Prevail Bank is preparing to ramp up AI deployment via third-party vendors as its new core banking technology provider Jack Henry lays the foundation. 

Prevail, which selected Jack Henry on Aug. 20, expects the fintech’s open ecosystem comprising direct API access, vendor programs and cloud-native solutions to enable seamless integration of third-party AI tools, Phil Suckow, chief operating officer at the $1 billion bank, told FinAi News.  

“Jack Henry’s commitment to openness and providing the documentation of openness is extremely important for us to be able to bring partners into that ecosystem,” he said. 

For example, Jack Henry recently unveiled a “whole new set of API documentation that allows us to leverage our fintech partners for payment orchestration,” Suckow said. 

“You think about that ability to now take that documentation and combine it from an AI perspective. It allows us to embed directly into the platform and take advantage of how fast AI is moving with these fintech partners,” he said.  

The open ecosystem accelerates innovation while helping the bank maintain security, governance and customer trust, he added. 

In a highly regulated industry, trust and security are at the forefront of Prevail’s evaluation of third-party providers, Suckow said. 

“There’s a level of trust in a partner that, as a community financial institution, I need to be able to have if I’m going to start moving some of these levers to really combine technology and governance and the human capital all together.”

— Phil Suckow, COO, Prevail Bank

With its new core in place, Prevail is zeroing in on AI for areas including customer service, compliance and lending, he said.  

Filling the gap  

Community banks have traditionally faced more obstacles when deploying AI because they have fewer resources than larger institutions. However, rapid AI advancements are helping smaller banks fill the talent gap, Suckow said. 

This is crucial for smaller institutions because many are unable to hire multiple AI developers to build proprietary models, he said.  

“If I have a team of four today that are doing more checklist-based activity, I can bring an AI agent along to work with them in parallel to make that team more efficient,” he said. “Then they can either expand their skill set or we can bring a new type of function or service opportunity to that team.” 

Nearly 50% of community and regional banks had adopted generative AI heading into 2026, up from 16% one year prior, according to a January report by financial services consulting firm Cornerstone Advisors, which surveyed 3,900 banks and credit unions.  

As community institutions accelerate innovation, AI “frees their resources to scale faster while doing what they do best — building the personal relationships that competitors can’t replicate,” Keith Fulton, chief data officer at Jack Henry, told FinAi News. 

FinAi Lending Summit, set for Oct. 7-8 in Las Vegas, will include speakers from Fifth Third and Capital One as well as a fireside chat with U.S. Bank Senior Vice President – Lending Operations Group Manager Suzanne Rathbun. To learn more about the 2026 event and register, visit here.