Happy Friday!!!
 
Don’t forget to sign up here to have the Uncle Sean Update and Fintech Cowboy’s interviews delivered straight to your inbox every week!  Hard to believe we are about to close out the first quarter of the year – but first….  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 3/28/25:
 

• Real quick economic update – this week the BEA Feb PCE Report came in pretty much benign and spot on with expectations with one exception where core PCE continues to be sticky at 2.8% YoY versus expectation of 2.7% (was 2.7% revised for Jan).
  • Tightening up??? 🤷‍♂️  Also note that personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 4.6% as consumer spending tightened slightly (versus estimate) while personal income came in significantly higher than estimates.  CNBC has a good summary as the words, “tariff, maybe, I don’t know, and uncertainty” dominate most of the major news outlets. 😝

 

• CSI announced that David Culbertson, current President and CEO, will transition from CEO to Vice Chair of the Board.
  • “David has been an incredible leader for CSI, and we are deeply grateful for his dedication, vision and contributions,” said Frank Martire, chair of the board of directors at CSI. “We are confident that David will continue to provide valuable guidance and support in his new role as vice chair.”
    • Indeed – congrats on an amazing 36 year career at CSI!!! 🍾🎉👏
      • Of course Uncle Sean checked out Mr. Culbertson’s LinkedIn profile (and I absolutely love ♥️ and respect this):
        • June 1989 (shortly after graduating from the University of Virginia with a BS in Computer Science) – “I began my career at CSI as a programmer. After a few years in that role, I was promoted to project manager and asked to lead the development team charged with converting new banks to our platform. In 1995, I was recruited by John Williams, the Chairman and CEO, to start the Internal Audit department. It was during those years with John that my interest in the overall business of CSI grew and my opportunity for personal growth was realized.”
        • Not much for job hopping, huh David? 🤠 Congrats!

 

• Fiserv (NYSE: FI) notches another big win.  This week, Republic Bank & Trust Company (FDIC 23627; total assets $6.8B) selects Fiserv DNA “to enhance the company’s banking system capabilities and drive operational efficiencies to realize their digital transformation goals.”

 

• Highnote also lands a big win this week as The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) to integrate Highnote’s advanced virtual card issuance capabilities with BNY’s B2B payments offering.

 

• Patriot National Bancorp (BHC for Patriot Bank, NA – FDIC 33928; total assets $1B) raised more than $50M in a private placement as a source of strength for the bank; and announced the CEO is stepping down.

 

• Revolut US CFO, Max Lapin, makes it abundantly clear, “Revolut wants to become a bank in the United States.”

 

• Chime adds Instant Loans – a three month installment loan of up to $500.  “Chime’s Instant Loans has no late fees or compound interest, just a fixed interest rate of $5 for every $100 borrowed, paid back in three monthly payments of $35.00 per $100 borrowed (29.76% annual percentage rate).“

 

• Robinhood (Nasdaq: HOOD) announced Robinhood Banking (coming Fall 2025 to Robinhood Gold members via Coastal Community Bank) featuring “private banking” type services such as:
  • High-yield Savings, international wires, estate planning, tax advice, travel and event perks, family banking, and more…
    • Oh – and In lieu of an ATM network, it appears (although details are limited at best) that Robinhood will deliver cash to your doorstep….  Hmmm – what could possibly go wrong? 🤠

 

• 👉 This is great!  In response to Robinhood Banking and the effort to democratize a true digital Private Banking experience, M1 has penned a welcome letter – “To Robinhood: Welcome to the good fight” (a must read, btw).
  • I may or may not have laughed so hard that coffee almost came out of my nose at this line, “Robinhood is a phenomenal company that offers an incredibly designed platform. However, like a health food company selling cigarettes, they prioritize items that are detrimental to their customer’s financial well-being.” (bold emphasis added by Uncle Sean).  LOL!!!!  Touché, M1! 😂

 

• Experian announced the launch of Cashflow Score using consumer-permissioned data.  Nice!!! 👏

 

• MANTL makes a couple of announcements this week (following the completion of its acquisition by Alkami):
  • Peoples Bank (FDIC 29523; total assets $2.1B) selects MANTL for its business and consumer deposit origination.
  • Soarion Credit Union (Charter 8169; total assets $614M) selects Consumer Deposit Origination by MANTL to transform online and in-branch account opening via MANTL’s integration with Soarion’s core, Jack Henry Symitar.

 

• IncredibleBank (FDIC 19772; total assets $2B) partners with Alloy to automate KYC, KYB, and fraud at originations at an enterprise level - significantly improving the bank’s digital onboarding process and overall operational efficiency.

 

• Shout out to Lumin Digital with a host of announcements!!!
  • 👍 Blue Federal Credit Union (charter 7361; total assets $2.1B) to launch Blue Business Banking for the CU’s business members.
  • 💥 Lumin Digital announced that clients have invested over $75M into the business adding to their $170M growth equity round in December, bringing an aggregate capital raise of over $2425M.
  • 👀 Also, ICYMI…  Huge congrats to Lumin Digital (per this LinkedIn post; and I personally love this story) as they have successfully gone live with First Bank of Berne (FDIC 9288, total assets $1.1B).  To my knowledge (and someone please correct me if I am wrong), I believe this is a first for Lumin Digital as they make the jump from a CU-platform to signing their first bank for digital; not to mention the fact that First Bank of Berne was a core strategic platform (i.e. same vendor for core, online, and mobile) – so not an easy win! 🚀

 

• 😊 Very happy to see that the NCUA has returned control of Valwood Park FCU to its members!!!  Previously conserved on Jan 20, 2023, “The recovery of Valwood Park reflects the extraordinary efforts of its leadership team, staff, and members,” NCUA Chairman Kyle S. Hauptman said. “Working in collaboration with the NCUA, the new management team saved the credit union from failure by enhancing controls and mitigating risks. Valwood Park is now in a stronger position to provide vital financial services and enhance the financial well-being of residents in Dallas’s Metrocrest communities.”
  • A virtual High Five to all involved as this was undoubtedly a lot of work!!!

 

• And more happy headlines 😊…  Recall the Heartland Tri-State Bank failure due to fraud (officer embezzlement precipitated by crypto pig butchering scheme) back in July 2023?  All depositors were made whole, but shareholders of the bank holding company were left high and dry.  Well, the FBI was able to recover nearly all of the shareholders' money!!!
  • Regarding the shareholders - "These were not Silicon Valley investors," Hemmert said. "These were regular people from southwest Kansas. And a lot of them had their net worth tied up in this bank." 
    • VERY NICE WORK!!!!! 👊

 

• Grazzy partners with U.S. Bank to offer a prepaid debit card program for hourly employees to easily access digital tips at the end of each shift.

 

• Alkami (Nasdaq: ALKT) has partnered with Greenlight enabling Alkami’s clients to offer Greenlight’s family finance app to their account holders.

 

• Bloom Credit has appointed Christa Degnan as Chief Product Officer and Tushar Mukhija as Head of Strategy and Partnerships, Credit Union Financial Services.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • EDGE Boost (financial platform for responsible gaming / sports betting) raised a massive $17.2M Seed funding round.
  • Mercury raised a $300M Series C round at a $3.5B valuation.
  • Abound (remittance flows to India) raised a huge $14M Seed round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• 🏀 March Madness continues to roll and we are about halfway through the Sweet 16 as of Friday afternoon!  Continued bracket watch here!
• And I would be remiss if I did not give a nod to ⚾ MLB Opening Day earlier this week!  Ahhh, springtime! 😊
• Okay – you made it 😊…  Here are the Dad / Bad Jokes to kick off the weekend:
  • Research shows that over the course of 18 years, it costs over $235,000 to raise a child – and that’s just for the alcohol! 🍷🍻
  • I know they didn’t ask for it, but I sent a stool sample in with my tax return… 😬😅
  • It’s important to get out of the house every once in a while to remind yourself why you don’t go out! 🙃
  • Imagine how loud a centipede would be if they wore tiny little flip flops!!! 🩴

 
 
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.
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
WOW – what a week to come back from vacation!  We celebrated the first day of spring 🌷, Saint Patrick’s Day 🍀, March Madness 🏀 – and the Update this week is PACKED!!!  So let’s get to it - here is the Uncle Sean Update for 3/21/25:
 

