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Dec. 23, 2024
As 2024 wraps up, I can’t help but feel incredibly grateful for our network of banks and ecosystem partners who have continued to build and foster such a supportive environment for community banks.
This year we’ve doubled down on our commitment to year-round innovation—with the opening of our Center for Innovation in Atlanta, the rollout of two 10-week ThinkTECH Accelerators, and a host of specialized forums and showcases—in our effort to address our bankers’ most pressing business challenges and opportunities.
Even as we near the end of this jam-packed year, we’re well underway with plans to build on our past successes with the announcement of the participating companies for our eighth ThinkTECH Accelerator program—the first of two planned for 2025.
The participating companies—selected by our committee of community bankers to represent a broad range of offerings—include:
Coverbase Inc. – Automates 90% of third-party risk assessments, allowing banks to focus on improving security and compliance.
Fin3 Technologies Inc. – Provides advanced solutions to reduce check fraud and streamline treasury operations for financial institutions.
Fintegrate LLC – An integration-as-a-service offering that reduces the costs and processes associated with technology integrations for improved operational efficiency.
Incent.net – A youth digital banking platform designed to help banks retain deposits and offer families valuable financial education.
Posh AI – An AI-driven platform empowering frontline banking staff to transform customer interactions with smart, conversational tools.
Vine Financial – An AI-powered commercial lending platform to help lenders focus on building relationships and achieving financial goals.
As we aim to meet community bankers where they are in their innovation journey, we hit the road this year, traveling to industry events and banker schools across the nation. This included presenting our seventh ThinkTECH Accelerator cohort before Graduate School of Banking at Colorado attendees.
During the event, Prelim Technologies, Rego Payment Architectures, FINBOA, RiskScout, ScribeUp, and Savvi AI presented their solutions to a packed room of eager, emerging community banking leaders. The success of this showing cemented our plans for a repeat engagement and expanded outreach working with our affiliated state partners to support our members’ innovation-related strategic plans.
While the accelerator program continues to be a shining jewel in our Innovation crown, ICBA also offers several educational forums to provide key insights through real-world case studies of successful bank-fintech partnerships. Our Solutions Forums and ThinkTECH Connect events covered a variety of new and emerging topics, including AI, data and analytics, and AgeTech.
Our most recent forum focused on AgeTech—an area of particular interest and concern today. Seniors are increasingly targeted by scammers on everything from investment and romance scams to Medicare and impersonation fraud.
With losses estimated in the billions annually, community bankers can act as a frontline for reducing these financial risks. If you missed the live event, you can access the recording to learn more on how to tackle this important issue.
We also invite you to sign up for an individual or group session during our upcoming Accelerator, which kicks off on Jan. 13. Then plan to join us at ICBA LIVE in Nashville in March for our culminating showcase, which also will include ThinkTECH alums from our seventh Accelerator—giving attendees a double dose of innovation. Our Solutions Forums will also continue in 2025, including the launch of new immersive in-person events. So, stay tuned for more information.
Thank you for participating in this year’s programming, being a part of this ongoing innovation journey—and here’s to an amazing 2025.
Charles E. Potts is executive vice president and chief innovation officer for the Independent Community Bankers of America.