Back to the Future with FinovateAsia 2012’s Best of Show Winners

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With a new round of fintech innovators less than a month away from taking the Finovate stage in Singapore, it’s a great time to review last year’s breakout performers.

Who were the winners (as determined by audience vote)? What did they present? And most importantly, what have they been up to in the weeks and months since?

To answer those questions and more, here’s a look at what’s new and notable from the Best of Show winners of FinovateAsia 2012.

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Who They Are: Specialists in peer-to-peer international money transfers, CurrencyFair presented an upgrade to the user interface for their MarketPlace screens.
Why They Won: Sending money abroad is fraught with cost and complication. CurrencyFair’s MarketPlace solution creates an online, person-to-person environment in which individuals can negotiate their own exchange rates with each other.
What They’ve Been Up To: 
  • Won” “Most Insightful & Intriguing Internet Innovation” award 
  • Reached $500 million in transactions
  • Presented their iPhone app at FinovateEurope
  • Listed among top “Middleweight Startups” at The Europas 2013
  • Won Best Irish Startup Award from The Next Web
  • Named Startup of the Day by The Daily Business Post
  • Won “Best of Show” at FinovateAsia 2012
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Who They Are: Finantix provides solutions to help banks, wealth managers, and advisors provide more and better advice and insight for their retail and high net worth clients
Why They Won: In presenting their Sharp digital banking platform, Finantix introduced a tool to change the way banks interact with their customers by introducing gamification, social and multimedia content, and natural language communication.
What They’ve Been Up To:

  • Partnered with VoiceTrust to bring voice biometrics to Finantix Banking Assistant
  • Launched Banking Assistant mobile app at FinovateEurope 2013
  • Won “Best of Show” at FinovateAsia 2012
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Who They Are: SocietyOne is the first fully-compliant peer-to-peer online lending platform in Australia.
Why They Won: With ClearMatch, SocietyOne effectively leveraged proven banking technologies into new applications in the peer-to-peer consumer lending business.
What They’ve Been Up To:

  • Reached $1 million in personal loans originated mark
  • Earned spot on Mozo’s VIP (Very Innovative Product) list for 2013
  • Won “Best of Show” at FinovateAsia 2012.
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Who They Are: Ubank is a division of NAB, the National Bank of Australia. Ubank operates as a branchless, Internet-only bank.
Why They Won: The introduction of Ubank’s People Like U solution reflects a growing trend in banks adding PFM and financial management tools for their customers. The solution takes an econographic approach to helping consumers understand their own spending patterns  in the context of their peers.
What They’ve Been Up To:
  • Won 2013 Webby award in Financial Services/Banking category
  • Won six Best of the Best 2013 awards from Money Magazine Australia
  • Won “Best of Show” at FinovateAsia 2012
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For more information about FinovateAsia 2013, returning to Singapore next month, visit our FinovateAsia 2013 page here.

New Report Published: The Best of FinovateAsia 2012

image Our first Finovate in Asia did not disappoint. With 350 attendees, it was smaller than recent U.S. shows, but it had a ton of energy. While that made it hard to herd folks back to the auditorium amidst all their animated conversations, it’s  exactly what we hope for. And we are looking forward to a return next year.

FinovateAsia featured 35 companies, each delivering a seven-minute demo. As is our habit, we’ve summarized the innovations from the crowd favorites and are deliver it to subscribers in the latest report:

The Best New Products at FinovateAsia 2012

Each of the four companies voted Best of Show by the attendees at the event (note 1) are profiled:

  • CurrencyFair showed off its new Marketplace for
    peer-to-peer international transfers
  • Finantix launched Sharp digital banking platform to
    improve sales and service interaction
  • SocietyOne debuted its ClearMatch technology used
    to streamline the loan application process 
  • Ubank, a unit of National Australian Bank (NAB), launched 
    its  peer-spending comparison tool, People like U

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About the report
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The Best New Products at FinovateAsia (link)
A look at the four "Best of Show" winners

Author: Julie Schicktanz, Finovate Group Research Analyst
Editor: Jim Bruene, Finovate Group Founder

Published: 21 November 2012

Length: 32 pages; 7,000 words

Cost: No extra charge to OBR subscribers, US$125 for others
The printed version will be mailed to subscribers next week.

