​Happy Friday the 13th!!! 😦🐈‍⬛
 
And don’t forget it is Valentine’s Day 💘 tomorrow!!! This week is a quick read so let’s get right to it - Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 2/13/26 (subscribe here for free):
 

• 👍 The BLS Jan CPI Report came in on the light side at 2.4% YoY (last month was 2.7%; Dow forecast estimate was 2.5%) and 0.2% for the month (in line with expectations; last month was 0.3%).  Core CPI came in at 2.5% YoY (last month was 2.6%; Dow forecast estimate was also 2.5%) and 0.3% for the month (in line with expectations; last month was 0.2%). CNBC has a good summary.
  • And more good news as the BLS Jan Jobs Report came in surprisingly strong at +130,000 jobs added (Dow estimate was +55,000; December was revised slightly lower to +48,000) and an unemployment rate of 4.3% (last month was 4.4%). 

 

• 👀 Fiserv (Nasdaq: FISV)  introduces INDX, a real-time 24x7x365 USD cash settlement platform for digital asset companies “by distributing their funds across the Fiserv Deposit Network, an ecosystem of more than 1,100 insured US-based financial institutions. This keeps cash securely off-chain while delivering the real-time settlement speed and flexible operating windows demanded by digital asset companies.”
  • Per the press release, INDX lets digital asset companies open custodia accounts (with Fiserv’s affiliated US-based trust company), transact with counterparties in milliseconds, and have their balance insured for up to $25 million by the FDIC.
    • “INDX advances the strategic vision behind bringing StoneCastle into the Fiserv ecosystem, combining our unique position at the intersection of banking and commerce with proven insured-deposit funding solutions to create differentiated value for our clients,” said Takis Georgakopoulos, Co-President at Fiserv. “For the first time, digital asset companies have a settlement engine to move real fiat US dollars in a manner that is faster, more secure, scalable, and fully programmable.”
      • Recall back in Sept when Fiserv announced an agreement to acquire StoneCastle Cash Management with one of the benefits described as enabling financial institutions to custody cash supporting FIUSD stablecoins .

 

• Zelle (owned and operated by Early Warning Services) does some flexing 💪 this week as 2025 results show a 20% year-over-year growth in total dollars sent, marking the second consecutive trillion dollar year at $1.2 trillion in payments sent!
  • Transaction volume also increased 16% to 4.2 billion total transactions.  An average of $3.4B moved each day comprised of 100 million bank and credit union accounts.

 

• Cash App (owned by Block) comes out with a pair of headlines this week:
  • Cash App introduced payments links, a P2P payment request feature that can be sent anywhere including text, email, social media, and messaging apps.
    • If this sounds vaguely familiar (it did to me), it’s probably because PayPal introduced a similar feature called PayPal links back in Sept 2025 allowing for a personalized on-time link that can be shared in any conversation.
  • Block (NYSE: XYZ) opened up a waitlist for companies that want to use its Cash App consumer credit score.  Payments Dive has a good summary - Cash App to sell its credit score.

 

• Experian launched a high-yield digital savings account with variably APYs up to 4.00% as a new feature to their existing Experian Smart Money platform that also provides a Mastercard debit card.  Both the savings account and debit card are issued by Community Federal Savings Bank (FDIC 57129; total assets $866M).

 

• NXTMOVES and Vecter Technologies partner to provide an end-to-end payment solution.  Under the mutual partnership, NXTMOVES will provide Vecter Technologies' clients with comprehensive issuing services—including virtual and physical card programs, as well as funds disbursement capabilities. In turn, Vecter Technologies will serve as the acquiring partner for NXTMOVES clients, delivering merchant services, payment facilitation, POS solutions, and integrated payment infrastructure.  Nice!!! 🎉

 

• Blue Sky Bank (FDIC 14899; total assets $1.3B) selects Jack Henry for core processing and Jack Henry Banno platform for digital.
  • 👏 Impressive as the incumbent processor vendor had a strategic position of Core, Online, and Mobile – not an easy conversion.

 

• Bottomline partnered with Koxa to enable Bottomline’s bank clients to offer a fully integrated ERP-banking experience to their corporate and treasury customers but without the cost, risk, or complexity of building and maintaining custom API infrastructure.

 

• Some fintech mergers caught my eye this week and made me think about compliance and risk management…  When banks merge, there is a regulatory approval process (even if it is just a change in control)…  But what is the sponsor bank due-diligence process when the fintech is acquired? 🤔 Not implying there is anything wrong at all with the below acquisition announcements, but just thinking out loud about the sponsor bank TPRM and continuous monitoring process…
  • YouTube creator, MrBeast (Beast Industries to be precise), to acquire Step - the gen-z focused fintech app (secured credit card issued by Evolve Bank & Trust).
  • Grab acquires Stash, a fintech (debit card issued by Stride Bank) and RIA with more than $5B in assets under management.

 

• Rise Analytics launched its new 5300 Automation Solution designed to help credit unions by significantly reducing the amount of time, effort, and risk associated with preparing the NCUA 5300 Call Report.

 

• Target will be closing the Target Circle Card Reloadable program as of April 7, 2026.  Note that this is only the prepaid GPR card, and NOT the credit card or debit card platform (which is not a true debit card, but more of a closed loop loyalty platform that you link your own bank account to for settlement – kind of like pay-by-bank with rewards benefits 😊).

 

• Some personnel moves:
  • My friends at FinPro, Inc. continue to build out their impressive talent bench! 🚀  This week Steve Vitale, CRC, ORM joins FinPro as their new Executive Vice President per this LinkedIn post.
  • Upstart (Nasdaq: UPST) announced that Co-founder and CTO Paul Gu will become Upstart’s Chief Executive Officer on May 1. 2026.  Existing Co-founder and CEO Dave Girouard will remain Executive Chairman of Upstart’s Board of Directors and serve as a special advisor to the company’s CEO and leadership team. Additionally:
    • Sanjay Datta has been promoted from CFO to President and Chief Capital Officer, effective immediately.
    • Andrea Blankmeyer will join Upstart as CFO in March.
    • Grant Schneider returns to Upstart today as the company’s CTO.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Bretton AI (AI agent platform enhancing AML and KYC investigations within existing compliance tools) raised $75M in Series B funding and has rebranded from Greenlite AI to Bretton AI.
  • Uptiq (builds AI agents that automates document-heavy lending and wealth workflows inside banks and credit unions) raised $25M in Series B round.

 
 
 Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Trying to keep the rambling short this week as I really want to go outside and play!!!  However – I did run across an article that I thought very interesting (and you know how I love Ag Tech).  Check out Upside Robotics and their lightweight solar-powered autonomous robots that deliver right-sized amounts of fertilizer and nutrients to crops when they need it.
• And here are the obligatory Dad / Bad Jokes:
  • I enjoy a glass of wine at dinner for its health benefits…  The rest of the bottle is for my witty comebacks and superb dance moves! 🕺🤣
  • The invitation said Black Tie Only..  But when I got there, everyone else was wearing more than just the tie!!! 😲🤠
  • Be aware of Valentine scams….  I ordered expensive jewelry for Aunt Patty, but they sent fishing gear…. 🤷‍♂️😉😅

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend, a very Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️❤️❤️ - and please stay safe!
 
Uncle Sean
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC and its affiliates – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.
 
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
Holy smokes it’s a BEAUTIFUL day here in East Texas with temps set to hit 79 degrees.  Let’s run through this quickly so I can go outside and play (don’t tell my boss 😁)!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 2/6/26 (subscribe here for free):

• 👀 ICYMI…  Unfortunately, we had our first bank failure of 2026 late last Friday as the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation closed Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust in Chicago, IL (FDIC 57488; total assets $261.1M; total deposits of $212.1M).  The bank had a FedFis Rating© of 4.76 placing them in the lowest percentile of all banks.  You can read more about this in our FedFis Bank Failure Alert notice on LinkedIn.

• Looking back to last year we talked about Starling Bank opening a US subsidiary called Engine by Starling Services US and building a team and scouting for a regional headquarters on the US East Coast; with the purpose of bringing a new core solution to the US targeting  mid-tier banks, community banks and credit unions… 
  • 👉 Well, looks like they are well on their way as this report “Starling sets sights on US expansion via in-house tech sale” references comments by Engine CEO, Sam Everington:
    • “The big focus this year is North America, focused on the US. The banks haven’t had the same pressure to transform their systems [which] are very static. But that is changing.”  He added: “There’s a lot of consolidation going on in the small end of the regional banking markets. So we think the time is right.”
    • Everington indicated that Starling is aiming to secure a deal with an American institution within the “$5bn-50bn asset range” by early next year, following discussions with several prospective clients.

