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Supporting the success of fintech

10.16.19

Financial Technology, or fintech for short, is one of the most important sectors today. From mobile payments to money transfers to personal and business loans, fintech has revolutionized the ways companies do business as well as the ways consumers manage personal finances. These innovations offer improved and sophisticated ways to engage our personal and business customers. With the latest user interface/user experience designs, fintech services provide forward-thinking solutions, convenience and the best possible user experience.

Heading Bremer’s innovation effort is Melissa Carmichael, Bremer’s VP of strategy and innovation, Melissa’s role focuses on identifying tech startups that can directly impact the customer experience. That means she is an active participant in multiple fintech startup ecosystems on the West Coast and the Midwest, including Plug and Play, Emerging Prairie, Beta.MN and the MN Fintech Collective, among many others.

“Our involvement in the fintech startup ecosystem is crucial as we keep our finger on the pulse of industry trends. We want to know what new customer experiences are becoming more prevalent and what new technologies will become available to better support our customers,” Melissa explained.

“Getting ahead of our customers is important to us,” Melissa added. “We are doubling down on our efforts to provide customers a good banking experience. And part of that is being innovative in how we deliver services to our customers and to anticipate their wants and needs.”

Bremer’s involvement in the fintech space is key. Understanding our customers’ expectations of what their banking relationship looks like in the future extends beyond banking products and services. It is about finding more ways to add value to our customers and make banking with us easier.

“Whether it is tools to help our business customers run more efficiently or solutions to help individual customers with personal financial planning, we are focused on finding creative solutions to solve their problems,” she said.

Bremer’s focus on digital solutions also benefits local fintech companies. Melissa elaborated on the different ways Bremer engages with fintech companies.

“Depending on the intended outcome, we engage with startups that are far enough along where we work with them in a very similar way that we would with a traditional vendor. We also work with earlier stage startups, where we provide time, input and mentorship to help them develop and refine their offering,” Melissa said.

To continue to benefit our customers and communities, Melissa works to deepen her involvement in the fintech ecosystem and to find creative solutions to help our customers grow and succeed.