BIGcast

Hosted by Best Innovation Group's John Best & 154 Advisors' Glen Sarvady

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100

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Jun 2026

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About the show

The fintech industry is evolving rapidly, and the BIGcast is here to delve into its impact on the credit union industry. Our esteemed guests from across the financial, technology and security sectors will provide thrilling perspectives on the latest fintech innovations that are poised to revolutionize the way we handle our finances. Each week join thought-leader, John Best and subject matter expert, Glen Sarvady as they take a quick dive into the financial industry's current breakthroughs and latest hot topics.

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June 5, 202634 min

Authentic Intelligence in Financial Health

Glen shares highlights from the Financial Health Network's EMERGE conference, including interviews with a pair of trailblazing co-founders: Debbie Rewards' Frida Leibowitz and Prosprous.ai's Ted Leung. Also- Illinois kicks the interchange can down the road (again), Pope Leo pleads for humanity in AI, and a campaign to repurpose dopamine hits for financial wellness. Links related to this episode: Debbie: https://www.joindebbie.com/ Prosprous.AI: https://prosprous.ai/ The Financial Health Network: https://finhealthnetwork.org/ Our interview with the Financial Health Network's Andrew Warren on a reconsideration of the definitions of un- and underbanked: https://www.big-fintech.com/is-the-underbanked-concept-ripe-for-a-rethink/ Our interview with co-founder Eric Berg of Duome, the belatedly crowned winner of NACUSO's Next Big Idea Competition: https://www.big-fintech.com/two-conferences-two-coasts-one-exhausted-fintech-geek/ Illinois has now double-punted on its interchange legislation and Colorado's governor vetoed its similar version; nonetheless, here's a savvy take on the underlying flaws that other states should consider before mimicking: https://www.rstreet.org/commentary/colorados-new-bill-on-interchange-is-a-test-case-for-unintended-consequences/ Here's Colorado Governor Jared Polis' three-page letter explaining why he vetoed the bill: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s7NlfmaHRIArKyKg1ShBplEIgarJiXIV/view Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

May 27, 202635 min

Are We Approaching an AI Trough of Disillusionment?

Glen and John dissect a recent online airing of grievances regarding AI's perceived shortcomings. To Glen's surprise, John finds validity to some of these criticisms. Also- the Pope weighs in, robots close the human gap, the term "neuro-symbolic AI" emerges, and the green shoots of a "slow tech" movement may be emerging. Links related to this episode: The Reddit thread- from the AGI community- that prompted this discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/agi/comments/1t73hw7/i_was_once_an_ai_true_believer_now_i_think_the/ YouTube video on translating Claude's AI thoughts into language: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQgMCXPJRHXjjZvVNCqcswtpNNr?projector=1 JB dissects ChatGPT's new personal finance features on our recent CU Town Hall: https://www.big-fintech.com/cu-town-hall-episode-147-the-chatgpt-finance-era/ Last week's interview with Jack Henry's Lee Wetherington, including data on AI as a bank/credit union strategic priority: https://www.big-fintech.com/what-keeps-you-up-at-night-may-depend-on-your-charter/ The assembly line video of a package sorting robot (which *may* outperform a human, depending on your yardstick): https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=luU57hMhkak&ra=m The Associated Press on Pope Leo's AI encyclical: https://apnews.com/article/pope-ai-tech-trump-vatican-anthropic-d92d0108730d146baa46da041b8523da A precursor to "slow tech"? The AP's obit for Slow Food Movement founder Carlo Petrini https://apnews.com/article/slow-food-petrini-founder-italy-85cde4ee84168207a3354281202720b1 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

May 20, 202631 min

What Keeps CEOs Up at Night May Depend on Their Charter…

Glen chats with Lee Wetherington about Jack Henry's newly minted survey of nearly 200 credit union and bank CEOs, exploring how strategic priorities and top concerns differ by group and how they've shifted over time. Also, a treasure trove of new industry data- on consumer payment choice, household economics, crypto/stablecoin usage, and a breezy 269-page NCUA stroke of GENIUS for your holiday reading pleasure. Links related to this episode: Jack Henry's 2026 Strategy Benchmark Study: https://discover.jackhenry.com/strategy-benchmark-study-2026 FRB Services' Diary of Consumer Payment Choice: https://www.frbservices.org/news/research/2026-findings-diary-consumer-payment-choice The Kansas City Fed's paper on stablecoin use: https://www.kansascityfed.org/documents/15703/PaymentsSystemResearchBriefing26Noll0410.pdf The Federal Reserve Board's 2025 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED): https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2025-report-economic-well-being-us-households-202605.pdf CU Today on the NCUA's proposed approach to implementing the GENIUS Act: https://www.cutoday.info/THE-feature/NCUA-s-New-Stablecoin-Framework-Sparks-Debate-Over-CUs-Best-Digital-Dollar-Strategy Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday May 20 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. In this session, John will dissect OpenAI's new personal finance offering. The Town Hall is free to attend, but advance registration is required: https://www.cutownhall.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

