SUNRISE BANKS

and they have an ITIN, there's nowhere else in the Twin Cities to go,” Seydel says. “You're coming to Sunrise.”

The challenges of today's economy

With much of the current debate about fintechs geared towards profitability, Tyler Seydel believes that many of the integration partners they work with will switch from customer acquisition to customer retention. Instead of trying to recruit new users –and paying handsomely for the privilege – fintechs will instead seek to drive brand loyalty from the regular users they already have in their database. Incentivising them to use your product more, or spend more when they're on your platform, can be an incredibly powerful way of remaining resilient through a recession.

Banks will also have to adapt. When economic prospects worsen, it becomes more likely that governments will step in and provide assistance programmes for the hardest-hit consumers. This was the case in many countries, including the US, during the

COVID-19 pandemic. “What we are doing as an institution is aligning ourselves more with government aid disbursements,” Seydel explains when asked how Sunrise is adapting to the bigger picture.

And as consumers feel the squeeze, their needs are going to change – and that is going to have to be reflected in the products that banks and lenders offer. A combination of recessionary economic forces, inflation, and bleaker job prospects mean that customers will require more small-dollar credit to tie them over between paychecks or welfare checks. It's also likely that, while their month-to-month requirements might remain low, some customers will require a greater frequency of credit – perhaps a few times a year, or at key holidays when funds are tight. Sunrise Banks' fair and low-interest model means it's ideally placed to assist customers in those circumstances without deepening customers' debt position.

“We are probably going to see a situation where some customers will need to cycle through some debt. They're taking out