Evolve Bank and Trust

Banking as a service, Business of Fintech

The infrastructure layer is still up for grabs as firms compete to establish its architecture

• Fintechs are moving from partners to principals — applying for charters, building proprietary rails, and underwriting from their own data
• The sponsor bank model isn't dead, but it's under pressure as firms like Affirm and SoFi bet that owning the infrastructure beats renting it

Banking, Partner

The cost of standing still: Why core banking modernization has become a competitive imperative

• Modernization needs to be viewed as a strategic growth driver rather than just an IT cost.
• Will Moroney, CRO at Temenos discussed the firm’s recent trends report that shows how banks are falling behind by clinging to legacy infrastructure, and why closing the AI readiness gap is becoming the defining competitive challenge of the moment.

10-Q, Member Exclusive

Can Robinhood build sustainable revenue streams that are not tied to how often people trade?

• In 2026, Robinhood’s strategy has been about expanding what surrounds its core trading engine.
• The actual question is: Can episodic trading behavior be converted into persistent reliance on Robinhood?

Banking, Banking as a service, Member Exclusive

How Thread Bank is turning a century-old charter into a modern distribution engine

• What it takes for a bank to scale in the US today – and still stand out – in a market where innovation is easy to claim but regulatory credibility is far harder to earn.
• Thread Bank offers a useful lens into this reality. It operates through a partnership-led embedded banking model to expand its distribution and reach new clients.

Podcasts

How Block built a $200 billion credit operation by seeing customers traditional lenders can’t

• Roughly 100 million Americans are invisible to traditional credit systems, either unscored, thin-filed, or misrepresented by data that doesn't reflect their actual financial lives.
• Juan Hernandez of Block explains how the company used first-party data and alternative underwriting models to extend over $200 billion in credit across Cash App, Square Loans, and Afterpay — while keeping pricing low and access wide.