BIG Podcast

Glen meets with Edelman Smithfield Managing Director Deidre Campbell to break down the annual Edelman Trust Barometer, the public's "retreat into insularity," and the resulting action items for banks and credit unions. Also- Illinois turns its focus to BNPL while JD Power highlights an FI opportunity, X Money broadens its reach, and the murky NCUA waters begin to clear.    Links related to this episode: Edelman Smithfield's Financial Services Trust Barometer: https://www.edelmansmithfield.com/2026-Edelman-Trust-Barometer-Key-Insights-for-Financial-Services Edelman's 2026 Global Trust Barometer: https://www.edelman.com/trust/2026/trust-barometer Illinois' newly signed BNPL law: https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/illinois-enacts-bnpl-law-pritzker-consumer-crypto/823835/ JD Power's Buy Now Pay Later customer satisfaction study (good news for FIs): https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2026-us-buy-now-pay-later-satisfaction-study PYMNTS.com on X Money's latest move toward general availability: https://w

Laura Gibson-Lamothe, the Georgia Fintech Academy's Executive Director, provides firsthand coverage of the key takeaways from Money 20/20 Europe. Laura and Glen also discuss broader trends in talent development/demand and regional differences in banking (and smoking! ) regulation. Plus- process reflections spurred by the passing of longtime Fed Chair Alan Greenspan, and the Bank of England sets a new stablecoin standard. Links related to this episode: The Georgia Fintech Academy: https://georgiafintechacademy.org/ Laura's recent post pondering A Tale of Two Georgias: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tale-two-georgias-stablecoins-financial-future-laura-gibson-lamothe-0t7bc/ One of Laura's Money 20/20 interviews onsite in Amsterdam, with The Fintech Accord's West Richards on Stablecoins, AI & Global Fintech Policy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYNAZKFEcy0 Fintech Futures' coverage of the Bank of England's new stablecoin policy: https://www.fintechfutures.com/regulatory-actions/bank-of-england-stablecoins-

Our second batch of interviews stemming from the Financial Health Network's EMERGE conference, both with founders of compelling fintech startups: ROX CEO Lara Hodgson (breaking down barriers to SMB credit/liquidity) and Poncho CEO John Brown (financial wellness for military families). Also- the sudden twist in Fiserv's turnaround story. Links related to this episode: ROX: https://www.roxwrite.com/   Poncho:  https://www.poncho.us/ Poncho CEO John Brown on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnprestonbrown/ The Financial Health Network: https://finhealthnetwork.org/ Glen's blog on a VERY eventful month in interchange: https://www.big-fintech.com/a-remarkable-month-for-interchange-but-what-has-really-changed/ A replay of Glen's favorite EMERGE session, featuring Alex Johnson posing "lightning round" questions to a panel including former OCC head Michael Hsu: https://finhealthnetwork.org/event-session/hard-questions-for-the-future-of-finance Sister publications Banking Dive and Payments Dive publish differi

Glen shares highlights from the Financial Health Network's EMERGE conference, including interviews with a pair of trailblazing co-founders: Debbie Rewards' Frida Leibowitz and Prosprous.ai's Ted Leung. Also- Illinois kicks the interchange can down the road (again), Pope Leo pleads for humanity in AI, and a campaign to repurpose dopamine hits for financial wellness.      Links related to this episode: Debbie: https://www.joindebbie.com/ Prosprous.AI: https://prosprous.ai/ The Financial Health Network: https://finhealthnetwork.org/ Our interview with the Financial Health Network's Andrew Warren on a reconsideration of the definitions of un- and underbanked:  https://www.big-fintech.com/is-the-underbanked-concept-ripe-for-a-rethink/   Our interview with co-founder Eric Berg of Duome, the belatedly crowned winner of NACUSO's Next Big Idea Competition: https://www.big-fintech.com/two-conferences-two-coasts-one-exhausted-fintech-geek/   Illinois has now double-punted on its interchange legislation and Colorado's g

Glen and John dissect a recent online airing of grievances regarding AI's perceived shortcomings. To Glen's surprise, John finds validity to some of these criticisms. Also- the Pope weighs in, robots close the human gap, the term "neuro-symbolic AI" emerges, and the green shoots of a "slow tech" movement may be emerging.    Links related to this episode: The Reddit thread- from the AGI community- that prompted this discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/agi/comments/1t73hw7/i_was_once_an_ai_true_believer_now_i_think_the/ YouTube video on translating Claude's AI thoughts into language: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQgMCXPJRHXjjZvVNCqcswtpNNr?projector=1 JB dissects ChatGPT's new personal finance features on our recent CU Town Hall: https://www.big-fintech.com/cu-town-hall-episode-147-the-chatgpt-finance-era/ Last week's interview with Jack Henry's Lee Wetherington, including data on AI as a bank/credit union strategic priority: https://www.big-fintech.com/what-keeps-you-up-at-night-may-depend-on

Glen chats with Lee Wetherington about Jack Henry's newly minted survey of nearly 200 credit union and bank CEOs, exploring how strategic priorities and top concerns differ by group and how they've shifted over time. Also, a treasure trove of new industry data- on consumer payment choice, household economics, crypto/stablecoin usage, and a breezy 269-page NCUA stroke of GENIUS for your holiday reading pleasure.      Links related to this episode: Jack Henry's 2026 Strategy Benchmark Study: https://discover.jackhenry.com/strategy-benchmark-study-2026 FRB Services' Diary of Consumer Payment Choice: https://www.frbservices.org/news/research/2026-findings-diary-consumer-payment-choice The Kansas City Fed's paper on stablecoin use: https://www.kansascityfed.org/documents/15703/PaymentsSystemResearchBriefing26Noll0410.pdf The Federal Reserve Board's 2025 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED): https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2025-report-economic-well-being-us-households-202605.pd

Our continuing coverage of the NACUSO Reimagine and Nacha Smarter Faster Payments conferences features a pair of interviews: NACUSO's advocacy lead Zach Pfister on modernizing investment rules to match 2026 realities, and Dykema's Lauren Quigley on FIs' role as open banking realists, creating a safe environment for the inevitable.    Links related to this episode: Lauren Quigley/Dykema's Fintech/Payments practice: https://www.dykema.com/services/industries/financial-services/fintech-payments-and-digital-commerce.html NACUSO CEO Randy Salser's Interview with the Credit Union Connection re: the 1% investment cap: https://thecreditunionconnection.com/cusos-nacuso-ceo-randy-salser-interview/ Security expert (and Friend of BIG) Roger Grimes voices his AI concerns: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rogeragrimes_share-7458496907447971840-n2hX Our recent CU Town Hall "AI Fear Factory" session: https://www.big-fintech.com/cu-town-hall-episode-146-credit-union-ai-fear-factory/ Prominent tech VC investor a16z explains why

Glen gathers highlights from the annual conferences for both Nacha in San Diego and NACUSO in Orlando, including conversations with Nacha CEO Jane Larimer on Same Day ACH milestones, Duome Co-Founder Eric Berg on a Next Big Idea for housing, and the Digital Sovereignty Alliance's Molly Woodman on the state of stablecoin.      Links related to this episode: Nacha: https://www.nacha.org/ Duome: https://www.myduome.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericberg-dntblnk/ The Digital Sovereignty Alliance: https://dsaf.org/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-sovereignty-alliance/ NACUSO Reimagine: https://reimagine.nacuso.org/ Next on the conference calendar: The Financial Health Network's EMERGE, May 19-21 in Atlanta: https://finhealthnetwork.org/event/emerge-financial-health-2026/ (USE CODE "JOINME-GLEN" FOR A DISCOUNTED RATE)   Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday May 20 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. The Town

Glen connects with Senso Co-Founder/CEO Saroop Bharwani about his firm's approach to addressing some of the greatest disruptions emerging from the Agentic AI explosion. Also- Gen Z perspectives continue to evolve and surprise, and behavioral science gets a sidecar.    Links related to this episode: Senso: https://www.senso.ai/ Saroop Bharwani's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saroopbharwani/   The near-classic Finovate debut Best of Show demo from Debbie (including a Noom reference): https://finovate.com/videos/finovatefall-2022-debbie/ Debbie's recent $5.3 million fundraise: https://coverager.com/trustage-ventures-backs-debbie/ Our recent episode on reevaluating the criteria of underbanked consumers: https://www.big-fintech.com/is-the-underbanked-concept-ripe-for-a-rethink/   Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday May 20 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. The Town Hall is free to attend, but advance registrat

Glen speaks with Andrew Warren about the Financial Health Network's new report which makes the case for modernizing the definition of underbanked consumers. Also- X Money makes its long-promised debut, and the OCC potentially rides to the rescue of interchange (and workable payment processes). Plus a discount code for May's fast-approaching EMERGE conference.      Links related to this episode: The Financial Health Network's latest 26-page "brief": Unbanked, Underbanked, or Something Else Entirely The Financial Health Network's EMERGE conference, May 19-21 in Atlanta: https://finhealthnetwork.org/event/emerge-financial-health-2026/   USE CODE "JOINME-GLEN" FOR A DISCOUNTED RATE Ron Shevlin's take on the prospects for X Money- https://www.forbes.com/sites/ronshevlin/2026/04/17/musks-x-money-how-it-could-win-and-why-it-wont/  Payments Dive on the OCC's move to short-circuit Illinois' Interchange Fee Prohibition Act: https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/occ-plans-to-preempt-illinois-interchange-law/817618/ Our rec

