Evolve Bank & Trust, formerly First State Bank,[4] is an American bank headquartered in West Memphis, Arkansas. It is best known since 2010 for partnering with fintech companies to offer banking services to their customers.[3] Evolve has been recognized multiple times as an Inc. 5000 company[5] and has also received several honors from Top Workplace USA.[6]

Evolve Bank & Trust
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryFinancial services
PredecessorFirst State Bank[1]
FoundedJune 5, 1925; 99 years ago (1925-06-05)[1]
Headquarters,
Number of locations
26[1]
Key people
W. Scott Stafford (CEO)[2]
ProductsEvolve Open Banking[2]
ParentEvolve Bancorp Inc.[3]
Websitewww.getevolved.com

In 2024, Evolve Bank faced scrutiny due to freezing funds of certain fintech customers, including Yotta and Juno, which restricted access to over $100 million held in customer accounts. This incident attracted public attention as many impacted customers eventually received only minimal fund access, leading to widespread frustration and media coverage.[7]

Evolve's Chief Marketing & Communications Officer resigned in October 2024, citing his "integrity and well-being" as a cause. [8]

History

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Early years

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Founded in Parkin in 1925 as First State Bank,[9] the bank provided loans to local farmers in Cross County, Arkansas. In 1934, it became a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.[4]

2005-present

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In 2005, First State Bank was renamed to Evolve Bank & Trust[4] after a group led by Chairman Scot Lenoir acquired it. The bank then relocated its banking charter to West Memphis.[9]

In 2017, Evolve established its Open Banking division to provide Banking-as-a-Service.[9] Evolve serves as the partner bank for fintech companies like Branch, Marqeta,[10] Mercury,[11] and Stripe.[12] Evolve Open Banking also provides card services offerings, allowing companies to white-label Mastercard, Visa, and American Express cards.[13]

In 2022, Evolve was ranked #1 in trust departments in Arkansas, surpassing Simmons Bank, according to Arkansas Business.[14]

In June 2024, the Federal Reserve Board issued an enforcement action against the bank for deficiencies in their anti–money laundering, risk management, and consumer compliance programs.[15][16]

Also, in June 2024, Evolve announced it was the victim of a data breach by the cybercrime group LockBit.[17][3][18] Some of its corporate fintech clients, including Affirm,[19] Mercury[20] and Wise[21][22] also announced their customers were affected by the breach.[23]

Accolades & honors

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Evolve Open Banking ranked as a Nacha Top 50 Originator in both 2022[24] and 2023.[25] Additionally, Evolve was recognized as the Most Innovative Bank of 2023 by the Tearsheet Awards.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Evolve Bank & Trust". Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Archived from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  2. ^ a b "Investor Kit 2024" (PDF). Evolve Bank & Trust.
  3. ^ a b c Xie, Teresa; Gorrivan, Charles (2024-06-26). "Evolve Bank & Trust Confirms Data Was Stolen in Cyber Attack". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2024-06-26. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  4. ^ a b c Rooney, Kate (2019-02-15). "Small banks you've never heard of are quietly enabling the tech takeover of the financial industry". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  5. ^ "Evolve Bank & Trust". Inc. 5000. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  6. ^ "Working at Evolve Bank & Trust". Top Workplaces. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  7. ^ "Evolve offers Yotta, Juno customers 'pennies' after freeze". Banking Dive. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  8. ^ "Yotta Payment Processing Updates". Yotta Payment Processing Updates. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  9. ^ a b c Massey, Kyle (2022-09-25). "Tech Work Fuels Huge Growth at Evolve Bank & Trust of West Memphis". Arkansas Business — Business News, Real Estate, Law, Construction. Archived from the original on 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  10. ^ "Marqeta Partners With Evolve Bank & Trust on Expanded Program Management Capabilities". PYMNTS.com. 2022-05-19. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  11. ^ Kauflin, Jeff. "Silicon Valley Bank Collapse Produces An Early Winner: Digital Banks". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  12. ^ Rudegeair, Peter (2020-12-03). "Stripe to Offer Banking Services in Deal With Goldman Sachs, Citigroup". THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Archived from the original on 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  13. ^ "Evolve Bank & Trust Compares Banking-as-a-Service to Open Banking". DownBeach. 2024-03-25. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  14. ^ Moritz, Gwen (2022-10-23). "Evolve Overtakes Simmons in Trust Assets". Arkansas Business — Business News, Real Estate, Law, Construction. Archived from the original on 2024-10-19. Retrieved 2024-10-20. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2024-09-25 suggested (help)
  15. ^ "Federal Reserve Board issues an enforcement action against Evolve Bancorp, Inc. and Evolve Bank & Trust for deficiencies in the bank's anti-money laundering, risk management, and consumer compliance programs" (Press release). Federal Reserve. 2024-07-14. Archived from the original on 2024-07-26. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  16. ^ Lang, Hannah; Schroeder, Pete (2024-07-17). "Fed penalizes Evolve Bank for failing to manage fintech partnership risk". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  17. ^ "Arkansas-based Evolve Bank confirms cyber attack and data breach". Reuters. June 27, 2024. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  18. ^ "Cybersecurity Incident". Evolve Bank & Trust. Archived from the original on 2024-08-02. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  19. ^ @Affirm (2024-06-27). "As an Affirm Card user, we wanted to alert you of a recent cybersecurity incident at Evolve Bank and Trust, an issuing partner on the Affirm Card (not an originating bank partner for Affirm loans)" (Tweet). Retrieved 2024-08-03 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ "Data breach at Evolve Bank & Trust". Mercury. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  21. ^ Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (2024-07-01). "Fintech company Wise says some customers affected by Evolve Bank data breach". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2024-08-03. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  22. ^ "Data breach at Evolve Bank & Trust in the US". Wise. 2024-06-28. Archived from the original on 2024-08-03. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  23. ^ Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo; Azevedo, Mary Ann (2024-06-27). "Startups scramble to assess fallout from Evolve Bank data breach". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  24. ^ "Nacha Releases Top 50 Financial Institution ACH Originators and Receivers for 2022 | Nacha". www.nacha.org. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  25. ^ "Nacha Unveils Top 50 ACH Originating and Receiving Financial Institutions for 2023 | Nacha". www.nacha.org. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  26. ^ "Announcing the winners of The Big Bank Theory Awards 2023". Tearsheet. 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2024-10-20.