The Independent Community Bankers of America and the Venture Center have chosen the first startups to participate in a
ICBA said in a press release Wednesday that the 10 fintech startups will participate in a 12-week boot-camp program in Little Rock, Ark., that offers direct exposure to thousands of community banks. The association formed the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator last year.
The fintechs will receive initial investments, mentoring and training from the ICBA and the Venture Center’s network. The 2019 program received 190 applications from early-stage fintechs from the United States and 39 other countries.
The initial participants include Agora, a New York startup that helps banks improve user experiences on their legacy payment platforms; Sou Sou in Washington, which offers a social banking account that helps banks attract low-cost deposits; and Vetter, a New York company that aims to provide community banks with cutting-edge technology.
The other participants are CRiskCo from Australia; Teslar by 3E in Fayetteville, Ark.; Adlumin in Alexandria, Va.; Gerald in New York; KapitalWise in New York, Botdoc in Monument, Colo.; and MK Decision in San Diego.
“The ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator is focused on identifying and accelerating the development and growth of early stage financial technology ventures that will spur the most innovative and beneficial community bank-fintech partnerships,” Kevin Tweddle, the chief operating officer of ICBA Services Network, said in the release.
The selected startups have shown “great possibility to fulfill current community banking needs while creating opportunities for the future," Tweddle added. "It’s all about creating that high-tech, high-touch future of community banking.”
