Independent Banker - October 2021 - 59

Wetherington says. " But you don't
have to concentrate strategically
on outbound banking-as-a-service.
Community fi nancial institutions
have to get really good at the
inbound embedded fi ntech that's
made available by way of the same
open banking API infrastructure. "
This model of embedded fi ntech
speaks to programs like ICBA's
ThinkTECH Accelerator, which
draws in fi ntechs that are looking to
address community bank needs.
" We call it collaborate to
innovate, " Licht says. " Community
banks need to leverage [open
banking] and bring these solutions
to the end consumer. Because the
expectation of the end consumer
today is totally diff erent than what
we saw two years ago. "
EMBRACING DIFFERENTIATION
The alignment of the high tech
with the high touch will be the
chief diff erentiator as community
banks embrace the concept of
open banking.
" This is the secret sauce for
community banks, " Wetherington
says. " You have to be both open and
relational successfully in the new
open banking ecosystem. The beauty
of the embedded fi ntech strategy
is you bring the best of fi ntech in,
and you now have product feature
function diff erentiation, but you're
backing it up by the superpower
of the community bank, which is
personal service at the moment of
need. It's the best of all worlds. "
Sprink agrees. " At the end of
the day, it's still the human beings
behind the API who are deciding how
to use it, and community banking is
not a technology, " he says. " It's what
we do and how we do things. " 
Colleen Morrison is a writer
in Maryland.
IndependentBanker.org
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OPEN BANKING: WHERE TO LEARN MORE
As community banks embrace the open banking movement, how
do they best identify their place on the spectrum of opportunity?
Charles Potts, ICBA senior vice president and chief innovation
off icer, shares three steps:
1. Know your bank's strengths and market and play to them
2. View open APIs as tools or components that can help contribute
to your bank's success
3. Lean on ICBA for education to have a deeper understanding of
the market evolution
" We've built a wealth of resources and capabilities that can help
you navigate this forest of buzzwords and acronyms, but it's always
got to be predicated by knowing your strengths, " Potts says. " My
favorite Yogi Berra-ism is, 'When you reach a fork in the road,
take it.' Don't be afraid to learn, but also don't be afraid to be very
resolute in your strengths as a community bank. You proved it over
and over this past year: You are good stewards of your banks and
the communities you serve. "
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the next level.
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Independent Banker - October 2021

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