ABA Joins Project Fintech Accelerator as a Founding Partner

The American Bankers Association today announced it has joined the 2023 Project Fintech accelerator as a founding partner. Through this partnership, ABA will work closely with the Project Fintech team over the next nine months to engage with nine startups developing innovative banking technology products and services.

“Innovation is at the core of today’s banking industry, and this new partnership will ensure our members have the resources they need to meet their customers’ evolving expectations,” said ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols. “Joining with innovators like the team at Project Fintech will give us a unique view into emerging trends and allow us to help shape the bank technology landscape going forward.”

Based in Nashville, Tenn., Project Fintech is a nine-month program that provides early-stage startups access to subject-matter experts, curriculum, mentorship and the benefit of community. It is open to all fintech start-ups with a preference for Tennessee-based companies and an emphasis on the “banktech” sector, defined as technology seeking to improve, automate, or scale the delivery or use of payments, deposits, loans, or relationships between retail or commercial banks and their customers.

“To help banks with their technology strategy, our team is continually monitoring, analyzing and engaging with cutting-edge companies and emerging technologies, and this partnership is just one more arrow in our quiver,” said Brooke Ybarra, senior vice president of ABA’s Office of Innovation. “We’re excited to work directly with businesses that are bringing the latest technology to banking.”

ABA joins First Horizon Bank, headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., as a founding partner.

“As the largest bank headquartered in Tennessee, First Horizon is excited to support entrepreneurs in our state who are driving the future capabilities of financial services,” said Tyler Craft, senior vice president, head of VirtualBank and Fintech at First Horizon. “We look forward to partnering with the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, ABA, and others to support the innovators in this program.”

In October, ABA will host an Innovation Forum during the association’s Annual Convention in Nashville, Tenn. where bankers will explore the innovation process, take a deep dive into technology, focus on growth and engage with their peers.

In addition to seeking out partnerships like the one with Project Fintech, ABA’s Office of Innovation assists banks of all sizes with their innovation strategy by hosting webinars, writing research papers and providing analyses of emerging banking technologies. The latest research papers include Low-code no-code: A visual approach to tech innovation for bank and Exploring Banking Middleware Solutions.