Fintech Business Podcast

Hosted by Jason Mikula

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Episodes

129

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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About the show

A monthly(ish) podcast featuring fintech news recaps, with Alex Johnson of Fintech Takes, and interviews with leaders in fintech, banking & crypto. fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 19, 202643 min

Interview: Agentic Finance, Partnering with Visa Direct & More with zerohash's Edward Woodford

Hey all, Jason here. In this episode, I had the chance to talk with Edward Woodford , founder and CEO at crypto, stablecoin, and tokenization infrastructure platform zerohash . Edward and I had the chance to discuss the company’s many recent announcements, including: * Partnering with Visa Direct to enable prefunding and stablecoin payouts * Working with card issuer Marqeta to enable stablecoin-powered spend cards * zerohash’s role powering tokenized Treasury trading * Edward and zerohash’s vision for the future of agentic payments * And more! And a reminder, if you’re enjoying this show, please follow, rate & review on your preferred podcast platform, as it really helps others to find the show. And if you want to help support Fintech Business Weekly and independent journalism, upgrade to a paid subscription or reach more than 93,000+ listeners by sponsoring an episode. Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe

August 12, 202650 min

Interview: Katie Perry, Author of Ticker Shock

In this episode, I had the chance to chat with Katie Perry about her recently published book, Ticker Shock . Katie currently serves as chief marketing officer at crypto and tokenization infrastructure platform zerohash and previously led marketing and partnership for brokerage Public.com. Katie and I had a wide-ranging conversation, discussing: * How corporate communications and investor relations have changed with the rise in importance of retail investors * The role communities on sites like X and Reddit play for investors * The growth of “fandoms” of specific corporate executives and companies * The blurring lines between investing and gambling * How consumer and B2B marketing have evolved over time * Why it’s critical for fintechs to build trust and how they can do it * And much, much more And a reminder, if you’re enjoying this show, please follow, rate & review on your preferred podcast platform, as it really helps others to find the show. And if you want to help support Fintech Business Weekly and independent journalism, upgrade to a paid subscription or reach more than 93,000+ listeners by sponsoring an episode. Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe

August 5, 20261 hr 17 min

Fintech Recap: ALT5 Sigma, Increase & Fed Master Accounts

In this episode, Alex and I had the chance to discuss: * The convoluted tale of ALT5 Sigma, MSwipe, Stradacarte and “no KYC” cards * Middleware provider Increase announcing it is launching a bank * The weirdness of Fed master accounts, which are back in the headlines * And, as always, what Alex and I just can’t let go of And a reminder, if you’re enjoying this show, please follow, rate & review on your preferred podcast platform, as it really helps others to find the show. And if you want to help support Fintech Business Weekly and independent journalism, upgrade to a paid subscription or reach more than 93,000+ listeners by sponsoring an episode. Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe

July 29, 202649 min

The Role of AI in Compliance in a Rapidly Changing Regulatory Environment

In this episode, I had the chance to speak with Wael ElSahhar , cofounder and CEO at MidLyr , and Kirsten Muetzel , founding principal & CPA at KLM Advisory . We discussed: * The role of AI in compliance in a rapidly changing regulatory environment * The differences in how fintechs, technology service providers, banks think about risk * Key lessons from what the industry has seen unfold in banking as a service over the last several years * How firms are actually using AI in compliance – and what risks AI itself may pose * And more! A reminder, if you’re enjoying this show, please follow, rate & review on your preferred podcast platform, as it really helps others to find the show. And if you want to help support Fintech Business Weekly and independent journalism, upgrade to a paid subscription or reach more than 93,000+ listeners by sponsoring an episode. Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe

July 15, 202635 min

Taking Cashflow Analytics Beyond the Underwriting Decision

In this episode, I had the chance to speak Brian Reshefsky, founder and CEO of EDGE, the cashflow bureau helping lenders use bank transaction data across the consumer credit lifecycle, and Zuben Matthews, cofounder and CEO of consumer financial management and credit building app Brigit. We had the chance to discuss: * How they think about cashflow-based scoring and underwriting, from both a B2B and a consumer perspective * Uses for cashflow data beyond lending decisions, like lead scoring, loan life cycle management, and cross sell * The intersection of traditional bureau data and cashflow analytics * What it means to be a CRA and why it matters * And much more A reminder, if you’re enjoying this show, please follow, rate & review on your preferred podcast platform, as it really helps others to find the show. And if you want to help support Fintech Business Weekly and independent journalism, upgrade to a paid subscription or reach more than 92,000+ listeners by sponsoring an episode. Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe

July 8, 202636 min

Interview: Maple Cofounder Joe Flanagan

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Spotify Hey all, Jason here. In this episode, I had the chance to speak with Maple cofounder and executive chairman Joe Flanagan . We had the chance to discuss: * Building in the crypto space over seven years of ups & downs * Increasing institutional adoption of cryptocurrency and stablecoins * Maple’s new partnership with Robinhood * And more! A reminder, if you’re enjoying this show, please follow, rate & review on your preferred podcast platform, as it really helps others to find the show. And if you want to help support Fintech Business Weekly and independent journalism, upgrade to a paid subscription or reach more than 92,000+ listeners by sponsoring an episode. Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe

July 3, 202622 min

Interview: Cross River's Chief AI Officer Pravesh Rijal [Exclusive]

In this episode, I had the chance to speak with Cross River Bank’s chief AI officer, Pravesh Rijal , following the bank’s announcement earlier this week of its expanded partnership with Stripe to support agentic commerce . Pravesh and I had the chance to talk about: * Cross River’s announcement this Wednesday of its expanded partnership with Stripe to support card issuing for agentic commerce * What agentic commerce actually looks like for the different stakeholders in a transaction * How Cross River and Stripe’s new capabilities address some of the risks of delegating transactions to agents * How frontier developments like the ones Cross River is working on impact everyday consumers and businesses * And more! A reminder, if you’re enjoying this show, please follow, rate & review on your preferred podcast platform, as it really helps others to find the show. And if you want to help support Fintech Business Weekly and independent journalism, upgrade to a paid subscription or reach more than 92,000+ listeners by sponsoring an episode. Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe

July 1, 20261 hr 14 min

Fintech Recap: What Can We Learn From A Fintech Credit Card's Collapse?

In this episode, Alex and I had the chance to discuss: * What industry stakeholders — fintechs, banks, and debt capital providers — can learn from the abrupt collapse of SMB credit card startup Parker card * Prediction market grab bag: Polymarket allegedly ran fake ads, Meta plans to launch “Arena,” the CFTC proposes a rule * The debanking debate just won’t go away * And, as always, what Alex and I just can’t let go of And a reminder, if you’re enjoying this show, please follow, rate & review on your preferred podcast platform, as it really helps others to find the show. And if you want to help support Fintech Business Weekly and independent journalism, upgrade to a paid subscription or reach more than 92,000+ listeners by sponsoring an episode. Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe

June 11, 202627 min

Exclusive: Neobank Current Raises $80M Series E

In this episode, I had the exclusive chance to chat with Current’s CEO Stuart Sopp and CTO Trevor Marshall on the company’s $80 million Series E, led by Springcoast Partners, announced earlier today. We also discussed: * Current’s expanded product suite and impressive 70% growth for the third year in a row * The role AI has played across the company’s business and how Stu and Trevor think about cost discipline and “return on tokens” * Current’s expanded financing facility with bank partner Cross River and General Catalyst * How Stu and Trevor think about the latest wave of foreign fintechs entering the U.S. * How the “K-shaped” economy and renewed inflation are impacting everyday American consumers * And on building a sustainable business that’s ready for the public markets Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe

June 3, 20261 hr 11 min

Fintech Recap: Everyone Wants To Be A Bank

In this episode, Alex and I had the chance to discuss: * Why seemingly every bank, crypto, and stablecoin company wants to become a bank (and what it could mean for their valuations) * A return to BaaS Island: CFSB’s consent order, and how it compares to those of other fintech partner banks * President Trump’s fintech- and banking-related executive orders * And, as always, what Alex and I just can’t let go of Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe