This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Regardless of whether or not you were in attendance at FinovateEurope in London last month, you can now watch videos of all 35 demos from the show for free.
Each of the 35 videos are around seven minutes long, which means we have more than four hours of fresh fintech content available. To offer you an easy place to start, we’ve highlighted the demo videos of the three companies that won Best of Show. Enjoy!
GoCardless has agreed to acquire Nuapay for an undisclosed amount.
GoCardless anticipates the move will expand its availability, as well as help it launch new products for additional verticals, including payroll, financial services, utilities, insurance, gaming, and gambling.
The agreement has not been finalized and is currently subject to regulatory approvals.
Bank-to-bank payments company GoCardlessannounced it has agreed to acquire Nuapay. The financial terms of the agreement, which is subject to regulatory approvals, have not been disclosed.
The Nuapay brand is owned by EML Payments, which was founded in 2003 and headquartered in Australia, where it trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker EML. EML Payments acquired Nuapay in 2021 for an undisclosed amount. Nuapay itself was originally founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Ireland. The company launched to leverage open banking to power account-to-account payments. In addition to pay-by-bank services, Nuapay also offers credit transfers, direct debits, verified payouts, and more.
“How the world pays and gets paid is being transformed, with account-to-account payments and open banking playing the central role in that shift. Building on that shared vision, this acquisition will result in a combined organization with deep domestic and international payments and open banking expertise plus the scale to harness these opportunities for our clients and partners,” said Nuapay Co-founder and CEO Brian Hanrahan.
GoCardless anticipates that acquiring Nuapay will expand the availability and influence of GoCardless’ services through partners and intermediaries, including Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and Payment Service Providers (PSPs). The company also expects the deal will strengthen GoCardless’ standing as a significant player in the payment industry, potentially increasing market share, enhancing its reputation, and improving its competitive advantage.
As for more concrete benefits, integrating Nuapay’s offering into GoCardless’ bank payment platform will help GoCardless launch new products for additional verticals. Some of the new use cases could include payroll, financial services, utilities, insurance, gaming, and gambling.
“Nuapay is an established account-to-account payment provider and open banking specialist with a blue chip customer base,” said GoCardless Co-founder and CEO Hiroki Takeuchi. “Its business is perfectly aligned to our growth strategy, and will accelerate our vision to become the world’s bank payment network.”
GoCardless, which describes itself as being “on the path to profitability,” has recently launched Embed, its white-label customer acquisition tool for PSPs, and has signed partner agreements with Plend, Bluefort, Moss, and others.
In the northern hemisphere, springtime is just a few days away. And along with the melting of snow and blooming of flowers, we’ve also seen growth in a previously frozen area of fintech. That’s because there has been a resurgence of interest in digital and decentralized currencies, thanks to the escalating price of Bitcoin, which has seen record highs this week, topping out at over $73,800 yesterday.
There are two major driving factors behind Bitcoin’s surge: the recent launch of the Bitcoin ETF and the upcoming Bitcoin halving event that is expected to take place in April. The effect of these two events have transcended Bitcoin, however, and have not only had a positive impact on other digital currencies, but also on the traditional finance sector.
We recently had the opportunity to interview a few experts in the space to gain a better understanding of the current digital currency landscape. Check out the videos below to see Nordea’s Ville Sointu’s thoughts on the digital Euro, Finthropology’s Anette Broløs’ ideas on CBDCs and the challenges of replacing cash, and Coin Telegraph’s Jillian Godsil’s perception on what it will take to fully melt the previously frozen crypto sector.
Tuum received a strategic investment from Citi Ventures in a Series B follow-on round.
The amount of today’s installment was undisclosed, and boosts the company’s total funds to more than $49 million (€45 million).
Citi Ventures plans to introduce Tuum to key stakeholders within Citibank and gauge interest in commercialization opportunities.
