Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Propagate Fintech Podcast

What actually drives digital transformation in banking?

In this episode of the Propagate Fintech Podcast, Roland Howard sits down with Justin Dunmyer of ICBA to unpack what community banks, fintech founders, and banking leaders often get wrong about innovation, automation, and data strategy.

Justin previously spent over a decade inside a community bank working his way from teller to Chief Digital Officer, leading digital strategy, analytics, partnerships, and marketing. Today he works with the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator, helping fintech companies connect with community banks across the United States.

This conversation cuts through the buzzwords around AI, fintech, and banking innovation to focus on what actually works.

If you’re a fintech founder, banking executive, or fintech operator, this episode explains:

• Why most digital transformation initiatives stall

• How banks should start with automation and data

• What fintech founders must understand before selling to banks

• How the ICBA fintech accelerator works

• Why community banks may be uniquely positioned for the AI era

• Why digital transformation is more about culture than technology
• The most common mistakes banks make when adopting fintech
• How automation should start inside community banks
• Simple ways banks can use data without hiring data scientists
• Why fintech founders struggle to sell into banks
• What makes a fintech truly bank-ready
• How the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator connects fintechs with banks
• Why AI may strengthen community banking relationships rather than replace them

Timestamps

0:00 From Community Banking to Fintech Innovation

0:48 Community Bank Career Journey: Teller → Chief Digital Officer

2:16 What Digital Transformation in Banking Really Means

3:20 Why Digital Transformation Often Fails

4:34 Building a Culture of Innovation in Banks

5:54 Quick Wins for Banking Transformation

7:03 Customer Onboarding and Digital Banking Adoption

7:31 Why Innovation Projects Stall in Banks

9:00 Change Management in Financial Institutions

9:51 Avoiding Death by Committee in Tech Decisions

10:29 Chief Digital Officer vs CIO vs CTO

12:16 Building the Business Case for Technology

13:36 Where Community Banks Should Start with Automation

15:02 Why Data Is a Bank’s Most Valuable Asset

17:17 Practical Data Use Cases in Banking

18:09 Avoiding Analysis Paralysis with Data

20:40 Mentorship and Career Growth in Banking

21:37 What ICBA Does for Community Banks

22:32 Inside the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator

24:13 How Fintechs Get Real Feedback from Bankers

25:35 Why the Accelerator Matters for Fintech Distribution

26:06 How ICBA Selects Fintech Companies

27:55 What Makes a Fintech “Bank Ready”

32:27 Why Selling to Banks Is So Hard

34:48 Biggest Mistakes Fintech Founders Make

37:03 How Banks Actually Evaluate Vendors

37:38 Partnerships and Fintech Distribution Strategy

39:37 AI in Banking: The Next 3–5 Years

42:42 Why Community Banks May Win the AI Era

44:21 Advice for Community Bank CEOs

45:11 Advice for Fintech Founders

46:32 ICBA Innovation Programs and Accelerator

47:58 Closing

Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

In this episode of the Propagate Fintech Podcast, Roland Howard sits down with Elizabeth McCluskey to unpack her journey from investment banking and wealth management to impact investing and now venture capital at TruStage, where she helps back early-stage fintechs advancing financial inclusion and credit union innovation.

00:00 Intro + DC “snowcrete”

01:00 From investment banking to values-driven investing

04:30 The ethics moment that changed everything

05:10 Finding impact investing (and fintech)

06:45 Why credit unions became the mission fit

09:30 Discovery Fund thesis and underserved founders

14:20 Angel investing, SPVs, and the non-alc movement

17:25 How VCs separate signal from noise

20:56 Why storytelling matters more than ever

26:50 Vertical themes: stablecoin, affordability, and insurance innovation

31:00 AI: implementation, guardrails, and enterprise reality

33:08 TruStage distribution and supporting portfolio companies

36:20 2025 portfolio winners: Hello Divorce + Debbie

40:00 Wrap

What you’ll learn

•What fintech impact investing looks like in practice and why it’s still early innings

•Why credit unions are under-invested in from a fintech standpoint and what that creates (opportunity)

•TruStage’s Discovery Fund thesis and who it’s designed to support (under represented founders)

•Why fintech angel investing has evolved (SPVs + platforms) and how that changes access

•How early-stage investors separate signal vs noise when data is limited

•Why reference calls matter, and what they reveal about founders

•The “tied to the problem vs tied to the solution” mindset 

•Why authentic storytelling is becoming a competitive edge as AI increases content volume

