Wrestling Payments

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) Understanding the Future of Fintech Regulation: The Cage Match BeginsIn this episode of Wrestling Payments, Joe Casali dives into the recent executive order that aims to overhaul fintech regulation. As the landscape shifts, understanding how regulation affects fintech firms, banking partnerships, and consumer protections becomes critical for indust...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) Episode Description The Federal Reserve just proposed changes to Regulation J that would allow FedNow participants to designate intermediary banks — opening the door for cross-border payments over FedNow for the first time. Joe Casali breaks down what the rule actually changes, how the domestic and international legs of a cross-border FedNow paymen...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) Episode Summary In this episode of Wrestling Payments, host Joe Casali sits down with Phil Robin, SVP of Strategy at The Clearing House. They explore how financial institutions are approaching the challenges of modernizing payment operations, with a focus on risk, governance, and the rapid pace of change in new technologies. Phil shares his perspec...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) Episode Summary Wrestling Payments kicks off 2026 with a trip to the Hill. Host Joe Casali sits down with William Sullivan, Associate Managing Director of Government and Industry Relations at Nacha, for a wide-ranging Washington update on the policies shaping the future of payments. William breaks down the latest twists in open banking rulemaking—i...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) Episode Summary Wrestling Payments kicks off 2026 with a critical conversation. Host Joe Casali is joined by Brian Laverdure and Mickey Marshall from the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) to unpack the growing regulatory gap between fintechs and traditional banking. As non-banks rapidly expand into mortgage lending and payments, commu...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) Episode Summary In this episode of Wrestling Payments, Joe Casali sits down with Steve Wasserman of Vments and Larry Pruss of Strategic Resource Management for an urgent conversation about the seismic shifts happening in payments right now. Stablecoins and tokenized deposits aren't coming—they're here, and they're already pulling dep...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) EPISODE SUMMARY In this episode of Wrestling Payments, host Joe Casali sits down with Rich Carty from Remedy to dig into the realities of core technology contracts in banking and payments. Rich shares how financial institutions weigh tough choices when locked into long-term vendor agreements and why early planning is critical. He explains how most...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) EPISODE SUMMARY In this episode of Wrestling Payments, host Joe Casali sits down with Jordan Thaeler to explore how embedded payments lock merchants into costly, inflexible systems. Jordan explains why many software providers bundle payment services with their core products, leaving merchants with few choices and rising costs. He shares how this mo...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) While domestic payments are faster than ever, international transactions remain stuck in the past. In this episode, Monex Chief Economist John Min explains why cross-border payments are often slow, costly, and unpredictable. GUEST-AT-A-GLANCE Name: John Min, Ph. D What they do: Chief Economist Company: Monex Noteworthy: John specializes in global p...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) AI is changing the world as we know it. I'm please to present a great conversation i had with Brian Keef of Nice Actimize who are a leader in many things, but AI in Banking. In this Wrestling Payments episode, host Joe Casali interviews Brian Keefe, Manager of Portfolio Pre-Sales at Nice Actimize, about AI's transformative role in fraud d...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) EPISODE SUMMARY In this episode of Wrestling Payments, host Joe Casali sits down with Sarah Stapp, Chief Commercial Officer, and Geoff Scott, Head of Compliance, at Aeropay. Together, they dive into the ongoing push and pull between sales and compliance in the world of pay by bank, exploring how teams can move fast without leaving risk behind. Sara...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) EPISODE SUMMARY In this episode of Wrestling Payments, Jim Colassano, Senior Vice President at The Clearing House, joins host Joe Casali to discuss the transformative impact of the Real-Time Payments (RTP) network. He explains how RTP is revolutionizing how businesses manage payments, particularly on the send side. Jim highlights the shift from tra...