Celero Launches BankMax Program to Empower Community Banks With Fintech

Celero Commerce announced its BankMax program in November 2024, designed specifically to help community banks grow deposits and generate new fee-based revenue through fintech payment partnerships. The program provides a white-label framework where community banks can offer their business customers merchant payment services, point-of-sale systems, and analytics tools under a co-branded arrangement. Banks earn residual income from merchant referrals processed through the Celero platform.

The program addresses a key challenge for smaller banks: competing with larger institutions and fintechs on payment technology without major capital investment. Celero contributes the payment processing infrastructure and merchant tools, while banks provide the customer relationships and regulatory framework. The initiative reflects the broader trend of BaaS-adjacent models tailored to community banking.

No specific financial terms were disclosed. BankMax positions Celero as a fintech partner focused on the underserved community bank segment.