26 July 2016

5 questions, AI Innovation, Awards

From connectivity to intelligence: How Plaid is teaching AI to understand financial behavior

• Plaid won the Data Innovation Award at Tearsheet's 2026 AI Innovation Awards.
• Suddu Seshadri, Plaid's Head of Data & AI, discusses the firm's move from connectivity to intelligence and its bet on finance-specific AI foundation models.

10-Q, Member Exclusive

Is it time for AI to enter the payback period and show its ROI?

• If AI is changing the economics of how businesses operate, where do we see its payoff?
• Block’s Q2’26 results suggest AI’s payoff may start showing up in familiar financial metrics. Whether the usual metrics are enough remains an open question.

10-Q

The Week in Market Moves | Aug 06-13, 2026

• This analysis tracks recent specific company developments and how markets responded, anchored to Thursday's close.
• This week’s prominent moves came from Wells Fargo, Block, Coinbase, Intuit, and Klarna.

Member Exclusive, SMB Finance

Why banks’ trusted-advisor pitch isn’t landing with SMBs right now

• For small business owners, banks still have a long way to go: just 7% view their bank as a true strategic partner, according to Grasshopper Bank’s recent survey.
• A major problem, says Grasshopper's Danielle Kane, is that many banks still see small-business banking as a product category rather than an operating environment with distinct needs.

Member Exclusive, New banks, Policies & Playbooks

Fintechs want to become banks. Bunq just found out what the OCC expects in return.

• For fintechs seeking U.S. bank charters, the OCC is asking: Do the management, capital, risk, and compliance infrastructure hold up? And is the institution ready to operate as a bank, not just alongside one?
• The OCC may be widening the path to a charter, but it’s also raising the bar for proving readiness.