Introducing Mascoma Technologies - From Legacy Cores to Agile Banking Platforms with Guests Raphael Reznek and Ingrid Hebert
Wrestling Payments Podcast: Season 3 - Episode 14
In this episode of Wrestling Payments, Joe Casali from NEACH sits down with Raphael Reznek and Ingrid Hebert from Mascoma Bank and Mascoma Technologies to explore how a community bank built its fintech platform from the inside out.
Raphael shares why traditional vendors and legacy cores couldn't meet their needs—and how they decided to build around them instead. He explains how Mascoma's in-house platform now runs multiple cores in parallel and gives real-time access to customer data, helping the bank move faster and stay in control.
Ingrid discusses the cultural shift that came with building new tech in-house. From pivoting strategies to managing change, she explains how the team used Agile methods, redefined internal processes, and kept stakeholders aligned. For small institutions looking to innovate, this episode breaks down what it really takes to modernize banking without waiting for the big players to move first.
Guest-at-a-Glance
💡 Name: Raphael Reznek
💡 What he does: CTO
💡 Company: Mascoma Bank and Mascoma Technologies
💡 Noteworthy: Leads core banking innovation, merging compliance with modern infrastructure
💡 Where to find him: LinkedIn
💡 Name: Ingrid Hebert
💡 What she does: Director of Service Delivery and Implementation
💡 Company: Mascoma Technologies
💡 Noteworthy: Drives internal platform builds that align tech with banking operations
💡 Where to find her: LinkedIn
Key Insights
Why Community Banks Need More Than Just Modern Tech
Modern tools alone won't fix banking's biggest challenges, especially for small institutions. The team at Mascoma found that the real issue wasn't just outdated technology, but the inability to control how systems connected, processed data, and supported customer experience. Rather than ripping out legacy cores, they built a platform that could run in parallel, giving them real-time access, flexibility, and decision-making power. By creating a "data hub" that integrates with old and new systems, they avoided the risks of a total rebuild while still gaining modern capabilities. This insight is powerful for any bank navigating digital transformation: it's not about choosing between old and new. It's about gaining control over how systems work together—so the bank can evolve on its terms, not the vendor's.
The Hidden Power of Internal Feedback Loops
One of Mascoma's most valuable innovations wasn't technical—it was cultural. Rather than building technology in a vacuum, their team embedded compliance, risk, retail, and operations into every stage of development. This built-in feedback loop led to faster pivots, stronger buy-in, and tools that worked for the people using them. When malformed data flooded their new exception queue, for example, operations weren't frustrated—they were relieved. It was the first time they could see and fix the problems in real time. The lesson: successful innovation in banking doesn't just come from coding faster. It comes from building systems with—and for—the people who run them. Community banks that prioritize cross-functional collaboration can unlock better outcomes and longer-term stability.
Agile Isn't Just for Tech Teams—It's for Banks Too
Adopting Agile wasn't just a process change but a mindset shift. Mascoma replaced traditional waterfall thinking with smaller, iterative development cycles, helping teams learn faster and reduce risk. But making Agile work in a banking context meant rebranding it entirely. They swapped "sprints" for "hikes" and used analogies like scooters turning into cars to explain incremental delivery. This cultural translation helped non-technical teams embrace change, stay involved, and adapt as the platform evolved. The insight is clear for other banks: innovation doesn't just depend on hiring developers. It depends on creating a culture where everyone, from marketing to compliance, can move, adapt, and collaborate toward a shared goal. Agile isn't just a tool. It's how modern banks learn and grow.
Episode Highlights
Why Building In-House Became the Only Option - Timestamp: [00:05:03]
The conversation opens with how Mascoma began its six-year journey toward building its own platform. Raphael and Ingrid explain how vendor solutions often failed to align with the bank's needs and regulatory realities. After multiple pivots and dead ends, the bank recognized that none of the existing tools could offer the level of control, flexibility, and speed needed. That realization pushed them toward building from within. The effort wasn't driven by innovation for innovation's sake—it was about gaining operational control without compromise. This section lays out the "why" behind Mascoma's strategy, making it clear that sometimes the only way forward is to stop compromising and start creating.
Ingrid Hebert: "We thought, maybe we can partner with someone else to build this. So we looked at potential platforms that claimed they could do what we were looking for. But two years down the road, we realized it wasn't exactly what we needed. So we readjusted, we pivoted, and asked ourselves, can we build this internally? If what we wanted isn't out there yet, then we needed to build it ourselves."
How "Pivot Tuesdays" Became a Way of Life - Timestamp: [00:14:55]
Mascoma's transformation journey wasn't a straight line. Raphael and Ingrid share how the team constantly reevaluated priorities, shifting their original focus on card processing to building a centralized integration point for all systems. These pivots weren't failures—they were recalibrations. By maintaining flexibility and adjusting based on what they learned along the way, Mascoma created a more comprehensive solution. Ingrid coined the phrase "Pivot Tuesdays," pointing to the regular cadence of rethinking and re-aligning. It's a candid discussion about how real innovation happens—not from sticking to a plan, but from having the courage to change it when needed.
Ingrid Hebert: "We were looking at cards and the card payments rail, it was all about how to improve that. Initially, that was our ultimate goal. But as we moved further down that path, we realized that was only a piece of the customer experience. So we started asking how we get to the center of it all? That led us to pivot from focusing just on cards to thinking, how do we become the place where everything coming into our core systems touches base with us before it flows out somewhere else?"
The Human Cost of Manual Transaction Processing - Timestamp: [00:26:56]
When Joe asks Raphael to visualize transaction volume, the answer is eye-opening. Mascoma processes the equivalent of a semi-truck full of letters—each manually sorted. This metaphor sparks a broader discussion on the operational burden of legacy systems. Despite digital interfaces, many backend processes rely on manual effort, slow down customer service, and increase risk. The conversation highlights the hidden costs that legacy systems impose, especially on community banks with limited resources. Raphael's explanation makes the case for change in simple, tangible terms that resonate beyond technical teams.
Raphael Reznek: "Our organization was like a semi-truck full of letters—we had to manually pull each one out and sort it."
A Scalable Model for Mergers and Acquisitions - Timestamp: [00:38:00]
In the final third of the episode, Raphael details how Mascoma's platform already supports other institutions, especially during mergers. Instead of stitching systems with "staples and gum," banks can plug into Mascoma's shared data hub to run multiple cores and consolidate digital tools without starting over. The architecture allows for modular, efficient integration, whether launching new products, unifying customer data, or simplifying general ledgers. This section shows how Mascoma's approach isn't just about internal efficiency—it's about reshaping what's possible for peer institutions facing the same hurdles.
Raphael Reznek: "There are institutions that want to build new products they can't create on their existing core. Then there are others that want to implement bank operations and a management pane—a single pane of glass—where they can embed their SOPs and policies directly into the workflows. And then there are institutions focused on M&A. Right out of the gate, they want to consolidate a general ledger, and from there, start consolidating external platforms—moving to a single digital banking platform instead of managing two or three."
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