• 🤔 Keep an eye on your Ag Bank and commercial farming friends as the Agriculture Department is forecasting that U.S. net farm income would fall 0.7% this ​year (which is 2.6% when adjusted for inflation), despite near-record government payments that are expected to account for nearly 29% of producers’ bottom ‌line citing low crop prices, a global grain glut, ‍rising operational costs and lost export sales.

• 💪 Shout-out to Flagstar Bank, N.A. (NYSE: FLG; FDIC 32541; total assets $87.5B) as they announced returned to profitability during the fourth quarter 2025 and successfully executing on their turnaround plan for two years (as they said they would).  Keep up the great work!!!! 🤙

• Narmi announced they have joined the Fiserv AppMarket as a pre-integrated solution enabling those FI’s operating on Fiserv core platforms to gain direct access to Narmi’s API-first account opening, identity verification, and onboarding solutions.

 
Helping families and our young people with financial literacy – Uncle Sean love’s this!!! 🫶 Check out these powerful announcements: 

• Candescent partners with Greenlight to enable financial institutions on the Candescent platform to offer Greenlight's core tools - including a debit card for kids, goal-based savings, spending controls, and investing features - directly within their digital banking experience.
  • Greenlight partners with more than 187 leading banks, credit unions, and employers to bring its family finance solution to more families through the Greenlight for Banks, Greenlight for Credit Unions, and Greenlight for Work programs.

• United Financial Credit Union (Charter 61657; total assets $343M) partners with Nuuvia to launch SmartStart the credit union’s new youth banking program designed to help kids and teens learn how to manage money in a safe, fun, and parent-supported way.
  • Check out Nuuvia™ | Youth Banking. Lifelong Loyalty for their co-branded or white-labeled, youth-centric digital banking experience.

• Collegiate (one of Michigan State University Federal Credit Union’s direct digital banks) has been named the Exclusive Financial Literacy Partner of Opendorse to give student-athletes nationwide access to financial education courses designed for their busy schedules, available to be completed anytime, anywhere.
  • Wow – talk about a much-needed solution (impact of NIL on personal finances, taxes, and long-term financial health)!!!  Check out Collegiate | Finance made for YOUR future and see what they are building!!!  🚀

• equipifi cranks up the hits with a pair of announcements this week (these folks are on fire 🔥):
  • Honor Credit Union (Charter 63004; total assets $1.8B) launched BNPL via equipifi solution embedded directly into Honor’s mobile and online banking platforms enabling its 110,000+ members to pay for purchases over time using their existing credit union debit cards and checking accounts.
  • Avadian Credit Union (Charter 68583; total assets $1.4B) launched in-house BNPL products powered by equipifi and fully embedded within its digital banking environment allowing its members to view personalized offers and accept them within seconds, all without leaving the financial institution’s secure platform.

• Amplify Credit Union (Charter 68681; total assets $1.3B) adopts Alkami's Mantl platform onboarding and account opening processes for both corporate and consumer clients across all banking channels.

• Seven Seventeen Credit Union (aka 7 17; Charter 61077; total assets $2B) selects Velera for debit and credit card processing services and support via a phased rollout spanning Q3 of 2026. 

• Some personnel changes:
  • PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL) has appointed Enrique Lores as President and CEO, effective March 1, 2026 replacing Alex Chriss.  Enrique Lores will be leaving HP Inc. as President and CEO where he has worked for the last 36 years.
  • Momnt names Tom Anderson as Chief Executive Officer
  • Backbase appoints Jodi Slomp as Chief People Officer.
  • Happy Money promoted John Triggas to Chief Capital Officer and Maria Mosolova to Chief Operating Officer
  • Spire (Pay-by-Bank platform) hires former Fiserv executive Jennifer LaClair as CEO and announced a $10M in Series B capital raise to expand services enabling consumers to make direct payments from their bank accounts to merchants.

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • EnFi (AI-powered lending solution using multi-agent architecture across the entire lending workflow) raised $15M in Series A funding round.
  • Varo Bank (FDIC 59190; total assets $376M) raised $123.9M in Series G funding round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• 🤠 FOODIE ALERT!!!!  Aunt Patty and I are headed to see some friends for the Super Bowl – here is what I’m cooking up:
  • We call them grilled Hot Chix – basically jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and chicken wrapped in bacon .  Here’s how to do it:
    • Marinate your chicken in a sealed baggie (I’m using chicken breast tenderloins) in the fridge using a 50/50 mix of pineapple juice and Italian dressing at least overnight (24+ hours is better – I’ve left them marinating for over 36 hours before).
    • Cut your jalapenos in half lengthwise – cut the stem off but leave enough of the “end” intact to make a “boat.”  Scrape out the seeds.
    • Dab in some cream cheese (I find that cream cheese is less likely to ooze out too much while cooking).
    • Cut your marinated chicken to top the cream cheese filled jalapeno boat (you can have some chicken overhang – no one will judge you 😊).
    • Wrap with bacon (I use a toothpick to secure the bacon – just remember to remove it before devouring the Hot Chix).
    • Start cooking on your grill chicken side down flipping occasionally.  Watch closely for flare-ups due to the bacon fat.  The small slices of chicken cook pretty quick, so you are basically watching to see how well done you like your bacon.  Remove and chow down (don’t forget to remove that toothpick before eating) – you’ll love the sweet and tangy flavor of the marinated chicken!!! Nom, nom, nom… 😋🤤
• And here are a few Dad / Bad Jokes to close out the week:
  • Scientists have discovered how trees communicate…  They bark… 🌳😅
  • How many times do you have to click “accept all cookies” before they actually send the cookies (asking for a friend)??? 🤷‍♂️🤣🍪
  • 🤔Is being a horse trainer considered a stable job? 🤠🐴

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!
 
Uncle Sean
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.

​

The first bank failure of 2026...

​Summary:
On 1/30/26, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation closed Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust in Chicago, IL (FDIC 57488; total assets $261.1M; total deposits of $212.1M) and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver.  First Independence Bank (FDIC 20179; total assets $697M as of the 12/31/25 Call Report) agreed to assume substantially all deposits of Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust. It will also purchase approximately $251 million of the failed bank’s assets. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition. 

• The FDIC preliminarily estimates that the failure will cost its Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) about $19.7 million.
• Source - First Independence Bank, Detroit, Michigan, Assumes All Deposits of Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust, Chicago, Illinois | FDIC.gov

 
 
Additional FedFis insights as of the 9/30/25 call report:

• Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust had a FedFis Rating© of 4.76 placing them in the lowest percentile of all banks.  The bank has struggled with Asset Quality and Profitability issues in the last couple of years that has strained the banks’ capital position.
• The bank loan portfolio is comprised mainly of C&I loans (80.93%).  The bank recorded significant Net Charge-offs of $12.5M related to C&I loans in the Sept 2025 quarter resulting in a Net Loss YTD of ($10.8M).  The bank had another $4.5M in nonperforming loans (about $4.3 of which is also C&I). 
  • The bank had an Allowance for LLL balance of $3.4M – not enough to cover the nonperforming (past due loans / loan loss allowance of 131.71%).
• Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust had $4.2M in tangible equity capital at 9/30/25 with a YTD Adjusted Texas Ratio of 76.58% (was 172.11% in Jun 2025 prior to the charge-off).
• Compounding the asset quality issues is duration and yield on the AFS Securities portfolio of $52.5M – of which, 49% is 5 – 15 years and another 41% is 15 years + in duration.  Total Yield on Securities is only 1.7% resulting in a negative AOCI on the Balance Sheet of ($9M).  Total loans / Deposits ratio of 68.61%.
  • All securities were pledged with Other Borrowed Money (FHLB borrowing) of $43M.
• Total deposits of $212.1M included $44.4M in brokered deposits.

 
 
For more information on FedFis Bank Ratings and market insights, contact the FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected].


Sean Mayo
Sr. VP, US Financial Institutions Group
[email protected]

​Happy Friday!!!
 
Hoping everyone has made it through the recent winter storms relatively unscathed 🙏 as we wrap up the first 100 days or so of January 🤠…  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/30/26 (subscribe here for free):
 

• President Trump nominates Kevin Warsh for Federal Reserve chair to succeed Jerome Powell.  Following Senate confirmation, Warsh will take over in May when current Chairman Powell’s term expires.

