BIGcast

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: https://finovate....

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: https:/...

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: www.nacha.o...

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.   Link...

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: https://www.trygoodbuy.com/   Messick, Lauer & Smith: https://ww...

In this week's episode of the BIGcast, host John Best sits down with Emma Zaballos, cybersecurity expert and Product Marketing Manager at CyCognito, to unpack one of the biggest surprises in generative AI: the emergence of China's DeepSeek. Emma and John dive deep (pun intended) into the implications of DeepSeek's rise, the broader cybersecurity concerns around AI, and what it all means for credit...

Glen speaks with Nacha's Stephanie Prebish and Devon Marsh about the upcoming Smarter Faster Payments conference in New Orleans, as well as Same Day ACH's remarkable sustained growth and the rising tide that lifts all riverboats. Also- First reflections on Americas Credit Unions' leadership change, and… No Tariff Talk!    Links related to this episode:   Smarter, Faster Payments in New Orleans Apr...

Glen speaks with Frank Diekmann, Founder and Publisher of the newly minted The CU Daily, about his latest venture and the need for "hard news" reporting in the credit union space. Also- a ray of light for CDFIs, grandstanding against paper checks, and splitting hairs on CBDCs.   Links related to this episode:   The CU Daily: https://thecudaily.com/   The CU Daily's article on Treasury's CDFI respo...

Glen connects with the Defense Credit Union Council's Jason Stverak to discuss the dual threats- not-for-profit tax treatment and CDFI designation- facing the industry, and the bizarre misrepresentations surrounding each. Also- Klarna's IPO parade, and an acclaimed entry in the Credit Union Film Festival.      Links related to this episode:   The Defense Credit Union Council: https://www.dcuc.org/...

Our second wave of interviews from the recent Governmental Affairs Conference features Glen's interviews with company founders Paul Fiore (CU WealthNext) and Kian Sarrashteh (InvestiFi), plus Candescent's new Chief Product Officer Gareth Gaston on digital banking lessons to be gleaned from fields like travel.   Links related to this episode:   Candescent: https://www.candescent.com/   CU WealthNex...

Glen recaps an action-packed Government Affairs Conference, featuring our annual interview with America's Credit Unions' Economics Team on the coming year's outlook. An "existential threat" to the industry's income tax exemption headlined a packed agenda, but the CFPB, NCUA and interchange legislation were also on the menu- not to mention tariff whiplash and market uncertainty.       Links related...

Glen quizzes John about his initiative leveraging social media app BlueSky's open source architecture to create a moderated, inclusive platform for credit union dialogue and experimentation. Also- threading the needle at the Governmental Affairs Conference.         Links related to this episode:   BlueSky: https://bsky.app/notifications Our Bluesky accounts to follow: @bigfintech.bsky.social   @15...

Glen speaks with DePaul University professor and financial innovation expert Lamont Black about his recent work on a blockchain-based secondary loan market to unlock credit union liquidity and reduce costs. Also- Chase tries to keep Zelle in the "friends and family," and 2024 payment stats beg the question "how fast is fast enough?"   Links related to this episode:   Wide Open Ventures: https://ww...

Glen shares a pair of interviews from last week's Deluxe Exchange conference- Scamnetic co-founder Al Pascual on a startup's mission to preempt fraud earlier in the pipeline, and Deidre Campbell on a few financial services silver linings amid troubling data from the annual Edelman Trust Barometer. Also- Bingo cards and the CFPB carousel.   Links related to this episode:   Edelman Trust Barometer:...

Glen speaks with NACUSO's Interim CEO- and serial CUSO founder- Miriam Ackerman about plans for the group's Reimagine conference this April in Las Vegas, including a juiced up Next Big Idea competition. Also- a quick summary of the busiest credit union news week in recent memory.    Links related to this episode:   NACUSO's Reimagine Conference, April 14-17 in Las Vegas: https://www.reimaginenacus...

John and Glen (mostly John) sort through the details of the still-evolving DeepSeek story. They assess how much of the freakout is warranted (is it "a Sputnik moment"?) and propose a scenario in which it may actually represent a *plus* for credit unions.  Also- yet another twist in the Illinois interchange saga.   Links related to this episode:   Digital Transactions' coverage of a proposed bill t...

John and Glen connect with noted security expert Roger Grimes to untangle the recent developments in quantum computing and discuss why Roger believes the big encryption-obliterating breakthrough will come sooner rather than later - if it hasn't already.    Links related to this episode:   Roger's recent LinkedIn post on why a 2035 Quantum prep date is "insane": https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-thi...

Glen speaks with BankSocial COO and former credit union CEO Becky Reed about what credit unions should expect from "the most crypto-friendly administration in US history," including regulatory clarity and a symbiotic relationship between crypto and AI. Plus- notes from the DC Crypto Ball, and a very busy Bingo card.    Links related to this episode:   BankSocial: https://www.banksocial.io/ BRaaSCo...

May you live in interesting times…. John and Glen join with Anne Legg and John Janclaes to speculate on the big events poised to frame the coming year. Our panel foresees the best of times and worst of times for AI, a flurry of mergers, breakthroughs in mortgage lending, and regulatory roulette. Oh, and our annual disagreement on Bitcoin and crypto.      Links related to this episode:   Thrive Str...

Glen kicks off the 2025 BIGCast season with Bancography President Steve Reider and a deep dive into branch dynamics. We all know the number of branches is declining but a close look at the data reveals several intriguing subplots (psst… it's not the credit unions downsizing). Plus the return of BIGCast movie reviews!   Links related to this episode:   Bancography: https://bancography.com/ Bancogra...

Our esteemed panel (Anne Legg of Thrive Strategic Services, John Janclaes of Nymbus CUSO, Glen Sarvady of 154 Advisors) join John Best to opine on the biggest stories impacting credit unions and fintech in 2025- Mergers and Fraudsters and AI, oh my!   Links related to this episode:   THRIVE Strategic Services: https://www.anneleggthrive.com/ Nymbus CUSO: https://www.nymbus.com/cuso/   The language...

Glen connects with Payfinia CUSO General Manager Keith Riddle and Star One Credit Union's EVP of Operations Minal Gupta about the newly minted CUSO aiming to streamline CUs' provision of instant payment services. Also, newly released FedNow data- plus reporting from the more mature RTP network- reveals some unexpected twists.   Links related to this episode:   Payfinia: https://tyfone.com/payfinia...

Insightful conversations with three founders whose startups stood out at VentureTech: Joe Gracia of Pitch Competition winner Nickels/CardFit, Blesson Abraham of Aviary AI and Danial Jameel of Saris AI. Also, the Kelce brothers and Joe Montana unexpectedly find their way into the discussion.   Links related to this episode:   CardFit, the new offering from Nickels: https://nickels.us/acquire Saris...

Continuing our annual tradition, John and Glen glide through a fintech wonderland with Anne Legg (Thrive Strategic Services) and John Janclaes (Nymbus CUSO), sharing thoughts on things they're thankful for across our collaborative community- from the expected (AI, the innovative spirit) to the counter-intuitive (fraud levels, fintech funding).      Links related to this episode:   THRIVE Strategic...

Freshly back from the VentureTech conference, Glen shares interviews with Launch Party winner Ribbon and main event standout Wysh- plus plenty of key takeaways from investors, regulators, entrepreneurs and their prospective credit union partners.     Links related to this episode:   Ribbon: https://www.trustribbon.com/ Wysh: https://www.wysh.com/ VentureTech: https://myventuretech.com/ Our recent...