First American Bank and Trust has selected Jack Henry's technology solutions to modernise operations and digital banking across Southeast Louisiana.
The move follows the bank's assessment that current infrastructure could not adequately support its growth ambitions or operational resilience requirements in a region vulnerable to severe weather disruption.
In addition, the bank will implement Jack Henry's suite of services, including its Banno Digital Platform for customer-facing digital banking and Tap2Local, a payments and accounting solution aimed at small business clients. The core processing platform upgrade will enable the bank to access Jack Henry's open ecosystem, which integrates with more than 1,000 third-party fintech providers.
According to Ronnie Falgoust, President and Chief Executive of First American Bank and Trust, the decision reflected the vendor's reputation for ongoing product development and customer support. Falgoust noted that the bank sought a provider capable of enabling organic growth, particularly within its small business segment, without compromising its community banking identity.
Technology and market positioning
The Banno Digital Platform provides customers with financial visibility tools, including credit scoring and spending analytics. Tap2Local supplies small business customers with an integrated payment acceptance and accounting interface, addressing a common friction point for community banks seeking to compete for small business deposits and transaction services.
Jack Henry's open architecture approach represents a shift in vendor strategy within community banking. Rather than enforcing proprietary integrations, the company permits banks to connect directly with external fintech providers through standardised application programming interfaces. This model addresses regulatory expectations around competition and interoperability while providing banks with flexibility to customise their technology stack.
For First American Bank and Trust, the cloud migration addresses both immediate operational needs and medium-term growth constraints. At the same time, the move also signals the bank's commitment to competing for digital-native customers and small business accounts, segments where technology capability increasingly influences customer acquisition and retention.
Jonathan Baltzell, President of Bank Solutions at Jack Henry, characterised the engagement as enabling the bank to scale its operations and serve customers more effectively. The implementation timeline and specific go-live date were not disclosed.
