The Power of One: Bank-Fintech Partnerships with Eli Rosenberg

Eli Rosenberg

A strong bank-fintech partnership can drive innovation, but a single misstep can lead to compliance headaches and regulatory scrutiny. What’s the one factor that separates successful partnerships from those that fail? As part of the pre-conference CLE sessions at the Innovative Payments Conference (IPC) 2025, Eli Rosenberg of Baird Holm will break down the key elements of risk management, regulatory alignment, and compliance strategies that help fintechs and banks work together successfully.

In this Q&A, Eli shares insights on some of the biggest challenges in bank-fintech relationships. But to get the full picture—and the solutions you need to navigate the regulatory landscape—don’t miss his session on April 29, 2025, at IPC 2025.

What’s one challenge that makes or breaks a bank-fintech partnership? 

Communication. A bank-fintech partnership has to have a foundation of strong communication and collaboration between the bank and the fintech in order to work. Whether it’s identifying and addressing emerging risks to the program, collaborating on new initiatives, or simply status updates on review of program collateral, regular and clear communication is the foundation of a successful partnership.  

What’s one regulatory issue that fintechs often underestimate? 

Fraud. Particularly for new programs and new bank / fintech partnerships, we see fraudsters immediately try to exploit these relationships in ways that are very costly and time consuming for programs to deal with. Most consent orders for fintech partner banks center around failures in the BSA/AML and fraud prevention area. 

What’s one strategy that helps banks and fintechs align on compliance? 

I think monitoring and reporting on emerging trends and threats to a program can really help in heading off issues before they start. I’d even suggest some regular touch point for the bank and fintech to review and discuss things like fraud trends. 

What’s one question every fintech should ask before partnering with a bank? 

Is the bank set up to support me for the long haul? Many banks want to partner with fintechs, far fewer banks want to put in the time and resources necessary to successfully partner with fintechs. As time consuming, difficult, and expensive as it may be to work with a knowledgeable bank partner that is set up to support a program for the long term, it is far more costly, expensive, and nerve wracking to have to switch banks mid-stream. 

What’s one reason this session is a must-attend for anyone in payments? 

Bank and fintech partnerships are the backbone of payments in the U.S. Understanding how these partnerships are structured to succeed can be the key to a successful payments program. 

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Stay ahead in the fast-evolving world of payments. Join us at the Innovative Payments Conference, April 29 – May 1, 2025, in Washington, DC, for exclusive insights from industry leaders. Learn more and register at www.ipa.org/ipc.