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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Anti-fraud platform Feedzai has teamed up with account-to-account (A2A) platform Form3.
Courtesy of the partnership, Feedzai will power Form3’s new authorized push payment fraud (APP) fraud prevention solution.
Founded in 2011, Feedzai made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2014.
Anti-fraud and financial crime software company Feedzai will power the new authorized push payment fraud (APP fraud) prevention solution from account-to-account (A2A) platform Form3. Built with supervised machine learning, the new offering from Form3 takes advantage of collaborative intelligence to determine the risk of a payment in real-time by understanding the behavior of both the sender and the recipient.
The technology acknowledges that understanding the recipient of a payment is just as important as understanding the sender when it comes to preventing fraud, particularly APP fraud. This is because APP fraud involves fraudsters tricking legitimate accountholders into sending payments to illegitimate accounts owned or accessed by the fraudster.
Feedzai CPO Pedro Barata explained that both regulation and emergent fraud threats are driving innovation in the payment fraud space. Barata noted in particular new regulations later this year that will mandate reimbursement for victims of APP fraud. He underscored that this would provide additional incentive for banks to embrace new anti-fraud technologies. “By combining the expertise of Feedzai and Form3, we can drastically reduce the level of vulnerability in the payment process and give our customers the real-time intelligence that they need to stop fraudsters in their tracks.”
The innovations in fraud prevention are also being driven by positive developments in fintech like real-time payments. As more fraudsters see real-time payments as a potential way to target consumers, businesses need to respond with technologies and anti-fraud solutions that close security gaps and respond to emerging threats like APP fraud.
“The best way to tackle the rise of APP fraud is the use of collaborative intelligence and cutting edge technologies that allow the real-time identification of scams within the payment message,” Form3 CEO Mike Walters said.
A Finovate alum since its debut at FinovateEurope in 2014, Feedzai today counts 80% of the world’s Fortune 500 among its customers. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, Feedzai now has more than 600 employees, maintains 10 offices around the world, and supports operations in 190 countries. The risk management tool provider has raised more than $277 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. Nuno Sebastiao is CEO.
As part of Finovate’s commemoration of Women’s History Month, our Women in Fintech column features Laurie Winger, Chief Financial Officer with TruStage. Formerly known as CUNA Mutual Group, TruStage is a financial services company that provides insurance, investment, and fintech solutions to individuals and businesses.
Winger has been praised by colleagues as a visionary and results-oriented, cross functional leader. At TruStage, she has helped transform a decades-old insurance company into a modern, technology-driven business.
In our Women in Fintech conversation, we discuss her origins in fintech and financial services, current trends that she has her eye on, and why it’s important for financial services companies to invest both human and financial resources into the fintech space.
Tell us about your role at TruStage and your journey into the fintech space.
Laurie Winger: I started my career as an accountant at TruStage, previously CUNA Mutual Group, more than 30 years ago. I spent the first half of my career in various finance roles – Budget Manager, Vice President of Finance, etc. – and then shifted my focus to credit union market strategy in the mid-2010s. At that time, our company was seen in the marketplace as an insurance rather than a technology company. Our goal was to change that perception and the best way to do so was to get more involved in fintech. This was when I first dipped my toes into the fintech space.
One of our first investments was the creation of our Ventures Portfolio, TruStage Ventures, which funds innovators focused on improving the financial services industry. A few years later, we also acquired Compliance Systems, a fintech provider of digital and dynamic compliance documentation, and CuneXus, a consumer-facing portal featuring financial services for credit unions. As Chief Product Officer at the time, I was very involved in the strategy and the execution of that acquisition. Since then, I returned to my finance roots as Chief Financial Officer while keeping a close eye on TruStage and TruStage Venture’s fintech acquisitions and investments, as well as being a member of various fintechs’ boards.
Recently, I’ve dipped back into the fintech side of our business by overseeing our Fintech Solutions team as part of my role as CFO. This team is focused on developing and implementing our Digital Storefront e-commerce platform (based on our acquisition of CuneXus mentioned above) which provides financial institutions with the ability to lend, generate deposits, and open accounts in a fully online experience – all centered around a consumer’s individual banking needs.
It seems like you had a strong role in building TruStage’s fintech strategy. Why did you see a need to provide more holistic support to credit unions?
