One Year of Digital Town Halls- and a BIG Anniversary Party
Media coverage of last week’s Visa/Mastercard settlement predictably- and appropriately- focused on the impact to merchants and the card network behemoths. Fortunately most news outlets avoided the dubious claim that consumers would somehow benefit from the estimated $30 billion fee concession (there were exceptions- looking at you, New York Times).
Best Innovation Group Second-time Nominee for Voice of Money Award
We’re pleased to share the Finalists for this year’s Project Voice Awards. Winners will be announced April 15 as part of the virtual Project Voice Worldwide.
Fintech Talents- for Credit Unions and Beyond
I’ve been flying the “can’t we all just get along?” banner for some time. Credit unions and community banks?- there’s a lot more that should unite than divide us. Fintech firms as friends or foes of financial institutions?- sure, some will choose to compete head-on but there are plenty of mutually beneficial avenues for collaboration.
The Pace of Change- Don’t Just Brace Yourself, Equip Yourself
I think we can all agree that the pace of change impacting credit union operations in 2020 was- without the risk of hyperbole- unprecedented. Branches closed for extended periods. Employees performed core duties from home that conventional wisdom long held were impossible to move off premise.
“At Our Best When Things are at Their Worst”
Glen shares highlights of CUNA’s just-completed Government Affairs Conference, including an interview with CUNA Economists Mike Schenk and Jordan Van Rijn recapping their always popular Economic Update and implications for both Main Street and credit unions. Plus acquisitions, re-brandings, and (slim) hopes for crossing the aisle.
What’s So Special about SPACs?
My barometer for when an arcane finance topic has crossed into the mainstream tilts when my twentysomething artist daughter asks me about it. We’ve already had two such events this year- first came the “short squeeze” around the GameStop fiasco. Now we have Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (SPACs), which even Hollywood celebrities are suddenly embracing as the “it” investment vehicle.
What Makes SPACs So Special?
Glen chats with Wall Street veteran and Forbes contributor Jeff Gapusan about the meteoric rise of SPACs and the sudden appeal of this obscure (until recently) investment vehicle. Als
The Future (and Past) of Cash
Like virtually every aspect of life, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered our relationship with cash- perhaps permanently in some aspects, but temporarily in others. This makes it an intriguing time for an industry conference titled The Future of Cash. I’m sure some snarky folks will quip that cash has no future.
Hacking a Tesla? Or a Credit Union?
“Recovering hacker” Alissa Knight shares her frightening first-hand experience breaching dozens of mobile banking apps and other Internet of Things embedded systems. Also- Ant Financials’ lower valuation and the UK’s Buy Now Pay Later reckoning.
The GameStop Aftermath- What to Watch For
If I gave you a tip in early January on a stock that proceeded to triple in price in less than a month you’d be pretty happy, right? That’s hardly the prevailing attitude about GameStop, however. Of course, this is because the until-recently disregarded stock was briefly up more than twenty-fold in the interim.