•Stablecoin, AI implementation realities, and why execution takes longer in enterprise environments

•How TruStage helps portfolio companies with distribution and credit union introductions

•Portfolio winners to watch: Hello Divorce and Debbie

Key topics covered:

Elizabeth’s career arc

•Investment banking as a training ground, but not a lifestyle she wanted long-term

•Wealth management lessons across sectors, macro + bottoms-up analysis

•A personal ethics moment that sparked a pivot toward impact

Impact investing and fintech

•Discovering impact investing through business school work (including exposure to Acumen-style thinking)

•Investing in companies across education, healthcare, economic empowerment, and sustainability

Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

MrBeast is putting on a clinic that should be studied in graduate school by entering the fintech world with the purchase of Gen Z platform, STEP. 

In this episode of the Propagate Fintech Podcast, Roland Howard sits down with American Banker journalist Melinda Huspen to break down the acquisition of STEP and what it means for banks, fintech founders, and the future of creator-led financial services.

We explore:

• Why distribution power may be becoming as important as product innovation

• The rise of creator-led financial brands

• How Gen Z and Gen Alpha trust creators differently than traditional institutions

• Banking-as-a-Service risks and opportunities after recent industry disruptions

• What bank leaders and fintech operators should be watching next

If even 4% of MrBeast’s YT audience becomes customers, it would put STEP's customer count on the same level as incumbent super regional FIs.

Follow Melinda’s work at American Banker: https://www.americanbanker.com/author/melinda-huspen

Connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melinda-huspen/

#fintechinnovation #mrbeast #mrbeastshorts #banking #bankmarketing #creditunion

Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

00:00 Integration Challenges in Financial Services
01:02 Understanding AI in the Financial Sector
03:55 Generative AI and Its Impact on Banking
10:44 Navigating the Fintech Landscape
12:16 The Role of AI in Banking
15:13 Leveraging Data for Competitive Advantage
17:04 Targeted Marketing Strategies
21:31 Operationalizing Insights for Growth
21:49 Balancing AI and Human Touch in Marketing

AI is everywhere in banking right now, but what’s real, what’s hype, and what actually drives growth?

In this episode of the Propagate Fintech Podcast, Roland Howard sits down with Tyler Brantley of Vertice AI to break down how artificial intelligence is reshaping customer acquisition, data strategy, and marketing execution for community banks and credit unions.

This conversation dives into the practical side of AI adoption:

• Why many financial institutions struggle to turn data into action
• The shift away from massive data lake projects toward faster, AI-driven insights
• How predictive modeling helps banks find better long-term customers instead of “spray and pray” marketing
• The difference between true AI platforms and bolt-on solutions
• How institutions can scale personalized marketing while keeping humans in the loop
• What banking leaders should look for when evaluating AI vendors

Tyler shares how Vertice AI helps financial institutions know, grow, and measure their customer base by turning existing data into actionable strategies without requiring large data science teams.

If you’re a fintech leader, marketer, or banking executive trying to understand where AI actually fits into growth strategy today, this episode is for you.

Learn more about Vertice AI: https://verticeanalytics.ai

Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

Episode Summary

In this conversation, Melinda Huspen discusses her journey into journalism, her insights on Experian's new credit scoring model, and the implications of open banking on credit scoring. She highlights the potential of cashflow-based underwriting to serve underserved communities and shares advice for fintechs looking to gain media attention. The discussion also touches on future trends in fintech and the challenges of entering the US market.

Melinda's article in American Banker found below

https://www.americanbanker.com/news/how-experian-scores-thin-file-borrowers-with-cash-flow-data

Takeaways

• Melinda's journey into journalism was facilitated by networking opportunities.
• Experian's new credit scoring model combines various methods into a single score.
• Open banking adoption will accelerate the use of cashflow-based scoring models.
• Consumer lenders will be the first to feel the impact of cashflow underwriting.
• Cashflow data can help underserved communities access credit more easily.
• Fintechs should focus on the banking angle when pitching stories to journalists.
• Regulatory changes are significant news for the banking industry.
• Cybersecurity and fraud are major concerns for banks today.
• The entry of non-US fintechs into the US market is a growing trend.
• The evolution of cashflow underwriting will be influenced by regulatory changes.

Chapters:

• 00:00 Melinda's Journey to American Banker
• 02:39 Experian's New Credit Scoring Model
• 07:32 The Impact of Open Banking on Credit Scoring
• 11:31 Cash Flow Underwriting and Underserved Communities
• 13:59 Advice for Fintechs Pitching to Journalists
• 16:40 Future Trends in Banking and Fintech

Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

In this episode, I sit down with Glenn Bolstad, President of Vikar Technologies, to unpack what modern bank lending should look like—and why so many digital transformation efforts fall short.

