It’s always intriguing to watch how a good idea evolves into new areas. Such evolution often happens when designers find new applications for their ideas. Brian Merritt and Ryan Hildebrand were part of the early team at Simple that was subsequently sold to BBVA. In mid-February, they announced the formation of Seed, a Y Combinator firm, designed to bring small business banking into the mobile and SaaS-based worlds. Listen to this conversation between Glenbrook’s George Peabody and Seed CEO Brian Merritt. While very early in the company’s development, Brian’s description of the company’s “API first” approach banking makes clear what’s possible when legacy technology and processes are in the rearview mirror.

Recent Payment Views

Payments Post #17: Cutting Costs

Payments Post #17: Cutting Costs

In this Payments Post, we discuss the DOJ bringing a lawsuit against Visa that alleges the company operates an illegal monopoly in the debit card space. Does the argument have merit in our non-legal minds? And if so, what could the DOJ’s move mean for an evolving payments landscape?

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Payments Post #17: Cutting Costs

Payments Post #16: The Apple Drops

It’s time for another edition of Payments Post and (surprise!) we’re thinking about the Visa Flexible Credential again. Now that Apple has plans to open up the NFC chip and Secure Element to third party developers, we’re scratching our heads. Who benefits from this newfound NFC access? What opportunities can fintechs unlock? How will conventional financial institutions react? And to tie it all back, does the VFC still matter?

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Payments Post #17: Cutting Costs

Payments Post #15: BNPL Battles

In this month’s Payments Post, we revisit the prime use case for Visa Flexible Credential (VFC): BNPL. How are buy now pay later providers positioning themselves in the current environment, how are consumers using their tools, and how are regulators and issuers responding?

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