Sixty percent of all fintech startups are intersecting with the payments space in some manner. Increasingly, they’re partnering with banks or targeting their offerings directly to support community bank operations. Cue the rise of the banking- and payments-as-a-service relationship as exhibit A.

Innovation, like time, is constantly moving forward, which is why even before we wrapped up our 2023 ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator program, plans were well underway for the first of three ICBA ThinkTECH Solutions Forums this year.

A lot has changed in the 15 years that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been in federal conservatorship, including a restoration of the health of the mortgage market and the financial strength of these housing-focused enterprises. What hasn’t changed is the need for the federal government to follow established law and ensure its conservatorship of Fannie and Freddie is temporary.