BIG Podcast

Glen speaks with Beyond the Arc’s Steven Ramirez about the winners and key takeaways from Finovate’s Spring San Francisco showcase. Also- the Regulatory Roundabout, the CFPB’s busy stretch, and a deceptive headline Glen actually appreciated.      Links related to this episode:   Finovate’s demo site:  https://finovate.com/videos/?filtertype=&showtypes=FinovateSpring&videostartyear=2023&showletters=A-Z    Spring 2023 Best of Show winners: https://finovate.com/finovatespring-2023-best-of-show-winners-announced/    Beyond the Arc: https://beyondthearc.com/     My favorite of Chip Filson’s recent “Just a Member” blog posts: https://chipfilson.com/2023/06/credit-union-ceo-joins-iowa-bank-board/    The CFPB’s warning about deposits held with PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-advisory-your-money-is-at-greater-risk-when-you-hold-it-in-a-payment-app-instead-of-moving-it-to-an-account-with-deposit-insurance/        Join us Wednesday June 21 at 3pm ET/

John and Glen discuss both the good and bad of Generative AI and why credit unions cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. Also- Apple discovers the PR downside of dabbling in financial services.   Links related to this episode:     Our recent CU Town Hall on voice spoofing and other AI twists:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlKi9F4ywtU    NPR’s article on the AI extinction threat: https://www.npr.org/2023/05/30/1178943163/ai-risk-extinction-chatgpt    Dell’s CTO’s comments on Quantum Computing and how it will overshadow AI: https://www.itpro.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/dell-cto-ai-nothing-compared-to-the-oncoming-quantum-storm    The Wall Street Journal’s (somewhat overblown) article about Apple Savings’ one-way door: https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-savings-account-customers-say-its-hard-to-get-their-money-out-of-goldman-sachs-bd8b9ccb         Join us Wednesday June 21 at 3pm ET/Noon PT for the latest edition of the CU Digital Town Hall, a live, lively and interactive meeting of industry le

Glen speaks with the Curql Collective’s Jim Ryan about his group’s ongoing quest to bring cutting-edge fintech to credit unions and a new portal that advances the cause. Also, finding more avenues for cooperatives to cooperate.   Links related to this episode:     The Curql Collective:  https://www.curql.com/   VentureTech, November 6-8 near Dallas, TX: https://myventuretech.com/    The NCB Co-op 100: https://impact.ncb.coop/hubfs/assets/resources/NCB-Co-op-100-2022.pdf    Our recent interviews with Venture Tech winners from 2022 (Tanya Van Court of Goalsetter) and 2021 (Rhian Horgan of Silvur): https://www.big-fintech.com/Media?p=big-ideas-fintech-madness-cuso-optional        Join us Wednesday May 24 at 3pm ET/Noon PT for the latest edition of the CU Digital Town Hall, a live, lively and interactive meeting of industry leaders sharing best practices on the top issues impacting the credit union movement. Moderated by John Best of BIG and Mike Lawson of CU Broadcast:  https://www.cutownhall.com/  Follow the

Glen speaks with veteran journalist Michael Lev about the supply chain expert’s recent encounter with Chat GPT in which the platform confessed to making stuff up. Also- more on deposit outflows and the sketchy definition of a “small bank.” (Gordon Lightfoot soundtrack optional)   Links related to this episode:     MxD’s Chain Mail newsletter, and Mike’s tale of ChatGPT’s “hallucination”: https://mailchi.mp/mxdusa.org/chainmail-package-delivery-blues   Reuters’ coverage on how the much-hyped “deposit outflows” only affected a small group of “super-regionals”: https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/deposit-outflows-after-svb-collapse-concentrated-among-super-regionals-ny-fed-2023-05-11/    New York Fed research underpinning Reuters’ story: https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2023/05/bank-funding-during-the-current-monetary-policy-tightening-cycle/    Last week’s BIGCast featuring retired Fed executive Rich Oliver on the latest Payments Study, and a look at deposit insurance hysteria: https://www.big-fi

