[FinTech Shark Week] Revenue in the Water: Turning FinTech Strategy into Profit with Guest Scott Goldthwaite
Wrestling Payments Podcast: Season 3 - Episode 18
Financial institutions face a critical challenge: how to identify and monetize revenue opportunities through FinTech partnerships while justifying upfront costs to leadership. On this Wrestling Payments episode, host Elyssa Morgan speaks with Scott Goldthwaite from FinTech Futures, who breaks down where banks can find immediate revenue streams and build compelling business cases.
"It's really up to the bank to have a strategy and a plan to enhance their transaction fee income," Scott explains. He outlines specific revenue opportunities in sponsorship, acquiring, issuing, and faster payments like RTP. The key is understanding both money movement needs - inbound and outbound - rather than siloing into separate acquiring or issuing strategies.
Scott addresses cost concerns by emphasizing the importance of plotting break-even points and understanding transaction thresholds. He also explores emerging opportunities in cross-border payments, AI-powered solutions, and stablecoins. The conversation provides actionable frameworks for banks ready to move beyond cost concerns and start generating real revenue from FinTech relationships.
Download Episode Transcript
Guest-at-a-Glance
💡 Name: Scott Goldthwaite
💡 What he does: Founder & Consultant
💡 Company: FinTech Futures
💡 Noteworthy: FinTech Operator and Payments Strategist with 24+ years experience, NEACH board member
💡 Where to find him: LinkedIn
Host-at-a-Glance
💡 Name: Elyssa Morgan
💡 What she does: Vice President of Membership
💡 Company: NEACH
💡 Noteworthy: Payments strategist, growth leader, and trusted advisor who drives member growth and serves as advisor to financial institutions
💡 Where to find her: LinkedIn
Key Insights
Banks Must Plot Break-Even Points Before Entering FinTech Partnerships
Revenue uncertainty causes partnership hesitation, but banks can overcome this by understanding their transaction economics upfront. Financial institutions need to calculate specific transaction thresholds where partnerships become profitable, factoring in implementation costs, staffing requirements, and ongoing monitoring expenses. While partnerships require investment in compliance and risk management, transaction-based revenue from issuing, acquiring, and faster payments can generate substantial returns once volume thresholds are met. This strategic approach transforms partnerships from uncertain investments into calculated revenue opportunities with measurable success metrics.
Money Movement Strategy Requires Both Inbound and Outbound Thinking
Successful FinTech partnerships demand a holistic view of money movement rather than siloed approaches. Today's FinTech solutions typically require comprehensive infrastructure supporting funds flowing in multiple directions - earned wage access programs need both funding mechanisms and disbursement capabilities, while B2B solutions require receiving, holding, and sending functionality. Banks that understand this complete cycle can better evaluate partnership opportunities and monetize multiple touchpoints in a single customer relationship rather than competing for isolated transaction types.
Emerging Technologies Will Reshape Partnership Models Within 18 Months
The convergence of agent AI, stablecoins, and automated payment systems represents an imminent transformation in financial partnerships. Agent AI will enable automated negotiations between systems, while stablecoins provide programmable money executing complex payment logic without human intervention. Banks that begin exploring these technologies now through manageable partnership steps will avoid being blindsided when fully automated financial ecosystems become standard, requiring new capabilities in API management and automated compliance monitoring.
Episode Highlights
The Reality Check: Why Only a Few Dozen Banks Actually Work with FinTechs [00:04:00 - 00:05:00]
Despite having over 4,000 banks in the US, only a couple dozen actually engage in meaningful FinTech partnerships. This creates a massive opportunity for banks willing to enter the space, but also reveals why many institutions remain hesitant. The conversation explores how FinTech isn't actually new - it's simply a modern name for what were previously called payment processors and third-party service providers. Understanding this historical context helps banks realize they're not entering uncharted territory, but rather evolving existing business models.
"There's 4,000 plus banks right in the US, maybe more. There's only a couple dozen that really work with fintechs out of that whole opportunity list of banks and that hasn't changed much. It's really the same banks doing the same types of things and I think there's a great opportunity for some other banks to get involved with this."
The Fourth Party Risk Challenge: Understanding Nested Partnerships [00:12:00 - 00:14:00]
Banks must expand their due diligence beyond traditional third-party relationships when working with FinTechs. The discussion reveals how FinTech companies often rely on additional technology partners, creating fourth-party relationships that banks need to understand and monitor. This complexity requires banks to track where money flows, who has custody at each step, and what risk management exists throughout the entire ecosystem. The conversation emphasizes how proper risk assessment becomes more critical as these nested relationships multiply.
"With a FinTech, you really gotta go to fourth party because there's some off the shelf components that a FinTech is not gonna build. They may connect with an FIS certified sort of platform, or available TSIs platform for processing. So the bank really needs to understand the landscape of the third party, the fourth party, where the money is at any given time."
Faster Payments Success Requires Vertical Focus [00:16:00 - 00:18:00]
Unlike ACH which has broad applications, faster payment success depends on targeting specific industries where immediate fund availability creates real value. The discussion explores how vertical-focused strategies work best for RTP and other real-time payment rails. Examples include payroll, insurance, and peer-to-peer payments where customers will pay premium fees for immediate access. The conversation also covers how banks can analyze their existing commercial customer data to identify which verticals present the best opportunities for faster payment adoption.
"What we are seeing out in the market for success with these faster payments initiatives is very vertical centric and they are credit push. So what are those markets where credit push is valuable to have it now versus tomorrow or later on today? Certain verticals, whether that's payroll insurance, peer peer payments, those are all verticals where you can make the case."
The AI and Stable Coin Revolution: Preparing for Automated Finance [00:27:00 - 00:28:00]
The convergence of agent AI and stable coins will fundamentally transform how financial partnerships operate within the next 12-24 months. The discussion outlines a future where AI agents negotiate business agreements autonomously while stable coins execute complex payment logic automatically. This includes scenarios where payments release based on delivery confirmations, inspections, and other predetermined conditions - all happening without human intervention. Banks need to start preparing now through smaller partnership steps to avoid being overwhelmed when these technologies become mainstream.
"Agent AI combined with stable coins, combined with the ability to move money around the world. That's just an unbelievable opportunity. You can send your agent off to negotiate, my AI will talk to your AI agent. Then we can actually make an exchange using a stable coin. The stable coin will be smart enough to release a certain amount of funds at a certain point of a down payment and inspection and a receipt of goods."
To hear this episode and many more like it, subscribe to Wrestling Payments on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts, or listen above.
FinTech Shark Week Episodes