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Note:
1. See Best of Show methodology here.

FinovateAsia 2012 In the Press

Here’s a look at the press coverage from FinovateAsia 2012 last week in Singapore:

Campaign Asia

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London-based brand innovation agency northandsouth launches in Singapore
by Racheal Lee

The Digital Insurer
Finovate Singapore – A very impressive conference for financial services technology
by Hugh Terry

e27

3 finance startups that caught our eye at Finovate 2012
by Jacky Yap
Finextra
UBank gathers transaction data for spending comparison site
IT News
UBank unveils spending comparison tool
by Liz Tay
Money Marketing
Barclays to launch basic financial planning software
by Sam Macdonald
Ian McKenna: Asia shows the way for tech developments
by Ian McKenna
Ian McKenna: Banks will increasingly use technology to attract IFAs’ target market
by Ian McKenna
sg Entrepreneurs
Perfectsen launches The Hook, which lets banks serve online ads based on user’s transaction history
by Terence Lee
SocietyOne blog
SocietyOne announced as ‘Best Of Show’ Winner at Finovate Singapore
by Matt Symons 
Startup Central
Heckyl, Clari5 and BankBazaar showcase at Finovate S’pore 
Tech in Asia
Striata Lets Banks and Customers Go Paperless
by Willis Wee
TradeHero: Probably One of the Best Startup Ideas in Singapore
by Willis Wee
What Do Obama and Citibank Have in Common?
by Darius Cheung
Techgoondu
Three financial tech start-ups to watch
by Aaron Tan

FinovateAsia 2012 Live Twitter Transcript

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Here is the live Twitter transcript from @Finovate during FinovateAsia last week:

Entries appear in chronological order.

