The financial services industry is currently facing a silent crisis known as "estate attrition," a phenomenon where banks lose billions of dollars in deposits annually as assets transfer from deceased account holders to heirs who often move the funds to different institutions. Addressing this systemic vulnerability, Prismm, a fintech startup specializing in digital estate transition infrastructure, presented its solution today on the Startup Battlefield stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco. By integrating beneficiary management and estate planning directly into bank accounts from the moment of inception, Prismm aims to transform the traditionally manual, friction-heavy process of inheritance into a seamless digital experience, ensuring that wealth remains within the host institution during intergenerational transfers.

The Genesis of Prismm: From Personal Crisis to Professional Mission

The foundation of Prismm dates back to a personal emergency in 2017 that exposed the fragility of family financial management. Sisters Martha Underwood and Shella Sylla, both veterans of the banking and finance sectors with decades of combined experience, found themselves unprepared when their father was hospitalized following a fall while clearing debris after Hurricane Irma in Miami. Despite their professional backgrounds, they discovered that their mother, who had historically relied on her husband to manage the family’s paperwork and financial accounts, was unable to locate critical documents. Underwood and Sylla were equally in the dark, highlighting a common but overlooked gap in financial literacy and preparedness.

While their father eventually recovered, the experience served as a catalyst for a deeper investigation into how financial institutions handle emergency access and asset transition. The idea for a formal business solution solidified three years later, in 2020, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, Underwood was serving as an executive at a major bank, where she witnessed a surge in families struggling to navigate the aftermath of a loved one’s passing. These families were frequently scrambling to identify account locations, decipher billing cycles, and secure the financial future of surviving spouses—all while dealing with the grief of loss.

Underwood’s observations led to a pivotal realization: the banking industry had spent decades building sophisticated platforms for wealth accumulation and real-time tracking, yet it had almost entirely ignored the "transition" phase of the wealth lifecycle. This "infrastructure problem" became the cornerstone of Prismm’s mission. The sisters recognized that by digitizing the manual processes of identity verification, consent, and document retrieval, they could solve a recurring pain point for both families and financial institutions.

A Strategic Response to the Great Wealth Transfer

The emergence of Prismm comes at a critical juncture for the global financial sector. Economists have long pointed toward "The Great Wealth Transfer," an era in which an estimated $84 trillion in assets is expected to pass from older generations to Gen X and Millennials over the next two decades. For traditional banks, this transfer represents a significant risk. Industry data suggests that between 70% and 90% of heirs choose to move their inherited assets to a different financial institution shortly after receiving them. This exodus is often driven by a lack of an existing relationship with the parent’s bank and the administrative hurdles associated with claiming the funds.

Prismm’s platform is designed to mitigate this attrition by fostering relationships with the next generation before the transition occurs. By allowing account holders to designate family members and grant them controlled access to account information and documents ahead of time, banks can establish a digital handshake with heirs. When a death occurs, the designated beneficiary can log into a secure portal, view the assets, and initiate eligible transfers digitally. Because the necessary legal documents, identity verifications, and consents are already on file, the process bypasses the need for physical branch visits and extensive manual paperwork, which is particularly beneficial for heirs living in different states or countries.

The Product Suite: Designate, Anchor, and Continuity

Prismm has developed a tiered product strategy to address various stages of the estate planning and transition process. These tools are integrated directly into the "bank core"—the back-end system that supports a bank’s most common transactions—allowing for a native user experience without the need for third-party consumer apps.

Prismm Designate

The first product in the lineup, Prismm Designate, provides a streamlined, digital interface for customers to update their beneficiaries. Traditionally, updating a beneficiary involves paper forms or complex sub-menus within an online banking portal. Designate simplifies this, encouraging proactive updates and ensuring that the bank always has current information on who is entitled to the assets.

Prismm Anchor

Prismm Anchor serves as a secure, centralized digital vault. It allows account holders to track not only their accounts within a specific bank but also their property, legal documents, and assets held at other institutions. By offering this as a white-labeled service through the bank, the institution positions itself as the central "anchor" of the customer’s financial life, increasing "stickiness" and customer loyalty.

Prismm Continuity

Currently in the final stages of development, Prismm Continuity is designed to be the "GPS" for the inheritance process. It provides a step-by-step digital roadmap for both bank staff and grieving families. By automating the workflow of verifying death certificates and executing transfers, Continuity reduces the operational burden on bank employees and minimizes the emotional and administrative stress on the family.

Addressing the Gendered Burden of Estate Management

A key differentiator in Prismm’s approach is its focus on the demographics of caregiving. During her presentation at TechCrunch Disrupt, Underwood highlighted that the burden of managing estate affairs disproportionately falls on women. Statistically, women are more likely to be the primary caregivers for both children and aging parents. When a death occurs, the requirement to navigate a fragmented, manual banking system adds an overwhelming layer of "mental load" to an already stressed demographic.

"What we found is when you’re asking the consumer to do something with everything else on their list, that’s going to be the last thing they do, especially women," Underwood noted. By building the transition process into the banking infrastructure itself, Prismm reduces the "friction" that often prevents families from completing necessary estate tasks. This focus on ease of use is not merely a convenience; it is a strategic necessity for banks looking to retain the business of female heads of household and heirs.

The TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Context and Market Impact

TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield has a storied history of debuting companies that go on to redefine their industries. Prismm’s appearance in the 2026 cohort places it alongside a select group of innovators vying for the attention of top-tier venture capitalists and industry leaders. The San Francisco event remains a primary barometer for fintech trends, and the inclusion of an "infrastructure-first" estate planning company reflects a broader shift in the market. Investors are increasingly moving away from standalone B2C (business-to-consumer) "death-tech" apps in favor of B2B (business-to-business) solutions that integrate with established financial ecosystems.

Market analysts suggest that the success of Prismm could lead to a new standard in retail banking. If "estate transition infrastructure" becomes a standard feature, the competitive advantage will shift toward banks that can offer the most empathetic and efficient digital inheritance experience. Furthermore, by reducing the time it takes to settle an account from months to days, banks can significantly lower their operational costs and legal risks.

Analysis of Broader Implications for the Banking Sector

The implications of Prismm’s technology extend beyond simple asset retention. As banks face increasing competition from neo-banks and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, the ability to provide high-touch, lifecycle-oriented services becomes a critical moat. Prismm’s model suggests that the future of banking lies in "proactive relationship management"—using data and digital tools to anticipate life events rather than merely reacting to them.

Furthermore, the digitization of beneficiary data has significant regulatory and compliance benefits. In an era of heightened Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements, having a pre-verified digital trail of beneficiaries simplifies the bank’s due diligence during the asset transfer process. It also reduces the likelihood of "unclaimed property" issues, where assets sit dormant because the bank cannot locate or verify the rightful heirs.

As the Startup Battlefield competition continues this week in San Francisco, Prismm stands out as a company addressing a universal human experience with a sophisticated technological solution. The winner of the competition, who will receive the prestigious Disrupt Cup and a significant equity-free cash prize, is set to be announced on Thursday, October 15. Regardless of the final ranking, Prismm’s presence at the event underscores a fundamental shift in how the financial world views the end of the customer lifecycle—not as a loss of business, but as the beginning of a relationship with the next generation.