Money Isn't Everything

Among the industry’s many challenges is finding talent who understands COBOL, a programming language that is still critical for financial institutions and other companies worldwide. Today on the show: Mary speaks with Bill and Eileen Hinshaw, the co-founders of Cobol Cowboys, a firm that sends in the pros who understand the "legendary language." They also talk to Mary about their work to...

As Ryan Falvey sees it, 2025 will mark a very favorable period for fintech startups. Today on the show: Ryan, who is the co-founder and managing partner at Restive (a venture fund for early-stage fintech companies), talks to Mary about why.  They also get into regulation wishes, productivity trends with startups and what interferes with innovating. Show Notes: Restive's  State of the Market 2...

The Los Angeles-area wildfires have destroyed homes and businesses. On today’s show, Mary chats with Matthew Goldman, a Pasadena resident and serial fintech founder. They chat about the wildfires and how the industry can help. Matthew, who is the founder of Totavi, a fintech product management consultancy, also talks about cutting-edge card perks and what it takes to inspire someone to change bank...

In August 2022, Bank of New Hampshire started issuing biodegradable cards to help reduce plastic waste. 🌽 Today on the show, Mary talks to Eric Carter, senior vice president of digital solutions and innovation officer at the bank, about what motivated him to make the card switch ahead of so many other financial institutions. They also talk about bank-fintech partnerships in a post-Synapse crisis...

Open banking, A.I. and President-elect Trump. … and that’s just the start. Today on the show, Jennifer Tescher, founder, president and CEO of the Financial Health Network, talks to Mary about her takes on the industry’s most heated topics. They also explore an opportunity for banks and credit unions: help improve financial outcomes to avoid just existing in a commodity business.   Show notes: Fina...

Happy Thanksgiving! Today’s show is a short one. Cornerstone’s Editor-at-Large, Mary Wisniewski, hops on with herself to chat about what she’s thankful for in fintech. Send us Fan Mail

Community Financial Credit Union is taking on one of the diciest areas of finance: domestic violence and economic abuse in what the Michigan credit union refers to as its Choose the Bear movement. Tansley Stearns, president and CEO of the credit union, talks to Mary about how and why Community Financial hopes to serve as one of the resources to help survivors escape economic abuse and rebuild thei...

While financial institutions across the country want to win over Gen Z, the demographic tends to mystify them. Katrin Kaurov, co-founder and CEO of Frich, is on a mission to help solve both challenges. Katrin talks to Mary about Gen Z stereotypes, techniques that resonate with young adults and rethinking financial literacy. She also answers questions that came up during a summer Cornerstone-Frich...

The emotional side of money is an emerging area of interest for fintech and digital banking executives. On today’s show, Mary sits down with Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, who among other titles, is a financial therapist. In fact, through December 2024, Lindsay is working as Cash App’s financial therapist. Lindsay talks with Mary about the newer profession and how it’s already showing up in fintech in vari...

In September, the Reseda Group held a fintech summit in Detroit, showcasing a range of technology designed to improve credit unions’ products and services. Mary emcee-ed the event. In this episode, Ben Maxim (the chief operating officer at the Reseda Group) chats with Mary about the flavorful themes that emerged during the Detroit event, including: fresh ways to deepen engagement with members, the...

A 2024 policy shift is letting employees offer a newer kind of perk: When employees make student loan payments, their employers can plop savings into their tax-advantage retirement plan as their matches. Today on the show, Mary sits down with Laurel Taylor, founder and CEO at Candidly, to explore why and how her company is tackling this thorny financial wellness challenge. Plus, they chat about th...

2024 is considered the year of the consent order in banking. The added regulatory scrutiny is shifting the way banks partner with fintech companies. In this episode, Mary sits down with Rodrigo Suarez, chief banking officer at Piermont Bank. They explore what the young New York bank is seeking out in fintech. Rodrigo also shares why he thinks diversity matters in banking and offers his views on in...

You likely know the brand H&R Block. But more than two years ago, the tax-preparation chain launched Spruce: an app that connects to a debit card and savings account where funds are held at its bank partner, Pathward. Today on the show, Mary sits down with John Thompson, vice president of product management for financial services at H&R Block. They chat about how consumers find Spruce (inc...

As the executive director of Fintech Sandbox, Kelly Fryer interacts with all kinds of fintech startups. In this episode, Kelly offers her take on important startup issues. She talks with Mary about the challenges fintech startups located outside of the coasts are up against, clashes between fintech and bank cultures and career pathing ideas. They also chat about their shared Midwestern roots and t...

In this episode, Mary chats with Tony Brancato, the head of product for the neobank for older adults called Charlie. Tony chats about why he thinks payments need to slow down, how shame is masking just how many seniors are getting scammed and where to acquire customers. They also chat about whether or not their parents hit the clubs.   Relevant links: Charlie The newest Neobank is for the 62+ Crow...

StellarFi is not the first fintech company Lamine Zarrad has founded. This plucky serial fintech founder chats with Mary about his wild ride working as a bank regulator by day, and designing a pot payment startup (Tokken) on nights and weekends -- something he said he felt compelled to do. Now at StellarFi, he is compelled to rethink bill payment. They explore the how and examine unconventional cu...

Michael Broughton learned about the complications of the credit scoring system while struggling to access credit to help him pay for a portion of his USC tuition. Now, as the founder and CEO of Altro, he’s working to expand the ways people can build credit history by reporting subscription payments to credit bureaus. He tells Mary about what he sees broken in the credit scoring system and what it...

Sophia Goldberg, CEO and co-founder of Ansa and author of " The Field Guide to Global Payments ," views Girl Math as a joyful expression. Sophia explores the social media trend with Mary and shares her view on why it matters to all brands. They also discuss what’s broken with gift cards and opine on reward programs that resonate with people. Send us Fan Mail

Eric Siegel, founder of Machine Learning Week conferences and former Columbia University professor, has focused his attention on cutting through the AI exuberance in his newer book, “The AI Playbook.” Eric talks to Mary about what corporations get wrong about one of the buzziest technologies and offers practical steps to take instead. Eric also talks to her about the tension between fraud and cust...

Debbie , an early-stage fintech startup, is rewriting the rules on rewards. Instead of offering consumers rewards for spending, Debbie offers rewards for paying down their debt and saving money at a time when credit card and auto loan delinquency rates have increased to their highest level since the Great Recession, per data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Today’s episode: Mary sits down...

It’s past and present fintech innovations in this edition of Money isn’t Everything. In today’s show, Mary sits down with Jim Bruene who founded one of the first fintech events, Finovate, at a time when many didn’t know fintech was becoming a thing. They explore the challenges of staying creative at a corporation and offer workarounds as well as opine on the latest and greatest in small business b...

Consumers are depleting the savings they built during the pandemic. Mary Wisniewski sits down with Ethan Bloch, the founder of Digit, one of the first algorithmic saving apps to hit the U.S. They examine: overdraft fees, best practices for building a product that inspires behavior change and whether fintech has improved financial services at all. They still manage to laugh.  Send us Fan Mail

The financial services industry isn’t that basic. Sure, banks and credit unions hold money. But their ambitions are much grander. Hosted by long-time fintech reporter Mary Wisniewski, Money isn’t Everything explores the ways banking may change for better or worse. We’ll hear from rebels of banking, journalists and fintech entrepreneurs every other week to explore financial health, identity issues...