Compliance, Risk and Trust: Tom Priore’s View on Fintech’s Regulatory Foundation

The embedded finance revolution is creating two distinct classes: survivors and casualties. As the market exploded to $148.38 billion in 2024 with projections reaching $1.73 trillion by 2034, operational discipline throughout 2024 and 2025 has systematically separated well-capitalized platforms from underfunded competitors. Priority Technology Holdings (Priority) CEO Tom Priore observed this transformation from a position of intentional preparation, having built regulatory infrastructure years earlier when competitors prioritized rapid growth over compliance foundations.

While the regulatory environment shifts with different administrations, Tom Priore’s focus has remained consistent: building institutional-grade infrastructure that withstands any enforcement cycle. As 2025 draws to a close, this strategy continues validating Priority’s long-term approach.

The Compliance Infrastructure That Separates Winners from Losers

The fintech landscape experienced significant regulatory activity through 2023 and 2024, with global crypto and digital payment companies paying $5.8 billion in fines during 2023. The CFPB’s Personal Financial Data Rights Rule, implemented in October 2024, requires phased compliance beginning in 2026 for banks with assets exceeding $850 million—a timeline that begins in just weeks.

“The biggest change that’s occurred is there’s a recognition of the importance of compliance and regulatory oversight,” Priore explains. “That demands operators in the space bring a rigor to those functions. It’s crowding out smaller players.”

Regardless of the current enforcement environment, compliance infrastructure remains essential. For smaller players without Priority’s foresight in building robust compliance capabilities, the costs of maintaining institutional-grade operations represent significant barriers to sustainable growth.

The collapse of Synapse Financial Technologies in April 2024 illustrates inadequate compliance infrastructure consequences. The $85-95 million shortfall that left 100+ fintech partners stranded and 200,000 customers locked out revealed systematic gaps established operators like Priority had addressed years earlier. Nearly two years later, the fallout continues serving as a cautionary tale for the industry.

“It’s raising the bar for the conditions operators need to meet,” Priore notes. The 2024 collapse of firms like LendUp demonstrates how operational failures impact fintech companies. Other failures like Fast and Ribbon highlight different operational challenges—demonstrating how this landscape rewards preparation over innovation alone.

Venture funding collapsed from $53 billion in 2021 to $15 billion in 2024, reflecting market selection rather than correction. Throughout 2025, Priority’s strategic vision has proven prescient as the company continued growing while others struggled to retrofit compliance capabilities.

Priority’s Compliance Foundation

Priority operates as a licensed money transmitter in all 50 U.S. states, with every transaction reported to regulatory authorities. This wasn’t accidental positioning but years of intentional infrastructure development that preceded recent market turbulence.

“We’re exceedingly rigorous around our security and our audit process,” Tom Priore states. “The way I would describe it is ‘money center bank quality.’ That enforces a discipline we think is very, very important when you’re handling customers’ money, and we think other companies should take that responsibility just as seriously.”

The validation comes from Priority’s largest processing partner, Wells Fargo. “We do things to a level of expectation that a money center bank demands,” according to Tom Priore. This institutional-grade compliance creates competitive advantages as partner banks maintain rigorous standards for their processing relationships.

Priority’s compliance framework includes multiple layers:

Nationwide Licensing: Maintaining money transmitter licenses in all 50 states requires significant resources. “Getting and maintaining those licenses requires significant resources of money and time,” Priore acknowledges. The investment creates barriers protecting Priority’s market position.

Transaction Reporting: Every transaction gets reported to regulatory authorities. This transparency demands robust data architecture that many fintechs lack.

Security Protocols: Priority implements money center bank-quality security measures exceeding minimum regulatory requirements. The Wells Fargo partnership validates this approach—major banks conduct extensive due diligence before processing relationships.

Certifications: Priority maintains SOC compliance, PCI DSS certification, and undergoes regular third-party security audits. These certifications signal institutional-grade operations to enterprise customers.

Why Priority Maintains Regulatory Rigor

Tom Priore’s perspective differs from many fintech leaders who view oversight as constraint. “We actually want regulation, we want a rigor around operators in the space,” he states.