API-based core banking provider Tuumannounced today that it has secured additional funding as part of its Series B round. This strategic investment from Citi Ventures, the amount of which was undisclosed, brings the company’s total funding to over $49 million (€45 million).
Tuum, which won Best of Show honors at last month’s FinovateEurope event, received $27 million (€25 million) in funding at the start of February in a Series B round led by CommerzVentures. Tuum plans to use the funds to fuel product and market development and to expand its international presence into the DACH region, Southern Europe, and the Middle East.
As part of Citi Ventures’ role as strategic investor, the firm plans to introduce Tuum to key stakeholders within Citibank and gauge interest in commercialization opportunities.
“At Citi Ventures, we have been tracking the modernization of core banking tech stacks for years,” said the firm’s Managing Director responsible for fintech investments globally Luis Valdich. “After exploring numerous opportunities to invest in next-gen core banking providers, we are excited to invest in Tuum, whose API-first, cloud-agnostic and modular platform promises to strike an optimal balance between no-code hyper-configurability and total cost of ownership that can help accelerate this long overdue transformation across the industry.”
Estonia-based Tuum was launched under the name Modularbank in 2019. With 100 employees, the company aims to help banks replace their legacy systems, reduce spending on maintenance, and quickly adapt to changing trends. Tuum’s technology extends beyond core replacement to help banks add accounts, lending, payments, and card offerings. In addition, the company offers customers access to range of third-party tools through its partner marketplace, which includes solutions from AMLYZE, SaltEdge, NTT Data, Entersekt, and others .
Tuum’s clients come from a range of 10 countries, but primarily hail from the U.K. and the Nordic region. The company launched just in time to leverage the digital transformation frenzy that took place in 2020. Since that time, Tuum’s revenue has more than doubled each year on average over a three-year period, resulting in an overall revenue increase of more than 2.5 times.
The video of Tuum’s demo from FinovateEurope will be available in the coming days.
Taulia has partnered with Visa to embed Visa’s digital payments technology into its Virtual Cards offering.
Taulia will leverage Visa’s APIs to embed business’ virtual payment credentials, acceptance, and enablement solutions to work natively across SAP business applications.
Integrating Visa’s digital payments technology into Taulia’s Virtual Cards will simplify the business-to-business payments process, especially for organizations using SAP’s ERP solutions.
SAP-owned supply chain finance fintech Taulia has partnered with Visa this week to embed Visa’s digital payments technology into Taulia’s Virtual Cards offering.
The partnership will leverage Visa’s APIs to embed business’ virtual payment credentials, acceptance, and enablement solutions to work natively across SAP business applications. Embedding finance capabilities within SAP’s applications reinforce the bank’s role as an issuer and solidify the ERP relationship to the corporate client.
“By partnering with Taulia, we create synergies in working capital management and the enablement of a world class ERP provider,” said Visa SVP, Global Head of Large, Middle Market Segments and Working Capital SolutionsAlan Koenigsberg. “We believe that we are creating a best-in-class payments automation experience for buyers and suppliers alike, while removing cumbersome processes that take time away from the most strategic work that drives growth.”
The companies anticipate that the solution will help CFOs, procurement, and accounts payable teams automate payments to suppliers. This can be useful for businesses who pay one-time suppliers because it eliminates the need to create full master data in the system. Embedded virtual payments will also improve cash flow for businesses, offer enhanced payments visibility, and reduce friction in B2B transactions.
Overall, the partnership represents a step towards a more accessible digital payments ecosystem for businesses worldwide. Integrating Visa’s digital payments technology into Taulia’s Virtual Cards will simplify the business-to-business payments process, especially for corporate buyers and suppliers using SAP’s ERP solutions.
Taulia was founded in 2009 to help companies make use of cash tied up in their payables, receivables, and inventory. The company maintains a network of 3+ million businesses to fuel its clients with more working capital. In fact, Taulia has provided more than $250 billion in accelerated early payments to clients, including Airbus, AstraZeneca, and Nissan.
SAP acquired Taulia in 2022 for an undisclosed amount.
The EU Parliament approved the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act today. Member states agreed upon the regulation in December 2023. Today, members of the European Parliament endorsed the act, with 523 voting in favor, 46 voting against, and 49 abstaining from the vote.
It’s no secret that AI is a double-edged sword. For every positive use case, there are multiple ways humans can use the technology for nefarious purposes. Regulation is generally effective in creating safeguards for the adoption of new technologies. However, delineating the boundaries of AI’s applications and capabilities is challenging. The technology’s vast potential makes it difficult to eliminate negative uses while accommodating positive ones.
Because of this, the European Union’s new Artificial Intelligence Act will have both positive and negative impacts on banks and fintechs. Organizations that learn to adapt and innovate within the boundaries will see the most success when it comes to leveraging AI.
That said here are four major implications the new law will have on banks:
Prohibited AI applications
The new law prohibits the use of AI for emotion recognition in the workplace and schools, social scoring, and predictive policing based solely on profiling. This will impact how banks and fintechs use AI for customer interactions, underwriting, and fraud detection.
Compliance and oversight
The ruling specifically calls out banking as an “essential private and public service” and categorizes it as a high-risk use of AI. Therefore, banks using AI systems must assess and reduce risks, maintain use logs, be transparent and accurate, and ensure human oversight. The law states that citizens have two major rights when it comes to the use of AI in their banking platforms. First, they must have the ability to submit complaints, and second, they have the right to receive explanations about decisions made using AI. This will require banks and fintechs to enhance their risk management and update their compliance processes to accommodate for AI-driven services.
Transparency
Banks using AI systems and models for general purposes must meet transparency requirements. This includes complying with EU copyright law and publishing detailed summaries of training content. The transparency reporting will not be one-size-fits-all. According to the European Parliament’s explanation, “The more powerful general purpose AI models that could pose systemic risks will face additional requirements, including performing model evaluations, assessing and mitigating systemic risks, and reporting on incidents.”
Innovation support
The law stipulates that regulatory sandboxes and real-world testing will be available at the national level to help businesses develop and train AI use before it goes live. This could benefit both fintechs and banks for support in testing and launching their new AI use cases.
Overall, the EU AI Act isn’t requiring anything outside of banks’ existing capabilities. Financial institutions already have processes, documentation procedures, and controls in place to comply with existing regulations. The act will, however, require banks and fintechs to either establish or reassess their AI strategies, ensure compliance with new regulations, and adapt to a more transparent and accountable AI ecosystem.
U.K.-based business banking platform Tide is expanding into Germany.
Tide didn’t release an exact timeline, but said that customers on its waitlist will be able to begin using a limited release of the company’s business banking tools “in the coming months.”
Germany is Tide’s second international market. The company launched in India in 2022.
Business banking platform Tide is expanding across international borders for the second time. The U.K.-based fintech announced today it will soon begin serving clients in Germany.
Tide did not offer an exact timeline for its expansion into Germany, but the wait list is currently open and the app will be available “in the coming months.” After Tide’s launch in Germany later this year, the company’s members will initially be limited to the app’s business account and card products. Access to Tide’s other features, including cash flow forecasting, will be rolled out in phases.
Among the reasons why Tide selected Germany as its next market is because large, traditional banks provide the bulk of services to small businesses in the region. Tide wanted to offer business owners a more simple, innovative platform to help them manage their business.
“Looking at what is on offer for SMEs in Germany, we believe there is a huge opportunity for Tide,” explained company CEO Oliver Prill. “Across all our markets, we continue to add to the services and products we offer to our members, as part of our mission to be the leading international financial platform for small businesses.”
Tide launched in 2015 to help small businesses save time and money on banking and administrative tasks. The business bank accounts offer accounting tools, expense cards, invoicing, payment collection capabilities, business loan comparisons, and cashflow insights. In 2022, Tide acquired lending marketplace Funding Options for an undisclosed amount. Tide currently counts more than 775,000 sole traders, freelancers, and limited companies as clients.
“Our success in the U.K. has been built on having a deep understanding of the pain points of small businesses, the self-employed and freelancers. Our goal is to help reduce the financial and administrative management burdens with our advanced business financial platform,” added Prill.
Today’s launch isn’t Tide’s first foray into international markets. The company expanded into India in 2022 and has since added more than 200,000 members in the region. Tide now employs 1,600 people in offices across India, Bulgaria, as well as its headquarters in London.
March 10th marked the one-year anniversary of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). While the event isn’t necessarily something to celebrate, it is a great time to reflect on what the industry has learned and how things have change.
Looking back on the aftermath of SVB’s liquidity crisis, we have seen shifts in behavior and strategy that are starting to reshape the landscape for both banks and fintechs. I had the privilege to speak with Law Helie, General Manager of Consumer Banking at nCino, to gain insights into these changes and how institutions are adapting to meet evolving consumer expectations and regulatory demands.
Finovate: We’re approaching the one-year anniversary of SVB’s liquidity crisis. In the past 12 months, how has the industry responded? Have you seen any changes in behavior from banks or fintechs?
Law Helie: Regardless of size, a consistent banking trend is the re-emphasis on building up deposits. After the liquidity crisis last year, banks became more risk-averse and leaned on their deposits as a shield against volatility.
Another trend is the shift to relationship banking via technology. Banks are leveraging cloud-based tools to unlock more data within their organization to better inform and tailor their services to customers for core offerings, including loans, CDs, high-yield savings and more. We expect intense competition around these services as banks prioritize opening multiple service streams with customers to deepen the relationship and hold onto deposits.
Finovate: How will banks approach their spend on fintech following the SVB crisis?
Helie: Expect banks’ spending on fintech tools to grow exponentially. This isn’t a new phenomenon, but the pace of acceleration since SVB is significant as banks seek ways to better compete in a crowded market.
Banks are deploying technology to help understand their cost of funds base, attract deposits, drive internal efficiencies and, most importantly, to help create a sense of stability. As we await more certainty from the Fed around economic forecasting, we expect to see an increase in tech spending, especially at a time when banks’ appetite for increasing efficiency continues to grow at a rapid pace.
Finovate: How about end consumers—both retail and commercial bank customers—have they changed their attitudes and behavior?
Helie: Post-SVB, end consumers in all lines of business are more aware and educated on deposit limit risks that come with over-exposure. Our FIs have told us that their customers are searching for ways to have more security, including wanting to know how they can limit their risk of exposure and how to structure their accounts for FDIC limits. In addition, some of our customers have incorporated the use of CDARS, a Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service, that can help customers disperse funds into multiple accounts.
The overall attitude and behavior of end consumers is now that they need to pay attention to FDIC limits, disburse their deposits, and have an increased focus on their wealth management. This shift underscores a proactive approach among consumers toward safeguarding their financial assets.
Finovate: Given these behavioral and attitude shifts, how can banks and fintechs adapt to these changes?
Helie: Most banks have siloed systems, meaning there is no singular source of truth for their data. Yet customers don’t think this way – they look at their needs holistically. Serving these customers requires a client-centric model that is efficient and driven toward self-service.
And the more products a customer has with a bank, the stickier they are. In order to retain existing and new depository relationships, banks can best position themselves by providing a wide suite of banking offerings and services, in particular digital offerings.
Banks also have an opportunity to leverage fintechs to gather a 360-degree view of the customer, allowing them to understand what is going on across all accounts. With that information, banks can leverage relationship banking techniques to provide customers with the tailored products and services that they want and need.
Finovate: What impact has SVB’s liquidity crisis had on regulations so far and how are banks and fintechs responding?
