Uncle Sean's Update - 8/8/25

​Happy Friday!!!
 
Sometimes all you can say is, “hey – at least this week is over!” 😅  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 8/8/25:

• Some interesting consumer data released this week shows some pockets of weakening…
  • The New York Fed released their 2Q2025 Report on Household Debt and Credit.  Couple of key points:
    • Household debt increased $185B in 2Q (an increase of 1% over 1Q); and is up $4.24T since the end of 2019 – a 30% increase with mortgage debt now totaling 70% of all household debt.
    • Student Loan debt at $1.64T is higher than CC debt at $1.21T.  Serious Delinquency (90+) has soared to 10.2% for student loans (pg 12) with Transition into Serious Delinquency (90+) accelerating at 13% (pg 14). Oof.. 😳
  • This Axios report on the US economy being dependent on the top 20% of earners is interesting and highlights a K-shaped economy (with spending from middle and lower income consumers flatlined and equal with inflation).
  • And this K-Shaped Economy report from Equifax echoes similar concerns of an uneven recovery.  Noting, “The economic recovery isn’t over; it’s evolving. The K-shaped reality of 2025 reminds us that surface-level growth metrics don’t tell the full story. Businesses and individuals alike must remain aware of the disparities and work toward more inclusive, equitable solutions.”
    • Uncle Sean’s take (not that anyone asked) 🤠 – On the heels of some weaker jobs data recently, it’s starting to smell a little bit like a rate cut coming soon…  We shall see (next FOMC meeting is Sept 16-17).

• Wix goes full-in on embedded finance and launches financial services suite including Wix Checking (powered by Unit) with a Visa business debit card (issued by Lincoln Savings Bank) and Wix Capital, a Merchant Cash Advance service.

• The Home Savings and Loan Company of Kenton, Ohio, DBA HSLC (FDIC 29571; total assets $233M) selects Vine Financial’s AI-powered commercial lending platform; and expects to reduce commercial loan processing time from days to hours by eliminating manual document processing while improving accuracy across its commercial real estate, equipment financing, and agricultural lending portfolio.  👍

• 👏 Congrats to my friends at Acceleron as they partner with Braid!!!  “Braid's banking partners can now access Acceleron's foreign exchange (FX) marketplace and currency conversion system via a single API, enabling financial institutions to maximize banking profitability and streamline international wire processes with minimal technical effort.”  🚀
  • Um, did someone say Non-interest Income??? 😊

• 👀 Socure announced a strategic partnership and integration with Baselayer creating a powerful and turnkey next-gen business identity solution by integrating Baselayer’s business data into Socure’s RiskOS™ platform. 💥

• Baker Hill announced a strategic partnership with LoanPro that brings together “a truly unified, modern lending experience, combining Baker Hill's robust loan origination capabilities with LoanPro's configurable servicing infrastructure for a complete end-to-end platform.”  Nice!!!! 🎉

• Empower Finance rebrands as Tilt and launched a series of Tilt Credit Cards issued by WebBank to support non-prime customers and accelerate reliable access to fair credit. 
  • A natural progression following Empower’s acquisition of Petal’s CC platform last year.  Tilt’s CC program expands on their existing Line of Credit (provided by FinWise Bank) with banking services provided by nbkc bank.

• Credit Sesame partners with Green Dot (NYSE: GDOT; FDIC 22653; total assets $4.8B) to power and enhance its Sesame Cash digital banking service via Green Dot’s embedded finance platform, Arc.
  • No mention if this is a replacement of existing sponsor Community Federal Savings Bank, or a BaaS supplier diversification strategy (which we continue to see in the fintech space).

• Booking.com makes its first foray into financial services by launching their Visa Signature co-branded credit card issued by First Electronic Bank and powered by Imprint modern card platform.

• Valiify (digital account opening and loan origination platform) announced a partnership with Payfinia to embed Payfinia’s Instant Payment Xchange platform to bring “real-time money movement directly into the Valiify platform, enabling financial institutions to move funds and disburse loans immediately, without involving manual workflows or external systems.”

• As expected…  Capital One (FDIC 4297; total assets $649B) is starting the process of switching its debit card network to the Discover® network (was Mastercard) now that the acquisition of Discover is complete.

• Figure Technology Solutions, Inc. becomes the latest to file confidential S-1 draft registration statement with the SEC for proposed IPO.

• Slash (neobank for businesses) debuts stablecoin powered by Bridge (a Stripe company).  Their new payments and treasury platform, powered by their USDSL stablecoin, is aimed at companies seeking U.S. dollar access and cross-border payments without a U.S. bank account.

• Finzly announced its preparation to support stablecoin and tokenized deposits adding to its API-first multi-rail payment platform that includes Fedwire, RTP, ACH, SWIFT, and cross-border rails.

• Ouch! 😬 Paxos to pay $48.5M over AML and due diligence issues (consisting of $26.5M penalty to New York State Department of Financial Services plus a $22M investment in its compliance program).  The regulator said Paxos ignored obvious money laundering red flags and lacked basic compliance controls, particularly in its dealings with Binance.
  • 👉 Be sure to follow the amazing Sarah Beth Felix on LinkedIn as she consistently provides excellent summary insights for all things AML, including this Paxos Enforcement Action (in a manner that even I can understand 😊).  As a bonus, she is always giving takeaways / lessons learned for banks, credit unions, and fintech companies. 

• Some personnel moves:
  • ZSuite Tech announced the promotion of Jill Feiler to CEO as Nathan Baumeister moves to Board Advisor after an amazing 6 ½ year run as Co-founder and CEO.  Congrats to all!!! 👏

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Handwave (palm-based biometric platform for payments and digital identity) raised $4.2M in Seed round funding to refine its technology, pursue regulatory certifications, and expand its merchant partnerships in Europe and the United States.
  • Grasshopper Bank raised $46.6M in capital to “accelerate its growth, scale its technology, expand its product offerings, and further enhance its commitment to delivering digital banking solutions that meet the evolving needs of both businesses and consumers.”
  • Casap (intelligent automation for FI’s to modernize dispute and fraud operations) raised $25M in Series A funding to help banks, credit unions, and fintech companies revolutionize dispute management with AI and fight first-party fraud.  Check them out at www.casaphq.com/.
    • Side note… To be 100% honest, I can’t help but find humor in the fact that I sometimes misspell the word “intelligent” -  LOL!!!! 😊

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Shoutout to Whataburger (a Texas staple) for their 75 year anniversary celebration!!!!  This year on National Whataburger Day (today, Aug 8th), you can get a Whataburger for 75-cents – but it is a digital only offering (mobile app or online) and a limit of one per rewards member. 🍔
•  It was a crazy busy week so let’s close it out (I see adult beverages in my immediate future) with everyone’s favorite part of the Update - the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week:
  • Old MacDonald had a bot…  AI, AI, O! 🎵🤠
  • Why does “fat chance” and “slim chance” mean the same thing? 🤔🤷‍♂️
  • My emotional support animal is a chicken…  It’s crispy and came with a biscuit and mashed potatoes!!! 🍗😅
  • Someone pointed out that cranberry juice tastes like it doesn’t want to be wet; and that might be the truest thing I’ve read all week!!! 😆
  • To avoid burnout, use the 30/30 rule.  After 30 minutes of work, quit your job and disappear into the mountains for 30 years. 🤣

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe in this heat! ❤️
 
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.