Independent Banker - November 2018 - 73

Trailblazer
Accelerate to innovate
No slouch itself when it comes to technology,
NBKC Bank is moving the needle through its
fintech accelerator, Fountain City Fintech.
By Ed Avis
hen customers encounter NBKC
Bank-whether it's by walking into one of
its four locations or by visiting nbkc.com-they
immediately realize that the $662 million-asset
community bank believes in technology.
Customers of the Kansas City, Mo., bank can
do business on interactive teller machines (ITMs)
with video links
to live tellers,
or they can use
their smartphones
to deposit
checks
remotely. They
can pay their
bills and set up
Name: NBKC Bank
Assets: $662 million
Location: Kansas City,
Mo.
nbkc.com
recurring payments online with NBKC's Bill Pay,
and then access those services with Apple Touch
ID or Android's fingerprint API. And if they're
online and need help, " live chat " is a click away.
In short, practically every cutting-edge fintech
feature available at the largest banks can also be
found at NBKC.
" Our CEO [Brian Unruh] says we are a tech
company, not just a bank, " explains Zach Anderson
Pettet, NBKC's fintech strategist.
Now NBKC has taken its commitment to technology
up a level-and perhaps advanced the fintech
industry as a whole. In October, the community
bank launched a 75-day " fintech accelerator "
designed to help six startup banking technology
companies improve and test their technology in a
real bank setting.
" We're bringing these six companies to Kansas
City and trying to develop six mutually beneficial
relationships in 75 days, " Pettet says.
Quick stat
$50,000
The minimum
amount NBKC's
parent company
invested in six
fintech startups
W
The idea for the accelerator, called Fountain
City Fintech, emerged through the community
bank's conversations with fintech executives,
who complained about the snail-like pace of most
bank partnerships.
" We figured out that the migraine problem with
fintech startups is the speed of the bank partner
they work with, " Pettet explains. " The average
partnership took six months, and we heard horror
stories of them taking up to 18 months. We
realized that, as a community bank, maybe our
size is an advantage, since our culture is nimble
and we can move faster than anyone else. "
Three-pronged strategy
Pettet says the Fountain City Fintech accelerator
was designed to help startups in three ways:
by providing convenient access to a genuinely
tech-savvy bank; by guiding the startups through
compliance issues; and by helping them develop
a strong culture.
The access part of the partnership is obvious:
NBKC devoted 5,000 square feet of the third floor
of its headquarters in Kansas City to the accelerator.
Whenever one of the entrepreneurs wonders
how a new idea or development will work in an
actual bank, he or she can just walk down the hall
and talk to a live bank employee.
The compliance element of the partnership is
also essential. " We saw the need in the space for
increased compliance advice, " Pettet says. " So
we brought our compliance department and lawyers
to bear. We analyze the whole situation and
make sure, if they are a money transmitter, that
they have the licenses they need, and if they're
not, that they have a letter explaining that. We're
making sure every piece of that is tied up in a
pretty bow. "
Regarding culture, Pettet says it's important
for fintech entrepreneurs to take the time to
consider how they make decisions, why they are
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Independent Banker - November 2018

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