• It’s Fed Week!!!  🤔 Thoughts on a new drinking game – everyone take a shot each time you hear the words “uncertainty and/or tariff” during the FOMC press conference 🤠…  Feel free to scroll past this part as the punchline is no change in rates.
  • All kidding aside, the FOMC decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25% - 4.50% as forecast uncertainty rules the day; and will slightly reduce the pace of its balance sheet reduction (QT) beginning April 1 from $60B to $40B by reducing its holdings of Treasury securities by $5B (was $25B per month) and maintain the runoff of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities at $35B per month. More info below if you like to get your inner Fed-Freak on like me 😊:
    • Here is the Summary of Economic Projections (dot plot for us more “seasoned” folks – LOL).  Keep in mind that this is not policy, just median estimates based on today’s information.  Key points – still shows a median forecast of 2 rate cuts for 2025, slight uptick in inflation estimates and unemployment by YE, and downward revision of YE GDP from 2.1 to 1.7.
    • And here is Charman Powell’s Press Conference Transcript (26 pages); and here is the video (49:30).
      • Key points here - “uncertainty around the economic outlook has increased” but the labor market remains solid, the hard data does not reflect the soft data (morale and survey data) - yet, and that tariff inflation is likely transitory (there’s the T-word 😬).
      • Also note that the FOMC has been winding down its holdings since June 2022 (known as quantitative tightening, or QT) by allowing a combined amount of Treasuries and mortgage bonds to run off without being reinvested. It last lowered its QT in June 2024 to $60B from $95B.  Since 2022, the central bank has reduced its balance sheet by about $2T (source: https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/bst_recenttrends.htm).

 
ICYMI 👀 – here are a few of the bigger headlines from last week while I was away:
 

• 👉 Shoutout to Smiley for their newest win as BankTennessee (FDIC 29177; total assets $614M) selects Smiley Technologies as its core banking provider.  Nice!!! 😊

 

• 🤠 High five to our friends over at Legend Bank (FDIC 3108; total assets $1.1B) as they announce their partnership with Fufild, an app-based employer sponsored rewards and retention platform for their employees, to provide embedded payment orchestration and ledgering capabilities for Fufild. 🚀

 

• Catalyst (payment solutions for Credit Unions) partners with Neural Payments to enhance P2P enabling in-app payments from any member to virtually any person or business “by seamlessly working across a host of payment rails while enabling users to send funds to many leading payment apps and digital accounts.”  💥

 

• Green Dot (NYSE: GDOT; FDIC 22653; total assets $4.6B) announced that George Gresham ceased serving as CEO and President of Green Dot and Green Dot Bank and as a member of Green Dot’s Board of Directors, effective as of March 7, 2025.  Additionally, Green Dot has retained Citi to initiate a process “to explore potential strategic alternatives” for the company going forward.  Banking Dive has a good summary article.

 
And now back to this week’s headlines:
 

• Long awaited and much anticipated - Klarna (BNPL) finally files for IPO (NYSE: KLAR). Here is the actual F-1 SEC filing with full financial statements.
  • And the Klarna PR machine goes on a roll with new partnership announcements:
    • Klarna announced they will now be the exclusive provider of BNPL loans for Walmart under Walmart’s OnePay fintech program (fka One).  WOW – that;s a big win!!!
    • Klarna also announced a BNPL partnership with DoorDash – although I have to admit that I’m not sure how much I support the idea of installment payments for online food ordering and delivery… 🤷‍♂️  But hey – a win is a win!

 

• Some interesting M&A headlines lately:
  • We have our first fintech acquisition of a bank in several years!  SmartBiz acquires CenTrust Bank, N.A. (FDIC 58158; total assets $148M) and receives regulatory approval to become a bank and bank holding company.  Banking Dive has a good summary.
  • A foreign bank (UK) acquisition of a bank…  OakNorth (chartered UK bank) to acquire Community Unity Bank (FDIC 59305; total assets $64M).  Interesting note that Community Unity Bank is still in De Novo status as it was launched in June 2023.
  • And a CU acquisition of a bank -  NuMark Credit Union (charter 61447; total assets $851M) to acquire The Lemont Bank (FDIC 3693; total assets $52M).
  • But wait – there’s more!!  Another CU acquisition of a bank - Legacy Community Federal Credit Union (charter 24421; total assets $643M) to acquire First Community Bank of Cullman (FDIC 30166; total assets $104M)
    • If you are keeping score…  This is only the 3rd announced CU acquisition of a bank thus far for 2025, but the 2nd so far in March.  This compares to 22 for 2024, 11 in 2023, 16 in 2022, 13 in 2021, 7 in 2020, and 16 in 2019.  Source: FedFis Bank M&A data.

 

• Fort Community Credit Union (charter 67184; total assets $384M) selects Lumin Digital as its new cloud-native digital banking provider.

 

• Capital Credit Union (charter 61637; total assets $815M) upgrades its core banking system to Jack Henry Symitar.

 

• Magnolia Bank (FDIC 8120; total assets $480M) partners with Narmi to offer digital account opening for consumers and businesses.

 

• Rosedale Federal Savings and Loan Association (FDIC 29613; total assets $1.3B) partners with CorServ to implement a modern credit card issuing program for their business and consumers – upgrading from their existing third-party Agent Bank issuing program.

 

• 🚀 LoanPro continues to expand by partnering with NovoPayment (next gen financial infrastructure provider) to give FI’s and fintech companies across Latin America access to an integrated, end-to-end infrastructure that can support virtually any class of credit and lending product by integrating NovoPayment's API-based issuing processing with LoanPro's credit ledger and solutions for origination, servicing, and collections.
  • Rhett Roberts, Co-founder and CEO of LoanPro, stated “By bringing LoanPro's lending technology into NovoPayment's ecosystem in Latin America, we're giving financial institutions and fintechs the tools they need to offer credit with confidence and compliance at the core."

 

• 👍 AffiniPay (embedded finance in a legal practice management software platform) announced the early access launch of launch of MyCase Smart Spend integrated with the LawPay Visa Business Credit Card (issued by Emprise Bank and [powered by Marqeta).

 

• Meanwhile, Grasshopper Bank (FDIC 59113; total assets $867M) bulks up with strategic hires in its lending team to drive growth and enhance its financing solutions.

 

• Mercury adds Coastal Community Bank (FDIC 34403; total assets $4.1B) as a new partner bank as Evolve Bank & Trust continues to lose marquee fintech clients (Evolve lost Dave to Coastal earlier this month).

 

• 👀 Nymbus continues to do some interesting things in the Direct Digital Bank space (particularly with CU’s)….  Check out Pillur (https://pillur.org/) which is Michigan State University FCU (MSUFCU; charter 23279; total assets $8B) new direct digital bank brand targeting digital banking for SMB’s.
  • Note that MSUFCU already has 2 other Direct Digital Bank Brands:
    • Collegiate - https://collegiatecu.org/
    • AlumniFi - https://alumnifi.org/

 

• Luminate Bank (FDIC 16635; total assets $336M) selects MANTL for online and in-branch account opening to enhance its deposit onboarding experience for businesses and consumers.

 

• Verizon (NYSE: VZ) jumps back into the fintech world by announcing a partnership with OpenBank (the direct digital bank division of Santander Bank,N.A. - FDIC 29950; total assets $103B) to launch digital high-yield savings accounts for Verizon’s mobile and 5G Home customers.
  • Memory lane moment…  Remember Verizon Family Money a few years ago – the Prepaid GPR issued by Metropolitan Commercial Bank???

 

• Wyndham Hotels and Resorts launched the Windham Rewards Debit Card powered by Galileo and issued by Sunrise Banks N.A.  This “first of its kind offering from a major hospitality brand in the U.S.” is designed for younger travelers as well as those who prefer a debt-free lifestyle. 
  • “The Wyndham Rewards Debit Card makes it easy to earn Wyndham Rewards points on day-to-day transactions, from gas and groceries, to dining, retail and more. Points can be redeemed for a wide-range of rewards—including free nights at more than 60,000 hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally—while other cardholder perks include complimentary Wyndham Rewards Gold level membership, hotel booking discounts, a rich annual point bonus and more.”
    • More info on Galileo co-branded debit rewards programs can be found here at Galileo blog.

