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š¤ Sanity Check
Orumās got a new payments tool, and CEO Stephany Kirkpatrick explains why itās a game-changer in the face of all this regulatory chaos. Plus, the stablecoin legislation draft just dropped, and Muskās crew? Theyāve temporarily pulled the plug on the CFPB.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Hey, fintech fam! š
This week, Iāve been busy curating the agenda for the Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit and Fintech Security Summitātwo powerhouse events weāre throwing during New York Fintech Week.
In case you missed it:
Weāre taking over a seriously cool venue (the big reveal is coming soon!) with two stagesāyes, you heard that right.
On our mainstage, weāll kick things off with our flagship Leadership Summit, featuring fireside chats, an Evening of Storytelling with the most powerful women in fintech, and expert panels to keep your industry game strong and your network even stronger.
Itās all going down on April 23, and you wonāt want to miss the opening keynotes (check out whoās speaking in the event details below).
Now, letās get to all the news!
#TRENDING
Whatās Up In Fintech
Every Thursday, I bring you the latest fintech news and trends, delivering the key insights that matter most to the industryāand you.
#1 Orumās New Payments Tool Aims to Be the Sanity Check Every B2B Needs

Orum Founder & CEO Stephany Kirkpatrick
Between recent bank failures and the whirlwind of deregulationāmore on the CFPB in our upcoming storiesāitās more crucial than ever to know exactly where your funds are at all times.
And by that, I mean right now, not when theyāve vanished into the transfer abyss. As founders and operators, we need clarity and transparency about where our money is to keep our sanity intact.
I caught up with Stephany Kirkpatrick, CEO of fintech startup Orum, to discuss their new payments tool, Monitor. Officially launched this week, itās designed to simplify the often chaotic and complex workflows that B2B teams face when managing payments.
āThink of it as a sidekick to our APIs, helping operations teams do more with less technical know-how,ā Kirkpatrick told me.
No coding is required. Just automate payments, verify bank accounts and track transfersāall in real-time.
Itās like Amazonās routing systemābut for payments. Monitor optimizes factors like speed, cost, and risk while letting businesses track, reconcile, and verify funds across multiple accounts.
Enterprises can now manage their entire money movement in one unified system, whether theyāre uploading files or processing a one-off transaction.
Founded in 2019, Orumās mission is simple: make payments more straightforward, reliable, and transparentāthough the tech behind it is far from simple. Kirkpatrick has raised $82 million from investors like Bain Capital Ventures and Inspired Capital to turn that vision into reality.
āWe help businesses track where the money is, how itās moving, and whoās involved,ā she said.
Given the state of the economy right now, that kind of transparency isnāt just helpfulāitās absolutely essential.
For Founders on the Rise: Automation = Certainty
As companies scale, especially in fintech, automating payment operations has become a must. Gone are the days of manually tracking funds with Excel sheets or relying on vague data to piece things together.
Per Kirkpatrick, Monitor offers real-time tracking, streamlines reconciliation, and provides an auditable recordāmaking it indispensable for industries like lending, billing, and marketplaces.
For foundersāespecially those beyond Series AāMonitor is a āsanity checkā that helps keep operations organized, compliant, and audit-ready, she said.
Think of it as a financial GPS. It tracks funds in transit and answers those nagging questions about money movement:
Whatās settled?
Whatās pending?
Whatās going to clear tomorrow?
āThe era of patchwork systems is over,ā Kirkpatrick said. āYou need smart, reliable infrastructure from day one. This is about making sure youāre not scrambling when itās time to scale.ā
Bottom Line: The regulatory landscape is a hot mess right now. Between Trumpās firing of Rohit Chopra, the CFPBās director, and the chaos of fast-moving deregulation, itās easy to feel like youāre flying blind when it comes to financial oversight.
Kirkpatrickās advice for founders? Make smart decisions nowālay the groundwork, automate, and keep things organized so youāre not scrambling later. Itās a long-term win, and in a world full of uncertainty, thatās something every founder can get behind.
#2 Draft Stablecoin Legislation Is Here ā A Move Toward Clarity Amid Crypto Chaos

On Monday, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, dropped a long-anticipated draft bill to regulate stablecoins.
