is deteriorating?  Plus, Kiah and Alex also tackle government lending programs in fintech, what makes The Bancorp’s business model so great, and the case for making CDs sexy again. And last but not least, Kia goes off on why these absurd fintech acronyms need to stop.  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/ Follow Kiah:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

Was Zelle a stupid way of introducing real-time payments? Is OpenAI’s CEO going all in on making Minority Report a reality? And has Alex secretly been a Swifty this whole time?On this month’s Fintech Recap, Alex and cohost Jason Mikula, dissect the right way to add monetization and value to real-time money movements and debate if Zelle missed a valuable opportunity to drive revenue. Should instantaneous money movement be a basic human right? Then, the guys discuss the battle of credit card interchange fees, debit card processing for marijuana dispensaries, and Sam Altman’s vaguely dystopian vision of the future. Do we really need crypto incentives for a retinal-based global form of identification to separate us from artificial intelligence when we’re living off universal basic income? Can we just agree we’re not there yet, Sam? And stay tuned for this week’s “Can’t Let it Go” segment! 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/ Follow Jason:Substack: https://substack.com/profile/4867166-jason-mikulaTwitter: https://twitter.com/mikulaja?s=20LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jasonmikula Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

The number of independent workers in Brazil is surging, but still, full employment benefits elude most contract workers. How can this problem be fixed? In this week’s pod, Alex is taking a deep dive into the world of Brazilian fintech to unpack the state of embedded insurtech with Isaac Matzner, co-founder of Teddy.  They discuss the differences between employment benefits in America versus Brazil, dissect the reasons why both Brazilian and Western insurance companies need to find value beyond pricing, and envision what a sustainable model should look like for the future of embedded finance.Then, the two spend a few minutes chatting about the joys of fatherhood.  0:00 Intro and Explaining Teddy8:35 Fintech in Brazil15:32 Adding Value to Insurance24:16 Embedded Insurance34:26 Believing in an Embedded Finance Future42:40 Lessons From a Startup42:40 Parenting and Outro Check Out Teddy: https://www.teddy.com.vcFollow Isaac:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaac-matzner-78b9633/ Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson 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/

In this month’s “Not Fintech Investment Advice” with Simon Taylor, where Alex and Simon dissect the latest and greatest fintech companies on the market, the guys dissect Noodle.shop’s ploy to be the premier mobile-first solopreneur super app. While it’s reminiscent of the early days of Square, can it develop its own set of creator incentives and create a unique experience?Then, Alex and Simon discuss whether Crux’s plan to transact and manage tax credits for clean energy developers will prove to be an effective wedge before diving into whether or not Vesta will help lenders build a better mortgage journey and why Tint’s embedded insurance system is building new value for its customers. And, as always, don’t miss out on Alex and Simon’s future manifestations for fintech at the end! 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/ Follow Simon:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sytaylor/ Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

It’s time for another round of Bank Nerd Corner with Alex and special guest host Kiah Haslett, and thankfully, only one bank has collapsed since its return.Kiah and Alex are geeking out on all the latest news, like MOVEit’s massive data breach, which highlights the relevance of third and fourth-party risks. With over 140 organizations hacked and 15.5 million people’s data compromised, exactly how many disclosures should be released relative to the victims? Plus, they tackle why there’s about to be an explosion of bank M&A deals happening in the near future, debate if FedNow’s instant money transfers will make banking more fragile than ever, and answer whether or not fintech is actually winning the deposits war. 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/ Follow Kiah:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

Our favorite fintech obsessive is back from parental leave, and he’s ready to tackle all of the latest fintech news you might have missed from the last couple of weeks with fellow obsessive and fintech newsletter writer, Jason Mikula. Alex and Jason break down the latest announcement from Goldman that they’re in talks to offload their partnership with Apple to American Express. What’s the reasoning for this abrupt reversal in an otherwise successful launch of the Apple Savings Feature? And is it the final straw in the unraveling of Goldman’s consumer ambitions, or is Apple just a hard partner to work with?  Then, Alex and Jason cover the surging interest in data fraud consortiums, the leaky funnel surrounding middleware BaaS platforms, and one of the worst FDIC false claims situations Jason has ever seen. Plus, is crypto finally cannibalizing itself with the latest launch of Justice tokens?  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/ Follow Jason:Newsletter: https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmikula/ Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

What happens when $270 billion of commercial mortgages expire and mature? In this week’s Bank Nerd Corner, Alex chats with Managing Editor at Bank Director, Kiah Haslett, about the latest in fintech news, and today they’re tackling what might happen to small banks now that commercial real estate companies are faced with refinancing at significantly higher interest rates. Plus, what’s the outcome for banks like First Republic Bank, who aren’t in the immediate throes of a liquidity crisis but aren’t really profitable either? Can they simply ride it out as they limp along? Then, stay tuned as Kiah and Alex discuss the reasons why bank regulators aren’t always on the same page and whether or not Apple can actively pull in deposits and compete with banks. 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/ Follow Kiah:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

On this week’s podcast, Alex is joined by the wise and powerful Simon Taylor, who’s taking a break from the dreary UK weather to break down a few of the most promising fintech startups and banking as a service platforms.How does Zamp’s outsourced treasury and finance team have a structural advantage in the marketplace? Can ProductFi deliver on its promises to reach underserved communities and still manage to scale? Will Playbook make good on its promise to democratize access to tax advantages for the rest of the 99%? And how is a Brazilian fintech company utilizing chatbot technology to help 25 million plus self-employed citizens? Tune in to discover how these innovative companies are disrupting the financial industry and changing the way we think about banking and finance! 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/ Follow Simon:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sytaylor/ Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson