Uncle Sean's Update - 8/1/25

​Happy Friday!!!
 
Welcome to August (wait – how did that happen so fast?)!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 8/1/25:
 
First up is a slew of economic updates:

• It’s Fed Week!!!  As expected, the FOMC decided to keep the target rate for the Fed Funds rate at 4.25% - 4.5% and to continue reducing the size of the balance sheet.  Yep – tariffs and uncertainty still reign as the predominant topic.  Here is Chairman Powell’s press conference video (44:06), and preliminary transcript.
  • Worth noting that there were two dissenting votes made by Fed Governor Christopher J. Waller and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman.  Here are their respectful and clarifying statements:
    • Statement by Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman
    • Statement by Governor Christopher J. Waller
• 2nd quarter advanced estimate for GDP came in at 3.0% (some surprise to the upside) reflecting material reversals of tariff related pull-in from 1Q specifically related to imports and business investment.
• The BEA June PCE came in at 2.6% (May was revised up to 2.4% from 2.3%) with Core PCE at 2.8% (May was revised up to 2.8% from 2.7%).
• And finally this morning, the BLS June Jobs Report came in a bit on the light side at +73,000 (expectation was +100K to +110K).  The 2 month revision was also significantly down by –258K 😲 (revision history can be found here).  Unemployment ticked up slightly from 4.1% to 4.2% (as expected).  Labor force participation also came in a tad light at 62.2%.

 
Now on to the rest of the update:

• Virtual high-five to CPI Card Group Inc. (Nasdaq: PMTS) as the latest innovative company to join The BaaS Association in support of responsible innovation and card solutions for FI’s, fintechs, neobanks, and embedded finance providers!!! 👍

 

• 💥 Huge shout out to my friends at RiverBank and DCI as RiverBank and Green Check launch strategic cannabis banking partnership using a direct-to-bank integration with DCI's iCore360 core processing system.  Congrats to all for this achievement!!! 🙌🎉
  • “Our interest in Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) began in 2022, but we weren’t focused on speed to market; we wanted to build something sustainable,” said Chris Davis, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at RiverBank. “DCI’s direct-to-bank approach gave us the control and compliance we needed to do it right, which made our partnership with Green Check, the leader in the cannabis banking space, possible. Now, we are able to further diversify our revenue streams while supporting our local economy and businesses at the same time.”

 

• Citizens (FDIC 57957; total assets $218B) rolls out new mobile capabilities to streamline direct deposits and payment method switching – both features were developed in partnership with Mastercard.   
  • Switch Payments: Update your saved payment methods (think Netflix, Amazon, Verizon & more) in just a few taps—no more chasing down billers when your card changes.
  • Direct Deposit, Reimagined: Set up or switch your paycheck deposit in seconds—no paperwork, no phone calls, just control.
  • What’s even cooler – if you go to the Citizens deposits and payments emulator, you can see the disclosures stating both of these functions are powered by the good folks at Atomic!!! 😊
    • Recall earlier in July where talked about Atomic powering PNC Direct Deposit (a $549B bank) – some amazing wins here for the Team at Atomic!!!! 💥

 

• Linker Finance is now available on Fiserv AppMarket via Communicator Open as a fully certified and pre-integrated solution available to community banks on Fiserv core platforms.  🚀
  • Jorge Garcia, Founder and CEO of Linker Finance stated, "Being listed in the Fiserv AppMarket through Communicator Open makes it effortless for banks to enable our Unified Platform with just a few clicks, solidifying our partnership and safeguarding seamless integration with every core update."

 

• Premier Financial Credit Union (charter 54094; total assets $129M) selects Mahalo Banking as its new digital banking partner.

 

• Pioneer FCU (charter 9247; total assets $723M) has launched its in-house BNPL solution (powered by equipifi) to extend “personalized, pre-qualified BNPL offers to members in its digital banking experience” – and includes both a pre-purchase and post-purchase option to convert eligible debit card transactions into installment loans.

 

• FIS (NYSE: FIS)  partners with Circle (NYSE: CRCL) to enable U.S. financial institutions to offer their customers the option to make domestic and cross-border stablecoin payments in Circle’s USDC stablecoin.

 

• JPMorgan Chase partnered with Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange allowing for a direct bank-to-wallet connection – which enables JPM customer to link their bank accounts to Coinbase wallets via JPM API.

 

• By now I am guessing you have heard / read that JPM is planning to charge material fees to fintech aggregators for access to consumer financial data…  This CNBC article gives an interesting look at the amount of API calls to the bank – with a substantial amount not being initiated by the customer.
  • Meanwhile…  Open Banking isn’t quite dead yet as the CFPB now plans to “substantially” rework the U.S. open banking rule… 🤔

 

• Navan (business T&E management platform) announced a new integration with American Express that enables American Express U.S. Business and Corporate Card Members to instantly create unique virtual Cards for travel booked on the Navan Travel platform via Navan Connect.

 

• Splitit announced a strategic partnership with Antom to expand access to card-linked installments for merchants globally.  The partnership integrates Splitit's technology into Antom's next-generation payment processing platform and merchant network, beginning in the U.S. and expanding globally.

 

• Euronet (Nasdaq: EEFT) to acquire CoreCard (NYSE: CCRD) modern issuer processor platform in an all-stock merger that values CoreCard at approximately $248 million, or $30 per share.  “The proposed transaction marks a pivotal step in accelerating Euronet’s strategic goal of a more diversified, future-ready revenue mix, that is anchored in scalable, modern platforms designed for the next generation of digital financial services across the globe.”

 

• Dwolla adds the Federal Reserve’s FedNow Service instant payment system into its platform.  Now armed with both the FedNow service and the RTP network, Dwolla can use “intelligent routing to orchestrate between them” increasing the reach and efficiency of instant payments for businesses.
  • 👉 Uncle Sean also noticed the recent update to Dwolla’s banking partners that now includes KeyBank, National Association in addition to existing and long-term partners Veridian Credit Union and Evolve Bank & Trust.

 

• Car IQ (vehicle-based payment technology) announced a strategic partnership with BlueArrow Telematics (connected fleet solutions) to launch BlueArrow Pay fleet app – a vehicle-embedded payment platform for fuel and toll purchases. 
  • “Powered by Car IQ’s Know Your Machine™ (KYM) platform, BlueArrow Pay authenticates each transaction using real-time telematics data rather than driver credentials.” 
    • Visa Credit Card Services are provided and issued by Lewis & Clark Bank [for now anyway, since Lewis & Clark Bank is in the process of being acquired by Marion and Polk Schools (Maps) Credit Union 🤔 – source: FedFis].

 

• Rumor Mill – JPMorgan Chase is apparently nearing a deal to replace GS as Apple Card issuer…

 

• 👀 And just in case you missed this….  Minnesota calls in the National Guard after St. Paul slammed by 'digital attack' in what its mayor described as a "deliberate, coordinated, digital attack" carried out by sophisticated hackers.
  • The office of Governor Tim Walz said in a statement that he was deploying the Guard, which has a cyber protection component, because the attack had "exceeded the city's response capacity." 

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Ramp raised $500M in Series E-2 round at a whopping $22.5B valuation just a mere 45 days since their last $200M round at a $16B valuation…!!! 😲💰🚀
  • Wingspan (independent contractor payroll platform) raised $24M in Series B funding round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Okay – so it’s just preseason 🏈, but it made me feel good! 😊  I got to see a little bit of the Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions kick off the NFL preseason in the Hall of Fame Game yesterday.  Here is the rest of the NFL preseason schedule that really begins next week.
• Have you seen this?  Check out Austin, Texas native Robert Youens (71-year-old cancer survivor), as he just broke the solo record for the 'Great Loop' – a 6,000 mile nautical journey that he completed in 19 days and 14 hours (did I mention solo?!?!)…  Oh and he did it in a small 16’ aluminum jon boat with a 60HP tiller steer motor.  Holy Cow!!!  And here I am dreading having to mow the yard this evening! 😅🤷‍♂️
• And of course - here are the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week:
  • Never ask a starfish for directions… ⭐
  • What do you call an army of babies?  An infantry… 😊
  • Dental x-rays really should be called tooth pics… 🦷😁
  • And my favorite this week…  You never really know the full extent of your kung fu skills until an insect crawls on your face!!! 🥋😮🤠

 
 
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.