Propagate Fintech Podcast

Propagate Fintech is a podcast exploring how financial services actually evolve. Hosted by Roland Howard, the show features in-depth conversations with fintech founders, bank and credit union leaders, operators, and industry voices shaping lending, deposits, payments, account origination, and go-to-market strategy. Each episode cuts through hype to focus on real-world execution: how products get adopted, why institutions struggle to modernize, where growth stalls, and what works when fintechs and regulated financial institutions intersect. The podcast is produced by Propagate Fintech , an end-to-end marketing and PR agency serving the banking and fintech industry. Propagate partners with fintechs, banks, and credit unions to clarify positioning, build credibility, and drive growth through brand strategy, content, PR, and go-to-market execution.

Propagate Fintech Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Roland Howard, with 25 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Roland Howard hosts Propagate Fintech Podcast, a business show with 25 episodes published.

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  Propagate Fintech Podcast

  Going to Finovate Fall? Listen to This First, With Greg Palmer

  Aug 18, 202644 min

  Greg Palmer has coached thousands of fintech founders through Finovate's seven minute, no slides, live demo format. In this episode, he breaks down what separates a demo that lands from one that dies on stage, why saying "we use AI" stopped being enough, and how stablecoins and tokenized deposits are moving from novelty to strategy for banks. Greg also shares the exit sign trick he teaches nervous first time presenters, what actually happens when a demo crashes live in front of an audience, and how to get the most out of Finovate whether you are a banker, a startup, or walking the floor for the first time. Plus, a discount code for anyone thinking about attending. Chapter List 00:00 - How Finovate decides which banks, credit unions, and fintechs to feature 02:13 - Why competitors are willing to share openly on the show floor 03:48 - Why "we use AI" doesn't impress anyone anymore 07:37 - The regulatory pressure banks face when experimenting with new tools 08:55 - Stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and the World of Warcraft gold origin story 13:01 - What a first time banker should prepare before attending Finovate 16:01 - How early stage startups can get the most out of the event 19:14 - Working the booth after your demo without losing anyone in line 21:33 - Greg's theater background and the most common coaching fix he makes 26:48 - Why founders still need to go back to basics on the seven minute pitch 29:58 - The exit sign trick for staying calm on stage 33:19 - What panic attacks and total confidence both look like from the audience 34:58 - What to do when your demo crashes live on stage 38:10 - How to decide if Finovate is worth your one show a year 41:21 - Discount code: PROPAGATE20 for 20% off registration 41:45 - Where to find Finovate and reach Greg directly 42:25 - Greg's coaching work outside of Finovate Discount Code Use code PROPAGATE20 for 20% off Finovate registration. Links Finovate: https://www.finovate.com Propagate Fintech: https://www.propagatefintech.com Propagate Fintech on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/propagatefintech Book 30 minutes with Roland: https://calendly.com/roland-propagatefintech/30min YouTube Shorts https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Z2Wq8uA5eVg https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tk4nzXXrJqs https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rdY1Q1vzPFI Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