 

• It’s Fed Week!  As was widely expected in the first FOMC meeting of 2026, the Fed voted to keep interest rates at their current range of 3.5% - 3.75% after three consecutive cuts to close out 2025 noting robust economic growth and signs of stability in the unemployment rate.
  • As noted in the FOMC statement above related to the 10-2 vote, Stephen I. Miran and Christopher J. Waller were the two dissenting votes who preferred to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point at this meeting.
  • For more detail, here is Chairman Powell’s Press Conference transcript (24 pages) and the Press Conference video (50:15)
    • Notable (to me anyway 😊) comments from Chairman Powell during the press conference include:
      • AI’s role in the slowing labor market is “hard to say,” tariff impact expected to peak “sometime in the middle quarters of the year,” and a rate hike “isn’t anybody’s base case” right now.

 

• 🎉More US charters!!!  💥Nu (NYSE: NU), one of the largest digital financial platforms in the world with 127M+ customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, has received conditional approval from the OCC for the formation of a de novo national bank, Nubank, N.A. here in the US. 
  • “Nu has now entered the bank organization phase, which involves satisfying specific OCC conditions alongside pending required approvals from the FDIC and the Federal Reserve. During this phase, the company will focus on fully capitalizing the institution within 12 months and opening the bank within 18 months, as required by regulators. Nu submitted its application to the OCC on September 30, 2025.”  NICE!!! 👏

 

• Flex 💪 of the week goes out to my friends at Vine Financial as they tripled their customer base and grew revenues by 200% in 2025!  🚀 Congrats to the entire team at Vine as they lean into 2026.  Check out their innovative Commercial Lending platform at vinefin.com and tell them Uncle Sean sent you! 😊
  • “2025 proved to be a year of incredible progress for us. We made significant strides with product strategy, we’ve seen great adoption among both community banks and credit unions and been able to bring on new investors,” said David Eads, CEO and co-founder of Vine. “Our accomplishments this year were a huge testament to what Vine can do, and we are only getting started. I look forward to all the ways our platform and our lenders will grow in 2026.”

 

• Nacha does some flexing too as they  announced new highs in 2025 with growth in both standard and Same Day ACH as well as growth in B2B payments noting:
  • Full year ACH Network volume of 35.2B payments (up nearly 5% over 2024) with a value of $93T (yeah, that is Trillion with a T 😲💰 – an increase of almost 8%).

 

• Zelle also noted gains in 2025 for community banks and credit unions representing at least 13M bank and CU accounts eligible for Zelle within 46 US states and territories.  Notable 2025 stats include:
  • 337 FI’s went live or signed up to bring Zelle to their customers during 2025.
  • 97% were community banks and credit unions with assets of less than $10 billion.
  • Also noted new reseller relationships with Velera to expand Zelle access for Minority Deposit Institution (MDI) credit unions; and Alacriti to embed Zelle into its Orbipay Payments Hub.

 

• 👀 Alkami Technology (ALKT) has reportedly hired an advisor to explore strategic options including a possible sale according to a Bloomberg report.

 

• Unfortunately, Seis (immigrant-focused banking app partnered with Thread Bank and Unit) is winding down operations citing a change in immigration patterns and less demand for the product.

 

• Affirm (Nasdaq: AFRM) continues to make headlines following last weeks announcement that they have submitted applications to establish Affirm Bank, a proposed Nevada ILC.
  • Fiserv (Nasdaq: FISV) announced an exclusive partnership with Affirm (Nasdaq: AFRM) to bring BNPL capabilities as a turnkey integration to existing debit card programs for banks and credit unions.
    • “Fiserv and Affirm first partnered in 2022 to integrate Affirm into Commerce Hub, enabling merchants to offer buy now, pay later (BNPL) at checkout. This latest expansion underscores Fiserv’s commitment to delivering innovative debit solutions that help financial institutions compete and meet rising consumer expectations.”
  • Bolt selects Affirm as their default BNPL provider enabling Bolt merchants in the US to offer flexible payment options at checkout.

 

• Equifax (NYSE: EFX) introduced Income Confirm providing verified employment and income data along with credit reports to provide lenders with a more comprehensive view of applicant credit risk and financial capacity.

 

• OnePay (Walmart fintech division) announced a new free feature where OnePay Cash customers can file their taxes directly through the OnePay app via partnership with april’s embedded tax platform (getapril.com).

 

• Lithic expands its partner bank network with the addition of Stearns Bank National Association (FDIC 10988; total assets $3.3B).

 

• Kemba Credit Union (charter 61810; total assets $1.75B) selects Velera for debit and credit card processing services and support.  Velera will begin providing debit and credit processing support to Kemba in August 2026.

 

• 👉 GESA Credit Union (charter 68278; total assets $6.4B) announced a partnership with Selah School District to launch a student-run High School Credit Union branch at Selah High School and a co-branded Affinity Debit Card.  Even more impressive is that this is GESA’s 25th High School Credit Union Program!!! 🎉
  • “The student-run branch will operate during school hours at Selah High School, giving students the opportunity to open accounts, make deposits and withdrawals, and experience an authentic credit union atmosphere. The branch will be staffed by student tellers and led by a paid student intern who serves as Campus Branch Manager—a position that provides professional development experience and a competitive edge for future employment.”
    • ❤️ Uncle Sean loves seeing this and the engagement with young people as I feel that financial literacy is not emphasized enough in our schools – AND the added bonus of introducing banking and finance to our young adults…  Nice work GESA CU!!! 🤙

 

• Some personnel moves:
  • CSI appoints Abe Kuruvilla as Chief Information and Technology Officer.
  • Walmart’s OnePay names Patrick O'Connell as Chief Financial Officer.
  • NCR Atleos appoints Rohan Pal as new CIO.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Mine (fka Fizz, a personal finance company for young adults including AI-powered personal guidance) raised $14M in Series A funding round.

 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• 🏈 Super Bowl LX is set for next Sunday, Feb 8th at 5:30 CST on NBC as the Seattle Seahawks take on the New England Patriots.  Aunt Patty is not a fan of the Pat’s (to say the least) so we will be pulling for the Seahawks!
• Umm…  Why can’t the Monday after the Super Bowl be a National Holiday???  Can someone please fix this!!!! 🤠🍺
• And of course we have the obligatory Dad / Bad Jokes related to this crazy weather to get us into the weekend vibe:
  • What bites but doesn’t have teeth?  Frost.. 😁
  • The only blizzard I want to see is at Dairy Queen!!! 🍦
  • On a positive note…  I haven’t seen any mosquitoes this week!!! 🦟🤠
  • (activate Samuel L. Jackson voice) And on this day, all the forest animals gathered and proclaimed in one voice, “okay Mr. Groundhog – you have about two days to get your 💩 together!”  😂🤣
  • Saving the best for last…
    • I must admit…  Greenland deploying their weather on us was an unanticipated first strike!!! 😬🥶😅

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!
 
Uncle Sean
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
As most of us in the US brace for an arctic blast 🥶 with snow and ice accumulations, please make sure to take care of yourselves!!!  Remember the four P’s (people, pets, pipes, and plants) and don’t forget to check on your neighbors – we are all in this together! 🙏  In the interim, here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/23/26 (subscribe here for free):
 

• The BEA released the updated US 3Q2025 GDP of 4.4% which is up from the initial estimate of 4.3% and up from 2Q2025 of 3.8%.  Meanwhile the BEA released Oct and Nov 2025 PCE together (due to the government shutdown) showing a sticky 2.8% for Nov headline and core, both matching expectations and slightly higher than Oct 2.7% for each.

 

• 💥 One of the biggest headlines of the week is Capital One to acquire Brex for $5.15B in a 50/50 mix of stock and cash.  Although significantly down from Brex’s $12.3B valuation in 2022 following their $300M Series D-2 round, that is still an impressive price considering Brex launched in 2017.

 

• 👀 Ford and GM get their bank charters…  This week, the FDIC approved deposit insurance applications for Ford Credit Bank and GM Financial Bank – both as Utah ILC charters.
  • Certainly worth noting (be careful what you ask for):
    • Ford Credit Bank approval requires a whopping $1.5B (yes, BILLION 💰) in paid-in capital as well as maintaining a minimum tier 1 capital ratio of 15%.
    • GM Financial Bank requires $667M in paid-in capital and a minimum tier 1 capital ratio of 15%.