Glenn shares how Vikar approaches lending origination differently: orchestrating the full journey from application to underwriting, decisioning, closing, onboarding, and core integration. We discuss why point solutions continue to create friction, how complex commercial lending exposes the limits of legacy LOS platforms, and where AI is beginning to meaningfully impact lending workflows today.

If you’re a bank executive, lending leader, or fintech operator focused on growth, efficiency, and experience—this conversation will challenge how you think about lending transformation.

⸻

About Propagate Fintech

Propagate Fintech is an end-to-end fintech and banking marketing agency helping financial institutions and technology providers clarify their story, strengthen awareness, and drive growth.

From brand positioning and messaging to websites, video, conference presence, and go-to-market execution, Propagate partners with banks and fintechs across the full marketing lifecycle.

Learn more at https://www.propagatefintech.com

⸻

Topics covered
• Why lending is the true front door to the banking relationship
• Where legacy LOS platforms still break down
• Straight-through processing vs manual dropouts
• Best-of-breed vs orchestrated lending platforms
• AI’s real impact on underwriting and decisioning
• Change management and fatigue inside banks
• Designing lending experiences that scale

⸻

About the guest

Glenn Bolstad is the President of Vikar Technologies, a fintech platform helping banks and credit unions modernize lending and deposit origination through a unified, end-to-end experience.

Learn more at https://www.vikartech.com

Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

In this episode, Roland Howard sits down with Har Rai Khalsa, Co-Founder of SwayStack, to unpack one of the most expensive and overlooked problems in banking today: inactive and unfunded accounts.

Har Rai shares how SwayStack identified a major gap after account opening, where 25–40% of new accounts go dormant despite acquisition costs that can reach $500 per account. The conversation explores why customers open accounts but never fully switch, how friction in moving direct deposits and subscriptions keeps people stuck, and why financial institutions often end up paying ongoing costs for relationships that never activate.

The discussion expands into primacy, questioning whether direct deposit alone should define it, or if product depth and engagement matter more for traditional banks and credit unions. Roland and Har Rai also dig into open banking, Section 1033, digital identity, and how legacy core and digital banking providers may be the real bottleneck to progress.

Har Rai shares practical, non-theoretical advice for bank and credit union leaders, including:
•The first actions institutions should take immediately after account opening
•Why simple communication like welcome emails still matters
•How incentive-aligned checking products can drive real engagement
•Where and how SwayStack stands out against the plethora of account origination tools
•What bankers can do in-branch that doesn’t scale, but dramatically improves retention

The episode closes with a look at where onboarding, engagement, and digital banking are headed, and why institutions that align incentives and reduce friction will win the next phase of deposit competition.

⸻

Topics covered include:
 • Dormant account economics
 • Customer acquisition cost vs lifetime value
 • Direct deposit switching challenges
 • Open banking and data ownership
 • Redefining primacy in banking
 • Incentive-based checking accounts
 • Onboarding beyond account opening

If you’re a bank or credit union leader thinking about engagement, deposits, and retention after the account is opened, this episode is for you.

Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

In this episode of the Propagate Fintech Podcast, Roland Howard sits down with Zack Forbes, Founder of ImpactFi Advisors, to unpack what really happens behind the scenes of bank technology decisions and why so many institutions struggle with growth, modernization, and core conversions.

Zack shares his journey from a decade at Fiserv into launching ImpactFi Advisors, driven by a desire to make a real, measurable difference for community banks. The conversation explores how banks should think about best-in-class technology, when flexibility becomes a liability, and why underutilized platforms are often self-inflicted wounds.

They dig into:
•The realities of “best of breed” vs best of bundle strategies
•Why poor vendor support is one of the biggest drivers of core conversions
•How banks can create leverage by acting as true reference partners
•What it actually takes to prepare for a core conversion that may only happen once every 15–20 years
•Why real-time banking expectations are colliding with legacy batch-based systems

This episode is a candid look at technology strategy, vendor dynamics, and long-term planning for community banks navigating modernization, M&A pressure, and generational change.

To learn more about ImpactFi Advisors and their approach to helping banks navigate complex technology and strategy decisions, visit www.impactfiadvisors.com or connect with Zack Forbes on LinkedIn.

To learn more about Propagate Fintech, go to Propagatefintech.com.

Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com