Open banking fees, stablecoin regulation, and AI-first payment systems are reshaping how money moves in the US. Tedd Huff, CEO of fintech advisory firm Voalyre and founder of Fintech Confidential, sits down with David Glaser, CEO of Dwolla, to unpack what's changing, what's breaking, and what smart operators are doing about it right now.
JP Morgan's decision to charge for open banking access is forcing the entire industry to rethink how apps connect to bank account data. Real-time payment rails like RTP and FedNow are live but adoption is slow because not every use case needs instant settlement. Dwolla scaled without hiring a single net-new employee in two years by mapping every process into what can be automated and what still needs a human. This episode covers the frameworks, the data signals, and the strategy shifts that matter most if you're building or running anything in payments today.
TAKEAWAYS
1️⃣ Build with AI from day one and treat new hires as a last resort, not a first instinct.
2️⃣ Rework your product fast because major AI releases absorb startup features every six months.
3️⃣ Attack your biggest operational bottleneck first, even if you can only automate half of it.
4️⃣ Track every internal handoff to find where delays, errors, and hidden costs are piling up.
5️⃣ Set team values that reward discomfort so your people adopt new tools without waiting for a mandate.
GUEST
David Glaser: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daglaser
COMPANY
Dwolla: https://www.dwolla.com
Dwolla LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dwolla
Dwolla YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/dwollaplatform
FINTECH CONFIDENTIAL
Podcast: https://fintechconfidential.com/listen
Notifications: https://fintechconfidential.com/access
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintechconfidential
X: https://x.com/FTconfidential
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fintechconfidential
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fintechconfidential
SUPPORTERS
Under.io: Digitize your PDFs and streamline application and underwriting processes. Get started free at under.io/FTC
Skyflow: A zero trust data privacy vault delivered as an API covering PCI, CCPA, GDPR, and SOC 2. Visit skyflowsecure.com
DFNS: Wallets as a service, API first, multi-chain, secured with MPC across 50+ blockchains. Request a demo at fintechconfidential.com/dfns
Hawk AI: Real-time payment screening and AML transaction monitoring to cut false positives. Sign up for a demo at gethawk.com
ABOUT
Guest
David Glaser is CEO of Dwolla with over 25 years of payments experience spanning global leadership roles at Mastercard, Worldpay, CyberSource, and Visa. He grew up in a small coal mining town south of Pittsburgh, originally planned to become a high school math teacher, and has since led teams through some of the industry's biggest deals including Worldpay's $10.4 billion merger with Vantiv. Outside of payments, he's completed multiple Ironman triathlons and 70.3 races.
Company
Dwolla is a leader in account-to-account payments in the US, offering a full-service platform that replaces legacy technology with a unified solution supporting ACH, Same Day ACH, RTP, and FedNow. Over 500 businesses partner with Dwolla to improve payment security, data visibility, and cash flow.
Host
Tedd Huff is CEO of fintech advisory firm Voalyre and founder of Fintech Confidential. With 25+ years in the industry, he brings entertaining and informative content focused on fintech insights, market trends, and stories from leaders, thinkers, and doers.
DD3 Media
Fintech Confidential is a production of DD3 Media. All rights reserved.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Highlights
02:06 Under.io: Streamlining Application Processes
02:35 Introduction to FinTech Leaders One-on-One
02:48 Meet David Glaser, CEO of Dwolla
05:29 Payment Industry Then vs. Now
08:03 Open Banking and AI in Payments
08:55 JP Morgan's Open Banking Fee Announcement
14:06 Payment Methods and Account Access
14:36 Scaling Operations at Dwolla
15:03 Modernizing Homegrown Systems
16:26 AI and Automation in Payments
17:20 Skyflow: Your Privacy API
18:31 Balancing Founder Mindset with Scale
19:22 Automating Back Office Processes
21:52 Identifying What to Systemize Next
29:52 Economic Signals in Transaction Data
31:01 Interest Rate Impact on Fintech
32:43 Predicting Trends with Payment Data
35:04 Centralizing Data for AI Readiness
37:21 Account-to-Account and Real-Time Rails
38:21 Real-Time Payment Use Cases
41:00 DFNS: Wallets as a Service
42:39 Choosing the Right Payment Method
44:09 Orchestrating Across Multiple Rails
46:58 Vertical SaaS and Embedded Payments
48:37 The Future of Stablecoins
50:23 AI and Stablecoins Together
54:21 Advice for Fintech Founders
58:07 Hawk AI: Real-Time Fraud Monitoring
58:52 Disclaimer
Fintech Confidential