Winger: I’ve always been a big fan of credit unions because their mission is consistent with ours at TruStage, namely the desire to help people who would otherwise not get access to financial products. Unfortunately, in the digital era, credit unions are having a harder time than ever competing with larger financial institutions and digital banks, and many are closing their doors or are being acquired. We realized early on that if we wanted to truly help credit unions compete, we needed to provide more holistic support. By investing in and making modern, end-to-end technology solutions available to credit unions of all sizes and helping them meet their members’ needs – we are ultimately helping consumers on their buying, borrowing, and saving journeys.
What changes have you seen in the fintech space in the last couple of years and how would you advise fintechs to react to these changes?
Winger: I am learning along with our entire organization that the current fintech market is very different than it was even just a year and a half ago. The high inflation environment has caused valuations to go down, so many fintechs are struggling to attract interest and raise money from third-party investors. They need to find new ways to generate capital.
The best way to do this is to listen to credit unions’ pain points and pivot their focus and/or messaging to meet those current needs. At the moment, growing deposits, finding ways to deepen existing relationships, and acquiring new members are at the top of the priority list for most credit union leadership teams. Fintechs that are heavily promoting lending technologies are probably having a hard time finding prospects, as many credit unions are running into liquidity challenges and are not able to lend as much as before. Pivoting their focus to respond to market needs, or tweaking their messaging to better appeal to potential prospects, will help fintechs stay afloat. The key to success in this economic environment is to listen to market demand, stay flexible, and be willing to take risks.
How are you and TruStage helping advance women leaders in the fintech and credit unions spaces?
Winger: As a company, we are very proud of the TruStage Ventures Discovery Fund, which invests $5 million annually in early-stage fintech companies led by BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and woman founders. We created the fund to address inequities in the financial sector and support underrepresented entrepreneurs, many of which are women. Personally, I also try to keep in touch with the female founders who have benefitted from the fund and build those relationships.
In the credit union market, I’ve also had the opportunity to be a mentor as part of the Credit Union Women’s Leadership Alliance (CUWLA) coaching program. The program pairs senior female leaders with women CEOs of credit unions with asset sizes of $300 million or less, providing a channel for support and the exchange of insights. I try to generously share my career experiences, successes, failures, and learnings with other women leaders as often as possible, as I think it is the best way to help other women advance and succeed in both the fintech and credit union industries.
Finally, as a Chief Financial Officer, why is it important to invest company resources (funds and people) into the fintech space to power future/tech-driven strategy?
Winger: Ultimately, it all comes down to remaining relevant. Financial services today operate in a fast-moving, competitive marketplace with ever-evolving consumer demands for seamless, digital-first transactions. No matter how well capitalized, any company that wishes to compete in this space must be willing to allocate investments towards innovations with the consumer expectation at the center. If they don’t, even the most venerable companies risk being passed by fintechs, start-ups, and the industry as a whole.
Finland-based SkenarioLabs and Sweden’s Econans announced a collaboration this week.
The partnership will provide financial institutions with a number of new green finance tools.
SkenarioLabs made its Finovate debut earlier this year at FinovateEurope. Econans demoed its technology at our online European fintech conference in 2021.
SkenarioLabs, a predictive data analytics solution provider for the real estate industry, has announced a new partnership with fellow Finovate alum, Econans. The collaboration between SkenarioLabs and the Swedish financial advisory platform will give banks a range of new green finance tools.
The joint venture between the two companies will help financial institutions navigate regulatory trends based on concerns over climate change. These trends include the EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD) – among others. The partnership between Skenario Labs and Econans will provide institutions with a future-proof, end-to-end solution that helps them meet reporting obligations and supports building energy transition.
“We’re thrilled to announced our partnership with Econans – Energy Transition Unlocked – a pioneering Swedish finance advisory platform,” SkenarioLabs shared in a post at LinkedIn. “Together, we strive to pave the way for a more resilient future in real estate – exciting times ahead!”
Founded in Finland in 2015, SkenarioLabs made its Finovate debut earlier this year at FinovateEurope 2024 in London. At the conference, the company demoed two solutions. The first was its green finance offering that analyzes the potential for enhancing energy performance. The solution then recommends financing options that help reduce carbon emissions. The company also demoed its climate resilience solution. This technology helps institutions understand and manage the impact of climate change – as well as emerging laws and regulations – on their real estate portfolios.
Econans made its Finovate debut three years ago at our online European fintech conference in 2021. The company, founded in Sweden in 2018, offers digital simulation and automated advice to help people better manage their personal finance journey through major life events such as buying a home, having children, and planning for retirement. Econans’ technology helps boost consumer’s confidence in their financial services partner and delivers higher conversion rates for banks and real estate companies. The firm’s white label solutions are easy to integrate and currently have more than 500,000 end users per month in Sweden.
