Fintech Intelligence: Where Finance Meets Technology Strategy
Banking infrastructure is being rebuilt in real-time.
Content on Rails delivers fintech intelligence at the level of FT Partners reports and McKinsey financial services practice—connecting infrastructure transformation to business model evolution to strategic positioning. We help you see where the money is going before it gets there.
Infrastructure Decision-Makers and Fintech Builders
Our fintech briefings are built for professionals navigating financial services transformation
Banking Executives
Evaluating core modernization, BaaS partnerships, digital strategy
Fintech Founders
Building embedded finance, payments, lending, or infrastructure
Payment Operators
Optimizing payment rails, interchange economics, fraud prevention
Corporate Treasury
Modernizing cash management, payment operations, treasury tech
Financial Services Investors
VCs, PE, and strategic investors in fintech
Compliance and Risk Officers
Tracking regulatory evolution across jurisdictions
The Three Perspectives
Every fintech briefing integrates three perspectives that together give you the complete picture.
Macro Fintech: Banking Infrastructure Evolution
30% of every briefing
What it covers: Core banking modernization, regulatory landscape (BaaS scrutiny, payment regulation, open banking mandates), payment system evolution (real-time payments, FedNow, cross-border), market structure shifts, and investment patterns.
Sample Insight
"BaaS regulatory scrutiny is accelerating faster than industry adaptation. Synapse's failure (affecting 100+ fintechs and $160M in consumer funds) triggered OCC and FDIC reviews that will reshape sponsor bank relationships. Emerging requirements: (1) Real-time transaction monitoring at sponsor level, (2) Direct regulatory examination rights over fintech partners, (3) Capital reserves against fintech portfolio concentration. Timeline: Final guidance expected Q2 2025. Strategic implication: Fintechs with single sponsor bank dependency face existential risk; multi-sponsor or charter-path strategies now mandatory for Series B+."
Who reads this:
Fintech Business: Building & Implementation
40% of every briefing
What it covers: Embedded finance (banking, lending, insurance, payments), payment optimization (interchange economics, routing, cost reduction), lending infrastructure, business model analysis (unit economics, CAC/LTV, take rates), and partnership structures.
Sample Insight
"Embedded finance unit economics vary dramatically by vertical. E-commerce embedded lending: 15-25% take rate on origination, $20-40 CAC, 6-month payback. SaaS embedded payments: 20-40 bps on volume, $0 incremental CAC (product-integrated), 3-month payback. Healthcare embedded financing: 3-5% take rate, $100-150 CAC, 12-month payback. Key insight: vertical selection matters more than product execution. Healthcare's long payback requires balance sheet; e-commerce and SaaS can scale faster on unit economics alone."
Who reads this:
Fintech Tools: Technical Implementation
30% of every briefing
What it covers: Payment API integration (Stripe, Adyen, Checkout), core banking platforms (modern cores vs. middleware), compliance automation (KYC/AML, transaction monitoring), fraud prevention, and infrastructure costs (real TCO analysis).
Sample Insight
"Payment processor selection should be volume-tier optimized, not feature optimized. Under $10M annual volume: Stripe's developer experience and documentation justify premium pricing (2.9% + $0.30). $10-100M: Adyen's enterprise pricing (IC+ with 10-15 bps markup) saves $200K-500K annually; complexity is manageable. Above $100M: Direct card network relationships and acquiring bank negotiations yield 5-10 bps savings worth $500K+ annually; requires dedicated payments team. Common mistake: Switching at $5M volume—savings don't justify migration costs and engineering distraction."
Who reads this:
Real-World Use Cases
How banking executives and fintech builders are using intelligence to navigate transformation.
"Our board has been pushing for 'digital transformation' for three years without clarity on what that actually means. COR's Macro section helped me understand that core modernization isn't a technology decision—it's a strategic positioning decision about whether we compete on product innovation or operational excellence. We're now pursuing a middleware approach that preserves our core while enabling API-based product development. That strategic clarity came directly from COR analysis."
"We were about to raise Series A with a healthcare lending thesis. COR's Business section covered embedded finance unit economics by vertical—and healthcare's CAC/LTV math was brutal compared to e-commerce. We pivoted to e-commerce embedded lending before fundraising. Our Series A deck now shows unit economics that investors actually believe because we're in a vertical where the math works."
"We process $80M annually through Stripe and were happy enough until COR's Tools section covered volume-tier optimization. We're now migrating to Adyen with IC+ pricing—projected savings of $350K annually. The migration complexity is real, but COR's coverage of common pitfalls helped us scope the project accurately. ROI: 8 months payback on migration investment."
"Post-Synapse, every sponsor bank is re-evaluating fintech partnerships. COR's Macro section has been my primary source for tracking regulatory developments and understanding what examiners are focused on. We've restructured three partnership agreements based on emerging requirements COR covered before official guidance was published. Being ahead of regulators instead of behind them is existentially important right now."
Quality Standards
Every fintech briefing meets institutional standards
Infrastructure cost analysis with realistic TCO models
Unit economics frameworks—CAC/LTV, take rates, payback periods by segment
Regulatory tracking with compliance timelines and jurisdiction-specific requirements
API performance benchmarks and integration complexity assessment
Deal structure analysis for bank-fintech partnerships
Financial Times/Bloomberg quality bar—analysis that would survive institutional research review
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