 

• Notable FinTech funding:
  • Zolve (neo-immigrant bank) raised $251M in Capital including a $51M Series B round plus $200M in debt.
  • Synctera (BaaS platform) raised $15M Series A extension with hopes to get “to breakeven” by early 2026.  Total funding to-date since its inception on 2020 is $94M.
  • Tomo Mortgage (AI-powered digital mortgage lender) raised $20M in Series B round.
  • Worth (onboarding and underwriting for SMBs applying for credit-based products, loans, or financing) raised a whopping $20M Seed round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Vacation week visiting our kids was a blast!  So much so that I’m ready to take another week off right now – LOL!!!  We spent several days down in the peaceful Spicewood / Marble Falls area of the Texas Hill Country visiting Marshall and Nicole (and their dogs Wyatt and Lola); and Miss Claire came up from San Marcos to spend several days with us.  The weather the entire time was nothing short of spectacular!  It was a very relaxing trip with lots of laughs while we fed the deer and enjoyed good food.  We cooked smoked salmon, grilled up some venison burgers, had some oven baked chicken and cheesy broccoli, and even had boiled Cajun shrimp and crawfish from the good folks at the Marble Falls HEB grocery store (check out HEB’s debit card and mobile banking app).  And by the way – Aunt Patty and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary that Wednesday! 🎉🍾  The last leg of our trip found us back up in far east Texas rambling around the Caddo Lake area (absolutely beautiful).  We had lunch at Shady Glade Café in Uncertain, TX (yep – actual name of the town) where Aunt Patty had the chicken fried steak and I had the fried catfish – both of which were amazing!  We spent the rest of that Friday exploring and hiking the trails of Caddo Lake State Park and Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge (which used to be an Army ammunition plant).  Wrapping up the weekend we were able to spend some down time with Parker and Christian and finished up Sunday with pan seared beef pinwheels – yeah, we like to eat!!! 😊 One thing is for sure – fellowship, food, and belly laughs with your adult children is one of the greatest gifts in this world! ♥️
• I have no idea why this popped in my head, but does anyone else remember those crochet toilet paper roll covers from the 70’s and early 80’s that you would find in the bathroom at your Grandma’s house – especially the ones with the little doll head on top???  I always found those to be just a little bit on the creepy side! 😬🤣
• Alright!!!! Let’s get to some Dad / Bad Jokes to close this week out:
  • I don’t have any bad habits…  I’m actually quite good at all of them! 😂🤣
  • To my high school guidance counselor that said I would never amount to anything because of my consistent procrastination….  Just you wait!!! 🤠
  • I recently went on two diets because there wasn’t enough food on just the one! 😋🙃
  • And one of my favorite Saint Paddy’s day jokes…  Leprechauns are just Santa’s elves that got kicked out of the north pole for drinking on the 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.
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
Uncle Sean is taking next week off for some much needed vacation & family time 🌴🍺🍹,  so unfortunately there will not be an Update published next week 🥺…  But first - here is the Uncle Sean Update for 3/7/25:
 

• In somewhat of a mixed bag of results, the BLS Feb Jobs Report came in at +155K jobs added lower than expectations (anywhere from 160K – 170K) but higher than last month (Jan was revised down 18K from 143K to 125K while Dec was revised up by 16K to 323K - you can see the revisions detail and history here).  Unemployment ticked up slightly to 4.1% (4% expected; 4% previously); and  average hourly earnings YoY came in at 4% (+4.2% expected; +4.1% previously) – still outpacing inflation.
  • The next few months should prove to be interesting as we see how fiscal policy begins to impact macroeconomic data and the yield curve; and how monetary policy from the FOMC reacts (if at all – at least in the near term).
    • Next FOMC meeting is March 18-19 and includes the SEP / dot plot projections.

 

• 👉 Shout out to Ponce Bank (FDIC 31189; total assets $3B) for their recently launched PonceBankDirect (direct digital bank); and I couldn’t help but notice the “© Copyright 1999-2025 Data Center, Inc.” at the login page.  Congrats to my friends at DCI – that’s a nice win with a $3B bank!  The incumbent core vendor (which is not DCI) has a strategic position with Ponce encompassing core, online, and mobile (source: FedFis) – further highlighting that DCI’s “Digital Branch and Side-Core” solution is completely core agnostic with no third-party middleware involvement. 🚀  I’m sure that everyone knows by now that Uncle Sean loves the direct digital bank model – very nice!!! 👏

 

• Dave (Nasdaq: DAVE) announced a new sponsor bank partnership with Coastal Community Bank (FDIC 34403; total assets $4.1B) and the bank’s CCBX BaaS division.  This Banking Dive article states that Dave currently relies on embattled Evolve Bank & Trust as its sole banking partner; and recognizes the benefits / risk mitigation of having more than one banking partner as a vendor diversification strategy.  However – the article also cites Bloomberg as stating Dave ultimately intends to drop Evolve as their banking partner.

 

• Green Dot (NYSE: GDOT; BHC for Green Dot Bank – FDIC 22653; total assets $4.6B) and Marqeta (Nasdaq: MQ) announced a new agreement enabling Marqeta to provide customers with convenient and affordable cash services via Green Dot’s money movement network (Green Dot Network powered by Arc) consisting of more than 95,000 locations nationwide.

 

• Socure (AI-driven digital identity) announced the launch of its Identity Manipulation Risk Score “designed to stop repeat first-party fraud abusers from exploiting the digital economy at scale.”

 

• Synovus Bank (FDIC 873; total assets $60B) further prioritizes fraud protection by partnering with Carefull to help Synovus account holders prevent fraud, scams and detect money mistakes – particularly for our aging adult population.  Uncle Sean loves this! ♥️
  • Per the PR – “By offering Carefull in a phased approach as a complimentary benefit to its clients, Synovus ensures that consumer-led, proactive fraud prevention is built more deeply into the everyday banking experience. The Carefull service includes oversight of bank, credit card and investment accounts for concerning patterns, signs of fraud, scams and common money mistakes. Carefull also provides identity and home title monitoring, credit monitoring and a secure digital vault for storing critical documents and passwords.”

 

• 👀 ICYMI…  The FDIC approved to rescind the 2024 Statement of Policy on Bank Merger Transactions; and also approved the withdrawal of outstanding proposed rules, including:
  • The brokered deposits proposal (YAY!!!!) which “would have significantly disrupted many aspects of the deposit landscape,” as well as proposals related to corporate governance, Change in Bank Control Act, and incentive-based compensation arrangements (which was previously approved but never published in the Federal Register).

 

• WSFS Bank (FDIC 17838; total assets $20.2B) partners with Greenlight through their “Greenlight for Banks” offering.  WSFS Bank clients will have complimentary access to Greenlight’s award-winning family finance app, enhancing financial literacy for kids and teens. 👍

 

• Finastra partners with i2C to enable Finastra’s bank and credit union clients to offer debit card issuance and digital wallet solutions to their customers via API connectivity between i2C’s card processing suite and Finastra Phoenix core solution.

 

• Vantage Bank Texas (FDIC 3405; total assets $4.6B) selects SRA Watchtower to consolidate the bank’s enterprise risk management program into a comprehensive BI platform for risk and financial insights “capable of consolidating data from diverse sources and enabling seamless monitoring of our enterprise risk profile.”

 

• One Nevada Credit Union (charter 68613; total assets $1.4B) selects Swaystack to gamify member onboarding and personalize engagement through integration with the CU’s existing Q2 digital banking platform.

 

• Arizona Financial Credit Union (charter 68730; total assets $3.4B) launches BNPL with equipifi that includes “both a pre-purchase feature that gives members access to extra funds prior to shopping, and a post purchase feature that converts eligible debit card transactions into installment loans.”  Nice! 😊

 

• American Eagle Financial Credit Union (charter 68659; total assets $2.6B) selects Alkami's Digital Banking Platform to enhance the CU’s digital-first strategy.

 

• COCC partners with Glia empowering COCC’s community bank and credit union clients to provide Glia’s ChannelLess® Architecture  platform bridging AI and customer service to deliver personalized customer interactions at scale within a single omnichannel platform.

 

• Aeropay (online payments including Pay-by-Bank) adds Regent Bank (FDIC 4160; total assets $1.7B) to its growing ecosystem of banking providers.  Services provided through the Areopay-Regent Bank partnership include ACH, RTP, and FedNow payment services.

 

• American Express (NYSE: AXP) announced an agreement to acquire Center, a corporate card and expense management platform.