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) Episode Summary Mid-market banks and credit unions are trapped between agile FinTechs and mega banks, held back by internal silos. On Wrestling Payments, host Elyssa Morgan explores how these institutions can break barriers and leverage their unique strengths. Randy San Nicolas (Braid CEO) and Daryn Barney (Role FinTech Partners founder) reveal how...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) Episode Summary Financial institutions struggle to identify and monetize revenue opportunities through FinTech partnerships while justifying upfront costs to leadership. Wrestling Payments host Elyssa Morgan speaks with Scott Goldthwaite from FinTech Futures, who breaks down where banks can find immediate revenue streams and build compelling busine...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) Episode Summary Many financial institutions feel stuck, believing technology myths hold them back from innovation. In this Wrestling Payments episode, host Elyssa Morgan talks with Brian Anderson, VP of Banking Transformation at Finzly, about busting these myths and competing in today's payments ecosystem without waiting for core systems to ca...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) Episode Summary Financial institutions face a critical challenge: modernizing payment operations through FinTech partnerships without compromising compliance. On Wrestling Payments, host Elyssa Morgan explores practical strategies for balancing innovation with regulatory requirements. Mark Forbis (former Jack Henry CTO) and Stephen Coburn (Avalo La...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) EPISODE SUMMARY In this episode of Wrestling Payments, Host Elyssa Morgan talks with Dr. Angela Murphy from Pidgin about the shift from competition to collaboration between financial institutions and fintechs. They explore why partnership is a critical strategy for shaping the future of financial services and meeting rapidly evolving customer expec...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) Episode Summary In this episode of Wrestling Payments, Joe Casali from NEACH sits down with Raphael Reznek and Ingrid Hebert from Mascoma Bank and Mascoma Technologies to explore an incredible success story: how a community bank built its own fintech platform from scratch. After years of vendor disappointments and legacy system limitations, Mascoma...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) EPISODE SUMMARY In this episode of Wrestling Payments, host Joe Casali from NEACH speaks with Glenn Fromer of Treasury Software about solving the critical "last mile" disconnect between small businesses and the ACH network. Glenn shares how his journey from accountant at fast food chains to payment software developer revealed significant...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) QUESTIONS ALWAYS WELCOME. jcasali@neach.org EPISODE SUMMARY In this third installment of the NACHA "Smackdown" Rules Violations in the Ring series, Wrestling Payments host Joseph Casali dives into NACHA's enforcement process, examining real rules violation cases and their consequences. The episode unpacks three enforcement cases invo...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) EPISODE SUMMARY: QUESTIONS ALWAYS WELCOME. jcasali@neach.org In this episode of Wrestling Payments, host Joseph Casali continues his three-part NACHA SmackDown series, taking listeners inside the high-stakes world of ACH rules violations. Through compelling real-world cases, Joseph reveals the consequences when financial institutions fail to follow...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) Episode Summary In this episode of Wrestling Payments, Joseph Casali launches a three-part "SmackDown Rules Violations in the Ring" series, examining ACH rule violations through wrestling metaphors. He analyzes two critical NACHA case studies that payment professionals should understand to avoid costly compliance mistakes. The first case...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) EPISODE SUMMARY In this episode of Wrestling Payments, host Joseph Casali draws surprising parallels between professional wrestling and the evolution of payment systems. After watching WrestleMania 41, he experienced an "aha moment" recognizing that successful payment transformations follow the same narrative structure as compelling wrest...

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) EPISODE SUMMARY In this episode of Wrestling Payments, host Joe Casali sits down with Travis Dulaney, CEO and Co-founder of BalancedTrust, to unpack the ongoing friction between fintech startups and their bank partners. From missing compliance standards to misunderstandings around regulatory risk, Travis explains why so many good ideas hit a wall....

Send us a text. (email us if you need a response) EPISODE SUMMARY This episode of Wrestling Payments tackles the critical topic of exposure limits in modern payments. Host Joe Casali and guest Sean Carter, President & CEO of Neach Payments Group, dissect an article by Jordan Bennett of Nacha, which focuses on payment modernization and digital transformation. Sean highlights a common misconcept...