Interview: Cross River's Chief AI Officer Pravesh Rijal [Exclusive]

Interview: Cross River's Chief AI Officer Pravesh Rijal [Exclusive]

In this episode, I had the chance to speak with Cross River Bank’s [https://www.crossriver.com/] chief AI officer, Pravesh Rijal [https://www.linkedin.com/in/praveshrijal/], following the bank’s announcement earlier this week of its expanded partnership with Stripe to support agentic commerce. Pravesh and I had the chance to talk about: * Cross River’s announcement [https://www.crossriver.com/newsroom/cross-river-expands-stripe-issuing-partnership-to-help-power-agentic-commerce] this Wednesday of its expanded partnership with Stripe to support card issuing for agentic commerce * What agentic commerce actually looks like for the different stakeholders in a transaction * How Cross River and Stripe’s new capabilities address some of the risks of delegating transactions to agents * How frontier developments like the ones Cross River is working on impact everyday consumers and businesses * And more! A reminder, if you’re enjoying this show, please follow, rate & review on your preferred podcast platform, as it really helps others to find the show. And if you want to help support Fintech Business Weekly and independent journalism, upgrade to a paid subscription [https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe?simple=true] or reach more than 92,000+ listeners by sponsoring an episode. Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe [https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Fintech Recap: What Can We Learn From A Fintech Credit Card's Collapse?

In this episode, Alex and I had the chance to discuss: * What industry stakeholders — fintechs, banks, and debt capital providers — can learn from the abrupt collapse [https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/p/svb-sues-patriot-over-21m-of-receivables] of SMB credit card startup Parker card * Prediction market grab bag: Polymarket allegedly ran fake ads, Meta plans to launch “Arena,” the CFTC proposes a rule * The debanking debate just won’t go away * And, as always, what Alex and I just can’t let go of And a reminder, if you’re enjoying this show, please follow, rate & review on your preferred podcast platform, as it really helps others to find the show. And if you want to help support Fintech Business Weekly and independent journalism, upgrade to a paid subscription [https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe?simple=true] or reach more than 92,000+ listeners by sponsoring an episode. Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe [https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Exclusive: Neobank Current Raises $80M Series E

In this episode, I had the exclusive chance to chat with Current’s [https://current.com/] CEO Stuart Sopp and CTO Trevor Marshall on the company’s $80 million Series E, led by Springcoast Partners, announced [https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/current-secures-80-million-series-e-at-1-5-billion-valuation-following-third-consecutive-year-of-70-growth-302797260.html] earlier today. We also discussed: * Current’s expanded product suite and impressive 70% growth for the third year in a row * The role AI has played across the company’s business and how Stu and Trevor think about cost discipline and “return on tokens” * Current’s expanded financing facility with bank partner Cross River and General Catalyst * How Stu and Trevor think about the latest wave of foreign fintechs entering the U.S. * How the “K-shaped” economy and renewed inflation are impacting everyday American consumers * And on building a sustainable business that’s ready for the public markets Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe [https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Fintech Recap: Everyone Wants To Be A Bank

In this episode, Alex and I had the chance to discuss: * Why seemingly every bank, crypto, and stablecoin company wants to become a bank (and what it could mean for their valuations) * A return to BaaS Island: CFSB’s consent order, and how it compares to those of other fintech partner banks * President Trump’s fintech- and banking-related executive orders * And, as always, what Alex and I just can’t let go of Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe [https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Interview: zerohash's Founder & CEO Edward Woodford

In this episode, I had the chance to chat with Edward Woodford [https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardwoodford/], the founder and CEO of crypto, stablecoin, and tokenization infrastructure platform zerohash [https://zerohash.com/]. Edward and I had the chance to talk about: * Why zerohash is applying for a national trust bank charter * How the CLARITY Act (crypto market structure legislation) may impact the U.S. crypto industry * What Edward is hearing from non-financial industry execs about crypto, stablecoins, tokenization, and blockchain * Thinking about crypto as an “asset class” vs. crypto as “software” * The potential synergies between crypto/stablecoins and AI agents * What keeps Edward up at night and what he’s most excited about * And much more! Get full access to Fintech Business Weekly at fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe [https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]