ICBA recently hosted our annual Core Day/Regulator Day event in Atlanta, bringing fintech founders, core providers, and regulators together to build solutions tailored to the regulatory, operational, and relationship‑focused demands of community banking.
The opportunity to present their solutions to core providers and regulators is certainly a draw for our cohort, but the candid conversations and forward-thinking discussions derived from this one-of-a kind event are equally important in shaping the solutions on display at next month’s Solutions Showcase during ICBA LIVE in San Diego.
Core Day: Reducing Bank Friction Points
Core Day is built around a simple truth: Community banks rely on their core providers. Technology companies that want to enter their world must find a way to co-exist in that environment. If integration is slow, expensive, or uncertain, innovation stalls.
So, it was gratifying to see the level of collaboration among all these technology providers. These are companies that, in some cases, compete in the market. Yet in this setting, they leaned in to solve shared problems.
Conversations about standards, data access, implementation, and onboarding workflows took hold. For community bankers, that means fewer surprises and more confidence when adopting new tools. It also means solutions are designed with your operating model in mind. For our participating cohort, Core Day is a reminder that the Accelerator program not only provides critical exposure to banks, but to the infrastructure that powers their back-office operations.
Serving community banks well means understanding their core environment and the expectations that come with it. This event shortens that learning curve.
Regulator Day: Innovation Within the Lines
Regulator Day has always been a standout, and this year proved no exception. Regulators from state banking agencies, the Fed, the OCC and the FDIC were in attendance along with Georgia Department of Banking and Finance Commissioner Oscar “Bo” Fears, who joined ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey for a fireside chat to discuss regulatory hurdles to innovation.
Our goal, as with Core Day, was to provide a window into the complexities that govern community banking in an environment that challenges traditional thinking while maintaining a focus on responsible innovation. Our cohort asked direct questions about supervisory expectations while regulators shared perspective on risk management, third-party oversight, consumer protection, and emerging areas of focus.
The tone was constructive and forward-looking and cultivated a mindset where:
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Compliance considerations are built into product design.
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Risk frameworks are clarified before banks deploy solutions.
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Technology companies gain a clearer understanding of bank-level accountability.
For community bankers, who ultimately bear responsibility for the technology deployed, Regulator Day helps ensure the solutions entering the market reflect their regulatory obligations. For our cohort, it offers something equally valuable: clarity. Understanding the compliance environment upfront reduces costly redesigns and builds credibility with potential bank partners.
Solving for What Comes Next
Community banks deserve solutions that respect their scale, their customer relationships, and their regulatory obligations. Core Day and Regulator Day are two effective tools we deploy to make that happen.
When technology companies collaborate with each other and with core providers, integration improves. When they engage directly with regulators, compliance alignment improves. When both objectives align, the resulting solutions are more practical, predictable, and better suited to the community bank business model.
At ICBA our role is to create the conditions for that alignment. Because innovation isn’t a series of isolated pilots, it’s an ecosystem that requires coordination across technology, infrastructure, and regulation.
Plan to join us at ICBA LIVE for our Solutions Showcase and see how the conversations throughout our 10-week Accelerator have shaped the solutions of tomorrow. If you are a technology company interested in serving this market, we welcome your participation. The bar is high, but the opportunity is real.
When we work together early and transparently, everyone benefits. Most importantly, so do the communities our banks serve.
Wayne Miller is ICBA chief innovation officer.