 

• More charter news…
  • UBS Bank USA (FDIC 57565; total assets $115B) has received conditional approval from the OCC to convert from a Utah ILC charter to a national OCC charter with the goal of securing final approval expected later this year.
  • Meanwhile….  Revolut is apparently shifting strategy on its US banking plans by dropping plans to acquire a US bank; and is now in discussions with the OCC to apply for a national bank charter.
  • 👉 But wait – there’s more!!!!  Affirm also announced they have submitted applications to establish Affirm Bank, as a Nevada-chartered ILC…

 

• While we are on the topic of charters…  Warning 🤠 – here comes an Uncle Sean “off the rails” commentary….
  • Which begs the question…  I wonder what Walmart is thinking right now…
    • More food for thought…  Are we, as a society and an industry, better off with Walmart providing full financial services via their own fintech company (OnePay), or as a directly regulated and chartered ILC bank??? 🤔  It might be time to revisit this as it is not the same environment as the last time Walmart applied for an ILC charter more than two decades ago (which was ultimately withdrawn) and set the industry on fire.  More interesting info here in this July 2024 Statement by (then) Vice Chairman Travis Hill, who is now the current Chairman of the FDIC.
      • Feel free to comment on the LI post or even email me directly and let me know your thoughts. 👍

 

• Speaking of Walmart…  Klarna will be rolling out after-purchase BNPL options soon allowing customers to convert purchases into installment loans after the transaction.  Klarna is launching the feature within Walmart’s fintech OnePay and is being called Swipe to Finance , “a new OnePay Later option that gives OnePay Cash customers the ability to pay over time after checkout.”

 

• 🎉 Hey Moov…  We see you 🏆!!!  Check out Moov’s new partnership with Apple to introduce Tap to Pay on iPhone with Moov.  Tap to Pay removes the need for dedicated payment terminals, transforming any iPhone into a point of sale (with a primary benefit being card-present interchange rates).  Nice!!!!

 

• Meanwhile, Block flexed 💪 this week by stating it had provided more than $200 Billion in credit to customers across its Cash App Borrow (short-term loans averaging 21 days, with 97% repayment rates despite 70% of borrowers having FICO scores below 580), Afterpay (BNPL with 96% of installments paid on time and 98% of purchases incurring no late fees), and Square Loans products (small business lending with less than 3% loss rates, with 58% going to women-owned businesses and 34% to minority-owned businesses). 👏

 

• Regions Bank (FDIC 12368; total assets $159B) partners with WorldPay, a Global Payments company, to enhance how Regions’ business clients, ranging from small businesses to major enterprises, accept payments and manage cash flow operations.

 

• North Brookfield Savings Bank (FDIC 900258; total assets $438M) selects Narmi to modernize its digital account opening for both consumer and business customers via the Narmi Grow platform that integrates directly with the bank's existing COCC core.

 

• Truity Credit Union (charter 3130; total assets $1.2B) selects InvestiFi to enable the credit union’s 75,000 members access to InvestiFi’s suite of digital investing and wealth management tools direct via Truity’s online and mobile banking platform. 🤙

 

• 👉 Shout-out to MANTL as The Atlantic Federal Credit Union (charter 477; total assets $243M) becomes the first credit union to go live with consumer loans on the MANTL Loan Origination Platform.

 

• The NCUA has also been busy with a couple of very small credit unions being conserved (not a failure) due to the standard “unsafe and unsound practices” verbiage” –  both CU’s have experienced profitability issues per their call report detail.
  • 1/16/26 – The NCUA has conserved People Trust Community Federal Credit Union (charter 24940; total assets $3.3M; total members 1,800).
  • 1/22/26 – The NCUA has conserved Beverly Hills City Employees Federal Credit Union (charter 9823; total assets $16.5M, total members 1,500).

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Credit Key (B2B payments and financing platform) raised $90M in growth capital.
  • Stream (fka Wagestream, a UK-based employee financial wellness platform) raised $90M in Series D round to fund expansion to the US market.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Congrats to the Indiana Hoosiers 🏈 for winning the CFP National Championship Game in one of the most exciting football games that I can remember; and capping off what may truly be the most amazing turnaround of a college football program ever.
• PSA – I don’t know who needs to hear this (besides me), but don’t eat all the “emergency snacks” before the ice storm even hits!!! 😂🤣
• It’s starting to get cold outside, so let’s get on with the best part of the Update – the Dad / Bad Jokes:
  • If I had to describe myself in one word, it would be “does not follow instructions well.” 🤠
  • Saw a pack of gummy worms that read “no artificial flavor.”  Honestly, who buys gummy worms hoping they’d taste as close to real worms as possible? 😬
  • I ordered 2,000 pounds of Chinese soup… It was won ton… 😅
  • With great power comes great responsibility...  Nah, more like a huge electric bill… 😆
  • Interviewer:  We need a responsible person for this job…  Me: That’s me!  Every place I’ve worked if anything went wrong, they said I was responsible! 😂

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe AND WARM!
 
Uncle Sean
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 

​Happy Friday!!!
 
WHEW – it was a CRAZY busy week (and I’m running late on this update 😬), so let’s jump right to it!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/16/26 (subscribe here for free):
 

• The BLS Dec CPI Report came in fairly bland (which is good by the way) at 0.3% for the month and 2.7% YoY (both in line with expectations).  Core CPI came in 0.2% for the month and 2.6% YoY (both were 0.1 percentage point below expectation).  CNBC has a good summary noting Shelter increases of 0.4% (a key element of stickiness accounting for more than 1/3rd of CPI weight) and Food increases of 0.7%.

 

• And some more fairly good and optimistic economic updates 🤙…  The Federal Reserve Beige Book - January 2026 showed modest increases in overall economic activity in the majority of reserve districts (an improvement over the last three report cycles).  Most banks reported slight to modest growth in consumer spending this cycle, largely attributed to the holiday shopping season; and several districts noted that spending was stronger among higher-income consumers (there’s that K-shaped economy 💰).  The report also noted that “outlooks for future activity were mildly optimistic with most expecting slight to modest growth in coming months.”
  • PYMNTS also has a good recap.

 

• 💪 Congrats to Modak (card and money app for kids and teens) for successfully completing its SOC 2 recertification!
  • The PR notes, “While SOC 2 compliance is not typically required for fintech companies of Modak’s size, Modak voluntarily pursued and maintained the certification to ensure it continues to meet rigorous expectations around data protection and system reliability.”  Nice!!! 👏

 

• Coastal Community Bank (FDIC 34403; total assets $4.5B as of 9/30/25) to acquire GreenFi from Mission Financial Partners.
  • Another scenario in which the BaaS Sponsor Bank acquires the fintech; and now the fintech will essentially become a division of the host FI.  You may recall GreenFi as they were formerly known as Aspiration (name change in April 2025 - GreenFi Launches as New Climate-Friendly Consumer Financial Brand, Secures $17 Million Investment).

 

• Checkout.com becomes the latest to obtain conditional approval for a Georgia merchant acquirer limited purpose bank charter (MALPB).
  • This Banking Dive article reminds us that Checkout.com “is the third payments firm, following Fiserv and Stripe, to receive a conditional green light in the past two years. The charter lets a company bypass banks to underwrite merchants and authorize and settle transactions.”

 

• Jenius Bank (direct digital bank division of SMBC Manubank; FDIC 18618; total assets $7.5B) is winding down despite hitting “$1 billion in deposits and $900 million in personal loans in its first year of business” citing “market performance,” per an employee, adding that the digital bank wasn’t yet profitable and wouldn’t be as profitable as quickly as its parent company wanted.

 

• 👉 A new direct digital bank for the filmmaking industry hits the scene (see what I did there 🎥😊) with a niche solution in Atlanta…  First Entertainment Credit Union (charter 68373; total assets $2.1B) has launched CeneFi - digital banking built for the entertainment-industry professionals, filmmakers, and crew.  Check it out at cinefi.com.  Uncle Sean gives it “two thumbs up!” 👍👍
  • It looks like this new direct digital bank brand is at least partially powered by Nymbus per this LinkedIn post.

 

• SPACs are back!  Old Glory Bank (FDIC 18924; total assets $238M) is set to go public via special purpose acquisition company Digital Asset Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq: DAAQ) and will be listed on Nasdaq under the reserved ticker symbol “OGB.”

 

• Bilt announced their official launch of Bilt Card 2.0 suite of credit cards issued by Column (FDIC 58224; total assets $1.2B) and powered by Cardless. 

