Get the latest news and updates on FINTECH.TV

How Fintech Is Redefining What It Means to Be Your Bank

October 21, 2026

Video Transcript

JD Durkin: Wow, what a day for the stock market. My special thanks there to the team from Credo AI, just ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange a few moments ago. Our first guest on today’s broadcast here in Las Vegas, say hello to Mary Wisniewski, head of content and the host of Yours in Finance at Atomic. Really good to see you. Thanks for taking some time for us today.

Mary Wisniewski: It’s a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

JD Durkin: You are in the middle of all the cool stuff here in Las Vegas this week. Talk to me, first and foremost, about the biggest themes that you sense everyone is still talking about.

Mary Wisniewski: Oh, it’s a big tension: Muse, right? Like, you’ve got the PNC CEO saying, are you out of your mind for sharing data, you know, with Meta? But on the other side, you’re like, consumers are using this. So you’re seeing the great debate here of, like, what is Muse? What are the ramifications for banking?

JD Durkin: Wow. That’s amazing. Of course, we saw Meta’s stock price really surge after the release of Muse. That’s really interesting context. Also, how about this: fintech giants and banks are kind of obsessed with being the place where your money lands. What does the fight for primacy actually look like today?

Mary Wisniewski: Oh gosh. It’s wild, because people are juggling so many accounts. So it’s like, what is even primacy right now? So at Atomic, we’re thinking primacy is, like, who’s the primary interface, rather than just your one card. People have all kinds of cards and products and apps, so it’s spread across everything.

JD Durkin: I know you’ve written that the world of direct deposit has also continued to evolve. How is the way we actually get paid being actively rewritten, seemingly by the day?

Mary Wisniewski: Well, you know, I was so in the weeds of that. Citi has this policy of, like, what qualifies for waiving the fee for the checking account. And it’s not just, you know, your ACH direct deposit. It could be just some money from a Zelle or a Venmo, depending on the way that it’s sent. And if it adds up to 150, that fee is waived. And I think it’s really interesting, because it speaks to, like, you know, the Etsy sellers, or someone selling flowers in the market. Like, you know, there are other ways to make income that are not just, I get paid every two weeks.

JD Durkin: I’m glad you mentioned those direct deposit elements, because some banks now count Venmo as well as direct deposit. Do you see that as a smart evolution, or more of a loophole? How should we view that iteration?

Mary Wisniewski: I think it’s debatable, right? Because some say, oh man, that’s a desperate way to say you have all these primary accounts. But also, people juggle a lot of sources of income. So it speaks to what’s actually happening in the world.

JD Durkin: Finally, before I let you go, where is all this headed, the future of this particular part of the financial industry? If you and I were to have this conversation one year from now, here on the ground at Money20/20 in Las Vegas, will we be having a lot of the same conversations? Or are you really expecting a lot of these things to continue to evolve?

Mary Wisniewski: I think continue to evolve, but I think it’s gloves up. I mean, this is about to be a big battle of, like, you know, who’s going to block more agents. Chase already did it. It’s going to happen more. There’s going to be a rebellion. So it’s tension.

JD Durkin: Before I let you go...

Mary Wisniewski: Yeah.

JD Durkin: Do you have a favorite part of being at Money20/20? Either a favorite panel, or something you got to do? I know you’re going to say Taking Stock, first and foremost. But really, I mean, we all have an insane schedule around here. What have been some of the highlights for you?

Mary Wisniewski: I mean, one of my favorite things is I do a questionnaire called Yours in Finance. And so we were filming industry pros answering seemingly simple questions, like, how do you define a bank? But that has so many tensions. So it’s fun to hear how different people say different things.

JD Durkin: Awesome.

Mary Wisniewski: Yeah, and my dog’s here.

JD Durkin: So your dog is here. You’ve got your dog here. Can you walk me through a few of those answers that people gave you, and any big surprises?

Mary Wisniewski: Well, it’s not a big surprise, just because I’ve covered fintech for a while. But some people will be like, do you need a charter or not? It really doesn’t matter from a consumer’s perspective. They might say, oh yeah, Venmo is my bank. It is not, you know what I mean, from an industry perspective. But it’s whether you’re answering as a consumer or as a bank. But you’ll now hear even bankers say it doesn’t really matter what a bank is in terms of charter or not. It’s whether the consumer thinks it’s a bank or not.

JD Durkin: Sure. What is one overall component of the broader fintech landscape, Mary, that you think we are still not quite talking enough about? What should we be a bit more focused on?

Mary Wisniewski: I always want to say financial inclusion, because, you know, we’ve heard year after year about how we’re expanding financial services to more consumers and helping them. But it really hasn’t moved the needle much yet. So I’m hopeful that financial inclusion becomes more of the focus in a meaningful way.

JD Durkin: Absolutely. I’ve got less than a minute left. Mary Wisniewski, I’m really grateful for your time.

Mary Wisniewski: Yeah. Thank you.

JD Durkin: Remind our viewers where they can go if they want to see more of your stuff.

Mary Wisniewski: Okay. Yeah, well, I’m on LinkedIn. My column is on Atomic’s website and YouTube.

JD Durkin: Awesome. Really grateful for your time. Mary Wisniewski, head of content and host of Yours in Finance at Atomic. Enjoy the rest of your time here in Vegas. Thanks for chatting with us today.

Mary Wisniewski: Always a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Banks and fintechs are debating how new AI tools, changing definitions of direct deposit, and the fight for customer primacy are reshaping financial services. At Money20/20 in Las Vegas, JD Durkin speaks with Mary Wisniewski, head of content and host of Yours in Finance at Atomic, about the biggest themes at this year’s conference and where the industry is headed.

Wisniewski says Meta’s Muse is creating a major tension at the event, with the PNC CEO questioning the idea of sharing data with Meta even as consumers are already using it, sparking debate over the ramifications for banking. She says the fight for primacy has changed as people juggle many accounts, cards, and apps, and that Atomic now thinks of primacy as being the primary interface rather than a single card. On direct deposit, she points to a Citi policy that can count money received through Zelle or Venmo, depending on how it is sent, toward waiving a checking account fee once it adds up to $150, which she says reflects the reality of people earning income from sources like Etsy sales or selling flowers at the market rather than a traditional paycheck.

Wisniewski says whether counting those payments as direct deposit is smart or a loophole is debatable, but that it reflects how people actually earn money. Looking ahead, she expects the industry to keep evolving with a gloves-up battle over blocking AI agents, noting Chase has already done so and predicting more will follow. Through her Yours in Finance questionnaire, she says even bankers now suggest that what matters is whether a consumer thinks something is a bank, not whether it has a charter. She adds that financial inclusion still has not moved the needle much and hopes it becomes a meaningful focus.

Latest articles

Related articles