Fintech Takes

In this special, four-part series, Fintech Takes’ Alex Johnson explores the wide-reaching implications of programmatic, consumer-permissioned access to payroll data.  In this episode, Alex chats with Matt Gomes, GM of Consumer Lending and Banking at Argyle, and Jonathan Katz, VP of Client Development at Amount, about how payroll data is transforming the lending process and unlocking innovative new product concepts. They tackle why banks should use payroll data to drive higher levels of automation and provide a better customer experience, how credit reports are inherently flawed (and why change is necessary), and how payroll connectivity helps lenders make better decisions. Plus, Jonathan and Matt offer their predictions for what consumer lending will look like in the near 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 Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson Follow Matt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgomes/?originalSubdomain=uk Follow Jonathan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathankatz4/ Do more for less with Argyle. Power the digital experiences that drive performance across the customer journey with industry-leading payroll coverage. Automate income verifications, seamlessly fund bank assets, and leverage real-time work to enhance products.  Sign up today and start building your business. Go to https://argyle.com for more information.Timestamps:0:00 Intro2:23 Lending10:21 Gaps in Credit Reports20:36 Integrating Data with Lenders26:30 The Compliance Aspect of New Data33:39 The Nuances of Actual Income36:28 Consumer Verification41:52 Where Are We Going Next?

Fintech Business Weekly publisher Jason Mikula joins Alex to discuss the latest news in fintech and banking. In this week’s episode, they dissect Apple’s high-yield savings account, discuss how the Netherland-based neobank Bunq will do in the U.S., and name their big takeaways are from Plaid’s newly launched real-time payment capability. And Jason brags about windmills. 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

In this special, four-part series, Fintech Takes’ Alex Johnson explores payroll connectivity from a lending, mortgage, and emerging technology perspective.  In part one, Alex sits down with Argyle founder and CEO Shmulik Fishman to dissect the evolution of the modern payroll and discover how payroll connectivity companies like Argyle are pushing the boundaries of data sharing between consumers and businesses. They also chat about the role of data privacy in payroll systems, why businesses are slowly shifting away from the reliance on Equifax for information, and the importance of the consumer experience in payroll connectivity technology.  Plus, find out why Shmulik is all in favor of deleting the pay stub.  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 Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson Follow Shmulik:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shmulik/Personal Website: https://shmulikfishman.com Do more for less with Argyle. Power the digital experiences that drive performance across the customer journey with industry-leading payroll coverage. Automate income verifications, seamlessly fund bank assets, and leverage real-time work to enhance products.  Sign up today and start building your business. Go to https://argyle.com for more information.Timestamps: 0:00 Intro2:40 Payroll Data Connectivity6:15 What is Payroll Data?9:44 Challenges of Collecting Payroll Data12:30 Data Privacy in Payroll17:51 Moving Away From Equifax20:56 The Consumer Payroll Experience26:27 The Lending Perspective31:32 Friction and Self Selection34:36 Building Coverage38:59 Conversion Rates40:50 Read and Write Access45:36 Regulatory Support           48:09 Looking into the Future50:45 Future Episode Tease

Co-founder of Bloom Money, Nina Mohanty, drops by the podcast to discuss just how many unsolved problems remain in fintech and financial services. She and Alex talk about a few of the most notable unsolved problems including credit invisibility, the inaccessibility (and unsexiness) of home ownership, and why the Western banking system is largely unequipped to support migrants and refugees. 6:10 Unsolved Problems in Fintech & Credit Invisibility17:40 Non-Consumer-Facing Credit Methods20:33 Social Media, Money, and Happiness29:00 Mortgages and Fintech40:45 Immigration and Financial Services 52:17 Outro 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 Nina:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninamohanty/ Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

With the benefit of some hindsight (finally), what are the big takeaways from SVB? Kiah Haslett, managing editor of Bank Director, is in the studio to chat with Alex about why the SVB collapse is redefining how we think about “safe” banking.  They explain how a herd mentality and poor time management culminated in SVB’s failure and dissect why a safe bank could actually contain so much risk.  Plus, Kiah and Alex discuss why the stigma surrounding the Federal Reserve Window is so great and debate whether or not banks can be good at both innovation and risk management. 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/alexhjohnson Twitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson 0:00 Intro6:29 SVB Failure15:19 What Makes a Bank Safe?19:36 Running Out of Time24:12 Other Banks Facing Similar Issues to SVB29:42 BaaS, Neobanks, and FinTech34:50 Wait— what? (Federal Discount Window)53:37 Choosing Between Innovation and Risk Management

What fintech companies should you be keeping a close eye on?Kicking off season 3, Alex is joined once again by Simon Taylor, writer of the Fintech Brainfood newsletter, for another Not Fintech Investment Advice! Podcast.The pair are live at the Fintech Meetup conference in Las Vegas.Discover how Portabl is taking on Apple in the digital identity space, how Getmomo has entered the rental market at just the right time, and why underwriting is Parker’s secret saucePlus, Alex and Simon’s roundup of the Fintech Meetup event.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 Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Simon: LinkedIn: .linkedin.com/in/sytaylor/Twitter: https://twitter.com/sytaylor

Join Alex and co-host Jason Mikula at the Fintech Meetup conference, live from Vegas.They get into conversation with a very special guest, Jon Lear, the President and Co-founder of Fintech Meetup about issues surrounding trust in large financial institutions, the latest news on SVB, and the evolution of BaaS in Europe.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 Jon:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonlear/Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonlearFollow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Jason: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jasonmikulaTwitter: https://twitter.com/mikulaja

This is a special one as Alex gets into conversation with Nicole Casperson, host of podcast Humans of Fintech and founder of the Fintech is Femme newsletter.Alex and Nicole talk community building at this online event, getting into questions around fintech inclusivity, discussing whether B2C fintech is dead (or should be), and how Gen Z and missional values need to align.Plus you’ll also hear questions from the audience, including the unsexy parts of banking that fintech needs to look at next.Follow Alex:LinkedIn: .linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson/Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Nicole:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nicole-casperson-0820a5133/Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicolecaspersonSign 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 Friday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/00:00 Intro03:36 Getting Into Real Talk09:25 Is B2C Fintech Dead?12:58 Habit Creation19:09 Integrating Behavioral Finance25:09 Paycheck-to-Paycheck Living27:07 The DEI Transparency Report33:26 The Generation That Cares35:25 Aligning Mission To Work41:53 Make Money, Solve Societal Problems

Why is fintech heading into a period of consolidation and contraction? Answering this question and more is Alex’s guest, Sarah Kocianski.Sarah is an experienced fintech strategist and research analyst, based in London with over a decade of experience in fintech.Alex and Sarah bounce around some ideas in the format of the game show, Jeopardy (which, being British, Sarah had to look up). They discuss potential increases in banking regulation, why macroeconomics are going to hurt the buy-now-pay-later space, and the types of companies interested in making acquisitions.Follow Sarah:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sarahkocianski/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 Friday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

How can you fix a broken financial model? This question and more answered in the latest Bank Nerd Corner episode.Alex is joined by Kiah Haslett, Managing Editor at Bank Director. They get into some of the headlines and news that have caught their attention over the last few weeks, including a worldwide chip shortage for bank cards, ModernFi’s fintech marketplace and why FIS can’t get Worldpay to work.They also get to nerd out trying to answer an impossible fintech question on who, exactly, public utilities are for?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 Friday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/Follow Alex: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: twitter.com/AlexH_JohnsonFollow Kiah:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/