 

• A pair of announcements from Alkami / MANTL this week:
  • Citizens State Bank of New Castle, Indiana (FDIC 13107; total assets $851M) selects MANTL to transform its retail and business deposit account opening experience.
  • Harvard Federal Credit Union (charter 24959; total assets $1.2B) has selected MANTL’s Onboarding & Account Opening Solution for retail and business account opening.

 

• Mid Minnesota Federal Credit Union (charter 20194; total assets $801M) partners with InvestiFi to offer its 66,000 members the ability to invest digitally and conveniently directly from their checking accounts, available within the credit union’s online banking platform.

 

• Magnifi Financial Credit Union (charter 68604; total assets $2.6B) partners with Greenlight to bring Magnifi’s 85,000 members access to Greenlight's award-winning family finance app at no cost. 
  • A family app that helps to teach financial literacy and awareness for members at no cost - um, YES PLEASE! 😊 Check it out at mymagnifi.org/greenlight.

 

• 👀 Movin’ and shakin’ with quite a few personnel moves that caught my eye this week:
  • Shout out to my friend, Sanjay Bhaskar for his new role as Vice President, Partner Sales at Kinective per this LinkedIn post.
  • Ingo Payments names Alexandra Nuth as new CPO.
  • Infinant welcomes Chris Rhea as CRO per this LinkedIn post.
  • Hatch Bank adds Francis Mitchell as CFO and Amanda Swoverland as President.
  • Payfinia appoints Nizal Khan as Senior Sales Executive to drive growth in instant payments.
  • Momnt names Tom Anderson as CEO per this LinkedIn post,
  • American Fintech Council appoints Charles E. Potts as Executive Vice President and Head of Growth and Engagement.
  • Rachel King moves over as Vice President of Sales at CSI per this LinkedIn post.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• ICYMI…  The IRS has set the 2026 business standard mileage rate at 72.5 cents per mile – so don’t skip those expense reports or mileage logs!!!
• FOODIE TIME!!! 😋🍴 For my friend Grace Dauzat here at FedFis (and 18,000+ of our followers 🤠)…  Here is that Chili Crisp Chicken recipe that I tried (spoiler alert – it is AMAZING):
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 TBSP Chili Crisp oil (aka Chili Crunch oil)
  • ½ cup Hot Honey
  • 1 TBSP all-purpose seasoning (I used Lime Pepper, but you could use Chili Lime or whatever you prefer)
  • Juice of 1 good-sized Lime (not those little tiny ones – LOL)
    • Marinate overnight (I did mine about 24 hours) and grill for about 3+ minutes each side as it will cook pretty quick.  Also – I doubled this recipe for 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs and it was perfect.
    • Served mine chopped up as a protein topper on baby green salad.  Had leftovers the next day as a chicken sandwich on whole grain bread.  You will love it!!!
• Alright, alright, alright!!!  Let’s get to the Dad / Bad Jokes to kick off the weekend!!!
  • January: [jan-you-air-ee] (n.) – A giant Monday… 😫
  • I’m going to get a bumper sticker that says, “Honk if you think I’m sexy!”  Then I’ll just sit at green lights until I feel better about myself!!! 🤣😂
  • I bought an old used car that was made in Prague…  It was a pretty good deal, but the Czech engine light keeps coming on…  🙄😅
  • This chef on TV said, “Where there’s fat, there’s flavor.”  I know he was talking about food, but I still took it as a compliment! 😆😁
  • And last but not least….
    • Friend: “How much do you spend on a bottle of wine?”  Me: “About 30 minutes, max.” 🤠🍷

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!
 
Uncle Sean
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
Hopefully everyone enjoyed a GREAT holiday season (I know I did, and my bathroom scale confirms it 😬😅) – and welcome to 2026 🎉!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/9/26 (subscribe here for free):
 

• A virtual fist-bump 👊 to Fiserv for their Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB) sponsorship renewal!!!
  • “Fiserv is more than a sponsor—they’re a force for change in community banking,” said Matthew Smith, CEO of Bankers Helping Bankers. “Their continued support ensures BHB remains a place where bankers can discover what’s next, connect with fintechs, and chart a path to growth—at no cost to them.” 💥

 

• Some quick economic updates now that the data is rolling in post-government shutdown:
  • The BLS Dec Jobs Report showed little change and a mixed bag of results with only 50K jobs added (Dow Jones estimate was 73K; and Nov was downwardly revised by 8K to 56K) while unemployment fell to 4.4% (estimate was 4.5% and last month was 4.6%).  Annual wage growth of 3.8% continues to outpace inflation.
    • Prior revisions were once again material (see revision history) with Oct revised down by another 68K to -173K job losses.  CNBC has a good summary.
  • Coupled with strong 3Q GDP (BLS initial estimate) of 4.3%, this may give the FOMC plenty of “wait and see” ammunition in relation to future rate cuts.

 

• It’s official…  JPMorgan Chase has inked a deal to take over as Apple Card’s issuer replacing Goldman Sachs who has been looking to exit the Apple credit card portfolio for a couple of years.  The transition from GS to JPM is expected to take two years.  The $20B portfolio came with a discount of more than $1B (5%).

 

• And we’re off 🏇!!!!  We have our first announced CU acquisition of a bank this week with Zeal Credit Union (charter 62426; total assets $864M) to acquire The Miners State Bank (FDIC 10928; total assets $145M).
  • Worth noting that Zeal just recently completed (12/29/2025) their previous acquisition of Gogebic Range Bank, first announced 12/30/2024.

 

• PayPal announced the launch of their Transaction Graph Insights & Measurement program giving merchants a full view of consumer personalization / spend habits by connecting search, shop, and share signals across more than 430 million consumer accounts and tens of millions of merchants – allowing brands to “identify high-intent shoppers before they convert elsewhere.”
  • PYMNTS has a good summary article reminding us “this data play follows a partnership with generative AI search engine Perplexity last June.”

 

• Hopefully 🤞 some good news here for the principals of CBW Bank (FDIC 13959; total assets $65M) as the FDIC and CBW have reached a settlement (apologies for the Bloomberg paywall).  Details of the settlement have not been made available.  Case #25-3056 in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • Here is the original notice of assessment of civil money penalty for $20.4M.

 

• Coming to America… Again…  Europe’s second largest neobank, bunq, has filed for a US de novo banking license with the OCC.
  • bunq had previously submitted applications with the OCC and FDIC in 2023, but withdrew them in January 2024, due to the complexity of the US regulatory process and regulatory differences between the OCC, FDIC and the Dutch authorities.

 

• De Novo Georgia Skyline Bank (closing in on their capital goal of $25M - $35M) is scheduled to open in Roswell, GA in late Feb or early March. 👏

 

• 👉 Core Bank (FDIC 34363; total assets $1.1B) has partnered with Kobalt Labs to enhance the banks TPRM and compliance at scale via Kobalt’s AI-driven solution as the bank leans into BaaS and embedded finance. 

 

• Fiserv (Nasdaq: FISV) partners with Wink to integrate Wink’s biometric face and palm identity-based payment technology to its Clover platform.

 

• Modulr (real-time payments hub) announced its launch in the US via partnership with FIS (NYSE: FIS) to bring next-gen payments technology to US financial institutions.

 

• Jack Henry (Nasdaq: JKHY) announced that Sanibel Captiva Community Bank (FDIC 57425; total assets $1B) has selected Jack Henry for its core processing platform.
  • Impressive as the incumbent processor has (er… “had”) a strategic position (same vendor for core, online, and mobile) – which is hard to break into from a vendor perspective.  For more info about this, reach out to our own Bobby Button here at FedFis to discuss our Fintegration Ecosystem© vendor tech stack for all banks and CUs in the US. 😊

 

• North Coast Credit Union (charter 66734; total assets $412M) is now live with Mahalo digital banking platform and reporting "substantial enhancements in member experience and internal workflows" since making this connection, enabled by "real-time account visibility, consistent data flow, and unified workflows".

 

• Digital Storefront has rebranded as Movemint.

