Episode 6 |How Leadership Continuity Builds Trust and Performance

Overview

In this episode of Beyond the Balance Sheet, hosts Vince Coglianese and guest host Bruce Gemmill, Chief Marketing Officer, sit down with Patricia Ferrick, President of FVCbank, to unpack leadership continuity—the practice of carrying core values forward while embracing the right changes at the right time. Through clear examples and candid insights, Patricia explains why consistency in behavior and communication isn’t about resisting progress; it’s about giving teams a stable frame so change can happen responsibly.

Looking ahead to America’s 250th anniversary, we draw a powerful parallel between durable institutions and healthy companies: both endure by protecting the throughline of values and purpose while adapting to new realities. If you lead a team, steer a company, or care about institutions that last, this conversation offers a blueprint for balancing stability with evolution so trust can outlive any single leader or market cycle.

Prefer reading over listening? You can read the full transcript of the episode below.

FVCbank’s Beyond the Balance Sheet Podcast – Episode 6 – FVCbank: Patricia Ferrick

Framing America250 And Continuity

Vince Coglianese (00:04): This episode of Beyond the Balance Sheet continues our America 250 series exploring the values that shaped the nation and still matter today. As we look toward America’s 250th anniversary, we’re focused on leadership not as a moment in time, but as a continuum. How strong institutions preserve values, direction, and trust, even as people, markets, and technology change.

Vince Coglianese (00:29): Today’s conversation centers on leadership continuity. Our guest is Patricia Ferrick. She’s the President of FVCbank. Co-hosting today in Trish’s place is Bruce Gemmill, the Chief Marketing Officer with FVCbank. Trish, welcome.

Defining Leadership Continuity

Patricia Ferrick (00:45): Thank you, Vince. It’s fun to sit as a guest for a change.

Vince Coglianese (00:47): Well, we’re glad that you’re doing this today. When you hear the phrase leadership continuity, what does that mean to you, not just in theory, but in practice?

Patricia Ferrick (00:57): To me, leadership continuity is about building something sustainable and bigger than any one person. It’s the ability to maintain stable, effective leadership over time, especially during times of transition or change. The culture and values are always present and spread throughout the organization. In part that’s because collective leadership understands the mission and leads through example.

Vince Coglianese (01:20): So continuity is not about resisting change.

Patricia Ferrick (01:23): Exactly right. Continuity leadership provides a level of certainty that core values and the company’s purpose are intact so that change can occur responsibly. Change is everywhere, it’s all around us, and successful companies need to be able to adapt. In fact, I would argue companies need to embrace change and understand it’s necessary to achieve the greater purpose. But it’s the core values and mission that are constant and don’t change over time.

Consistency, Communication, And Trust

Bruce Gemmill (01:50): Trish, having worked closely with you over the years, I’ve seen how much emphasis you place on consistency and communication, especially during moments of change. From your perspective, what signals continuity most clearly to employees and customers?

Patricia Ferrick (02:03): Leaders that show up the same way every day, whether times are easy or difficult. Leadership is about communicating a clear and consistent message that both reassures and builds trust throughout the organization. The consistency is demonstrated over time and regardless of the changes, whether it’s uncertainties and fears of a pandemic or economic changes or changes in management.

Bruce Gemmill (02:27): And when that consistency isn’t there, when messages change or leadership goes quiet, what tends to happen inside an organization?

Patricia Ferrick (02:35): Unfortunately, confidence and trust can erode. Consistency isn’t easy. We’re all human and we have bad days, we have challenges, but ultimately leaders need to strive to show up the same way every day. Over the years, we’ve invested in leadership development for our management team, and one phrase we heard over and over again has stayed with me, and that’s leaders bring the weather. If leadership goes silent, sends mixed messages, or exhibits reactive behavior, it can undermine trust very quickly. So it’s critical to communicate consistent messaging often and with clarity, regardless of the circumstances.

Balancing Adaptation with Fundamentals

Vince Coglianese (03:11): Man, that’s for sure. Now you’ve worked really closely with FVCbank CEO David Pijor for almost 20 years, and you’ve led through multiple economic and regulatory cycles. How do leaders balance continuity with the need to adapt, especially during periods of real disruption?

Patricia Ferrick (03:27): Yeah, that’s a great question. And I have worked with David for a very long time, and it’s been an amazing experience. To answer your question, I think being consistent on the fundamentals that drive your company’s culture is non-negotiable. We have always been aligned in wanting a high-performing company that cares about its employees. So we talk about our core values often and how it defines who we are. Yet, as you pointed out, we’ve had to change to adapt to external circumstances over the years, and we’ll always need to adapt to stay relevant and be at our best. So it’s consistent reinforcement that change is necessary while keeping fundamentals the same.

Vince Coglianese (04:02): What breaks leadership continuity faster than anything else?

Patricia Ferrick (04:06): I’d say inconsistency between what leaders say and what leaders do, and an inability to demonstrate a vision or a path forward. We conduct surveys to get a sense of how our employees are doing, and it seems clear that feeling like you’re part of something meaningful and understanding the purpose of the organization is so important to employee work satisfaction. It gives employees confidence that leadership is moving in the right direction. So it goes back to leadership continuity over time, demonstrated by consistent words and actions, which drives confidence and trust and ultimately translates into performance, hopefully very good performance.

Continuity As A Long-Term Imperative

Bruce Gemmill (04:42): So in a time when many organizations chase disruption for its own sake, you’ve consistently emphasized continuity as a stabilizing force. Why do you think that idea matters so much right now, especially as the country approaches its 250th anniversary?

Patricia Ferrick (04:60): Because enduring institutions, whether nations or organizations, require leaders to always be looking ahead and understanding that some change is good and necessary. Continuity is how values are carried forward, not frozen in time. It’s how trust survives generational change.

Vince Coglianese (05:18): Well, Trish, thank you very much for this perspective. Leadership continuity is not just about holding on to the past, it’s about carrying the past’s values forward while allowing institutions to evolve responsibly.

Vince Coglianese (05:26):  At a time when so much feels transient, the idea of continuity feels so much more important than ever. This conversation is part of our America 250 series, examining the leadership principles that allow institutions to endure across generations. Patricia Ferrick, President of FVCbank, thank you so much for joining us in this capacity on Beyond the Balance Sheet.

The post Podcast Episode 6 | How Leadership Continuity Builds Trust and Performance appeared first on FVCbank.

By taking a proactive approach to your small business financial planning, you can identify areas for improvement and ensure that your business is ready to capitalize on new opportunities.

Why a Q2 Financial Review Matters

Conducting a financial review before the start of Q2 means that you can evaluate your performance so far against your goals for the year. By comparing your current financial status with previous quarters, you gain insights into review trends and seasonality in your business, along with your overall financial wellbeing. This means that you can identify strengths and weaknesses that make business decision-making more accurate.

Understanding where your finances currently are also means that you can address challenges as early as possible. Small businesses often face unique hurdles such as cash flow issues or unexpected expenses. Identifying these challenges before they escalate allows you to develop strategies to mitigate those risks and ensure that your business stays afloat. Financial reviews also help you realign resources with your growth goals, giving you the funds to expand if that’s something you’re looking to do in the coming months.

Key Metrics to Evaluate Before Q2 Starts

To effectively prepare for Q2, focus on reviewing several key metrics. Start with your revenue trends. Compare your revenue from Q1 with previous quarters to identify growth patterns or areas that require attention. Next, analyze your expenses to ensure they align with your business budget. This can reveal opportunities for cost reduction, which is essential for maximizing your profitability.

You should also look at your profit margins. This gives you greater insight into whether your pricing strategy is effective and sustainable. By understanding these key financial indicators, you can make more informed decisions about the direction to take your business in Q2 and beyond.

Common Cash Flow Challenges in Small Business

Many small business owners encounter cash flow challenges, which can be significantly damaging if not dealt with. One common issue is delayed payments from clients, particularly in service-based businesses. Late invoices can disrupt cash flow, making it difficult to meet your own obligations and manage expenses. It’s vital to have a plan in place to address this issue, whether through more aggressive invoicing strategies or implementing policies that encourage timely payments.

Seasonal fluctuations in revenue also pose significant challenges. Many businesses experience dips in income during specific times of the year, which can strain cash flow. To counteract this, it’s important to plan ahead and create a financial cushion that sustains your business during off-peak seasons. This foresight can help maintain stability and avoid drastic measures during leaner months.

Unexpected expenses can further complicate cash flow management. Whether it’s equipment repairs or unanticipated operational costs, having a financial buffer is crucial. By regularly reviewing your financial situation and planning for these challenges, you can better prepare your business to handle whatever comes its way.

Step-by-Step Q2 Financial Checklist

To ensure a successful transition into the next quarter, it’s important to follow a comprehensive Q2 financial checklist. Start by reviewing your cash flow and forecasts. Analyze your cash flow statements to understand your in and out flow of cash, giving you a clearer picture of your financial landscape. Creating cash flow projections for the next quarter can be beneficial, as it allows you to incorporate expected revenues and potential expenses into your planning.

Review Cash Flow and Forecasts

Begin by taking a closer look at your cash flow statements. This analysis will give you insights into patterns and trends, both positive and negative. Developing projections for the next quarter also means that you can plan accordingly for financial challenges that may arise.

Update Your Budget and Expense Plan

Revisit your budget and expense plan as part of your financial review. Evaluate your current budget against your business goals and actual performance. This step is crucial for identifying areas where adjustments may be necessary. By prioritizing your expenses and implementing cost-saving measures, you can save on areas that aren’t vital to your business operation and make sure that essential costs are covered.

Assess Credit Needs and Financing Options

Finally, assess your credit needs and financing options. Review your existing loans and credit lines to determine whether they still meet your business requirements. If you anticipate needing additional funding, explore various business credit and lending strategies available to you. Checking your credit score is also important, as maintaining a good score can impact your ability to secure favorable financing terms.

How FVCbank Can Support Your Q2 Prep

At FVCbank, we understand the unique financial needs of small businesses in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia areas. Our goal is to provide tailored support that helps you navigate your Q2 preparations effectively. We do this through offering a range of small business banking solutions designed for daily financial management. Our business accounts are specifically structured to help you manage transactions more easily, enabling you to focus on what matters most.

Business Banking Tools for Daily Financial Management

Our financial management tools, accessible through our online banking platform, allow you to track spending, manage invoices, and monitor cash flow with ease. This level of control is essential for making informed financial decisions, especially as you transition into Q2. By using our banking tools, you can streamline your financial processes and enhance overall efficiency.

Lending & Line of Credit Options

In addition to banking tools, FVCbank provides flexible lending and line of credit options tailored to the specific needs of small businesses. Whether you’re looking for a loan to invest in new equipment or a line of credit to manage cash flow fluctuations, our team is here to help you find the right solutions. We’re proud to be your partner in success, offering you financial products that can adapt as your business evolves.

Online and Mobile Banking for Busy Owners

Our online and mobile banking solutions provide convenient access to your accounts, allowing you to manage your finances on the go. This flexibility is ideal for busy owners and entrepreneurs who need to stay connected while juggling multiple responsibilities for the business. With our responsive customer service team available around the clock, you can rest assured that assistance is only a call away if you need it.

Next Steps: Planning Beyond Q2

Once you complete your Q2 financial review, you’re setting yourself up for long term success. Begin by establishing new financial goals based on your review. This will help you maintain momentum and keep your business on the path to growth. Regularly monitoring your finances will help you stay on track and be ready to make adjustments as needed.

Consider engaging with financial experts and banking professionals who can offer insights and refine your strategies. Collaborating with specialists can offer you new perspectives and help you uncover opportunities that you might not have considered before.

