Banking Solutions Accelerator launches at Venture Center

Bankers, investors, and tech startup entrepreneurs gathered Thursday (Sept. 26) at Little Rock’s Venture Center to launch a new bank solutions accelerator program that is supported by the Arkansas Bankers Association and the state of Arkansas.

The Venture Center, in collaboration with the Arkansas Bankers Association, launched the inaugural Arkansas Banking Solutions Accelerator with a special kickoff event in downtown Little Rock that featured remarks from Arkansas Economic Development Commission Executive Director Clint O’Neal.

“The Arkansas Economic Development Commission is really proud to support the Arkansas Bankers Association and the Arkansas Banking Solutions Accelerator. Banking is important to our economy and it’s great to see the Venture Center doing good work in this area,” said O’Neal.

Several fintech accelerators have been managed by the Venture Center in recent years. This recent program aims to bring Arkansas banks and 10 fintech firms together to develop solutions to immediate needs.

One of the participants, Posh AI, signed a contract on Thursday with a local bank and could sign another client in the next week.

“Posh is an AI company that helps banks become more efficient, serve their clients better, and from an external perspective internally we help their employees and associates access information a lot more efficiently. We’ve got products that really line up with customers and employees,” said Martin Barbee, a manager at Posh AI.

The company was created from two MIT graduate students, who launched the company in 2019. Some of its products help manage front line bank employees on proper protocols to follow through artificial intelligence assistance. Instead of thumbing through a paper or physical manual, a new employee can be trained or ask questions for guidance through AI thus ensuring faster service. The protocols are tailored to each bank’s guidelines.

“We’ve already gotten a deal out of the program. One of the banks that’s involved – Farmers Bank and Trust [of Magnolia] – literally just signed today,” Barbee said. “I’ve got a meeting tomorrow with another Arkansas-based bank. I think the exposure we got when we went through the process sort of opened the eyes to some folks that AI is not this crazy thing out there that’s going to change humanity. We are demystifying a lot of it.”

Brad Chambless, CEO of Stuttgart-based Farmers and Merchants Bank and chairman of the Arkansas Bankers Association, said the state’s community banks have to embrace technology to compete, secure their data, and stay open for business.

“Technology is moving faster than we’ve ever seen it before. And if we’re going to provide the best-in-class service and products for our customers and protect our institutions, we have to have better technology,” Chambless said.

In addition to Posh AI, the other nine companies that are participating in this first Banking Solutions Accelerator include: Cirrus, Coverbase, Graphio, Grounded, LexAlign, LendingFront, Lumio, Revio, and Smart Eye Technology.