 

• Wolf & Company, P.C. has acquired The Kafafian Group, Inc., further expanding Wolf’s bank and credit union advisory capabilities.  The Kafafian Group has provided consulting services (emphasis on strategic planning, performance measurement, and operations consulting) for over 500 financial institutions in 40+ states with asset sizes up to $100B. 🚀

 

• Some personnel moves:
  • Plaid picks up Jelena McWilliams as President of Corporate and External Affairs.
    • WOW!!!  🤔 Can’t help but wonder out loud if I’m the only one smelling a potential IPO here with this extremely high-profile hire???
  • ICI Consulting appoints Lance Tappa as Sr. Vice President, Partner Relations.
  • CSI welcomes back Shane Ferrell as Vice President of Product Management per this post on LinkedIn.
  • Marqeta (Nasdaq: MQ) named Patti Kangwankij as CFO effective Feb 9.
  • Panacea Financial (direct digital bank division of Primis Bank) strengthens its executive team with key hires in marketing, compliance, and medical education finance including Anna Khayet as Chief Marketing Officer, Robin Garrison as Chief Compliance Officer, and Tal Frank as Head of Student Financial Services.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Rain (stablecoin payments infrastructure) raised $250M in Series C funding at a $1.95B valuation.
  • Onsetto (white-label AI-powered platform to help FI’s with commercial account switching) raised $2.2M in Seed funding round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• 🏈 We are at the peak of football playoffs!
  • The NFL playoff schedule is set with wild-card games kicking off this weekend on the road to Super Bowl LX on Jan 25th.
  • The college football playoff picture is wrapping up after a thrilling semifinal game last night with Miami outlasting Ole Miss 31-27; and another exciting semifinal game this evening with Oregon and Indiana facing off to see who gets a shot at the National Championship game against Miami on Jan 19th.
• And they’re back!!!  Here are the Dad / Bad jokes for the week:
  • The doctor said I need to eat more greens, so I’m switching from French Vanilla to Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream! 😋
  • Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November.  All the rest have thirty-one, except for January which has about 100! 😒😂
  • I don’t know who needs to hear this, but your future doctor is using ChatGPT to pass med school… So you better start eating healthy!!!! 🤣
  • Recent empirical research shows that starting your day with an early morning run is the best way to make sure your day can’t get any worse! 🤠🏃‍♂️‍➡️

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!
 
Uncle Sean
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
Just a quick PSA to let everyone know this will be the last Uncle Sean Update for two weeks 😲 as I enjoy some family time over the holidays – I’ll be back with a new update on Jan 9th.  Wishing everyone a VERY Merry Christmas 🎅🎄 and a Happy New Year 🎉🙏!!!  But first - here is the Uncle Sean Update for 12/19/25 (subscribe here for free):

• Hey – we finally got a look at some macroeconomic data (post government shutdown)…  Even though many economists are side-eyeing the data 🤔, it’s all we have so let’s take a look:
  • The BLS Nov CPI Report came in a bit on the cool side at 0.2% for the month and 2.7% YoY (expectation was 0.3% and 3.1% respectively).  Core CPI came in at 0.2% for the month and 2.6% YoY (expectation was 0.3% and 3.0% respectively).  CNBC has a pretty good summary.
  • Meanwhile, the BLS Jobs Report was a mixed bag with Nov coming in at +64K (Dow Jones estimate was +45K) while Oct showed a loss of -105K (pretty close to expectations due to government job cuts – DOGE buyouts).
    • Our next FOMC meeting is scheduled for Jan 27-28, 2026.

• De Novo news - PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL) announced it has submitted applications to the Utah DFI and the FDIC to establish PayPal Bank, a proposed Utah-chartered ILC with a focus on US small businesses.  Per the release, “In addition to providing small business lending solutions, PayPal Bank expects to offer interest-bearing savings accounts to customers. PayPal Bank would also seek direct membership in the U.S. with card networks to complement processing and settlement activities through existing banking relationships.”
  • PayPal’s current embedded BaaS providers are Synchrony Bank, WebBank, and The Bancorp Bank.

• More De Novo news - Mercury announced it has submitted applications to the FDIC and OCC to establish Mercury Bank, a nationally chartered bank “for ambitious companies and individuals.” 
  • Mercury’s current embedded BaaS providers are Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Patriot Bank.

• And MORE De Novo news – Erebor Bank has received conditional approval for FDIC insurance subject to the bank having paid-in capital of not less than $276M (wow), a “Capital Call Agreement” subject to trigger events (out of the ordinary), Tier 1 Leverage ratio of at least 12%, and other customary conditions.

• 💥 Big news for my friends at Atomic as Truist Bank (FDIC 9846; total assets $536B) streamlines digital account opening with direct deposit switching powered by Atomic!

• And more good news for Atomic as F.N.B. Corporation (NYSE: FNB), the holding company for First National Bank of Pennsylvania (FDIC 7888; total assets $50B), announced the launch of automated Payment Switch technology in partnership with Atomic! 🚀

• LoanPro partners with Mastercard to launch Loan on Card solution (coming early 2026) enabling lenders to deliver installment loan proceeds to borrowers through virtual and physical cards – providing instant access to funds that can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted.

• Stablecoin news – SoFi (Nasdaq: SoFi) announced the launch of SoFiUSD, a fully reserved U.S. dollar stablecoin issued by SoFi Bank, N.A. (FDIC 26881; total assets $41.3B) on the Ethereum blockchain.  “SoFiUSD will enable SoFi to serve as a stablecoin infrastructure provider for banks, fintechs, and enterprise platforms.”

• More stablecoin news – Cross River Bank (FDIC 58410; total assets $8.1B), using its recently announced stablecoin payments infrastructure solution, announced a new stablecoin settlement capability with Highnote as part of Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot program.

• 👉 And MORE stablecoin news…  👀 But this one is a bit different….  The punchline - A bank run on a stablecoin reserve custodian resulted in contagion in the DeFi sector….  Wow – say that out loud three times (Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice)… 😬
  • The Federal Reserve issued a new report that is definitely worth a quick read - In the Shadow of Bank Runs: Lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank Failure and Its Impact on Stablecoins and shows that stablecoins “represent a run-able liability for their issuers. As with money market funds and bank deposits, stablecoins are susceptible to crises of confidence, contagion, and self-reinforcing runs.” 😲 (bold emphasis added by Uncle Sean).
    • Somehow I missed this during the SVB bank run – “Circle, the issuer of USDC, publicly announced that it was unable to access a portion of its dollar reserves held as (uninsured) deposits at SVB. This announcement precipitated a surge in redemption requests by holders of USDC, causing the stablecoin to lose its peg against the dollar on secondary markets when Circle shut down primary market operations over the weekend.”

• Lumin Digital launches a suite of AI tools in their digital banking platform enabling their clients to adopt AI at their own pace, including: Target Manager Assistant, Secure Form Assistant, and FAQ Assistant.

• MANTL (an Alkami brand) has partnered with Method Financial to embed Method’s real-time liability data “directly into the MANTL Loan Origination platform, empowering financial institutions to streamline decisioning…”

• Fiserv (Nasdaq: FISV) has completed their acquisition of StoneCastle extending greater insured deposit limits, liquidity and digital assets solutions to financial institutions; and introducing deposit liquidity / cash management options for merchants.

• Effective Jan 1, 2026 - Lewis & Clark Bank will become part of Maps Credit Union (Marion and Polk Schools CU; charter 64166) due to the completion of the merger that was announced earlier in the year.

• Mesa abruptly shuts down its Homeowners Card credit card platform that rewarded cardholders for paying their mortgage.  No specific reason as to why just yet, but there are other pending / launching CC rewards platforms focused on homeowners in the last couple of weeks pointing towards a competitive market:
  • Bilt has announce their Bilt Card 2.0 card program launching in early Feb that earns points on eligible residential mortgage payments.
  • Just before Thanksgiving, Made Card announced the launch of their Made Essential Visa Signature Preferred Card (along with $8M in seed funding) credit card allowing homeowners to earn rewards tied to making on-time mortgage payments as well as other everyday homeowner spending.  The launch also coincided with the release of the Made mobile app that goes beyond financial services “by introducing AI-enabled home journal and concierge chatbot functionalities, designed to simplify and enhance the homeowner experience.”

