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A mere three weeks ago we were playing with ChatGPT to generate whimsical poems about Crypto Winter. In the short period since, Google parent Alphabet’s stock sank 11% when a video leaked of an internal demo of its competing generative AI engine going awry.

By now the ChatGPT tool probably needs no introduction- especially since Microsoft’s recently announced “multi-year, multi-billion dollar investment” in parent company OpenAI.

Recently John Best and I battled through nasty weather and spotty internet to trade thoughts on the stories with the biggest impact on payments and fintech in 2022. The audio version can be found here but for those who prefer the written word, I’ve collected a convenient summary with additional detail in some instances.

Pandemic? Recession? Nah. The Money 20/20 conference drew a record crowd of 13,000 to Las Vegas last week and based on the exhibit hall presence and private parties thrown by relative newcomers and established firms alike, we’ve yet to register a decline in fintech enthusiasm or a tightening of purse strings.

Glen shines a light on a few recent stories you may have missed- an overdue core rebranding, bigger dollars on the Same Day front, some unexpected fraud trends and the passing of a credit card icon.

The Federal Reserve’s long-promised report on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) finally arrived last week- and it could serve as a Rorschach test separating the supporters from the skeptics.

We’re all aware the pandemic has altered Americans’ shopping and payments behavior- the remaining questions are how, and by how much.

Everyone has their opinions on where the credit union and technology worlds are headed; we at BIG have been documenting our predictions for several years running. Although the navel-gazing part is fun, we believe it’s equally important to hold ourselves accountable.

When John and I sat down to discuss the top stories impacting the fintech and credit union landscape during 2021, it quickly became clear how fast our world has been spinning. Major headlines like the market hysteria over meme stocks like GameStop and the sudden influence of Reddit groups like WallStreetBets already seem like ancient history- yet they were front page news as recently as February.

Another week, another befuddling batch of employment numbers. In November my home state of Georgia set an all-time record low unemployment rate of 3.1%. Several others aren’t far behind. In normal times, this would be seen as a cause for celebration.