 

• Some personnel moves:
  • BalancedTrust appoints Tina Giorgio as Head of Operations.
  • equipifi announced that former Congressman Patrick McHenry has joined as a Senior Advisor.
  • Lenders Cooperative named Christopher McClinton as President and Chief Revenue Officer.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Flex (platform for small to mid-market business owners to manage both their personal and business finances) raised $25M in equity funding at a $250M valuation as well as a $200M credit facility as it expects to grow revenue by 5x in 2025.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Don’t forget to spring those clocks forward as Daylight Savings Time officially begins this weekend! ⏰
• In a sign of the times, Monopoly goes digital in a new version where the Banker is replaced by a mobile banking app.  Don’t worry – you can still get the old paper money version if you so choose.
• We made it – its time for the Dad / Bad Jokes to kick off the weekend (and my vacation):
  • When you speak two languages but begin to lose vocabulary in both – that’s byelingual. 😊
  • If prisoners took their own mugshots, they’d be cellfies…
  • And of course some Uncle Sean fitness / health pointers:
    • I want abs… olutely all the tacos!!! 🌮😋
    • If you lick all the icing off of the cupcake, it becomes a muffin – and muffins aren’t as bad for you as cupcakes! 🧁
    • I haven’t exercised in so long that my Fitbit just sent me a friend request…
  • And last but certainly not least….  Tomorrow is not promised, so call your siblings today and tell them they’re ugly! 🤠♥️

 
 
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.
 

​Happy Friday!!!
 
Good news – this update comes to you without any political commentary (which seems to have completely taken over almost all outlets lately) 😬.  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 2/28/25:
 

• The BEA reported the January PCE Price Index at 2.5% (down from 2.6% in Dec) with Core PCE coming in at 2.6% (down from 2.8% in Dec) - both in line with Dow Jones estimates.  CNBC has a pretty good summary.
  • Meanwhile the second estimate of 4Q24 GDP came in at 2.3% (exactly the same as the early advanced estimate).
    • Worth noting that the US 10YR Treasury yield has come down substantially to 4.223% as of 2/27 close – down from YE close of 4.573% (about 8%); and down from Jan 13 high close of 4.788 (about 13%).  WOW! 😲

 

• The FDIC released their Fourth Quarter 2024 Quarterly Banking Profile report.  I will leave it to you to dig into the details if you want…  But here are two main takeaways (you already know the financial details if you joined our BHB Inside the Numbers quarterly review – there’s that nice plug 😊):
  • Bank earnings are strong as COF decreased and NIM increased with no real asset quality issues aside from continued weakness (nothing new - and starting to get better) in loan performance of non-owner occupied CRE specifically at banks with assets greater than $250B.
  • Acting Chairman Travis Hill stated the FDIC will no longer disclose total assets as part of the Problem Bank List stating that “changes in the industry over the past 35 years have made it comparatively easier to identify a large bank that is added to the list, resulting in a number of potentially negative consequences…”
    • Not that anyone asked me (LOL), but I get it – and I agree.  HOWEVER…  If you need direct visibility into individual bank ratings and full financials (many people do), contact myself or Bobby Button regarding our FedFis Rating© and quarterly reports.
      • For clarity (and a little bit of bragging too 😊), the FDIC is currently tracking 66 banks on the Problem Bank list whereas at FedFis we are tracking 67 banks in the bottom 1% based on our 4Q2024 quarterly FedFis Rating©. 💥

 

• 👉 Shout out to FinGoal for being elected to a three-year term on the board of the Financial Data Exchange (FDX) representing “Smaller Third-Party Data Recipients” further solidifying FinGoal as experts in the open banking space. 🏆
  • Recall back in January where the CFPB approved FDX as the standard setting body for open banking (i.e. 1033) for an initial period of five years.

 

• DolFinTech (money transmitter) announced a new partnership with Green Dot (NYSE: GDOT; FDIC 22653; total assets $4.6B) to offer deposit accounts powered by Green Dot’s embedded finance platform, Arc by Green Dot.

 

• 👍 COCC lands another deal this week as Eagle Bank (FDIC 90191; total assets $630M) selects COCC as its core technology provider.

 

• 👀 This is the third week in a row that MANTL makes headlines – but this week is a bit of a different story as Alkami (Nasdaq: ALKT) has announced an agreement to acquire MANTL in a deal valued at $400M.

 

• Truework (verification of income (VOI) and employment (VOE platform) and Blend Labs (digital origination) have partnered together to bring intelligent VOI / VOE directly into Blend’s suite of consumer banking and home lending products.

 

• i2C has signed on to be one of the first issuer processors for the Mastercard One Credential, empowering consumers to select their payment option, “which may include prepaid, debit, credit, and installments, through a seamless digital experience.”

 

• Treasury Prime notched a big win this week with the announcement that KeyBank (Nasdaq: KEY; FDIC 17534; total assets $184.5B) has partnered with Treasury Prime to enhance the bank’s innovative financial tech solutions to leading software and fintech companies.
  • Banking Dive has a good article with additional detail including:
    • “The partnership targets fintechs, embedded banking clients, and corporate and institutional clients who might need a secondary bank partner but do not have the technical build on that front,” said Jeff Nowicki, chief banking officer at Treasury Prime. 
    • “Treasury Prime’s real-time data is synced into KeyBank’s system. Thus, clients can review transactions and see trends in real time, which is crucial for KeyBank and other lenders within the fintech’s network.”

 

• The Federal Reserve announced it is increasing the "send" transaction limits for FedNow real-time payments from $500K to $1M this summer; as well as customizable “risk parameters across customer segments, from established businesses to retail clients.”

 

• Some Personnel moves:
  • Yendo announced the appointment of Thibault Fulconis as its new Chief Financial Officer.
  • Kotapay (BaaS / Embedded Payments subsidiary of First International Bank & Trust) named Heather Schumacher as Head of Cards and BaaS Operations.
  • Dwolla names Daniel Quezada as Chief Financial Officer.
  • Marqeta has appointed Mike Milotich as Interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately; and has initiated a search process to identify Marqeta’s next CEO.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Opal (credit card and spend management platform for Ad agencies) raised $1.5M in pre-seed funding.
  • Taktile (AI-driven risk management insights and real-time data) raised $54M in Series B funding round to “continue empowering teams at fintech companies and financial institutions to optimize their risk management strategies across the entire customer lifecycle.”
  • Shiboleth (AI-based regulatory compliance solutions for banks and fintech programs) raised $1.5M in seed funding.  Per the article, Shiboleth said that it is live with customers and “experiencing high demand” for proofs displaying compliance tech from financial firms and Fintechs.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• As we close out February, I am particularly excited about Spring being right around the corner! 🌷🌞  Turn off your TV for a few days and go outside and play!!! 🤠
• 42 years ago today, many of us still in our youth, we collectively watched the final goodbye episode of M*A*S*H – a staggering 77% share (percent of active TV’s tuned in)…  I vividly remember spending summers in the 70’s with my grandparents in Oklahoma and trying to stay up late after the news to watch M*A*S*H reruns – it was certainly a daily staple in my grandparents’ house during that time; and a lasting favorite memory of my childhood involving family, togetherness, humor, and national pride.  😊♥️
• Alright – let’s crank out some Dad / Bad Jokes and get this weekend going!
  • Still reminiscing…  The song “Jessie’s Girl” was released 45 years ago (WHAT?!?!)…  So if she’s still watching him with those eyes – she’s got readers on.  I just know it! 👓🎸😂🤘
  • Relationship 101….  The phrase “don’t take this the wrong way” has a 0% success rate with your significant other… 😅😬
  • Not saying I’m old, but….  I thought Ariana Grande was a font setting…. 🙃
  • 🤔 If pigs really could fly, I bet their wings would be delicious!!!! 🐷🤠

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend, please stay safe – and don’t forget to go outside and play!!!
 
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.
 

​Happy Friday!!!
 
It was a relatively light week due to the Presidents’ Day federal holiday, but some key announcements nonetheless – so let’s jump right in!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 2/21/25:
 

• Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB) is at it again!  This week, BHB welcomes Carta as a New "Friends of BHB" Sponsor offering community banks fresh pathways to streamline equity management and ownership structures. 🚀
  • “Carta, known for its advanced platforms that manage cap tables, valuations, and equity plans for startups, brings their services directly to community banks. By bringing Carta into the Friends of BHB fold, community banks gain access to solutions that simplify and secure equity-related activities, paving the way for seamless collaborations with emerging entrepreneurs and local businesses.”  NICE!!! 😊  You can check out Carta’s equity and fund management platforms at carta.com.

 

• 💥 Fiserv (NYSE: FI) scores a big win as Third Federal Savings and Loan Association of Cleveland (FDIC 30012; total assets $17B) selects Fiserv DNA core platform to support the financial institution’s long-term growth objectives.

