BIG Podcast

Glen chats with the Atlanta Fed’s Claire Greene about the latest Diary and Survey of Consumer Payment Choice and the messy realities of dealing with real world data. Also- next steps in the stablecoin saga and…Fintech’s answer to GameStop?            Links related to this episode:   The Atlanta Fed’s Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice: https://www.atlantafed.org/banking-and-payments/consumer-payments/survey-and-diary-of-consumer-payment-choice/2024-survey-and-diary The Fed’s 2024 SHED Survey: www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2024-report-economic-well-being-us-households-202505.pdf  The FDIC’s 2023 Survey of Un/Underbanked Households: https://www.fdic.gov/household-survey/2023-fdic-national-survey-unbanked-and-underbanked-households-report Our recent episode on consumer data gathered by the Georgia Fintech Academy: https://www.big-fintech.com/are-younger-generations-branching-out/ Glen’s Genius Act/Stablecoin blog: https://www.big-fintech.com/a-stroke-of-genius-regulation-comes-full-circle/

John and Glen ruminate on a pair of major events reshuffling the fintech world- The Circle IPO’s impact on venture funding, and the Big Beautiful Bill’s unorthodox approach to throttling AI regulation. Also- John gets “spun out on quantum,” and admits a surprising change of heart regarding his outlook for AI.           Links related to this episode:   Glen’s blog on the Circle and Chime IPOs: https://www.big-fintech.com/what-the-chime-and-circle-ipos-mean-for-fintech-investment/ The Senate alters the House budget provision curtailing states’ ability to regulate AI: https://rollcall.com/2025/06/05/ai-regulation-moratorium-dropped-in-senate-budget-package/  Axios’ story about AI’s newfound ability to blackmail: https://www.axios.com/2025/05/23/anthropic-ai-deception-risk  CNBC’s take on the Genius Act: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/13/what-the-genius-act-could-mean-for-crypto-and-other-investors.html  TechCrunch’s recap of Chime’s circuitous path to a successful IPO: https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/12/chime-a

Glen speaks with Georgia State University Finance Professor Jonathan Godbey about new student-led consumer research that yields some unexpected findings about Gen Z banking attitudes. Plus- Circle’s IPO is roundly celebrated, Illinois kicks the interchange can down the road, and the AI Easter Egg hiding in the Big Beautiful Bill.          Links related to this episode: The Georgia Fintech Academy: https://georgiafintechacademy.org/ The Technology Association of Georgia’s Fintech Ecosystem Report: https://www.tagonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025-Fintech-Ecosystem-Report.pdf Fintech South- in Atlanta August 19-20: https://www.fintechsouth.com/ Contact Georgia State Finance Professor Jonathan Godbey at jgodbey@gsu.edu Payments Dive’s coverage of Illinois’ Interchange Fee Prohibition Act extension: https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/illinois-legislature-delays-interchange-fee-ban-law/749526/ Circle’s IPO: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/circle-stock-surges-15-extends-gains-for-third-day-in-a-row-si

Glen speaks with Edelman Smithfield’s Deidre Campbell to explore her firm’s new Financial Services Trust Barometer and the (mostly) positive signs for banks and credit unions. Also- the latest Gen AI fiasco has a familiar ring, Illinois’ unworkable interchange law moves bizarrely close to reality, and why the CFPB’s withdrawal of its open banking rule isn’t necessarily cause for celebration.     Links related to this episode:   The 2025 Edelman Financial Services Trust Barometer: https://www.edelmansmithfield.com/trust/2025/trust-barometer/report-financial-sector  Our February conversation with Deidre on global trust overall: https://www.big-fintech.com/scams-grievances-and-the-enduring-value-of-trust/  The Chicago Sun-Times’ mea culpa for printing invented book titles: https://chicago.suntimes.com/press-room/2025/05/20/chicago-sun-times-response-to-may-18-special-section  Our May 2023 “Package Delivery Blues” episode exposing some familiar AI shortcomings: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3njgklKC8n2fehQr

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.com//videos/?filtertype=&showtypes=FinovateSpring&videostartyear=2025&showletters=A-Z    Beyond the Arc: https://beyondthearc.com/blog/category/fintech    Long Range AI Consulting: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekruger1/    Our 2023 interview with Crissi Cole of Penny Finance: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tFFHhmaXPlPO2TbjobAEw    Glen’s blog on Coinbase’s wild week: https://www.big-fintech.com/a-tale-of-two-coinbases/   Payments Dive’s coverage of Nevada’s proposed legislation to create “Payments Banks”: https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/nevada-bill-would-charter-new-payment-banks-retailers-swipe-f

