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powered by equipifi, will extend personalized BNPL offers
The very point of salery point of sale
The ve based on each user's unique profile and financial health.
Kirk and Farrar's vision drew attention and accolades
from fintechs, earning them a Best New Product honor
at Benzinga's 2022 Global Fintech Awards and Spirit of
Detroit Award from the Detroit City Council, which Kirk
Stone soup with compared to a Grammy win for leaders focused on shaping
the city's future and quality of life.

Obsidian Banking A galvanizing concept
Noting that 7.3 million Black Americans are unbanked

By Dale S. Laszig and 66 percent do not own stocks, Farrar shared plans to
launch Obsidian Banking's #MillionDoorsChallenge on
DSL Direct LLC June 17, 2022, when he and fellow Obsidians go door to
door in Black communities across America, sharing ideas,
he folktale Stone Soup opens with travelers information and resources.
seeking sustenance and support. Tired and hun-
gry, the lead characters are rebuffed by people This uniquely analog approach to digital banking will
T attending to their own issues while food and begin in Detroit, he said, then move East and West. The
shelter remain out of reach. Undeterred, the heroes boil initiative will culminate in South Carolina's Gullah
a pot of water over a small campfire. Inside the pot, they Geechee Corridor, which Farrar described as a historic
place a single smooth stone. area, steeped in West African culture, that has retained
much of its original art, traditions and language.
When passersby ask what they're cooking, the travelers say
they're making stone soup and just need a pinch or two of "Over 60 percent of Black dollars go uninvested and are
ingredients to round it out. Makes sense, villagers say, and not funneled through the U.S. banking system," Kirk said.
they return with carrots, parsley, sweet corn and cabbage. "Giving our people this type of access now can not only
Hours later, the village enjoys a bountiful meal that began help stop the drastic decline of Black wealth, but also lead
with a single smooth stone. to generations of financial growth."

This favorite childhood tale came to life in my March The fintech community has brought an array of ancillary
2022 interview with Obsidian Banking at Fintech Meetup. products and services, adding flavor and texture to
The virtual conference drew commerce and banking Obsidian's stone soup, Farrar stated. Following are notable
leaders from around the world for a series of curated examples:
speed networking sessions. In our 15-minute meeting,
Steven Farrar, co-founder and CFO at Obsidian, shared the • Bank of America: BofA brought Better Money Hab-
company's vision and mission. its, a suite of online resources that addresses every
stage of a consumer's financial journey. Consum-
Banking reimagined ers who are just starting out, working and growing,
nearing retirement or enjoying their sunset years,
Farrar said he and co-founder Damon Kirk, CEO at Obsidian can answer a short questionnaire on the company's
Banking, are building a financial services platform for the
Black community. The Detroit-based partners will offer a website to receive relevant articles, tips and insights
to help with today's and tomorrow's goals. Additional
range of services and educational resources designed to
drive financial, spiritual and cultural success. information is available at https://bettermoneyhabits.
bankofamerica.com/en .
"Obsidian is a fintech bank offering modern traditional • equipifi: Buy now, pay later provider equipifi
banking and investment services catered to Black brought a customized, integrated BNPL solution to
millennials," Farrar said, while noting the company plans Obsidian's mobile banking app. The solution will ex-
to launch its banking app and investment platform very tend personalized offers tailored to each end-user's
soon following a lean beta test. The mobile banking app financial health and ability to pay, the company stat-
will offer checking accounts, as well as debit cards with ed.
round-up investing and a built-in buy now pay later option
powered by equipifi. • State of Michigan: Governor Gretchen Whitmer
proclaimed April 21, 2022, "Black Financial Literacy
Obsidian's proprietary Erupt technology is designed to Awareness Day" in Michigan. "[T]here is a strong
leverage big data, and it can automatically direct users' link between financial literacy and financial well-
investments into the most preferred portfolios, Farrar noted. ness among African-Americans," Whitmer said in a
In addition, he said, the app's integrated BNPL solution,
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