Session 1

  • Innovation Agency begins Finovate with a unique new platform for fostering ideas internally.
  • Innovation Agency’s Innovation Café can be white-labeled & integrated with SharePoint, Oracle, and WebSpace; has mobile app
  • TIBCO Software launching Contextual Mobility to deliver superior offers on the go 
  • TIBCO demoing merchant’s social dashboard where they can converse with users (via facebook-like UI), track performance, etc.
  • Heckyl launching real-time trading & news dashboard to view aggregated info from millions of sources
  • Heckyl UI for traders. Color codes on news shows sentiment and trend over time; also has news cluster visualization 
  • eWise launching MyFin mobile banking platform PFM platform with account aggregation 
  • eWise demoing UI on iPad app; showing funds transfer; clients include HSBC, Citibank, Westpac 
  • Metaforic launching software to detect and respond to mobile security threats 
  • Metaforic system allows a variety of ways to handle attacks: warn, flag transaction, shutdown, silent alarm to bank, etc 
  • Backbase showing new Bank 2.0 portal; offers same UI across various devices 
  • Backbase showing how UI can be changed through online dashboard; using behavioral data, segmentation, etc
  • Striata launching its next-gen eBill; showing example in use by Barclays 
  • Striata e-statement includes interactive elements such as search, sort & cost saving “transaction dispute” right from the inbox
  • Perfectsen launches targeted ad platform, The Hook
  • Perfectsen showing how to “monetize” massive online/mobile banking traffic with highly-targeted ads located in wasted space
Session 2
  • Pendo Systems launching system to make asset data more transparent within banks 
  • Pendo Systems demoing Basispoint online dashboard; also has data visualization via iPad app 
  • Strands Finance launching its What If function within its PFM 
  • Strands showing what if on mobile app so users can look at what a purchase would do to their financial health
  • Barclays announcing launch of PFM powered by Strands, demoing UI to be available in a few days
  • CurrencyFair showing MarketPlace, a P2P currency exchange platform, that saves up to 90% on fx
  • CurrencyFair new MarketPlace allows users to ask for a certain price in the marketplace 
  • SocietyOne demonstrating Smartphone Loan Application that enables 3-min loan app 
  • SocietyOne runs P2P marketplace in Australia; uses Yodlee for acct access
  • Fiserv showing Mobiliti Reach Mobile Banking & Payments Platform
  • Fiserv demoing Control Centre management platform for mobile service offerings
  • Figlo launching tablet version of it PFM platform; demoing it at its client Knab Bank
  • Figlo showing how it connects to actual advisors within the platform; UI shows how current decisions change long-term finances
  • UBank from NAB launching People Like U allows customers to compare their spending/finances with peers 
  • UBank showing how to run http://peoplelikeu.com.au comparisons; uses transactions from 2.5 million users in Australia
  • Tagit launching Open Platform where merchants can develop and deploy mobile apps 
  • Tagit demoing creation of new app & offer and then shows new results across 4 different phones
  • DemystData demoing Credit-in-a-Box which shows how it uses big data to make better decisions
  • The DemystData system allows bank to accept more loan applicants
Session 3
  • Austria’s Smart Engine launching its offers platform
  • Smart Engine demoing the creation of a direct mail offer via its online dashboard; showing offers delivered to mobile 
  • BellaDati launching business analytics system for banking data
  • BellaDati has comprehensive data visualizations via online dashboard or mobile; showing developer tools & Salesforce integration 
  • Wipro Technologies launching SmartOffers digital offers/coupons platform
  • Wipro demos how offers appear on phone, limit to 3 to keep them relevant; showing mobile integration with mobile wallet 
  • BankersLab launching Sc
    oringLab a “flight simulator for bankers” to teach credit scoring
  • BankersLab showing how it gamifies training; demoing mobile BancIt option
  • InterAcct Solutions launching EZYsecure mobile authentication system 
  • InterAcct Solutions demoing how its delivers a popup overlay over mobile screen; user cannot miss and can stay on same screen 
  • InterAcct Solutions launching this year in Indonesia with a major bank
  • BankBazaar.com launching 7-minute Credit eApproval across online, mobile, and tablet interfaces
  • India’s BankBazaar.com demoing its 3-step loan app process; showing how it looks at ICICI Bank & Axis Bank 
  • PocketSmith launching cash flow forecasts; can see whole month calendar view with projections 30 years out 
  • PocketSmith demoing Zillow integration so to do what-ifs with the exact houses you are looking at buying
  • PocketSmith has a tool called “Mint Express” which allows users to transfer data from Mint to PocketSmith
  • Zighra launching ZFraudShield authentication system
  • Zighra adds a “crowdsourced” option, layering in a check of existing users to see if anyone has previously flagged trans as fraud
Session 4
  • Entrepreneurial Finance Lab’s Credit Scoring Tool allows lending to thin/ no-file small biz 
  • EFL has mobile tool to assess entrepreneurial ability & willingness to repay loans using personality testing; proven at banks
  • ayondo launching a social trading platform with “follow the followers” feature
  • ayondo showing portfolio dashboard and trading tools; version 3.0 out later this month 
  • BlinkMobile demos platform for creating mobile app-like experiences; showing “branch queue” app
  • BlinkMobile showing insurance claims app with photo integration & sketching capability 
  • Sandstone launching SmartBank with online/mobile banking, PFM & loans 
  • Sandstone showing loan application via iPad with home value integration; includes loan monitoring tool for user after submission 
  • Luminous launching BankFiling, which streamlines filing of docs by sm biz clients
  • Luminous showing how loan officer can identify problems & opportunities, e.g. to add interest penalty or cross sell
  • TradeHero launching virtual brokerage community for traders 
  • TradeHero demoing mobile trading leader board, with “trade heros” and their followers, which pay a fee shared with traders
  • Vermilian launching bancapp, a mobile platform using tile-based navigation 
  • Vermilian showing secure mobile inbox for secure messaging; demoing campaign with mobile product landing page & buying process 
  • Pandai showing P2P lending platform for the Chinese market
  • Pandai considers underwriter to be “third customer” (after lender & borrower) so have designed good UI for them 
  • Pandai has different loans for each segment; is only P2P platform that allows lenders to sell their loans, all or partial loans
  • CustomerXPs launching Clarify iRM, real-time Relationship Manager with “inference engine” 
  • CustomerXPs showing ipad with Skype integration; voice commands; use case when customer needs more funds on trip
  • Finantix debuting multi-channel Sharp Digital Banking platform with social elements, gamification #finovate 
  • Finantix showing ipad app with money transfer; integration w university database; “wonder bar” for natural language search 
  • Finantix showing Apple Passbook integration
  • Thats a wrap folks. Thanks to everybody for a great inaugural FinovateAsia!! See you next year. 
  • Congrats to FinovateAsia 2012 Best of Show winners: CurrencyFair, Finantix, SocietyOne, & UBank.