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://www.linkedin.com/in/r-andrew-gomez/    Nacha’s Remote Connect, June 6-9: https://payments.nacha.org/remote-connect    Part One of our Nacha Payments conference coverage: https://www.big-fintech.com/getting-direct-about-ach/    CU Daily’s coverage of a positive sign for CUs’ tax exemption: https://thecudaily.com/in-victory-for-credit-unions-cu-tax-exemption-not-targeted-in-committees-bill    The recent CU Town Hall on which we debated implications of the tax exemption: https://www.cutownhall.com/    Bloomberg Law’s coverage of potential Open Banking (Section 1033) reconsideration: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ba

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.org   Payments Association of South Africa: https://pasa.org.za/    Glen’s blog on 2024 Faster Payments volumes: https://www.big-fintech.com/zelle-hits-a-trillion-same-day-ach-says-hold-my-beer/    TechCrunch on Visa and Mastercard’s new AI shopping agents: https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/30/visa-and-mastercard-unveil-ai-powered-shopping/    Payments Dive on Uber’s expanding acceptance of cash: https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/uber-expands-test-with-an-exotic-payment-cash/746464/        Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday May 7 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- for a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the

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.   Links related to this episode:   Silvur: https://www.silvur.com/   CyCognito: www.cycognito.com/     NACUSO: https://www.nacuso.org/   Our first batch of NACUSO coverage featuring interviews with Next Big Idea winner GoodBuy and CUSO law leader Brian Lauer: https://www.big-fintech.com/big-ideas-cut-through-the-chaos/      Part 1 of John’s interview with CyCognito’s Emma Zaballos: https://www.big-fintech.com/deepseek-bytedance-and-the-ai-arms-race/   Honey, I Shrunk the NCUA Board (not a laughing matter): https://www.big-fintech.com/honey-i-shrunk-the-ncua-board/   Former NCUA Board Chair Todd Harper’s recent LinkedIn p

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://www.cusolaw.com/   NACUSO: https://www.nacuso.org/   Our recent interview with Next Big Idea runner up Scamnetic: https://www.big-fintech.com/scams-grievances-and-the-enduring-value-of-trust/    The CU Daily’s ongoing coverage of the NCUA board upheaval: https://thecudaily.com/white-house-reportedly-fires-two-democrats-on-ncua-board/   Glen’s reflections on the NCUA commotion: https://www.big-fintech.com/honey-i-shrunk-the-ncua-board/   The NCUA’s memo claiming it can function with a single board member: https://ncua.gov/newsroom/press-release/2025/ncua-releases-staff-message-current-ncua-board   Former NCUA Bo

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 unions and financial institutions navigating the AI landscape.   Links related to this episode:   CyCognito: https://www.cycognito.com/   Wiz Research Uncovers Exposed DeepSeek Database Leaking: https://www.wiz.io/blog/wiz-research-uncovers-exposed-deepseek-database-leak Security Scorecard’s blog A Deep Peek at DeepSeek: https://securityscorecard.com/blog/a-deep-peek-at-deepseek/   Join us for the next CU Town Hall meeting on Wednesday 7th, at 12pm PT/3pm ET for your regular dose of lively interactive discussion and best practice sharing on the hottest topics impacting credit unions nationwide. We look forward to

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 April 27-30: https://payments.nacha.org/   Year-End 2024 ACH growth stats: https://www.nacha.org/news/same-day-ach-passes-major-milestone-2024-ach-network-shows-higher-growth   The CU Daily’s coverage of Americas Credit Unions’ CEO Jim Nussle’s plan to retire: https://thecudaily.com/americas-credit-unions-ceo-jim-nussle-announces-plans-to-retire/    Glen’s blog on the recent Executive Order phasing out paper checks to/from the federal government: https://www.big-fintech.com/executive-order-to-eliminate-checks-isnt-worth-the-paper-its-printed-on/     Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday April 9 at 3pm ET/Noon

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 response: https://thecudaily.com/facing-budget-axe-from-wh-exec-order-treasury-says-cdfi-programs-should-remain/   Last week’s discussion with Jason Stverak on tax status and CDFIs: https://www.big-fintech.com/defending-and-debunking-credit-unions-tax-status/   Trump’s Executive Order supposedly eliminating paper checks from/to the Federal Government:  https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/modernizing-payments-to-and-from-americas-bank-account/   Reuters on World Liberty Financials proposed USD1 Stablecoin: https://www.reuters.com/technology/trumps-world-liberty-financial-crypto-venture-says-it-will-l

