ASAPP Financial Technology enters the US Market
ASAPP Financial Technology (ASAPP) is excited to announce that the company will be expanding into the United States in 2024. After a detailed review of various strategic growth options, set against the organization’s enterprise risk management framework, the ASAPP Board of Directors decided in mid-January that the organization’s objectives could best be met through an expansion into the US.
Over the past month-and-a-half, the ASAPP Leadership Team has engaged BDC Advisory Services and has undertaken various market intelligence activities. Operations in the United States will be delivered through a wholly owned subsidiary, ASAPP Financial Technology Inc. (a Michigan corporation) and branding for the international version of the platform will be known as bank.io OXP™. ASAPP’s US office is based in Petoskey, Michigan, a short drive from Sault Ste. Marie.
Over the course of the next two months, ASAPP’s expects to finalize its product-market-fit strategy and initial feature set for the bank.io OXP™ platform. Current expectations are that it will focus heavily on ASAPP OXP® Engagement feature sets and digital Origination components. The goal is to have version 1.0 of the bank.io OXP™ platform ready for implementation with two strategic testing and deployment partners by late Fall 2024. ASAPP is already leveraging multiple partners including US-based regulatory legal advisors, development, and product planning support to create a solution that exceeds Client-Partner needs. Feedback is also being leveraged from existing Client-Partners, some of whom, graciously helped through participation in short interviews with the BDC Advisory Services team. Steve Sauve, ASAPP Financial Technology’s Chief Product Officer noted: “It’s very exciting to have the opportunity to envision the bank.io OXP™ platform from the ground-up, which will allow us to successfully enter the US market and also leverage these new roadmap features for existing Client-Partners on the ASAPP OXP® platform.”
In terms of market positioning, the ASAPP Financial Technology mission will remain constant: To partner with financial institutions, as they compete against Fintech direct-to-consumer solutions, with the most complete omnichannel customer experience platform for the financial services industry. In the United States, ASAPP will support both the credit union and community bank communities with the bank.io OXP™ platform.
The expansion of the ASAPP team over the past 3 months, at the Leadership Team, management, and team member levels, has been undertaken to help prepare for this strategic growth plan. A comprehensive talent acquisition plan has also been developed that will include additional new team members joining ASAPP in Canada and the US over the course of the next 2 years. Greystone Partners has been engaged and is supporting talent acquisition recruitment.
This strategic growth path was developed both as a result of the success ASAPP has achieved over the past nine years, but also because the ASAPP team understands the importance of a long-term vision for all our stakeholders. JR Pierman, ASAPP Financial Technology’s President and CEO, noted: “While we see significant growth potential for ASAPP, in Canada, over the next 5 years, as we look at the Canadian credit union system beyond that time horizon, we believe there may be challenges resulting from industry consolidation. Given the level of investment we make annually into the Platform roadmap, and our goal to continue to do that into the future, we believe it’s critical not just for our business and our team members, but equally for our ASAPP OXP Client-Partner community, to have a risk-weighted strategic growth plan. After careful consideration, our Board felt that expansion to support US-based credit unions and community banks made the most sense in order to grow the business and support future roadmap development of the Platform, both in Canada and the United States.”
Like in Canada, ASAPP Financial Technology expects to build and develop strong partnerships with various strategic partners and influential organizations. Beginning tomorrow, Tony Dunham, ASAPP Financial Technology’s Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer, and JR Pierman, will be hitting the road for another epic adventure, participating in 3 US conferences, in 3 cities, across 15 days. ASAPP will be a sponsor at the CUNA (now America’s Credit Unions) Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C., and at the NAFCU (also now America’s Credit Unions) Strategic Growth Conference in Savannah, Georgia. The trip will wrap-up with participation in the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) Live conference and tradeshow in Orlando, Florida. “We’re looking forward to connecting with credit union, community bank, and strategic partner thought leaders at the three conferences over the next two weeks. We believe our approach to delivering a complete omnichannel platform backed by a passionate, energized, and committed team will resonate in the United States like it has in Canada. As always, we plan to share some updates and pics from the road via Linked-In, so stay tuned”, commented, Tony Dunham.
ASAPP appreciates the support of our stakeholders, including current Client-Partners, strategic partners, team members, shareholders, and communities we live and work in as we undertake this next important step in our evolution.
About ASAPP Financial Technology
ASAPP Financial Technology delivers Customer Experience Software and Platform Strategy Solutions that create sustainable competitive advantages for regulated financial service providers as they compete against direct-to-consumer fintech solutions. ASAPP OXP® is Canada’s most complete omnichannel experience platform for the financial services industry. The ASAPP OXP Client-Partner Community is comprised of 50 credit unions, across 11 provinces, that manage over $40B of assets and support over 900,000 members. In the United States, the bank.io OXP™ platform is being developed to support credit unions and community banks who wish to originate and engage with customers effectively and efficiently through a single omnichannel solution.