Last week, I wrote about AI moving closer to financial services. This week, I kept finding myself drawn to a different trend.

Fintech companies are moving closer to the core of banking itself. 

One of the clearest examples is Chime. Earlier this month, Chime announced a $590 million all-cash acquisition of Stride Bank, one of its longtime banking partners.

For years, the fintech model has often looked something like this:

Build the customer experience.

Partner with a bank.

Use the bank's infrastructure behind the scenes.

But Chime's move represents something different. It's about owning more of the infrastructure underneath the customer experience. And we're seeing similar moves across the industry.

Block has applied for a national bank charter. Revolut has received preliminary approval for one. TabaPay is pursuing the acquisition of a federally chartered bank.

For years, fintechs have built businesses around banks. Now, some are starting to move in the other direction, taking on more of the infrastructure and regulation that comes with becoming a bank.

There's a bigger trend behind all of this.

According to recent reporting, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has received 40 applications for new bank charters over the past 18 months — nearly as many as it received during the previous 13 years.

And roughly half of those applications have come from fintech or crypto companies looking to build primarily digital banks.

That's a pretty significant change.

For a long time, the bank partnership model was one of the defining structures of fintech. It allowed startups to build innovative customer experiences without taking on the regulatory and operational complexity of becoming a bank.

Now we're seeing some companies decide that owning more of that stack is worth the investment.

There’s a lot to gain — more control, more flexibility, and potentially better economics. But taking on that role also means taking on a whole new set of responsibilities.

Compliance, capital requirements, risk management, supervision, and everything else that comes with being a regulated financial institution.

So I don't think this is a story about fintech replacing banks. It feels more like we're seeing the two worlds move closer together, and I think that distinction matters.

Another area I'm watching closely is payments infrastructure.

The U.S. is still in the middle of a pretty significant shift toward faster payments.

The Federal Reserve's FedNow and The Clearing House's RTP network are competing to become part of the infrastructure businesses use for instant payments.

At the same time, stablecoins are moving further into the conversation around payments and settlement.

Circle, for example, announced a $400 million acquisition of Tazapay, a cross-border payments company, as it looks to expand the reach of its stablecoin infrastructure.

And we're seeing major financial institutions take a closer look at stablecoins too, exploring how they could fit into payments and financial infrastructure.

But I don't think the interesting question is whether stablecoins are "the future."

That's probably the wrong question to ask.

The more useful question is: Where can digital dollars actually make financial transactions better?

Maybe it's cross-border payments. Maybe it's treasury and cash management. Maybe it's settlement. Or perhaps it's simply making B2B payments faster and easier.

A few days at Dreamforce, and I’m heading home with plenty of notes, ideas, and new conversations to think about.

What I enjoyed most wasn’t necessarily the sessions. It was the time in between — catching up with people, meeting new ones, and hearing how different teams are approaching growth, technology, and the changes happening across the market.

There’s something valuable about being in the same room with people who are working through many of the same questions, but from completely different perspectives.

Thank you to everyone who made time to connect. I really enjoyed the conversations and look forward to continuing them beyond Dreamforce.

Until the next one!

The calendar is filling up, and honestly, I’m looking forward to spending more time in the room than on the stage.

I’ll be at FTW San Francisco from September 29–October 1, connecting with people across fintech, payments, AI, and financial services.

On October 1, I’ll also be joining AScaleX and Catalyst Bay at Brex HQ for Go-to-Market in the AI Era — a conversation I’m particularly excited about because so much is changing in how companies think about growth and reaching customers.

Then on October 8, we’re continuing the conversation at GTM Unlocked: Marketing in the AI Era.

What I’m most interested in isn't necessarily the presentations. It’s the conversations in between them — the questions people are asking, the challenges they’re running into, and what they’re seeing firsthand.

We’re in a period where technology, financial infrastructure, and GTM are all evolving at the same time. I think there’s a lot we can learn from simply getting together and comparing notes.

If you’ll be at any of these events, come say hello. I’d genuinely love to hear what you’re working on and what you’re seeing in the market.

And if you’d like exclusive access to any of these events, feel free to email me directly.

What happens when we stop optimizing for badge scans and start optimizing for actual conversations?

Nicole Casperson and I get into this in the latest episode of Humans of Fintech — and why I think we’re seeing a real shift back to being in the room, especially when it comes to building relationships and doing business.

We talk about what’s changed, why physical gatherings still matter, and what we’re thinking about as we bring CEOs, founders, and operators together at Fintech Week SF.

Watch the full episode here:

And if the conversation resonates, join us in San Francisco for Fintech Week, September 29–October 1.

There’s a lot happening across fintech right now, but I also like looking at what’s happening closer to home.

At AScaleX, we’ve grown ARR 2x year over year, generated $3M+ from a single campaign, and seen up to 85% of total pipeline come from our core initiatives.

The numbers are exciting, but what matters more to me is what they represent.

They’re a reminder that growth doesn’t always come from doing more. Sometimes it comes from getting clearer on what works, doubling down on it, and building the systems to make it repeatable.

With the year moving quickly, I’m thinking a lot about what we can build on from here — and how we can keep turning the things that work into something even more meaningful.

Thanks for spending a few minutes with me this week!

— Angelique