Uncle Sean's Update - 1/16/26

​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