Breaking Banks

In This Episode

In this episode of Breaking Banks, industry leaders Jason Hass (First Electronic Bank), Mike Jorgensen (U.S. Bank), and Louis Mrachek, (Merrick Bank) connect with Jason Henrichs for a dynamic conversation centered on embedded finance. Embedded finance seamlessly integrates financial services into non-financial platforms. Some examples include BNPL, Lending: Business & Personal Loans, and P&C Insurance, simplifying the claim process and getting the payment.

The panel explores how fintechs and banks are evolving from competitors into true partners—combining innovation, compliance, and trust to deliver better customer experiences.

They also tackle tensions between speed, risk and regulation, and the critical role banks still play behind the scenes. The future of finance may be invisible — but the trust powering it cannot be.

This episode is part of the Hot Takes series, powered by U.S. Bank, and was recorded live at the University of Utah’s FintechXchange Conference.

In This Episode

We’ve recently seen growth in many areas, but a disconnect always seems to exist between economic growth, especially capital market growth, and what people on the ground are experiencing. In short, the macro story is strong; the reality is more fragile if you look at households. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, what is the first thing today’s consumer pays for every month? Mortgage/rent, health care, food? All good guesses, but no! The primary financial priority: the cell phone.

In this episode, Robyn Burkinshaw, CEO of BlytzPay, and Jason Henrichs discuss the reality of financial health in the United States. With 30% of the population living at or below the poverty line and 25% considered unbanked or underbanked, the current system often widens the wealth gap.

Jason and Robyn discuss redefining financial health through access, designing for real lives rather than ideal users, and using the system to create stability. And Robyn shares how BlytzPay is working to “break the box” by helping lenders and servicers meet subprime consumers where they are via text-to-pay and a flexible online payment system. The mission is increasingly vital as AI and new technologies can potentially bridge or widen the current wealth disparity.

This episode is part of the Hot Takes series, powered by U.S. Bank, and was recorded live at the University of Utah’s FintechXchange Conference.

In This Episode

Banks are evolving beyond traditional financial products to offer value-added services that deliver outcomes that matter in customers’ everyday lives.

In this episode of Breaking Banks, we explore this shift through a very specific lens. Joining host Jason Henrichs are Marcy Allen, Head of Enterprise Financial Institutions at Carefull, a company focused on helping families protect aging loved ones from financial risk and fraud, and Drew Reilly, VP, Fintech Partnerships & Investments at U.S. Bank They discuss how banks approach value-based accounts and loans, the realities of delivering these services within large institutions, buying versus building, and what happens when financial services appear where customers actually need help, not just where banks traditionally operate.

This episode is part of the Hot Take series, powered by U.S. Bank, and was recorded live at the University of Utah’s FintechXchange Conference.

In This Episode

Which trends are genuinely reshaping and transforming banking? Is fintech hitting its “awkward adolescent phase”—past the hype but not yet fully mature?

Today we sort through the signal and the noise. Which trends are actually changing how banks work and which are mostly theater. There are lots of pitches coming at banks, but just like in baseball, you can’t swing at them all. How do financial institutions decide what’s worth pursuing versus what’s just the latest headline?

Joining host Jason Henrichs are two people who view the landscape from different vantage points: Alex Johnson, Founder of FinTech Takes who analyzes and challenges the narratives shaping fintech, and Meghan Kober, Head of Fintech Partnerships & Investments at U.S. Bank who sits on the side of who decides which innovations get deployed within one of the most innovative banks. Together, they dig into where fintech stands today and what the next phase might look like once the noise settles.

This episode of Breaking Banks is part of the FintechXchange recording series at the University of Utah, powered by U.S. Bank.

In This Episode

The current regulatory regime in the US promised a lighter touch and more de novo charters. Sure enough, there has been a flurry of activity with a wide range of applications being submitted from long time payment providers like Paypal, neobanks looking to break free from their BaaS sponsors, and even silicon valley insiders looking to build the bank of the future like Erebor.

Reading the various applications and hearing the varied business plans raised a very fundamental question: What if bank charters are being issued to companies that don’t actually want to be banks?

We tend to treat a charter like a finish line — as if the moment you get one, you’ve crossed into some higher state of legitimacy. But a charter is a regulatory status. Being a bank is an economic role. And those two things may be drifting apart.

In this episode of Breaking Banks, Jason Henrichs and Jeff Taft, Partner at Mayer Brown, dig into that tension. Jeff has advised on bank formations, regulatory strategy, and some of the most complex de novo and specialty charter conversations in the market. He has a front-row seat to how applicants think about charters — and how regulators evaluate readiness to operate as banks.

This conversation was recorded live as part of FintechXchange put on by the Fintech Center at the University of Utah. This Hot Takes series is powered by U.S. Bank.

Now let’s dig in to the question: are most charter applicants trying to become banks — or trying to become regulated?