ICBA Names New ThinkTECH Accelerator Cohort to Help Community Banks Tackle Innovation Priorities

WASHINGTON, May 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) today announced the selected companies for its eleventh ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator program (AP11). Running May 18 - July 24, the second cohort of 2026 reflects feedback from ICBA’s ThinkTECH Selection and Advisory Committee and targets priority areas for community bank innovation, including fraud mitigation, artificial intelligence, data analytics, customer experiences and payments.

“Community banks are navigating a complex and evolving financial landscape with new threats and opportunities shaped by shifting customer expectations, rapid technology advancements, and ongoing regulatory requirements,” ICBA Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Wayne Miller said. “This cohort delivers solutions that are practical, scalable and leveraged to support greater security, data-driven decisioning and next generation payment offerings, while preserving the key tenets of relationship banking.”

After a rigorous selection process which evaluated applicants for overall team strength, sustainability, product maturity, and product-market fit, the following companies chosen for AP11 include:

• Clox AI detects AI-generated and manipulated documents while automating workflow to identify tampering, forgery, and deepfakes.
• FinGoal offers an insights platform that enriches transaction data to build user profiles and deliver personalized, transaction-based calls to action.
• Payman AI embeds consumer, small business, and commercial AI agents directly into digital banking to safely initiate payments and execute workflows with policy controls, approvals, and audit trails.
• Swaystack offers a gamified onboarding platform that helps activate new accounts by driving funding, direct deposit, bill pay adoption, and more to win primary relationship status.
• VaultRight modernizes branch operations with a secure, mobile- and web-based platform that replaces paper processes and strengthens audit readiness.
• Warrant offers an AI-powered marketing compliance and digital asset management system that automates regulatory checks, approval flows, and provides full audit trails.
  
  

Community banks can register to join in either open or private bank visit sessions. During the upcoming 10-week program, these companies will collaborate with a network of community bankers and industry leaders to refine their solutions to better meet the unique needs and demands for community bank adoption.

Since its inception, the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator has connected the most innovative bank technology companies with leading community bankers and industry experts — identifying and designing workable solutions that solve modern banking needs.

“Community bankers rely on vetted solutions, not untested ideas that sound innovative but don’t reflect real-world realities or community bank considerations,” ICBA Vice President of Innovation Programs Pierce Sloan said. “The strength of this cohort is its relevance—whether improving operational efficiencies or delivering memorable customer experiences. We look forward to working with this new crop of innovators helping to advance community banking innovation.”

Fiserv, Mastercard, Wipfli, Ncontracts and BankTech Ventures provide sponsorship support for ICBA’s award-winning ThinkTECH Accelerator. For more information about the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator program, or to apply or nominate a bank technology company for future accelerators, visit www.icba.org/accelerator.

About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® has one mission: to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. We power the potential of the nation’s community banks through effective advocacy, education, and innovation.

As local and trusted sources of credit, America’s community banks leverage their relationship-based business model and innovative offerings to channel deposits into the neighborhoods they serve, creating jobs, fostering economic prosperity, and fueling their customers’ financial goals and dreams. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at icba.org.

Nicole Swann
nicole.swann@icba.org Ι 202-821-4458 Ι @ICBA_nswann 

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