Anthony Sharett on financial inclusion
From Episode 20: Building Equitable Financial Pathways with Anthony Sharett · · Greater Phoenix Economic Council
“We know that there are millions of Americans that are unbanked, underbanked and underserved and that creates a gap, and what we try to do by partnering with fintechs and third parties is to provide access to capital to money for individuals and for small and midsize businesses.”
On , Anthony Sharett, President at PATHWARD FINANCIAL INC, spoke about financial inclusion during Episode 20: Building Equitable Financial Pathways with Anthony Sharett on Greater Phoenix Economic Council.
About Anthony Sharett
Anthony Sharett, president of Pathward Financial, discussed the state of banking-as-a-service (BaaS) in an October 2024 podcast interview recorded before the Synapse bankruptcy. He described Pathward as a purpose-driven organization focused on powering financial inclusion for all, noting that millions of Americans are unbanked, underbanked, or underserved. Sharett said Pathward partners with fintechs to provide products and services to those who need them most. He stated that despite regulatory challenges in the BaaS space, particularly around third-party risk oversight, Pathward remains bullish and excited about what is on the horizon. Sharett said that middleware companies have entered the space without fully understanding risk and compliance requirements, and that some banks have partnered without the necessary frameworks to safely go to market. He said Pathward has taken years to develop a risk and compliance framework that starts with culture, embeds risk professionals within the business, and continuously looks for enhanced technologies to prevent fraud and improve risk reporting. In a separate podcast episode focused on equitable financial pathways, Sharett said that powering black and brown businesses is personal to him, citing his grandfather's experience as a business owner in the Jim Crow South. He said Pathward provides reloadable prepaid cards that allow people who cannot open checking accounts to pay for groceries, gas, and utilities, and that Pathward is probably the first or second largest issuer of those cards in the United States. Sharett said the bank supports organizations like DreamSpring, which provides micro-entrepreneurial loans predominantly to minority women-owned businesses, and provides scholarships to minority women aspiring to be entrepreneurs. He said Pathward believes in a collaborative approach and recognizes that it is better together through partnerships with organizations like the Arizona Black Chamber and Hispanic Chamber. Sharett said the most valuable lesson he has learned is that irrespective of the business or market, it always comes back to people.