BIGcast

Best Innovation Group's John Best & 154 Advisors' Glen Sarvady

The fintech industry is evolving rapidly, and the BIGcast is here to delve into its impact on the credit union industry. Our esteemed guests from across the financial, technology and security sectors will provide thrilling perspectives on the latest fintech innovations that are poised to revolutionize the way we handle our finances. Each week join thought-leader, John Best and subject matter expert, Glen Sarvady as they take a quick dive into the financial industry's current breakthroughs and latest hot topics.

  1. Fighting Amsterdam Fintech FOMO

    4 days ago

    Fighting Amsterdam Fintech FOMO

    Laura Gibson-Lamothe, the Georgia Fintech Academy's Executive Director, provides firsthand coverage of the key takeaways from Money 20/20 Europe. Laura and Glen also discuss broader trends in talent development/demand and regional differences in banking (and smoking! ) regulation. Plus- process reflections spurred by the passing of longtime Fed Chair Alan Greenspan, and the Bank of England sets a new stablecoin standard. Links related to this episode: The Georgia Fintech Academy: https://georgiafintechacademy.org/ Laura's recent post pondering A Tale of Two Georgias: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tale-two-georgias-stablecoins-financial-future-laura-gibson-lamothe-0t7bc/ One of Laura's Money 20/20 interviews onsite in Amsterdam, with The Fintech Accord's West Richards on Stablecoins, AI & Global Fintech Policy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYNAZKFEcy0 Fintech Futures' coverage of the Bank of England's new stablecoin policy: https://www.fintechfutures.com/regulatory-actions/bank-of-england-stablecoins-policy-draft-regulation-uk Glen's blog on a VERY eventful month for interchange: https://www.big-fintech.com/a-remarkable-month-for-interchange-but-what-has-really-changed/  Mark your calendar to join the next CU Town Hall- Wednesday July 15 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- our monthly live and lively interactive conversation where credit union leaders tackle the major issues facing the sector 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/n/glensarvady/

    40 min
  2. Financial Health, No Matter the Mission

    16 Jun

    Financial Health, No Matter the Mission

    Our second batch of interviews stemming from the Financial Health Network's EMERGE conference, both with founders of compelling fintech startups: ROX CEO Lara Hodgson (breaking down barriers to SMB credit/liquidity) and Poncho CEO John Brown (financial wellness for military families). Also- the sudden twist in Fiserv's turnaround story. Links related to this episode: ROX: https://www.roxwrite.com/   Poncho:  https://www.poncho.us/ Poncho CEO John Brown on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnprestonbrown/ The Financial Health Network: https://finhealthnetwork.org/ Glen's blog on a VERY eventful month in interchange: https://www.big-fintech.com/a-remarkable-month-for-interchange-but-what-has-really-changed/ A replay of Glen's favorite EMERGE session, featuring Alex Johnson posing "lightning round" questions to a panel including former OCC head Michael Hsu: https://finhealthnetwork.org/event-session/hard-questions-for-the-future-of-finance Sister publications Banking Dive and Payments Dive publish differing perspectives on Fiserv CEO Mike Lyon's surprise departure: https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/fiserv-ceo-exits-after-rocky-year/822882/ https://www.bankingdive.com/news/truist-ceo-lyons-rogers-fiserv/822878/  Follow us on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/   https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/  https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

    43 min
  3. Authentic Intelligence in Financial Health

    5 Jun

    Authentic Intelligence in Financial Health

    Glen shares highlights from the Financial Health Network's EMERGE conference, including interviews with a pair of trailblazing co-founders: Debbie Rewards' Frida Leibowitz and Prosprous.ai's Ted Leung. Also- Illinois kicks the interchange can down the road (again), Pope Leo pleads for humanity in AI, and a campaign to repurpose dopamine hits for financial wellness.      Links related to this episode: Debbie: https://www.joindebbie.com/ Prosprous.AI: https://prosprous.ai/ The Financial Health Network: https://finhealthnetwork.org/ Our interview with the Financial Health Network's Andrew Warren on a reconsideration of the definitions of un- and underbanked:  https://www.big-fintech.com/is-the-underbanked-concept-ripe-for-a-rethink/   Our interview with co-founder Eric Berg of Duome, the belatedly crowned winner of NACUSO's Next Big Idea Competition: https://www.big-fintech.com/two-conferences-two-coasts-one-exhausted-fintech-geek/   Illinois has now double-punted on its interchange legislation and Colorado's governor vetoed its similar version; nonetheless, here's a savvy take on the underlying flaws that other states should consider before mimicking: https://www.rstreet.org/commentary/colorados-new-bill-on-interchange-is-a-test-case-for-unintended-consequences/ Here's Colorado Governor Jared Polis' three-page letter explaining why he vetoed the bill: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s7NlfmaHRIArKyKg1ShBplEIgarJiXIV/view   Follow us on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/   https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/  https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

