A Taxing Week in Washington
Glen recaps an action-packed Government Affairs Conference, featuring our annual interview with America’s Credit Unions’ Economics Team on the coming year’s outlook. An “existential threat” to the industry’s income tax exemption headlined a packed agenda, but the CFPB, NCUA and interchange legislation were also on the menu- not to mention tariff whiplash and market uncertainty.
The Sky’s the Limit for Credit Union Communication
Glen quizzes John about his initiative leveraging social media app BlueSky’s open source architecture to create a moderated, inclusive platform for credit union dialogue and experimentation. Also- threading the needle at the Governmental Affairs Conference.
Bringing Loans out of the Lab
Glen speaks with DePaul University professor and financial innovation expert Lamont Black about his recent work on a blockchain-based secondary loan market to unlock credit union liquidity and reduce costs. Also- Chase tries to keep Zelle in the “friends and family,” and 2024 payment stats beg the question “how fast is fast enough?”
Zelle Hits a Trillion, Same Day ACH Says “Hold My Beer”
A flurry of year-end data provided valuable insight on the state of faster payments in the US and prompted some organizational chest-thumping. It also breathes new life into the question, “how fast is fast enough?”
2025 Predictions: A Bingo Card for the Ages
May you live in interesting times…. John and Glen join with Anne Legg and John Janclaes to speculate on the big events poised to frame the coming year. Our panel foresees the best of times and worst of times for AI, a flurry of mergers, breakthroughs in mortgage lending, and regulatory roulette. Oh, and our annual disagreement on Bitcoin and crypto.
Scams, Grievances and the Enduring Value of Trust
Glen shares a pair of interviews from last week’s Deluxe Exchange conference- Scamnetic co-founder Al Pascual on a startup’s mission to preempt fraud earlier in the pipeline, and Deidre Campbell on a few financial services silver linings amid troubling data from the annual Edelman Trust Barometer. Also- Bingo cards and the CFPB carousel.
Did You Have That One On Your Bingo Card?
What started as an offhand comment- “I bet you didn’t have that on your bingo card”- took on a life of its own.
Reimagining Innovation, CUSOs and Big Ideas
Glen speaks with NACUSO’s Interim CEO- and serial CUSO founder- Miriam Ackerman about plans for the group’s Reimagine conference this April in Las Vegas, including a juiced up Next Big Idea competition. Also- a quick summary of the busiest credit union news week in recent memory.
Where Do the Chips Fall After DeepSeek?
John and Glen (mostly John) sort through the details of the still-evolving DeepSeek story. They assess how much of the freakout is warranted (is it “a Sputnik moment”?) and propose a scenario in which it may actually represent a *plus* for credit unions. Also- yet another twist in the Illinois interchange saga.
Making Sense of Trump’s Crypto Executive Order
It took a mere four days back in office for President Trump to issue his Executive Order, “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology.” Somehow it managed to qualify as a bit of a letdown for some crypto enthusiasts who had become convinced their cause was a high enough priority to warrant a mention in the inaugural address.