 

• Regions Bank (FDIC 12368; total assets $156B) announced Regions Embedded ERP Finance, powered by Koxa’s treasury open banking platform, allowing treasury clients to seamlessly connect financial data from their Regions bank account to their own enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

 

• Lili (fintech platform for small businesses) announced the launch of international wire payments to 27 countries, “empowering small business owners to grow beyond borders.” 👍

 

• Very interesting…  Galileo has launched a new program enabling brands to offer co-brand debit rewards cards - enabling brands to offer debit users access to rewards typically reserved for credit card holders.  “While co-brand credit rewards programs are common, debit users have largely been left out—until now.”
  • “The program will initially focus on the hospitality and travel sectors, leveraging Galileo’s proven capabilities in powering financial solutions for global brands. By enabling airlines, hotels, and other brands to quickly offer loyalty-driven debit cards, Galileo helps boost customer engagement and drive increased spend.”

 

• 👀 The Bank of Brodhead (FDIC 2455, total assets $340M) has launched a new direct digital bank called Vault.Bank in partnership with Linker Finance with direct integrations to Fiserv Premier.  Uncle Sean loves the direct digital bank model!!! 😊
  • “Linker Finance's Unified API with real-time two-way integration to the Fiserv Premier Core and over 30 deep integrations spanning from card issuance, automated  KYC/KYB, intelligent fraud detection, treasury and spend management, message automation, analytics, and beyond.”
    • 👉 Check it out at vault.bank.

 

• The Freedom Bank of Virginia (FDIC 57184; total assets $1.1B) has converted its online and mobile banking platforms to the Apiture Digital Banking Platform; and is also taking advantage of Apiture’s Digital Account Opening solution, “enabling customers to open and fund accounts online in minutes.”

 

• Varo Bank (FDIC 59190; total assets $448M) is seeking to raise $55M in Series G after raising a total of $1B, but has only closed on $29M so far.  This comes as Colin Walsh steps down as Varo Bank CEO, handing the reigns over to Gavin Michael, who previously served as CEO of digital asset platform Bakkt until March last year.

 

• Stellantis (the automotive company) applies for FDIC insurance as of 2/11/25 as Stellantis Bank USA (actual application is not available yet, but additional verification can be found here) and has previously applied for Utah ILC Charter on 4/5/24 (still pending).
  • Recall earlier this month where GM reapplied for Utah ILC charter (GM Financial Bank). 

 

• Utah Community Credit Union (charter 10709; total assets $3.2B) joins the NCR Atleos Allpoint Network with over 40,000 ATMs.

 

• Athol Credit Union (charter 66819; total assets $95M) selects COCC as new core technology provider.

 

• MANTL is making headlines again this week. 
  • Four credit unions have partnered with MANTL for its Loan Origination development partner program for “early access to the unified loan and deposit origination platform and have the opportunity to inform key development decisions.”
  • My Community Credit Union (charter 68682; total assets $500M) partners with MANTL for account opening as the CU continues its expansion in the Collin County area (one of the fastest growing counties in Texas and the Nation).

 

• The OCC published formal agreement with Patriot Bank, National Association (FDIC 33928; total assets $1B) citing BSA/AML as well as credit and liquidity risk.
  • Note that Patriot Bank had already disclosed this OCC agreement in an 8K filing back on January 14, 2025.
  • Also recall where Patriot had filed an 8K on December 20, 2024 stating they were evaluating strategic initiatives including capital raise, strategic partnership, sale, and/or merger and acquisition interest; and had engaged Performance Trust Capital Partners.

 

• And a couple of quick regulatory updates:
  • Delayed again…  The Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS) has reschedule the Fedwire Funds Service ISO 20022 implementation date from March 10 to July 14, 2025 to provide “customers and vendors who are not ready additional time to better prepare for the transition to the new ISO 20022 format.”
    • “The Fedwire Funds Service will remain on the current message format (i.e., Fedwire Application Interface Manual (FAIM) 3.0.7 format) until July 14. FRFS will announce its final “go” or “no go” decision for July 14 no later than June 27.”
  • It’s back!  FinCEN’s beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) are once again back in effect with an implementation deadline for most companies of March 21, 2025.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • SRA Watchtower raised $4M in new capital following last weeks announced acquisition of Lumio Insight.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• If anyone sees that ole groundhog, let me know – I’d like to have a word with him about this weather!!! 🥶  I am definitely ready for springtime!!!!

• It’s been a rough week, so were just going to jump right to it and get this weekend started with some Dad / Bad Jokes:
  • The best place to shop for sports uniforms is….  New Jersey! 😄
  • If you have a parrot and you don’t teach it to say “Help – they’ve turned me into a parrot”, you are clearly wasting everyone’s time… 😅🦜
  • I called five different Florists and not a single one knew anything about carpet or tile…. 😂
  • Velociraptor = Distanceraptor / Timeraptor… 🦖🤓
  • I’m getting better at origami….  You could say my skill is in creasing…. 🤠🙃

 
 
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.
 

​Happy Friday & Happy Valentine’s Day 💝💘!!!
 
Don’t forget to sign up here to have the Uncle Sean Update delivered straight to your inbox every week – all the cool kids are doing it!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 2/14/25:
 

• Bankers Helping Bankers is at it again!!!  This week the BHB Fund announced a strategic investment in equipifi, an innovative bank technology vendor equipping banks and credit unions with BNPL solutions in their existing digital platform.  If you have been following the Uncle Sean Update, you know they have been on a roll – check them out at equipifi.com (I love the integration page). 🤙

 

• Congratulations to Northpointe Bancshares, Inc. (FR 2737814; consolidated total assets $5.4B) for their successful IPO today (NYSE: NPB)! 🙌🎉

 

• 🤷‍♂️ Well, January CPI data came in a little bit on the warm side at 3.0% YoY (expectation was 2.9%; last month actual was 2.9%) and 0.5% for the month (expectation was 0.3%; last month actual was 0.4%), Core CPI also came in a little high at 3.3% (expectation was 3.1%; last month actual was 3.2%).  CNBC has a pretty good summary.
  • Looking ahead, the PCE price index (the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation) next release is Feb 28, 2025.  The FOMC meets again on March 18 - 19.

 

• 👀 A couple of BNPL announcements with some industry heavyweights (but in fundamentally different ways):
  • FIS partners with Affirm to offer BNPL.  FIS debit processing bank clients will be able to integrate Affirm’s pay-over-time solution directly into their existing debit card program via digital banking and mobile app platforms.
  • Klarna announced an agreement with J.P. Morgan Payments making Klarna’s BNPL payment option available to businesses that use JPMorgan Payments for payment processing.

 

• Vantage Bank Texas (FDIC 3405; total assets $4.6B) selects Finzly to “modernize and  consolidate its payment processing infrastructure using Finzly's end-to-end payment hub” enhancing its capabilities in instant payments, Fedwire, and FX.
  • Uncle Sean is keeping an eye on Vantage Bank as they continue to build out their infrastructure for embedded finance solutions… Love it!!! 😊

 

• nCino (Nasdaq: NCNO) announced the acquisition of Sandbox Banking, a digital transformation leader serving the financial services industry, for $52.5M in cash with an additional $10M performance incentive.

 

• 👉 SRA Watchtower announced the acquisition of Lumio Insight, a cloud-based data management and analytics provider, further enhancing the Watchtower risk management platform for banks and credit unions – particularly community FI’s.  Very nice!!!! 🚀
  • “Lumio Insight’s cloud-based platform automates the ingestion of critical data from more than two dozen core, general ledger, BSA, and other financial and risk systems into a single data warehouse for improved access and deeper business intelligence.”

 

• Another payments flex 💪 - Zelle® announced they shattered records for 2024 with consumers and small businesses sending over $1 Trillion (yes, Trillion with a T) in payments, an increase of 27% over 2023; and “the most money ever sent by a person-to-person payments service in a single year.”  WOWZA!!!! 💰💰💰
  • Transaction volume totaled 3.6 billion, a 25% increase from the prior year; and the network also reached 151 million enrolled users. 😲

 

• OMB Bank (FDCI 8252; total assets $1.8B) partners with Cable to strengthen compliance and risk management for its direct customers via Cable’s Risk Assessment and Automated Compliance Testing; and later extending to the banks fintech programs through OMB’s embedded finance division, OMBX.

 

• Canopy Servicing (commercial loan servicing) and Moov (modern payment processing infrastructure) have joined forces to launch Canopy Repay, “an integrated solution streamlining loan repayment operations for banks, non-bank lenders, and credit unions.”  Canopy Repay will be available to Canopy's client base of commercial lenders in June.

 

• Peoples National Bank, N.A. (FDIC 3809; total assets $1.9B) partners with Narmi for business and consumer digital account opening solutions.