Glen unearths nuggets from the latest Federal Reserve payments data with the help of author, retired Fed exec and Payments OG Rich Oliver. Also- bizarre notions swirling around the insured deposit limit.    Links related to this episode:   The 2022 Federal Reserve Payments Study: https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/fr-payments-study.htm    The Fed’s Check Sample Study: https://www.atlantafed.org/-/media/documents/rprf/publications/check-sample-survey/2023/05/05/2021-survey/report     “The Story of Payments” by Richard Oliver and George Warfel, Jr: https://www.nacha.org/content/story-payments    Gallup’s poll on consumer attitudes of deposit safety: https://news.gallup.com/poll/505439/half-worry-money-safety-banks.aspx    SoFi’s “FDIC Insurance Network”: https://investors.sofi.com/news/news-details/2023/SoFi-Checking-and-Savings-to-Offer-Access-to-Up-to-2-Million-in-FDIC-Insurance/default.aspx      Check out the Best Innovation Group’s latest offering, BIG Support 365. Our expert technicians inte

More insights from Nacha Payments- including Glenbrook Partners’ Elizabeth McQuerry on the Faster Payments Barometer, and leaders from Akoya and Banked on the burgeoning Pay By Bank model. Also- insights from ETA Transact, and chipping away at MICA.   Links related to this episode:   The US Faster Payments Council: https://fasterpaymentscouncil.org/   Akoya: https://akoya.com/   Banked: https://banked.com/    Glenbrook Partners: https://glenbrook.com/    BNP Paribas’ overview of MICA: https://securities.cib.bnpparibas/markets-in-crypto-assets-regulation/    Last week’s BIGCast featuring more Smarter Faster Payments coverage, including Nacha CEO Jane Larimer: https://www.big-fintech.com/Media?p=rival-rails-same-day-successes     The Electronic Transactions Association: https://etatransact.com/    Nacha’s Smarter Faster Payments Remote Connect, May 8-10: https://payments.nacha.org/remote-connect      Check out the CU Town Hall, our live, lively and interactive monthly forum covering top-of-mind credit union i

Fresh from a content-rich Smarter Faster Payments conference, Glen shares interviews with Nacha CEO Jane Larimer and Open Payment Network Co-Founder/CEO Bradley Wilkes. Also, a first look at detailed data from the Fed’s triennial payments study.   Links related to this episode:   Nacha: https://www.nacha.org/   Smarter Faster Payments Remote Connect, May 8-10: https://payments.nacha.org/remote-connect    Open Payment Network: https://www.openpaymentnetwork.us/    The Federal Reserve Payments Study: https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/fr-payments-study.htm      Check out the Best Innovation Group’s latest offering, BIG Support 365. Our expert technicians integrate seamlessly with your existing teams, relieving them of monotonous server administration tasks and allowing your staff to focus on high-priority, member-centric initiatives: https://www.big-fintech.com/Products-Services/BIG-Support-365   Follow the Best Innovation Group on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ 

We celebrate a milestone with fun facts from the first 100 episodes of our CU Town Hall, and share highlights from last month’s session with author/futurist Brett King. Also, FedNow refutes CBDC conspiracy theories- in real-time.       Links related to this episode:   The CU Town Hall archives: https://www.cutownhall.com/    Town Hall #100 with Brett King: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnwwyQ-QQHk&feature=youtu.be    Brett’s latest book, “The Rise of Technosocialism”: https://riseoftechnosocialism.com/    Episode #68- Cannabis banking with Sundie Seefried: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl5maAO2z78    Episode #85- CUs and Crypto with UNIFY CEO Gordon Howe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TeT9DFwE78    The Fed revises its FedNow FAQs to tamp down CBDC confusion: https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/is-fednow-replacing-cash-is-it-a-central-bank-digital-currency.htm    Bitcoin.com’s coverage of the bizarre FedNow “controversy” (NOTE- Glen finds this narrative misleading, but indicative of the social m