Taking a proactive approach to your financial planning is key to navigating the challenges of the upcoming quarter with confidence. As you gear up for Q2, remember that FVCbank is here to support you every step of the way. For personalized advice and tailored business banking solutions, call FVCbank at (703) 436-4740 or visit a branch today.

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Episode 5 |Why True Stewardship Chooses The Next Generation Over The Next Quarter

Overview

In this episode of Beyond the Balance Sheet, hosts Vince Coglianese and Patricia Ferrick sit down with David Pijor, Chairman and CEO of FVCbank, to unpack stewardship as a daily practice: protecting what isn’t ours to own, from customer confidence to institutional integrity, and passing it forward stronger than we found it.  The conversation gets specific about modern risks: fraud, cybersecurity threats, and growing skepticism toward institutions—and why pretending everything is fine erodes trust faster than admitting reality. David shares how preparation, transparency, and accountability form the playbook for credible crisis response, and why consistency across good times and downturns is the real test of character. Rather than chasing quick wins, he argues for steadiness: the unglamorous decisions that prevent larger failures and build confidence that lasts.

Framed within America’s upcoming 250th anniversary, we connect stewardship to the nation’s founding idea of building for endurance. That long-view mindset matters now more than ever as change accelerates and attention spans shorten. If you care about how banks, businesses, and communities earn trust and keep it when pressure rises. This conversation offers a grounded, practical lens you can apply to your own work and leadership.

Prefer reading over listening? You can read the full transcript of the episode below.

FVCbank’s Beyond the Balance Sheet Podcast – Episode 5 – FVCbank: David Pijor

Setting The Stage: America 250

Vince Coglianese (00:03): This is Beyond the Balance Sheet. And today’s conversation is a part of our America 250 series, exploring the values that shaped the nation and still matter today. As the country approaches its 250th anniversary, one of the most enduring values is stewardship, the responsibility to protect trust, institutions, and people over the long term.

Vince Coglianese (00:27): Joining us is David Pijor, the chairman and CEO of FVCbank. David has spent decades guiding institutions through economic cycles, regulatory change, and moments that tested public trust. David, welcome.

David Pijor (00:41): Thanks, Vince. It’s good to be here.

Vince Coglianese (00:43): And co-hosting with me today, Patricia Ferrick. Patricia is the president of FVCbank. Trish, it is great as always to have you with us.

Patricia Ferrick (00:52): Thanks, Vince. I’m looking forward to this conversation.

Defining Stewardship And Trust

Vince Coglianese (00:54): David, when we talk about stewardship, not just of a bank, but of trust itself, how does that responsibility show up for you today compared to, say, earlier in your career?

David Pijor (01:06): To me, stewardship means recognizing that what we’re entrusted with isn’t really ours. Whether it’s capital, relationships, or confidence, we are caretakers. Our responsibility is to protect it, grow it responsibly, and pass it forward stronger than we found it.

Vince Coglianese (01:22): Has that understanding for you changed over time?

David Pijor (01:26): The pace has changed. The tools have changed, but the responsibility has not. Trust has always been fragile. Once it’s lost, earning it back is incredibly difficult.

Short Term vs Long Term Decisions

Patricia Ferrick (01:36): David, having worked closely with you for many years, I’ve seen you make decisions that weren’t always the easiest in the moment. But we’re clearly about protecting something bigger over the long term. How do you personally distinguish between short-term success and true stewardship when you’re making those calls?

David Pijor (01:54): Short-term thinking optimizes for the next quarter. Stewardship optimizes for the next generation. It means sometimes saying no when you could say yes and being comfortable knowing that the payoff won’t always be immediate.

Patricia Ferrick (02:06): And over time, do customers and communities recognize that difference? Even if they don’t always put the word stewardship to it?

David Pijor (02:14): They do. Consistency builds confidence. People notice when an institution behaves the same way in good times and in bad, that reliability matters more than any single decision.

Modern Threats and Transparent Response

Vince Coglianese (02:24): Trust today faces challenges that didn’t even exist a generation ago. Fraud, cybersecurity threats, growing skepticism toward institutions. How should leaders think about protecting trust in this kind of environment?

David Pijor (02:39): It starts with acknowledging reality. Threats exist. Pretending otherwise erodes trust faster than being honest. Stewardship today means preparation, transparency, and accountability. How you respond matters more than whether problems occur.

Vince Coglianese (02:55): Okay, so stewardship is not about perfection.

David Pijor (02:58): Exactly. It’s about responsibility, especially when things don’t go as planned.

Steadiness Through Economic Cycles

Patricia Ferrick (03:03): I’ve watched you lead through strong economies, downturns, and periods of regulatory change. How important is steadiness showing up the same way through cycles to maintaining institutional trust?

David Pijor (03:16): It’s critical. Trust isn’t built during good times alone. It’s built by how consistently you behave when conditions are difficult. That’s when people are really paying attention.

Vince Coglianese (03:26): Now, as we approach America’s 250th anniversary, why do you think that stewardship is such a relevant value right now?

David Pijor (03:35): Because the country itself was built by people who thought long term, they were creating institutions meant to endure. That mindset feels especially important today when so much feels accelerated and disposable.

Why Stewardship Matters Now

Patricia Ferrick (03:48): If you could leave listeners with one thought about stewardship and trust, what would it be?

David Pijor (03:54): Trust is built slowly and lost quickly. Stewardship is the discipline to protect it even when no one is watching.

Vince Coglianese (04:01): So true. David, thank you for sharing that perspective. Stewardship and trust are not ideas we talk about often enough, yet they are foundational to everything that endures. Banks, businesses, and communities alike. This conversation is a part of our America 250 series. Where we’re exploring the values that truly shape the nation and still matter today. David Pigor, thank you for joining us on Beyond the Balance Sheet.

David Pijor (04:28): It’s good to be here.

Vince Coglianese (04:29): Thank you.

The post Podcast Episode 5 | Why True Stewardship Chooses the Next Generation Over the Next Quarter appeared first on FVCbank.

Following the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates steady, FVCbank Chairman and CEO David Pijor joined Rick Fowler on WMAL to provide a CEO-level perspective on what the move means beyond the headlines. Rather than viewing the pause as inactivity, Pijor describes it as a deliberate and stabilizing policy decision that supports economic predictability for consumers, homeowners, small businesses, and regulated industries. The conversation explores inflation trends, mortgage expectations, small business planning, and the evolving cannabis market in Virginia—highlighting the value of disciplined community banking in a steady-rate environment. FVCbank can be contacted at 703-436-3800 or through their website, FVCbank.com.

Transcript:

Prefer reading over listening? You can read the full transcript of the interview below.

The Fed Holds Rates Steady: What It Signals About the Economy

Rick Fowler (0:00): The Saturday morning update continues. I’m Rick Fowler. The Federal Reserve has just announced it is leaving interest rates unchanged. That reinforces the wait-and-see approach as inflation is continuing to moderate. Now, the administration has an opinion, the chairman of the Fed has an opinion, and we have what may be a more unbiased opinion from David Pigor. He is the chairman and CEO of FVCbank, and he’s got a CEO level interpretation of what the decision really means for consumers. It’s not politically motivated. What does it really mean for consumers, small businesses, savers, regulated industries, including even cannabis? Rather than focusing on the headlines, we’re going to talk about stability, planning, and disciplined banking in a steady rate environment. David Pijor is the chairman and CEO of FVCbank. David, great to have you back with us on WMAL.

David Pijor (1:04): Rick, thanks. It’s a pleasure to be back with you today.

Rick Fowler (1:07): So, from your perspective, the Fed just announcing that it is holding the rates steady. What does that decision tell you about the economy and where we are as consumers?

David Pijor (1:19): Rick, this generally anticipated decision means to me that the Fed is in evaluation mode as it considers the trajectory of our national economy in light of the Fed’s dual mandates to promote full employment and to manage inflation to its target rate of 2%. Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told reporters on Wednesday that labor market indicators suggest that conditions may be stabilizing after a period of gradual softening. And in fact, the national jobless rate slipped to 4.4% in December from 4.5% in November. However, the central bank did leave its benchmark overnight interest rate the same after two previous quarter point reductions. I think what this suggests is that the Fed is focusing on stability and trying to be constructive in granting our business customers some level of stability in this market.

Stability vs. Stagnation: Why a Pause Is Still Active Policy

Rick Fowler (2:18): So, there are people who will hear the words no change and they may think that nothing is happening in the economy, that everything is flat. Is that a fair interpretation?

David Pijor (2:31): It’s certainly one interpretation. I think my interpretation is slightly different. Holding rates steady is still an active policy decision and this decision allows the Fed more time in validating its progress or lack thereof on inflation. The last inflation numbers have come in a bit higher than the target rate, around 2.7% by one measure. And I think the stability associated with a measured approach by the Fed actually helps reduce uncertainty and thereby creates an environment of stability in which businesses can can operate more clearly.

What This Means for Homeowners, Buyers, and Retirees

Rick Fowler (3:06): So, what does this mean for homeowners, home buyers and even retirees?

David Pijor (3:13): Well, interest rates don’t change overnight, notwithstanding the Fed’s prior two quarter point reductions. Mortgage rates won’t drop suddenly even when the Fed does move again, and it’s anticipated toward the end of this year that the Fed overnight rate will drop. But this puts pressure on mortgage rates. They will drop in the future. They’ll continue to drop as we’ve seen over the last year as interest rates do moderate, as the economy continues its path toward strengthening and improving.

Rick Fowler (3:45): So, let’s look at it from a community bank standpoint. An FVCbank specializes in community bank loans. It’s a regional bank. It’s not a national conglomerate where you always end up getting automated response and AI trying to route you to the right place. How does the environment affect small businesses?

Small Businesses and the Value of Predictability

David Pijor (4:06): Well, stability is important for small business. Obviously, lower rate borrowing helps. But as important, if not more important, is the stability to make timely, important business decisions knowing that there is some stability in the market. I think that the Federal Reserve’s generally conservative and moderate position, albeit disapproved by some in the economy, is actually a help to many businesses in developing an environment in which there is some stability and predictability. And I think that’s valuable in and of itself. Obviously, most businesses, almost all businesses and consumers would like to see lower interest rates. And I think we’ll see that in the future as the economy continues to improve.

Banking in a Highly Regulated Industry: The Cannabis Market Outlook

Rick Fowler (4:53): The cannabis industry is growing in the region. You’ve spoken a lot about this and there is new proposed legislation in Virginia, which would open it up further. How does a steady rate environment affect banking in the cannabis sector?

David Pijor (5:10): Rick, it’s important to understand that even with the considered possible legislation in Virginia, the cannabis market will remain highly regulated, subject to inspection for quality, for contaminants, highly regulated, inspected by state authorities. Much as the cannabis market in Maryland and in DC are highly regulated and very compliant markets. This is not street-level dealers. These are sophisticated growers that are subject to an increasingly tight regulatory compliant regime. And that’s the only type of operators that FVCbank provides banking services to. FVCbank provides a comprehensive suite of products. As you indicated, Virginia may be changing its legislative structure as to cannabis. In 2021, Virginia legalized the medical sales of cannabis, but this year Governor Abigail Spanberger has indicated she’ll sign a law permitting up to 350 retail dispensaries licensed to sell into the adult-use market. Current legislation working its way through both the House and the Senate of Virginia suggests that this legislation will pass. Some estimates have a Virginia adult-use market estimated to be as high as three billion dollars. This would be a significant change to the local cannabis market, perhaps even more important than interest rate stability or even a reduction in interest rates. Your listeners may find this helpful to know what’s happening in Richmond and we’ll be following you closely as well here at FVCbank.

