What technology stack does First Merchants Bank run?
First Merchants runs a vendor-built stack overseen by chief information officer Stephan Fluhler, in the role since 2014. Its online banking and mobile app were upgraded in early 2024, adding a built-in personal finance tool, SavvyMoney credit scores, Card Swap and direct-deposit switching; the 10-K records $2.4 million of non-core cost for a digital platform conversion that year. Commercial ACH runs through Q2's Centrix PIQS: in 2025 the bank originated $16 billion of ACH through it for more than 3,500 companies, scoring originators on 29 risk categories with a weekly refresh, which a First Merchants product manager said cut reviews from four or more hours per company to minutes. Private Wealth Advisors moved to SS&C's cloud-delivered Trust Suite in December 2024, and Spiral was chosen in March 2026 for round-up savings and giving. Acquired banks are folded in by conversion: First Savings customers moved to First Merchants online banking, the app, debit cards and Zelle on May 18, 2026. Equipment expense was $28.6 million and outside data processing $27.5 million in 2025. The AI layer is Microsoft Copilot across the organization; the core processor and any cloud provider are not named in public sources.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Data as of Oct 16, 2026 · First Merchants profile updated Oct 13, 2026 · 16 sources cited on this page · 140 banks profiled on this site · Markdown
Which platforms and vendors make up First Merchants' technology stack?
As named by the bank or its vendors. AI status is stated only where a source describes it.
| Layer | What runs it | Vendor | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer online and mobile banking | Upgraded platform with a built-in Personal Finance Tool (automatic budget categories, cleaned-up merchant names, external accounts), credit score, Card Swap, Stop Pay and direct-deposit changes for ADP employers | SavvyMoney (credit score); platform vendor not named in the article | March 2024 (the 10-K records a $2.4 million digital platform conversion cost in 2024)[2][3] |
| ACH origination risk and processing | Centrix ACH Processing and Risk Management (PIQS): $16 billion originated in 2025; more than 3,500 companies and 11,000 subsidiaries; 29 risk categories rolled into one weekly risk score and four review tiers; file validation before the core; board and exception reporting | Q2 | In production (described August 2026)[4] |
| Positive Pay for business clients | Check and ACH Positive Pay with exception decisions by 3:00 p.m. Eastern; rules-based | Not named in the guide | In production[9] |
| Trust and wealth platform | Trust accounting, CRM and investment reporting for Private Wealth Advisors, cloud-delivered with managed back-office services | SS&C (Trust Suite: Black Diamond, InnoTrust, Salentica Elements) | December 10, 2024[5] |
| Savings and giving features | Automatic and round-up savings, gamified goals and a giving center inside digital banking | Spiral | March 31, 2026[6] |
| Fraud alerts | 'Fraud detection technology' combined with trained fraud-prevention specialists; text alert first, then an automated voice call, then email, for transactions outside normal activity | Not named | Retrieved October 2026[10] |
| Productivity AI | Microsoft Copilot rolled out through the entire organization; AI used to sift incoming mortgage applications | Microsoft (Copilot) | Described June 5, 2026[8] |
| Acquisition conversions | First Savings Bank customers moved to First Merchants online banking, the mobile app, debit cards and Zelle on Monday, May 18, 2026 after conversion work on May 14 and 15 | In-house conversion onto the First Merchants platform | May 18, 2026[7] |
What does First Merchants spend on technology, and what has it reported?
Expense lines from the 10-K and 10-Q; operating results as described by the bank's staff at a vendor conference.
| Metric | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment expense | $28.6 million in 2025 ($26.8 million in 2024; $24.1 million in 2023) | December 31, 2025 | 2025 10-K[3] |
| Outside data processing fees | $27.5 million in 2025 ($27.1 million in 2024; $25.2 million in 2023) | December 31, 2025 | 2025 10-K[3] |
| Quarterly equipment / data processing | $8.6 million / $8.0 million in Q2 2026 ($6.9 million / $7.1 million a year earlier) | June 30, 2026 | Q2 2026 10-Q[11] |
| ACH originator review time | From four or more hours per company to minutes; about a tenfold efficiency gain, per the bank's estimate | August 2026 | Kyle Schultz, technical product manager, at Q2 CONNECT26[4] |
| ACH exposure removed by right-sizing limits | $300,000, 'almost immediately' | August 2026 | Q2 write-up of the CONNECT26 session[4] |
| Scale served | 126 banking centers; about 2,200 employees and nearly 300,000 clients | October 1, 2026 | CEO succession announcement[12][13] |
What is not disclosed about First Merchants' technology stack?
Neither the 10-K nor the investor presentation names the core processor, a cloud provider or a data platform; the Q2 write-up refers only to a 'nightly core extract' feeding the ACH risk form. The 10-K says third-party vendors supply and increasingly embed AI in technology the bank uses, and that the bank may not control how third-party AI tools' training data and model updates are managed.[4][3]
AI is not yet part of the ACH platform as First Merchants uses it: the PIQS model is a configurable risk score. Q2 says PIQS now adds anomaly detection for incoming ACH and that an agentic AI capability, tentatively called Risk Review Intelligence, is on its roadmap; First Merchants has not said whether it will adopt either.[4]
What does the First Merchants profile record on this topic?
