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/
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• 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/

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/

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/

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/

Continuing our Americas Credit Unions Government Affairs Conference coverage, Managing Director Brian Kaas discusses TruStage's new stablecoin designed specifically for credit unions, and CEO/Co-Founder Dan Michaeli shares data-driven insights from Glia's new Banking AI Benchmarks Report. Also- fintech's answer to the NBA Slam Dunk Competition.

Links related to this episode:

• TruStage Stablecoin: https://www.trustage.com/business-solutions/stablecoin
• Glia's Banking AI Benchmarks Report: https://go.glia.com/banking-ai-benchmark-data-2026
• CU Broadcast's segment recorded in DC with Glen, Anne Legg and Lou Grilli sharing their key GAC takeaways: https://www.cubroadcast.com/episodes/gac26-credit-union-industry-thought-leaders-share-their-top-gac-reflections
• Glen's November 2023 interview with Penny Finance Founder Crissi Cole: https://www.big-fintech.com/venturing-further-into-venturetech/
• Our prior episode featuring GAC interviews with CUltivate AI (purpose-built AI for credit unions) and Americas Credit Unions' economics team: https://www.big-fintech.com/chicken-wings-not-sharp-elbows/

Check out 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://flow.page/cu-unplugged to learn more and register.

Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday March 18 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions. This month we'll discuss key takeaways from the recent Government Affairs Conference. If you missed GAC it's a great chance to catch up. If you were there, compare notes with your colleagues. 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/in/glensarvady/

Our first batch of coverage from Americas Credit Unions' Government Affairs Conference features an interview with the three leaders behind CUltivate- the new credit union-owned and curated foundational AI engine- plus our annual meetup with the ACU Economics Team to discuss their take on the outlook for CUs and the US economy overall.

Links related to this episode:

• CUltivate: https://getcultivate.ai/
• Filene Research Institute: https://www.filene.org/
• Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union: www.vfccu.org
• Vertice AI: www.verticeanalytics.ai
• OpenEvidence, the Mayo Clinic's purpose-built AI tool for healthcare professionals cited as a model my CUltivate: https://www.openevidence.com/
• America's Credit Unions' Economic Update/Blogs: https://www.americascreditunions.org/blogs/americas-credit-unions/all-about-affordability

Check out 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.

Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday March 18 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions. This month we'll discuss key takeaways from the recent Government Affairs Conference. If you missed GAC it's a great chance to catch up. If you were there, compare notes with your colleagues. 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/in/glensarvady/

Glen speaks with two Associate Professors- Anna-Leigh Stone (Samford University) and Jordan Van Rijn (University of Wisconsin) about the recent Credit Union Research Workshop and Stone's paper analyzing the impact of CUs acquiring banks. Also- KYC risks morphing into Know Your Citizenship.

Links related to this episode:

• Anna-Leigh Stone: https://www.samford.edu/business/directory/Stone-Anna-Leigh
• Jordan Van Rijn: https://aae.wisc.edu/faculty/vanrijn/
• The CU Research Workshop: https://sites.google.com/view/jordan-van-rijn/home/credit-union-research-workshop
• The Cato Institute on the proposed requirement for FIs to collect account holders' citizenship data: https://www.cato.org/blog/know-citizenship-says-trump-banks
• TruStage's announcement of its TSDA stablecoin for credit unions: https://www.trustage.com/newsroom/2026-press-releases/trustage-launches-stablecoin
• The CU Daily on the latest Alabama brushfire re: a CU acquiring a bank: https://thecudaily.com/bankers-use-latest-cu-purchase-of-bank-to-criticize-tax-exemption-americas-cus-says-claimes-are-lies/

Check out 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.

Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday March 18 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/in/glensarvady/

Glen offers two more interviews from our continuing Finovate Europe coverage- a chat with GSMA Head of Industry Security Samantha Kight on the latest efforts to combat financial fraud on mobile devices, and the leaders of startup Hagbad unveil a savings circle app with echoes of credit unions' early days. Also- card interchange solidifies its role as America's misunderstood punching bag.

Links related to this episode:

• Hagbad: https://hagbad.co.uk/
• GSMA's Connected Fintech and Commerce page: https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/industries/connected-fintech/
• GSMA's Open Gateway financial API initiative: https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/gsma-open-gateway/
• Part 1 of our Finovate Europe coverage, including interviews with a pair of Best of Show winners: https://www.big-fintech.com/putting-an-accent-on-identity-code-modernization-and-fraud/
• Finovate Europe demos are available for viewing: https://finovate.com//videos/?filtertype=&showtypes=FinovateEurope&videostartyear=2026&showletters=A-Z
• Our recent episode previewing GAC with Americas Credit Unions CEO Scott Simpson: https://www.big-fintech.com/small-businesses-big-policy-debates/
• Jared Bernstein's proposed grocery affordability hack that pulls card interchange into the mix: https://econjared.substack.com/p/taking-a-stab-at-food-affordability

Check out CU Unplugged, an unscripted, participant-powered gathering designed to foster unfiltered conversation on the topics participants 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/