Our second round of NACUSO coverage includes interviews with Next Big Idea competition winner GoalSetter and runner-up Mahalo Banking, Fintech Madness winner Silvur, CU2.0 co-founder Chris Otey on instigating the madness, and a compelling startup (Harness) that waged battle in both events.    Links related to this episode:   GoalSetter: https://www.goalsetter.co/   Silvur: https://www.silvur.com/     Mahalo Banking: https://www.mahalobanking.com/     Harness: https://www.harnessfi.com/    CU2.0: https://cu-2.com/  NACUSO: https://www.nacuso.org/ Last week’s episode with additional NACUSO interviews: https://www.big-fintech.com/Media/BIGcast/ArticleID/868/More-CUSOs-More-Service    Check out the CU Crypto Report, a crowdsourced data analysis of how CU members are already engaging with cryptocurrency. Now accepting volunteers to contribute anonymized data to our 2023 report: https://www.cucrypto.report/  Follow the Best Innovation Group on Twitter: @bigfintech Follow Glen on Twitter @154Advisors Follow John

From a record-setting NACUSO Network conference, Glen shares a motherlode of interviews with CUSO whisperer/attorney Brian Lauer, DePaul Defi professor Lamont Black, and a pair of founders: Leeman Baird (Hedera) and John Wingate (BankSocial).   Links related to this episode:   NACUSO: https://www.nacuso.org/  Messick, Lauer & Smith: https://www.cusolaw.com/  Our prior conversation with Lamont Black: https://www.big-fintech.com/Media/BIGcast/ArticleID/822/Stoking-the-Flames  Lamont Black’s resource-rich webpage: https://lamontblack.com/  Leeman Baird’s company Hedera: https://hedera.com/  Our prior conversation with John Wingate: https://www.big-fintech.com/Media/BIGcast/ArticleID/829/A-Lone-Star-Lighting-the-Crypto-Path BankSocial:: https://www.banksocial.io/  Check out the CU Crypto Report, a crowdsourced data analysis of how CU members are already engaging with cryptocurrency. Now accepting volunteers to contribute anonymized data to our 2023 report: https://www.cucrypto.report/  Follow the Best Inn

Amplify Credit Union CEO Kendall Garrison shares thoughts on running a fee-free shop, explains why CU members need not be overly fearful of an SVB situation, and why conveying that message requires finesse. Also- the Godot Recession, and a skewed definition of small banks.    Links related to this episode:   Amplify Credit Union’s Fee-Free approach: https://www.goamplify.com/fee-free/  Reuters’ reporting on “small bank” deposit losses: https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-large-bank-deposits-rose-week-after-svb-collapse-fed-data-2023-03-24/  Our prior episode untangling the SVB mess: https://www.big-fintech.com/Media/BIGcast/ArticleID/865/Silicon-Valley-Bank-through-a-Credit-Union-Lens  Fox Business shines a light on credit union safety: https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/how-safe-credit-unions-bank-turmoil    Join us on Wednesday March 29 at Noon ET/9am PT (note the earlier time) as we celebrate the 100th episode of our live, interactive CU Town Hall. We’re marking the occasion with an appearance by not

  Now that the dust has settled (a little), John and Glen unspool the SVB and Signature Bank crises and what they mean for CUs. Also- John's already getting into arguments with ChatGPT-4.    Links related to this episode:   Our earlier episode on ChatGPT’s promise and peril: https://www.big-fintech.com/Media/BIGcast/ArticleID/859/ChatGPT-Don%E2%80%99t-You-Just-Love-It  CUNA’s rapid response webpage with resources to help CUs communicate with members and media on the banking crisis: https://news.cuna.org/articles/print/122240-cuna-launches-page-with-bank-collapse-response-resources  The NY Times “Hard Fork” podcast covering ChatGPT-4 and the “group chat bank run”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hard-fork/id1528594034?i=1000604620320  Another twist in the SVB saga: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/business/svb-collapse-peter-thiel-silicon-valley-    Join us on Wednesday March 29 at Noon ET/9am PT (note the earlier time) as we celebrate the 100th episode of our live, interactive CU Town Hall. We

