[FinTech Shark Week] Swimming with Giants: Proving Size Doesn't Define Success in FinTech Waters with Guests Chris Call, Daryn Barney, and Randy San Nicolas
Wrestling Payments Podcast: Season 3 - Episode 20
Wrestling Payments host Elyssa Morgan from NEACH sits down with North Bay Credit Union CEO Chris Call to explore how his $150 million institution became a global FinTech sponsor. The credit union anticipates processing upwards of $1 billion monthly in payment transactions by year-end.
Chris explains how cannabis banking created the foundation for FinTech success. His team developed extensive compliance infrastructure to serve cannabis operators in Northern California. This specialized regulatory expertise attracted payment providers who needed sponsor banks for Federal Reserve activities. The institution now offers wire transfers, ACH processing, and cryptocurrency on/off ramps to FinTechs worldwide.
Scaling required the right technology partner. Randy San Nicolas from Braid and Daryn Barney from Role Partners discuss how their platforms enable small institutions to handle massive transaction volumes. Chris serves FinTechs from Asia, Europe, South America, and Canada.
His advice to peers is clear: innovate or face merger pressure. Small institutions can compete with big banks by finding niche markets and building robust compliance frameworks.
Host-at-a-Glance
💡 Name: Elyssa Morgan
💡 What they do: Vice President of Membership at NEACH
💡 Company: NEACH
💡 Noteworthy: Guides conversations helping payment professionals navigate modernization challenges and build for the future.
💡 Where to find them: LinkedIn
Guest-at-a-Glance
💡 Name: Randy San Nicolas
💡 What they do: Co-founder and CEO
💡 Company: Braid
💡 Noteworthy: 25 years in payments, on a mission to return power to smaller financial institutions and help them compete with giants.
💡 Where to find them: LinkedIn
Guest-at-a-Glance
💡 Name: Daryn Barney
💡 What they do: Founder
💡 Company: Role FinTech Partners
💡 Noteworthy: 25 years in payments and banking, helps mid-market banks build FinTech strategies and break down growth barriers.
💡 Where to find them: LinkedIn
Guest-at-a-Glance
💡 Name: Chris Call
💡 What they do: CEO
💡 Company: North Bay Credit Union
💡 Noteworthy: 12 years as CEO, transformed $150M credit union into global FinTech sponsor processing nearly $1B monthly across multiple continents.
💡 Where to find them: LinkedIn
Key Insights:
Cannabis Banking Creates FinTech Opportunities
Specialized compliance builds competitive advantages in unexpected ways. North Bay Credit Union's entry into cannabis banking forced them to develop extensive regulatory infrastructure and transaction monitoring capabilities. This expertise attracted FinTech companies seeking sponsor banks for Federal Reserve activities. The compliance frameworks required for cannabis operations translate directly to FinTech sponsorship needs. Small institutions can leverage their willingness to tackle challenging regulatory environments as a competitive advantage against larger banks that avoid these complexities.
Technology Partnerships Enable Massive Scale
Small institutions can process billions without massive internal teams. Processing nearly $1 billion monthly requires technological infrastructure that most community banks cannot build internally. The partnership between North Bay and Braid demonstrates how external platforms enable small institutions to handle enterprise-level transaction volumes. This approach allows community banks to compete with major financial institutions without the overhead of building complex payment systems from scratch. Success depends on selecting partners who can scale operations while maintaining compliance standards.
Niche Markets Prevent Consolidation Pressure
Innovation in underserved markets creates sustainable competitive moats. Small financial institutions face constant merger pressure, but serving neglected market segments provides protection. North Bay's strategy of targeting cannabis operators and FinTechs needing sponsor banks created revenue streams that larger institutions often avoid. This approach requires higher risk tolerance and specialized knowledge, but generates fee income that justifies independent existence. By building expertise in underserved areas, small banks create defensible positions that larger competitors struggle to replicate.
Episode Highlights:
The Innovation or Die Reality
Timestamp [00:03:00 - 00:04:00]
Small credit unions must innovate or face extinction through merger pressure. Chris Call explains how North Bay Credit Union recognized they operated in a market dominated by larger financial institutions. The choice was stark: find new revenue streams or eventually be absorbed by bigger banks. This reality drove their proactive search for unexploited niche markets where they could compete effectively.
"As a small credit union, we're in a market that is dominated by larger financial institutions and we knew that we were gonna have to either innovate or be merged out of existence eventually through a bank merger of some kind. So we started looking at opportunities for us to exploit those niche markets."
Building Internal Buy-In for Risk
Timestamp [00:12:00 - 00:14:00]
Overcoming internal resistance requires progressive leadership and regulatory alignment. North Bay's board supported aggressive expansion because they already had higher risk tolerance from cannabis banking. However, the internal team initially felt hesitant about sponsor banking since none had prior experience. The credit union approached this challenge by applying the same learning methodology they used for cannabis banking.
"Our internal team was a little bit hesitant at first. It was a daunting proposal because none of us had been exposed to sponsor banking. That was all new to us, but we kind of approached it the same way that we had done cannabis banking and that it was an opportunity and we needed to sort of dig in our heels and learn the industry."
Partnership Selection and Rapid Implementation
Timestamp [00:16:20 - 00:18:00]
Finding the right technology partner enables quick decision-making and implementation. North Bay's partnership with Braid developed remarkably fast, going from initial contact to implementation in just two months. Chris emphasizes the importance of finding partners who understand your vision and compliance mentality. The alignment between institutions creates confidence in taking on significant operational risks together.
"I think that we, it's really important to have a sort of a meeting of the minds about who you are and what you wanna achieve and we felt that very early on with Randy and Jake at Braid, that they kind of understood us and what we were all about and what we were trying to do. And we felt like what they were doing was very much in line with our sort of compliance mentality."
Industry Leadership and Future Vision
Timestamp [00:23:00 - 00:25:00]
Successful institutions become examples for others while shaping industry evolution. Daryn Barney positions North Bay as a significant example for other financial institutions, demonstrating that credit unions can effectively compete in FinTech sponsorship. Recent regulatory developments are creating additional clarity and opportunities for banks participating in digital asset activities.
"We see what North Bay is doing as a significant example to others, that it can be done and empowered through systems such as Braid and others to make it happen with the proper tools and compliance and the regulatory constructs. That's where the recipe really comes together and it really happens, and that's where the magic happens."
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