Published on : 8/9/2023
Bangor, ME: Bangor Bancorp, MHC, the parent company of Bangor Savings Bank, and fintech innovations developer PayWith Worldwide Inc. have worked closely together to form IncumbentFI, Inc., a joint venture company to provide innovative programmable payments technology to current bank cardholders.With IncumbentFI’s new and dynamic programmable payment technology, known as the Fintech Switch, customers can link their various payment sources to their existing debit or credit card of choice and determine which approved funding source to use for a singular transaction. This solution will provide customers with a unique and differentiated one-card experience and flexible and personalized features. It will help them better manage their financial lives more conveniently without needing to remember which funding source to choose when initiating a transaction. For example, a tap of their debit card at a local restaurant could be paid from the customer’s rewards account, while the technology could be configured to permit a similar swipe at the pharmacy to be funded from their health savings account.
Bangor Savings Bank devised the concept to support its Buoy Local® program, collaborated with PayWith to develop the proprietary Fintech Switch technology, and worked with Fiserv to implement it. Of note, Bangor Savings Bank received the 2023 Celent Model Bank Award for Payments Innovation for expanding its debit card capabilities with programmable payments technology.
The Fintech Switch redirects payments after authorization and before the payments are processed via a dynamic processing engine (DPE) to the account selected by the cardholder pre- or post-transaction. It then funnels the payment to that funding source for settlement. The Fintech Switch will be brought to market through IncumbentFI.
PayWith’s mCards’ capability and IncumbentFI’s Fintech Switch technology will power a mobile interface for customers to link their prepaid, credit, and debit cards, as well as other funding sources such as lines of credit, savings accounts, and rewards points. This technology differentiates Bangor Savings Bank by providing distinct value for its card programs. The Bank intends to offer its customers this one-card experience through their existing Bangor Savings Bank debit card.
“At Bangor Savings Bank, we continue to look for ways to create better experiences for our customers by reimagining the future of digital banking and payments,” said Bob Montgomery-Rice, President and CEO of Bangor Savings Bank. “The IncumbentFI solution will allow us to deliver unique and more contemporary cardholder experiences. We will continue to integrate and scale solutions like this to ensure Bangor Savings Bank is well-positioned in a global banking system that grows more digitally connected every day.”
“Our dynamic processing technology enables cardholders to have more flexible and personalized experiences,” said Mike Miroslaw, CEO of IncumbentFI. “We are proud to work with an industry-leading community bank like Bangor Savings Bank to help them think strategically about how to deepen existing relationships with account holders. We look forward to helping other financial organizations connect and consolidate benefits to cardholders based on this collaborative and innovative model.”
About IncumbentFI
IncumbentFI’s core mission is to streamline collaboration between financial institutions and fintechs. The joint venture gives clients the ability to transform their existing bank-issued cards into powerful fintech powered programmable payment cards without issuing new cards, and these capabilities can be layered onto a bank’s existing technology. IncumbentFI is working with Fiserv to market and sell this technology to global financial institutions, fintechs, and enterprise businesses. The result is a card that increases customer retention, increases revenue per cardholder, and positions their payment card to the top of wallet status in today’s digital world.
Programmable payments provide customers with the ability to add innovative personalized features, capabilities and offerings to the existing cards offered by their primary financial institution. Visit www.Incumbentfi.com for more information.
About PayWith Worldwide
PayWith Worldwide, Inc. a Delaware registered private corporation, is a fintech product innovations company that specializes in working with market-leading enterprises to create end-to-end custom payment programs. PayWith powers unique payment products aimed at disrupting traditional payment and rewards programs, providing technology solutions that transform existing payment options into simple and powerful results.
Bangor Savings Bank, with over $7 billion in assets, offers retail banking, business and comprehensive commercial banking, payment and corporate services, HR and payroll technologies, merchant solutions, and more. Headquartered in Bangor, Maine, the Bank was founded in 1852 and is in its 171st year, and currently has 68 branches in Maine and New Hampshire and business and/or loan production offices in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Bangor Savings Bank and The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation invested more than $4 million into the region through sponsorships, grants, and partnership initiatives last year. Bangor Savings Bank is an equal-opportunity employer. To learn more, please visit us at bangor.com. Neither Bangor Savings Bank nor its affiliates offer tax, accounting, or legal services. Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender.