Fintech Takes

This podcast episode covers topics such as challenges banks may face in 2024, industrial loan charters and senate cracking down, US Transportation Department's scrutiny of frequent flyer programs, the Fed's many roles, and the interest rate risks and role of regulators in the banking industry.

In this episode, Simon Taylor joins Alex to discuss fintech companies like Foyer, a savings app for homebuyers, and Claim, a social shopping app for Gen Z consumers. They also discuss Crew, a company aiming to redesign the banking integrated savings experience for families, and Brico AI, a regulatory license and charter management AI. They explore the potential of using email as an intelligent dashboard for life and the significance of data privacy in building large language models.

Alex and Jason are back at it again for the first time this year, and can we just say that it’s way too early for fintech to be doing so many crazy things already? On the bright side, the UK is cracking down to improve authorized push payments fraud. So, there’s that…And then there’s Revolut, who’s yet again floating stories in the media about getting their banking license. Are they just the little fintech company that keeps crying, “Bank,” or will they become a real bank someday? Alex and Jason try to unravel Revolut’s constant state of quantum uncertainty.Also, in “we never saw this twist coming” news, Jason signed up for Tomo Boost, and… he’s currently waiting to see if his promises credit line ever shows up. He and Alex discuss the morality (and legality) of the sketchy credit-building product.Later, Jason reports from BaaS Island where Mercury and Synapse are fighting over who gets to hold the conch shell, and it looks like neither company is coming out of the intense legal battle looking good.   00:00:03 - Walmart Boys vs. Target Guys00:04:06 - UK Regulator Enhances Protections Against Payment Fraud00:19:56 - Revolut's Profitability and Rapid Growth00:26:50 - Scaling Across Jurisdictions: Banking Efficiency00:32:13 - Unlocking Tax-Advantaged Bank Accounts00:40:47 - Tomo Boost00:49:13 - Tales from BaaS Land00:52:38 - Can’t Let It Go 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 Jason:Newsletter: https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmikula/ Follow Alex: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videosLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson 

Frank Rotman, Chief Investment Officer at QED Investors, discusses long-term predictions for the fintech industry. Topics include the impact of AI on the stock market, restructure of financial institutions' costs, modernization of intrabank settlement process, and the potential of stablecoins in money movement.

TechCrunch senior reporter Mary Ann Azevedo joins the podcast to recap the most compelling fintech stories of 2023, including the shocking impact of Silicon Valley Bank's failure, the fraudulent JPMorgan Chase acquisition, and the difficulties major companies like Stripe faced in managing valuations. Mary Ann and Alex also share valuable insights on how to make a successful pitch and the importance of exclusive news in fintech.

Simon’s out on paternity leave (don’t worry—it’s not like he’s catching up on any lost sleep), but thankfully, we’ve found an awesome substitute — the man, the myth, the early-stage investor extraordinaire, Jared Franklin, who’s helping Alex to break down some interesting fintech startups.First up, they explore Wellahead (https://www.wellahead.co/), which is focused on helping older consumers (and their families) pay for care and other services by leveraging the equity in their homes.Next, they dive into a BaaS platform founded by an early Stripe employee. Can Increase (https://increase.com/) outcompete Column and Lead Bank and everyone else in the exciting (and risky) world of BaaS?Then they discuss Ribbon (https://www.trustribbon.com/), a digital estate services provider focused on helping banks and credit unions retain the next generation of customers and navigate the difficult financial processes after a loved one passes.And finally, Jared and Alex take a long look at Conduiit (https://conduiit.app/), a financial management platform focused on the film and television industry. What does Conduiit’s product and GTM strategy tell us about what it takes to succeed in vertical B2B fintech?The guys also spend a few minutes at the end trying to manifest some fintech (and social good) ideas that they’d like to see in the world. 00:01:18 - Jared Franklin: Fintech Expert and Investor00:03:39 - Solving the Aging Care Affordability Issue with Wellahead00:11:38 - Increase’s BaaS Platform00:21:07 - Solving Difficult Estate Planning Solutions with Ribbon 00:29:24 - Conduiit: Financial Management for the Entertainment Industry00:38:11 - Manifesting Fintech Ideas 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 Jared:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredfranklin/ Follow Alex: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videosLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

Alex is joined by the one and only, Kiah Haslett to break down another month of bank and fintech news.They discuss when, if ever, SoFi will finally be forced to report their earnings like a bank and dissect the weird sub-cult of SoFi bros who are willing to defend the company to the ends of the Twitter universe and back. And later, with the CFPB’s new proposed rules allowing them to oversee big tech companies and digital payment providers, what’s the foreseeable impact on the fintech industry?Plus, Alex and Kiah debate whether or not fintech has a savior complex problem and Kiah explains how her hatred of hoodies landed her in a hotspot this past weekend (prepare for the full history lesson of the hoodie you never expected to get!) before dishing out her juiciest hot takes on the Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” 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 Kiah:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett Follow Alex: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videosLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

