Middesk

This year, Visa reported that application fraud has doubled since 2019. Most identity strategies still stop at the applicant, but fraudsters know a business entity is less scrutinized. Shell LLCs. Fake sole props. Lookalike businesses. If you’re not validating the business and the relationship behind the application, you’re flying blind. The fix is simple: verify the person, the business, and the connections between the two, both at onboarding and beyond. That’s how fintechs grow faster without fraud.

We’re hiring a Data Scientist, Machine Learning to help build the ML backbone behind onboarding, fraud, and risk at scale. If you’ve shipped real models, handled complex data, and know how to make production systems behave, this role gives you range and ownership across some of the hardest problems in fintech. SF or NYC. Hybrid. High-impact IC. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gTeEHc5Z #OpenRoles #Hiring #MachineLearning #MLJobs #DataScienceJobs

Q3 defied the usual slowdown. Business formation held steady at 1.4M new entities, even with borrowing costs near decade highs. Other notable takeaways: 🟢 Regional divergence grew sharper 🟢 Healthcare lien activity continued to rise 🟢 Only ~1.8% of U.S. businesses appeared in UCC data 🟢 Entity structure remained a signal of growth intent The Q3 Middesk Index breaks down where credit is tightening, where risk is increasing, and where opportunity is emerging. Explore the full report: https://lnkd.in/dezGMPzP

Trust isn’t earned through a signature on a piece of paper. It can feel like that’s where it starts — when you finally close that deal — but real trust is built much sooner, from the very first touchpoint with your prospect. And then it is maintained (or lost) based how you operate every day. Trust is the force shaping how products evolve, how risk is managed, and how companies move and grow with confidence. That momentum is what inspired The Trust Club: a space where where we talk about why trust needs to be a standard that shows up in how you build, how you decide, and how you lead. Presented by Middesk and elevated in partnership with Fintech Is Femme, The Trust Club Launch Party brings together risk leaders, product designers, and strategy and ops professionals — the people defining the backbone of the modern economy. What to expect: 🎤 A live Humans of Fintech podcast recording with Nicole Casperson, Founder & CEO at Fintech Is Femme, and Flora Z., Strategy, Operations, Risk & Analytics at Brex. 👕 Limited-edition, custom Middesk merch created exclusively for this event. 🍸 Espresso martinis, bubbles, whiskey, N/A options, and light bites — all in a luxury Tribeca retail space designed to match the caliber of the conversation. Inspired by Middesk’s Trust as a Lifestyle installation at Money20/20, this night marks the first chapter of a new community built to explore, challenge, and elevate what trust means today. If you will be in NYC on December 10th and trust is part of your product or your responsibility, this is your room. Register to attend: https://luma.com/rc6pp40z

Calling all operators who treat trust like strategy... On December 10, we’re opening The Trust Club in Tribeca with Fintech Is Femme. It’s an intimate room for the leaders who make trust real inside a business: product, risk, fraud, compliance, ops, and brand. We’ll offer exclusive Trust Club merch, connect over good drinks, and record the first live Humans of Fintech: Trust Club Series with Flora Z. of Brex, focused on the architecture of trust and the choices behind it. Request to join: https://luma.com/rc6pp40z

Omnichannel used to mean “be everywhere.” Now it means “sound like the same institution everywhere.” The Financial Brand explored why banks are struggling to maintain message discipline across websites, apps, AI engines, and even influencer content. One line from Jackie Wylie, Middesk’s Head of Marketing, captured the shift: “Coherence and consistency matter more than ever because inconsistent experiences erode trust and can damage the brand.” If trust is a growth lever, then fragmented data and mixed messages are growth blockers. Banks that win the next era of customer experience will sound aligned, act aligned, and be aligned across every channel. The full story is worth the read → https://lnkd.in/eKUnHWUe

New month, new read 📖 November’s Middesk Monthly breaks down how to adjust underwriting strategies for 2026, strengthen fraud defenses, and use trusted data to accelerate onboarding.

What do 879,000 UCC filings tell us about secured credit in 2026? More than most lenders realize. From the last year of lien activity, a clear picture is emerging: secured credit is concentrating among older, established businesses; younger companies are struggling to access collateral-backed credit; construction, transportation, and healthcare are driving most of the demand; and overall credit appetite is tightening even as formations remain steady. On December 16, we’re teaming up with American Banker for a data-backed look at what’s ahead — alongside three leaders who see these signals every day: • Yan Zeng, Head of Data at Middesk • Samuel Twersky, Chief Risk Officer at Altbanq • Bill Handel, Chief Economist & GM at Raddon They’ll break down what these trends mean for underwriting, onboarding, and risk strategy in 2026. Save your seat → https://lnkd.in/gBcDtPNf

Stablecoin oversight is about to move from concept to compliance and it has real implications for how banks and fintechs onboard, verify, and monitor customers. FDIC Acting Chair Travis Hill says the agency expects its first GENIUS Act rule by year-end, outlining the application process for FDIC-supervised stablecoin issuers and advancing prudential standards around capital, reserves, and risk management. For risk, compliance, and onboarding teams, this shift raises the bar: Stablecoins will require bank-grade identity verification, clearer entity due diligence, and ongoing monitoring aligned with supervisory expectations. The data you rely on, and the signals you use to distinguish low-risk from high-risk activity, will matter more than ever. Full article via American Banker: https://lnkd.in/giF2F8fX

The new Q3 Middesk Index is live, and it surfaces one of the clearest signals we’ve seen this year: stability on the surface, tightening underneath. Despite 1.4M+ new entities in Q3, our new analysis of UCC liens filed over the last 12 months (nearly 879,000 filings) shows secured credit tightening across the economy. Credit is flowing to fewer, older businesses; younger companies remain largely sidelined; and sector-level borrowing is increasingly uneven — all while lenders rely on fewer signals to assess risk. This is exactly why we publish the Index — to bring clarity, not noise, to how businesses are forming, borrowing, and signaling trust. For anyone in onboarding, underwriting, KYB, or monitoring, this quarter’s report is worth a look. Read the Q3 Index → https://hubs.ly/Q03VjPdW0