Have you listened to the latest episodes of the Finovate Podcast?
Over the past few weeks, Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast have hosted some of the most interesting innovators in fintech. Alan Bekker of eSelf on the future of AI in financial services, The Clearing House’s Jim Colassano on real-time payments, financial inclusion and wealth-building with Rodney Williams of SoLo Funds … these are just a handful of the interviews Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast have featured in recent weeks.
Don’t miss another conversation! Join Greg Palmer and his guests on the Finovate Podcast today!
Greg Palmer interviews Alan Bekker, co-founder and CEO of customer engagement innovator, eSelf. The two discuss the role of AI in fintech and financial services, and the future of face to “face” interactions. eSelf won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023. Episode 208.
The rise of real-time payments, especially in the U.S., is creating opportunities and challenges for fintechs and financial services companies alike. Greg Palmer sits down with Jim Colassano, SVP of Product Development and Strategy with The Clearing House, to discuss what institutions need to do in order to take advantage of one of the latest innovations in payments. Episode 207.
Greg Palmer catches up with Jack Spiers, Sales Director at Tink, to discuss the findings of a new report from the Best of Show winning company that details how to enhance affordability assessments with enriched data. Episode 206.
Dr. Adam Lowe, Chief Product & Innovation Officer with CompoSecure, talks with Finovate Podcast host Greg Palmer on how to think about fraud prevention as an asset, and the importance of balancing security and customer experience. Episode 205.
As part of the Finovate Podcast’s commemoration of Black History Month, Greg Palmer and Rodney Williams, co-founder, chairman, and President of SoLo Funds, talked about the challenges of creating wealth-building products for underserved communities. Episode 204.
Last month at FinovateEurope, I had the pleasure of conducting interviews with 14 professionals, entrepreneurs, and authors from the world of fintech and financial services. A few days ago, I shared videos of my conversations with Moneyhub’s Samantha Seaton and Finthropology’s Anette Broløs.
Today, I’m unveiling another pair of interviews from FinovateEurope. First, I sit down with Edwin Van Bommel, Head of Strategy and Innovation with ABN AMRO Bank. In his role with the bank, van Bommel is responsible for introducing new products and services to clients in the areas of artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technology.
In our conversation, van Bommel and I talk about the different ways ABN AMRO Bank is leveraging enabling technologies like embedded banking, generative AI, and distributed ledger. We also talk about the challenge of legacy systems and why they will still “play an important role in the future” of financial services.
In our second video interview, Indrek Vainu, Head of Conversational AI at Zurich Insurance Group, and I talk about the challenge and opportunity of artificial intelligence in financial services. We discussed ways that generative AI, for example, is bringing innovation to both the front and back office. Vainu also shared what he believes are the next steps in AI adoption in fintech and financial services.
In his role as Head of Conversational AI at Zurich Insurance Company, Vainu leads activities globally that are related to Generative AI and chatbots. He co-founded AlphaChat, a chatbot startup that was acquired by Zurich Insurance Group in 2021.
Digital identity solutions provider Signicat has acquired fraud prevention firm SmartWorks. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquisition expands Signicat’s presence and reach in Iceland, where SmartWorks is headquartered.
Signicat made its Finovate debut in 2017 at FinovateEurope.
Digital identity solutions provider Signicat announced its sixth strategic acquisition since 2019 this week. The Norway-based company has acquired fraud prevention innovator SmartWorks. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Iceland, SmartWorks is the largest provider of e-signatures and anti-fraud solutions in the country. The company’s customers include Íslandsbanki, Brimborg, and the City of Reykjavik – where SmartWorks was founded in 2016.
“Electronic signatures are widely adopted and already a business standard in Iceland. However, trust services extend far beyond signatures with authentications, identity proofing, validations, trust orchestration and many other related services,” SmartWorks CEO and founder Olafur Pall Einarsson said. “This union puts us in the position to shape the future of digital identity in Iceland and to partner with all key stakeholders to define how the market will evolve.”
Signicat plans to leverage the acquisition to expand its presence in Iceland. The company is particularly eager to market its Dokobit by Signicat solution in the country. Secured via an acquisition in 2021, Dokobit provided cross-border signing capabilities and gave Signicat the ability to expand into the Baltic markets, including Lithuania where Dokobit was founded in 2008.
