We know that we can deliver that by leveraging our investment in FinTech and our commitment to partnerships with community /regional banks. It is this combination that truly empowers local businesses in a way that enables them to compete and win in this ever more complex and competitive market.
Oftentimes, bankers are challenged to know what is happening within their own client base. Celero uses proprietary technology and human-driven processes to make community and regional banks more competitive, not only against the larger direct competitor banks, but also the rising tide of FinTech companies. Many of our bank partners are unaware these FinTech companies have begun offering business checking accounts and lending solutions, which threatens key areas of profitability for them. Analytics and artificial intelligence are capturing business owner and customer activity data to create payments ecosystems for FinTech companies that do not involve banks. This threat to fee, loan and depository income is real and growing.
With the help of Celero, banks can now identify their target market opportunities and get armed with the facts they need to protect their merchant base and grow it. We have created solutions that act as a FinTech attachment complimenting banks core products (instead of competing with them), creating a powerful combination that helps SMBs thrive. We analyze their data, identify opportunities, and provide the technology solutions needed to improve the merchant’s business operations while enabling a
frictionless boarding and customer management process for everyone, which means savings for their customers and more income for the bank.
We put our bank partners in a position to win, especially since their victories are aligned to the success of their business customers. Happy customers— those who have the payments capabilities they need coupled with the business management technology solutions that empower them—will see their bankers as partners who enable their success, rather than simply trying to maximize their own income at a product level.
Our bank partnership leadership team is comprised of industry professionals who assist in this endeavor every day. As leaders of our bank channel, Jim Harris, and Matt Moore drive innovation by staying at the forefront of the financial institutions market and corresponding relationships. Their teams are in front of bank partners every day, continuously listening and strategizing to keep these partners competitive. They identify what banks need, what areas can be improved upon, what innovations they need to lead and differentiate in the marketplace and deliver clear feedback to the organization. That feedback drives our strategic planning and development initiatives.
Complimenting these efforts, our Mergers and Acquisitions team, led by Abigail Lucier, searches for acquisition targets that provide the right set of products and technology that contributes to the success of our bank partners and ultimately their customers. Abigail continues to explore opportunities to add vertical and horizontal technology aligned with our strategic approach to the Celero arsenal. These companies also bring a mix of strategic, geographic, and human benefits for our bank partners.
Another key component of innovation is our internal technology development, which is spearheaded by Chief Technology Officer Charlie Berard, whose goal is to ensure efficiency though automation while providing the best in-class experience. Charlie oversees the development and adaptation of middleware technology that positively impacts our bank partners with features such as frictionless merchant onboarding, streamlined management of risk and underwriting, support functions, and finger-tip access to valuable data insights.
Through these efforts, our bank partners no longer need to feel threatened by FinTech companies who are creating payments ecosystems that do not involve them. They can stop trying to keep up and be the leaders in the market.
For community banks to fulfill their mission and continue to better serve those in small towns and underserved urban neighborhoods, as well as all Americans, they need the right strategic partners, the right products, and the right tools to succeed. Celero has made it a mission to be innovative and accessible and assist in their growth every step of the way.
