US challenger Battle Bank chooses Temenos banking cloud

Battle Bank, a challenger bank set to launch later this year, announced Thursday it will leverage the Temenos banking cloud for global currencies and precious metals accounts.

Temenos now has 70 neobank customers, more than any of its competitors, according to the Switzerland-based core provider. Temenos revealed it will develop a range of new tools designed specifically for neobanks, according to the announcement.

The bank’s core is cloud-native Finxact, which was acquired by Fiserv in February. Temenos communicates with the core solution, Frank Trotter, president at Colorado-based Battle Financial, told Bank Automation News.

“Our vision at Battle Bank is to provide unique deposit offerings in both the U.S. dollar and more than 20 different global currencies, as well as principle protected index CDs and precious metals accounts in various forms,” Trotter said. “Temenos provides us a best-in-class platform for global currencies and precious metals accounts that will communicate directly with Finxact as our core banking platform.”

Battle Bank is led by Trotter and Vincent Amato, founders at EverBank, now TIAA Bank. The two plan to launch Battle Bank in the second half of 2022 pending regulatory approval, Trotter said. The new bank’s capabilities in foreign currency will differentiate it from competitors, he said.

“Battle Bank will be able to offer its clients a diverse set of opportunities in FDIC-insured foreign currency and market index deposits and the ability to acquire, store and borrow against non-FDIC-insured precious metals,” Trotter said.

Lea County State Bank selects Jack Henry for tech platform upgrade

The $600 million Lea County State Bank announced Tuesday that it will use Jack Henry as its technology provider. The Hobbs, N.M.-based community bank selected the core provider for its Banno Digital Platform and the more than 850 third-party fintechs available through Jack Henry’s platform, according to the announcement.

Jack Henry will also help the bank with its internal digital transformation by automating and streamlining processes across the organization.

Lea County State Bank, founded in 1928, has roots in the region’s oil and gas industry. Its business and retail customers will have the same digital experience through Jack Henry, said bank Vice President Disa Walker.

Citizen Banks of Edmond expands use of Teslar Software

Citizens Bank of Edmond will use Teslar Software’s process automation platform to transform its lending process, the $370 million bank revealed last week.

Citizens Bank of Edmond first used Teslar to manage the Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) forgiveness process. The two companies partnered with Mark Cuban in spring 2020 to launch PPP.bank, a free tool to help small businesses easily apply for PPP loans during the pandemic; PPP.bank won Best Fintech Partnership at the 2020 Finovate Awards.

Teslar Software provides lending process automation tools such as loan origination, operational workflows, portfolio management and credit risk management. Citizens Bank of Edmond will use Teslar to eliminate manual, paper-based processes, increase efficiencies across lending and allow lenders to spend more time strengthening customer relationships. The bank also plans to utilize Teslar to help small businesses navigate Small Business Administration (SBA) lending programs.

OneUnited Bank uses Lendistry to offer small business loans

OneUnited Bank, a $650 million Black-owned bank, announced Monday it is working with Lendistry to provide small business loans to OneUnited Bank customers.

The bank’s mission is to close the racial wealth gap by providing a resource for term loans and non-revolving lines of credit to small businesses nationwide. As part of its mission, OneUnited Bank introduced its OneTransaction program and podcast to encourage Black Americans to focus on “one transaction” to close the wealth gap. The six options include: profitable business, homeownership, savings and investments, improved credit score, wills and insurance. With Lendistry, the bank can support customers who are business owners seeking funds to expand, buy an existing business or finance working capital.

Lendistry, a Black-led fintech, provides equal access to capital for small business owners. The company offers funding for working capital, expansion, tenant and leasehold improvements, debt consolidation and acquisitions.

“We began our relationship with Lendistry in 2020 with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and continued in 2021 with our OneTransaction Program,” Teri Williams, OneUnited Bank president, said in the announcement. “We’re proud to expand our relationship in 2022 to offer small business loans to our customers nationwide.”

– Bank Automation News Associate Editor Alijah Poindexter contributed to this report.

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