Press Release: Washington, DC (May 7, 2024) — The Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) announced the launch of the seventh edition of its ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator program (AP7), promoting community bank innovation. Officially kicking off on May 19, this second cohort of the year will focus on companies providing solutions and support for some of the top areas critical for today’s community bankers, including artificial intelligence, financial health and wellness, subscription management, digital onboarding, and compliance, providing vital support to community banks nationwide.

“Community banks continue to serve as vital pillars supporting our local neighborhoods and economies, and innovation plays a critical role in this, enabling us to keep pace with the evolving needs of our industry and our customers,” said Greg Ohlendorf, president and CEO of First Community Bank and Trust in Beecher, Ill., and chairman of ICBA’s Selection and Advisory Committee. “By fostering partnerships between fintech companies and community banks, the ICBA Accelerator program helps us streamline operations, drive sustainable growth, and strengthen customer relationships. We are proud to introduce our latest ThinkTECH Accelerator cohort and excited to see how these impactful solutions can help us meet the challenges of today and power our future potential.”

After a rigorous selection process evaluating sustainability, product maturity, and product-market fit, the following companies have been chosen for AP7:

  • Prelim Technologies: A no-code platform for customer onboarding processes, which helps banks digitize their services, streamline account opening, and enhance customer experiences.

  • Rego Payment Architectures: A white-label family lifecycle platform tailored for financial institutions that helps kids to manage and spend money within a parent-controlled environment.

  • FINBOA: An analytics and process automation platform that simplifies and streamlines payment dispute processing, improving regulatory compliance and operational efficiency.

  • RiskScout: Offering cloud-based tools to help community banks grow and become more efficient, unlocking new markets and deposit streams while automating back-office workflows.

  • ScribeUp: A best-in-class embedded subscription management solution allowing users to track, cancel, and lower their subscription bills from a single location.

  • Savvi AI: An AI platform that helps banks build, launch, and manage AI apps to help forecast charge-offs, predict loan volumes, forecast deposits, and increase loan offer uptake.

Community banks can register to join in either open or private bank visit sessions. During the upcoming 10-week program, these companies will work collaboratively with a network of industry leaders and community bank executives to refine their solutions to better meet the unique needs and demands for broader community bank adoption. The program will conclude with seven-minute rapid fire pitches where the presenting companies will unveil their newly refined solutions.

“The ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator program continues to play such a pivotal role in connecting emerging, cutting-edge fintechs with community banks, helping our members implement the solutions to solve for unique challenges, improve customer experiences and streamline operational efficiency," ICBA Senior Vice President of Innovation Programming Wayne Miller said. “We're excited to welcome the AP7 cohort and look forward to helping them hone their solutions to further empower community banks to innovate and grow.”

For more information about the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator program, or to apply or nominate a fintech for future cohorts, visit www.icba.org/accelerator.

About ICBA

The Independent Community Bankers of America® has one mission: to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. We power the potential of the nation’s community banks through effective advocacy, education, and innovation.

As local and trusted sources of credit, America’s community banks leverage their relationship-based business model and innovative offerings to channel deposits into the neighborhoods they serve, creating jobs, fostering economic prosperity, and fueling their customers’ financial goals and dreams. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at icba.org.

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