    34 min
  4. Are We Approaching an AI Trough of Disillusionment?

    27 May

    Are We Approaching an AI Trough of Disillusionment?

    Glen and John dissect a recent online airing of grievances regarding AI's perceived shortcomings. To Glen's surprise, John finds validity to some of these criticisms. Also- the Pope weighs in, robots close the human gap, the term "neuro-symbolic AI" emerges, and the green shoots of a "slow tech" movement may be emerging.    Links related to this episode: The Reddit thread- from the AGI community- that prompted this discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/agi/comments/1t73hw7/i_was_once_an_ai_true_believer_now_i_think_the/ YouTube video on translating Claude's AI thoughts into language: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQgMCXPJRHXjjZvVNCqcswtpNNr?projector=1 JB dissects ChatGPT's new personal finance features on our recent CU Town Hall: https://www.big-fintech.com/cu-town-hall-episode-147-the-chatgpt-finance-era/ Last week's interview with Jack Henry's Lee Wetherington, including data on AI as a bank/credit union strategic priority: https://www.big-fintech.com/what-keeps-you-up-at-night-may-depend-on-your-charter/ The assembly line video of a package sorting robot (which *may* outperform a human, depending on your yardstick): https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=luU57hMhkak&ra=m The Associated Press on Pope Leo's AI encyclical: https://apnews.com/article/pope-ai-tech-trump-vatican-anthropic-d92d0108730d146baa46da041b8523da A precursor to "slow tech"? The AP's obit for Slow Food Movement founder Carlo Petrini https://apnews.com/article/slow-food-petrini-founder-italy-85cde4ee84168207a3354281202720b1  Follow us on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/   https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

    36 min
  5. What Keeps CEOs Up at Night May Depend on Their Charter…

    20 May

    What Keeps CEOs Up at Night May Depend on Their Charter…

    Glen chats with Lee Wetherington about Jack Henry's newly minted survey of nearly 200 credit union and bank CEOs, exploring how strategic priorities and top concerns differ by group and how they've shifted over time. Also, a treasure trove of new industry data- on consumer payment choice, household economics, crypto/stablecoin usage, and a breezy 269-page NCUA stroke of GENIUS for your holiday reading pleasure.      Links related to this episode: Jack Henry's 2026 Strategy Benchmark Study: https://discover.jackhenry.com/strategy-benchmark-study-2026 FRB Services' Diary of Consumer Payment Choice: https://www.frbservices.org/news/research/2026-findings-diary-consumer-payment-choice The Kansas City Fed's paper on stablecoin use: https://www.kansascityfed.org/documents/15703/PaymentsSystemResearchBriefing26Noll0410.pdf The Federal Reserve Board's 2025 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED): https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2025-report-economic-well-being-us-households-202605.pdf   CU Today on the NCUA's proposed approach to implementing the GENIUS Act: https://www.cutoday.info/THE-feature/NCUA-s-New-Stablecoin-Framework-Sparks-Debate-Over-CUs-Best-Digital-Dollar-Strategy  Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday May 20 at 3pm ET/Noon PT- a live and lively interactive conversation tackling the major issues facing credit unions today. In this session, John will dissect OpenAI's new personal finance offering. 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/n/glensarvady/

