Launching BaaS 2.0 with Kotapay’s Kavinu

Following the Synapse collapse of 2024, the banking-as-a-service (BaaS) industry faced skepticism from analysts, stakeholders and journalists. While many companies shied away from the conversation, The Fletcher Gorup was tasked with launching a new BaaS platform that the industry can trust, called Kavinu, during Money20/20, the industry’s premier conference. 

Together with Kotapay, the team launched Kavinu with on-site media opportunities and an event on the Vegas strip, followed by a steady cadence of executive thought leadership. TFG worked closely with Kotapay’s Chief Payments Officer to do what no other executive would do during this time: talk to the press about the impact of BaaS 1.0 and what a new BaaS approach would mean for banks, regulators and fintechs. The team continued an 8-month media blitz of coverage leading up to Kotapay’s first BaaS 2.0 partner announcement in May 2025.

Results.

• Within the first 3 months, the team connected Kotapay to, or obtained coverage with prominent banking trade outlets, including American Banker, Bank Director, Tearsheet, BankBeat and ‘finfluencer’ Jason Mikula.
• 25 media placements in Kotapay’s priority verticals, and a readership totaling 56.3M between hard news announcements. This included opinion articles, product Q&As and podcast interviews.
• Positioned Kotapay as forward-thinking leaders in their approach to BaaS, with a thoughtful bank-centered approach to withstand regulatory scrutiny.
• Monitored for US regulatory announcements to provide SMEs with quick-turn opportunities to share opinions with media, and via LinkedIn to grow relationships with industry influencers.

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Building executive visibility and thought leadership within First International Bank & Trust

First International Bank & Trust, a family-owned community bank based in North Dakota, came to TFG to build the visibility of its newly appointed CEO and Chief Payments Officer. Through a steady cadence of earned media, social media and speaking opportunities, TFG leveraged hard news and newsjacking opportunities to build SME platforms on topics they could feel good and comfortable about, and that supports business objectives. Our PR strategy included regular briefings with their team to discuss trending media topics and propose actionable opportunities in earned media and social channels to insert FIBT in timely discussions.

Results.

• Leveraging the voices of the Chief Payments Officer and incoming Chief Executive Officer, we developed and refined a targeted media outreach strategy to generate earned media coverage highlighting the bank’s 115-year legacy, industry innovation and unwavering commitment to its customers.
• Secured 49 earned media placements with a readership of 66.4M over 8 months, including print, online and social media coverage.
• Both executives made notable impressions with banking, fintech and local business outlets, and strengthened relationships for future media stories. On LinkedIn, the incoming CEO’s follower count increased nearly 6% in the early stages of the project.