Community Banking in the DMV: Relationship-Driven Financial Support

Rick Fowler (6:56): Well, FVCbank is, as I mentioned, a regional bank. I consider that as a local bank in terms of being able to communicate with somebody that’s in my area that knows the needs of this specific area. So as we consider that, what do you say the takeaway is for listeners?

David Pijor (7:15): We believe that sound banking isn’t reactive and that stability when managed well is healthy. We believe that the Fed action represents a measured, considered decision as to what’s happening with the national economy, and I think all that is helpful to local businesses and consumers. We believe community banking, as I’ve told you before on this station, is key to successful and healthy local economies and small business. We’re happy to serve those needs in the DMV, and we think the relationship between banking and the Fed is strong, and we expect that that will continue to be the case in the future.

Rick Fowler (7:57): What’s the website address for FVC Bank?

David Pijor (8:02): FVCbank.com. Again, FVCbank.com.

Rick Fowler (8:06): David Pijor, he is the CEO of FVCbank. David, thank you so much for the update.

David Pijor (8:12): My pleasure.

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Episode 4 | Banks Never Ask That: How to Spot Scams Before It’s Too Late

Overview

In this episode of Beyond the Balance Sheet, hosts Vince Coglianese and Patricia Ferrick speak with Paul Benda, Executive Vice President for Risk, Fraud, and Cybersecurity at the American Bankers Association. Paul explains how rapidly evolving fraud schemes, fueled by artificial intelligence, deepfakes, stolen personal data, and large-scale global scam networks, are making it increasingly difficult for consumers to distinguish legitimate communications from criminal attempts. He highlights the ABA’s national efforts, including the “Banks Never Ask That” campaign, tools for information sharing among banks, and collaboration with government agencies and international partners. Through vivid examples, Paul details today’s most common scams, the psychological tactics criminals use, and the proactive steps banks and consumers can take to reduce risk. The episode emphasizes the importance of vigilance, multi-factor authentication, and rapid reporting, while also looking ahead to future challenges and emerging global cooperation to fight fraud.

Prefer reading over listening? You can read the full transcript of the episode below.

FVC Bank’s Beyond the Balance Sheet Podcast – Episode 4 – ABA

Vince Coglianese (00:03): Welcome to Beyond the Balance Sheet. This is the podcast where we explore how banking connects to people, businesses, and the communities that we serve. I’m Vince Coglianese

Patricia Ferrick (00:14): And I’m Patricia Ferrick. Thank you for joining us.

Vince Coglianese (00:17): Today we are joined by Paul Benda, Executive Vice President for Risk Fraud and Cybersecurity at the American Bankers Association. Paul leads the ABA’s national efforts to protect consumers and banks from cybercrime, and he oversees the popular Banks Never Ask That campaign, which helps people recognize and avoid scams before it’s too late. Paul is also the chair of the International Banking Federation’s Fraud and Scams Task Force, helping banks coordinate and fight fraud and scams all around the world, and will be representing banks at the UN Global Fraud Summit in Vienna in March.

Patricia Ferrick (00:54): Paul, welcome to Beyond the Balance Sheet. It’s great to have you here. Before we dig in, can you give us a quick sense of what your role at the ABA involves?

Paul Benda’s Role and ABA’s Fraud/Cybersecurity Mission

Paul Benda (01:03): Sure, Trish and thanks for having me. So at the ABA, you know, my group focuses on risk fraud and cybersecurity. So it’s kind of all in that title there. And really the two main pillars are fraud and cybersecurity. You know, we know that cyber-enabled fraud is a key piece of how people get lured into these scams. And so we look at how do we protect people’s bank accounts, how do we stop criminals from hacking into them, how do we stop people from being defrauded? And so we have education campaigns out there like our banks never asked that campaign. We build tools to allow our bankers to connect with each other. So if some of one of their customers experiences a fraudulent event, what banker can they contact on the other line to maybe stop the flow of funds? And then we’re building other ways that we can work with the government and the regulators on ways that we can better share information across different sectors, whether it’s with the telecoms or whether it’s social media companies or whether it’s other banks internationally.

The Evolving Fraud Landscape

Vince Coglianese (01:50): My impression is that the fraudsters are uh very nimble, that they’re very sophisticated, and that there’s constantly new and emerging trends that you probably have to be up to speed on. What are you seeing out there?

Paul Benda (02:03): Yeah, I think you know everyone’s heard of AI, right? We’ve all heard of the deep fakes that are out there, and that’s something that we’re seeing our customers experience, our bank customers experience. And so we’re worried about, you know, the grandmother scam. You know, this is one where a criminal will call up someone and pretend to be a loved one in distress, and now they’re even taking it to the next level where they’re spoofing their voice. So it sounds like your sounds like your loved one. We’re worried about impersonation texts that are being sent. We know of one small bank where they blanketed the entire market with fake fraud alerts saying, Did you make this Walmart purchase? And then all of a sudden the bank started getting all these calls. This is a three-branch bank. They got 600 calls in one day. And the the challenge that I don’t think people understand is these criminals now can buy a lot of your data online with all the data breaches that have occurred around the world. Uh so they’ll call you up and they’ll say, Hey, is this John Doe? You live at this address? Is this last four year social? I want to talk to you about this potential purchase. So the people think they’re talking to their bank because not only do they have that information, but the caller ID might even say the name of their bank and the number that the bank uses for their outgoing calls. And so it really is hard for consumers.

Psychology of Scams

Patricia Ferrick (03:07): It absolutely is. You know, we hear about social engineering all the time where criminals trick people, like you said, into giving up personal information or sending money. But why do you think it’s still happening at such a high level with so much information out there about it?

Paul Benda (03:23): Yeah, so I think it’s it leads with that technical authentication I brought up, that caller ID, the spoofing of the name, that personal information they’ve got. But remember,  you’re dealing with a criminal industrial complex. These are not, you know, the Nigerian princes of yesteryear, right, with the bad email and the bad spellings. The State Department estimated that there are 400,000 people in camps across Southeast Asia that are used to contact and basically scam people out of their money around the world. 400,000 people. So you think of the scale that’s there, and they do this every day. So they’re very good at it. They know the right things to say, and they cause fear and they cause intimidation, and they they they actually take you out of rational state of mind and put you in that fight or flight perspective. And so they keep telling you, you know, if you don’t pay this fine, you know, you’re gonna lose your license. You know, you missed your jury duty summons, you’re gonna get thrown in jail. And so people just like, oh, I need to take care of this, I need to take care of this. You know, and at heart, people want to be friendly, they want to be helpful, they want to do the right thing, and the scammers play on that and they they basically instigate this fear into people and they make decisions that probably if they were thinking rationally, they probably wouldn’t.

Vince Coglianese (04:26): So in other words, like people should be on guard for anybody who’s who’s urging them to do something now. Like you should instinctively think to yourself, wait a second, pause, take a breath, and let me actually call my bank and talk to them first.

Paul Benda (04:39): That’s exactly right. There’s two things, you know, two two of the biggest red flags. One is if someone is is telling you to act quickly, that’s a big red flag. The other one is if it’s a secret, it’s a scam. If they tell you not to tell anyone that this is going on, it’s a scam. So those are the two things that we talk about. Uh but they’re hard to take yourself out of that situation because these guys are really convinced.

AI’s Impact on Fraud

Vince Coglianese (05:01): That’s amazing. Okay. So how is artificial intelligence uh changing all of this? I mean you you mentioned voice cloning, and we’ve seen things about fake videos being used to try and trick people. Are the scammers really diving into this like in a in a big way now? Is this kind of the dominant way that people are being scammed?

Paul Benda (05:18): You know, it’s it’s it’s a leading indicator for is what I would say. So we know the voice cloning is out there. What we’re seeing a lot is a lot of these deep fake videos. It’s really easy to do a deep fake of President Trump and put on there, hey, to get your stimulus check, you know, they’ll put an ad up on Facebook or a meta or other platform. Hey, to get your your stimulus check, you know, contact these people and then they try and get your personal information, your banking account information. So that’s where we’re seeing it is really, you know, people are pretending to be Brad Pitt, and Brad Pitt’s in trouble. He’s in the hospital and needs your help. Uh we know we’ve heard customers, um, banking customers have reported that a man sold his house and sold his truck and because he was going to get married to Miranda Lambert. And he needs you know, she needed the money for the wedding. Literally, this is one of the stories that we’ve heard. And so, you know, people believe these things because you know they don’t understand what AI can do. And then on the even worse side, you know, you might have heard how AI is being used to help people code faster and build better tools. Well, the scammers are adopting this. And so now you might have gotten all these texts that you say, hey, can we talk? Oh, hey, we had this meeting at nine. They’re automating all these now with AI SMS texts that are going out, and they’re doing that initial conversation using AI bots. And so then when they finally get someone who’s responding and engaging, that’s when the scammer comes on.

Vince Coglianese (06:30): You know, uh, if I can, there was a uh scam of this nature because it happened to somebody in my life. My dad’s a Marine, a general, and uh he’s got a long military career, but as he accrued that career, all of his biographical details keep appearing on the internet. Stuff about like family members, ages, where he his duty stations, so enough for a scammer to try and compile like, hey, this is a real biographical story. And so a scammer in some faraway country tricks some random woman in the country into thinking that she’s got a relationship with my father over the internet and that she needs to send all sorts of money to maintain internet connections and all these things. And then I found out this is a super commonplace scam, and it’s happening all the time at scale where just poor women oftentimes are being tricked into believing they have these long-distance relationships with con artists who are just stealing money from them. And it’s happening, it’s just so disgusting to see. And it’s and you’re seeing it all the time.

Paul Benda (07:26): Yeah, it is it is disgusting. I mean, these people are just evil, and and it goes to that she wanted to be helpful. She thought she was helping, you know, your dad, yeah, quote unquote, your dad, you know, maintain his internet, or wanted to help, you know, Brad Pitt, or you wanted to help these other people. And so they really they really do lure these people into a relationship. They’re not thinking rationally about it, and we really want to try and get them, you know. And I guarantee you, he was saying, don’t tell anyone about this. That’s that secret part. Well, you know, as soon as someone tells you to keep something secret, that’s a scam. You got to try and find someone you trust to have a discussion with. And and frankly, a lot of times your banker knows a lot about these. So don’t be afraid to have a conversation with your banker about these types of things.

Banks’ Frontline Defense Against Fraud

Patricia Ferrick (08:02): Well, as a bank president, I see firsthand how much happens behind the scenes to try to protect our customers, constant, vigilant monitoring and software tools, and customer outreach when we see things that look suspicious. So from your national perspective, what are you seeing banks doing to get ahead of it and to prevent fraud before it even reaches our customers?

Paul Benda (08:24): Sure. So this is something, you know, I think banks invest billions of dollars to protect consumers from fraud every year. And frankly, I think banks do a better job than any other industry. You think about it, when was the last time Facebook sent you a fraud alert? You know, banks do this, you know, customers get this every day. You know, banks are even calling up customers when a high dollar check gets written. We’ve had a big rise in check fraud, not as sexy as you know, some of these AI deepfake scams, but it’s been a huge issue with checks being stolen out of the mail. And we know banks regularly call customers and saying, hey, you know, this this big check came through, did you write it? And so I think banks are being a lot more proactive. We understand these impersonation scams that are out there. Uh we’re doing better training for our tellers to try and recognize these. Uh banks routinely look at accounts for transactions that are you know what they would consider out of the norm. Uh they try and put friction into that. What we mean is they try and you know, question the customer. You know, but but in the end, a lot of times it’s that’s the customer’s money, right? We can’t we’re a bank isn’t isn’t our job to tell you how to spend your money or where you can and can’t spend your money. We do our best job to say, is this something you really want to do? Is this you know an appropriate transaction for you? And if it’s legal and it’s appropriate and you know you’re of sound mind and body, we have to let them make that transaction. We do everything we can to try and raise those flags. In the end, it’s up to that customer.