As part of this week’s acquisition, the entire SmartWorks team will join Signicat. SmartWorks’ Einarsson will continue on as Signicat Country Manager Iceland.
“We are highly enthusiastic about this acquisition as SmartWorks is the market leader in Iceland when it comes to fraud and digital identity,” Signicat CEO Asger Hattel said. “We can now further leverage SmartWorks’ expertise and resources to sell our portfolio of digital identity solutions across the Icelandic market.”
Norway-based Signicat has more than 13,000 customers in 44 countries, representing organizations in payments, digital wallets, and insurance, as well as in government entities. The company’s technology supports more than 130 data verification sources – including national eIDs – to identity both businesses and individuals. Signicat also enables companies to securely scan international identity documents using video-based verification for AML, KYC checks, and more.
Signicat finished 2023 topping the NOK 1 billion ($93 million) mark in revenue and more than one billion transactions. The transactions number represented a gain of more than 25% over 2022.
We’re starting off the week with a major acquisition in the U.K. lending space, as well as fintech funding news in payments, wealth management, and financial education.
Digital banking
Missouri-based Central Bank leveragesPersonetics’ AI-driven engagement platform to enhance financial wellness.
SaaS core modernization and transformation solution provider for banks Zafinunveils new tools – Dynamic Cohorts and Signals – to enhance customer personalization and engagement.
Digital banking experience platform Plumeryannounces availability on Google Cloud Marketplace.
Emporia State Federal Credit Union launches new app courtesy of a partnership with digital banking solution provider Bankjoy.
Bank integration provider AccessPaysecures $24 million in equity and debt financing.
Integrated payments company Bluefinadds 23 new devices, 6 new applications, and three new key injection facilities (KIFs) to its Encryption Management Services P2PE Component listing.
Germany payment management platform NX Technologiesraises $23.8 million (EUR 22 million) in Series B funding.
Stripeteams up with Amazon to power payments for Just Walk Out technology in Australia and Canada.
Desjardins partners with cloud banking firm nCino to leverage its Automated Spreading Solution to enhance lending.
Open banking
Dwollaexpands its partnership with MX to power account aggregation and verification.
Open banking platform Link Moneyforges partnership with Silicon Valley Bank to enhance ACH processing and money movement for merchants.
Wealth management
Online trading and investing platform Robinhoodlaunches rewards credit card for its Robinhood Gold subscribers.
Wealth-building platform Belongsecures $3.7 million (£2.95 million) in pre-seed funding.
Multi-asset class investment accounting platform FundGuardraises $100 million in Series C funding.
Financial education
Wealth building and financial education platform Goalsetterclosed a $9.6 million Series A extension round.
Cash management
Cash-flow management platform SettlelaunchesAutomatic 3-Way Matching for Purchase Orders.
Fraud prevention
Plaidforges partnerships with Sandbox Banking and RealPage to help fight fraud in the customer experience.
AI-powered fraud and risk platform DataVisorlaunches its end-to-end anti-money laundering (AML) solution.
Financial crime compliance company Napier AI reports that its customer Banco do Brasil has won the Celent Model Risk Manager 2024 Award for combatting financial crime.
Visaadds three new AI-powered risk and fraud prevention solutions.
Cryptocurrencies / Blockchain
Revolut and Layer 1 blockchain Sui team up to boost blockchain education and adoption.
Trading and investing platform eToroadds 12 new altcoins to its cryptocurrency offerings.
Identity management / verification
ID verification company AU10TIXunveils expanded Digital ID solution.
Insurtech
Rewards credit card company Yonder to offer its members a new travel insurance experience courtesy of a partnership with embedded insurance orchestration firm Qover.
New Jersey’s largest credit union, Affinity Federal Credit Union, partners with Insuritas to launch Affinity Insurance Agency.
PayPal Ventures and MassMutual Ventures lead $47 million Series C funding round for Indonesian insurtech Qoala.
Mortgagetech
Equifax UKteams up with Homely to help first-time homebuyers become “mortgage-ready.”
This week’s edition of Finovate Global features the latest fintech news from Germany, where investors are backing innovations in embedded finance, payments companies are taking advantage of open banking, and the green shoots of crypto spring are growing ever more apparent.
Solaris secures funding
Germany’s embedded finance platform Solarissecured $103 million (€96 million) in a Series F round this week. The investment was led by SBI, one of Solaris’ earliest investors, with other existing investors also participating. Solaris will use the additional capital, which takes the firm’s total funding to more than $486 million (€450 million), to onboard its ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club) credit card program, strengthen its core capital, and invest further in its platform.
“This is a significant milestone for Solaris on our path to sustainable, profitable growth,” Solaris CEO Carsten Höltkemeyer said. “The funding underlines the high level of confidence our investors have in the transformation of our company.”
In addition to the investment, the Series F also included a financial guarantee of up to $108 million (€100 million) capital equivalent.
A pioneer in the banking-as-a-service business for nearly a decade, Solaris has grown into a major banking and technology provider with more than 750 employees at ten locations in both Europe and India. The company’s BaaS solution enables businesses to embed digital banking services – including payments, lending, and identity verification – directly into their platform. In addition to making it easier for companies to launch customized financial products and services, Solaris has secured the requisite licensing – including an e-money license for both the UK and EEA – to help companies navigate the regulatory complexities of doing business across the region.
Headquartered in Berlin, Solaris realized net revenues of $140 million (€130 million) in 2022. Last fall, the company issued a study – Disrupting the value chain for financial services – How to drive revenue growth with embedded finance – that highlighted “easier access to services” as a major driver of demand for embedded financial solutions.
Micropayment partners with Tink for Pay by Bank
Berlin-based payment processor Micropayment has turned to open banking platform Tink to add Pay by Bank to its payments offering. Live in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, Micropayment’s Pay by Bank enables consumers to initiate payments directly from their bank account to the seller’s account when purchasing goods and services. A growing preference for both merchants and consumers, account-to-account (A2A) payments provide a secure and streamlined experience for customers and lower costs for merchants.
“The DACH region is a key market for us, and Tink’s dedication to serving merchants across various industries has been invaluable,” Micropayment CSO Thomas Knoth said. “Their payment method offers consumers the speed, reliability, and security they expect, making it a seamless experience for both merchants and consumers.” In a statement, Micropayment noted that it plans to take further advantage of Tink’s pan-Europe connectivity in the future.
Founded in 2005, Micropayment is a full-service payment provider that provides its customers with software implementation, payment processing, detailed analysis, and more. The company offers nine different payment options designed specifically for e-commerce and paid content services. Micropayment customers can integrate the technology via ready-made payment windows and preconfigured shop logins, as well as white-label APIs and interfaces.
“Collaboration with Micropayment has got off to an excellent start and we are gaining traction in a highly competitive landscape, by offering merchants a payment method that offers everything a consumer has come to expect – familiarity, speed, reliability, and convenience,” Tink DACH Payments Director Thomas Gmelch said.
A Finovate alum since its Best of Show winning debut in 2014 at FinovateEurope, Tink returned to the Finovate stage three years later to earn its second Best of Show award. Most recently, the Sweden-based company announced a partnership with German modern mobility sharing services provider Deutsche Bahn. The company will deploy Tink’s Account Check solution to enable instant, secure account onboarding.
Crypto spring is alive and well in Europe as the region’s most prominent digital bank, N26, announced that its first cryptocurrency product, N26 Crypto, will be available to its customers in France. N26 began the year with the unveiling of its new Stock and ETF trading product – and the bank’s crypto solution already has been available in seven of N26’s 24 European markets. This week’s announcement adds French traders and investors to the ranks of those N26 customers who will be able to transact in nearly 200 cryptocurrencies on the N26 app.
N26 Crypto will be available to all eligible customers in France, or at least with a French or a German IBAN. All membership tiers will be able to access the technology, including customers using free accounts. There will be no additional charge for using N26 Crypto, which the bank says will offer the broadest range of cryptocurrencies for trading and investing compared to all other European banking apps.
“Last summer, we installed our local French Iban to be able to accelerate the deployment of the global banking offer that we want to provide to our approximately 3 million customers in France,” N26 General Manager France & Benelux, Jérémie Rosselli explained. “With this, customers can go beyond managing their money simply and intuitively on their smartphone to also invest within the N26 ecosystem,” Rosselli said.
The new offering is made possible via a partnership with Bitpanda GmbH, which manages the execution of trades as well as the custody of coins. With only €1 to get started, N26 Crypto users pay 1.5% in fees on Bitcoin and 2.5% on other cryptocurrencies. Users can upgrade to N26 Metal to take advantage of reduced transaction fees, as well as other perks.
