Uncle Sean's Update - 5/30/25

​Happy Friday!!!
 
Hoping everyone had a fantastic Memorial Day!!!  Don’t forget that you can sign up here to get the Uncle Sean Update sent straight to your inbox each week along with 18,000+ of your peers!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 5/30/25:
 

• ICYMI - 🎉 CSI named Nancy Langer as their new President and CEO succeeding David Culbertson, who will transition to the role of vice chair of the board and will work closely with Langer throughout the leadership transition.  Congratulations to all including Mr. Culbertson who has had an amazing 36 year career at CSI!!! 👏

 

• 💥 Shout out to my friends at Atomic as Galileo debuts 'Payment Switch' by Atomic for easier Bill Pay.  This is in addition to Atomic’s existing partnership with Galileo for Direct Deposit Switching (back in Dec 2022). 👍

 

• The FDIC released Quarterly Banking Profile report for 1Q2025…  A few key points:
  • It was a good quarter for banks as Net Income increased 5.8% from the prior quarter, driven by higher noninterest income (even though NIM decreased slightly).
  • Provision expense increased 9.1% over last year as the industry continues to build reserves.
  • Asset quality remains generally favorable with past-due and nonaccrual (PDNA) at 1.50% of total loans (below the pre-pandemic average of 1.94%).
  • Unrealized losses on securities decreased both quarterly and annually as Treasury rates decreased in the first quarter (HOWEVER - this trend has reversed substantially thus far for 2Q2025).
    • Of course if you follow our BHB Inside The Numbers quarterly webinar (a macro look at the early release of call report data and economic indicators) brought to you by our Bankers Helping Bankers sponsors, you already knew all of this… 😊
  • The number of “Problem Banks” decreased from 66 to 63 representing 1.4% of total banks in the first quarter (which is in the middle of the normal range for non-crisis periods of 1 – 2% of all banks).
    • For comparison sake (and a bit of bragging I might add 😊), our FedFis Rating© is tracking 66 banks in the lowest 1% scoring 3.92 or higher (on a 1.00 – 5.00 scale with 1.00 being best).

 

• Another CU acquisition of a bank…  Avenir Financial Federal Credit Union (charter 4915; total assets $382M) to acquire in-state peer Mission Bank (FDIC 57137; total assets $194M).
  • This is now the 7th announced CU acquisition of a bank for 2025 (whole-bank acquisition of a charter, not just branch purchase).  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.

 

• American Express is sunsetting its Bluebird Prepaid Debit Account program.  New cards are not being issued and the platform will be closed effective June 2026.  Thus ending a 15-year endeavor that began in 2012 as a partnership with Walmart after a 2011 pilot…
  • 👉 Memory lane (or is it…???).  From the 2012 launch PR (tell me if any of this sounds familiar almost 13 years later - LOL) – “Bluebird was shaped by feedback from consumers who said they were not getting the value they expect from traditional checking account and debit services because of increasingly higher fees.”
    • “The financial services landscape is changing. Technological advances, regulatory changes, and evolving consumer needs are redefining payments ranging from prepaid, to checking and debit.  Bluebird is our solution to help consumers who currently may be poorly served by traditional banking products. It allows them to easily and safely move, manage, and spend their money.  In an era where it is increasingly “expensive to be poor,” we have worked with Walmart to create a financial services product that rights many of the wrongs that plague the market today,” said Dan Schulman, group president, Enterprise Growth, American Express.
      • Insert Talking Heads song here – “Once in a Lifetime (same as it ever was)”. 🤠

 

• Apple Federal Credit Union (charter 11307; total assets $5.2B) partners with equipifi to launch the CU’s own BNPL solution branded as PayAdvantage, allowing members to split the payments on eligible debit card transactions over time.  That’s a big CU and a nice win for the equipifi Team! 🚀

 

• Mambu announced the launch of Mambu Payments, following its acquisition of payments technology provider Numeral in Dec 2024.
  • Mambu Payments infrastructure solution provides FI’s “with advanced, composable capabilities that integrate seamlessly into any core banking ecosystem. Acting as a universal gateway, it connects institutions to a growing network of pre-integrated clearing systems, partner banks, and payment schemes, while enabling end-to-end automation through a modern payments hub.”

 

• Meanwhile, Visa had a couple of key announcements last week:
  • Visa announced the “general availability” of Visa AR Manager in the US - designed to grow and maintain existing card volume by automating the virtual card transaction process, addressing a significant pain point for suppliers accepting commercial credentials.
  • Visa also announced the launch of Visa Commercial Integrated Partners to empower fintech and FI’s – “designed to improve connectivity between fintechs and Visa Commercial products through its commercial platform. Visa will make available advanced APIs to embed Visa products in a business partners’ applications and make these integrations available to its financial institution clients, allowing them to offer new, seamless payment experiences to their business customers.”