One year removed from the Crypto Bowl, Glen connects with NYDIG’s Rahm McDaniel to assess what has and hasn’t changed for credit unions and members. Also- trying (and failing) to avoid addressing Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate and USDC.   Links related to this episode:   NYDIG: https://nydig.com/  Our earlier interview with Becky Reed of Lone Star CU and John Wingate of BankSocial: https://www.big-fintech.com/Media/BIGcast/ArticleID/829/A-Lone-Star-Lighting-the-Crypto-Path  CU 2.0’s Fintech Madness, Thursday March 30: https://cu-2.com/fintech-madness/   NACUSO Network Conference, March 27-29: https://www.nacuso.org/conferences/2023-nacuso-network/information/   Check out the CU Crypto Report, a crowdsourced data analysis of how CU members are already engaging with cryptocurrency. Now accepting volunteers to contribute anonymized data to the 2023 report: https://www.cucrypto.report/    Follow the Best Innovation Group on Twitter: @bigfintech Follow Glen on Twitter @154Advisors Follow John on Twitter @jbfint

Glen shares key takeaways from CUNA’s just-completed Government Affairs Conference, including interviews with CUNA’s economics team on their business outlook and hard data proving the CU advantage in auto lending, as well as the FedNow team on the mid-year rollout of a new set of payment rails. Also, NCR Digital Banking President Doug Brown on his unit’s momentum amid a company split.   (Photo courtesy of CUNA and EPNAC)   Links related to this episode:   CUNA’s Economic Data: https://www.cuna.org/advocacy/credit-union---economic-data/data---statistics.html  FedNow: https://explore.fednow.org/   NCR Digital Banking: https://www.ncr.com/banking/digital-banking  CUNA GAC: https://www.cuna.org/events/gac/schedule.html    BIG’s Innovation Club convenes thought leaders across the credit union movement several times each year, engaging in educational and innovative projects leveraging new technology- from robotic process automation to distributed ledger, conversational banking, machine learning and more- to addr

Maps Credit Union COO Rachel Pross shares business takeaways from a recent outdoor adventure that veered off script. Also, a big 2019 payments deal gets unwound, and Glen rants about recession.   Links related to this episode:   Rachel’s article on the business lessons of her ill-fated mountain trek: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7029157770209746944/  Maps Credit Union: https://mapscu.com/  Payment Dive’s coverage of FIS’s Worldpay spinoff: https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/fis-spin-off-merchant-unit-worldpay-earnings-acquisitions-mergers/642594/  Anne Legg’s “Big Data, Big Climb”: https://www.anneleggthrive.com/buy-the-book  The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow: https://www.atlantafed.org/cqer/research/gdpnow    BIG’s Innovation Club convenes thought leaders across the credit union movement several times each year, engaging in educational and innovative projects leveraging new technology- from robotic process automation to distributed ledger, conversational banking, machine learning and more-

Listen, man… ChatGPT shares its thoughts on junk fees, and John and Glen share their thoughts on ChatGPT- which have become more guarded given recent revelations. Also, why have the hands become AI’s Achilles’ heel?        Links related to this episode:   John’s January CU Town Hall demo of ChatGPT illustrating its credit union potential: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQljOyr7tXY  Our BIG blog posts highlighting some of ChatGPT’s fun and foibles:  https://www.big-fintech.com/Media/Blog/ArticleID/856/Our-ChatGPT-Poem%20is-Funny-and-Illuminating  The New York Times’ coverage of “The Online Search Wars” that shifted the chatbot narrative: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/technology/bing-chatbot-microsoft-chatgpt.html  The 2013 film “Her” is looking mighty prescient: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_(film)   This CNN story about Microsoft Bing damage control was posted less than an hour after we recorded our episode: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/17/tech/microsoft-bing-ai-changes    BIG’s Innovation Club c