Glen speaks with the CEOs of two sub-$100 million CUs  (Josh Urbick and Doug Wadsworth) about their respective efforts to advance the small credit union cause. Also, the latest developments at Anthropic and Coinbase highlight the perils facing CUs- and financial services in general.   Links related to this episode: The NSCUA's LinkedIn page:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-small-credit-union-association/ The Endangered Small Credit Union Defense's LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14776042/  CU Daily's coverage of the NSCUA's formation: https://thecudaily.com/new-group-for-cus-under-500-million-in-assets-unveils-its-name/ Doug Wadsworth's Profitability Guidebook for Small CUs: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FP4D9FZM Doug's recent CU Daily article: https://thecudaily.com/you-cant-regulate-bad-managers-into-good-ones-but-you-can-do-this/ Wellesley Hill's thoughtful analysis of Coinbase's new Federal Trust Charter: https://www.wellesleyhillsfinancial.com/2026/04/12/coinbase-wins-federal-tr

Glen recaps an action-packed CU Unplugged "un-conference," featuring unique perspectives from leaders of three participating credit unions (Keys FCU, Mid Hudson Valley FCU, State Department FCU) and real-time reflections from Defense Credit Union Council President & CEO Tony Hernandez.   Links related to this episode: Keys Federal Credit Union: https://www.keysfcu.org/ State Department Federal Credit Union: https://www.sdfcu.org/ Jonathan Cilley, CIO of Mid Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathancilley/ The Defense Credit Union Council: https://www.dcuc.org/ Visa's Innovation and Market Support Center in San Francisco's Mission Rock Neighborhood: https://corporate.visa.com/en/sites/visa-perspectives/company-news/mission-rock-market-support-center.html Our recent stablecoin conversation with TruStage Managing Director Brian Kaas:  https://www.big-fintech.com/stablecoins-and-ai-need-we-say-more/  Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday April 15 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a l

Our final batch of America's Credit Unions GAC coverage- Glen speaks with Ncontracts' Stephanie Lyon about the shifting yet inevitable regulatory/compliance landscape. Also- another Domino falls on Paze's roadmap, and Illinois' interchange debacle proves too geeky for prediction markets- but not for a punk rock reference.   Links related to this episode: Ncontracts' blog: https://www.ncontracts.com/nsight-blog   Stephanie Lyon via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-lyon-8a9b6257/ Paze's addition of Citi and Domino's: https://www.digitaltransactions.net/dominos-and-payrange-add-the-paze-wallet-option/ Taft Law's PayTech practice: https://www.taftlaw.com/services/practices/paytech-and-payment-systems/ Our prior GAC coverage, featuring TruStage's Stablecoin and Glia https://www.big-fintech.com/stablecoins-and-ai-need-we-say-more/  and CUltivate AI/ ACU's Economics Team https://www.big-fintech.com/chicken-wings-not-sharp-elbows/    LAST CHANCE! Join us at CU Unplugged, an unscripted, participant-p

Continuing our Americas Credit Unions Government Affairs Conference coverage, Managing Director Brian Kaas discusses TruStage's new stablecoin designed specifically for credit unions, and CEO/Co-Founder Dan Michaeli shares data-driven insights from Glia's new Banking AI Benchmarks Report. Also- fintech's answer to the NBA Slam Dunk Competition. Links related to this episode:  TruStage Stablecoin: https://www.trustage.com/business-solutions/stablecoin Glia's Banking AI Benchmarks Report: https://go.glia.com/banking-ai-benchmark-data-2026 CU Broadcast's segment recorded in DC with Glen, Anne Legg and Lou Grilli sharing their key GAC takeaways: https://www.cubroadcast.com/episodes/gac26-credit-union-industry-thought-leaders-share-their-top-gac-reflections  Glen's November 2023 interview with Penny Finance Founder Crissi Cole: https://www.big-fintech.com/venturing-further-into-venturetech/  CU Broadcast's GAC interview with Penny Finance and Chimney Founders Crissi Cole and Chase Neinken: https://www.cubroadcast

Our first batch of coverage from Americas Credit Unions' Government Affairs Conference features an interview with the three leaders behind CUltivate- the new credit union-owned and curated foundational AI engine- plus our annual meetup with the ACU Economics Team to discuss their take on the outlook for CUs and the US economy overall.    Links related to this episode: CUltivate: https://getcultivate.ai/ Filene Research Institute: https://www.filene.org/ Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union: www.vfccu.org   Vertice AI: www.verticeanalytics.ai OpenEvidence, the Mayo Clinic's purpose-built AI tool for healthcare professionals cited as a model my CUltivate: https://www.openevidence.com/   America's Credit Unions' Economic Update/Blogs: https://www.americascreditunions.org/blogs/americas-credit-unions/all-about-affordability   Check out CU Unplugged, an unscripted, participant-powered gathering designed to foster unfiltered conversation on the topics participants deem most critical. The event is open to all cr

