News
Fidelity Bank helps select winners of NXTSTAGE FinTech competition
9/23/2020Griffin Technologies and Bellwethr have been named the winners of NXTUS’ 2020 NXTSTAGE Pilot Competition, which featured eleven financial technology (FinTech) startups from across the nation vying for the opportunity to have their solutions piloted by financial institutions that include Fidelity Bank, INTRUST Bank and Emprise Bank.
"Participating in the competition was one way we could encourage startups and open the door to innovative ideas in our industry," said Aaron Bastian, Fidelity Bank’s president and CEO.
NXTUS, an organization dedicated to advancing the Wichita-area startup ecosystem by helping companies access capital and business connections, organized the competition. NXTSTAGE brought established financial institutions and early-stage FinTech startups together to help advance highly scalable disruptive technologies to market.
The two winning organizations are both Kansas companies. Bellwethr, based out of Wamego helps banks improve the lifetime value of their customers through artificial intelligence (AI) software. Headquartered in Overland Park, Griffin has developed applications that help banks and credit unions uncover data-driven insights to effectively target and engage consumers in order to gain new customers and grow exiting relationships. As part of the program, Fidelity Bank will be deploying Griffin’s technology.
“Banking has essentially become a technology business,” said Shane Stuhlsatz, Fidelity’s director of technology innovation who was also involved in the NXTSTAGE selection process. “The FinTech space is where some of the most disruptive innovation is occurring, and we are honored to help these startups push our industry forward.”
Fidelity’s participation in this competition aligns with the fourth generation, family-owned bank’s commitment to contributing to the overall prosperity of Wichita, which has included substantial support of the NXTUS program, dating back to its founding as e2e in 2016.