FinovateAsia 2012 Best of Show Winners: CurrencyFair, Finantix, SocietyOne and Ubank

Our first FinovateAsia wrapped up a few hours ago. At the end of the packed day, the Singapore audience voted for their favorite three demos from among the 35 contenders. The top four overall were named Best of Show (see notes).image

The winners (in alphabetic order):

  • CurrencyFair showed off its new Marketplace for peer-to-peer international transfers
  • imageFinantix launched Sharp digital banking platform to improve sales and service interaction
  • imageSocietyOne debuted its ClearMatch technology used to streamline the loan application process 
  • Ubank, a unit of National Australian Bank (NAB), launched imageits  peer-spending comparison tool, People like U

We’ll have videos of all 35 demos posted at Finovate.com within two weeks.

Thanks to everyone who presented, attended, tweeted, networked, blogged, and helped push fintech forward in Asia and beyond. You were a great audience!

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Notes on methodology
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.    
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during the day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their their favorites.   
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.” 
4. The four companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named Best of Show. 
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners.

FinovateAsia 2012 Best of Show Winners: CurrencyFair, Finantix, SocietyOne and Ubank

Our first FinovateAsia wrapped up a few hours ago. At the end of the packed day, the Singapore audience voted for their favorite three demos from among the 35 contenders. The top four overall were named Best of Show (see notes).image

The winners (in alphabetic order):

  • CurrencyFair showed off its new Marketplace for peer-to-peer international transfers
  • imageFinantix launched Sharp digital banking platform to improve sales and service interaction
  • imageSocietyOne debuted its ClearMatch technology used to streamline the loan application process 
  • Ubank, a unit of National Australian Bank (NAB), launched imageits  peer-spending comparison tool, People like U

We’ll have videos of all 35 demos posted at Finovate.com within two weeks.

Thanks to everyone who presented, attended, tweeted, networked, blogged, and helped push fintech forward in Asia and beyond. You were a great audience!

———-

Notes on methodology
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.    
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during the day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their their favorites.   
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.” 
4. The four companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named Best of Show. 
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners.

Finantix Debuts Finantix Sharp Digital Banking Platform

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Concluding FinovateAsia 2012, Finantix launched Finantix Sharp:

“Finantix Sharp is a multi-channel platform for digital banking that introduces a new and exciting approach to customer interactions. Sales and service processes are made engaging, effective and paperless by applying user-friendly interfaces, gameful simulators, social and multimedia content, and natural language commands. Special focus is devoted to smooth collaboration of customers, banks and third parties in helping customers address their financial needs and reach their goals.” 

Product Launch: November 2012
HQ location: Venice, Italy
Founded: 1994
Website: finantix.com
Twitter@Finantix
Finovate demo video: Demo videos will be posted next week
Introducing Alessandro Tonchia (Director & Founder) and Jakub Downar (Pre-Sales Manager)

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CustomerXPs’ Clari5 Empowers Relationship Managers to Provide More Personalized Services

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Then, CustomerXPs launched Clari5:

“Clari5 iRM brings extreme real-time intelligence to Relationship Managers (RMs) on the move. Typical RM apps are the extensions of CRM screens on the RM’s tablet or phone. As these are not connected in real-time to the underlying core systems, RMs are the last ones to know when a significant moment of truth event happens. Clari5 iRM is a next generation product that interprets customers’ structured/unstructured events in real-time and provides an inference instantly empowering RMs to provide more personalized services. 