The “Banks Never Ask That” Campaign

Patricia Ferrick (09:36): So  let’s shift to banks never ask that. It’s such a clever campaign. It’s funny, memorable, and effective. So what inspired it and what did you hope to accomplish?

Paul Benda (09:48): Well, you know, when you talk about you know cyber scams and fraud and things like that, sometimes people’s eyes glaze over, at least my wife’s eyes glaze over when I try and talk about it. So we’re trying to figure out a way that we can educate people and have it be memorable. And so we decided to go with something something more centered on humor. And so the idea is, you know, would a bank ever ask you, do you wear boxers or briefs? You wear blue you know, do you believe in aliens? No. Is a bank going to ask you for that one-time use passcode? No, we’re not gonna ask you for that kind of thing. So, what are the things that banks will and won’t ask? We’ve done it in a funny manner. We tried to make it engaging. We’ve got Banks NeverAskThat.com. You can go play a scam uh quiz and test your knowledge and compare your knowledge with your uh with your friends and with your family. We’ve got some really funny um actors that have participated with some skits with us to try and just you know get people to pause. It’s really Vince is exactly what you said. You know, maybe they this would you know sink in. Hey, this is something I heard about. You know, this is something I remember hearing that you know that video about, and maybe think about it and maybe pull themselves out of that fight or flight syndrome.

Vince Coglianese (10:46): Yes. We all have to be way more cynical, don’t you think? Yeah. No, it’s like we just have to be on guard. It’s a it’s a great it’s a great thing to to train yourself to do. Now, it is, I would admit, pretty rare for a cybersecurity campaign to go viral. I don’t know how you even achieved that. This one did it. As the public responded, what kind of feedback are you receiving from the banks?

Paul Benda (11:05): So we’re getting really good feedback. We have uh we’ve had well over 2,000 banks that participate in this. We sent it across the country, we put in different whether it’s Facebook posts or whether it’s Instagram or whether it’s uh posts that are on X, and so we’re seeing a lot of engagement. One of the best stories that we’ve got is you know, we had one of the banks playing one of these reels in place uh up on their display, and one of the gentlemen that was in line actually saw that and recognized uh some of the items that we’re bringing up in that, and then actually when he went up to the teller, he said, you know, I think I think I might be getting scammed here. And he so he brought exactly what we talked about, he brought up to his banker, they’ve seen these types of things before. He’s like, you know, telling him the information, and actually it stopped the man from being scammed. And so that was really exciting for us to see that kind of feedback. Uh we partner with our ABA foundation that helps with a lot of amplification of these tools, uh, but it’s been really successful at least in in getting some knowledge out there. You know, there’s still a lot more to do.

Common Scams and How Consumers Should Respond

Patricia Ferrick (11:58): Can you give examples of the most common scams you warn about? And what should a customer do or consumer do when they get a suspicious message?

Paul Benda (12:09): Sure. Uh you know, and the and the thing is what we do, you know, Vince, you’re right. We got to all be cynical, frankly. Anyone that reaches out to you, you have no idea who they’re calling from or who they are. So a lot of these things we see coming through text messages. They try and start up a conversation with you. Um we see it coming, you know, it’s still get the phishing emails when it could look exactly like your bank. You know, AI allows them to enable perfect examples of legitimate websites with maybe a slight change that’s in the URL, and so they’ll direct you to try and fill in your credentials in there. Um they drill they really do try and impersonate whether it’s a bank or a U.S. government employee to try and give up um information. We see them try and say things like, Your bank is being investigated. Can you help us with this investigation? Oh, we need to make sure your money’s safe because the bank might try and take your money away, so you need to put it in crypto, or you need to buy gold bars. And so they create these elaborate schemes, and again, people are trying to be helpful. They want to be helpful, and unfortunately, the the scammers prey on that. And so we always try and do, you know, if it’s a secret it’s a scam, everyone’s pressuring you, you know, pause and take a step back. But if for some reason you do make a transaction, the first person you do is call your bank. Because they have the best chance of potentially putting a hold on those funds that are out there. Your bank can help you work with the FBI. The FBI is an Internet Crime Complaint Center, it’s IC3.gov. You can go and file a complaint there. There’s a thing called the financial fraud kill chain that the banks work with the federal government, with different regulators and different law enforcement where they can reach out to other banks, even banks overseas to potentially stop it. But honestly, every hour you wait after that transaction occurred, it means the odds of you getting that money back go down more and more and more and more.

Vince Coglianese (13:42): Yeah. It seems like one of the great technological developments of the last decade or so is two-factor authentication, where you have to like go to a separate device or somehow in order to confirm that you are trying to actively engage in this transaction. It does feel like that’s a good instinct in real life too. Because like I’ve known scams where like people reach out, they’ll they’ll create a fake email address for your boss, and then they’ll email you pretending to be your boss. Well, if you’re suspicious at all, if you see this and you’re like, let me just call them. That’s two-factor authentication. Call your boss separately and verify that this is a real conversation and not a scam.

Paul Benda (14:16): You’re absolutely right. I mean, that’s because someone calling you, like you said, you don’t know who it is that people can’t trust that caller ID. So you can’t trust what’s being presented to you. But if you make that call, if you call the number on the back of your card, and honestly, the best way to engage with your bank or with a large technology company like Amazon, use the app. Go directly through the app. You can go, you’re it’s a very secure login method. Uh, you know exactly the information you’re getting is accurate, and you can see, hey, wait, that transaction’s not there. I don’t have any Amazon you know purchase that’s you know on my account, and then you know right away that someone’s trying to scam you.

Vince Coglianese (14:49): That’s amazing. Uh so the campaign, BanksneverAskThat.com, uh, do you think it’s making a measurable difference? Are you detecting that?

Paul Benda (14:55): We do. We think so. I mean, we we had the example where we’re seeing you know someone that that recognized it. Um you know, the it’s such a broad problem that any awareness that we can bring to it we think is is going to move the needle. Yeah. Uh we know that the scam rates are going up. If you look at it’s really hard to know the scale of the problem we’re dealing with right here. Uh there’s no central point in the U.S. government to report it. But both the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI have said scams are going up 25 to 30 percent a year. Uh FTC estimated losses to scams because of underreporting could be as high as $196 billion. Now, that seems a little high to me, but even it’s let’s say it’s half that, $95 billion. If it’s going up 25% every year, it’s going up a lot. So anything that we can do to educate consumers to make them pause, take a step back, uh, we think is gonna is gonna be helpful.

Small Business Fraud Risks

Patricia Ferrick (15:38): For our small business owners listening, what advice would you give them about protecting their companies from fraud?

Paul Benda (15:45): So I would say one of the biggest losses that we see in small businesses is business email compromise. So what happens is you know, you’ve got a vendor that you’ve been working with, all of a sudden that vendor will email you, and it’ll might even come from their account and that says, oh, hey, we’ve we’ve started with a new bank. Can you please change the wiring instructions for your next payment? You know, Trish, you’re shaking your head. You you probably have experienced this at your bank with one of your customers. Vince, it’s exactly what you talked about. Two-factor authentication. Call up your vendor with the number you’ve used in the past. Hey, did you guys change your wiring instructions? And it’s amazing how many businesses forget to take that step. And then all of a sudden they’ll wire the money out. 30 days later, their their vendor will come back and say, Hey, we never got that payment. Well, like we said, hours make a difference reporting these. 30 days, it’s gonna be really hard to get that money back. That money is now gone, probably converted to crypto, probably gone overseas somewhere. So that you know, if I was a small business, that is my number one, you know, there’s all the other things you got to be aware of, but that is the number one thing is making sure that anytime you’re working with a vendor, any change to any payment, you verify with a number you’ve used before and make sure you don’t use any of the details in that email. Uh, I used to work at a small business. This actually happened at my small business. Uh, we actually had a criminal that hacked into our email accounts, was resident, was reading on the emails as they came in and responding in real time just to those emails that dealt with that payment. It was really creepy when you thought about it. So they’re very sophisticated. So, but the one way you can do it finally ended when our business ops guy walked down the hall to the managing partner and said, Why do I need to make this payment so fast? He’s like, What are you talking about?

Vince Coglianese (17:14): Yeah. And then, I mean, just imagine though, you actually get scammed and then money goes out the door, and the sinking feeling when you realize what just happened and your own role in it. So if you get scammed, what’s the first step? Like, so now you you’re going through the panic and you’re like, what do I do first? What do you tell people?

Paul Benda (17:32): So call your bank. So we’ve actually, I was sitting at home, 5:30 p.m. on a Friday. I like to have a  Martini, and you know, because it was a long week, right? Got a call from through our 1-800 bankers. So this is a number we have up for our bankers when they need help for ABA. Came in, I’m like, oh, geez. So I answered the phone. And it’s like one of our call center people says, Hey, there’s a bank that wants to talk about fraud. I’m like, okay. And so the banker was like, oh my gosh, we had one of our people send a $185,000 payment to the wrong address. What do we do? And so we’re talking them through them. Okay, okay, here’s the bank. File the complaint with the FBI’s IC3. Okay, let’s reach out to the receiving bank that got this, let’s send them a hold harmless, let’s make sure we got the affidavits in place that that fraud occurred. And I will tell you, it took some time, but 30 days later, they got all that money back because they acted with it. It was probably about 24 hours earlier. They realized they make that payment. So the the chances of you getting that money back, you know, if you can do it in that first 24 hours, is really good, but it takes a really quick action. It’s a partnership between both the business that you know executed that, the partnership with the bank and law enforcement and others. And you know, there’s a chance you can get that money back, but you gotta be quick.

Everyday Cyber Hygiene

Patricia Ferrick (18:37): Does happen. We’ve had some nice wins. So I appreciate that. We’ve discussed how cybersecurity isn’t just a technology issue, it’s a people issue. What habits can individuals practice to stay safe every day?

Paul Benda (18:49): Sure. So I think you know, Vince, you brought it up multi-factor authentication. You know, a lot of people, it’s basically derigor now on logins for your bank account, um, for all of you know a lot of the big transactions that you have. Make sure it’s on all your emails. I mean, think about it, it’s pretty much standard now. I think Google and Yahoo have required it, but before they didn’t, and we were seeing once they, think about it, once someone hacks into your email, they have access to everything. Your multi-factor authentication sometimes gets to send an email. Um don’t reuse the passwords. So we see this a lot. Uh a lot of retail sites may not have the same level of security as your bank. We see those get hacked, and then they get your username and password, and then they figure out, oh, this username matches the bank username, and then all of a sudden they know your password, and then they might now send you a fake fraud alert because they’ve got your phone number from that account, and then all of a sudden they’ll say, Oh, can you verify your identity with this one-time passcode? Well, what they’ve done is they’ve logged in with your username and password that you reused. They use that one that one time passcode gets sent to you, and then they type that in and they have access to your account. So making sure that you’ve got that enabled on all your different accounts that are out there uh is really important. Make sure you’re not reusing those passwords. Uh and that is really, I mean, I think the the two keys, and frankly, you can’t trust anything incoming. I you know, I I hate to sound cynical. But you can’t trust anyone that reaches out to you because the voices can be fake, the numbers on the ID can be fake, they can fake emails that come in, all of those things can be fake. You only know who you’re talking to unless you reach out to them.

Vince Coglianese (20:11): You’re making me paranoid.

Paul Benda (20:13): Good.

Vince Coglianese (20:13): Everyone is out to get me. They are. That’s what I’m concluding from all of this. If there’s one thing, if you could recommend one thing to everybody who’s listening about their behavior that they could change starting today, what would that be?

