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...
Cringe Valley to Growth Engine: The Power of Video Content
Why Fintech Leaders Need to Start Creating Video Content NOW
In a world dominated by short-form video, fintech leaders can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. This video breaks down why video content is no longer optional and how it can dramatically improve awareness, trust, and customer acquisition costs.
If you’re not creating video content in 2026, you’re already behind.
In this video, I break down why short-form and long-form video have become the most powerful tools for fintech growth and why companies relying on traditional tactics like paid ads, events, and ou...
What If a Digital Bank Actually Felt Like Your Local Bank?
Episode Overview
In this episode, Roland Howard sits down with John Kingma of Old Glory Bank to explore what it takes to build a digital-first bank in a rapidly consolidating financial industry. As traditional institutions move upmarket, small businesses and everyday Americans are increasingly left behind.
Old Glory Bank was built to serve that gap, launching nationwide and reaching customers in all 50 states within just two weeks. The conversation dives into the realities of starting a bank, from regulatory pressure to operational scale, and why so few new institutions are entering the market.<...
40% of Americans Can’t Cover a $400 Emergency. Here’s a Better Solution
Nearly 40% of Americans can’t cover a $400 emergency expense. That statistic alone explains why financial stress has become one of the biggest hidden issues in the workforce today.
In this episode of the Propagate Fintech Podcast, Roland Howard sits down with Rachel Fox of Sunny Day Fund to unpack the growing problem of financial precarity and why emergency savings is emerging as one of the most important new employee benefits.
Sunny Day Fund helps employers offer payroll-deducted, employer-incentivized emergency savings accounts that allow workers to build liquid savings for unexpected expenses. Instead of relying on cr...
Why Most Digital Transformation in Banking Fails | ICBA’s Justin Dunmyer
What actually drives digital transformation in banking?
In this episode of the Propagate Fintech Podcast, Roland Howard sits down with Justin Dunmyer of ICBA to unpack what community banks, fintech founders, and banking leaders often get wrong about innovation, automation, and data strategy.
Justin previously spent over a decade inside a community bank working his way from teller to Chief Digital Officer, leading digital strategy, analytics, partnerships, and marketing. Today he works with the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator, helping fintech companies connect with community banks across...
How TruStage’s Discovery Fund Backs Underrepresented Founders in Fintech
In this episode of the Propagate Fintech Podcast, Roland Howard sits down with Elizabeth McCluskey to unpack her journey from investment banking and wealth management to impact investing and now venture capital at TruStage, where she helps back early-stage fintechs advancing financial inclusion and credit union innovation.
00:00 Intro + DC “snowcrete”
01:00 From investment banking to values-driven investing
04:30 The ethics moment that changed everything
05:10 Finding impact investing (and fintech)
06:45 Why credit unions became the mission fit
09:30 Discovery Fund thesis and underserved founders
14:20 Angel investing, SPVs, and the non...
Mr. Beast kicks in the door of banking world with Fintech purchase of STEP
MrBeast is putting on a clinic that should be studied in graduate school by entering the fintech world with the purchase of Gen Z platform, STEP.Â
In this episode of the Propagate Fintech Podcast, Roland Howard sits down with American Banker journalist Melinda Huspen to break down the acquisition of STEP and what it means for banks, fintech founders, and the future of creator-led financial services.
We explore:
• Why distribution power may be becoming as important as product innovation
• The rise of creator-led financial brands
• How Gen Z and Gen Alp...
AI Isn’t the Strategy. Actionable Data Is with Vertice AI's Tyler Brantley
00:00 Integration Challenges in Financial Services
01:02 Understanding AI in the Financial Sector
03:55 Generative AI and Its Impact on Banking
10:44 Navigating the Fintech Landscape
12:16 The Role of AI in Banking
15:13 Leveraging Data for Competitive Advantage
17:04 Targeted Marketing Strategies
21:31 Operationalizing Insights for Growth
21:49 Balancing AI and Human Touch in Marketing
AI is everywhere in banking right now, but what’s real, what’s hype, and what actually drives growth?
In this episode of the Propagate Fintech Podcast, Roland Howard sits down with Tyler Brantley of Vertice AI to break down how...
What Happens When Credit Scores Meet Cashflow? American Banker’s Melinda Huspen Breaks It Down
Episode Summary
In this conversation, Melinda Huspen discusses her journey into journalism, her insights on Experian's new credit scoring model, and the implications of open banking on credit scoring. She highlights the potential of cashflow-based underwriting to serve underserved communities and shares advice for fintechs looking to gain media attention. The discussion also touches on future trends in fintech and the challenges of entering the US market.
Melinda's article in American Banker found below
https://www.americanbanker.com/news/how-experian-scores-thin-file-borrowers-with-cash-flow-data
Takeaways
Melinda's journey into j...Banks Keep Losing Customers They Just Acquired w/Har Rai Khalsa
In this episode, Roland Howard sits down with Har Rai Khalsa, Co-Founder of SwayStack, to unpack one of the most expensive and overlooked problems in banking today: inactive and unfunded accounts.
Har Rai shares how SwayStack identified a major gap after account opening, where 25–40% of new accounts go dormant despite acquisition costs that can reach $500 per account. The conversation explores why customers open accounts but never fully switch, how friction in moving direct deposits and subscriptions keeps people stuck, and why financial institutions often end up paying ongoing costs for relationships that never activate.
The di...
Why Lending Still Feels So Clunky W/Glenn Bolstad of Vikar
In this episode, I sit down with Glenn Bolstad, President of Vikar Technologies, to unpack what modern bank lending should look like—and why so many digital transformation efforts fall short.
Glenn shares how Vikar approaches lending origination differently: orchestrating the full journey from application to underwriting, decisioning, closing, onboarding, and core integration. We discuss why point solutions continue to create friction, how complex commercial lending exposes the limits of legacy LOS platforms, and where AI is beginning to meaningfully impact lending workflows today.
If you’re a bank executive, lending leader, or fintech operator focu...
Are You Ready For a Core Replacement? w/Zack Forbes
In this episode of the Propagate Fintech Podcast, Roland Howard sits down with Zack Forbes, Founder of ImpactFi Advisors, to unpack what really happens behind the scenes of bank technology decisions and why so many institutions struggle with growth, modernization, and core conversions.
Zack shares his journey from a decade at Fiserv into launching ImpactFi Advisors, driven by a desire to make a real, measurable difference for community banks. The conversation explores how banks should think about best-in-class technology, when flexibility becomes a liability, and why underutilized platforms are often self-inflicted wounds.
They dig into:<...