Clari5 iRM also leverages the full power of the mobile/tablet by using its real-time push, GPS, voice recognition, video, and screen sharing capabilities. Through Clari5 iRM, RM would not only be the first person to know of a potential fraud or Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) situation, but also would be able to modify/stop the transaction.”

Product Launch: November 2012
HQ: Bangalore, India
Founded: December 2006
Metrics: 5+ year-old Enterprise Product company; $4M Series A from JAFCO; Gartner Cool Vendor 2012; Red Herring Asia 100, 2012 winner; Markets: Japan, Southeast Asia, Middle East & India
Twitter@customerxps
Finovate demo video: Demo videos will be posted next week
Introducing Rivi Varghese (CEO) and Madhavi Natukula (Marketing Manager)

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Pandai Brings P2P Lending to China

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After, Pandai showcased its P2P lending platform for the Chinese market:
“Peer-to-peer lending platform that connects borrowers with lenders through a robust credit risk management system that understands different customer demographics within China. 
For our lenders:
    • High fixed-income returns (12-15% p.a.) for lenders through investing as little as 100 RMB
    • High liquidity through loan transfers on a homogenous platform
    • Platform and borrower transparency through our convenient web platform 

For our borrowers:

    • Fair-priced products based on borrower demographics risk profile
    • Build credit over the long term, garnering lower-priced loans
    • Convenient online platform for application and payment
Moreover, with our robust credit management system and customized loan product design, Pandai.cn also is a platform for trying and testing alternative credit models.”
Product Launch: March 2012
HQ: Beijing, China
Founded: July 2011
Metrics: 15-20 employees
Website: pandai.cn
Finovate demo video: Demo videos will be posted next week
Introducing Roger Ying (CEO)

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Vermilian’s Bancapp Provides a Single Mobile Marketing Channel

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Next, Vermilian took the stage with bancapp:
“bancapp seamlessly delivers mobile banking together with sales, marketing, and communications providing an all-in-one mobile banking and marketing channel. Available as iOS and Android native apps as well as a supporting dedicated mobile website, bancapp integrates with numerous banking and marketing systems to provide individual banking services and personalised marketing communications. 
bancapp provides a unique communications capability that allows financial institutions to keep in touch with customers through the expanding mobile channel. The product presents financial institutions with a solution to challenges being faced by the changing nature of retail banking, as consumer demand for on-the-go banking increases.”
Product Launch: August 2012
HQ: Sydney, Australia
Founded: 2001
Website: vermilian.com
Finovate demo video: Demo videos will be posted next week
Introducing Anthony Voigt (Director) and John Kean (Director) 

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TradeHero’s Virtual Trading Community Leverages Social Elements and Gamification

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Then, TradeHero showcased its interactive, virtual trading community:
“TradeHero leverages mobile real-time push notifications, mobile-optimized and deep social-network integration with creative and addictive game-play elements, and we operate across the breath of the mobile space from Android through to iOS and HTML5. Key USPs include the core concept of our platform as an information-brokerage: no trade execution, no regulatory constraints; professional-grade trade modeling and verification; and access to global equities markets through our partnerships with multiple market data providers.
Unlike our competitors, our proprietary trade-validation algorithms guarantee meaningful user-generated trade content. Taken together, these unique advantages form the key components of our intellectual property and are subject to ongoing proceedings to establish legal protection across the largest possible range of key territories.”
Product Launch: Coming Soon
HQ: Singapore
Founded: August 2012
Metrics: 5 employees, pre-launch, alpha-test phase
Finovate demo video: Demo videos will be posted next week
Introducing Dominic Morris (CTO) and Dinesh Bhatia (CEO)

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BankFiling by Luminous Automates the Collection of Financial Information for FIs

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Third, Luminous took the stage with BankFiling:

“BankFiling is an innovative solution that saves banks millions by automating the timely collection of financial information from business customers with credit exposure to the bank.”

Product Launch: September 2012
HQ: Johannesburg, South Africa
Founded: 2007
Metrics:  Luminous was the first to release a ground breaking solution to deliver in-depth, financial management reports for both the banks and their customers. 
Finovate demo video: Demo videos will be posted next week
Introducing Andrew Buchanan (Global Head of Sales) and Andrew Teversham (CTO)

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