Helie: Regulations have been put in place to try and mitigate the risk of another SVB collapse. Despite NYCB’s recent issues, we are not seeing the same level of concern spread to other financial institutions as it seems the public has a better understanding of the underlying reason for the issues NYCB is currently having.
Financial institutions are actively pursuing ways to strengthen their deposits bases by reviewing FDIC limits. Notably, some FIs have taken measures to impose restrictions on the maximum amount of cash that can be held in an account, aligning with the FDIC limit. Fintechs are helping FIs by not only providing the framework for streamlined experiences that help meet customer needs, but also allowing them to responsively acquire new funds for those customers looking to diversify their deposit base.
Finovate: Looking ahead, what advice do you have for banks and fintechs navigating the ever-competitive game of increasing deposits?
Helie: The market expects the Fed to reduce interest rates one-to-three times this year. Americans are waiting on the sidelines for better rates so that they can shop for refinancing or fresh loan opportunities.
Banks that are well-prepared have a tremendous opportunity to help people get a better handle on their finances and position themselves as a partner for life. Those that struggle to quickly evaluate inquiries or match competing offers could frustrate customers that want to take advantage of the improving environment.
Cloud-based tools that utilize data and AI to help banks evaluate a fresh loan or refinancing request quickly are at a tremendous advantage. Institutions that maintain the sleepier pace of the past year will be rapidly outpaced by their peers and they will have few opportunities to make up the gap.
This week marks both the one-year anniversary of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse and St. Patrick’s Day. Let’s see if this week’s news projects a luckier year for fintechs. Check back for real-time updates on how the fintech landscape evolves this week.
N26launches its Instant Savings accounts in 13 new markets in Europe.
Backbase and West Monroe team up to combine Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform with West Monroe’s financial services advisory and digital experience capabilities.
Cryptocurrency
Blockchain data platform Chainalysisintegrates with verification provider Sumsub to enhance regulatory compliance, and provide automated transaction monitoring for its clients.
Griffin was granted approval from the U.K.’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to offer banking services in the region.
Along with announcing the banking approval, Griffin also unveiled it has secured a $24 million (£19 million) Series A extension round to fuel the launch of banking services.
Initially, Griffin does not plan to offer direct-to-consumer banking accounts, but will offer business bank accounts to help organizations manage their own finances and hold client funds.
U.K.-based BaaS fintech Griffin has been granted approval to launch as a fully operational bank. The company announced yesterday that the U.K.’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) granted Griffin approval to offer bank services in the U.K.
Fueling the launch is a $24 million (£19 million) Series A extension round. Crunchbase reports that the investment will boost Griffin’s total funding to $66.7 million (£52.1 million), while TechCrunch stated the total as $52 million (£40.6). The new round was led by MassMutual Ventures, NordicNinja, and Breega. Existing investors Notion Capital and EQT Ventures also participated. Griffin will use the funds to scale the bank and enhance its infrastructure.
With the proper approvals in place, Griffin can now offer banking, payments, and wealth management accounts to third party organizations. Interestingly, Griffin is not launching direct-to-consumer bank accounts, but will offer business bank accounts to help organizations manage their own finances and hold client funds.
The authorization comes after Griffin’s year-long mobilization period during which it was allowed to test and refine its products, build banking integrations, and develop its systems in preparation for the debut as a full bank.
“Today’s announcement is a culmination of years of hard work by the incredible team at Griffin,” said company CEO David Jarvis. “I’m particularly grateful to our pilot customers for placing their trust in us, and look forward to helping them continue to scale innovative products at the intersection of technology and finance.”
Founded in 2017, Griffin offers BaaS tools that include client onboarding, regulatory compliance safeguards, client money accounts, and payments. The company plans to launch branded debit, prepaid, and digital cards soon. Griffin’s direct banking tools, launched this week, include operational accounts, credit, and lending.
“As the UK’s first full-stack BaaS platform with a banking license, Griffin is the partner of choice for fintechs and brands to build innovative financial products with a seamless client experience,” said MassMutual Ventures Managing Partner Ryan Collins.