 

• 😊 This is pretty cool…  Fruitful (membership based financial wellness, advisory, and banking app) announced the launch of Fruitful Cash Account and Fruitful Card currently sporting a 5.00% APY deposit account with the flexibility of a traditional checking account (with paid membership) and up to 2% cash back (with qualifying direct deposit) rewards on the Fruitful Card purchases. 💥
  • The model works well with the two products paired together – The Card is actually a secured charge card CC, that works like a cash back debit card, secured by a high-yield deposit account.  “Every purchase made with the Fruitful Card is reflected in the member’s available balance. Funds are set aside in the Cash account to cover each transaction, and the total balance can be paid off automatically in full each month, with no interest charges and carry-over balances.” 

 

• Azura Credit Union (charter 61823; total assets $830M) selects Jack Henry Symitar open platform to power the CU’s technology infrastructure.
  • Warning - Shameless plug time!!!!  Want to know who the incumbent core vendor was here???  Contact our own Bobby Button – yep, at FedFis we have bank AND credit union vendor data for all US institutions. 😊

 

• Merck Employees Federal Credit Union (charter 1454; total assets $1.9B) partners with Carefull to protect the CU members from elder fraud, scams, and money mistakes. 👍

 

• The Union Bank Company (FDIC 12969; total assets $1.2B) selects Candescent's Digital Banking platform for consumer and business customers.  Nice win considering the incumbent legacy vendor had a strategic relationship (i.e. same vendor for core, online, and mobile) – it’s tough to crack that model from an outside vendor perspective!!!

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Crowded (embedded finance for nonprofit’s) raised $7.5M in Series A funding round.
  • Sardine (AI risk platform for fraud, compliance, and credit underwriting) raised $70M in Series C round.
  • Zeta (bank tech provider) picks up $50M in capital at a $2B valuation in what looks to be a Series D round.
  • Era (AI-powered financial intelligence platform for personal wealth management) raised $6.2M seed funding.

 

• Some personnel moves:
  • Kasasa announced the return of Dave Prost as the organization's new Chief Sales Officer.
  • DailyPay continues to expand their executive leadership team by naming Deepa Subramanian as Chief Financial Officer while Ken Brause moves from CFO to Chief Administrative Officer.
    • Keeping in mind that DailyPay recently named Ryan Mang as Chief Commercial Officer and Nelson Chai as Executive Chair.
  • Zest AI appoints Esther Kahng as Head of Public Policy and Chief of Staff.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Apptronik (developer of humanoid robots) recently announced a $350M Series A funding round – HOLY SMOKES that’s a huge Series A!!!  But take one look at Apollo, their commercially available humanoid robot, and it makes sense.  That’s pretty cool! 🤖  I hope they become affordable because I want one!!!!
• Aunt Patty and I had the pleasure of spending last Saturday exploring Martin Creek Lake State Park here in East Texas - 100% recommend it!  Miles of beautiful walking trails through the piney woods, amazing views of Martin Creek Lake, and super friendly staff.  What a great way to spend a Saturday!!!  Side note – can we bring back those 80 degree temps from last week, please?!?!?!
• Oh yeah - Here are the Dad / Bad Jokes to kick off the weekend:
  • If you make a typo on a headstone, it’s a grave mistake… 🪦😉
  • When that package shows up on your porch and you don’t remember ordering anything – that’s Amazonesia. 🤔
    • Although Aunt Patty says discovering unexpected packages on your porch is like Christmas all year long!  In my experience, excessive alcohol intake sometimes produces the same result…  PSA - Don’t drink and Amazon!  🙃🍷
  • I told my doctor I have a problem with my left ear…  Dr - “Are you sure?”  Me – “Yeah, I’m definite…” 😅
  • Speaking of doctors…  I finally saw my doctor today and showed him the rash on my butt.  For some reason he just ignored me and kept pushing his cart through Costco…!!!  🤷‍♂️😂🤣 

 
 
Have a Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️ and a GREAT weekend – but most of all, 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.
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
Interesting economic updates and quite a bit going on in the bank core processor market this week – so let’s jump right in!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 2/7/25:

• Kicking off this week is a special congratulations to Mr. Cal Roberson for his promotion to Vice President, Financial Institution Division for Integris.  Be sure to check out Integris' Managed IT services built for banks and credit unions – and tell them Uncle Sean sent you! Congrats Cal – well deserved!!! 🤙

• The BLS Jan Jobs Report comes in with a mixed bag of results leading with 143K jobs added in January (below 175K estimate and well below Dec results of 307K which was revised up by 51K – see revisions here).  However, the unemployment rate fell to 4.0% as the labor force participation rate increased 0.1% over Dec to 62.6%.  Average hourly wages rose more than expected by 0.5% for the month and up 4.1% YoY (estimates were 0.3% and 3.7% respectively).
  • Keep in mind that there are some material issues with census data – notably the household survey data for Jan reflects relatively large updated population estimates including net immigration updates.  CNBC has a pretty good summary.

• 👀 Looks like we have our first bank tech vendor market event of the year as Finovifi has acquired Modern Banking Systems (MBS) core processing platform.  Very interesting expansion and integration strategy move for Finovifi.

• First Security Bank & Trust (an MDI bank in Oklahoma City) selects Smiley Technologies as its core AND digital banking provider.  Nice win for Smiley in replacing core, online, and mobile for the trifecta!!! 👍

• 👉 CSI announced the launch of its real-time proprietary check fraud detection solution for NuPoint® customers and powered by Mitek Systems.

• Fiserv (NYSE: FI) continues to lean into embedded finance opportunities per CEO Frank Bisignano during their recent earnings call this week stating “a pipeline of other embedded finance opportunities…” 🚀

• FIS (NYSE: FIS) announced it is one of the first providers in the fintech industry certified to enable send capabilities for credit transfers in the Federal Reserve’s FedNow® instant payment service. “FIS now supports the full payments lifecycle in FedNow, providing consumers and commercial borrowers with a holistic, human-centric instant payments experience.”

• Jack Henry (Nasdaq: JKHY) and Moov implement Visa Direct to offer real-time account-to-account money movement on the Visa Direct network via Jack Henry Rapid Transfers (offered only through financial institutions).  Definitely seeing more traction in the A2A / Pay-by-Bank space….

• Speaking of A2A / Pay-by-Bank…  Trustly partners with Spreedly to “provide merchants with full-service access to Pay by Bank to drive improved conversion rates and optimize payment efficiency across expanded regional and global markets.“

• Holy smokes – that didn’t take long!!!!  Santander Bank, N.A. (FDIC 29950; total assets $103B) announced that their direct digital bank, Openbank (just launched in 4Q2024), has hit $2B in total deposits as of Jan 29, 2025. WOW!!! 💥

• More flexing! 💪  The Clearing House reported that the RTP® network has surpassed 1 billion transactions and also set a new single-day records on Jan. 31 “for payments volume (1,592,419 transactions) and value ($1.44 billion).”   NICE!!!

• Ready for round two…  GM Financial announced they have again submitted an application to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Utah Department of Financial Institutions for GM Financial Bank, a proposed Utah-chartered industrial bank.  Banking Dive has a good summary including history of GM’s ILC bank charter aspirations.

• Highnote announced the launch of a new consumer credit card program with Fasten Rewards.  The Fasten™ Rewards Visa® Card program is an open loop custom card solution that “rewards consumers for auto loan or lease payments while increasing dealership loyalty, engagement, and sales velocity.”

• Zest AI and MeridianLink (NYSE: MLNK) continue to add to their longer term partnership as Zest AI now provides access to their AI-powered fraud detection tool (Zest Protect) to MeridianLink’s 2,000+ customers to identify and prevent “fraudulent activity during the application process.”

• Raiz Federal Credit Union (charter 1409; total assets $990M) partners with MANTL to offer a bilingual omnichannel account opening / deposit origination experience seamlessly integrated with their Fiserv DNA Core.

• The Penalty Box headline this week goes out to Brinks Global Services USA, Inc. (yes – the armored car company)…  FinCEN announced a $37M civil money penalty (OUCH) against Brinks as FinCEN determined that Brinks operated as a “money services business” (MSB) through the expanded definition of “money transmitter” and subject to BSA / AML compliance yet failed to file a single SAR. 
  • "…the violations that FinCEN identified were numerous, substantial in aggregate value of the currency shipped, and occurred over an extended period. Brink’s failed to register as an MSB despite conducting business as a money transmitter, and furthermore failed to implement an AML program, conduct an appropriate risk assessment of its products lines, and to comply with the recordkeeping and reporting requirements under the BSA for approximately a two-year period, leaving the US financial system vulnerable to illicit actors.” 😬

• More personnel moves:
  • nCino promotes Sean Desmond to President and CEO.
  • Happy Money hires Gaurav Agarwal as Chief Credit Officer.
  • Lithic welcomes Robin Gandhi as Chief Product Officer.
  • BMG Money names Victor Loyola as its new Chief Risk Officer.
  • NCR Voyix announces James Kelly as CEO and President.

