Independent Banker - February 2022 - 22

PORTFOLIO
your app as one of your branches, "
says Gallman. " And I'd argue that
the digital branch is your most
important branch. "
While community banks have a
dazzling array of fintechs to choose
from, it's not always easy to find
one that fits your business needs.
Gallman says that for Drummond
Community Bank, which has a
large book of commercial accounts,
the right fintech will focus on how
business accounts, not just consumer
ones, are opened digitally.
2. Mobile wallets. Since the
pandemic, contactless payments
are on the rise and cash has become
far less important. Because of
that, Gallman says, " The adoption
of mobile wallets is continuing
to increase. "
He points out that the technology
enabling mobile wallets is extremely
complicated, making it " next to
impossible for a bank to develop
these wallets internally. " He finds
that most fintechs white-label their
mobile wallet offerings, which allows
community banks to brand their own
mobile wallets.
3. Fraud and risk management.
By quickly ushering in a new digital
reality, banks have been forced
to update their fraud and risk
management practices, too. " Think
about it this way, " Potts says. " If
Checking in with 2022's ThinkTECH Accelerator
The ThinkTECH Accelerator is one of the best ways for community
banks to meet fintechs and potentially form partnerships. This
year's cohort includes 11 companies-one more than in previous
years-that specialize in everything from account opening and data
intelligence to digital adoption and cybersecurity.
Topics like these are critically important to bankers as they come
out of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lending and start to focus
on net interest income and new sources of revenue, says Charles
Potts, ICBA executive vice president and chief innovation officer.
" We think this cohort is going to add a nice dynamic set of
capabilities that the bankers are looking for again as we go into
2022, " he says.
Community banks will have plenty of opportunity to get to
know this year's fintechs. In January, community bankers attended
the virtual kick-off orientation week in Little Rock, Ark. More
opportunities to meet them are on the horizon, including Regulator
Week in the first week of February and during ICBA LIVE at the end
of the month (see page 52).
" When you think about the challenges that community bankers
have, the speed to market is critically important when it comes to
technology today, " Potts says, " because frankly, the market industry
[and] the user demand is moving at lightspeed. " -Tiffany Lukk
you walk into a physical branch to
open a new account, your bank's
risk management practices may
work one way. If I'm an anonymous
person applying online through a
digital account opening process,
my risk management practices
have to look remarkably different. "
Gallman agrees, pointing out
that the speedy opening of digital
accounts has risk management
implications. " If you don't have
the controls in place to mitigate
these risks, then you're going to
be in trouble, " he says. " At the end
of the day, it's our charter on the
line and our funds we could lose if
there's fraud. "
" You have to think of your app as one of
your branches. And I'd argue that the digital
branch is your most important branch. "
-MATT GALLMAN, DRUMMOND COMMUNITY BANK
22 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q February 2022
Risk management can sometimes
seem like a buzzkill, but there are
alternative ways community bankers
can look at it, Gallman says. " Risk
management should let you take
more risks but better manage the
downsides or the uncertainty around
these risks, " he says. " The question
is: How can we take more risks
but do it safely and in a calculated
Independent Banker - February 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - February 2022