Founded in 2013 by Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal, N26 has eight million customers and operates in 24 different markets. The bank’s crypto product announcement follows a slew of recent headlines from the German bank. These include the launch of its Instant Savings solution in 13 new markets, and the appointment of Mayur Kamat as new Chief Product Officer.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Eastern Europe
German challenger bank N26 launched new cryptocurrency trading product N26 Crypto.
Flowpay, a Czech-based fintech that provides financing for small businesses, raised $2.3 million (€2.1 million) in seed funding.
German embedded finance platform Solaris raised $103 million (€96 million) in a Series F round led by SBI Group.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Israel-based BioCatch and Google Cloud partner to bring fraud prevention solutions to expanding markets.
UAE-based Tungsten secured a license from the FSRA to operate at the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
Bahrain’s Eazy Financial Services joined forces with Tabby to provide BNPL services via its EazyPay POS terminals network.
Central and Southern Asia
Business Recorder’s Syed Yousuf Raza looked at how Pakistan’s banking and fintech industry is dealing with evolving fraud threats.
The Indian government signed a $23 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to enhance access to fintech education, research, and innovation at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City.
FinTech Alliance Nepal joined the Asia FinTech Alliance.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Colombian fintech Addi secured $86 million in a combination of equity and debt financing.
Uruguayan digital payments firm dLocal anticipates record total payment volumes in 2024.
Nubank Brazil CEO Livia Chanes talked with Bloomberg News about the state of fintech in Latin America.
Asia-Pacific
Singapore-based cross-border payments company Thunes expanded its strategic partnership with Visa.
Australia’s HeirWealth integrated with Envestnet | Yodlee to bring open banking data sharing to its wealth register for high net-worth families.
HSBC and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks startup hub announced the first “public-private cooperation between the city’s largest innovation and technology ecosystem and leading global bank.”
Sub-Saharan Africa
Ethiopia’s Cooperative Bank of Oromia partnered with Temenos to launch its CoopApp and CoopApp Aluhuda for both conventional and Islamic digital banking experiences.
dLocal teamed up with Ebury to bring African customers optimized payment solutions.
Safaricom, a telecom based in Kenya, partnered with Onafriq to offer remittance services to Ethiopia.
We had the privilege of sitting down and interviewing three remarkable women leaders in the fintech industry last month. As we bid farewell to Women’s History Month, we are thrilled to share the wealth of knowledge and experience they shared with us.
In our interview videos below, you’ll hear from Nadia Edwards-Dashti, Co-Founder at Harrington Star Group; Jen Godderidge, CEO & Founder at ATMO Technologies; and Chantal Swainston, Founder at The Heard.
These leaders delve into a variety of topics including personal and professional development, strategies for retaining female talent, the importance of empowering women in fintech, driving meaningful change within organizations, the role of coaching and mentoring, and the vital aspects of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Business banking account ANNA has acquired enterprise spend management platform GetCape. Terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition is ANNA’s first and marks the U.K.-based fintech’s entry into the Australian market.
ANNA made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin, Germany.
Business banking account ANNA has acquired GetCape, a business spend management platform based in Sydney, Australia. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition, ANNA’s first, will further the company’s goal of creating a new SaaS category that competes with Australia’s “Big Four” banks for market share in the expense management and corporate card business.
“This acquisition is a monumental step in our journey and we’re so excited to be joining Australia’s dynamic startup landscape,” ANNA co-CEO Eduard Panteleev said. “Entering the Australian market with GetCape at our side empowers us to bring our award-winning financial services to Australia’s vibrant business community and help them to thrive.”
Awarded “Most Innovative Expense Management Software Developer” at the Wealth & Finance 2023 Global Fintech Awards, GetCape is an Australian business spend management platform that issues corporate cards to help businesses better manage their cash flow. GetCape’s technology gives companies complete visibility and control over business purchases, enabling them to spot and eliminate wasteful spending and become more efficient in their spend management.
Ryan Edwards-Pritchard, who founded GetCape in 2020 and will serve in the new role of CEO of ANNA Money Australia, called the acquisition a “huge step forward.” He noted, “integrating our software IP with their trusted platform means we can create the ultimate B2B payments solution. This will all be delivered via a best-in-class ChatGPT-style AI assistant that provides business owners with the power of a finance team in the palm of their hand, just without the unnecessary headcount.”
Headquartered in the U.K., ANNA made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin, Germany. At the conference, the company demoed its Automated Tax Calculation solution which sorts self-assessment and VAT returns, automatically categorizing and reconciling expenses, and calculating VAT and tax in real time. The app also completes and submits tax and VAT returns to HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs) with support from a certified accountant.
