Spearheading partnerships at mission-driven lender Sunrise

Tyler Seydel, Chief Fintech Officer for Sunrise Banks, explains how the mission-driven bank is able to keep lending products affordable for low-to-middle-income earners. Unlike mainstream financial institutions, Sunrise is driven by the social impact it has within the wider community more than profit margins. It is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), a certified B Corporation, and a social enterprise.

The fintech division at Sunrise Banks – which is based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota – is focused on partnerships and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs who have conceived a way to lift up communities or make consumers’ lives better. The bank runs the full gamut of collaboration – from pairing with fintechs who already have a product in the market and simply want another issuing or sponsoring institution, to co-creating from scratch with like-minded innovators and even conceiving ideas and bringing them to market itself.

“When you have a dream and you have an ambition, what you have there is an end-destination,” Seydel says. “All of the excitement and some of the talent is in that journey. We're here to walk you through that journey, co-create with you and bring that product, that idea to market.”