The rows below are the entries of the First Merchants AI strategy profile that bear on this page, as of Oct 13, 2026; the profile holds the full record of 21 dated moves, 11 use cases and 26 sources.
| Use case | What the record shows | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Savings systems conversion | Completed mid-May 2026; 126 banking centres after integration. | In production | [14][15] |
| Microsoft Copilot across the organisation | Rolled out through the entire organisation; the specialty-lending president says it has reduced administrative duplication and made work easier. | In production | [8] |
| Spiral personalised savings and giving | Vendor platform for automatic and round-up savings, goal tracking and charitable giving in digital banking; no AI claimed. | Announced | [6] |
| SS&C Trust Suite for private wealth | Cloud-delivered trust accounting, CRM and reporting (Black Diamond, InnoTrust, Salentica Elements) with managed back-office services, chosen in December 2024 after a six-month RFP; no AI claimed. | In production | [5] |
| Board-approved information security programme | Built on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework with FS-ISAC participation, annual risk assessments, an incident response plan, ongoing tabletop exercises and a CISO who has been at the bank 19 years; the AI risk factor adds higher frequency and severity of cyberattacks as an AI-related risk. | In production | [3] |
| Positive Pay for business clients | Check Positive Pay matches account number, check number and amount against issued-check files; ACH Positive Pay adds pre-approved authorisations and transaction-monitoring rules; clients decide exceptions by 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Rules-based, with no AI claimed. | In production | [9][7] |
| Date | Move | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 2026 | Second-quarter 2026 results; First Savings conversion complete | Net income to common $43.5 million; two nonaccrual relationships reserved. | [14][15] |
| Jun 5, 2026 | Copilot rolled out firm-wide; AI at mortgage intake | At a Louisville Business First roundtable, specialty-lending president Tony Schoen says Microsoft Copilot has been rolled out through the entire organisation and AI is being used to sift incoming mortgages, targeting $1.4 billion of volume with the same staff. | [8] |
| May 18, 2026 | First Savings systems conversion lands | After conversion work on 14 and 15 May, First Savings Bank became First Merchants on Monday 18 May, with customers moving to First Merchants online banking, the app, debit cards and Zelle. | [7] |
| Mar 31, 2026 | Spiral selected for digital savings and giving | Automatic and round-up savings, gamified goals and a giving centre inside digital banking, aimed at growing low-cost deposits. | [6] |
| Feb 24, 2025 | 2024 10-K has no AI language | The annual report filed in February 2025 does not mention artificial intelligence; it records $2.4 million of non-core costs from a digital platform conversion in 2024. | [16] |
| Dec 10, 2024 | Private Wealth Advisors adopts SS&C Trust Suite | After a six-month RFP, First Merchants Private Wealth Advisors, which manages over $4 billion and advises on over $8 billion, moved trust accounting, CRM and investment reporting to SS&C's cloud-delivered Trust Suite; no AI is claimed. | [5] |
What digital banking platform does First Merchants use?
First Merchants upgraded its online banking and mobile app in early 2024, and its 10-K records $2.4 million of non-core cost for a digital platform conversion that year. The bank's own article on the upgrade names SavvyMoney for in-app credit scores but not the platform vendor. Commercial ACH origination and risk run on Q2's Centrix PIQS, according to Q2.
Who runs technology at First Merchants?
Stephan Fluhler, senior vice president and chief information officer since May 2014, who was chief technology officer from 2004 to 2014. He gives risk assessments to the board's Risk and Credit Policy Committee. The bank has not named a chief AI, data or digital officer.
How does First Merchants manage ACH risk?
Through Q2's Centrix PIQS. The bank scores originators on 29 configurable risk categories rolled into a single score refreshed weekly, assigns four review tiers, and routes reviews through a central treasury operations team. It originated $16 billion of ACH through the system in 2025 and says reviews that took four or more hours now take minutes.
How much does First Merchants spend on technology?
It does not report a technology budget. The 10-K shows equipment expense of $28.6 million and outside data processing fees of $27.5 million in 2025, both up on 2024, and the second-quarter 2026 10-Q shows $8.6 million and $8.0 million for the quarter after the First Savings acquisition.
Does First Merchants use AI in its technology stack?
Lightly. Microsoft Copilot has been rolled out across the organization and AI screens incoming mortgages, per a June 2026 interview. The ACH risk model, Positive Pay and fraud alerts are described as rules, scores and specialist review, not AI, and the 10-K's AI disclosure is a risk factor that names no system.
- First Merchants Corporation 2026 Proxy Statement
- How New and Updated Financial Tools Are Helping Customers Prosper
- First Merchants Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- How to Manage ACH Risk as Volume Grows and Nacha Rules Tighten (First Merchants at CONNECT26)
- First Merchants Private Wealth Advisors Adopts SS&C Trust Suite
- First Merchants Bank Selects Spiral to Power Personalized Savings and Community Giving Through Everyday Banking
- First Savings Bank to First Merchants: Important Information Guide
- Executive Insights: Experts weigh in on state of crypto, AI and what the business community needs most from banks right now
- Positive Pay Online Banking User Guide
- Security Center: Fraud Prevention (undated page, retrieved 2026-10-16)
- First Merchants Corporation Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026
- First Merchants CEO Hardwick to retire, Stewart named successor
- First Merchants Corporation Fixed Income Investor Presentation, September 2026 (Free Writing Prospectus)
- First Merchants Corporation Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
- First Merchants Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
- First Merchants Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024
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