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  Propagate Fintech Podcast

  Synthetic Identity Fraud, AI Risk, and the Future of Lending Compliance

  Aug 10, 202620 min

  Lending technology is still running on infrastructure nobody would build from scratch today. I sat down with Mike Dunleavey and Gino Angeli from LASER Credit Access this week. About twenty minutes in, Mike described the average loan origination system as feeling like a 747 cockpit. Buttons, panels, widgets everywhere. Nobody designed it. It just accumulated over forty years. LASER's whole thesis is doing one thing well inside Salesforce: pulling credit data, bank statements, and identity verification into one clean decision, with the compliance trail built in automatically. Not trying to be the whole loan origination stack. Just the front door, done right. A few things from the conversation worth pulling out on their own. Episode timestamps: 0:00 Intro and what LASER Credit Access does for lenders 1:42 How lending compliance has changed over the last decade plus 6:52 Why LASER stayed focused on the front end instead of building a full loan origination system 7:54 Why lending technology still looks like a 747 cockpit 11:14 The range of lenders LASER works with, and where their needs differ 14:00 Managing change fatigue during implementation 18:11 Branding, storytelling, and how LASER thinks about marketing 26:25 Staying visible for over a decade without a big marketing budget 28:40 The fraud landscape, and the fake ID demo that stunned the room 31:27 A real client story: forged bank statements and a fifty thousand dollar loss 34:38 Where AI fits, and does not fit, inside LASER's own operations 39:44 Rapid fire: automation wish lists and vendor evaluation advice 44:59 Where to learn more about LASER Credit Access On fraud, and how fast it's moving Gino told me about a client who got hit with fully AI generated bank statements, pay stubs, and W2s. The borrower got a fifty thousand dollar loan and then vanished. And the tools behind it aren't specialized or hard to find. Gino showed a room full of Salesforce partners how to generate a realistic fake driver's license using nothing but a LinkedIn photo and Gemini. Took him about a minute. That's not a hypothetical anymore, and it's part of a bigger shift in how fast AI is reshaping the tools everyone in fintech and banking reaches for day to day. On why they've barely spent a dollar on marketing Gino said something I've been chewing on since the interview: their growth has come almost entirely from referral sources, Salesforce consultants and implementation partners, not from campaigns. And when I asked why they've stayed away from broader marketing, his answer was blunt. A random lender scrolling TikTok isn't the decision maker at a loan shop. They'd rather be the trusted answer a consultant gives when someone says "I need something for this." It's a good reminder of a pattern I see constantly in fintech. Most pitches fail for reasons that have nothing to do with the product. On compliance, and where the regulatory ground is shifting A big part of what LASER solves is the audit trail. Permissible purpose, consent language, retention windows, all tracked automatically so a lender isn't scrambling when a bureau or regulator comes calling. Worth watching alongside a separate conversation we had recently on just how much the ground under federal regulatory independence is moving right now. On AI inside their own shop Mike and Gino don't let AI anywhere near their production code, and they were clear about why. They're sitting on personally identifiable information for hundreds of lenders, and one bad update is not a risk either of them is willing to take. Where AI has earned a seat is documentation, internal knowledge base work, and organizing thirteen years of support history. Useful, bounded, and nowhere near the parts of the business that can't afford a mistake. If you're evaluating lending technology, or just curious how a thirteen year old company stays lean and referral driven without a marketing department, worth a listen. More on what LASER does: https://www.lasercreditaccess.com/ Related watches: Claude becoming the de facto AI option for fintechs and bankers: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Uphn9BlsPS8 Why most fintech media pitches fail: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/E4DMgreeDZ4 The death of federal agency independence: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tk4nzXXrJqs Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

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  Propagate Fintech Podcast

  Game Over for the Fed?

  Jul 27, 202620 min

  For decades the Federal Reserve operated like it sat on its own island: insulated, untouchable, above the political fray. Two Supreme Court rulings, Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook, just rewrote the rules on whether a president can fire the people who run the nation's monetary policy. Kyle Campbell, who covers the Fed and bank regulation for American Banker, joins the show to break down what these rulings really mean, what happens if Trump succeeds in removing Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and whether Kevin Warsh can keep the institution independent, or if he becomes what one senator has called a sock puppet. What We Cover (00:09) The pair of Supreme Court rulings that left the Fed as the last agency standing on independence (02:00) Why the Fed got an exception when the Court said no other agency gets one (03:54) What happens if Trump succeeds in removing Fed Governor Lisa Cook (08:19) The safeguards still standing between the White House and the FOMC (12:47) This week's FOMC meeting, set against an escalating war in the Middle East (14:05) Whether there is any backchannel between the Fed and the Department of War (16:00) What a harmonized, single-minded regulatory era means for financial services Notable Quote "Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. And if you push the Fed and the economy tanks, everybody knows it was by your design." — Roland Howard About Our Guest Kyle Campbell covers the Federal Reserve and bank regulation for American Banker. His July 20th article, “What comes next for the Fed's regulatory independence,” sparked this conversation and is linked below. Links & Resources ● American Banker: What comes next for the Fed's regulatory independence ● Listen on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/propagate-fintech-podcast/id1874648654 ● Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@PropagateFintech/shorts ● Follow Propagate Fintech on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/propagatefintech ● Learn more: propagatefintech.com Want to Be a Guest? Grab time on Roland's calendar: calendly.com/roland-propagatefintech/30min Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

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  Propagate Fintech Podcast

  Could Humor Be the Most Wide Open Lane in Fintech Marketing?