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Closinglock (fraud prevention for RE transactions) raised $34M in Series B funding round.
  • Wisetack (consumer installment loan solutions for home services) raised $25M in growth capital.
  • Lynx (healthcare payments and administration platform) raised $27M in Series A oversubscribed round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• 🏈 Walking into the weekend excited about the Super Bowl - but don’t forget that next Friday is Valentine’s Day ♥️ (you’re welcome)!!!  Keep an eye out for this Super Bowl commercial from Ramp featuring Saquon Barkley.
• Recipe time!!!! 😋  I really don’t like sliced tomatoes, but I do like pico de gallo, hot sauce, tomato soup, ketchup, and pizza / spaghetti sauce…  So I tried a new recipe that involved slow roasted tomatoes and it was AWESOME!  It’s a long cook at 7 hours, but worth it – and your house will smell like pizza!  Here are the details:
  • 7 Roma tomatoes sliced in half longways and placed open side up in a roasting pan (definitely use foil or something in the bottom to help with cleanup) spaced at least a few inches apart to help with airflow.
  • ¼ cup olive oil (I used Avocado oil)
  • 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 tsp oregano (or you can use thyme as a substitute)
  • 1 tsp basil
  • Mix ingredients well and cover the tops of the tomatoes (open side facing up).  Slow roast at 200 degrees for roughly 7 hours (looking for the tomatoes to shrink up about 2/3rds).  When you take them out, cover with some mozzarella cheese and enjoy (I added a dash of Uncle Chris steak seasoning on top of the cheese for good measure)! 
• And finally (you can stop scrolling down now 😊) - here are the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week!!!
  • You think your job is bad, electricians have to strip to make ends meet… 😮😅
  • Some very exciting news to share – I got a raise today!!!!!  It was in medication dosage from my doctor, but still a raise nonetheless! 🙃
  • Our CTO had to drive 50 miles through ice and snow to pick up a computer part.  It was a hard drive…. 🙄
  • Never make snow angels in a dog park… 🐶
  • The swordfish has few predators to worry about in the wild…  Except for the penfish, which is said to be even mightier… 🤔🤣

 
 
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.

Happy Friday!!!
 
Don’t forget to sign up here to have the Uncle Sean Update delivered straight to your inbox every week!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/31/25:
 

• It’s Fed Week!!!  As widely expected, nothing happened – LOL!  The FOMC voted to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25% - 4.50% and will continue to reduce its holdings of Treasury securities ($25B per month) as well as agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities ($35B per month).  More info for the Fed Geeks like me 🤓:
  • Chairman Powell reiterated their wait and see approach as “the Committee will assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks. We are not on any preset course.”  Additionally stating, “With our policy stance significantly less restrictive than it had been, and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance.”
  • During the Press Conference Q&A, Chairman Powell mentioned there is “probably some elevated uncertainty” related to the new administration policy shifts and what the resulting implications for the economy will be (specifically mentioning tariffs, immigration, fiscal policy, and regulatory policy).
    • Here are the links to Chairman Powell’s Press Conference Transcript (25 pages) and video (49 minutes).

 

• And more economic data late this week as the BEA reports GDP (first of 3 estimates anyway) came in at 2.3% for the 4th quarter driven in large part by consumer spending.  This comes in slightly below estimates and follows growth of 3.1% in the 3rd quarter.  Full year Real GDP for 2024 stands at 2.8% versus 2.9% for 2023.
  • Meanwhile, the BEA also reported the PCE price index at 2.6% with Core PCE coming in at 2.8% - both in line with Dow Jones estimates.  CNBC has a pretty good summary.

 

• 💪 Nacha flex – ACH payment volume and value reached across-the-board gains for 2024 with huge growth in Same Day ACH.  Per the release:
  • Overall, ACH Network payment volume rose 6.7% from 2023 to 2024, to 33.6 billion payments in 2024. The value of those payments was $86.2 trillion, an increase of 7.6%.
  • Same Day ACH payment volume topped the 1 billion mark for the first time ever, with more than 1.2 billion payments for the year. The value of those payments was $3.2 trillion. From 2023 to 2024, Same Day ACH volume soared 45.3%, more than double the growth rate from 2022 to 2023. 🚀

 

• 👀 Looks like T-Mobile Money is switching partner banks from Customers Bank to Coastal Community Bank beginning April 1, 2025.
  • Recall Dec 2023 where BMTX Vibe (student banking) split from Customers bank as a sponsor bank to First Carolina Bank who ultimately acquired BMTX in Oct 2024.  However, the T-Mobile Money accounts have remained with Customers Bank as the sponsor – at least until now.  Timing may be of interest as I believe the First Carolina Bank acquisition of BMTX is set to close during 1Q2025.
    • Ah – I love BaaS Memory Lane! 😊

 

• Speaking of BaaS…  Credit to Jason Mikula for breaking the news that Solid (another BaaS middleware platform) is allegedly shutting down.  Be sure to subscribe to Jason’s newsletter, Fintech Business Weekly – always a good read.

 

• Castellum.AI (AML/KYC screening and monitoring solution) partners with Hummingbird.  “This collaboration enables Hummingbird users to instantly access Castellum.AI’s enriched data, which covers over 200,000 sources and every single country and territory in the world.” 

 

• Abrigo acquires Integrated Financial Solutions, the provider of IFSLeaseWorks, a leader in end-to-end lease and loan origination and administration automation.  This is “the latest in a series of strategic investments by Abrigo to help financial institutions gain efficiency through automation in the front and back office.”

 

• Wow – there was a lot going on with Credit Unions this week:
  • Alliant Credit Union (Charter 67955; total assets $20.3B) selects Backbase to enhance its digital member experience through Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform.
  • Wings Financial Credit Union (Charter 68601; total assets $9.3B) goes live on Finzly's ISO 20022-native Fedwire platform, and “completed in just four months.”
  • Post Office Employees’  Credit Union (Charter 63069; total assets $50M) selects Sharetec for core banking upgrade.
  • ELGA Credit Union (Charter 61797; total assets $1.5B) has partnered with Tyfone – particularly Tyfone’s nFinia® Digital Banking Platform for retail and commercial account holders.
  • Larky and Trellance have partnered together bringing a “direct integration of Trellance’s powerful data analytics platform into Larky’s nudge® platform” utilizing AI-driven data insights for hyper-targeted member engagement via location-based push notifications.
  • ModernFi CUSO deposit network now includes over 40 credit unions and the ability to offer members access to $10 million of NCUA insurance* through a single account. 👍

 

• 👉 And of course I have to mention my friends at Acceleron Bank, In Formation with their newly released Ultimate Guide to ISO 20022: The Universal Adapter for community financial institutions as a user-friendly resource containing “practical insights, expert tips, and implementation strategies specifically for community bankers.”  Thank y’all for the work you do supporting community banks!!!! ❤️😊

 

• Digital River online payment processor is laying off all employees and will shut down operations.

 

• Elon Musk’s X payment solution (X Money) continues to move forward towards a potential launch by partnered with Visa Direct to allow “US X Money Account users to fund and transfer money in real-time with their debit card.”

 

• And finally, in the penalty box this week:
  • The New York AG fined Netspend approximately $1.1M as part of a settlement including $735K in restitution and $350K in penalties to the state.
  • The CFPB has ordered Wise to pay approximately $2.5M for “illegal remittance practices.” Wise to pay $450K in redress to harmed consumers and pay a $2.025M civil money penalty.
  • The FDIC published a Consent Order for Bank of Vici, a $33M bank in Oklahoma, for credit losses / capital maintenance, and appropriate staffing including AML/CFT Officer and IT Manager. 
    • 💥 Special thanks and credit to Sarah Beth Felix for pointing out the intriguing nature of the AML/CFT section as this appears to (finally) clearly state the AML Officer “shall report directly to the Board”… and “Have sufficient executive authority”… and be included in succession planning as an executive… – which should be a harbinger for all banks regarding regulatory expectations (yes, even for the smallest of FI’s).

