Community Banks fund over half of the small businesses in the US. They are an essential and often overlooked part of the economy. Tina Giorgio is the President and CEO at ICBA Bancard. Tina has been in this role for a little under 2 years, but she has spent the last 30 years in community banking. “Community Bankers, at our core, are about serving our local community.  There’s a lot of communities in the United States who would not be properly served if it wasn’t for their local community bank.” Many community banks simply can’t compete with larger entities.  They need representation, especially in the evolving world of payments.  So Tina and her team are advocates for these banks. They have specifically been working in the area of merchant funded rewards.  ICBA Bancard provides benefits through these reward programs to both merchants and their customers.  Merchants see a higher number of transactions by implementing these programs, and merchants get to support both national and local business while getting rewarded. It’s a win for everyone. Tina joined us for this episode of the Payments Innovation Podcast to talk about community banking, merchant funded reward programs, and overcoming challenges in her role.