In addition to its newly-announced partnership with GetCape, ANNA also recently teamed up with embedded finance and payment solutions provider Sonovate. In February, ANNA unveiled its new expense card which provides perks such as low-cost travel and improved cashback offers.
This week in Tales from the Crypto we look at the boom-induced traffic jam in crypto coin trading, new funding for a blockchain payment network in the developing world, and a pair of new crypto-friendly alums that demoed at FinovateEurope last month.
Base Backup as Bitcoin Booms
The renewed boom in bitcoin is not without its discontents. A spike in network activity on Coinbase’s layer-2 blockchain Base has resulted in service disruptions ranging from transaction fee increases leading to “stuck” transactions to the inability to cancel transactions.
Why does this matter? For crypto traders and investors, Base – launched in August 2023 – offers a way to transact on Ethereum at a lower cost, among other attractive features. But even more critically, the third largest layer-2 network on Ethereum has also seen its transaction volume surge by 3x over the past few weeks due something called “Base season.” This occurs as crypto influencers and traders promote a variety of Base tokens to their followers.
Most of these tokens are meme coins, but the volumes have been significant enough to serve as “stress tests” for a number of these systems – and for their users who have complained of transaction fees 5x normal levels. It should be pointed out that Base has not been the only network to have felt the impact of rising trading volumes for all forms of crypto – including the current meme coin mania. Layer-1 blockchain Solana has experienced service issues as well.
The traffic tie-ups are likely to be temporary, the company noted. It also encouraged users cancel and resubmit transactions where possible and to wait for the traffic to subside if cancellation was not possible. Most importantly, Coinbase assured customers that their funds are safe. There’s a saying that if you are sitting in your car complaining about traffic, it is worth remembering that you, too, are traffic. A new round of cryptocurrency traders and investors is learning that lesson as crypto winter turns toward crypto spring.
In other Coinbase news, the company announced the launch of its Prime Sweeper solution this week. Prime Sweeper is a reference app that automates digital asset transfer between trading balances and vault wallets in Coinbase Prime. The no-code solution is designed for institutional clients and provides robust logging and status updates at every stage of the transfer process.
In an oversubscribed seed funding round, African blockchain payment network Zone has secured $8.5 million. VC firms Flourish Ventures and TLcom Capital led the investment. Other firms participating in the fundraising were blockchain-focused outfits Digital Currency Group, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, and Alter Global.
Zone is the first regulated blockchain network for payments in Africa. The company has already signed agreements with 15 of the largest banks and fintechs on the continent, and Zone CEO and co-founder Obi Emetarom said that funding will fuel expansion of the company’s network domestically. Zone will also leverage the new capital to support a cross-border payments pilot program scheduled for 2025.
“As we step into this new phase at Zone, we are re-energized and our commitment to transforming Africa’s payment infrastructure is renewed,” Emetarom said. He praised the firm’s new and existing investors not only for their financial support, but also for their “deep expertise.” Flourish Ventures, for example, will bring both a global perspective as well as a network of industry influencers and Africa fintech expertise to help Zone reach new markets. For its part, TLcom Capital will provide “essential local credibility” and an “understanding of the African tech space.”
Founded in 2022, Zone is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.
FinovateEurope: Bringing Compliance to Crypto and Web3 Gamification
FinovateEurope last month showcased two companies, FRNZX (pronounced “forensics”) and Tradelite Solutions, that are innovating in the crypto space.
Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel and founded by experts in cryptocurrencies, AML, and intelligence, FRNZX offers a way to achive AML compliance in cryptocurrency transactions. The company offers a holistic AML navigator that makes it easier to integrate cryptocurrency transactions into the bank’s existing AML framework. At FinovateEurope, FRNZX co-founder and CEO Nevo Lapidot demonstrated how the technology streamlines AML operations from onboarding to monitoring, reporting suspicious activity and helping ensure that financial institutions meet regulatory requirements. FRNZX was founded in 2022.
The other crypto-friendly demoing company from FinovateEurope this year was Tradelite Solutions. Dedicated to promoting financial inclusion, Tradelite Solutions offers a web3 financial education game called Mogaland. In addition to gamification, Mogaland leverages a token economy and data-driven financial behavioral IDs in order to make financial literacy accessible, enjoyable, and – courtesy of web3 – monetizable for all, as well. Founded in 2020 by Tracy Chang (CEO) and Matthias Kröner (CFO), Tradelite Solutions is headquartered in Munich, Germany.
ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood on Crypto in 2024
One of the biggest defenders of cryptocurrencies in mainstream finance is ARK Invest CEO and CIO Cathie Wood. In addition to her advocacy for emergent and disruptive technologies, Wood has also advocated on behalf of cryptocurrencies. Just six months ago, she explained why she believed that bitcoin is the currency for AI.
Above is a more recent interview with Cathie Wood, conducted by Schwab Network’s Oliver Renick. In this conversation, Wood discusses recent price gains for Bitcoin, the debut of spot Bitcoin ETFs, and more.
Figure Technologies launches crypto exchange
An “everything marketplace”? A sole platform where traders and investors can buy and sell a variety of blockchain-native assets including cryptocurrencies, alternative investments, and stocks? Figure Technologies is on it.
This week, the San Francisco, California-based company announced the launch of Figure Markets. The new entity will introduce a new decentralized custody crypto exchange and blockchain-native security marketplace. Importantly, the marketplace will incorporate Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology. The use of MPC-based wallets, the company noted in a statement, will help avoid the single-point-of-failure risks common to centralized exchanges. MPC wallets use private keys that are distributed across a decentralized network and must be multi-party approved for each movement.
Figure Markets also announced raising more than $60 million in Series A funding. Jump Crypto, Pantera Capital, and Lightspeed Faction led the oversubscribed round. Distributed Global, Ribbit Capital, CMT Digital, among others, also participated.
“This funding validates our vision to redefine capital markets with blockchain technology,” Figure Markets CEO Mike Cagney said. “Figure Technologies is capturing real benefits by employing blockchain in its lending and capital markets operations. Our goal is to extend the benefits of blockchain to a broader range of assets – including crypto and securities. It’s ironic that the largest crypto exchanges aren’t on blockchain – we aim to change that.”
Digital fraud detection innovator BioCatch has forged a partnership with Google Cloud.
The two companies will leverage their new relationship to bring fraud prevention solutions to expanding markets, starting in Southeast Asia.
Israel-based BioCatch made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2014.
A new partnership between financial crime prevention specialist BioCatch and Google Cloud will help extend fraud prevention solutions into emerging markets, starting with markets in Southeast Asia. The move comes in the wake of a report from the digital fraud detection innovator that noted rapidly growing incidents of financial cybercrime in the APAC region. BioCatch’s 2023 APAC Digital Banking Fraud Trends Reportunderscored one threat in particular: authorized push payment (APP) attacks – which the report noted accounted for 54% of all confirmed fraud cases.
APP fraud occurs when a fraudster fools a victim into transferring money to an account controlled by the fraudster. Social engineering-based fraud such as APP has grown in recent years. This is due to both the rise in popularity of peer-to-peer payment networks, as well as successful efforts to defeat previously dominant forms of fraud such as remote takeover of victim devices.
“The APAC market has seen a massive rise in advanced financial cybercrime, with criminals adopting sophisticated social engineering tactics that have proved difficult to foil in real-time with legacy security controls,” BioCatch’s head of the APAC market Richard Booth explained. “Pre-crime logistics visibility and criminal network intelligence are vital to combatting these threats.”
BioCatch helps companies deal with this shifting landscape of digital fraud threats. The company leverages behavioral biometric intelligence and machine learning to deliver real-time threat detection and prevention. Its signature solution, BioCatch Connect, offers integrated digital fraud, AML, and impersonation detection to help banks and financial services companies detect and identify both traditional and emerging fraud threats.
BioCatch Connect works on three levels. First, the solution’s fraud telemetry collection includes thousands of app, behavioral, device, network, and transactional signals from more than eight billion individual user sessions. Second, continuous behavioral sequencing applies advanced cognitive behavioral science, data modeling, and deep learning algorithms to analyze and score data from the solution’s fraud telemetry collection. Third, BioCatch Connect leverages predictive intelligence using AI models to validate user motivation and identify the risk of potentially fraudulent activity.
Headquartered in Israel, BioCatch made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2014. In the years since, the company has grown into a leader in digital fraud detection and a pioneer in applying behavioral biometric intelligence, cognitive science, and machine learning to the challenge of fighting financial crime. More than 30 of the world’s biggest 100 banks and 180+ of the biggest 500 banks use BioCatch’s technology to manage fraud risks, facilitate digital transformation, and better engage their customers. Gadi Mazor is CEO.