After more than three years of bipartisan collaboration, the legislation reflects not just technical feedback from the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, but a clear push for regulatory certainty in a crypto market thatās long been a Wild West of financial innovation.
āThis draft bill fosters innovation while properly addressing and prioritizing concerns Iāve long held about safeguarding our nationās consumers from the scams that have plagued the crypto industry,ā Waters said in a statement, making clear that consumer protection is at the core of the proposed legislation.
Whatās in the Bill?
Hereās the quick breakdown of what this bill brings to the table:
A Regulatory Framework for Stablecoin Issuers: The bill proposes a regulatory structure for both bank and non-bank stablecoin issuers, with a significant role for the Federal Reserve in overseeing reserve requirementsāhello, accountability.
Protecting the Separation Between Banking and Commerce: Non-financial commercial companies (think Big TechāFacebook, Google, X) wonāt be allowed to own a stablecoin issuer. This is Watersā way of putting a hard line between financial institutions and tech giants looking to muscle into this space.
Sanctions and Compliance: Issuers would be directly subject to sanctions laws, and have to adhere to anti-money laundering (AML) and counterterrorism financing (CTF) regulationsāmeaning more scrutiny on where moneyās coming from and where itās going.
Global Oversight and Closing Loopholes: The bill goes after offshore loopholes, making sure that stablecoin issuers like Tether (whoāve historically avoided U.S. regulation) canāt sidestep U.S. laws. Not on Watersā watch.
Leadership Restrictions: People like Sam Bankman-Fried (remember him?) would be banned from holding executive roles or significant shares in a stablecoin issuer. No more shady leadership.
Consumer Protection (Finally!): With this legislation, thereās a new emphasis on protecting consumer wallets, risk management requirements, and backup enforcement powers for the Federal Reserveājust in case someone tries to pull a fast one.
Keeps Existing Oversight in Play: Agencies like the Treasury, CFPB, SEC, and CFTC will still maintain their regulatory powers over various parts of the ecosystemāthink exchanges, wallet providers, and market-makers.
Why It Matters
Stablecoins have quickly become the go-to asset for anyone who wants to deal in crypto without the volatility of, well, crypto.
Theyāre pegged to the dollar, meaning theyāre stable by design, and theyāve hit critical mass. In fact, stablecoins processed $6.87 trillion in transactions last year. Thatās more than PayPal and Mastercard combined.
But as the stablecoin market matures, so does the need for oversight. Enter Congresswoman Waters, whoās spent over three decades shaping financial policy.
Waters isnāt just talking about any regulation hereāthis is a direct response to the rising popularity of stablecoins and the increasing amount of consumer money flowing through them.
For fintech founders, innovators, and investors, this draft bill signals a major shift.
Regulation may feel like a buzzkill, but itās a necessary one. While it could impose new compliance costs, its clarity is invaluable.
With rules in place, fintech companies can scale stablecoin-related services with greater confidence and less fear of running afoul of regulators.
The bill also creates a clear distinction between financial institutions and the tech giants that might want to use stablecoins as a backdoor to financial services.
By prohibiting Big Tech from owning issuers, Waters is ensuring the fintech space remains competitive and protected from monopolistic behavior.
For fintech players, that means more room to breatheāand build.
Bottom Line: This draft legislation is the regulatory structure fintech companies have been waiting forāwhether they knew it or not. As stablecoins become a fixture in the global financial system, clarity on how theyāll be regulated is crucial. Watersā bill gives us that clarity, while also addressing long-standing concerns around consumer protection, sanctions compliance, and global regulatory loopholes.
#3 Muskās Team Shuts Down CFPBāWhat Does This Mean for Fintech?

First, Rohit Chopra, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureauās (CFPB) director, was unceremoniously fired.
Now, the agency itself is effectively shut down. The CFPB, which has 1,700 employees and oversees a crucial part of the financial services landscape, is on ice. All work has been halted this week, leaving a regulatory vacuum in its wake.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and nearly 200 other Congressional colleagues are furious.
Theyāve protested this week, and in an open letter to Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, they demand that Elon Muskās operatives be removed from the agency, its operations be restored, and its consumer protection work continue without interference.
The letter, signed by 143 Representatives and 46 Senators, condemns what they describe as an illegal power grab by Muskās āDepartment of Government Efficiencyā (DOGE) team, accusing them of halting critical CFPB functions.
