Incremental investment is often wise when an institution pioneers a new division. But it also requires a well-oiled process that selects likely-to-succeed partners when the bank does move forward with a company. Why? Because initial conversations are frequent, partnerships are rare.
Botton line: Academy Bank maintains a defined target partner profile that considers leadership experience, recurring revenue, financial maturity, and compliance readiness. “We are super selective,” Robinson says. “We know we can have a successful fintech practice, but we can’t sign up everybody.”
That selectivity became sharper as the industry environment changed in late 2023 and early 2024 as regulatory actions reshaped the sponsor banking landscape. Onboarding a startup also requires nearly the same internal effort as onboarding a more mature fintech.
“If the work effort is the same,” he says, “we might as well focus on a business that we truly believe in.”
Key Question: Which Partners Can a Bank Believe In?
Academy’s first fintech partnership with Atlas Financial in 2024 had all the right metrics. Credit cards are among the most common financial products in the United States, yet a large portion of the population struggles to access them. Of the approximately 150 million people who apply for credit cards each year, about 60% (roughly 90 million people) are declined, according to the bank’s website.
Atlas addressed this lending opportunity by approving borrowers with limited or poor credit histories for small, initial credit lines. The line increases up to $500 in unsecured credit over time based on usage and behavior. The product also allows users to make a deposit into a secured deposit account for access to a higher, partially secured limit.
After partnering with Academy Bank, Atlas nearly tripled its subscriber base during the year leading up to May 2025 because it could serve rising demand from consumers and bring new users into the product effectively at scale.
These are compelling results in hindsight, but how did Academy Bank know they could believe in Atlas at the outset?
Atlas establishes creditworthiness using a subscription-based model. That structure immediately raised a compliance question: How does a product marketed as “0% interest” square with a monthly subscription fee? It’s this type of issue that regulators are quick to scrutinize, and that can derail embedded programs.
Academy’s leadership addressed it directly in early conversations. The response from Atlas CEO Zain Salim stood out. “He didn’t have a great answer,” Robinson recalled. “He had a truthful answer.”
Salim acknowledged the issue, explained how the company was thinking about value delivery, and showed a willingness to engage transparently around regulatory risk. For Academy Bank, that mattered more than a polished explanation; it sought partners who would transparently address challenges honestly and early.
Seek Out Partners, Not Vendors
One of the other clear lines Academy draws concerns fintech revenue models.
Robinson is blunt: fintechs whose only source of revenue is scraping yield from deposits or relying solely on interchange are difficult partners. The reason is structural. Yield-based models are rate-dependent, and when rates fall, the economics collapse.
“If and when rates go down,” Robinson says, “there’s no yield to be scraped. What’s the likelihood of that fintech business enduring?”
Academy also resists competing on price for deposits. Paying up for deposits may produce short-term growth, but it rarely produces durable partnerships. “As our COO likes to say, If you lead on price, you’re going to lose on price,” Robinson observes.
Bottom lineSustainable sponsor banking requires fintechs to create real value for customers who are willing to pay for it, rather than shifting all economics onto the bank.
How to Navigate Turbulent Times in BaaS
Despite the pullback by some institutions, Academy has not retreated from sponsor banking. If anything, recent industry disruptions have reinforced its approach.
The lesson, Robinson says, is not to stop engaging, but to engage with more discipline: incremental growth, engaged leadership, strong governance, and partners whose economics and culture can withstand scrutiny.
What is Academy Bank looking for now?
Robinson says potential partners should be prepared to explain their model clearly, especially in the details that concern safety and soundness. Candid conversation and feedback have proven fruitful ground for safe, sound, and compliant growth.