MainStreet Bank Launches Avenu BaaS Platform for Fintech Partners
MainStreet Bank, a $1.7 billion community bank, officially unveiled its Avenu™ platform on October 25, 2021, designed to serve as a Banking-as-a-Service offering for fintech companies. The Avenu platform enables fintech partners to accept deposits and facilitate payments through MainStreet Bank's charter and regulatory infrastructure. MainStreet Bank retains responsibility for managing compliance obligations, providing fintechs with the banking rails they need without requiring their own charter.
The launch represents MainStreet Bank's strategic move into the BaaS sponsor bank space, an area that was seeing significant growth in 2021. The platform targets fintechs seeking a regulated banking partner for embedded deposit and payment products. Financial details about expected revenue or initial partners were not disclosed in the announcement.
The move reflects a broader trend of community and mid-size banks leveraging their charters to generate fee income from fintech partnerships.
- Community banks are increasingly entering the BaaS sponsor bank market to generate fee-based revenue
- Growing supply of BaaS sponsor banks gives fintechs more options but raises regulatory scrutiny questions