Glen’s visit to Deluxe Exchange- during Super Bowl week!- scores interviews covering the future workforce, a small business inflection point, an acceleration in payment speed, and an unexpected jolt of economic optimism.   Links related to this episode:   Deluxe Exchange: https://www.deluxe.com/  Barlow Research: https://barlowresearch.com/index.php  Kelly Palmer’s book “The Expertise Economy”: https://www.amazon.com/Expertise-Economy-smartest-companies-learning-ebook/dp/B078W5VTCN  The US Faster Payments Council: https://fasterpaymentscouncil.org/   Check out the CU Crypto Report- This newly issued report leverages anonymized, crowdsourced CU data to illuminate how credit union members fit into the cryptocurrency movement and what role CUs can play. Get your free copy here: https://www.cucrypto.report/  Follow the Best Innovation Group on Twitter: @bigfintech Follow Glen on Twitter @154Advisors Follow John on Twitter @jbfintech

Glen’s pre-gaming for CUNA’s Government Affairs Conference includes interviews with CUNA’s Chief Product Officer Todd Spiczenski about this year‘s priorities, and Filene’s Community Development Director Cortney Arnold about the storied history of the GAC Crasher program.     Links related to this episode:   CUNA GAC: https://www.cuna.org/events/cuna_governmentalaffairsconference2023.html  The Filene Research Institute’s 2023 Crasher cohort: https://filene.org/crashthegac-2023  Our interview with the Ukrainian Self-Reliance Credit Union following last year’s emotional GAC presentation:  https://www.big-fintech.com/Media/BIGcast/ArticleID/810/Financial-Lifeline-Ukraine   The CFPB’s statement on banking “junk fees”: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-issues-guidance-to-help-banks-avoid-charging-illegal-junk-fees-on-deposit-accounts/  The White House’s broader statement on an initiative to combat these fees across sectors: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/blog/2022/10/26/the-presiden

Glen interviews John about the newly released CU Crypto Report, and insights on members’ crypto engagement that can be gleaned from analyzing data across a dozen credit unions.     Links related to this episode:   The CU Crypto Report- Download a copy, add your CU’s data to the mix, and/or find out more about John’s new book: https://www.cucrypto.report/  Glen’s Credit Union Magazine article on the early crypto movers among credit unions: https://news.cuna.org/articles/121324-connecting-via-crypto  Last summer’s interview with CEO Becky Reed about Lone Star Credit Union’s unique self-custody crypto launch: https://www.big-fintech.com/Media/BIGcast/ArticleID/829/A-Lone-Star-Lighting-the-Crypto-Path    Check out the next CU Town Hall Wednesday February 1- Join us for our live and lively hour-long interactive discussion of the top issues facing credit unions. Held alternate Wednesdays at 3pm ET/Noon PT. Request an invitation here: https://www.cutownhall.com/  Follow the Best Innovation Group on Twitter: @bigfi

John and Glen interview computer security expert Roger Grimes about reports of an imminent Quantum Break that could render all cryptography and existing password protections obsolete, and how the intrigue has echoes of the 1960s Space Race.    Links related to this episode:   Roger Grimes’ recent post on the Quantum Break: https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2472644-has-the-quantum-break-just-happened?from_forum=193  A somewhat different perspective from the Guardian: https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/14/computers-need-to-make-a-quantum-leap-before-they-can-crack-encrypted-messages  Roger’s book on the Cryptography Apocalypse: https://www.amazon.com/Cryptography-Apocalypse-Preparing-Quantum-Computing/dp/1119618193#customerReviews  Roger’s company KnowBe4: https://www.knowbe4.com/    Check out the CU Town Hall Wednesday January 25th - Join us for our live and lively hour-long interactive discussion of the top issues facing credit unions. Held alternate Wednesdays at 3pm ET/Noon PT. Reque