Main Street Matters Blog

In the innovation world, 2021 may go down in history as the year of community bank innovation. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated challenges thrown in our path, community banks continued to meet their customers’ needs.

For more than 90 years, ICBA has provided value to our membership in a wide variety of ways and places. Today, we are refocusing efforts to better serve our members on Twitter.

Separating fact from fiction on central bank digital currencies and a possible U.S. digital dollar can be challenging. In the latest edition of our Digital Dollar Digest series, ICBA is here to help dispel any misconceptions and debunk the most common myths.

With the eldest members of Gen Z clocking in at age 24, they represent a market ripe for targeting with banking services. But what they are looking for differs from what Millennials and Gen X required of community banks at the same age.

Smart contracts — blockchain-based programs that operate when predetermined conditions are met — offer potential use cases as well as risks for community banks evaluating their payments processing capabilities

Paycheck Protection Program lending data continue to demonstrate that community banks are justifiably recognized as leaders of the financial response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community bankers are witnessing the fruits of their labor in ICBA’s months-long campaign opposing the onerous IRS bank reporting proposal. However, the grassroots push must continue.

For $200 million-asset First Community Bank and Trust in Beecher, Ill., having an innovation mindset means being open to explore new ways to solve for business challenges and opportunities.

The Paycheck Protection Program offered millions of small businesses a critical financial lifeline to weather an extraordinary economic downturn engendered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Smart contracts — computer programs that automatically execute specific actions — are becoming increasingly relevant to community banks. Here’s a breakdown of smart contracts and how they could ultimately serve community banks.