Paul Benda (20:25): Uh if you don’t have multi-factor authentication on everything, uh put it in place. Um I think, you know, well, one thing would be make your phone the center of your security. Use pass keys where possible if you’ve heard of those, uh, where you link it to the biometric on your phone, because honestly, the phone then becomes the whole point is it’s a physical token, right? It’s really hard to hack that. If they don’t have that phone, they can’t hack your account. Now, you lose your phone, you’re gonna be in trouble. But you know, you can rebuild that. You just but that’s having one central point for your security is really important.

The Future of Cybersecurity Challenges

Patricia Ferrick (20:55): As you look ahead, what do you see as the next frontier of fraud or cybersecurity challenges?

Paul Benda (21:01): I’m really afraid of what AI is gonna do. Um it just from an automation perspective. We’ve already seen the deepfakes, we’ve already seen the the voices and the videos and those kinds of things. Uh I’m afraid that we’re gonna see bots that become very personalized. And so think about this. If I were to, I can, you know, there was a 2.9 billion record public data breach that occurred in 2024. 2.9 billion numbers, you know, face all that personal information that’s out there. I load that all up into a bot, and then I then use that bot to then contact whether it’s businesses or banks, and they’re trying to, you know, reset accounts. And so they’re trying to go through knowledge-based authentication to prove who they are. Well, they’ve got all the access to the information, it happens. Or we start seeing them engage with people in a much more uh conversational method to make the scammers work easier. Uh the US government, to its credit, has focused on crackdown on overseas scams. They started a task force on it, which we love, love the Department of Justice has done that. But we think the criminals are gonna realize, hey, I can replace just like our businesses are replacing people with AI, they’re gonna replace the scammers with AI. And you’re just gonna see people get inundated more and more and more. And it’s it’s I’m afraid it’s gonna create a breakdown in trust. And we’re all I’m you know, I’m already recommending don’t trust things that are incoming. I think it’s gonna get worse and worse and worse, and people aren’t gonna know who to believe. And that’s that’s when it’s gonna be, I think, a really big challenge for us.

Vince Coglianese (22:17): Now, on a hopeful note, after all that. What gives you optimism? What what what makes you think, you know what, we can handle this, all these emerging threats, it can be done.

Paul Benda (22:28): I will say, you know, I’ve been at ABA eight years. Um I’ve never seen such a focus on fighting scams and fraud worldwide as I’ve seen lately. We talked about a UN Global Fraud Summit. Uh, we talked about the DOJ Stat Task Force, um, strike uh Scam Center Strike Force that’s going on. I was on a call with Canadian Bankers Association just this morning talking about how do we share bank contact information in case funds get transferred so that we can reach out to those bankers. We’re gonna build an international database of bankers so that if your funds go overseas, a U.S. banker can reach out to someone in the UK, Australia, Canada, other places to try and get those money back, and they can reach out to us. We’re trying to, the UK government’s leading an effort to try and figure out what are the baseline things that we should do to protect all citizens from fraud. And so I’m seeing a really strong effort here in the U.S. that’s starting to get underway. Seeing a really strong effort internationally to get underway. And AI is a dual-edged sword. We are building those tools into banks. We’re recognizing these changes, these anomalous behaviors faster that will hopefully help us stop. You know, the goal here is a shift to prevent that transaction from happening in the first place versus trying to get the money back after it’s out the door.

Patricia Ferrick (23:33): Paul, this has been a very eye-opening conversation. Thank you for sharing your insights and for all the work the ABA is doing to protect customers, consumers, and businesses in general.

Vince Coglianese (23:43): Absolutely. And for all of our listeners, you can explore so much more at BanksNeveraskThat.com, the super viral campaign. You’re gonna love it. Banksneveraskhat.com. It’s a fun and effective way to learn how to spot scams before they happen. That’s way better. Paul, thank you so much for joining us on Beyond the Balance Sheet.

Paul Benda (24:01): Thanks for having me.

The post Podcast Episode 4 | Banks Never Ask That: How to Spot Scams Before It’s Too Late appeared first on FVCbank.

At FVCbank, we work with business owners across the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region, and these are the actions we see make the biggest difference.

Why Q1 Planning Matters for Your Business

Early in the new year is often the best window to review last year’s results and set priorities. Here are practical business banking tips Q1 you can use right away.

Setting Your Financial Goals

Start the year by setting, or resetting, your financial targets. Whether you’re aiming for revenue growth, higher profitability, or a technology upgrade, writing goals down gives you something concrete to manage toward. Keep goals concrete: define the number you’re chasing and the date you expect to hit it.

Seasonal Trends & Cash Flow

Seasonality matters, especially early in the year. Many retail and service-based businesses see a slower stretch in January and February, which can squeeze cash flow. Use last year’s numbers to map your slower months, adjust inventory, and time vendor payments so you’re not guessing week to week.

Review & Reconcile Your Finances

Clean records make the rest of this checklist go faster. Take time early in the year to review and reconcile your accounts so you start with clean books and can set small business financial goals Q1 with confidence.

Update Your Bookkeeping and P&L

Make sure all transactions from the previous year are accurately recorded. Updating your profit and loss (P&L) statement and balance sheet shows where your business earned or spent money and supports cash flow planning when you’re making decisions on spending and hiring. FVCbank’s business banking options make it easier to track deposits and payments and pull the details your bookkeeping needs.

Reconcile Bank Accounts & Receipts

Verify that your bank statements match your records. Reconcile deposits, expenses, and outstanding checks to prevent errors or fraud. If discrepancies come up, address them quickly. Online banking tools can help you review activity, pull statements, and set account alerts so you catch issues sooner.

Plan for Tax Season

Q1 is the point in the year when tax prep stops being a back-burner task. Starting early keeps you from scrambling and helps you capture deductions you might otherwise miss. It also gives you space to organize paperwork and flag questions for your accountant well before deadlines.

Collect Documents & Deductible Expenses

Pull together receipts, invoices, payroll reports, and last year’s return. Then group expenses into clear categories such as office supplies, travel, and marketing. When everything is organized up front, it’s easier to spot gaps and reduce the last-minute scramble.

Work With Your CPA or Tax Advisor

A CPA or tax advisor can help you confirm what to set aside, what to document, and what to handle before filing deadlines. Booking a Q1 check-in gives you time to review your records, confirm what’s needed, and avoid surprises as filing deadlines get closer.

Evaluate & Strengthen Your Cash Flow

Cash flow drives how much flexibility you have week to week. A quick forecast tune-up now can help you avoid seasonal surprises and one-off expenses.

Forecast Your Cash Needs

Estimate income and expenses for the coming months. Consider seasonal variations, recurring costs, and planned investments. Forecasting helps prevent shortfalls and allows you to plan for potential borrowing needs. For more insights, check out Cash Flow Management Tips for Small Businesses.

Create or Update Your Budget

Update your budget to align with your forecast and business goals. Track spending categories, adjust allocations, and monitor variances throughout the year. A realistic budget helps you make decisions faster and avoid overspending.

Maximize Your Banking Tools

Take a quick look at whether your banking tools are saving you time and helping you catch issues early. If you’re still using personal accounts or outdated tools, this is a good time to open or optimize your business accounts and set up cash management features. Look for features that let you monitor activity, speed up receivables and payables, reduce fraud risk, and keep visibility across accounts. Tools like account alerts, remote deposit options, and role-based access controls can help you tighten processes without extra work.

Use Business Online Banking for Efficiency

Online banking can reduce day-to-day busywork. Use it to check balances, pay vendors, move funds, and monitor activity so you can stay focused on your business. FVCbank’s Business Online Banking helps you stay organized and keep visibility into your accounts throughout the quarter.

Reassess Checking & Savings Accounts

Make sure your accounts match how your business operates today. An operating account keeps everyday transactions clean, while a savings account helps you set aside funds for taxes, planned purchases, or slower months. A quick account review now can prevent headaches later. Review credit access early, too, so you’re not scrambling later if an opportunity or expense pops up.

Consider Financing & Credit Options

Lines of Credit vs Loans

Access to credit gives you options when timing matters. A business line of credit offers flexible access to funds for short-term needs, while a term loan can finance larger investments or expansions. Evaluate which option aligns with your goals and cash flow forecast. Learn more about the benefits of lines of credit for small businesses in this guide

Prepare Loan Documentation

If financing is likely this year, organize your financial statements, tax returns, and business plan early. Preparation keeps lender discussions focused and helps you act quickly when needs arise.

Insurance, Payroll & Compliance

Review Business Insurance

Assess your coverage for liability, property, and other relevant risks. Schedule a Q1 coverage review, then revisit it anytime your business changes to avoid costly gaps.

Update Payroll Systems & Employee Benefits

Ensure your payroll software is up to date with current tax rates, and review benefits plans for compliance and competitiveness. Keeping these systems current protects your business and employees alike.

Set Financial Goals & KPIs for the Year

Clear goals and a few measurable KPIs keep your business focused once the year gets busy. Tie each goal to a metric you can track and review it monthly.

Growth Targets

Choose a small set of targets that matter most to your business, such as revenue, profit margin, or customer growth. Setting them early gives your team a clear direction and helps you prioritize where to spend time and money.

Monthly Checkpoints

Turn annual goals into simple monthly checkpoints. Review revenue, expenses, and cash flow consistently to spot trends early before they become bigger problems. Regular check-ins also reduce surprises and keep everyone aligned on the plan.

Take Action Now

Set the foundation now with clean books, a cash flow forecast, and a banking setup that fits how you operate. Reconcile accounts, prepare for taxes, and improve cash flow planning and banking tools, so the rest of the year runs more smoothly. The goal is fewer surprises and more control.

FVCbank supports D.C. Metro-area small business owners with online banking, cash management, and lending solutions. Review your finances and connect with us to explore tools that can make your 2026 financial goals easier to reach, including opening or optimizing your business accounts.

Call FVCbank at (703) 436-3800 or visit our Contact Us page to speak with a business banking specialist today.

The post Small Business Checklist: Financial Actions Every Owner Should Take in Q1 appeared first on FVCbank.

Have you ever received a frantic call from someone claiming to be a relative in trouble? An urgent text that appeared to come from your bank? Or an unexpected invoice landing in your inbox? If any of this happened to you in 2025, chances are you were targeted by a sophisticated scam.

Stories like these are increasingly common—whether it’s an elderly woman losing her life savings after receiving a distress call from her “grandson,” or a business owner unknowingly paying a fraudulent invoice.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the average financial loss per scam victim is estimated at nearly $10,000, contributing to more than $12.5 billion in total losses nationwide.

Since 2007, FVCbank has been a trusted financial partner serving customers throughout the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region. As a community bank, we combine advanced security technology with local decision-making and personalized service—so you always know who to call if something doesn’t feel right.

FVCbank offers a wide range of secure banking services, including personal checking and savings accounts, business banking with treasury management solutions, and fraud-prevention education through our online resources. You can explore additional tips on the FVCbank blog, including Best Practices for Mobile Banking.

Below are the top financial scams to look out for in 2026, along with practical steps to help protect your money, identity, and peace of mind.

Subscription Renewals & Auto-Pay Traps

Many apps and services require free trials or auto-renew subscriptions. While not illegal, these charges can quietly add up.

Best practices include:

• Reading all cancellation terms carefully
• Setting calendar reminders before trial periods end
• Reviewing monthly bank statements for recurring charges

How to Get Out of Auto-Pay Traps

• Use subscription-monitoring tools
• Contact the vendor directly to cancel
• File a dispute through your bank when appropriate

“Emergency” Text Scams Using Real Personal Information

Often referred to as “smishing,” emergency text scams use real personal details to create panic and urgency. Scammers may pretend to be a loved one, law enforcement, or a government agency.

