CFPB Chair Rohit Chopra refused to speak directly to Capital One and Discover, but said he was thinking about “large issuers . . . that compete in a number” of niche credit card markets. Wink wink, nudge nudge.

For fintechs: What does it mean if a behemoth like Goldman Sachs can’t handle consumer-focused banking and wealth management services simultaneously?

The FR met with Cooper Thompson, Head of Product for Embedded Finance at Fiserv.

From Carey Ransom: In Part I,  I described what might be motivating the pivot and some key questions to consider. Now we’ll proceed in Part II with the assumption that enough answers have led to a pivot being a plausible idea. There will be a number of changes that the startup will need to make to successfully execute the pivot. Here we go!

The FR met with Srikanth Geedipalli, SVP of AI Product Management and Commercialization at Experian

From Matt Ober: AI is feeling very similar to the cloud rush many years ago. At first, AI is a differentiator for companies, but eventually it becomes table stakes.

In an interview with The Financial Revolutionist, Margaret Weichert, Chief Product Officer of The Clearing House, suggests that RTP volume growth will only accelerate, centered around five B2B and B2C use cases that may help RTP outperform FedNow over the long run. 

The FR met with Nikki Cross, Senior Director of Data Science Solutions at Nova Credit

From Carey Ransom: Recently, we’ve seen a number of consumer fintech startups pivot from going directly to consumers to trying to sell to banks or through them to reach consumers—or, as we would say, from B2C to B2B2C. Can it work as a better strategy and business, or is it desperation?

Many DeFi consumers engage in the space due to its pseudonymous capabilities; that becomes nearly impossible when social security numbers and other identifiers enter the mix, and when DeFi platforms have to adjust for record-keeping and reporting requirements. 

From Alex Lazarow: I can’t believe it’s been a year since the SVB collapse and the banking crisis. What has changed? What have we learned?

From Sarah Biller: Could the adoption of generative AI by financial services ironically drive a new period of information asymmetry in the markets and, by doing so, open another frontier for fintech innovation? 

The FR met with Jess Turner, EVP – Global Head of Open Banking and API at Mastercard.

The CFPB—at least in its current form—may attempt to rally public opinion around its idea of digital wallets and their underlying risks.

Ripple is positioning itself as a bulwark against regulatory encroachment, with its legal future indistinguishable from the sector’s. 

Onsite at Fintech Meetup, The FR met with Tatyana Kratunova, Head of the FIS Fintech Accelerator Program.

With Mastercard opting to make its latest tie-up with Alipay but not Tencent, might Visa opt to partner with Alipay’s competitor? 

What sort of antitrust implications arise when the world’s largest social media conglomerate partners with the world’s largest e-commerce company? How does it affect consumer and business wellbeing?

Do these ETFs, like the cryptocurrencies undergirding them, require more investors to buy into their vision in order to become successful and profitable?

Onsite at Fintech Meetup, The FR met with Michele Alt, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Klaros Group, and a former regulator at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

From Matt Ober: In the financial industry, some of the best datasets were contributory datasets and many of them started as give to get.

President Biden has indicated that he would sign the bill if it also passes in the Senate—but questions remain, many of which directly impact the future of fintech.

FR Contributor Alex Lazarow offers a different lens on startup investing

Onsite at Fintech Meetup, The FR met with Sarah Biller, Co-Founder of FinTech Sandbox and a contributor to The FR.

From Abdul Abdirahman: In our recent State of Fintech report, my colleagues and I took stock of the sector’s progress over the last decade, identifying the companies that have reached (or are about to reach) enterprise scale. 

From Matt Ober: If data solutions can make the firm money, save the firm money or help the firm raise money, then there is no budget.

According to Chris Valentine, who produces SXSW Pitch, the event offers a crucial niche within the larger SXSW ecosystem.

Onsite at Fintech Meetup, The FR met with Priya Gore, General Manager, Data & AI, US Financial Services, at Microsoft

Carey Ransom, Managing Director of BankTech Ventures and a contributor to The FR, describes the phenomenon of “walking dead” fintech companies who face a fintech venture bubble overhang, outlines the future of AI hype, and encourages conferencegoers to say what they really mean. 

Exchange rate markups affect everyday people, not just wealthy tourists—deleteriously affecting small businesses, consumers who send remittances abroad, as well as servicemembers—amounting to a whopping $5.8B in lost value last year.