  Jul 23, 202613 min

  Most fintech brands play it safe with their marketing. Static image, motion graphic, list your differentiators, call it a day. Nobody gets in trouble for that. But safe doesn't fail loud, it fails quiet, and quiet is the real risk. In this episode, Roland breaks down why humor is one of the most wide open lanes in fintech marketing and almost nobody is fighting for it. He walks through a real project where his team had fifteen thousand dollars and sixteen seconds of screen time to work with, no audio, at a major trade show. What happened next, including killing the idea, reviving it, and testing it against real bankers, is the whole episode. 0:00 – The fifteen thousand dollar thought exercise 1:15 – Why humor is the most wide open lane in fintech marketing 2:40 – Where the industry's "safe" instinct comes from 3:50 – Why playing it safe is the real risk, not the joke that misses 5:10 – How AI lowered the cost of testing a bold idea 6:20 – Three tactics for building this muscle on your team 9:00 – The real client story: sixteen seconds, no audio, $15K on the line 11:45 – Killing the fun idea, then bringing it back 13:00 – What happened when they tested it with real bankers and execs 14:20 – The ask: pick one project this quarter Links: Follow Propagate Fintech on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/propagatefintech More clips on YouTube Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/@PropagateFintech/shorts www.propagatefintech.com Want help building a bolder content strategy for your fintech brand? Book time with Roland: https://calendly.com/roland-propagatefintech/30min Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

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  Propagate Fintech Podcast

  What To Expect With New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh?

  Jul 12, 202632 min

  Powell's out. Kevin Warsh is in. And it's not just a new name at the podium, it's a completely different communication philosophy for the Federal Reserve. Kyle Campbell, who covers the Fed for American Banker, joins the show to break down what Warsh's "say less, smile more" approach means for banks, fintechs, and markets that got used to the Fed spelling everything out. What We Cover... The Philosophy Shift: Kyle explains why Warsh's first press conference looked so different from the Powell era, and what it means when the Fed intentionally pulls back on forward guidance. Why is the fed saying less? The Fed's policy statement went from three or four hundred words down to about 130. Kyle breaks down what got cut and why. What are Reserve Bank Presidents? A look inside how the FOMC actually votes, who rotates on and off, and why regional perspectives matter more than people realize. Is Warsh a "Sock Puppet" for Trump? Kyle's take on Warsh's independence, and how his first vote compared to what happened under short-term board member Stephen Miren. What is Greenspan's legacy? The Great Moderation, the subprime years, and what Kyle's sources including former Fed vice chairs Don Cohn and Alan Blinder say about Greenspan's gift for telling the right story at the right time. How does the Fed look at AI? What Kyle would ask Warsh off the record about AI as a productivity driver, and why that answer matters for inflation and the deficit. Key Takeaways The Fed under Warsh favors reacting to markets over directing them Less forward guidance can mean more uncertainty for lending and credit conditions Regional Reserve Bank presidents play a bigger role in FOMC decisions than most people assume Greenspan's era shows both the upside and the risk of a Fed chair with real cultural influence Timestamps 00:00 – The philosophy shift under Warsh 02:37 – What got cut from the Fed statement 10:23 – How reserve bank presidents vote 15:45 – Warsh's independence from Trump 18:12 – Alan Greenspan's legacy 28:34 – What Kyle would ask Warsh off the record More Episodes You'll Like What happens when cash flow underwriting meets AI? CIO Survival Guide for AI - Claude Entitlements,AI Semantic Model, Clean Data Culture Before Digital Transformation About Our Guest: Kyle Campbell covers the Federal Reserve and bank regulation for American Banker, with a growing focus on emerging risks across AI and crypto in the financial system. Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

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