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Octane (lending platform for powersports vehicles, RVs, boats, personal watercraft, and outdoor power equipment) raised $100M in Series F growth funding at a $1.3B valuation.
  • Thread Bancorp (bank holding company for BaaS focused Thread Bank – FDIC 9499; total assets $823M) raised a $30.5M funding round following significant growth in deposits from embedded finance / BaaS of “more than three times from January 2024 - October 2025, an approximately 75% annualized growth rate.”
  • Imprint (modernized co-branded CC platform for brands) $150M in Series D round at a $1.2B valuation.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• For all the daylight lovers out there (like me 😊), winter solstice is this Sunday so the daylight hours will finally start to increase!!! 🌞
• Okay – lets get to the good stuff!  Here are the Dad / Bad jokes for the week:
  • What do you get when you cross a turtle with a porcupine?  A slowpoke…  🙄🐢
  • Can anyone recommend a good bank account?  Mine ran out of money!!! 😂
  • Sent to me from my friend Mr. Rick Boals is a timeless quote from Peter Drucker – “the most successful people are those who are good at plan B.” 😅
  • Some people drink from the well of knowledge…  Some just rinse and spit! 😆🤣
  • For anyone else that’s getting coal for Christmas – maybe we can get together and get the grill going or something?!?! 🤠😁🍺

 
 
Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and please stay safe! ❤️
 
Uncle Sean
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 

​Happy Friday!!!
 
We made it through another week 🎉!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 12/12/25 (subscribe here for free):
 

• It’s Fed Week!!!  As was widely expected, the FOMC voted to lower the fed funds rate by 25 bps to 3.5% - 3.75%.  But a divided Fed is evident with three dissents (Stephen Miran dissented in favor of a larger 50-bps cut, while Jeffrey Schmid and Austan Goolsbee favored no cut); and the current SEP showed 6 participants had estimated no rate cut for the current meeting.  Downward pressure in employment data drove the decision; but a “wait and see” approach seems to be the forward guidance.
  • The Fed also announced an increase to its securities holdings through purchases of Treasury bills — and, if needed, other Treasury securities — with remaining maturities of three years or less to maintain an ample level of reserves.
  • For more fun reading 😊, here is Chairman Powell’s Press Conference transcript (26 pages), Press Conference video (51:57), and the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) shows an increase in 2026 estimated GDP to 2.3% and a median estimate of only one rate cut next year).

 

• Fifth Third Bank (Nasdaq: FITB; FDIC 6672; total assets $212B) announced a multi-year partnership with Brex (corporate card platform) supporting $5.6B in annual commercial card payment volume via Brex’s AI-native and API-driven payments infrastructure, Brex Embedded. 💰  The Fifth Third Commercial Card powered by Brex will become the default commercial card solution for Fifth Third Bank’s Commercial Banking clients. 💥
  • Couple of points worth noting as this is a huge announcement for Brex 🚀:
    • Fifth Third (as an FI issuer, meaning they have their own credit card issuing platform) is one of the sponsor issuers for the Brex Mastercard Corporate Credit Card – so these companies have a history of working together.  It’s impressive that Brex is now going to be a supporting vendor / program manager for Fifth Third’s Commercial Card platform.
    • Recall where Fifth Third is also in the process of acquiring Comerica Bank which will bump them up to about $288B in total assets.

 

• 👉 Cross River Bank (FDIC 58410; total assets $8.1B) expands card solutions with the launch of its proprietary in-house card processing engine joining a select group of FI’s with complete ownership of the card tech stack - giving partners full control over issuing and processing.
  • “Our in-house processing is a full-stack integration, offering a seamless way to launch debit, credit, and prepaid card programs. It enables our partners to scale with one unified solution,” said Andrew Lambert, Head of Product at Cross River. “Our partners have the flexibility to design card experiences around their customers — with instant virtual card creation, spend controls that update in real-time, actionable intelligence, and full lifecycle management.”
    • Hey, ya’lll remember that line from Jonas in the movie 'Twister' regarding the new Dorothy – “Well let me enlighten you people, this baby has satellite comlink, we got on-board pulse doppler, we got nexrad real time, today, we’re gonna make history…”  Yeah, Cross River’s platform is kind of like that, but for cards, not tornadoes! 🤠🌪️

 

• SoFi Technologies (Nasdaq: SOFI; bank subsidiary is SoFi Bank; FDIC 26881; total assets $41B) launched the SoFi Smart Card for eligible SoFi Plus members (subscription based).  The all-in-one card features “the best of debit and credit card benefits” including 5% cash back rewards at grocery stores, up to 4.3% APY on savings, spending control with a dynamic credit limit (based on checking and savings account balances), P2P, and more.  That’s cool! 👏

 

• Mercury announced the general availability of Mercury Personal to US residents (targeting builders and founders bridging business and personal banking) after being in beta for over a year.

 

• Panacea Financial, the direct digital bank specializing in banking and lending services for doctors, dentists, and veterinarians (a division of Primis Bank (FDIC 57968; total assets $4B), partners with Stakk IQ™ Embedded Finance platform enabling Panacea to leverage Stakk’s “mobile image capture, PDF and scanner imaging capabilities, image authentication, OCR, and document/data orchestration capabilities, together with rule-based transaction orchestration, powering deposit acceptance.”

 

• HSA Bank (direct digital bank division of Webster Bank N.A.; FDIC 18221; total assets $83B) has acquired Secure Inc. (dba SecureSave), a leading provider of employer-sponsored emergency savings accounts (ESAs) – further expanding HSA Bank’s emphasis on health and wealth focused employee benefits. 
  • Worth noting that SecureSave savings accounts were previously sponsored by Stearns Bank, N.A. and Wells Fargo.

 

• Another BaaS Sponsor bank gets acquired…  This week it is Enova International, Inc. (NYSE: ENVA) to become a bank holding company with the acquisition of Grasshopper Bancorp, Inc. (FR 5215715; bank subsidiary is Grasshopper Bank N.A.; FDIC 59113; total assets $1.4B) in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $369M.

 

• Engage fi announced its acquisition of Intellectual Dimensions, a company that provides a business intelligence and data automation platform to assist in proactive deconversion and merger preparation allowing FI’s to transfer “clean core data between core systems with confidence” particularly on the CU side.
  • "Institutions need faster, more accurate conversions that reduce manual work and budget strain," Pasantes added. "Intellectual Dimensions' platform delivers these outcomes today across nearly every major core system. Engage fi clients have used the platform over the past 18 months and consistently report faster implementations, higher accuracy, and measurable efficiency gains."
    • Certainly looks to be a nice alignment with these two companies! 👍

 

• New Cumberland Federal Credit Union (charter 8110; total assets $227M) selects Mahalo Banking for phased digital transformation via Mahalo Banking’s Thoughtful Banking® platform – completion of the full digital banking conversion is planned for early 2026.

 

• Murphy USA partners with AtoB to launch the Murphy USA Mastercard Business Fuel Card open loop credit card issued by Celtic Bank.
  • So what???
    • Murphy USA (and QuickChek) have over 1,700 locations nationwide – nice footprint.
    • AtoB is also the program manager for the Uber Freight Card (among others) issued by Celtic Bank… But if you had the FedFis Fintech Analytics© database platform, you already knew that…  Reach out to Bobby Button for more info (see what I did there! 😊).

 

• 👀 ICYMI…  The OCC announced Conditional Approvals for Five National Trust Bank Charter Applications (yes, FIVE 😮).  Keep in mind that these are National Trust charters (NOT an insured depository institution); and all of which are involved in stablecoins.
  • Only two of which are actual De Novo institutions (First National Digital Currency Bank, NA and Ripple National Trust Bank), while the other three (Bitgo Bank & Trust, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos Trust Company) are conversions from State Trust to National Trust.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Airwallex (global commercial account platform including spend management, cards, and payments) raised $330M in Series G round at an $8B valuation.
  • Esusu (credit builder platform for renters) raised $50M in Series C funding round valued at $1.2B.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• ‘Tis the Season…  For College Football Bowl Games 🏈!!! The annual Army vs. Navy game is this Saturday at 2pm CST on CBS.  The 2025 Heisman Trophy ceremony is also this Saturday on ABC at 6pm CST.  And here is the entire college football bowl game schedule all the way through the National Championship Game on Jan 19th 2026.  Ahhh – I love the Holiday Season!!! 🎄
• And here are the Dad / Bad jokes:
  • I heard they are hiring at the Comb factory – it’s part time… 🙄😄
  • I wonder if the person who came up with the phrase “One Hit Wonder” came up with any other phrases…??? 🤔😉
  • Why couldn’t the lifeguard save the hippie?  (in my best Big Lebowski voice) He was just too far out man! ✌️☮️
  • Dear Santa 🎅 – all I want for Christmas is a fat bank account and a skinny body!  And please don’t mix those up again like you did last year!!!! 🤠😅

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!
 
