Mar 9, 2020   SOURCE: PR NewsWire

Central Payments Announces Inaugural Falls Fintech Cohort

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Central Payments today announced the first group of companies that will join the Spring 2020 cohort for Falls Fintech, its business accelerator program geared towards early-stage financial technology (fintech) companies.

"This inaugural group of companies are developing exciting financial products that leverage new technologies to solve financial challenges, particularly those experienced by underserved consumers and small businesses," said Nikkee Rhody, Managing Director of Falls Fintech.

Falls Fintech Spring 2020 Cohort: 

    --  Build Financial (New York): Empowering middle-class users by providing
        them with emergency savings, spending, and financial health tools, Build
        Financial's core financial products (high-yield savings, mobile banking,
        debt consolidation, long-term investing) utilize automation and learning
        tools to help customers take control of their money, and make saving it
        automatic, accelerated, affordable, and accessible. Learn more at
        https://www.buildf.com/.
    --  Invest Sou Sou (Washington D.C.): Inspired by African and Caribbean
        cultures of building wealth together, Sou Sou is a smart social banking
        app designed for customers to save, build credit and invest with people
        they trust. Create a stronger financial lifestyle, track saving
        progress, unlock rewards and build credit. Together. Learn more at
        https://investsousou.com/.
    --  Permiso (California): Revolutionizing banking for youth, Permiso's
        created an app, card, and life literacy curriculum that keeps its user
        actively engaged on a daily basis. Permiso combines socio-emotional life
        principles with practiced executive functioning and financial literacy
        skills, making it not only an app to check your bank balance, but to
        learn about how to succeed in life and school.
    --  Soon (Utah): Simplifying finances by consolidating checking, saving,
        investing and goals into a person's existing cash flow. Soon's Smart
        Debit Card automatically invests when a customer makes a deposit, and
        divests the best performing asset when money is spent to increase
        purchasing power, deliver investment-level returns and help users
        accomplish important life goals. Learn more at https://soon.app/.
    --  XpenseOne (Washington): A digital expense management solution developed
        for small and medium-sized businesses to streamline processes related to
        expense reports, approval workflows and back office reconciliation. The
        XpenseOne solution is white labeled and offered by banks to their
        businesses, driving higher retention, revenue and customer acquisition.
        Businesses can manage expenses made with any payment method such as
        personal cards, bank issued cards or cash. Learn more at
        https://xpenseone.com.

Trent Sorbe, President of Central Payments and Co-founder of Falls Fintech, adds: "We are thrilled to expose
these entrepreneurs to Sioux Falls and experience why we are the hub for banking and payments. Central Payments and our Falls Fintech accelerator were created to enable the next generation of financial service companies and continue the banking evolution that started in South Dakota in the mid-1980's."

Falls Fintech is a 10-week program designed to accelerate market readiness for early-stage fintech companies and promote breakthrough of the last-mile problems facing fintech companies today. The Spring 2020 cohort is set to run March 9 through May 15. During the 10 weeks, participating companies will receive high-intensity curriculum with an elite network of financial, payment and technology professionals across the globe.

About Central Payments and Central Bank of Kansas City
Central Payments operates as the payments division of Central Bank of Kansas City (CBKC) and is headquartered in Dell Rapids, South Dakota. The fastest growing prepaid card issuer since 2015*, Central Payments administers payment card and funds disbursement programs via retail, employer/payroll, and online outlets nationwide. CBKC is a 68-year-old family-owned bank located in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri and one of 135 financial institutions in the country certified by the U.S. Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution. CBKC and Central Payments share the mission to provide high-quality financial products to consumers of modest means who historically have not enjoyed the benefits of affordable and accessible financial services. "Treat Each Customer's Balance as Though It's All They Have" guides our approach to product design, customer service, and affordability. Visit central-payments.com, fallsfintech.com, or centralbankkc.com for more information. Member FDIC.

*Source: The Nilson Report, 2015 to 2018.

SOURCE Central Payments