May 14, 202639 min

Cool Parents, 21st Century Investors

Our continuing coverage of the NACUSO Reimagine and Nacha Smarter Faster Payments conferences features a pair of interviews: NACUSO's advocacy lead Zach Pfister on modernizing investment rules to match 2026 realities, and Dykema's Lauren Quigley on FIs' role as open banking realists, creating a safe environment for the inevitable. Links related to this episode: Lauren Quigley/Dykema's Fintech/Payments practice: https://www.dykema.com/services/industries/financial-services/fintech-payments-and-digital-commerce.html NACUSO CEO Randy Salser's Interview with the Credit Union Connection re: the 1% investment cap: https://thecreditunionconnection.com/cusos-nacuso-ceo-randy-salser-interview/ Security expert (and Friend of BIG) Roger Grimes voices his AI concerns: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rogeragrimes_share-7458496907447971840-n2hX Our recent CU Town Hall "AI Fear Factory" session: https://www.big-fintech.com/cu-town-hall-episode-146-credit-union-ai-fear-factory/ Prominent tech VC investor a16z explains why it believes the term "stablecoin" may soon be obsolete: https://a16zcrypto.substack.com/p/why-stablecoins-wont-age-well Nacha: https://www.nacha.org/ NACUSO Reimagine: https://reimagine.nacuso.org/ Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday May 20 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. The Town Hall is free to attend, but advance registration is required: https://www.cutownhall.com/ Next on the conference calendar: The Financial Health Network's EMERGE, May 19-21 in Atlanta: https://finhealthnetwork.org/event/emerge-financial-health-2026/ USE CODE "JOINME-GLEN" FOR A DISCOUNTED RATE Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

May 7, 202642 min

Two Conferences, Two Coasts, One Exhausted Fintech Geek

Glen gathers highlights from the annual conferences for both Nacha in San Diego and NACUSO in Orlando, including conversations with Nacha CEO Jane Larimer on Same Day ACH milestones, Duome Co-Founder Eric Berg on a Next Big Idea for housing, and the Digital Sovereignty Alliance's Molly Woodman on the state of stablecoin. Links related to this episode: Nacha: https://www.nacha.org/ Duome: https://www.myduome.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericberg-dntblnk/ The Digital Sovereignty Alliance: https://dsaf.org/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-sovereignty-alliance/ NACUSO Reimagine: https://reimagine.nacuso.org/ Next on the conference calendar: The Financial Health Network's EMERGE, May 19-21 in Atlanta: https://finhealthnetwork.org/event/emerge-financial-health-2026/ (USE CODE "JOINME-GLEN" FOR A DISCOUNTED RATE) Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday May 20 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. The Town Hall is free to attend, but advance registration is required: https://www.cutownhall.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

April 29, 202640 min

Agents & AI & Trust & Narrative Control

Glen connects with Senso Co-Founder/CEO Saroop Bharwani about his firm's approach to addressing some of the greatest disruptions emerging from the Agentic AI explosion. Also- Gen Z perspectives continue to evolve and surprise, and behavioral science gets a sidecar. Links related to this episode: Senso: https://www.senso.ai/ Saroop Bharwani's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saroopbharwani/ The near-classic Finovate debut Best of Show demo from Debbie (including a Noom reference): https://finovate.com/videos/finovatefall-2022-debbie/ Debbie's recent $5.3 million fundraise: https://coverager.com/trustage-ventures-backs-debbie/ Our recent episode on reevaluating the criteria of underbanked consumers: https://www.big-fintech.com/is-the-underbanked-concept-ripe-for-a-rethink/ Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday May 20 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. The Town Hall is free to attend, but advance registration is required: https://www.cutownhall.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

April 22, 202636 min

Is the "Underbanked" Concept Ripe for a Rethink?

Glen speaks with Andrew Warren about the Financial Health Network's new report which makes the case for modernizing the definition of underbanked consumers. Also- X Money makes its long-promised debut, and the OCC potentially rides to the rescue of interchange (and workable payment processes). Plus a discount code for May's fast-approaching EMERGE conference. Links related to this episode: The Financial Health Network's latest 26-page "brief": Unbanked, Underbanked, or Something Else Entirely The Financial Health Network's EMERGE conference, May 19-21 in Atlanta: https://finhealthnetwork.org/event/emerge-financial-health-2026/ USE CODE "JOINME-GLEN" FOR A DISCOUNTED RATE Ron Shevlin's take on the prospects for X Money- https://www.forbes.com/sites/ronshevlin/2026/04/17/musks-x-money-how-it-could-win-and-why-it-wont/ Payments Dive on the OCC's move to short-circuit Illinois' Interchange Fee Prohibition Act: https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/occ-plans-to-preempt-illinois-interchange-law/817618/ Our recent conversation with Ncontracts' Stephanie Lyon about the shifting regulatory environment, including interchange battles: https://www.big-fintech.com/the-states-of-financial-regulation/ If CU Unplugged's style of hands-on problem solving sounds like your cup of collaborative tea, check out our Innovation Club. This group of forward thinkers meets virtually each month, and our twice-annual in-person session is coming up in May. Reach out about a guest pass: https://www.big-fintech.com/innovation-club/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

