Prismm helps banks keep inherited money in-house
With Prismm, account holders can give designated family members access to their accounts and documents ahead of time.
Prismm, a startup founded in 2020 by sisters Martha Underwood and Shella Sylla, helps banks retain families’ money after an account holder’s death. They achieve this by integrating beneficiary and estate planning into accounts from the outset, simplifying the transfer of assets to heirs. The idea for Prismm emerged from the sisters’ experience of managing their late father’s finances following his hospitalization and their mother’s confusion over important documents during the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Miami in 2017.
Their father’s recovery didn’t alleviate the issue; rather, it solidified their resolve to create a digitized solution to this "infrastructure problem." The startup has two core products and a third in development. Prismm Designate enables banks to let customers update their beneficiaries digitally, while Prismm Anchor offers users a centralized platform to manage their accounts, documents, and assets across multiple institutions, with restricted access for designated individuals.
Prismm Continuity, set to launch soon, will guide staff and families through the asset transfer process step-by-step, aiming to minimize the burden on families and retain customers within financial institutions. The company claims that financial institutions lose billions annually in deposits due to "estate attrition," which occurs when heirs transfer inherited funds to other institutions due to a lack of a system for managing account transitions after a death.
By providing beneficiary information and streamlined inheritance processes, Prismm seeks to keep assets and potential future customers within the institution.
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