The Voice of Fintech Funding
Release Date: 07/29/2025
2026: Do Markets Still Hate Uncertainty?
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
The BIGCast Gang ventures into the highly turbulent waters of 2026 fintech and credit union predictions- assessing the bright and dark sides of AI, vibe coding, the outlook for mergers, interest rates and of course, Bitcoin. Glen throws in a Rob Reiner/Stephen King reference for good measure. Links related to this episode: John Janclaes/The CEO Corner: Anne Legg/Thrive Strategic Services: Lou Grilli via LinkedIn: Money 20/20’s “Who the F Knows?” predictions: Plaid’s 2026 Predictions: December’s episode grading our 2025 predictions and marking off...
info_outline
Turning the Page… or Marking a Checkpoint?
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
The BIGCast Gang convenes for its annual roundup of the biggest stories impacting credit unions and fintechs (zero points awarded for guessing #1 on the list). Some Q1 headlines seem like ancient history, while others are gifts that just keep on giving. Bitcoin delivered its usual wild ride- but in 2025 it had plenty of company. Links related to this episode: John Janclaes/ The CEO Corner: Anne Legg/ Thrive Strategic Services: Lou Grilli via LinkedIn: The AI Index John referenced: The BIGCast is taking a two-week holiday break; check in for new content on Tuesday...
info_outline
Calling “Bingo!” in a Crazy Year
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
We have a winner! John and Glen sort through the squares of our 2025 Bingo (or BIG-Go) cards to assess the “gimme” events, items that occurred but differently than expected, and a few things that didn’t wind up happening… yet. Links related to this episode: Our February blog explaining the BIG-Go game: PayPal/Venmo’s merchant relationship with Taco Bell: FedNow transaction volumes- which have already tripled over 2024: The merger of not-quite $10 Billion credit unions: Join us for our final CU Town Hall of 2025- Wednesday December 17 at...
info_outline
Humans in the Loop, on the App, and Sometimes in the Branch
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Glen puts a bow on the 2025 conference calendar, wrapping up interviews with SAP Fioneer Global Head of Payments Carlos Figueredo and banking lifer/Association for Cannabis Banking co-founder Michael Beird. Also- constructive yet cautious takes on AI from a multitude of perspectives. Links related to this episode: Fintech Talents: SAP Fioneer: Carlos Figueredo’s LinkedIn: Michael Beird’s LinkedIn profile and Cannabis Banking playbook: The Association for Cannabis Banking: Join us...
info_outline
Talkin’ Turkey with the Team
The BIGCast: Sharing the credit union industry's current breakthroughs in innovation and discussing the latest hot topics
Continuing our holiday tradition, John and Glen welcome regular contributors Anne Legg and Lou Grilli to share thoughts on the happenings that made them grateful (Fintech and credit union-wise) over the past year. Includes takes on the GENIUS Act, shutdown relief, and the Napster Age of AI. Links related to this episode: Thrive Strategic Services- Where Anne Legg Creates More Awesome: Lou Grilli: Chip Filson’s “Just a Member” blog: Arnall Golden Gregory’s take on the proposed Visa/Mastercard settlement: LAST CALL for our BIG-Go...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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:...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outlineGlen connects with TTV Capital Partner Sean Banks and Technology Association of Georgia CEO Larry Williams to unpack the state of fintech venture capital investment, Georgia’s role in the global ecosystem and the upcoming Fintech South conference. Also, Illuma Founder/CEO Milind Borkar responds to Sam Altman’s warning flare than voice authentication has been “defeated.”
Links related to this episode:
TTV Capital: https://ttvcapital.com/
Fintech South, August 19-20 in Atlanta; Use code BIGCast25 for a registration discount: https://www.fintechsouth.com/
Illuma’s response to Sam Altman’s statement that AI has “defeated” voice authentication: https://illuma.cx/article/ai-growing-threat-to-digital-channels/
Axios’ coverage of Altman’s comments at a Federal Reserve event: https://www.axios.com/2025/07/22/openai-chatgpt-sam-altman-ai-fraud
Our 2025 Fintech Predictions BIGgo Card: https://bingobaker.com/#67a12342928998c6
Glen’s recent blog on Real Time/Same Day payment volumes midway through 2025: https://www.big-fintech.com/real-time-payments-rapid-ascent-continues-with-some-odd-footnotes/
A special time for our next CU Town Hall: Mark your calendars for our next Town Hall session- Monday, August 18 at 3:30pm ET/12:30pm PT- streaming live from America’s Credit Unions’ Strategic Growth Conference with a special fast-paced format. It’s free to attend, but advance registration is required. Visit https://www.cutownhall.com/ to request an invitation.
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/