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Visit icba.org/thinktech to learn more about ICBA Innovation’s programs and offerings.

The ICBA ThinkTECH program aims to answer the question: “How do we make our banks more competitive, more efficient and more profitable?” The answer: Ensure community banks have the right partners to keep pace as banking technology evolves. 

Since its inception in 2018, the ThinkTECH Accelerator has brought in nine cohorts of fintechs looking to hone their products and support community bank innovation. Twice a year, for 10 weeks, the Accelerator welcomes six fintechs to learn about the community banking industry and speak directly to bank leaders about their needs.

How fintechs are selected

The ThinkTECH Accelerator’s governing team, made up of ICBA staff and a selection committee of more than 30 ICBA member bank executives, dedicates 50 to 60 hours to selecting organizations for each cohort. 

“[We] try to find companies, technologies and founders that support those important potential opportunities for our bankers” says Wayne Miller, SVP of innovation programming for ICBA. “We tend to think about what problems we are helping them solve, but also, we can’t forget about what opportunities we are helping them seize. How can we help them garner new ideas that differentiate them?”

10 comprehensive weeks

Upon selection, each fintech does a deep dive into community banks and their product needs:

Week 1: Accelerator primer week
Before sharing their solutions with community banks, the fintechs are educated on the industry’s nuances. “Our Accelerator Primer Week is [when] … we’re bringing in bankers to teach [fintechs about] community banking, to understand how banks make money. How do you evaluate the financial performance of a bank?” says Charles Potts, EVP and chief innovation officer for ICBA. 

Weeks 1–10: Bank visits
During virtual “bank visits,” each of the fintechs meets with individual banks, and bankers “spend [30 minutes] with each company,” Miller says. “About 20 to 25 minutes of that is problem/solution/opportunity demonstration, and then there’s an opportunity for feedback.”

Weeks 2–10: ThinkTECH Thursdays
Bankers can also attend ThinkTECH Thursdays, where each fintech presents on their solution to a group of community bankers. 

Week 6: Mid-session meeting
All fintechs gather in Atlanta or Boulder, Colorado, for a midpoint status check and evaluation of the Accelerator thus far. The participants share what they’ve learned and how they’re applying it to their solutions.

Week 10: ThinkTECH Showcase
At the culmination of their work with the Accelerator, fintechs present refined pitches to community bankers based on what they’ve learned over the 10 weeks. 

With each completed cohort, the ThinkTECH team aims to connect community banks with solutions that will make innovation possible. According to Potts, “ICBA, under our mission, has an obligation to make sure our bankers have access and availability to the same kinds of resources and solutions that the biggest, baddest fintechs on the planet can go and consume themselves.”