Bankadelic: The colorful side of finance

It could be something as simple as cancelling wasteful subscriptions that over time give a consumer the power to make a big-ticket purchase, whether it’s a car, home improvement or dream vacation. On this episode, Steven McKean, co-founder and CEO of Apex Edge, walks us through how his technology has allowed consumers to take control of their financial lives--and in the process promote financial w...

Sharp pencils, sharp minds, sharp first-day-of-school wardrobe. It's time for Bankadelic to go Bank to School, as our four-guest panel helps us figure out what we've learned in 2021, and what we need to learn to graduate the Financial Services Academy with honors. Rich Longo of Mambu, Jill Homan of Deep Target, Mickey Goldwasser of Payrailz and Izabella Gabowicz of Sensibill will show us what they...

The world of philanthropy is ready for big things as the Great Wealth Transfer from baby boomers begins. How will women lead the charge, not only as inheritors of wealth but business leaders in their own right? Mona Sinha, the Board Chair of Women Moving Millions, shares how her organization seeks to change the face and heart of worldwide philanthropy by "funding big and bold."

Long gone are the days when financial institutions could wait several years, or even months, to sit on the sidelines without reassessing their technology and its impact on serving customers. The good news is that in the home stretch of 2021, the prospects for growth are bright—but only for those who stay on top of the changing digital landscape. David Brooks, Founder and CEO of Cirrus, explains ho...

As banks and financial institutions continue their quest to collect, digest and apply data, there’s a part of the equation than can never be quantified: the human side of the banking relationship. Mac Thompson, Founder and President of White Clay, discusses what it means to emphasize the people factor in banking, and what he learned based on his personal experiences as a business owner during the...

The Wells Fargo scandal of 2016 marked a low point in the quest for banks to lut people ahead of profits. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, and the all-hands-on-deck rush to help consumers and small businesses. One of Bankadelic’s favorite tag teams, Doug Brown of NCR (let) and Corey Gross of Sensibill, return to talk about the exciting developments in data, 2021 style. It all points to a laudable...

With countless fintechs working to stand out from the crowd, some work quietly within the niches to create meaningful breakthroughs. On this week's episode, ZSuite Technologies CEO Nathan Baumeister discusses the recent product launch that's created a leap forward in commercial escrow sub-accounting. He also weighs in on what fintech innovation and revolution look like in the latter half of 2021 a...

Over 50 episodes, our humble podcast has dedicated itself to bringing your fresh, compelling perspectives on financial services. That’s definitely not what we’re doing here. In a nod to host Lou Carlozo’s past life as a lead guitarist in a 1980s South Jersey hair band, The Bankadelic Brainless Trust has assembled 16 of our lamest, greatest skits from past episodes. Join Lou and special guest Johnn...

Some pundits are already calling 2021 the year of the Great Resignation, as white collar workers given pause by COVID bid adieu to thankless jobs and lifeless workplaces. Then there’s Quontic Bank, which has built a revolutionary culture based on four fundamental values that drive its success. On this episode, three of Quontic’s leaders—Casey Christopher, Mike Lantz and Founder, CEO/President and...

For awhile, the hope surrounding AI and banking was beginning to feel more like hype. Then came COVID-19, and fintech turned its attention to keeping up with the unwelcome new realities of sheltering in place. But now, the discussion around AI and banking is once again heating up even as the pandemic winds down. Srinivas Njay, President and CEO of interface.ai, discusses how a new round of AI tech...

Even with the recent acceleration of digital technology, financial institutions continue to struggle with their back offices, It’s often a mix of inefficient products, outmoded procedures and overwhelmed people struggling to make obsolete systems work. Raj Singal, Vice President of Technology at FINBOA, explains how user-friendly process automation can turn the bank back office into a powerful; ne...

Like Rip Van Winkle, the financial services industry is waking from a long, long dream—make that nightmare—brought on by COVID-19. Thanks to advances in tech, the greater-than-ever need for small business loans and the personal connection angle, community banks could see some of their best business in years. But it will take the guidance of industry veterans to help them change and grow with the t...