Glen speaks with two Associate Professors- Anna-Leigh Stone (Samford University) and Jordan Van Rijn (University of Wisconsin) about the recent Credit Union Research Workshop and Stone's paper analyzing the impact of CUs acquiring banks. Also- KYC risks morphing into Know Your Citizenship.   Links related to this episode: Anna-Leigh Stone: https://www.samford.edu/business/directory/Stone-Anna-Leigh Jordan Van Rijn: https://aae.wisc.edu/faculty/vanrijn/  The CU Research Workshop: https://sites.google.com/view/jordan-van-rijn/home/credit-union-research-workshop The Cato Institute on the proposed requirement for FIs to collect account holders' citizenship data: https://www.cato.org/blog/know-citizenship-says-trump-banks TruStage's announcement of its TSDA stablecoin for credit unions: https://www.trustage.com/newsroom/2026-press-releases/trustage-launches-stablecoin  The CU Daily on the latest Alabama brushfire re: a CU acquiring a bank: https://thecudaily.com/bankers-use-latest-cu-purchase-of-bank-to-criticize

Glen offers two more interviews from our continuing Finovate Europe coverage- a chat with GSMA Head of Industry Security Samantha Kight on the latest efforts to combat financial fraud on mobile devices, and the leaders of startup Hagbad unveil a savings circle app with echoes of credit unions' early days.  Also- card interchange solidifies its role as America's misunderstood punching bag.   Links related to this episode: Hagbad: https://hagbad.co.uk/ GSMA's Connected Fintech and Commerce page: https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/industries/connected-fintech/ GSMA's Open Gateway financial API initiative: https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/gsma-open-gateway/ Part 1 of our Finovate Europe coverage, including interviews with a pair of Best of Show winners: https://www.big-fintech.com/putting-an-accent-on-identity-code-modernization-and-fraud/   Finovate Europe demos are available for viewing: https://finovate.com//videos/?filtertype=&showtypes=FinovateEurope&videostartyear=2026&showlette

Glen shares his takeaways from Finovate Europe, including interviews with two standout demoing companies- Tweezr and Keyless.  Also- $15 billion becomes the new $10 billion, and Illinois' interchange glass looks less than half full.   Links related to this episode: Tweezr: https://www.tweezr.io/ Keyless: https://keyless.io/ Finovate Europe: https://informaconnect.com/finovateeurope/ Payments Dive on the latest Interchange Fee Prohibition Act court ruling: https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/judge-backs-illinois-law-on-card-fees/811924/  The CU Daily on proposed legislation to index the Durbin Amendment's $10 billion threshold: https://thecudaily.com/legislation-introduced-that-would-adjust-threshold-for-durbin-amendment-compliance-for-inflation/  Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday February 18 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. This month's session will feature guest Brian Bodell, CEO of Movemint (formerly Digital Store

America's Credit Unions CEO Scott Simpson reflects on his first 90 days in the role and offers a preview of March's Government Affairs Conference. Barlow Research Managing Partner Sandy Hanson shares new and unexpected insights on how SMBs prefer to engage with financial providers.  Also- PayPal's plunge brings another of our 2025 BIGgo squares back into play, and an insider's uncommon take on FTX.   Links related to this episode: America's Credit Unions: https://www.americascreditunions.org/ The Government Affairs Conference, March 1-5 in Washington DC- breakout sessions now announced: https://www.americascreditunions.org/events-training/conference/governmental-affairs-conference/breakout-sessions Barlow Research: https://barlowresearch.com/ Deluxe Exchange: https://www.deluxe.com/deluxe-exchange/ Yahoo Finance on PayPal's earnings miss and Elon Musk rumors: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/paypal-tanks-earnings-miss-could-165640023.html  Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday February 18 at 3pm ET/Noo

Glen connects with Randy Salser to discuss his initial takeaways as NACUSO's new CEO, and why this April's Reimagine conference is a must-attend for credit unions as well as CUSOs. Also- Playing 3-D Chess with Trump Accounts, and a deep-pocketed twist on a de novo CU.   Links related to this episode: NACUSO: https://www.nacuso.org/  NACUSO's Reimagine conference, April 27-30 at the Disney Yacht & Beach Club in Lake Buena Vista, FL: https://reimagine.nacuso.org/ Visa's initiative to enable cash back card rewards to be transferred directly to newborn Trump accounts: https://www.thestreet.com/economy/visas-new-trump-cash-back-move-shakes-up-credit-card-rewards  The CU Daily's coverage of Aven's role in launching Haven Federal Credit Union: https://thecudaily.com/fintech-explains-why-its-donated-millions-to-get-new-cu-off-the-ground/    Check out CU Unplugged, an unscripted, participant-powered gathering designed to foster unfiltered conversation on the topics participants most critical. The event is open