Main Street Matters Blog

When it comes to innovation, big picture ideas formulate and crystalize into concrete plans. Having the vision and enthusiasm for fresh solutions is just the start and drives the community bank journey to unearth specific, relevant and actionable opportunities.

Instant payments have arrived. In the five years since the launch of the RTP Network, volumes have steadily increased by more than 10 percent per quarter, and in Q3 2022, the network moved 45 million transactions valued at $19.7 billion.

Digital customer engagement has risen as a top priority for financial institutions in 2023, according to new research from Anna Kooi, financial services industry leader at Wipfli LLP, a top advisory firm in this space.

ICBA has launched an enhanced version of our Solutions Directory, which in addition to providing useful fintech-related company information, serves as a one-stop shop for community bank enabling technology. The new and improved directory is based on extensive community bank feedback, to create a better user experience.

In 2022, ICBA and community bankers stood together against a steady stream of efforts to impose harmful policies while working tirelessly to advance initiatives benefiting local communities—proving once again the importance of making our voice heard in the nation’s capital.

We have previously called 2021 a year of innovation, but there’s no doubt that ICBA doubled down on its position throughout 2022 to ensure that innovation is accessible, affordable, and attainable to all community bankers.

Just shy of a year ago, ICBA announced its role as one of the general partners and investment committee members in a strategic investment fund designed to accelerate technology opportunities and adoption at community banks. Today, BankTech Ventures, has raised more than $115 million in committed capital in its first fund and has backed eight different companies working to provide community bank technology solutions.

Digital transformation is the 2022 payments phrase of year. You can’t attend a meeting without hearing about its importance in the financial services landscape, and when you consider that nearly nine in ten Americans are now using some form of digital payments, you understand why it needs to be a top priority.

Bob Dylan once said, “There is nothing so stable as change,” and I have found that to be true, particularly as we look to embrace modern technologies and the companies that enable them.

Even if you aren’t hearing the words “faster payments” or “instant payments” directly from your customers, trends and research show the demand is there – and rising. Recent Federal Reserve surveys reveal growing interest in faster payments