Uncle Sean's Update - 3/27/26

​Happy Friday!!!
 
Just a heads-up that there will not be an Uncle Sean Update next week as we take some family time off to celebrate Good Friday and Easter!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 3/27/26 (subscribe here for free):
 

• 🤘 Shout-out to our friends at Stablecore (a BHB Fund company 🎉) for their partnership with Q2 and integration with the Q2 Innovation Studio to enable banks and credit unions to “responsibly explore and integrate digital asset capabilities within their existing digital banking environments.”  🚀
  • Amarillo National Bank (FDIC 14531; total assets $9.6B) and Bank of Utah (FDIC 17159; total assets $3.6B) are among the early institutions engaging with Stablecore through Q2.

 

• And more Q2 news as Unit 21 announced a partnership with Helix by Q2 to support AI-powered AML monitoring and investigations for BaaS and embedded finance programs.  The partnership enables sponsor banks to gain a consolidated view of activity across both internal risk data and that of their fintech partners, while maintaining the flexibility to tailor AML controls based on each program’s risk profile. 💥

 

• First International Bank & Trust (FDIC 10248; total assets $6.2B) announced that Giftly is now live Kotapay's Kavinu platform, FIBT’s bank-direct BaaS platform. The partnership supports Giftly’s payout experience with modern, cloud-based infrastructure, with Kotapay delivering ACH processing.
  • "Kavinu was built for fintechs like Giftly that need to scale without outgrowing their banking foundation," said Trent Sorbe, Chief Payments Officer at First International Bank & Trust. "With its bank-first design, Kavinu supports a range of embedded finance use cases and significant settlement volume as partners grow, while keeping the bank close to the controls." 💪

 

• 👉 Plaid acquires This Week in Fintech (TWIF) media and publishing platform.
  • Keep in mind that TWIF is not “just a publishing platform” as they have a fund (https://www.thefintechfund.com/), and a conference event (https://stablecon.com/).

 

• VersaBank goes all-in on digital…  VersaBank (Nasdaq: VBNK) has agreed to sell its only retail bank branch to Stearns Bank National Association to focus on their “…highly efficient branchless, partner-based, digital banking model..”  Nice! 

 

• 👏 Another De Novo!!!  Congratulations to VALT Bank, National Association for their conditional approval for a national charter by the OCC! 🎉

 

• DCI partners with CPI (Nasdaq: PMTS) to provide Web Push Provisioning (WPP) for card issuers.
  • “With WPP integrated into DCI’s GoBanking, card issuers can securely issue payment credentials to a customer’s digital wallet within the online banking portal and mobile app. This new functionality gives cardholders, including those who prefer online banking, a simple way to provision their digital wallets.” 👍

 

• CSI partners with Careful to enable CSI’s bank and credit union clients “to provide older account holders and their families with tools to help stop scams and fraud before funds leave the financial institution.” 🫶

 

• Jack Henry (Nasdaq: JKHY) announced that Independent Bancshares Inc., the BHC for FM Bank (FDIC 10998; total assets $705M) and Quoin Financial Bank (FDIC 15629; total assets $242M), has selected Jack Henry for core processing and Banno for digital for both banks.
  • It’s a big conversion with many moving parts as the incumbent core processor for both banks has a strategic position for core, online, and mobile.

 

• 👀 Meanwhile…  FIS (NYSE: FIS) appears to have renewed its focus on large banks over $10B…
  • “We’re focused on maximizing our growth, which means the number of products we sell to the biggest banks – we’re not going down market to sub-$10 billion-dollar banks,” FIS CFO James Kehoe said at the Wells Fargo payments and fintech symposium last Wednesday. “Will we still compete in that area, yes. Is it strategic? It’s not as a strategic” focus, he said, acknowledging later that serving mid-sized banks is still part of FIS’s mission too.

 

• iTHINK Financial Credit Union (charter 68663; total assets $2.3B) selects Tyfone’s nFinia® Digital Banking Platform for its 170,000 members.

 

• 💥 Some big news from Branch (EWA platform) as they announce their strategic partnership with Stripe to become the embedded digital wallet provider for worker payouts within Stripe Connect.
  • “Platforms and marketplaces using Stripe Connect can launch Branch's digital wallet to enable fast, low-cost payouts and worker rewards.”

 

• A couple of legislative bills to keep an eye on:
  • Cotton Introduces Bill to Ban Illegal Migrants from American Banking System
  • Lawmakers introduce deposit insurance reform bills | ABA Banking Journal

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Avtal (digital engagement service powering modern collections) raised $24M in capital (seed and Series A combined).
  • Spade (enabling financial institutions and fintech companies to convert transaction data into actionable insights) raised $40m in Series B funding round.
  • Worth (helping FI’s, fintech companies, and payment providers onboard and underwrite SMB’s) raised $30M in Series A round.
  • Notch (an AI operating system for regulated industries - initially focused on global insurers, large brokers, and FI’s) raised $30M in Series A funding to bring production-ready AI agents to highly regulated industries.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Just a quick and heart-felt message to remind everyone that life can (and sometimes does) change in an instant and without warning.  Hang on to the things that are important:
  • love openly and unconditionally - the downside risks of doing so are short-term, but the long-term rewards are substantial
  • do good work with an appropriate mix of passion and humility – stay curious and embrace productive challenges that help us grow (and let go of the “noise”)
  • smile and laugh often – don’t forget to play and have fun
    • 👉 and above all - help people when you can.  As my brother Davey would say “The world needs good people - be one of them.” 🙏❤️
• And in the spirit of smiling and laughing often – here are a few Dad / Bad jokes to lift your spirit and at least bring a slight smirk to your face 😊:
  • Not many people know this but I actually studied Dad Jokes in college…  I majored in sighchology… 😉
  • I don’t mean to brag too much, but I have acquired over 20 PHD’s… (Projects Half Done)… 🤠
  • I hear the #1 game in Prague is… Czechers… 🙄🙃
  • If you hear me say “it’s leg day” – just know I’m referring to KFC and not the gym! 😅
  • And last but not least….  Dr. Frankenstein walked into the bodybuilding competition and discovered he had seriously misunderstood the objective… 🤣😂

 
 
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 and its affiliates – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.