 

• Some personnel moves:
  • Upgrade selects Jeffrey Meiler as Chief Operating Officer.
  • Nymbus appoints Ed Gross as Chief Product Officer.
  • Temenos names Sairam Rangachari as Chief Product Officer.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • BMG Money (loans and financial tools for employees and retirees) closed a $150M funding facility.
  • Foyer (savings app for homebuyers) raised $6.2M Seed Round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Well, well, well…  It only took what felt like a year to wrap up January, but here we are!  Looking forward to Groundhog Day this weekend (Sunday, Feb 2) – certainly hoping that our Nation’s favorite meteorological rodent (with all due respect, of course) does not see his shadow and predicts an early spring!!! 
• You made it – here are the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week!!!
  • Fun Fact (IYKYK) – Patrick Mahomes wears the number 15 because that’s how many yards you get penalized if you touch him! 🤐😂  Apologies to my KC fans out there; and credit to NFL Memes for that one!
  • If you eat the entire cake without cutting it, you technically only had one piece…  Follow me for more nutritional guidance! 🤔😜
  • A charcuterie board is basically the adult version of Lunchables – but you get to swap out the Capri Sun for as much wine as you want! 🍷😊
  • With the way those egg prices are headed, we may be painting potatoes this Easter! 🥚🐰🥔
  • If like me, you’ve ever been accused of being ‘born in a barn’ and want to talk about it, remember…….  My door is always open.  😂🤣

 
 
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.
 

​Happy Friday!!!
 
Although the recent snow pics from Houston, New Orleans, and Florida were extremely fun to see – I have to admit that my favorite part of winter (other than Christmas, of course) is when it’s over! 😆  Bring on the sunscreen, frozen slushy drinks, and the smell of freshly cut grass!🌴🌞  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/24/25:
 

• 💥 Whew – Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB) has been B-U-S-Y!!!  This week the BHB Fund announced its investment in Neural Payments – a banktech platform providing community banks with tools to offer real-time P2P payments, disbursements, and scalable fraud protection to their customers.

 

• Plenty of eyes looking towards the FOMC meeting (particularly the press conference Q&A) next week, even though markets are signaling essentially no chance that the Fed will lower rates (currently between 4.25%-4.5%)…

 

• 👉 New administration focus is already being felt as:
  • The FDIC released the Statement from Acting Chairman Travis Hill laying out the FDIC focus over the coming weeks and months.
  • The NCUA also released a statement from Kyle S. Hauptman as incoming Chairman of the NCUA outlining his priorities.

 

• 👀 And we’re off!!!  We have the first CU acquisition of a bank this year as Frontwave Credit Union (Charter 68494; total assets $1.5B) announced an agreement to acquire Community Valley Bank (FDIC 58500; total assets $316M).
  • This is the 1st announced CU acquisition of a bank in 2025.  Compares to the record of 22 for 2024, 11 in 2023, 16 in 2022, 13 in 2021, 7 in 2020, and 16 in 2019.  Source: FedFis Bank M&A data.

 

• Another first for 2025 (albeit unfortunate)…  Late last week we had our first bank failure of 2025.  Pulaski Savings Bank (FDIC 28611; total assets $49.5M) in IL was closed due to “suspected fraud.”  Here is the FedFis Bank Failure Alert if you are looking for more information.

 

• Idaho Central Credit Union (Charter 63194; total assets $11.7B) announced a strategic investment in ModernFi CUSO and joins Modern Fi's innovative deposit network.
  • ModernFi had partnered with Members Development Company last year to launch the first deposit network dedicated to credit unions. 👍

 

• Ramp (corporate card and expense management platform) continues to expand (I was going to say, “ramp up” – but that was a little too cheesy even for me LOL 😊) their product set by announcing the launch of Ramp Treasury earning 2.5% cash rewards in a Ramp Business deposit account (First Internet Bank of Indiana); or invest excess cash in a money market fund (FUGXX) currently earning up to 4.38% via the Ramp Investment Account (facilitated by Apex Clearing Corporation). Nice!!!! 🚀

 

• CardWorks, and its wholly-owned bank subsidiary, Merrick Bank (FDIC 34519; total assets $5.9B) to acquire Ally's credit card business including a portfolio of $2.3 billion in credit card receivables with 1.3 million active cardholders as of Dec. 31, 2024.
  • 🤓 Somewhat of an ironic twist of fate….  If you recall, Ally had announced a deal to acquire CardWorks back in Feb 2020 for $2.65B. However, the agreement was mutually terminated with the onset of the pandemic.

 

• Q2 (NYSE: QTWO) announced a new partnership with Alloy to deliver a joint fraud monitoring solution for Q2 Digital Banking customers powered by Alloy’s centralized identity decision engine for fraud detection and prevention.

 

• Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) announced they have entered into a multi-year extension of its 30-year strategic credit card relationship with Sam's Club.  🤙 30 years – WOW!!!

 

• Texas Security Bank (FDIC 58739; total assets $1.2B) partners with ATTUNE to enhance its business deposit origination and mortgage origination processes.

 

• Some Personnel moves this week:
  • Fiserv (NYSE: FI) appoints Michael P. Lyons as President and CEO-Elect effective January 27, 2025.  Lyons is set to replace Frank Bisignano on June 30, 2025, or upon an earlier confirmation by the U.S. Senate as the Commissioner, Social Security Administration.
  • Nav welcomes Grace Liu as Chief Financial Officer.
  • ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW) names Philip Bruno as Chief Strategy and Growth Officer
  • TD Bank Group (TSX: TD) promotes Jacqueline (Jackie) Sanjuas as Global Head of Financial Crime Risk Management replacing the exiting Herb Mazariegos.  She will also continue serving as U.S. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Officer.
  • And last but not least – a huge congratulations to IBAT’s Mr. Bill Briggs for being nominated as Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration – an arena that he is more than just a little familiar with!  Congrats, Bill; and best of luck!!! 🎉

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Highnote (modern card issuance and program management platform) raised $90M in Series B funding.
  • Clutch (modern loan and deposit onboarding for credit unions) raised $65M in Series B round.
  • Method (consumer permissioned financial connectivity) raised $42M in Series B funding round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• 🏈 WOW – that Ohio State and Notre Dame college football National Championship game was exciting!  After a dominant start by Ohio State, they had to hold off a rally by a scrappy Notre Dame team in the second half that would come within a one possession game at one point.  But the Buckeyes were able to pull away late and seal the deal. 🏆
• And more football!!! 🏈🏈 In the NFL, we are down to an action packed Sunday afternoon with the Buffalo Bills vs Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles to see who gets to play in the Super Bowl on Feb 9.
• Here we go!!!!  Time to wrap it up with some Dad / Bad Jokes!!!
  • I recently cured my fear of flying…  Riding 22 hours on a Greyhound Bus will do that!! 🙄😜
  • As we age, we all know that mirrors don’t lie…  I’m just grateful they don’t laugh!!! 😬😅
  • If you think about it, the entire salad dressing industry exists because people really don’t like the taste of salad! 🤔🤠
  • Tough work environment for Snow White’s dwarfs..  I heard 6 out of 7 of them were not Happy…. 😂🤣

 
 
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.
 

​1/17/25 - Pulaski Savings Bank of Chicago, IL (FDIC 28611; total assets $49.5M; total deposits $42.7M; equity capital $5M as of the 9/30/24 call report) was closed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation due to “suspected fraud.”

• Millennium Bank of Des Plaines, IL (FDIC 58348; total assets $597M as of 9/30/24 call report) to assume all deposits at the time of closing for a 4.61% premium; and will purchase approximately $45M of the bank’s assets (slightly less than the bank’s $49.5M in total tangible assets).
• The FDIC preliminarily estimates that the failure will cost its Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) about $28.5 million.
• Source - FDIC: Millennium Bank assumes all deposits of Pulaski Savings Bank

Additional FedFis insights:

• Pulaski Savings Bank had a FedFis Rating© of 2.74 (on a 1.00 to 5.00 scale) placing them in the bottom 27% of all banks as of 3Q2024.  Not a terrible rating, but this is suspected fraud so not relevant at all.  The FDIC estimated cost to the DIF of $28.5M is HUGE considering only $42.7M in deposits (meaning this fraud was likely substantial in nature).
• Keep in mind that very small banks (Pulaski was in the bottom 4.5% of all banks with only $49.5M total assets) can fail quickly, so ratings may not always be an effective predictive measure of failure for those extremely small institutions.  And again, since this was suspected fraud, the rating is not relevant (FedFis Rating is not designed to predict fraud).
• Certainly worth noting that on 1/7/25 (just 10 days prior to the failure of Pulaski Savings Bank), the existing merger agreement between Mutual Federal Bancorp, Inc. (OTC: MFDB) and Pulaski Savings Bank was abruptly terminated with no notice as to why.  Certainly leads me to believe that something material showed up in the due diligence.
• Pulaski Savings Bank is the first bank failure of 2025.

 
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