Independent Banker - September 2020 - 17

Payments & Community Banks - ICBA Bancard Levels the Field
The 1980s brought us Pac Man, MTV, and many colorful celebrities and politicians. It was a transitional
decade and one that rapidly changed banking and brought payment automation and convenience
to consumers nationwide.
In the mid-80s, ICBA (then IBAA, Independent Bankers Association
of America) had the foresight to bring pioneering payment
products to community banks. Its first introduction of these
products was the ability for community banks to issue their own
credit cards. At the time, many banks were dependent on much
larger banks to process credit card transactions. The larger banks
were often competitors and they did not have community banks'
interests in mind.
In 1985, ICBA addressed a need: banks wanted to independently
issue their own credit card products
where they could have full control of
underwriting, pricing, and picking the
type of products their customers were
demanding all while earning healthy
revenue. ICBA Bancard was created to
serve that need. By bringing thousands
of ICBA member banks into a pre-negotiated
processing group, community
banks could benefit from group pricing and other cutting-edge
services. Bancard aligned itself with Visa and Mastercard, two of the
most powerful brands in the world, as a Principal member which
provided a way to sponsor other banks as Associate or Affiliate
members, respectively, within those brands thus lowering issuing
costs overall. It was a great leap that still exists in 2020.
Over the years, ICBA Bancard has stayed on the forefront of innovation
in payment technology. From electronic banking, to fighting
fraud, to introducing new technologies that meet modern demands,
community banks have depended on ICBA Bancard to bring them
best-in-class service. In the 1990s Bancard paved the way for community
banks to adopt debit and ATM services as well-another
service that was largely untapped by community banks before ICBA
Bancard brought it to market. As with credit card issuing the decade
before, community banks previously had limited options. Bancard
introduced solutions that kept costs reasonable and service optimal-solutions
that banks still benefit from today.
" Over the years, ICBA Bancard
has stayed on the forefront of
innovation in payment technology. "
In the 21st century, banking became
more electronic and digital and so did
payments. As payments innovation rapidly
evolved, ICBA Bancard once again
guided community banks with new services
to maintain their competitiveness.
Moving from mag stripe to chip cards,
traditional wallets to digital wallets, and
now to contactless tap and pay cards,
Bancard continues to explore and align community bank priorities
with payments advances.
The future is wide open for payments. Community banks can continue
to rely on ICBA Bancard to level the playing field and bring
groundbreaking products to the market.
By Scott Broughton, senior vice president of marketing and client engagement
at ICBA Bancard.
3RD QUARTER 2020 | PAGE 3

Independent Banker - September 2020

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