Common warning signs include:

• Messages claiming to be from someone who does not normally text you
• Requests to keep the emergency a “secret”
• Unknown or international phone numbers
• Demands for payment using cryptocurrency, gift cards, wire transfers, or third-party apps

What to Do if You Suspect “Smishing”

• Never send money or provide personal information
• Do not reply to the message
• Contact the person directly using a trusted phone number
• Block and report the number as spam

If you are unsure whether a message is legitimate, contact FVCbank directly. Our team is always here to help.

The post Top Financial Scams to Look Out for in 2026 appeared first on FVCbank.

The Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) region is one of the most dynamic and competitive business landscapes in the country. To succeed here, an entrepreneur needs more than a great idea; they need a network of strong, local partners. Perhaps the most critical partner is their bank.

While it’s tempting to opt for a large, national institution, the entrepreneurs who truly thrive often discover their greatest advantage lies closer to home. Community banks in the DMV are the backbone of our local entrepreneurial ecosystem, offering a holistic partnership that goes far beyond just lending. Let’s examine how this local advantage translates into essential support for your business.

This guide explores the nine essential roles a community bank, like FVCbank, plays in supporting and empowering every aspect of your business. Each role highlights how personalized, local banking can give you an edge in the DMV market.

1. We’re Your Neighbors With Deep Local Insight

A national bank might have data on your zip code, but a community banker understands your neighborhood. At FVCBank, our business bankers live and work in the DMV and understand the unique economic trends affecting each business type, providing more context-aware advice.

But as an entrepreneur, how do you identify a true community partner like FVCbank that has this essential local insight?

• Look for Local Roots. A truly local bank wears its community pride on its sleeve. Explore the bank’s ‘About Us’ page and ‘News’ Was the bank founded and built right here in the DMV? Do they sponsor local events, partner with area non-profits, or feature success stories from other local businesses? This active, visible community involvement is a powerful sign that the bank is genuinely invested in the region’s success, not just its own.
• Seek Out Relevant Industry Experience. The DMV is not a monolith. Look for a bank that demonstrates experience in your specific field, such as government contracting, professional services, hospitality, or technology. Client testimonials and banker bios can reveal a track record of success with businesses like yours.
• Schedule a Conversation. The ultimate test is a simple meeting. When you talk to a banker, are they asking insightful questions about your business and your vision, or do they immediately jump into a generic product pitch? A true partner will be more interested in your goals than in their sales quota.

1. A True Relationship Goes Beyond the Account Number

At a large national bank, your business can feel like it’s defined by its credit score and account balance. At FVCbank, we know your story. True entrepreneur banking support is built on a proactive partnership, not a series of reactive transactions.

Our relationship begins with a thorough review of your business plan. We don’t just glance at the executive summary; we take the time to understand your market analysis, your operational strategy, and your financial projections. This enables us to serve as a more effective day-to-day partner, proactively recommending the right cash management tools or connecting you with resources that can help you achieve your specific goals.

This partnership isn’t a one-time event; it’s an ongoing conversation. We believe in scheduling recurring reviews with our business clients to discuss your progress, anticipate upcoming challenges, and ensure that your banking services remain perfectly aligned with your evolving needs. This proactive approach means that when you’re considering a new equipment purchase or expansion, we’re already up to speed on your goals and can help you prepare—a level of personalized, forward-looking guidance an algorithm simply cannot replicate.

2. Streamlining Your Daily Operations

An entrepreneur’s most valuable asset is time. Your daily banking tools should provide you with more convenience, not create administrative headaches. At FVCbank, we provide sophisticated and efficient services to make your day-to-day operations seamless, secure, and fast.

It all starts with a powerful business checking account paired with robust online and mobile banking, which acts as the command center for your finances. But true operational efficiency goes beyond the basics. This is where Treasury Management services come in—a suite of powerful tools designed to automate your cash flow, enhance security, and reduce manual tasks. For example:

• With Remote Deposit Capture, you can deposit checks directly from your office, accelerating your cash flow without a trip to the bank.
• ACH services allow you to pay vendors and manage payroll electronically, saving time and money on paper checks.
• And tools like Positive Pay provide powerful fraud protection, giving you peace of mind that your hard-earned capital is secure.

This integrated suite of services turns your banking platform into a powerful engine for a more streamlined and efficient business.

3. Optimizing Your Capital to Fuel Future Growth

Once your daily operations are streamlined, the next question is: what are you doing with the cash you’re not actively using? Money sitting idle in a standard checking account is a missed opportunity. A true banking partner helps you create a strategy to make your capital work harder, turning your cash reserves into an engine for future growth.

At FVCbank, we go beyond basic accounts to help you build a strategic cash management plan. This involves:

• High-Yield Savings & Money Market Accounts: We can help you move your emergency fund or money earmarked for future investments into accounts that earn a competitive interest rate, ensuring your safety net is also a productive asset.
• Certificates of Deposit (CDs): For funds that you won’t need for a fixed period, a CD can lock in a guaranteed return, providing a secure way to grow your capital.
• Strategic Sweep Services: We can set up automated sweeps to move excess funds from your checking account into higher-yield accounts, ensuring your money is always in the most optimal place without any manual effort from you.

This strategic approach to managing your capital is a key part of business banking at FVCbank.

4. Flexible and Commonsense Lending

When it is time to seek local business financing, a community bank’s approach is fundamentally different. Our lending decisions are made locally by people who understand your business, which allows us to offer more flexible and creative small business loans in the DMV. We consider the entire picture, not just the checkboxes on a form.

This commonsense approach is especially critical for entrepreneurs who have historically faced more barriers to accessing capital. Our commitment to equitable lending means we take the time to understand the unique strengths and potential of every business. As part of this mission, we are proud to offer dedicated support and small business loans for diverse entrepreneurs, ensuring every great idea in our community has the opportunity to thrive. Our goal is to find a way to say “yes” and help you grow.

1. Investing in Our Shared Community

When you bank with FVCbank, you are making a direct investment in the DMV community. This isn’t just a feeling; it’s a fact. Nationally, community banks are the leading lenders to small businesses, providing the majority of all small business loans in the country. We utilize local deposits to fund local business loans, creating a robust, circular economy. We provide capital to a local construction company, which in turn hires local workers, who then support other local businesses. Our success is fundamentally tied to the health of the community we all share. This commitment extends beyond banking—from sponsoring local events to volunteering our time, you can learn more about our work by exploring our community initiatives.

2. Direct Access to Expert Guidance

At a big bank, expert advice can feel out of reach. At FVCbank, it’s a core part of our service. Our business bankers are experienced advisors who review hundreds of business plans and financial statements annually, providing them with a unique perspective on what drives success in the DMV market. We act as a strategic sounding board, offering insights on your business plan, cash flow management, and growth strategies.

A great community banker provides expert financial guidance, but they also understand that your business needs a full team of specialists. Part of our role as your strategic partner is to recognize when you need specialized advice beyond banking. We are committed to helping you connect with the right resources—whether that’s within FVCbank or through our trusted network of local professionals.

3. Support for Your Greatest Asset

Our partnership extends beyond your business’s finances to the people who make it run. We offer programs like Bank at Work, allowing you to provide your employees with the valuable perk of premium banking services at no cost to your company. Supporting your team’s financial well-being is a powerful tool for retention and loyalty.

1. A Hub for Your Professional Network

No entrepreneur succeeds alone. Building a successful business requires a strong team of trusted professional advisors, and your community banker often sits at the very center of that network.

At FVCbank, we are deeply integrated into the DMV’s professional network. As our primary focus is on helping local businesses succeed, we have the privilege of working with the region’s top professional service providers. This puts us in a unique position to be a valuable connector for our clients.

The value of this network isn’t just a list of names; it’s the trust we’ve built over the years. We only refer our clients to professionals who share our commitment to integrity and community success. A referral from your FVCbank banker can save you countless hours of searching and reduce the risk of partnering with the wrong firm, helping you build your expert team with confidence, including:

• Financial Professionals: Top-notch CPAs, bookkeepers, and fractional CFOs.
• Legal Experts: Trusted business attorneys and real estate lawyers.
• Growth Specialists: Proven marketing agencies, web developers, and sales consultants.

Think of your banker as the hub connecting you to the essential spokes of your business’s support wheel.

Your Most Important Partnership

Choosing a bank is about more than just an account; it’s about choosing a partner who will be in your corner, championing your growth and investing in your success. FVCBank was built by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, and we are dedicated to fueling the ambitions of the businesses that make our DMV community thrive.

Ready to experience FVCbank’s community banking advantage? Contact us today at (703) 436-3800 to start the conversation.

The post The FVCbank Advantage: 9 Ways We Empower DMV Entrepreneurs appeared first on FVCbank.

Episode 3 | The Future of Payments – and Why Trust Still Matters. PayTech Trust – Leading change with integrity.

Overview

In Episode 3 of FVCbank’s Beyond the Balance Sheet podcast, hosts Vince Coglianese and Patricia Ferrick speak with Matt Clyne, founder and CEO of PayTech Trust, about the evolving landscape of payment processing. Clyne shares how his company emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic to address inefficiencies in business-to-business payments, particularly the reliance on paper checks. He emphasizes the importance of combining cutting-edge fintech solutions with personalized, local customer service, a model that sets PayTech Trust apart from both large banks and tech-only competitors. The conversation highlights success stories in fraud prevention, ERP integrations, and industry-specific innovations in healthcare, education, and manufacturing. Clyne also reflects on the company’s rapid growth, its commitment to trust and transparency, and the importance of investing in the next generation of employees. The episode highlights the importance of trust, both in technology and relationships, in achieving sustainable business success.

Prefer reading over listening? You can read the full transcript of the episode below.

FVCbank’s Beyond the Balance Sheet Podcast – Episode 3 – PayTech Trust

Vince Coglianese (0:03): Welcome to Beyond the Balance Sheet, the podcast from FVCbank, where we spotlight entrepreneurs, organizations, and change makers who are redefining what it means to lead with purpose. I’m Vince Coglianese.

Patricia Ferrick (0:16): And I’m Patricia Ferrick, president of FVCbank. Today we’re talking about trust, technology, and the future of payments with someone who’s reshaping how businesses get paid. Matt Clyne, founder and CEO of PayTech Trust.

Vince Coglianese (0:31): Matt’s built a company that combines cutting-edge fintech with a deep commitment to client service. Whether it’s fraud prevention, simplifying transactions, or staying ahead of payment trends, PayTech Trust is helping businesses operate smarter and safer.

Patricia Ferrick (0:46): We’re excited to hear Matt’s story, his insights on the future of payment processing, and how trust is more than a value. It’s a business model.

Origin and Purpose of PayTech Trust

Vince Coglianese (0:54): All right, and let’s get started. Matt, take us back. What led you to start PayTech Trust and what problem were you trying to solve?

Matt Clyne (1:02): So when we started this company, it was really at the genesis of COVID. And there was a lot of challenges for businesses, particularly businesses that were accepting remittances to get paid. What we saw was an opportunity to help electronify a lot of those payments, speed up those payments, simplify how they were getting paid, and reduce the overall inefficiencies, cost, but also friction while looking at security, data security, and really an edge to help them integrate these processes into their business processes like software or other things that may be important to them.

Challenges in the B2B Payment Landscape

Patricia Ferrick (1:38): Was there a defining moment when the traditional payments model needed to be changed in your view?

Matt Clyne (1:44): Yeah, absolutely. So it it really is primarily surprisingly in the business-to-business environment, paper, primarily remittances, paper checks, are still one of the most dominant forms of payments. This is how hospitals get paid, this is how universities get paid, wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors, government contractors. There’s a huge amount of paper in the system. It’s inefficient, it’s slow, it’s expensive, and the electronification of that is what created this sort of new wave of transition into the future of how people are getting paid. Now with that comes complexity, comes security, data security requirements, uh, and that’s where our company really excels. We do very well in complex payment scenarios. We help clients sort of streamline those processes.

