Press Release: Chattanooga, Tenn. (August 7, 2025) — Clockout, a leading Earned Wage Access (EWA) infrastructure provider for community banks, announced its founders, CEO Juan Jurado-Blanco, CTO Vladimir Dumitrean, and COO Anthony Tardugno, won the Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) ThinkTECH Accelerator program’s All-Heart award, sponsored by Wipfli LLP. The All-Heart award is the only individual honor given as part of the ThinkTECH Accelerator, celebrating recipients’ demonstrated passion, empathy and commitment to making a positive impact on those around them, including community banks.
Received during the recent ThinkTECH Showcase at the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado, the event highlighted fintech solutions covering a broad range of key areas, with presenting companies showcasing their refined solutions that are helping community banks drive innovation, improve customer experience and meet their business goals.
“Clockout addresses a vital need for today's community banks by helping them deliver secure, on-demand access to earned wages—unlocking new income streams and reinforcing their role as trusted personal finance partners for their customers,” Charles Potts, ICBA Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer said. “We’re proud to recognize Juan and Anthony with the All-Heart award for their outstanding contributions. Their participation in the latest ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator reflects not only their personal dedication to community banking, but Clockout’s broader mission to deliver innovative solutions that empower community banks to better serve their communities.”
Clockout provides a white-labeled, seamless and secure solution for community banks. By eliminating the need for employer involvement, Clockout enables banks to capture direct deposits and enhance customer engagement.
“Anthony and I are humbled by this recognition as AP9’s All-Heart award recipients, which reflects our passion and commitment, and the strength of our offering to help foster an environment that drives innovation and supports the relationship-based community banking model,” said Jurado-Blanco. “Participating in the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator has deepened our appreciation and understanding of the crucial role community banks continue to play in addressing the financial needs of their communities, and we excited to help them succeed.”
Since its inception, the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator has connected the most innovative fintech companies with thousands of community bankers and industry leaders — identifying and designing workable solutions that address today’s modern banking needs. Clockout received mentorship from a distinguished network of industry stakeholders through an immersive 10-week program, the second of two accelerator programs for 2025 as part of ICBA’s investment in ThinkTECH initiatives to support continuous development and advancement of community bank innovation.
For more information about Clockout, visit https://www.joinclockout.com. For more information about the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator and to watch a recording of the ICBA ThinkTECH Showcase visit, icba.org/accelerator
About Clockout
Clockout is an innovative Earned Wage Access (EWA) infrastructure provider built exclusively for community banks. Clockout integrates seamlessly into digital banking platforms, enabling banks to offer on-demand access to earned wages without employer involvement. Through white-labeled solutions and core integrations with leading providers, Clockout empowers banks to attract new customers, retain existing ones, drive new revenue streams, and deliver real-time financial solutions securely and compliantly.
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® has one mission: to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. We power the potential of the nation’s community banks through effective advocacy, education, and innovation.
As local and trusted sources of credit, America’s community banks leverage their relationship-based business model and innovative offerings to channel deposits into the neighborhoods they serve, creating jobs, fostering economic prosperity, and fueling their customers’ financial goals and dreams. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at icba.org.
