Sunrise Banks Highlights Successful Fintech Partnership Model
On April 10, 2019, Sunrise Banks published an account of its collaborative approach to fintech partnerships, specifically highlighting its work with TrueConnect and Self Lender (now Self Financial). In these arrangements, Sunrise Banks provides the regulated banking infrastructure—including deposit accounts, lending licenses, and compliance frameworks—while the fintech partners contribute technology platforms and consumer-facing user experiences. TrueConnect offers employer-based emergency loan programs, and Self Lender provides credit-building products, both powered by Sunrise's banking charter.
The bank positioned these partnerships as mutually beneficial, with fintechs gaining access to banking capabilities they would otherwise need years to build, while the bank reaches new customer segments and revenue streams. No specific financial terms were disclosed. Sunrise Banks' model is a clear early example of what the industry now broadly calls Banking-as-a-Service, where community banks act as sponsor banks for fintech programs.
The disclosure helped set a template for how smaller banks could compete by becoming infrastructure partners to fast-growing fintech companies.
- Community banks articulating the sponsor bank model publicly helped legitimize BaaS as a growth strategy
- Early BaaS partnerships like these laid the groundwork for the rapid scaling of embedded finance in subsequent years