Main Street Matters Blog

To ease the regulatory and economic forces pressuring margins and embrace new payments opportunities, community banks should focus on six key trends this year to drive their payments plans and activities

At a time when consequential failures at large, risky banks led to major media outlets erroneously directing blame to Main Street community banks, ICBA was there defending and promoting the community banking business model—differentiating community banks when it was needed most.

This time of year, we often take stock of our accomplishments and look ahead to the possibilities and opportunities awaiting us in the coming year. Certainly, when it comes to blazing ICBA’s innovation path for community bankers, we’ve upped the ante significantly in 2023.

As payments has evolved, so has ICBA Bancard, and with that came the opportunity to rebrand who we are in light of our why. I’m proud to introduce ICBA Payments.

As ICBA and our industry continues to differentiate and evolve, we are excited to announce the next stage of our journey as we rebrand from Community Banker University to ICBA Education.

We have been experiencing an acceleration in innovation since the start of the pandemic. MuleSoft reported that in 2022, 72 percent of customer interactions occurred over digital channels—nearly double that of 2021—proof that we are living the digital-first experience.

Our mission is central to everything we do, and the pride that comes from that every day is nothing short of inspiring. Much like the community banks we serve, ICBA is continuously evolving, growing, and building momentum.

What is the true nature of cryptoassets? Are they securities or commodities? This question, perhaps more than any other, has propelled policy debates over the past few years.

Federal banking regulators so far have approached regulating the use of artificial intelligence through the lens of existing regulations, rather than creating a new set of guidelines. But based on various regulatory announcements, there are some salient risks community banks should consider when using the technology.

To help separate fact from fiction, let’s start with a working definition of AI and related terms, before discussing a few notable use cases for community banks.