Vince Coglianese (2:34): Yeah. Well, when you want when you’re like trying to get paid, you sort of want the money right away. You know? And when the money’s finally there, then you can use it for something else. So the faster money moves, the more you can put it to good use for your company.

Matt Clyne (2:46): Absolutely.

What Sets PayTech Trust Apart

Vince Coglianese (2:47): Okay, so tell me what distinguishes PayTech Trust from other payment processors or fintechs?

Matt Clyne (2:52): So the competitive landscape is really built around large, for example, banks, maybe national banks, and they don’t have the ability to be flexible. They can’t really meet the client’s needs where the client is. And while they have a big brand name, maybe, they aren’t really able to take the phone call on a live operator, you know, manage the processes of complicated technology innovation. The other types of competitors, which are the software companies, they’re great at the technology side, but they don’t have you can’t call them, you can’t you can’t meet with them face to face. They may be offshore, you’re probably talking to somebody in another country. We felt like if you could merge those two things, the cutting-edge technology and the local face-to-face community trust of, and that’s primarily our relationship with FVCbank, that local community touch, but bringing these technology solutions, it gave us a big advantage, and it’s why we’ve grown so fast.

Balancing Technology and Human Touch

Vince Coglianese (3:46): So like fast, secure service, but available human beings to help you address these problems?

Matt Clyne (3:52): We will answer every call with a live operator. And it will be a U.S.-based employee and it will be somebody probably sitting in the same city that you’re sitting in who shops at the same place as you shop and understands all of the same challenges that these businesses have.

Patricia Ferrick (4:06): Is it difficult to balance the cutting-edge technology with a personalized customer service?

Matt Clyne (4:11): Boy, if I had a nickel for every time I got asked that it is. It is the crux of our story. If we could get and we do spend a huge amount of time and effort and money on that exact question. As we perfect that, we will continue to grow at the rates that we’ve seen. Because that’s the challenge. How do we bring the newest, best technology, make it affordable, and do it in a way that makes the client feel really important, holding their hand, because that’s just not available. It’s not possible to do that at scale in the national banks. And that’s why we’re doing it locally, and that’s why we’re succeeding, I think.

Patricia Ferrick (4:51): Well, our partners love you, our customers.

Client Success Stories and ERP Integration

Vince Coglianese (4:54): Can you walk us through a success story where you feel like you’ve really made a difference for your client and in what you’ve just described, this unique service that you provide?

Matt Clyne (5:03): So, for example, we were talking about data security a little bit earlier, and that’s become a huge challenge for a lot of these businesses. They don’t understand it. It’s what they don’t it’s hard to keep their arms around the nature of that risk. And it’s constantly evolving. And particularly for larger clients where they have a lot of transactional uh risk. Uh and we’ve seen it over and over and over where you can’t only solve that problem with technology. You’ve got to also have processes, procedures, business practices. And so we had a case where the large restaurant chain was starting to see a lot of fraud in their delivery. And it was very hard for them to diagnose. Why is this happening? Why is it growing so fast? Why are we having all these losses? And what we were able to do was take all the data from all these different transaction data speeds, boil it down, and we discovered it wasn’t really a problem at all their stores. It wasn’t really a problem of just delivery, it was a problem at one or two of their particular stores and one or two particular types of transactions. Then it was easy to root out the problem. We always say, you know, how do you find a needle in a haystack? Well, you get a magnet. It’s a simple approach, but it required a lot of technology, uh innovation for us to bring that to the client. And what really where the magic occurred was understanding their problem from their perspective in a customized, unique way. Nothing off the shelf was going to solve that problem for that client. And they’re going to stay loyal to us now. And they was the CEO of that company called me up the first week and he said, Matt, I want you to take it all over. I want you guys to run it all. And we’ve had him as a client for I guess it’s about five years, and it’s been a great relationship. We’ve solved other other issues, but it was an example on data security, taking the time and the energy to take merge the technology with the human interaction to understand the problem, diagnose it, and then solve it. And we’ve probably saved that client thousands of dollars, maybe hundreds of thousands over the five years because we’ve eliminated a lot of that fraud.

Patricia Ferrick (6:53): You work across a wide range of industries. What are some of the most exciting use cases?

Matt Clyne (6:59): So we’ve recently been heavily focused on ERP integrations. These are software products that clients are using to run their business, maybe business processes, so their warehouse management system, their inventory control, their internal processes. And by forming deep integrations to those ERP software companies, we’ve done very, very well. And what we’ve seen is a resurgence of wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors, especially as supply chain disruptions that occurred during COVID and now with tariffs. Those types of companies are looking for efficiencies and they’re looking for streamlining these processes. And really that has been a big growth area. And it sort of crosses over into the healthcare distribution. And so we’ve done well in healthcare recently. We’ve done very well in education. Large universities are looking for inefficient for their inefficiencies that we’re able to resolve by shedding light on these challenges and bringing them better solutions.

The Future of Payments

Vince Coglianese (7:53): Tell me about the world of payments and how we’ve already seen it change. You’ve just described how much has changed just in the last couple of years. How do you think the next few years are going to change the world of payments, your business?

Matt Clyne (8:03): It’s interesting. In a certain way, the United States is behind a lot of the rest of the world. Most of the rest of the world doesn’t have they never had paper checks. We still have a huge amount of paper in our businesses. We still process a lot of paper checks. Not consumer payments, but during government payments, education, healthcare, again, manufacturing. These are still law firms. Five years ago, a law firm took the vast majority of its payments in paper checks. Today they’re getting paid electronically through ACH or through uh other forms of remittance. That’s gonna continue, it’s gonna accelerate. In fact, that’s accelerating faster than almost any other thing I’ve seen. The speed of taking that paper out of the uh out of the payment process is everybody’s highly focused on it. It’s inefficient, it’s not very secure. You know, I’d like to say something exciting like crypto. I just don’t think it’s ready yet. It’s not probably gonna be the next year or two where that’s gonna disintermediate the traditional payment methods. Uh, but there is a lot of focus and a lot of investment uh in in those types of systems, and I think that that will be the next wave as the as the electronification processes continue.

Vince Coglianese (9:09): Okay. So I should hold on to all my crypto, is what you’re saying?

Matt Clyne (9:12): I think when they get that to be used, it’ll be worth a lot more than it is today if it ever gets to the point where it could be used as a means of exchange.

Supporting Business Transitions

Patricia Ferrick (9:20): Well, what kind of role do you play in helping them transition from what they’re used to to this more updated technology?

Matt Clyne (9:28): Pay Tech Trust has been around for 30 years. Our staff, our team, our you know, this is our fourth company. So this group has been together for a long time. We’ve seen what happened in the late 90s, we saw the 2010s, 2020s. And so with that comes a little bit of a perspective on what these businesses have, you know, a lot of these companies have been doing it the same way for a really long time. And what they’re looking for is a company that can come in, talk to them about what they’re doing now, how it could be better. It’s not just about cheaper. Of course it’s got to be at least as cheap as they have now. We say to them, look, it’s not just about cost, we’ll certainly reduce your cost. But what about the inefficiencies? What about the fact that your system at the retail point of sale isn’t talking to your inventory management system, that your e-commerce website and you make a sale there can’t talk to the point of sale system at the register at the counter? How do you tie those two customers together and know that the same client is buying from you in two different channels? These are the types of things where our team, having been together as long as we have, it really works in a way that we can deliver a really customized solution to that client in a way that just large national players aren’t going to be able to do.

Lessons from Building a Fintech Company

Vince Coglianese (10:35): What kind of things have you learned over your time leading this in terms of building a fast-growing company in a very competitive and very it is very highly regulated space? What have you learned from all of this?

Matt Clyne (10:46): Businesses will pay a premium for loyalty, customer service, answering the phone, local live operators. People are willing when they understand the difference, for example, with a community bank versus a national bank, they understand that there’s value in walking into the bank and the people knowing you on a first name basis. That to me, I’ve always known that there was something there, but it’s different to know it intuitively and to see it in a balance sheet or in a PL and see that those clients stick around a lot longer, they’re happier, they generally have less uh when they have concerns, it’s they’re much more open and easily solved because they’re willing to call us and say, hey, we have a problem we need to get resolved. We want that. We want to know when they’re unhappy.

Patricia Ferrick (11:28): Get a lot of referrals from your existing customers?

Matt Clyne (11:31): We do. I would say more than half our clients were referred to us by other clients. It’s very we do very little proactive outbound marketing, which is unique. It’s really a factor of uh, you know, if somebody has an affinity relationship with us, they’re willing to refer us clients. It’s funny, next week I’m supposed to be at a trade show. We’re invited by one of our existing clients. He’s asked me to be there with him because he’s set up several lunches at meetings and lunches, but he wants me to meet with other clients in his industry. And we’re not of course we’re gonna go and we’re gonna spend the time to do it, but we we we didn’t ask him for any of that. He wanted us to be there, and we’re happy to be there. And he’s so happy with what we’ve done for him in his case.

Patricia Ferrick (12:10): That’s great. So, Matt, what advice would you give to other entrepreneurs who are looking to build something meaningful?

Matt Clyne (12:16): You know, one time when I first started my first business, someone, one of my mentors, said to me, You know, Matt, are you prepared to do what it takes to go big? And I thought I understood what he said, and I really didn’t. And I would just say that you gotta believe and you gotta be willing to put the time in. You know, you you would think after having done this as many times as I have, that we wouldn’t have made the same number of mistakes. There’s just a lot of different ways that you’ve gotta grind through the setbacks. You know, right after we started COVID hit, and we had other issues and and the supply chain issues and you know, disruption in the you know, interest rates going up, which affected our industry. And it just I would say if you’re starting out now, don’t give up. If you can get through the third four years, five years, six years in, you’ll find that you’ll get momentum and then you’ll have some success with that what we call predictable success, the flywheel effect, which is what’s happened to PayT ech Trust. And it’s why, you know, the last two years we made the Inc. 5,000, grew at 70% last year, will be a 50% growth this year. Um, you know, the company in five years has gone from zero to a hundred employees, all of them local, and it’s a story that was built on literally just grinding it out through all of these setbacks.

Trust as a Core Value

Vince Coglianese (13:27): As you built this, uh you included trust in the company’s name. And you obviously did that on purpose. So why is that word so central to the company’s identity?

Matt Clyne (13:38): I just think when people are trusting us with the vast majority of the money they have. For example, if it’s a restaurant and we’re settling all the transactions from the previous day’s business, that’s like the majority of their income. Yeah. There’s a lot of trust. And it’s true in the bank, you know. We we put all of our money in the bank because we trust the bank and we trust them to take care of us. And so we started this business with the idea that we were going to be different than all the other processors. We were gonna be a company that you could trust. That you if we told you your rate was gonna be 1%, that that’s your rate, that it wouldn’t be 1.1%, and that we would fix it if it was wrong and we would refund you the money, and we will in a minute. We will absolutely stand by that over and over and over, even if it’s cost us a lot of money, because we are adamant that we want to be a different type of company that doesn’t uh take our clients’ business uh for granted.

Legacy and Preparing the Next Generation

Patricia Ferrick (14:27): What kind of legacy are you hoping PayTech Trust leaves in the fintech world and beyond?

