Emprise Bank, the Wichita, Kansas lender with more than $2.8 billion in assets, said on 15 October 2026 that it has formed a design partnership with Maximum, a start-up building an AI-native core banking platform, to replace its core system, and expects the move to let it grow its customer count tenfold within 24 months. Fintechbits notes that under the Emprise Bank Maximum deal, a bank with about $2.8 billion in assets and roughly 450 employees is targeting ten times its customer count within 24 months on a core platform the release describes as a design partnership, with only its first traffic due by the end of 2026. Maximum closed a $30 million seed round late in 2025, according to the Emprise release on BusinessWire.

What the Emprise Bank Maximum partnership changes

Emprise is replacing its core, the system of record that holds accounts, balances and transactions. Maximum’s pitch is an operating system where core functions stay deterministic, secure and auditable, while the work around them is handled by AI agents working within defined permissions. The aim is to let the bank add products and automate operations without waiting on a legacy vendor’s roadmap.

The Emprise Bank Maximum migration is phased. Emprise expects to move its first traffic onto the platform by the end of 2026, with existing systems running alongside the new one throughout the transition. Matt Michaelis, chairman and chief executive of Emprise, said the bank wants “the strategic and operational freedom to be able to deliver what’s best” for customers “instead of waiting on someone else’s roadmap.”

Who is behind Maximum

Maximum is new but its founder is not. Randy Fernando previously founded Vault, acquired by Acorns in 2017, and Power, acquired by Marqeta in 2023. The release says Maximum closed a $30 million seed round late in 2025, and quotes Caitlin Bolnick Rellas, a general partner at CRV, which backs the company.

The release calls the Emprise Bank Maximum arrangement a “design partnership,” and says Maximum “will deliver the first AI-native operating system purpose-built for traditional banks.” Both phrases signal that the product is being built with Emprise, not installed off the shelf.

Fintechbits analysis

Why the Emprise Bank Maximum timeline is the real risk

The Emprise Bank Maximum deal is a bold bet, and most of the risk sits in the timeline. Core conversions are among the riskiest projects a bank can take on, because a failure touches every account. Most banks switch cores only every decade or two, and almost always to mature vendors. Emprise is choosing a start-up with a $30 million seed round and a product still in design.

The Emprise Bank Maximum tenfold customer target makes sense only alongside Emprise’s embedded banking business. A Kansas branch network does not grow ten times in two years. Embedded partners, the fintechs and platforms that offer accounts through a sponsor bank, can, and they need a core that opens accounts and books transactions programmatically. Fintechbits has followed how fintechs are going after their own charters and how vendors are moving risk tools inside the core. A sponsor bank with a modern core is better placed to keep its fintech partners.

The release leaves out the price, the core being replaced, regulatory sign-off and what happens if Maximum misses milestones. For a bank whose growth plan depends on embedded partners, the Emprise Bank Maximum bet is reasonable, and running both systems in parallel is the right safeguard. Readers should treat the tenfold target as something Emprise hopes for rather than expects.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Emprise Bank Maximum partnership?

Emprise Bank, a Wichita lender with more than $2.8 billion in assets, is replacing its core banking system with Maximum’s AI-native platform under a design partnership. The first traffic is expected to move by the end of 2026.

Who founded Maximum?

Randy Fernando founded Maximum. He previously founded Vault, sold to Acorns in 2017, and Power, sold to Marqeta in 2023. Maximum closed a $30 million seed round late in 2025.

How realistic is the Emprise Bank Maximum growth target?

Fintechbits notes that Emprise, with about 450 employees, is targeting ten times its customer count within 24 months on a platform still being built, with only first traffic due by the end of 2026. The target likely depends on its embedded banking partners.

What to Watch Next

The first Emprise Bank Maximum milestone is whether Emprise moves live traffic onto Maximum by the end of 2026 as planned. The second is whether Maximum signs a second bank, which would show the platform is more than a single-client build. Emprise’s own updates at emprisebank.com will show whether embedded partner growth is driving the customer target.