 

• 💪 Openbank (Santander’s direct digital bank) continues to flex by stating Openbank has amassed 100,000 customers and more than $4B in deposits (yep, $4 Billion with a “B” 💰💰💰 HOLY SMOKES!!!) as of May 2025 in the US since launching about six months ago late in 2024!!!

 

• Capital Bank, National Association (FDIC 35278; total assets $3.3B) partners with Q2 to upgrade its new digital banking platform.  Per the PR, the upgrade is designed to deliver a secure, modern experience for business customers (including advanced digital treasury management capabilities) and marks a major step in the Bank’s ongoing digital evolution.

 

• Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) to divest their payroll business, Heartland Payroll Solutions, to Acrisure for $1.1B as they continue to simplify their business focus as a pure-play payments processor.
  • “Founded in 1997, Heartland Payroll caters to more than 50,000 clients including Burger King, and will be rebranded after the deal closes — expected in the second half of 2025.”

 

• Circle, the largest U.S. issuer of stablecoins, announced their IPO of 24M shares at $24-$26 per share, and plans to list on the NYSE (CRCL).

 

• 👀 OMNICOMMANDER continues to innovate in the bank digital marketing arena making it easier for “the rest of us” (definitely me) to look like marketing and content heroes!!!  This week they announce the launch of OMNIPLAY digital display software to enable bankers to take full control of their “in-branch display” messaging and marketing .  It allows for cloud-based control from any location utilizing a drag-and-drop interface (with no tech skills needed) featuring real-time content updates across one or multiple branches.
  • This is in addition to their existing digital marketing arsenal that includes CHATCOMMANDER™,  CARCOMMANDER™, and custom video production (how about upgrading your annual reports to video – that’s cool!!!). 
    • Check them out at https://www.omnicommander.com/; and tell them Uncle Sean sent you!.  Did I mention they are veteran-owned and operated? 😊 🤙

 

• Oof 😬…  We’ve all seen this coming over the last several weeks, but it’s formal now…  The CFPB has officially determined that the 2024 rule authorizing "open banking" to be unlawful and plans to vacate the rule…  Quite the rug pull for those that have put a lot of time and effort into this based on the initial proposed ruling…

 

• Notable recent FinTech funding:
  • Airwallex (global payments and financial platform for businesses) raised $300M in capital consisting of a $150M Series F plus another $150M in secondary share transfers at a whopping $6.2B valuation.
  • Slash (business banking app) raised $41M in Series B at a $370M valuation.
  • Clair (EWA platform) raised $23.2M in Series B round.
  • Affiniti (SMB expense-management credit cards, software, and business analytics platform) raised $17M in Series A just 6 months after an $11M seed round; and noted a 10x revenue growth over the last year.
  • Monarch (PFM app) raised $75M in Series B funding round at an $850M valuation.
  • Palla (embedded real-time international payments platform for FI’s and fintech firms) raised $14.5M Series A round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Aunt Patty and I were fortunate enough to go on a fishing trip over Memorial Day weekend on the mighty Mississippi River (Vicksburg, MS area).  That river is both majestic and terrifying with an incredible flow rate being almost at flood stage – quite the difference from a few years ago when we were in drought conditions and worried about shipping transit through that area!  Beautiful scenery and a “boat load” of fun!!!
• The end is near – for the penny anyway LOL!!!  The US Mint has made its final order of penny blanks and will stop producing them when that supply runs out (projected to be in 2026).  Pennies will still be legal tender with more than 100 billion estimated to be in circulation - so don’t worry….  You can still get a penny for your thoughts; but you might have to accept payment digitally to avoid having to make correct change. 😊
• Foodie alert (nom, nom, nom) - Kinder’s has a couple of BBQ sauces / glazes that I have fallen in love with recently.  Their Spicy Teriyaki with Red Jalapeno & Ginger is a hands down winner on pulled chicken; and their Black Cherry Chipotle BBQ sauce matches superbly with baked pork loin!   
  • And here are the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week:
    • The part of your brain that decides what sandwich to eat is called your… subconscious… 🤔😏
    • I don’t mean to brag too much, but I have a flat stomach…  It’s just that the “L” is silent..!! 🤠
    • Saving the best for last…   I told my mother-in-law that WTF stands for “Wow, That’s Fantastic.”  Her text messages are so much more entertaining now! 😂🤣

 
 
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.