Have Your Bot Call My Bot
Release Date: 05/20/2025
Venturing into the Credit Union Vanguard
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Part 2 of our VentureTech coverage features Glen’s interviews with founders of all three finalists from the main stage event: Matt Dicou of Reset, Cary Fortin of Goodbuy and Jordan Mackler of ScribeUp. Also- Chase pushes forward with its “pay for data” model. Links related to this episode: Reset: Goodbuy: ScribeUp: Last week’s episode featuring Aries Fraud Solutions, KeySavvy and Remynt: VentureTech: CNBC’s take on JPMorgan Chase’s traction in charging for open banking data: William Mills’ annual Financial Trade Show/Conference Directory: Join us...
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Launching from Obscurity, Venturing into the Mainstream
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
In our first wave of VentureTech coverage Glen speaks with a trio of co-founders, from Launch Party winners Aries Fraud Solutions (unveiling its Obscurity Card) and main stage standouts KeySavvy and Remynt. Also- skepticism meets déjà vu on the proposed Visa/Mastercard settlement. Links related to this episode: Aries Fraud Solutions: KeySavvy: Remynt: VentureTech: Reuters’ take on the proposed Visa/Mastercard merchant settlement: Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday November 19 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- for a live...
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Agents, Stablecoins, and a Touch of Friction
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Glen boils down the prevailing themes from this year’s Money 20/20 conference, upping the ante via interviews with a pair of compelling startups (Eloquent AI and RentFlow) and Paze’s update on securing identity through the digital wallet. Also- Fiserv shakes investors to the core, and open banking continues to ruffle feathers. Links related to this episode: Eloquent AI: RentFlow: Paze: A credit union-specific take on Fiserv’s stock meltdown: Western Union’s stablecoin play: PayPal and Google Cloud’s agentic AI gambit:...
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Muddying the Stablecoin Waters- Not a Genius Move
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
John and Glen tackle the key takeaways from recent market headlines: Open Ai’s commercial relationship with Walmart, the temporary “de-pegging” of so-called stablecoin Ethena (USDe), and the warning flare it sets off for broader stablecoin adoption. Plus- Zelle goes global, and people still have a lot to say about Section 1033. Links related to this episode: The Open AI/Walmart partnership: The Crypto Times’ coverage of USDe’s brief “depeg” incident: Zelle’s move into stablecoin and cross-border payments: Payments...
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The Complicated Road to Financial Health
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Glen speaks with the Financial Health Network’s Andrew Warren about takeaways from the newly minted Financial Health Pulse Trends report, including the persistent challenges in maintaining gains in financial stability. Also- the latest real-time payments data begs new questions, and Glen eats crow on Nvidia. Links related to this episode: The Financial Health Network’s 2025 US Pulse Trends report: The Financial Health Network’s EMERGE 2026 conference, May 19-21 in Atlanta: FedNow’s Q3 transaction and volume data: RTP’s Q3...
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The Smart Money in Vegas
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
The Smart Money in Vegas Glen connects with Money 20/20 CEO Tracey Davies to discuss what to expect from this year’s extravaganza following a year of remarkable disruption and advancement. Also- a not-so-genius stablecoin wake-up call, and why “digital gold” may be a more accurate descriptor for Bitcoin than intended. Links related to this episode: Money 20/20, October 26-29 in Las Vegas: CB Insights on the Money 20/20 Award finalists: The Underground Collision at Money 20/20 (Saturday Oct 25, separate admission): USE PROMO...
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An Alternative Voice, an Assertive Approach
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
John and Glen speak with Defense Credit Union Council CEO Tony Hernandez about his organization’s rapidly increasing visibility and how the armed forces’ impact on the credit union movement extends well beyond the expected nameplates. Also- the shutdown creates new complexities for earned wage access, Bitcoin breaks the $125K barrier, and plenty of bingo card calls. Links related to this episode: The Defense Credit Union Council (including government shutdown resources): The CU Daily’s recent interview with DCUC CEO Tony Hernandez: Create your...
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Fintech Pregaming Reaches New Heights
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Sports metaphors run deep this week, as Nick Evens and Jenny Jackson preview this year’s VentureTech, the annual fintech showcase (and pickleball showdown). Not to be outdone, Early Warning’s Paze digital wallet dials up its marketing efforts with a key NBA partnership. Plus- The Curql Fund does a 360, and HSBC brings real-world application of quantum computing into focus. Links related to this episode: VentureTech: The Atlanta Hawks/Paze partnership: Paze: Three-minute video on HSBC’s quantum computing bond trading breakthrough: ...
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The Great Wealth Transfer/Great Inheritance Drain
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Our second wave of FinovateFall coverage includes interviews with the founders of Gentreo and Wysh- two young firms aiming to preserve member deposits across life cycles- as well as Veep Software, which delivers early wage access alongside financial education through the FI channel. Also- Glen reveals his Best of Show ballot, and touches on the startling plot twists with Plaid, Chase and open banking (spoilers entirely warranted). Links related to this episode: Wysh: Gentreo: Veep Software: Veep’s post-interview announcement of...
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Getting Real About Artificial Intelligence at Finovate
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Key takeaways from last week’s Finovate Fall conference, including interviews with the founders of Best of Show winners Casap and Vertice AI. Also- Glen’s recap of the full Best of Show slate, and thoughts on what the 63 demo firehose tells us about today’s state of fintech. Links related to this episode: Casap’s case study with MidSouth Community FCU: Vertice AI: Finovate Fall’s full demo roster: Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday September 17 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- for a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major...
info_outlineRecapping this month’s Finovate Spring event, Glen connects with Steven Ramirez (Beyond the Arc) and Elias Kruger (Long Range AI) to compare notes on the standouts and key takeaways- such as agentic AI- from San Diego. Also- Coinbase packs a year’s news into a single week, and Nevada looks to enter the payments fray.
Links related to this episode:
Finovate Spring demo videos: https://finovate.com//videos/?filtertype=&showtypes=FinovateSpring&videostartyear=2025&showletters=A-Z
Beyond the Arc: https://beyondthearc.com/blog/category/fintech
Long Range AI Consulting: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekruger1/
Our 2023 interview with Crissi Cole of Penny Finance: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tFFHhmaXPlPO2TbjobAEw
Glen’s blog on Coinbase’s wild week: https://www.big-fintech.com/a-tale-of-two-coinbases/
Payments Dive’s coverage of Nevada’s proposed legislation to create “Payments Banks”: https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/nevada-bill-would-charter-new-payment-banks-retailers-swipe-fees/748041/
Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday May 21 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- for a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. This session will feature a crowdsourcing of takeaways from spring’s credit union/ fintech conference season. The Town Hall is free to attend, but advance registration is required: https://www.cutownhall.com/
Join us on Bluesky!
@bigfintech.bsky.social
@154advisors.bsky.social (Glen)
@jbfintech.bsky.social (John)
And connect on LinkedIn for insights like the Friday Fintech Five:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/glensarvady/
Thank you to our friends at William Mills Agency for providing this week's featured image.
*Image source: William Mills Agency