It’s a statement that is becoming well-known and can be daunting for bank leaders: “Neobanks now dominate new account openings, capturing nearly 44% of all new checking accounts opened in 2024.”
But there’s a bright side, too. True, neobanks are surging ever forward, offering digital and mobile-first banking, low or no fees, personalization and flexibility that appeal to today’s consumers. But rather than assuming total control over the financial marketplace, they are testing the waters for the rest of us, serving as virtual proving grounds for new financial products and services. Once neobanks like Chime, Paypal, Acorns and SoFi introduce new features that take hold with consumers, fintechs follow in their wake to develop their own version of the same product or service. Then they offer it up to a larger audience in partnership with community financial institutions.
Many of these features are already available. Here are some that were once solely in the realm of neobanks but can now be offered to customers of community banks.
Wealth Tech
According to data from CBINSIGHTS’ State of Fintech Q2’25 Report, wealth tech funding grew 171% quarter over quarter in Q2 2025, standing out as one of the highest-growth segments. Two of the main reasons for this traction are advances in AI for portfolio construction and robo-advising, as well as how these solutions democratize wealth management by making it more cost-effective and accessible for the masses.
- For community banks: Wealth tech companies are courting community financial institutions, offering products that can be embedded into digital banking platforms. This may allow your FI to augment traditional wealth management practices and bring a value-added service to your customers, all while preventing deposit outflow to brokerage solutions.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
Raise your hand if AI-powered chatbots have replaced traditional web searches for you. Fintechs recognize that chatbots often provide more accurate and faster results and are now offering Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) products, which can replace traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
- For community banks: GEO can help financial institutions tailor their online content by designing it to answer real questions in a conversational, structured format, with the end goal of enabling their products and services to be discoverable by chatbots. For example, a prospective customer could ask a generative AI model to find “the best financial institution in my state for auto loans”; with the help of GEO, your bank would show up in the results.
Tax, Trust and Will Services
Chime, which is often at the bleeding edge of new product capabilities, was an early pioneer of embedding tax return services directly into digital banking. But they went beyond simply offering these services and instead bolstered their solution by providing free tax returns as well as the ability to receive refunds six days early (with the important caveat that your refund must be direct deposited). How do neobanks get away with this being free? The general assumption is that the tax refund direct deposit will be a steppingstone to a paycheck direct deposit – and ultimately, lead to primary financial institution (PFI) status and other associated revenue streams.
- For community banks: Fintechs that specialize in tax services, as well as broader wealth management services like trust and will planning, can embed these products into digital banking (either white-labeled or co-branded), which is appealing to banks aiming to be the one-stop shop for their customers’ needs. When you’re looking into these products, just be sure to check that they are licensed in all states in which your financial institution operates.
Earned Wage Access (EWA)
Earned wage access (EWA) platforms enable consumers to get earlier access to their paychecks and help them avoid predatory payday loans, often with minimal or, in some cases, zero fees.
- For community banks: Faced with competitive pressures from neobanks and their ability to lure the younger generations with faster access to money, banks are increasingly offering EWA (fee-free if the financial institution wants to subsidize this for customer experience). These services typically require the consumer to have direct deposit with the FI, which can help the FI win PFI status, too.
Back Office Efficiency (via AI)
AI has undergone rapid and transformative advances in recent years, improving on challenging tasks like image recognition, question answering and coding.
- For community banks: AI can automate the process of responding to customers who send in documentation by auto-generating reply emails. For vendor-facing employees, an AI review engine could surface issues that have been sent over for vendor due diligence, such as a qualified opinion.
What’s Next?
The fintech space is ever evolving, as we’ve seen market segments go from being the sizzling headline at a conference one year to fizzling out two years later. And today, banks recognize that fintechs are more partner than competitor; they view fintech partnerships as a key path to keeping pace with the speed of innovation and are actively embracing their services to attract and retain customers.
If your financial institution is not sure where to start, talk to your peers about how they’ve integrated advanced fintech into their operations – and consider partnering with a fintech provider that specializes in the community banking space.
