How a $4B+ mutual bank partnered with Alkami to improve reliability, strengthen fraud prevention, and build a more connected digital sales and service experience
Gate City Bank’s Mission
To provide a welcoming atmosphere and commitment to making the lives of customers and team members better by investing in them and their communities, For a Better Way of Life.®
Gate City Bank recognized the opportunity cost of standing still with its incumbent digital banking platform, which was limiting the bank’s ability to move at the pace its customers and employees needed. The bank’s previous platform had become difficult to maintain, slow to evolve, and increasingly burdensome for internal teams. Outages, delayed releases, heavy customization, and limited self-serve configurability created operational drag and made it harder for Gate City Bank to deliver the modern, intuitive experience customers expected.
"My team would go through a digital banking conversion again in a heartbeat if it meant we would be where we are today with Alkami."
— Jessica Ebeling, EVP/Chief Digital and Payment Officer at Gate City Bank
Choosing a partner, not just a platform
Gate City Bank was especially focused on finding a partner that cared about people, approached work with integrity, and was willing to tackle complex challenges. Alkami stood out because of the way its teams engaged during the evaluation process, including their willingness to provide credible challenge and guidance, rather than simply agreeing with every request made by the bank.
"I needed someone to come back and say, ‘We disagree; we would recommend this way,’ and handle it respectfully. That allowed us to lean on perspective and digital best practices."
— Jessica Ebeling, EVP/Chief Digital and Payment Officer at Gate City Bank
That consultative approach helped Gate City Bank see Alkami not only as a technology provider, but as a strategic partner capable of helping the bank modernize with purpose. During the transition, the bank leaned on Alkami’s best practices and built alignment across the organization through consistent communication. Because a digital banking conversion is customer-facing, Gate City Bank kept stakeholders informed from the board to the teller line. Monthly board memos, transparent updates, and cross-functional visibility helped teams understand what was happening, why decisions were being made, and what success would require.
See how Gate City Bank is driving measurable results across their organization and deepening customer relationships using Alkami’s Platform.
