Evolve Bank & Trust: Government Shutdown Guidance

In times of a government shutdown, Evolve Bank & Trust is committed to ensuring your and your customer's financial well-being. We understand that the impending government shutdown has raised concerns and uncertainties for businesses across sectors.

In these challenging times, we are committed to providing you with the necessary support and guidelines to navigate the complications that may arise. Below is comprehensive guidance that outlines best practices for fintech companies utilizing our Open Banking services during a government shutdown.

Above all, we stress providing consistent communication to your customers.

While most of our customers should not be affected, we recognize that some may be adversely impacted by the government shutdown. Evolve solutions involving Wire or ACH should not be adversely affected. However, you may experience increased queries regarding payments, specifically for credit programs.

Payment Processing

Monitor your payment processing pipelines and confirm that they're operational, as government-sponsored clearing houses may be affected.

For Evolve, no solutions involving Wire or ACH should be adversely affected.

Regulatory Compliance

Monitor Regulatory Announcements

During a shutdown, regulatory bodies may operate on limited capacity. Keep abreast of announcements and directives from agencies that oversee fintech and financial services, such as the Federal Reserve, CFPB, and the OCC.

Compliance Queries

Submit any compliance queries well in advance, as there may be delays in government responses.

Financial Operations

Transaction Verification

Ensure you have backup procedures in place for validating customer data, especially if you rely on government databases, which might be temporarily unavailable.

Data and Privacy

Data Storage and Backups

Ensure that your data storage solutions are up to date and functioning as expected. Any data exchange relying on government infrastructures may be delayed.

Data Privacy

Follow existing protocols rigorously, as there may be delays in approval for new data sharing permissions from regulatory bodies.

Customer Support & Communication

Pre-emptive Customer Communication

Inform your customers proactively about any anticipated disruptions, and what steps are being taken to mitigate them.

Pre-emptive Internal Communciation

Ensure all staff are briefed and prepared for operational changes due to the shutdown.

Regular Updates

Communicate transparently with your stakeholders and customers. Regularly update them through your typical methods of communication.

Support Channels

Maintain and potentially increase coverage of your customer support channels as there could be increased query volumes.

Risk Mitigation

Capital Reserves

Maintain a sufficient level of capital reserves to weather any potential disruptions in payment settlements or delays in receivables.

Crisis Team

Formulate a crisis management team to make quick decisions.

Additional Resources

We are continuously monitoring the situation and will update this guidance as new information becomes available.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding during these challenging times. Our primary goal is to support you, and we are committed to minimizing any potential disruption to the best of our ability.

For more information, please contact your dedicated account management team.