Matt Clyne (14:33): It’s hard to say. I never really think about legacy. Uh I think it’s more about the people in the company. This go-around, and and and we’ve had some success in previous companies that we were able to build up. This particular go-around is about the next generation. So we have a whole group of folks that work for us that have just come out of college or they’re in their early parts of their career, and we put a huge amount of attention in saying this is theirs to take to the next, the next generation has to, they’re gonna have a lot of challenges. They’re gonna have to figure out, you know, over the next decade, how do we take this to the, you know, how do we take this to the next batch of businesses that will be starting in five years or in ten years. What is the future gonna look like? I I don’t know. I tell them, they’re gonna invent it. Those folks that work for us. And so when you talk about what’s our legacy, it’s hard for me to predict the future. All I can say is those people in our company that are the ones that I hope are the ones running this business, call it 10, 20 years from now, whenever that is, uh, that we’re preparing them for what comes next. With AI and the speed of change and the speed of all the things that are going to happen in the next decade, whatever we’ve experienced in business, particularly in technology, is gonna change so rapidly that what I hope we’re giving these I call them kids, but they’re really not always just younger in their career, that they’ll be prepared to be able to address it and somehow navigate it without bankrupting the business, which which is a big challenge for them, not for me. I I hope 20 years from now I’m not still doing it.

Vince Coglianese (16:01): By the way, that’s a commentary on what people can expect when they deal with your company. If you’re setting up your own employees for success no matter what they choose to do in life, it is kind of a sign of what kind of quality people are working with you right now. Absolutely.

Matt Clyne (16:13): We invest in them. I insist, for example, we have we have kids that didn’t finish college. I insist that they go take some classes. Just keep moving forward. We are so committed to their success, because this is the thing. You know, I don’t think I can know every one of our customers. We’re just I personally cannot be the man on the phone with every customer we have. But what I do know is they are on the phone with those customers. They are the ones making those decisions. And if we put them in the position to succeed and we give them the tools to succeed, they’ll take care of our customers and our customers will be fine. And I see it over and over and over.

Patricia Ferrick (16:47): That was such a thoughtful conversation. Matt, you’re reminding us that in a world of constant innovation, trust is still the most valuable currency.

Vince Coglianese (16:56): That’s right. And from helping small businesses streamline payments to building relationships that last. PayTech Trust is a great example of how technology and human service can thrive together.

Patricia Ferrick (17:06): Matt, before we let you go, anything you’d like to add?

Matt Clyne (17:09): I just want to thank FVCbank. When I came to FVCbank as a new client with a new business, with literally not a lot of revenue, not a lot of we didn’t, it was me and one other employee. And I walked in the door and I met with you and with David and the senior leadership team. You believed in us and you gave us the ability to build what we’ve built. And we will be loyal to you forever because of that. Because you guys took a bet on us when we didn’t really we hadn’t figured it out. We hadn’t yet gotten to the point where I could say, hey, we’ve got something real, we’ve got a big business now. And so because of that, I will I will tell you that if you’re looking for a community bank locally, there is no other bank that’s going to take the time and the energy to understand your business the way that I feel FVCbank has treated us.

Patricia Ferrick (17:53): Thank you, Matt. That means a lot to us. You’ve been a great partner.

Vince Coglianese (17:57): That’s a nice message, and that’s great. And if you’d like to learn more about PayTech Trust, you can visit PayTechTrust.com.

Patricia Ferrick (18:04): And if you enjoyed today’s episode, be sure to follow or subscribe to Beyond the Balance Sheet on your favorite podcast platform.

Vince Coglianese (18:12): Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time.

The post Podcast Episode 3 | The Future of Payments – and Why Trust Still Matters appeared first on FVCbank.

Every small business owner knows that cash flow is vital to their success. You’ve got bills to pay and income to generate, while your business is buffeted by seasonal demand and unexpected events. Cash flow management can help reduce costs and risks while improving profitability and financial stability. We offer these small business cash flow tips to help our customers learn how to manage business cash flow in ways that boost their profitability and help them weather the economic storms that come their way.

Focus on Cash Flow Rather Than Profits

This might seem counterintuitive, as every business owner wants to be profitable, but cash flow management can help you improve your bottom line and help you survive any business slumps.

Monitor Your Cash Flow Regularly

Many small business owners are so busy promoting and running their business that cash flow management takes a backseat to other priorities. They are clearly aware of their income and expenses and understand the seasonal fluctuations their business experiences, but detailed monitoring of cash flow can provide valuable insights, help maintain a healthy cash position and help insulate you against financial surprises.

Your Cash Flow Management Should Include…. Everything

In addition to sales, your business might have interest income from savings or investments, or rental income if you own your building. Your expenses can include all purchases, payroll, rent, utilities, taxes, and loan payments.

If you’re an established business, creating a detailed cash flow statement and updating it regularly can help you identify any cash flow fluctuations while you’re busy running your business. New businesses in their development stage might generate little income, or none at all. Even so, you’ll need to monitor your burn rate and how much capital you’re using to project whether you may need additional funding before you can reach a positive cash flow.

Create a Cash Flow Statement

A cash flow management strategy doesn’t have to be as complicated as it sounds. You could start by creating a cash flow statement, in which you track your incoming and outgoing cash each day. Many small business owners discover that doing this regularly makes the task more manageable, and by making it a part of their daily routine, they’re more likely to continue this practice.

Develop a Cash Flow Forecast

Once you have a good idea of your cash flow history, you can develop a cash flow forecast that projects your future income and expenses based on your past performance. Many businesses are subject to seasonal fluctuations, so keeping track of where you’ve been gives you a better handle on where you’re going. If you haven’t been in business for very long, you might consult with trade groups in your field to get an idea of how business cycles could impact your future.

Optimize Your Receivables

Every business owner knows that some customers tend to be late with their payments. One reason for cash flow management is to help you track this, incorporate it into your forecast, and explore ways to improve the situation. For example, you might consider offering a discount to those who pay right after receiving delivery of your goods or services.

Manage Your Payables

If you find yourself juggling bills occasionally, you might prioritize payments that directly impact your business reputation or credit score. With your cash flow forecast in hand, you can assess when you will be able to make your payments on time. You may also negotiate a payment schedule that supports cash flow for both your business and your suppliers.

Plan for Seasonal Fluctuations

The Washington, D.C. area is known for business cycles driven by tourism, hospitality, government policies, and fluctuations in the federal workforce. This is why improving cash flow for small businesses in the DMV is crucial. It provides the financial and forecasting tools needed to navigate slow periods and optimize your funds.

Put Your Surplus Cash to Good Use

Having cash in the bank or in your cash register is valuable as a financial reserve, but you might miss out on investment opportunities by not utilizing it to enhance your income. This underscores the importance of cash flow management and forecasting. If your cash flow forecast indicates a decline in revenue within the next few weeks, it would make sense to retain those reserves to navigate through the slump.

On the other hand, if you’re in the middle of your most prosperous part of the business cycle, you could look for ways to invest these funds until you need them. Depending on when you expect to tap into them, you might negotiate a discount with your suppliers if you pay ahead of time.

You could also deposit these funds into a business money market account, a certificate of deposit (CD), or invest in treasury bills. You might also consider what’s known as a “CD ladder,” where you put your funds into CDs with different term lengths. This way, you could earn higher interest on your longer-term CDs while your shorter-term CDs would offer quicker access to your funds.

One of the benefits of money market accounts and CDs is they all receive FDIC insurance for up to $250,000 per account holder. If your business might exceed that FDIC limit, you could use what’s known as a Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS). With CDARS, you make one deposit with our bank and earn CD-level interest rates while we spread your deposits across multiple FDIC-insured banks. This way, your business can still receive FDIC coverage even on multimillion-dollar accounts.

Know When to Save and When to Grow

When your business is doing well, you’ll naturally think about expanding your operations, which would probably require more equipment and personnel. Many small business owners have taken the plunge and made those kinds of investments, only to experience a decline in growth.

This is another benefit of cash flow management for entrepreneurs, as it can help you make the best use of your resources and forecast potential weaknesses in cash flow that might disrupt your plans. Cash flow management can help you determine the best use of any windfalls and whether it would make sense to use it to grow your business, pay down debt, or invest these funds for a rainy day.

Avoid Cash Shortfalls

Financial advisors recommend that businesses maintain at least three months’ worth of operating expenses on hand as an emergency fund to cover any unforeseen expenses or cash shortfalls. You should keep these funds in an interest-bearing account that you could access whenever you need, such as a business savings account, money market account, or CD. Cash flow management can give you a good idea of how much an emergency fund you need to keep.

Consider a Business Line of Credit

Many of our business customers open a business line of credit that they can access at any time to cover any funding shortfalls. A recent Federal Reserve survey discovered that 59% of small businesses pursued new financing in 2024, and 56% of those who did used them to cover their operating expenses. Many businesses use a line of credit in addition to their emergency fund, especially those that experience seasonal revenue fluctuations.

Business Lines of Credit, Credit Cards, and Term Loans

Business lines of credit and credit cards each have their pros and cons. By having a cash reserve and a business line of credit, many businesses avoid putting major expenses on the company credit card. If you must carry a credit card balance, you’d pay a much higher interest rate than you would with a business line of credit.

Lines of credit typically have lower borrowing limits than business term loans, which are typically obtained with a specific need in mind, such as buying a piece of equipment or funding a business expansion. You might also receive more favorable interest rates on a term loan if you can use the equipment you’re buying as collateral. Of course, once you obtain a line of credit or a business credit card, they’re available whenever you need and can quickly access them in an emergency, whereas a term loan would take time to acquire.

While a business credit card does have a higher interest rate than lines of credit and term loans, they’re also easier to obtain, especially if your business is new.

Consider Leasing Equipment Instead of Buying

If you need to buy business equipment, you might pay for it in cash, obtain an equipment loan, or choose leasing. If you can pay for it in cash, doing so could deplete your reserves and leave you vulnerable to a slump. Cash flow management allows you to estimate your future cash needs, to help you avoid that problem. If you do need to preserve your cash reserves, consider using an equipment loan or a lease.

If you buy your equipment, you can deduct your loan interest costs and its depreciation costs from your business income taxes, if the equipment is used to generate income and has a useful life of more than one year.

For an operating lease, where you don’t take ownership of the equipment, you might be able to deduct your lease payments as a rental expense. With a capital lease, also known as a finance lease, your business would have the option of purchasing the equipment after a given period. The interest part of the lease payment is tax-deductible, and your depreciation costs might also be deductible.

Use the Right Financial Tools

Accounting software such as QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks can help you with cash management, but you’ll need to keep track of all your income and expenses. They each have their strengths and weaknesses, so you can find one that best fits your needs. Here are a few popular options:

• FreshBooks is used by freelancers and small business owners for simple invoicing and time tracking tasks and is considered easy to learn.
• Xero is used by many small and growing businesses with the ability to import many types of data, although it’s reported to have quite a learning curve for new users.
• QuickBooks is a highly popular business accounting program used by businesses of all sizes for general accounting and invoicing, with additional features available for an added fee, such as inventory management.

Consider a Virtual CFO

While accounting software serves as a strong foundation for cash flow management, one of its standout features is its ability to connect to your business bank accounts, aiding you in analyzing your cash flow trends.

Business Insights, our free financial dashboard, gives you a clear look at your cash flow trends and performance with automated guidance to help you project your future cash flow and make decisions that impact your bottom line.

It also includes competitive benchmarking, allowing you to compare your business’s performance against other companies based on location, revenue, number of employees, and other factors. Think of it as your own virtual CFO that can make recommendations, offer personalized insights, and help you project the financial impact of your decisions.

Contact Us to Learn More about Cash Flow Management

At FVCbank, we specialize in Washington D.C. small business banking throughout the metro area, including Maryland and Northern Virginia. If you’d like to learn more about cash flow management and business financing, please contact us online, visit one of our locations, or call us at (703) 436-4740 to learn more about what we have to offer.

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