    31 min
  6. Cool Parents, 21st Century Investors

    14 May

    Cool Parents, 21st Century Investors

    Our continuing coverage of the NACUSO Reimagine and Nacha Smarter Faster Payments conferences features a pair of interviews: NACUSO's advocacy lead Zach Pfister on modernizing investment rules to match 2026 realities, and Dykema's Lauren Quigley on FIs' role as open banking realists, creating a safe environment for the inevitable.    Links related to this episode: Lauren Quigley/Dykema's Fintech/Payments practice: https://www.dykema.com/services/industries/financial-services/fintech-payments-and-digital-commerce.html NACUSO CEO Randy Salser's Interview with the Credit Union Connection re: the 1% investment cap: https://thecreditunionconnection.com/cusos-nacuso-ceo-randy-salser-interview/ Security expert (and Friend of BIG) Roger Grimes voices his AI concerns: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rogeragrimes_share-7458496907447971840-n2hX Our recent CU Town Hall "AI Fear Factory" session: https://www.big-fintech.com/cu-town-hall-episode-146-credit-union-ai-fear-factory/ Prominent tech VC investor a16z explains why it believes the term "stablecoin" may soon be obsolete: https://a16zcrypto.substack.com/p/why-stablecoins-wont-age-well Nacha: https://www.nacha.org/ NACUSO Reimagine: https://reimagine.nacuso.org/  Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday May 20 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/ Next on the conference calendar: The Financial Health Network's EMERGE, May 19-21 in Atlanta: https://finhealthnetwork.org/event/emerge-financial-health-2026/ USE CODE "JOINME-GLEN" FOR A DISCOUNTED RATE     Follow us on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/

    40 min
  7. Two Conferences, Two Coasts, One Exhausted Fintech Geek

    7 May

    Two Conferences, Two Coasts, One Exhausted Fintech Geek

    Glen gathers highlights from the annual conferences for both Nacha in San Diego and NACUSO in Orlando, including conversations with Nacha CEO Jane Larimer on Same Day ACH milestones, Duome Co-Founder Eric Berg on a Next Big Idea for housing, and the Digital Sovereignty Alliance's Molly Woodman on the state of stablecoin.      Links related to this episode: Nacha: https://www.nacha.org/ Duome: https://www.myduome.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericberg-dntblnk/ The Digital Sovereignty Alliance: https://dsaf.org/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-sovereignty-alliance/ NACUSO Reimagine: https://reimagine.nacuso.org/ Next on the conference calendar: The Financial Health Network's EMERGE, May 19-21 in Atlanta: https://finhealthnetwork.org/event/emerge-financial-health-2026/ (USE CODE "JOINME-GLEN" FOR A DISCOUNTED RATE)   Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday May 20 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/n/glensarvady/

    43 min
  8. Agents & AI & Trust & Narrative Control

    29 Apr

    Agents & AI & Trust & Narrative Control

    Glen connects with Senso Co-Founder/CEO Saroop Bharwani about his firm's approach to addressing some of the greatest disruptions emerging from the Agentic AI explosion. Also- Gen Z perspectives continue to evolve and surprise, and behavioral science gets a sidecar.    Links related to this episode: Senso: https://www.senso.ai/ Saroop Bharwani's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saroopbharwani/   The near-classic Finovate debut Best of Show demo from Debbie (including a Noom reference): https://finovate.com/videos/finovatefall-2022-debbie/ Debbie's recent $5.3 million fundraise: https://coverager.com/trustage-ventures-backs-debbie/ Our recent episode on reevaluating the criteria of underbanked consumers: https://www.big-fintech.com/is-the-underbanked-concept-ripe-for-a-rethink/   Join us for our next CU Town Hall- Wednesday May 20 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/n/glensarvady/

    40 min
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About

The fintech industry is evolving rapidly, and the BIGcast is here to delve into its impact on the credit union industry. Our esteemed guests from across the financial, technology and security sectors will provide thrilling perspectives on the latest fintech innovations that are poised to revolutionize the way we handle our finances. Each week join thought-leader, John Best and subject matter expert, Glen Sarvady as they take a quick dive into the financial industry's current breakthroughs and latest hot topics.

Information

  • Creator
    Best Innovation Group's John Best & 154 Advisors' Glen Sarvady
  • Years Active
    2014 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    ©2025, Best Innovation Group Inc., All Rights Reserved.
  • Show Website
    BIGcast

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