Atlanta (June 29, 2023) — The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) hosted its fifth annual ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator Demo Day, the first since ICBA brought the accelerator program in-house and in its new home in Atlanta. Celebrating the journeys of the first cohort of 2023, this two-day event showcased the incredible innovations of graduating companies, which have developed fintech solutions to address the needs of today’s community banks over a 10-week intensive boot camp.
"ICBA commends the cohort for their dedication and purpose-driven solutions that support community bank innovation and light the pathway for further collaboration with our industry,” ICBA Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Charles Potts said. “We continue to be impressed by these companies and their solutions, which are thoughtfully and purposefully built to address the unique needs and business opportunities of our members in service to their customers and communities.”
The 2023 ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator alumni providing presentations include:
CNote — an investment platform that earns a better return while investing in the causes and communities that matter.
Micronotes — a cloud-based marketing automation solution allowing banks to execute on loan, deposit and retention opportunities using data.
Spiral — an Impact-as-a-Service platform to help banks improve customer engagement and retention through socially conscious spending.
Finli — a digital back-office solution for invoicing, payment collection, customer relationship management and communications to help banks support small businesses.
Neural Payments — a payment engine that moves money over traditional debit rails, peer-to-peer payments and real-time payment systems.
Pidgin — a platform supporting faster payments via an administration portal, user-centric front-end applications, and developer-friendly application programming interfaces.
The event kicked off with Demo Day, featuring seven-minute pitches from the fintech companies’ founders highlighting their real-time payments and deposit-focused products followed by a networking reception. Neural Payments received the Audience Choice Award, voted on by attendees as the most promising solution. Spiral was awarded MVP (Most Valuable Participant) for most-evolved offering based on program engagement and alignment with community bank business priorities.
Day two kicked off with a moderated panel discussion led by ICBA Senior Vice President of Innovation Programs Wayne Miller on using fintech connections to further innovation. The panel discussion was followed by the inaugural “ThinkTECH in an Instant” event, which offered 15-minute breakout sessions and office hours with the Accelerator cohort, allowing attendees to learn more about the solutions presented.
“As we grow and evolve the program, we will continue to build on this program’s foundation to foster these critical community bank-fintech partnerships,” Miller said. “True innovation doesn't end at 10 weeks, and neither does our
commitment to grow and strengthen these relationships.”
To view a recording of the cohort’s presentations from the ICBA ThinkTECH Demo Day, click here. For more information about the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator, visit www.icba.org/accelerator.
ICBA is currently accepting applications through July 15 for the second 2023 cohort, which kicks off in September and focuses on small business solutions and data analytics needs. Interested fintechs are encouraged to apply for consideration.
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America creates and promotes an environment where community banks flourish. ICBA is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of the community banking industry and its membership through effective advocacy,
best-in-class education, and high-quality products and services.
With nearly 50,000 locations nationwide, community banks employ more than 700,000 Americans and are the only physical banking presence in one in three U.S. counties. Holding $5.8 trillion in assets, $4.8 trillion in deposits, and $3.8 trillion in loans to consumers, small businesses and the agricultural community, community banks channel local deposits into the Main Streets and neighborhoods they serve, spurring job creation, fostering innovation and fueling their customers’ dreams in communities throughout America. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at www.icba.org.
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