April 14, 202637 min

Keeping It Small, Sustainable

Glen speaks with the CEOs of two sub-$100 million CUs (Josh Urbick and Doug Wadsworth) about their respective efforts to advance the small credit union cause. Also, the latest developments at Anthropic and Coinbase highlight the perils facing CUs- and financial services in general. Links related to this episode: The NSCUA's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-small-credit-union-association/ The Endangered Small Credit Union Defense's LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14776042/ CU Daily's coverage of the NSCUA's formation: https://thecudaily.com/new-group-for-cus-under-500-million-in-assets-unveils-its-name/ Doug Wadsworth's Profitability Guidebook for Small CUs: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FP4D9FZM Doug's recent CU Daily article: https://thecudaily.com/you-cant-regulate-bad-managers-into-good-ones-but-you-can-do-this/ Wellesley Hill's thoughtful analysis of Coinbase's new Federal Trust Charter: https://www.wellesleyhillsfinancial.com/2026/04/12/coinbase-wins-federal-trust-charter-what-it-means-for-crypto-custody/ Reuters on the race for FIs to defend against threats posed by Anthropic's new capabilities: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bessent-powell-warn-bank-ceos-about-anthropic-model-risks-bloomberg-news-reports-2026-04-10/ Our recent episode recapping CU Unplugged, including an interview with small CU CEO Maggie Sayer: https://www.big-fintech.com/mission-rock-accomplished/ Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday April 15 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions. The Town Hall is free to attend, but advance registration is required: https://www.cutownhall.com/ If CU Unplugged's style of hands-on problem solving sounds like your cup of collaborative tea, check out our Innovation Club. This group of forward thinkers meets virtually each month, and our twice-annual in-person session is coming up in May. Reach out about a guest pass: https://www.big-fintech.com/innovation-club/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

April 8, 202644 min

Mission (Rock) Accomplished

Glen recaps an action-packed CU Unplugged "un-conference," featuring unique perspectives from leaders of three participating credit unions (Keys FCU, Mid Hudson Valley FCU, State Department FCU) and real-time reflections from Defense Credit Union Council President & CEO Tony Hernandez. Links related to this episode: Keys Federal Credit Union: https://www.keysfcu.org/ State Department Federal Credit Union: https://www.sdfcu.org/ Jonathan Cilley, CIO of Mid Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathancilley/ The Defense Credit Union Council: https://www.dcuc.org/ Visa's Innovation and Market Support Center in San Francisco's Mission Rock Neighborhood: https://corporate.visa.com/en/sites/visa-perspectives/company-news/mission-rock-market-support-center.html Our recent stablecoin conversation with TruStage Managing Director Brian Kaas: https://www.big-fintech.com/stablecoins-and-ai-need-we-say-more/ Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday April 15 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions. The Town Hall is free to attend, but advance registration is required: https://www.cutownhall.com/ If CU Unplugged's style of hands-on problem solving sounds like your cup of collaborative tea, check out our Innovation Club. This group of forward thinkers meets virtually each month, and our twice-annual in-person session is coming up in May. Reach out about a guest pass: https://www.big-fintech.com/innovation-club/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

March 24, 202631 min

The State(s) of Financial Regulation

Our final batch of America's Credit Unions GAC coverage- Glen speaks with Ncontracts' Stephanie Lyon about the shifting yet inevitable regulatory/compliance landscape. Also- another Domino falls on Paze's roadmap, and Illinois' interchange debacle proves too geeky for prediction markets- but not for a punk rock reference. Links related to this episode: Ncontracts' blog: https://www.ncontracts.com/nsight-blog Stephanie Lyon via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-lyon-8a9b6257/ Paze's addition of Citi and Domino's: https://www.digitaltransactions.net/dominos-and-payrange-add-the-paze-wallet-option/ Taft Law's PayTech practice: https://www.taftlaw.com/services/practices/paytech-and-payment-systems/ Our prior GAC coverage, featuring TruStage's Stablecoin and Glia https://www.big-fintech.com/stablecoins-and-ai-need-we-say-more/ and CUltivate AI/ ACU's Economics Team https://www.big-fintech.com/chicken-wings-not-sharp-elbows/ LAST CHANCE! Join us at CU Unplugged, an unscripted, participant-powered gathering designed to foster unfiltered conversation on the topics participants deem most critical. The event is open to all credit union leaders, but the group will be kept intentionally small for maximum impact. Join us March 30 – April 2 at Visa's Market Support Center in San Francisco- Visit https://www.cu-unplugged.com/ to learn more and register. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/glensarvady/