From the struggles to make back offices run at the speed of modern life to the obstacles facing faster payments in the U.S., payments progress depends on light-speed tech. Now, coming out of a pandemic that saw digital banking leap forward at warp speed, the question remains whether payments will make a similar jump. Casey Scheer, Director of Marketing and Sales at BHMI, highlights the bright spot...

Without a speck of exaggeration, it’s safe to say that Jon Voorhees knows more about bank branches than anyone in the financial services industry. He’s visited thousands and thousands over some four decades. But during a well-deserved retirement, Jon decided to get back into the game at a startup trying to bridge the gap between human and artificial intelligence. Here, Jon shares why he hopes that...

Yes, life is slowly returning to something like normal—but the speed of digital innovation fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t about to let up. Online banking platforms have stepped up to an unprecedented level of capability and power; data is more important than ever in the quest to understand customer behavior. Yet some of the changes taking hold in financial services revolve more around cultu...

The fight against fraud. The push for workplace diversity. The battle to bank in the face of a pandemic. It's difficult to imagine three hotter topics for financial services in 2021—let alone one person whose work embraces them all. Enter this week’s guest on Bankadelic: Titi Cole of Citi. Titi serves as Head of Operations & Fraud Prevention, Chief Client Officer, and Global Diversity & Inclusion...

Somewhere in the brick-and-mortar boneyard, Steve Schnall acquired a New York-based bank on the cusp of collapse. His mission: Turn the old-school failure into a digital age dynamo. The learning curve was hairy, the regulators wary. But in the end, Quontic Bank has emerged as a standout new-school community bank. It focuses on what it calls “adaptive lending” for low-income customers and one-of-a-...

In March 2020, the Bankadelic podcast took to the air for the first time. Little was known about the novel coronavirus at the time ... and in Episode One, Jason Henrichs of the Alloy Labs Alliance tried to help all of us in financial services make sense of the chaos. One year later, Henrichs returns to talk through the changes that have since swept banking in areas from tech adoption to reconsider...

While the idea of integrating games and payments might seem as smart as mixing peanut butter and concrete, the truth is that payments leaders are already integrating gamification, messaging and social media into their winning strategies. Lanny Byers, Chief Revenue Officer at Vouchr, walks us through how the industry (and his company) have moved into an exciting new era. In 2021, payments is more t...

The world of payments gained big-time speed and tech muscle in 2021. But let’s face it: Many consumers feel baffled and even alienated by the language and the landscape. Try explaining what an API is in less than two minutes. And it doesn’t stop there: Banks befuddled by the buzzwords remain stuck in the mud circa 1990. Chris Shepro-Stein, Co-Founder, Chief of Staff, Head of Operations at Xformati...

Many myths surround the quest to attract, hire and retain talent, especially for community and regional banks. Perhaps the most exciting news of all: Smaller institutions in the age of remote working can hire from almost any location in America. Shane Smith, the owner of Bankerhire, walks us through what’s new and changing in the quest for talent in 2021, and explains how the pandemic leveled the...

Imagine this: You’re a loyal driver out making delivery rounds … you’re running out of gas ... and your next paycheck won’t arrive for a week. Where big banks might seem clueless, one company is seamless — and has solved the problem. Ahmed Siddiqui, who oversees Product at Branch, explains how his company turned a work-shift scheduling app into a payments must-have for working-class employees, the...

Here at Bankadelic, we (heart) banking — and so do the six guests assembled on this special episode. Though 2020 was the toughest of tough years, there was still much to celebrate in terms of how the fintech community stepped up to go above and beyond when customers and banks needed it most. This episode is a mix of exciting memories, enticing propositions for 2021 — annnnnnnnd, love poems along w...

You’ve heard those catchphrases so many times — customer experience, we love our customers, the customer is number one — that it’s easy to forget what actually comes first: satisfied employees. Truth is, no financial institution can make a single customer happy until it takes care of its staff. To talk about the new tools and innovative ideas driving this in 2021, we chat with Kevin Steel (left),...

Yes, banking and financial services accelerated to the speed of life and beyond in 2020. But with that perilous pandemic year in the rearview, how can institutions double down on digital transformation and deliver a more integrated, holistic customer experience? Booshan Rengachari and Dave Hunkele of Finzly take us through the digital transformation challenges that face the industry and share thei...