January 18, 2022 – BankSmart and engage fi, two of the nation’s leading consulting firms for banks and credit unions, announced that they have entered into a Collaboration Agreement to leverage the strengths of both organizations for overall enhancement of services to the financial services community. BankSmart and engage fi plan to market their respective services jointly to the segment of financial institutions that can benefit from the combined value of their offerings, namely community banks and credit unions. The organizations will use this relationship as an opportunity to strengthen and expand their current offerings to existing and new clients as well as collaborate on industry best practices for the ultimate success of their clients with technology and payments strategies, improved efficiency and reduced operating expenses.
The BankSmart team, based in Clearwater, Florida, has provided consulting services for over 20 years through its focus on providing community banks with valuable products and services that drive financial and business growth effectively and efficiently. Through its related entity, CUSmart, it also provides similar value add consulting services to the credit union industry. BankSmart provides consulting services specializing in data processing vendor evaluation, new/renewal contract negotiation, de novo formation, payment card/interchange optimization services, and unique “SmartKit” services to effectively self-manage merger, branch opening, and data processing conversion projects.
Engage fi, formerly CU Engage, based in Tampa, Florida, is a consulting firm dedicated to being strategic advisors for the financial services industry on key vendor decisions that impact their services, growth, and relevance. Engage fi assists financial institutions with their decisions related to payments, digital offerings, and technology. Their consulting services include providing vendor evaluations and contract negotiations, conversion and implementation services, assessments of platforms including processing, technology, digital, payments, and analytics strategy, as well as performing key vendor invoice analysis against contracted items.
Jennifer Addabbo, CEO and Co-Founder of engage fi commented “We are excited to collaborate with Jim and his team of experts at BankSmart and look forward to continuing to guide our mutual clients through their critical vendor evaluation process and educating our clients as to the M&A and Branch Opening offerings that BankSmart & CUSmart provide, especially in a very active acquisition market.”
Jim Wilkson, President of BankSmart commented “We have admired Jenn, James and the engage fi team for many years as a highly respected source of counsel for the financial institution community across the country. Their suite of services has proven its value to clients and will be a strong supplement to our BankSmart offerings as we work together for the benefit of the financial services industry.”
This collaborative and strategic relationship exemplifies both BankSmart and engage fi’s continued and shared goal of improving the quality of consulting to financial institutions across the country. BankSmart and engage fi jointly welcome the opportunity to provide additional information and discuss how they can be of service.
Contact:
Jim Wilkson, President and Co-Founder BankSmart
JWilkson@BankSmart.com
(813) 774-8000 https://www.banksmart.com
Jennifer Addabbo, CEO and Co- Founder
engage fi Jenn.addabbo@engagefi.com (813) 362-4622 https://www.engagefi.com