Pathward N.A., a national bank focused on financial access, and the Georgia Tech Financial Services Innovation Lab, housed in the Scheller College of Business, announced a three-year partnership. Starting this fall semester, Pathward and the university will collaborate to acquire data and analysis of the financial services landscape with an aim of creating greater financial access for consumers and businesses.

“Georgia Tech is a highly respected university, and we are thrilled to team up with its Financial Services Innovation Lab to advance financial inclusion and access,” said Pathward President Anthony Sharett. “Pathward’s trusted platform, that includes its technology capabilities, is at the center of money movement and embedded finance through co-creation. I’m optimistic that the partnership will inform our innovation and am excited about the insights we’ll gain from this partnership.”

Georgia Tech’s Financial Services Innovation Lab is a hub for finance education, research and industry in the Southeast U.S. The lab acts as a platform to connect and bring together faculty and students across Georgia Tech with the financial services industry and fintech entrepreneurs.

“We are grateful for this commitment from Pathward and are thrilled to collaborate with a sponsor bank that brings real-world experience and expertise to our Lab,” said Dr. Sudheer Chava, Alton M. Costley Chair and Professor of Finance at the Scheller College of Business, who leads the Financial Services Innovation Lab. “We have a bright group of B.S., M.S. in Quantitative and Computational Finance, MBA and Ph.D. students who are ready to get started.”

As a bank with many solutions and scalable infrastructure, Pathward offers decades of experience and deep expertise across a range of solutions including issuing, merchant acquiring and digital payments sponsorship, as well as financial institution, credit and professional tax solutions. The bank also offers flexible working capital, equipment and structured finance solutions to businesses.