Old Missouri Bank is looking toward BaaS to grow operations and drive deposits.
The bank has gained $30 million in deposits so far in 2025, on the way to an expected $500 million this year, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Steve Bishop said during an open banking panel at Bank Automation Summit 2025 in Nashville, Tenn., this week.
Old Missouri has seven fintech partnerships, including with cash management fintech Crescent Finance Global and small and medium-sized business banking provider Meow, which has $2 billion assets under management, Bishop said. The company plans to onboard more fintechs this year to grow its BaaS and embedded banking clientele.
The bank started its BaaS journey three years ago, Bishop said, adding that banks usually need 24 months to get the tech right and reach profitability on their BaaS investments.
Over time, many banks will pivot to serve fintechs rather than being consumer-facing, Bishop told Bank Automation News.
“I want to make sure that we’re relevant and we exist,” Bishop said. “If the customer doesn’t know who I am, I’m fine with that.”
Regulatory concerns
Banks involved in BaaS or open finance partnerships are facing increased enforcement, Huard Smith, principal analyst at consultancy Forrester, told Bank Automation News.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a consent order against Axiom Bank on Oct. 21, 2024, claiming that it found “unsafe or unsound banking practices” related to Axiom bank Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering compliance program, according to an agency release.
Sutton Bank and Piermont Bank also were served notices by the OCC and the FDIC in 2024, Smith said. In September 2024, the FDIC proposed a rule asking FIs to “bolster recordkeeping requirements for their fintech partners, which was a response to the Synapse collapse,” Smith said.
Fintech Synapse declared bankruptcy in April 2024, due to improper deposits management which led to customers collectively losing $265 million, according to FDIC’s sept. 17 release.
Regulatory agencies are still working to understand and define the evolving BaaS and embedded banking business models, Smith said, adding that there may be a short-term slowdown in BaaS and open finance partnerships in the U.S. due to rollbacks in regulations.
Banking is moving toward open banking and “regulations will guide what is allowable to create a safe, legally compliant and fair open finance economy,” Smith said.
Follow coverage of Bank Automation Summit 2025 at bankautomationnews.com.