Thanksgiving’s over and Christmas is almost here… so you know what that means! We’re checking our credit account once, checking it twice, and we’re gonna find out if Alex can stand to talk about credit building nice.In this week’s fintech recap, our favorite breaker of fintech news, Jason Mikula, is back in the studio to break down the important topics in fintech, like whether green bean casserole is gross (it is) and if the entirety of the Twitterverse really needs to weigh in on the Sam Altman situation.Then, Jason and Alex dive into the recent handful of consumer-facing fintechs, like HMBradley, Mint, and Ness, who have shut down or pivoted to infrastructure plays. Is the worst behind, or is there more pain ahead? And later, credit building can be a predatory business area. So what’s the deal with the credit-building app Tomo Boost? Is it a legitimate ploy or an intentional attempt to defraud credit bureaus? Plus, the guys dissect Plaid’s recent foray into becoming a consumer reporting agency, the sexual harassment scandal at the FDIC, and the wild NFT party in Hong Kong that we wish we could say shocked us. 00:00:02 - Twitter Erupts Over OpenAI Situation00:03:09 - Green Bean Casserole: The Worst? Or the Worst?00:06:43 - Consumer Facing Fintechs: What's Next?00:14:45 - Partner Banks Pulling Back from Fintech Partnerships00:24:49 - Exploring the Emerging Landscape of Credit Building in Fintech00:32:09 - Making Sense of Tomo Boost00:41:57 - Proposed Lowering of Debit Card Swipe Fees for Covered Institutions00:46:45 - Plaid Transforms into Consumer Reporting Agency00:52:26 - Sexual Harassment Scandal at the FDIC00:55:02 - The Dark Side of NFTs 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 Jason:Newsletter: https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmikula/ Follow Alex: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videosLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

With the smell of turkey, thanks, and pumpkin spice filling the air, what better way to celebrate the holiday season than having a candid sit-down conversation with the one man responsible for sparking Alex’s journey to fintech fanaticism? That’s right—meet doting dad and OG fintech obsessive himself, Tom Johnson. A fintech maestro with 30 years of industry prowess, Tom's wisdom, acquired through decades of navigating the fintech landscape, is nothing short of gold. He and Alex have a candid conversation about the biggest fintech lessons they’ve learned throughout their tenured careers, including the challenges and opportunities in building fintech infrastructure, the importance of listening to customer pain points, and why building best-of-breed solutions with a long-term strategy in mind is the key to surviving in a rapidly evolving fintech market. Plus, find out why that one banker looking to carve out his career might just be your ticket to fintech glory.  00:01:34 - 30 Years of Fintech Experience00:04:14 - You’re Just Gonna Have to Trust Me00:06:36 - Building Configurable Fintech Infrastructure Services00:14:48 - Selling to Fintech vs. Banks00:23:59 - Listen to Your Customers00:31:43 - The Evolution of Infrastructure Orchestration00:40:44 - When to Start Playing Three-Dimensional Chess in Business00:43:48 - Transitioning to an Orchestration Role00:46:08 - Breaking Down Fintech Silos 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 Tom: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomjohnsonzoot/ Follow Alex: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videosLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnsonTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson 

Sure Clippy may have died over a decade ago (RIP, little buddy), but some things in Microsoft Office just can’t seem to be killed off, no matter how hard fintech tries (*cough* Excel *cough*). Are spreadsheets simply too sticky to die? And who’s the new fintech company trying to make them marketable again? It’s time for another round of “Not Fintech Investment Advice,” and Alex is joined by the man, the myth, the legend himself, Simon Taylor. This week, they’re breaking down Aleph’s bold plan to revitalize spreadsheets. With major companies like Notion and Zapier adopting Aleph, they must be on to something… right? Then, Alex and Simon dissect the app that’s helping musicians and artists bring predictability to their cash flow using biweekly payment options. With the rise of fractured income streams and the growing creator economy, can we expect fintech to find a product wedge here?Plus, stay tuned to hear Alex and Simon’s hot takes on Cloverly’s climate tech solution, Hypercard’s employer-sponsored credit card gambit, and their predictions for how the open banking tech stack will shape up in the coming years.  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.00:06:16 - The Future of Spreadsheets: Aleph00:13:28 - HiFi Cracks Open the Data for Musicians' Royalty Streams00:24:44 - Cloverly’s Climate Financing Solutions00:32:34 - Hypercard’s Consumer Credit Card Powered by Employers00:42:21 - Manifesting Fintech Ideas: The Evolution of Open BankingFollow Simon:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sytaylor/Substack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sytaylor/