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/   Jason’s CU Insight article on the tax issue: https://www.cuinsight.com/banks-tax-hypocrisy-will-hurt-main-street-not-credit-unions/   CU Strategic Planning President Stacey Augustine’s article on CDFIs: https://thecudaily.com/cdfis-the-impact-is-obvious/   Don’t Tax My Credit Union website: https://www.donttaxmycreditunion.org/#take-action   This month’s GAC interview with Americas Credit Unions’ Economic Team: https://www.big-fintech.com/a-taxing-week-in-washington/   “The Barber of Little Rock”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1amOPUn49aM   Fintech Business Weekly’s coverage of Klarna’s IPO filing: https://f

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 WealthNext: https://cuwealthnext.com/   InvestiFi: https://investifi.co/   Last week’s GAC interview with Americas Credit Unions’ Economic Team: https://www.big-fintech.com/a-taxing-week-in-washington/   Glen’s latest blog on The Existential Threat: Glen’s CUBroadcast interview with Mike Lawson about industry predictions and Bingo cards: https://www.cubroadcast.com/episodes/gac25-154-advisors-glen-sarvady-talk-regs-tech-and-bingo-cards   Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday March 26 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- for a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. The site a

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 to this episode:   America’s Credit Unions’ Monthly Economic Updates: https://www.americascreditunions.org/data-tools/economic-data-bank-comparisons/economic-update-video-archive   The Don’t Tax My Credit Union Advocacy/Resource page: https://www.donttaxmycreditunion.org/ CrossState CUA’s explanation of why credit unions offer better rates: https://www.crossstate.org/about/communications/blog/why-do-credit-unions-have-better-rates/ Glen’s blog covering the GAC’s key takeaways:   Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday March 12 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- for a live and lively interactive conversation tackling

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  @154advisors.bsky.social (Glen) @jbfintech.bsky.social (John) The AT Protocol used by BlueSky: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT_Protocol Glen’s blog on official 2024 volumes for RTP, FedNow and Same Day ACH: https://www.big-fintech.com/Media?p=zelle-hits-a-trillion-same-day-ach-says-hold-my-beer   Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday March 12 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- for a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. This session will focus on the key takeaways from the Governmental Affairs Conference.  The Town Hall is free to attend, but advance registration

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://www.linkedin.com/company/wideopenventures/posts/ The Filene Research Institute’s report on Loan NFT (Executive Summary): https://www.filene.org/reports/introducing-loannft-a-blockchain-solution-for-the-secondary-loan-market Lamont Black: https://lamontblack.com/ Glen’s blog on official 2024 volumes for RTP, FedNow and Same Day ACH: https://www.big-fintech.com/Media?p=zelle-hits-a-trillion-same-day-ach-says-hold-my-beer   Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday February 26 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- for a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. This week we’ll be "p

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: https://www.edelman.com/trust/2025/trust-barometer Our previous conversation about Edelman’s Trust Barometer: https://www.big-fintech.com/Media?p=retaining-member-trust-amid-the-decline-of-authority Scamnetic: https://scamnetic.com/ Scamnetic’s Fall 2024 Finovate demo: https://finovate.com/videos/finovatefall-2024-scamnetic/ Scamnetic: YouTube overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y__BrHsi1Jc Deluxe: https://www.deluxe.com/   Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday February 26 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- for a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. Industry d

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.reimaginenacuso.com/ The Next Big Idea competition: https://www.reimaginenacuso.com/next-big-idea-competition Bernie Sanders’ press release about the new Senate Bill capping credit card interest rates at 10 percent: https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-hawley-introduce-bill-capping-credit-card-interest-rates-at-10/ CU Today’s reporting on the latest twist in Illinois interchange legislation: https://www.cutoday.info/THE-boost/Federal-Judge-Expands-Injunction-Against-Illinois-Interchange-Law-To-Out-Of-State-Banks-Denies-Credit-Unions-Request CU Times’ reporting on USAID-related layoffs at the World Council

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 to undo the Illinois interchange law: https://www.digitaltransactions.net/opponents-of-the-illinois-interchange-law-hedge-their-bets-with-legislation-to-repeal-it/ The NY Times Hard Fork podcast’s DeepSeek dissection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk2aPfBJsKc The Economist’s oddly prescient article on Chinese AI, published days before the DeepSeek disclosure: https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/01/23/chinas-ai-industry-has-almost-caught-up-with-americas A dissenting view (unveiled after our recording) claims DeepSeek actually spent more and used more Nvidia chips than initially claimed: https://www.tomshardwar