āDeep concernā is an understatement here.
The CFPB was established after the 2008 financial crisis under the Dodd-Frank Act, to protect consumers from predatory financial practices. Since then, over $21 billion has been returned to Americans who were scammed or financially harmed.
And now, it seems like that progress is at risk.
Coincidentally, this shutdown occurred just a couple of weeks after Muskās X struck a deal with Visa to launch its payments platform, making the pathway for launch easier.
Whatās Really Going On?
The controversy exploded when at least three Musk-linked employees entered the CFPBās headquarters last weekend, gaining access to sensitive internal data.
Then came the bombshell: Vought, who is part of Muskās team, ordered all work at the CFPB to stop. As of Monday, staff were working remotely, and the CFPBās website had a broken link.
For financial services companies, this is a serious issue. The CFPB has had a monumental role in enforcing consumer protection laws, regulating everything from credit cards to mortgage debt and payday loans.
And now, thereās a very real fear that this political shake-up could leave consumers unprotected, especially with billions at stake.
Why Should Fintech Care?
If the CFPB stays down, the finalization of rules related to open banking could stall.
One of the key rules under Section 1033 of Dodd-Frankāwhich mandates that banks, credit unions, and fintechs make consumer financial data available on requestāhas already been implemented, but itās not fully in play yet.
Larger institutions must comply by 2026, while smaller ones have until 2030.
For fintechs, the impact is huge. Open banking is supposed to give consumers more control over their financial data, and third parties would be able to access that data with consumer consentāso long as the rules regarding security are met.
Itās a step toward standardizing the data ecosystem across the board for things like payment apps and digital wallets. But with the CFPB now in limbo, thereās uncertainty over how (or even if) these rules will be enforced.
And if enforcement falters, it could further widen the gap between large fintech players and community-based institutions like small banks and credit unions.
Big institutions have the resources to comply with whatever rules are left standing, while smaller institutions could fall behindāor worse, be left without guidance.
The regulatory void raises concerns about upcoming fintech regulations, particularly consumer privacy. With CFPB oversight uncertain, how will Alphabet and Meta be held accountable for using consumer financial data? Additionally, Biden-era rules on medical debt and BNPL loans, meant to protect consumers, are now uncertain.
Senator Warren didnāt mince words, rallying outside the CFPB headquarters to demand accountability:
āWe want answers,ā she said. As lawmakers push back against the power grab, fintech leaders and consumers alike are left wondering how long it will take before the CFPB is back in businessāand whether it will even look the same when it returns.
Bottom Line: This situation isnāt just a political fight in Washington; itās one that will define the future of consumer protection in fintech. And if youāre in the fintech space, itās time to pay attention. The game might be about to change.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23
[NEW YORK FINTECH WEEK] Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit
Iām excited that Angel Rich will open the show with me at our keynote fireside address.
She founded CreditRich, the first Black woman-owned neobank that just raised $100M in Series B funding, propelling her startup to a $1 billion valuation.
But Angelās success goes beyond just capitalāitās about disrupting the system.
She'll reveal her strategies for building success, partnerships, and a legacy.
Donāt miss this chance to learn from the best in fintech. āØ
Early bird tickets are almost gone!
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23
[NEW YORK FINTECH WEEK] Fintech Security Summit
Iām thrilled to announce that Brett Johnson, the Original Internet Godfather and former mastermind behind cybercrime, will be delivering the keynote at the first-ever Fintech Security Summit on April 23.
Brettās expertise is unmatchedāhe helped create modern cybercrime and now works to help combat it.
If you want to understand how fraudsters think and learn how to protect your business and customers from their tactics, you wonāt want to miss this.
P.S. VIP ticket holders get access to BOTH the Fintech Is Femme Leadership & Security Summit. Talk about double the impact.
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Get your ticket now using my code FIF250 to snag $250 off ā click here to register.
FINTUNES
šµ Cat Burns - GIRLS!
I stumbled upon this song while browsing YouTube. Itās very Fintech Is Femme coded. Enjoy!

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That wraps up todayās editionāthanks for reading! Until next week, keep innovating and challenging the status quo. See you Tuesday!
Love,
Nicole š