Starting Simple, Small and with Purpose
Release Date: 07/02/2025
Starting Simple, Small and with Purpose
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Glen speaks with the CU De Novo Collective’s Denise Wymore about the grassroots groundswell of interest in starting new credit unions, overcoming the challenges of progressing from concept to market, and why a voice for CU creation is needed to counter a one-way trend. Also- Fiserv’s stablecoin play, The FTA’s attempt to preserve open banking, and how AI regulation became a budget issue. Links related to this episode: The CU De Novo Collective: The University of North Carolina’s student-led credit union...
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Consumers Pay in Mysterious Ways (it’s alright, it’s alright)
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Glen chats with the Atlanta Fed’s Claire Greene about the latest Diary and Survey of Consumer Payment Choice and the messy realities of dealing with real world data. Also- next steps in the stablecoin saga and…Fintech’s answer to GameStop? Links related to this episode: The Atlanta Fed’s Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice: The Fed’s 2024 SHED Survey: The FDIC’s 2023 Survey of Un/Underbanked Households: Our recent episode on consumer data gathered by the Georgia Fintech Academy: Glen’s Genius Act/Stablecoin blog: ...
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Circle’s Stroke of Genius/Can Anyone Regulate AI?
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
John and Glen ruminate on a pair of major events reshuffling the fintech world- The Circle IPO’s impact on venture funding, and the Big Beautiful Bill’s unorthodox approach to throttling AI regulation. Also- John gets “spun out on quantum,” and admits a surprising change of heart regarding his outlook for AI. Links related to this episode: Glen’s blog on the Circle and Chime IPOs: The Senate alters the House budget provision curtailing states’ ability to regulate AI: Axios’ story about AI’s newfound ability to blackmail: CNBC’s...
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Are Younger Generations Branching Out?
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Glen speaks with Georgia State University Finance Professor Jonathan Godbey about new student-led consumer research that yields some unexpected findings about Gen Z banking attitudes. Plus- Circle’s IPO is roundly celebrated, Illinois kicks the interchange can down the road, and the AI Easter Egg hiding in the Big Beautiful Bill. Links related to this episode: The Georgia Fintech Academy: The Technology Association of Georgia’s Fintech Ecosystem Report: Fintech South- in Atlanta August 19-20: Contact Georgia State Finance Professor Jonathan Godbey...
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The Business of Trust
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Glen speaks with Edelman Smithfield’s Deidre Campbell to explore her firm’s new Financial Services Trust Barometer and the (mostly) positive signs for banks and credit unions. Also- the latest Gen AI fiasco has a familiar ring, Illinois’ unworkable interchange law moves bizarrely close to reality, and why the CFPB’s withdrawal of its open banking rule isn’t necessarily cause for celebration. Links related to this episode: The 2025 Edelman Financial Services Trust Barometer: Our February conversation with Deidre on global trust overall: The Chicago...
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Have Your Bot Call My Bot
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Recapping 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: Beyond the Arc: Long Range AI Consulting: Our 2023 interview with Crissi Cole of Penny Finance: Glen’s blog on Coinbase’s wild week: Payments...
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Will Pay By Bank Run FIs Off the Rails?
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Glen connects with Paylume’s Andrew Gomez to unpack the burgeoning pay by bank model, explore lessons learned from other countries’ rollouts, and consider the pros and cons facing banks and credit unions. Also- a possible open banking do-over, more stadium naming rights, and resisting the urge to spike the ball before the goal line. Links related to this episode: Andrew Gomez/Paylume: Nacha’s Remote Connect, June 6-9: Part One of our Nacha Payments conference coverage: CU Daily’s coverage of a positive sign for CUs’ tax exemption: ...
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Getting Direct About ACH
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
A pair of conversations from last week’s Smarter Faster Payments conference- Glen’s annual check-in with Nacha CEO Jane Larimer, and PASA CEO Ghita Erling shares insights on modernizing South Africa’s payment system through collaboration rather than mandate. Also- AI shopping agents, Uber discovers paper, and the vultures circle around checks. Links related to this episode: Nacha: Payments Association of South Africa: Glen’s blog on 2024 Faster Payments volumes: TechCrunch on Visa and Mastercard’s new AI shopping agents: Payments...
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Going Where the Trust Is
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Continuing our NACUSO Reimagine coverage, Glen speaks with Silvur founder Rhian Horgan about the “social journey of retirement” and how credit unions can play to their strengths in transitioning their biggest borrowers into their biggest depositors. Also- more of John’s conversation with cybersecurity expert Emma Zaballos about DeepSeek’s rise and the broader operational concerns around AI. Links related to this episode: Silvur: CyCognito: NACUSO: Our first batch of NACUSO coverage featuring interviews with Next Big Idea winner GoodBuy and...
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Big Ideas Cut Through the Chaos
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Live from NACUSO’s Reimagine conference Glen speaks with the co-founders of Next Big Idea competition winner Goodbuy, Cara Oppenheimer and Cary Fortin. CUSO lawyer Brian Lauer shares his insights on the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, and then as if on cue the tectonic plates shift…. Links related to this episode: Goodbuy: Messick, Lauer & Smith: NACUSO: Our recent interview with Next Big Idea runner up Scamnetic: The CU Daily’s ongoing coverage of the NCUA board upheaval: Glen’s reflections on the NCUA commotion: ...
info_outlineGlen speaks with the CU De Novo Collective’s Denise Wymore about the grassroots groundswell of interest in starting new credit unions, overcoming the challenges of progressing from concept to market, and why a voice for CU creation is needed to counter a one-way trend. Also- Fiserv’s stablecoin play, The FTA’s attempt to preserve open banking, and how AI regulation became a budget issue.
Links related to this episode:
The CU De Novo Collective: https://www.cudenovocollective.org/
The University of North Carolina’s student-led credit union initiative: https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2025/06/university-student-credit-union
George Washington University’s initiative: https://gwucui.com/
America’s Credit Union Museum: https://www.acumuseum.org/ (check the Herstory exhibit)
Finovate’s take on Fiserv launching a “bank-friendly stablecoin”: https://finovate.com/fiserv-launches-stablecoin-for-banks/
The Bank Policy Institute/Fintech Association Open Banking standoff: https://thecudaily.com/fintechs-tell-court-banks-want-to-thwart-open-banking-to-stop-competition/
Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday July 9 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- for a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. For this session we’ll be focusing on youth banking and how CUs can appeal to the next generation of members. The CU 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/