This position reflects understanding of how operational discipline reshapes competitive dynamics. Established operators with robust compliance infrastructure maintain advantages regardless of enforcement environment. Priority’s compliance investments made years ago continue generating returns as banking partners and enterprise customers demand institutional-grade standards.

“It’s raising the bar for the conditions operators need to meet,” Priore notes. While enforcement intensity may fluctuate with different administrations, the operational requirements to partner with major banks and serve enterprise customers remain consistent. Priority’s focus on compliance allows the company to concentrate on product development and market expansion while competitors retrofit infrastructure.

Bank Collaboration Strategy

Tom Priore’s approach diverges from common fintech positioning. Many fintechs positioned themselves as bank disruptors. Priority adopted collaborative strategy, treating banks as essential partners.

“There’s been so much talk in fintech of disintermediating banks. And I think that’s a mistake,” Priore explains. “Banks are still the largest pool of assets globally. Why does it make sense to disintermediate a population like that?”

The insight is devastating in its simplicity: rather than fighting banks, Priority collaborates with them to deliver solutions that augment customer relationships. The collaborative approach provides multiple advantages. Banks offer FDIC insurance, lending capital, and processing capacity that fintech-only infrastructure cannot match. By partnering with banks rather than attempting to replace them, Priority leverages existing regulatory infrastructure while providing technical innovation.

“In the last five or so years, banks recognize payments as a source of fee-based revenue and deposits,” Tom Priore observes. “We’ve positioned ourselves to lean into that because we think it makes a ton of sense. And that’s not a disintermediating strategy; it’s a collaborating one.”

The Wells Fargo relationship exemplifies this philosophy. Major banks conduct extensive due diligence before processing partnerships. Priority’s ability to meet Wells Fargo’s standards validates the company’s institutional-grade approach and creates differentiation from competitors.

Operational Discipline as Competitive Advantage

Priority’s compliance infrastructure creates operational advantages extending beyond regulatory requirements. The discipline required to maintain money center bank quality standards improves business processes across the organization.

Risk management capabilities become more sophisticated when every transaction requires regulatory reporting. Data architecture improves when compliance demands comprehensive audit trails. Customer onboarding processes strengthen when KYC and AML requirements must be met consistently.

Tom Priore describes Priority’s evolution with one word: “intention.” The deliberate planning applied to compliance infrastructure extends throughout platform development. Priority built with anticipation of regulatory evolution rather than reacting to requirements after implementation.

“We’ve built with intention to provide stability and scale. And it’s the thing I’m most proud of, which allows us to punch above our weight,” Priore notes. The intentional approach enabled Priority to achieve 18% compound annual adjusted EBITDA growth since going public in 2018. Throughout 2024 and 2025, while operational failures eliminated competitors, Priority maintained growth through compliance capabilities that became competitive moats.

The Future of Fintech Infrastructure

As embedded finance continues explosive growth toward $1.73 trillion, Priore sees further consolidation ahead. The operational requirements that separated winners from losers throughout 2024 and 2025 represent the beginning of multi-year transformation favoring sustainable operators over those built for different market conditions.

While federal enforcement priorities may shift, bank partnership requirements remain consistent. State licensing requirements continue to evolve. Enterprise customers increasingly demand robust compliance infrastructure following high-profile fintech failures. Each operational requirement advantages established operators with proven institutional-grade capabilities.

New market entrants face significant barriers to entry. The combination of licensing costs, technology requirements, and operational standards requires substantial capital before generating revenue. This dynamic favors platform players like Priority that have absorbed compliance costs.

Industry consolidation will continue as smaller players struggle with infrastructure costs. Bank partnerships remain selective and valuable. Priority’s existing Wells Fargo relationship and demonstrated compliance capabilities provide advantages in this environment.

For businesses evaluating embedded finance providers, the Synapse collapse serves as reminder that not all vendors are built to the same standards. Tom Priore suggests businesses assess potential partners on compliance maturity rather than feature velocity. The answers reveal whether providers built with intention for sustainable operations or optimized for rapid growth assuming infrastructure requirements wouldn’t matter.

Priority’s compliance-first approach under Tom Priore’s leadership demonstrates how operational rigor separates sustainable fintech operators from those built for different market conditions. The company’s money center bank quality standards, 50-state licensing, and institutional banking relationships create competitive advantages that transcend any particular regulatory cycle.