| | AUGUST 20208CIOReviewIN MY OPINIONAs community banks address the rapid pace of change in today's world, they are leveraging financial technology to level the playing field with the nation's largest banks. By tapping into their strengths and nimbleness as responsive relationship lenders, community banks continue to deliver the high-touch, high-tech service that their customers expect from their trusted financial institution. And as the fintech industry has matured, so too have its approaches to innovation. Rather than competing for customers, fintechs have realized the potential in creating symbiotic relationships with community institutions. This means they can provide financial technology solutions that community banks can integrate into their customer offerings. For community bankers, partnering with fintechs also makes strategic sense. Instead of relying solely on their core providers, new solutions that leverage application programming interfaces (APIs)can tap into, and complement, existing infrastructure to create products and services that more easily integrate with other solutions. With HOW FINTECH CHANGES THE GAME FOR COMMUNITY BANKS AND THEIR CUSTOMERSBy Kevin Tweddle, Chief Operating Officer, ICBA Services NetworkKevin Tweddlea greater understanding of the opportunities that exist for community banks, fintechs are developing products that not only address existing needs but do so with more seamless integration. It's proven to be a win-win. At ICBA, we wanted to help further community bank and fintech partnerships, so we partnered with The Venture Center in Little Rock, Ark., to launch the ICBA Think TECH Accelerator late last year. This onsite, boot camp-style program fast-tracked the product refinement and go-to-market plans of eight fintech providers that are offering services to community banks. From process efficiencies and cybersecurity enhancements to completely new deposit product offerings, accelerator participants gained firsthand insights into the regulatory environment in which community banks operate and how they serve their customers--and refined their products and pitches accordingly. And the fintechs were mentored throughout the process by community bankers, regulators, and industry stakeholders, creating a collaborative process that benefited all parties. Take Teslar, one of the accelerator cohort and the Banker's Choice winner at this year's ICBA LIVE® national convention. The company was founded by bankers with a passion for supporting community banking by streamlining systems. Teslar offers a software solution to bring systems
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