Sila has partnered with Trice to leverage the company’s safeguards for instant payments.
Trice will help Sila’s customers eliminate insufficient funds and unauthorized debit for ACH transactions.
Sila combines FedNow and The Clearinghouse’s RTP to allow ACH transactions to be settled in seconds.
There has been some movement in the instant payments world this week. Banking and payment infrastructure-as-a-service company Sila has partnered with instant payments platform Trice.
Under the agreement, Sila will leverage Trice’s built-in safeguards for instant payments. Founded in 2022, Trice offers the ability to eliminate ACH return codes R1 and R5. For those unfamiliar with ACH return codes, R1 typically refers to “insufficient funds,” while R5 refers to “unauthorized debit to consumer account using corporate SEC code,” meaning the accountholder did not authorize the transaction. By eliminating these return codes, Trice will help Sila lower costs, reduce losses, decrease fines, and ultimately improve the customer experience.
“This partnership reflects our dedication to simplifying financial transactions and making money movement more accessible, reliable, and cost-effective for businesses of all sizes,” said Sila Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Shamir Karkal. “Trice’s innovative instant payment solutions align perfectly with our mission, and together, we aim to set new industry standards for secure and efficient money transfer services.”
Oregon-based Sila launched its ACHNow product in 2018. The tool combines The Clearing House’s RTP, the U.S. Federal Government’s FedNow, and Sila’s own instant settlement product that allows all ACH transactions to be settled in seconds. When businesses submit a standard NACHA file, ACHNow routes each transaction to either RTP or FedNow. In the event the transaction cannot be routed on either of those rails, Sila uses its own instant settlement product to clear the transaction.
“With new faster payment systems becoming available, Sila is currently in a great position to create excellent payment experiences to surprise and delight their customers,” said Trice Co-Founder and CEO Doug Yeager. “Together with Sila, we’re excited to bring these groundbreaking solutions to businesses and financial institutions, further enhancing the financial ecosystem with the promise of smarter, faster, and more secure money movement.”
Currencycloud was offered In-Principle Approval to serve as a Major Payment Institution license holder in Singapore.
If granted the license, Currencycloud will be able to offer its full suite of intra-regional and international money movement services to Singapore businesses.
“Having the license would allow us to integrate with the robust financial network in Singapore and collaborate with valuable industry players,” said the company’s Managing Director of APAC Rohit Narang.
B2B cross-border payments fintech Currencycloud announced this week that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) offered the company In-Principle Approval (IPA) to serve as a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license holder in the region.
If the MAS grants Currencycloud the MPI license, the company will be able to offer its full suite of intra-regional and international money movement services to Singapore businesses. These additional capabilities will allow the U.K.-based company to process intra-Asia and east-to-west payments more quickly, efficiently, and seamlessly.
The MPI license will also impact Singapore-based businesses, which will be able to leverage Currencycloud to help their customers make conversions and payouts in their own time zones and local currencies. Ultimately, the license will help these local businesses launch new financial services quickly by leveraging local networks combined with its multi-currency account capabilities.
“The IPA for a Major Payment Institution License is testament to the strength of the Currencycloud brand,” said Currencycloud Managing Director of APAC Rohit Narang. “Having the license would allow us to integrate with the robust financial network in Singapore and collaborate with valuable industry players. The payments opportunity in Asia-Pacific is significant, and Singapore’s excellent infrastructure, world-class regulatory system, and strategic geographical location serve as an ideal base for accelerating future payments innovation across the region.”
Founded in 2012, Currencycloud facilitates cross-border, multi-currency transactions. In addition to offering virtual wallets, the company also enables banks, fintechs, and FX brokers to offer their users the ability to send, receive, and manage their multi-currency payments. Among the company’s clients are Starling Bank, Revolut, Penta, and Lunar.
Currencycloud was acquired by Visa in 2021. Mike Laven is CEO.