ICBA ThinkTECH Solutions Forum: A Pitch and Probe Approach to FedNow Solutions

Innovation, like time, is constantly moving forward, which is why even before we wrapped up our 2023 ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator program, plans were well underway for the first of three ICBA ThinkTECH Solutions Forums this year.

Experienced bankers from our membership actively participate in and advise on the selection of the program’s areas of focus to ensure these handpicked solutions are market ready and optimized for community bank consumption. Most importantly, they must be both timely and relevant to solve for our members’ most pressing business challenges and opportunities.

Given ICBA’s decades-long support for the Federal Reserve’s foray into faster payments, ICBA Bancard’s efforts to prepare our members for FedNow’s implementation, and the robust discussions between community bankers and fintechs during our most recent accelerator, it’s no surprise that we’d select this topic for our first forum.

What to Expect

Following the model established with our PPP Forgiveness Solutions Sprint when community banks were solving for the Small Business Administration’s loan forgiveness process, we’re revisiting our "Shark Tank” style and approach, with participating companies making their business case before a panel of expert bankers.

The ICBA member-only event, scheduled for 11 a.m. (Eastern time) Thursday, Sept. 14, will include a community banker panel, an ICBA moderator, and eight selected companies encompassing our Preferred Service Providers, Corporate Members, and ThinkTECH accelerator alumni and prospects. The presenting companies include:

• Jack Henry & Associates

• Allied Payment Network

• CSI

• Fiserv

• Neural Payments

• Pidgin

• Euronet

• Nuvono

Over 90 minutes, these companies will deliver five-minute pitches followed by five minutes of Q&A from our community banker panel. While all the companies offer faster payment solutions, their approaches differ, allowing for greater options in recognition that faster payments are not a one-size-fits-all situation. While one solution may work for one community bank, one may work better for another. In short, multiple offerings make for a stronger market and stronger community banks.

This pitch and probe approach also will allow for pointed discussion around important considerations such as pricing models, integration and implementation processes, regulatory implications, with a few success stories sprinkled in to help establish a path forward for community bankers working towards Instant Payment/RTP and FedNow adoption.

As with other innovation programming, we’ll continue to seek your feedback to deliver the best user experience. So, while our upcoming AgTech and Fraud Solutions Forums will follow a similar format, we may adjust planned content to reflect changing business priorities or to optimize opportunities for dialogue with you, our members.

As we focus on building continuous innovation opportunities, be on the lookout for details around our upcoming Demystifying AI webinar series, and our innovation center in Midtown Atlanta, which will open soon and provide both a hub for future collaboration and a home for our local partners in the financial technology innovation ecosystem.

The upcoming Solutions Forums, webinar series, and future innovation programming will allow ICBA to not only build upon our past efforts to foster year-round ideation and action, but also expand our reach and impact on the community banking and fintech landscape as we work together to reimagine the future of banking and serve our mission.