Uncle Sean
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
Back from Turkey Day – we are now full steam ahead into the holiday season!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 12/5/25 (subscribe here for free):

• 💥 Shoutout to Coverbase as they become the newest Premier Sponsor of Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB) in support of BHB’s mission to provide free access to reliable data, strategy, and intelligence to help community banks across the country grow, compete, and thrive!!! 🚀
  • “With AI-native automation, configurable workflows, and continuous monitoring, Coverbase transforms supplier onboarding, diligence, and lifecycle oversight from a compliance bottleneck into a strategic advantage.”  Check them out at coverbase.com!

​

• 👀 Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT; Green Dot Bank FDIC 22653; total assets $5B) has entered into agreements to be acquired by Smith Ventures and CommerceOne Financial Corp.  Smith Ventures will acquire and privatize Green Dot’s non-bank fintech business (Arc); and CommerceOne will acquire Green Dot Bank and become a new publicly traded bank holding company.
  • The new bank holding company will also be the fintech’s exclusive sponsor bank under a seven-year agreement; and will strive to add additional fintech partners going forward.

 

• 👉 Equipifi continues its march across the US with a pair of BNPL announcements (fully integrated in-house solution) just in time for holiday shopping:
  • Advia Credit Union (charter 61503; total assets $3.7B) launches BNPL powered by equipifi to enable its 200,000 members to divide eligible purchases into manageable installment payments directly from their existing Advia Digital Banking experience.
  • Yolo Federal Credit Union (charter 9293; total assets $415M) introduces BNPL powered by equipifi allowing its members to “split eligible debit card purchases into easy, predictable installment payments within Yolo FCU’s secure Mobile and Online Banking platforms. Members can also use Yolo FCU’s BNPL program to instantly receive extra funds in their Checking Account prior to making a purchase.”

 

• Speaking of rapid growth…  InvestiFi partners with Sesimi to enable InvestiFi to deliver compliant, customizable marketing assets for its FI customers at scale, without compromising regulatory disclosure requirements or brand control. 
  • “InvestiFi's customers, including financial institutions and credit unions, require on-brand content that's not only customizable but also fully compliant with industry standards. Sesimi addresses this by embedding locked disclosures and compliance language into dynamic templates, ensuring that every asset meets legal requirements without delaying go-to-market speed and eliminating the need for lengthy approval processes.”

 

• Socure (AI-platform for identity, compliance, and risk decisioning) announced they have acquired Qlarifi (real-time BNPL consumer credit database) creating a compliant risk-decisioning BNPL infrastructure platform that also helps to reduce fraud losses.  Nice!!!

 

• Organizers have filed applications to the OCC and FDIC to establish VALT Bank – a de novo digital bank focused on serving “digitally demanding small to midsized businesses” in the U.S. 👏

 

• Cross River Bank (FDIC 58410; total assets $8.1B) launches stablecoin payment infrastructure solution.  “Integrated directly with Cross River’s real-time core, COS, the offering unifies fiat and stablecoin flows through a single, interoperable system—enabling companies to move value across chains and traditional rails, leveraging bank-grade compliance.”

 

• Klarna launches KlarnaUSD stablecoin to cut costs of cross-border payments – partnering with Stripe (Bridge) and Paradigm on the Tempo payments blockchain.

 

• 🤷‍♂️ In the meantime….  The Federal Reserve Senior Financial Officer Survey Results (Sept 2025) shows a vastly different opinion to the development of digital asset-related products and services over the next three years (ref Part 4: Stablecoins and Digital Assets beginning on page 25) 🤔:
  • Only 8% of US banks surveyed view the issuance of tokenized deposits as a high priority
  • No (zero) US banks view the issuance of their own stablecoin as a high priority
  • Only 7% of US banks place a high priority on offering crypto custody or wallet services

 

• The Fed, FDIC, and OCC have proposed lowering the community bank leverage ratio (CBLR) requirement from 9% to 8%. It would also extend the grace period for community banks that opt into the framework and fall out of compliance to come back into compliance, from two quarters to four quarters.

 

• The Fed’s Nov Beige Book (last one of 2025 and just ahead of the FOMC meeting next week) paints a continuing difficult picture for the Fed with consumers feeling strained (declines in overall consumer spending and employment) while moderate price increases persist…  This will likely continue to divide FOMC participants in their dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment.

 

• Coinstar selects Lithic to power the new CINQ by Coinstar™ Debit Card (prepaid GPR issued by Lead Bank).

 

• Klarna launches Premium and Max memberships in the U.S. – a subscription plan that offers lounge access and premium perks without spending requirements for customers of the Klarna Card (debit card with built-in BNPL installment options issued by WebBank).
  • Per the release, “U.S. consumers who sign up for the Klarna Card can also opt into any of Klarna's four membership plans—Core ($4.99 /month), Plus ($9.99/month), Premium ($19.99 /month), or Max ($44.99 /month)—during the sign-up process.”

 

• 🤔 Hmm…  SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI; bank sub is SoFi Bank, N.A. – FDIC 26881, total assets $41.3B) is raising capital via an announced public offering of $1.5 billion of shares of its common stock.

 

• Wealthfront filed their Amended S-1 filing making public (had previously filed confidentially in June) they are targeting a valuation of $2.05B 💰 and will list on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker WLTH.

 

• The FDIC released their Quarterly Banking Profile report for 3Q2025.  Some key points:
  • Bank earnings are up due to lower provision expense (yes – even when you back out the large jump in provision expense last quarter related to the Capital One acquisition of Discover).
  • NIM continues to increase at 3.34% (community bank NIM increased to 3.73%) despite COF increasing 2bps even though the FOMC has been reducing rates (points towards continued deposit competition).
  • Unrealized losses on Securities continue to decrease although still way too high...
  • Asset Quality looks “generally” good with Past Due and Nonaccrual Rate (PDNA) at 1.49% - well below pre-pandemic average of 1.94%.  However, PDNA rates for non-owner-occupied CRE, multifamily CRE, auto, and credit card portfolios remain well above their pre-pandemic averages.
  • The number of banks on the FDIC’s “Problem Bank List” (banks with a composite CAMELS composite rating of “4” or “5”) declined by 2 in 3Q25 to 57 banks.
    • For comparison, the number of banks with a FedFis Rating© in the bottom 1% for 3Q25 is 65 with a rating of 3.86 or worse.  Call me!!! 📞🤠😉

 
And did someone mention instant payments???

• Sunflower Bank (FDIC 4767; total assets $8.5B) partners with VerityPay and enhances its suite of Treasury Management services by enabling its business customers to send payments directly to consumers via SMS text message in as little as 90 seconds, without requiring an app download. 

 

• Ferry expands its partnership with Highnote and becomes the first subscriber to implement Highnote Instant Payments enabling large restaurant groups to deliver access to automated, same-day payouts of tips and wages directly to employees.

 

• Aeropay (pay by bank) launches Instant Pay-Ins via Request for Payment (RfP) in collaboration with Cross River Bank and the RTP® network.  Allows businesses to collect consumer bank payments that settle in seconds, even when transactions occur outside of standard banking hours.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Kobalt Labs raised $11M in Series A funding round to enhance its AI-driven platform for automating risk and compliance processes for financial institutions.
  • Flex (banking app for high net worth business owners) raised $60M in Series B funding.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• This is my new favorite story of the year as I HAVE FOUND MY SPIRIT ANIMAL!!! 🤠 Apparently, a raccoon broke into a Virginia liquor store (scroll through the pics) and “went on a full-blown rampage, drinking everything” before passing out on the bathroom floor next to the toilet….  YES!!! 😄  Unfortunately, there isn’t any recorded video of the mayhem as he took out the security cameras when he fell through the ceiling tiles (which makes this even better), but the after pics are priceless – LOL!!!  In an interview, the animal control agency said, “After a few hours of sleep and zero signs of injury (other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices), he was safely released back to the wild, hopefully having learned that breaking and entering is not the answer.”
  • 🦝 Looks like Rocket has fallen on hard times since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3!!! 😂🤣
• And here we go – here are the Dad / Bad jokes:
  • Still adjusting from the time change as every night around 10:30pm I realize it’s only 6:00pm!!! 🥱
  • I am clearly addicted to eating Thanksgiving leftovers…  You can’t just quit cold turkey…  😉
  • Mariah Carey is opening her Christmas present.  Inside she finds a deed to an undeveloped plot of land that is zoned residential.  Disappointed, she sets the deed down and says…….  “I don’t want a lot for Christmas.” 🎵🎄🙄
  • Psst… Hey Santa - How much do you want for that Naughty List???  😲😅🎅

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!
 
Uncle Sean
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis