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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
FICO announced this week that its latest credit risk solutionFICO Score 10 Suite will be available to lenders via the U.S. credit reporting agencies this summer. The new technology leverages trended credit bureau data to boost its predictive power, enabling lenders to make more precise decisions on credit risk.
The company said that the new Score 10 Suite could reduce the number of defaults in a lender’s portfolio by up to 10% for newly originated bankcards, and 9% among newly originated auto loans versus the previous, FICO Score 9. The new solution performs even better with newly originated mortgage loans, the company added, with a 17% reduction in defaults.
“FICO is a cornerstone for consumer lending decisions,” Jim Wehmann, executive vice president for Scores at FICO said. “We continuously innovate using the latest, most robust data, while maintaining consistency with previous models to ensure backward compatibility and minimize operational changes required to adopt a new score.”
The company is touting the use of trended data as one of the key enhancements of the new technology. Trended data provides a historical view of data like account balances which gives lenders a more complete understanding of how an applicant manages their finances. At the same time, FICO Score 10 maintains FICO Score minimum scoring criteria, and features backwards compatibility with previous versions of FICO Score. This helps ensure that lenders experience a seamless transition to the new offering with maximum ease of use and stability.
In addition to the emphasis on trended data, the new scoring regime also takes an interest in personal loans that the applicant may have. The increasing use of personal loans, to pay down credit card debt for example, has grown in recent years. MarketWatch noted earlier this week that personal loans are the fastest-growing debt category in the U.S. The takeaway is that FICO Score 10 will make it easier for those who are managing their finances well to avoid being penalized for instances when debt might spike due to a large, single-instance purchase. Meanwhile, those who are adding debt (personal loan, home equity loan, etc.) as a strategy to manage their debt may find the new scoring criteria more challenging.
FICO closed out 2019 with the release of two new products and an acquisition. In November, the company launched FICO Identity Proofing, a digital onboarding solution; and FICO User Authentication, a set of multi-factor authentication functionalities. Both new solutions were made possible by the company’s acquisition of security access provider EZMCOM that month.
An alum of our developers conference, FinDEVr New York 2016, FICO was founded as Fair Isaac Corporation in 1956. The company is based in San Jose, California.
Five months. A quarter of a million new U.S. customers.
That’s the news from Berlin, Germany-based challenger bank, N26, which announced this week that it has added 250,000 new customers in the U.S. within five months of its August launch.
Calling American consumers “too reliant on traditional banks,” N26 U.S. CEO Nicolas Kopp suggested that the wave of new U.S. customers was just the beginning. “We’re incredibly proud to have reached a quarter-million U.S. customers in our first five months and we’re just getting started. We have big plans to offer millions of future N26 users a feature-rich, easy-to-use banking experience.”
The challenger bank, which launched in the U.S. last year courtesy of a partnership with Axos Bank, offers its new U.S.-based customers a regulated, FDIC-insured account, a Visa debit card, and basic spending management tools like account activity display, daily spending limits, and automatic transaction categorization. In December, N26 introduced its Perks program for U.S. customers, giving them cashback rewards and discounts for purchases made on their N26 debit card.
N26 gives its customers the ability to open accounts in less than five minutes, transfer money to friends instantly with MoneyBeam, and leverage a tool called Spaces to open sub-accounts to manage savings goals. The accounts have no hidden fees, and accountholders have access to a network of more than 55,000 surcharge-free ATMs. Customers who sign up for direct deposit can access their pay up to two days early.
Gains in the U.S. notwithstanding, N26 points to Europe as the source of most of the growth in its customer base – which reached 3.5 million last summer and now stands at five million. N26 co-founder and CEO Valenti Stalf heralded the five million customer milestone, but suggested the achievement is only a step on the journey the company has set out for itself when it was founded in 2013. “(We) have not forgotten our original mission – to challenge an industry that is ripe for change,” Stalf said. “N26 has proved that banking can be simple and intuitive through the use of technology.”
N26 has raised more than $680 million in funding, with $470 million of the challenger bank’s equity capital coming last year.
B2B cross border payments innovator Currencycloud has locked in $80 million in new funding.
Visa, the International Finance Corporation, BNP Paribas, SBI Group, and Siam Commercial Bank participated in the Series E. Existing investors Sapphire Ventures, Notion Capital, GV, Accomplice, and Anthemis were also involved in the round.
“Currencycloud is re-imagining how money flows around the global economy and embedding it into (the) platforms of the future,” company CEO Mike Laven said. “Transfer of value is fast becoming the newest layer in the modern technology stack, and Currencycloud is positioned to provide the infrastructure to make this happen.” He added that the funding makes Currencycloud “the go-to provider for the next wave of fintech innovation.”
This week’s investment takes Currencycloud’s total capital to more than $140 million. In its statement, the company said that it plans to use the new funds to grow its portfolio of payment methods and further develop its partner ecosystem.”
A global payments platform, Currencycloud offers 85 different APIs across four modules – collect, convert, manage, and pay – that support the entire B2B cross-border payments workflow. The London-based company, founded in 2012, demonstrated its Global Collections offering at FinovateSpring in 2018. Global Collections makes it easier for firms to collect payments from overseas customers by setting up local, virtual bank accounts in their names. This helps keep payment costs low and ensures that payments arrive promptly and in-full with as little, cross-border hassle as possible.
Earlier this month, Currencycloud announced a partnership with TransferGo that will help it launch in 14 new markets in the first quarter of this year. Named to the 2020 Fintech Power 50 in December, Currencycloud previewed its multi-currency accounts solution, Currencycloud Spark, last fall. The technology enables firms to offer their business customers multi-currency accounts that allow them to collect, store, convert, and make payments in 35+ currencies.
Currencycloud has processed more than $50 billion in cross-border payments processed since its inception. The company includes fellow Finovate alums Revolut, Klarna, and Dwolla among its partners.
One of the big additions to FinovateEurope (February 11-13) this year is a new initiative designed especially for fintech startups. Finovate Research caught up with Greg Palmer, Finovate Vice President, to discuss the new program, how it came to be, and what impact he hopes it will make on the broader fintech community.
Since its founding, Finovate has been synonymous with new financial innovation. But the idea has always been that you’ll take innovation wherever you find it – whether it comes from new companies or incumbents. Now Finovate is going all in new companies, fintech startups exclusively, with this new program. What’s the thinking behind it?
Greg Palmer: Finovate is still very much about taking innovation wherever it happens to come from, whether that’s from new startups, established industry behemoths, or anywhere in between, but we know it’s difficult for early-stage startups to get traction, and so we wanted to give them a little extra attention with this program. When it comes to getting a demo slot on stage, we’ll continue to look at the quality of technology first and foremost, rather than the age or revenue of the company behind it; the Startup Booster is really about giving early-stage companies some insights and connections to help them get to the point where they’re ready to stand up in front of large numbers of people and fly their flag.
What are the components of the program? What will the startup companies actually do?
Palmer: We’re still in the first iteration, so this will likely continue to evolve as the program grows, but there are really three primary components to it. The first is that we’ll be offering a dedicated track onsite at our events with information that is specifically relevant to new startups. In that track, we’ll cover things like how to scale up, how to put together a convincing pitch, etc. We’ll follow up that informational session with a condensed networking session, giving attendees a chance to connect with early stage companies and learn about what they do. Finally, we’ll continue to follow up with the companies that participate after the events, with a series of webinars and learnings, so the program doesn’t end just because the event is over.
What do you hope companies participating in the program will gain from it? How do you think it will help the fintech community as a whole?
Palmer: The first thing that companies will gain from it is pretty simple – they’ll be able to come into Finovate for a substantially reduced rate, giving them a chance to see and hear it all for themselves. Beyond that, we want the companies who participate to leave with a greater understanding of what they need to do to grow to the next level along with some connections that can help get them where they want to go.
From my perspective, the industry as a whole needs to have these startups pushing the incumbents, or else the speed of innovation will slow down. Challengers play a vital role in keeping everyone else honest, and fintech has grown into what it is today because new companies have come in and pushed hard for changes. If we can help give those startups the tools and connections they need to grow, the industry as a whole should be better off for it.
Where do you hope this goes in the near future? Will there be a startup program like this for all Finovate events going forward?
Palmer: We’ve already got the Startup Booster in place for FinovateEurope and FinovateSpring, and we’ll be setting it up for FinovateAsia and FinovateFall too. Our first goal is simply to get as many companies as possible involved, and from there we want to start engaging with the group to see where we can be helpful to them. Big picture, we want to put these companies in the position where they can come back to Finovate as demoing companies and do well up there on the big stage. If we’re able to help companies get there, it’s a win for everybody – our audience will keep getting to see new, cool companies, the companies themselves will be able to show the entire audience what they can do, and we’ll get to keep being a place where the fintech ecosystem comes to connect with each other.
For more information about the Finovate Startup Booster program, e-mail us at info@Finovate.com
Here is our weekly roundup of the latest news from our Finovate alumni:
Coda joins Temenos Marketplace to help banks integrate with accounting packages used by their small business customers.
Fenergolaunchese-KYC Connect to allow banks to make their KYC services more efficient.
InCommpartners with instant ticket expert Pollard Banknote to launch ScanACTIV, a tool for lotteries to merchandise instant tickets at retail locations.
ACI Worldwideselects The Bancorp and Visa as payment providers for corporate disbursements.
TickSmith’s core software platform, TickVault, is now known as the GOLD platform.
Creatiowins Gold in One Planet award for helping companies accelerate growth.
Habib American Bank implements the Commercial Lending Center Suite from Jack Henry’s ProfitStars.
TONIK selectsFinastra’s core banking solution to power its Southeast Asia-based, licensed digital bank.
Alumni Features and Profiles
Persistent Systems and ValidSoft Team Up to Enhance Voice Authentication – The two companies are working together to develop a digital voice authentication solution that integrates into Persistent Systems’ banking offerings.
SoFi Teams Up with Mastercard to Boost Benefits for Members – Courtesy of a new partnership, SoFi members will have access to a new range of products and in-person experiences – including a new fan experience for visitors at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
Accenture Taps the Blockchain for New Procurement Platform – Consulting and technology services company has launched a new procurement solution today called the True Supplier Marketplace. The new tool taps into the blockchain to more efficiently connect buyers and suppliers.
Our latest series of FinovateEurope Sneak Peeks are up. Meet Qplatform, iProov, Apiax, Efigence, Subaio, FinTecSystems, Scientia Consulting, ReceiptHero, and ARM Insight.
FinovateEurope Alums Reel in $940 Million in 2019 – With FinovateEurope less than a month away, we thought we’d take a look at some of the fundraising success the conference’s alums had in 2019.
How Trusona Stops the Funding of Evil – If you’ve ever been hacked, having either money or personal credentials stolen, did you stop to think about what type of person, organization, or agenda you were inadvertently supporting?
Also on Finovate.com
How to Engage the Customer in an AI-First World – Which digital technologies will make the biggest differences in shaping the customer experience in the new decade?
Vive Lands Banking License – Challenger bank Vive Bank received some good news from the Bank of England today. The U.K.-based startup has been granted a banking license with restrictions.
Lift Every Voice: Fintech’s Other Diversity Challenge – When the discussion of diversity in the tech world comes up, the conversation is typically oriented around gender diversity. But diversity along ethnic lines is also a goal that technology companies have increasingly begun to strive toward.
Fintech Challenger Bank Qonto Raises $115 Million – Vive la France, indeed! One week after French payment app Lydia announced a $45 million fundraising, neobank Qonto reports that it has just closed the largest funding round to date for a French fintech.
AvidXchange Secures $260 Million in New Capital, Earns $2 Billion Valuation – Does fintech have its first “double unicorn” of 2020?
Paga Acquires Apposit, Announces Geographic Expansion – Mobile money operator Paga is poised for growth. The Nigeria-based fintech acquired U.S. software company Apposit and announced plans to expand its services geographically.
Japan’s Digital Yen; Visa, Plaid, and the Opportunity for African Fintechs – Finovate Research has been busily putting together a variety of features looking at different issues surrounding fintech in Europe. These insights will be published in an upcoming special supplement; stay tuned for our celebration of and reflection on PSD2’s second birthday, our look at venture capital’s impact on the surging challenger bank movement, and more.
With FinovateEurope less than a month away, Finovate Research has been busily putting together a variety of features looking at different issues surrounding fintech in Europe. These insights will be published in an upcoming special supplement; stay tuned for our celebration of and reflection on PSD2’s second birthday, our look at venture capital’s impact on the surging challenger bank movement, and more.
This week on the Finovate blog we covered the $115 million raised by French challenger bank Qonto, looked at the new banking license U.K. challenger bank Vive Bank just scored from the Bank of England, and reported on Nigeria-based mobile money operator Paga’s acquisition of U.S.-based Apposit.
Here is our weekly look at fintech around the world.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Brazilian SME payments solution provider C6 reaches one million customer milestone.
EBANX launches 10,000-consumer trial of its digital wallet, Ebanx Go.
BNP Paribas to foster fintech innovation at new Sao Paulo startup hub, La Fabrique.
Asia-Pacific
Japan may be the next country to issue a digital version of its currency.
Finastra to power core banking for Asia digital-only bank, Tonik.
Fintech News Malaysia features the top 20 fintechs in the country in 2020.
Sub-Saharan Africa
African payments startup Flutterwave locks in $35 million in new funding; announces partnerships with Visa and WorldPay.
What does Visa’s acquisition of Plaid mean for African fintech startups? Tech Cabal examines the opportunities for two of Nigeria’s top fintechs.
International Adviser looks at how broader financial literacy may be key to a “fintech revolution” in South Africa.
Central and Eastern Europe
German challenger bank N26 announces 40% customer increase with five million customers now using the institution’s products and services.
Poland’s Autenti, which enables digital agreement signing and provides e-document workflow, seals the deal on $4.48 million in new funding.
Members of Sberbank’s loyalty program can now share reward points with other members.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Dubai-based robo advisory platform Sarwa picks up $8.4 million in Series A funding.
MoneyGram partners with Suez Canal Bank enabling its MoneyGram customers worldwide to send funds directly to bank accounts in Egypt.
Startupbootcamp FinTech Dubai introduces its 2020 cohort. Three of the 10 startups selected are from the MENA region.
Central and Southern Asia
Cardholders in India will now be required to opt in to access contactless payments.
Pakistan-based ride-hailing and logistics company Bykea launchesBykea Cash to enable mobile wallet top-up and utility billpay.
Revenue-based financing platform GetVantage goes live in India.
As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.
Courtesy of a new partnership with Mastercard, SoFi members will have access to a new range of products and in-person experiences – including a new fan experience for visitors at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California. SoFi will develop these offerings by leveraging Mastercard’s payments network, which will also serve as the exclusive card network for SoFi’s to-be-released credit card.
“Our mission at SoFi is to help our members achieve financial independence to realize their ambitions,” SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said. “In order to do so, we must build products and services that help our members ‘Get Their Money Right’.”
The partnership between SoFi and Mastercard will bring new member benefits to users of the SoFi Money debit card, which enables users to make transactions from their SoFi Money cash management account, launched last February. Cardholders will now benefit from cashback rewards, complimentary cell phone insurance, discounted airport concierge services, as well as other perks thanks to the Mastercard relationship.
“It is imperative that our partners are leaders in technological innovation, security, and enhanced benefits,” Noto said, “and Mastercard is an industry leader across all of those areas.”
SoFi, in collaboration with Quovo, participated in our developers conference, FinDEVr New York, in 2017. Together, the companies’ presentation “How Quovo and SoFi Perfected Bank Authentication” demonstrated how the integration of Quovo’s Authentication API supports the secure and streamlined authentication of financial accounts.
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, and founded in 2011, SoFi currently has 900,000+ members who rely on the firm’s growing array of solutions for borrowing, saving, spending, and investing. SoFi has raised $2.5 billion in funding – including a May 2019 investment of $500 million in a round led by Qatar Investment Authority – and has a valuation of more than $4.8 billion.
Which digital technologies will make the biggest differences in shaping the customer experience in the new decade?
FinovateEurope next month in Berlin, Germany, will feature a keynote address from Steven Van Belleghem, author of Customers The Day After Tomorrow. Van Belleghem’s book tells the tale of customer relations in a world in which AI and automation dominate commerce.
To Belleghem, the new AI-focused world we are entering will have profound effects on the kinds of exciting new technologies we will have access to. But the deeper impact of AI may be on the expectations customers begin to develop in the marketplace, expectations such as what Belleghem calls “faster than real-time service, hyper-personalization, and intuitive user interfaces” that deliver unprecedented levels of convenience.
Customers The Day After Tomorrow shows the key role data plays in what Belleghem calls an “AI-first world”. He writes of data both as a product of engaged users and as the fuel for future product innovation which, in turn, attracts a new cohort of engaged users. Understanding how to make this virtuous circle work for your business will be critical in the AI-dominated world of the future. Belleghem offers strategies – ranging from how to market to machines, the importance of enhancing the human touch, and taking advantage of the right communication channel at the right time – that will help firms not just compete in an AI-first world, but grow and thrive.
“How will our relationship with customers change when AI platforms like Amazon Alexa will hijack the relationship with our customers?” Belleghem asked in the introduction to a recent ebook anthologizing many of his top blog posts on the future of customer engagement. “What will be the impact on our brands? How can we keep reaching out to our customers without becoming invisible?”
“I’d love to help you think about the next steps that you could be taking in preparation for when the AI gatekeepers will slide in between your brand, and your customers,” he wrote.
Check out the above trailer for Belleghem’s book, Customers The Day After Tomorrow for more. And catch Steven live at FinovateEurope in Berlin, Germany next month. To reserve your spot, visit our FinovateEurope page and pick up your ticket today. Take advantage of big savings when you register before January 31!
Interested in demoing at FinovateEurope? If you’re an innovative fintech startup with new technology to show the world, send us an email to heather@finovate.com. We’ll give you all the details you need to know about how you can join us on stage at FinovateEurope as one of our demoing companies.
Does fintech have its first “double unicorn” of 2020?
Leading accounts payable and payments automation solution provider AvidXchange has secured $260 million in equity funding in a round involving TPG Sixth Street Partners as well as other investors. The funding will power the company’s continued growth and takes AvidXchange’s total capital to more than $800 million. The investment also likely boosts the company’s valuation to more than $2 billion.
“We’re shaping the future of the B2B payments industry by fundamentally changing the way businesses pay their bills,” AvidXchange CEO and co-founder Michael Praeger said. “(We) provide a single platform for AP and payments with the largest payments network for the middle market.”
Praeger noted that even in 2019 more than 60% of businesses in the U.S. relied on paper checks to pay bills, generating $2.7 trillion in annual administrative costs. AvidXchange enables mid-market businesses to avoid this expense by automating invoice and payment processing in a single platform. the company processes 9.5 million payments a year via its network of more than 500,000 suppliers.
The funding announcement comes as the company reports that new acquisition BankTEL has secured its first partnership leveraging AvidXchange’s AvidPay solution. BankTEL will collaborate with Studio Bank, a Nashville, Tennessee-based boutique bank, which will use the platform to automate and streamline their AP to payment process.
AvidXchange was named to the Inc. 5000 list in November and earned a spot on the Forbes Cloud 100 list in October. Last year, the company also added 175 new workers, taking its total workforce to 1,400+ across seven offices. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, AvidXchange was founded in 2000.
With FinovateEurope less than a month away, we thought we’d take a look at some of the fundraising success the conference’s alums had in 2019.
From companies that demoed at our very first FinovateEurope in 2012 to some of FinovateEurope’s newest players, alums of our European conference raised more than $940 million in funding last year. We’ve listed the companies below in alphabetic order, along with a link to their demo so you can learn more about the company and its work.
Looking to showcase your latest fintech innovation on stage? Send us an email at heather@finovate.com to find out how to become one of our demoing companies next month at FinovateEurope in Berlin, Germany, on February 11 through 13.
And if you haven’t picked up your ticket yet, run, don’t walk, to our registration page and save your spot today! Take advantage of big savings by signing up before January 31.
Vive la France, indeed! One week after French payment app Lydia announced a $45 million fundraising, neobank Qonto reports that it has just closed the largest funding round to date for a French fintech.
French challenger bank Qonto has raised $115 million (€104 million) in Series C funding. The round was led by Tencent and DST Global, and also featured participation from existing investors Valar and VC Alven. Two angel investors, Taavet Hinrikus (TransferWise co-founder) and Ingo Uytdehaage (Adyen CFO), were also involved in the financing. Qonto now has raised a total of more than $150 million (€136 million) in capital.
The company will use the funds to fuel its expansion into three new markets just entered in 2019: Italy, Spain, and Germany. The investment will also help Qonto strengthen its position in France where the majority of its 65,000 SME and freelancer customers do business. The funding will help the company grow its headcount from 200 to 300 within a year, and help Qonto secure a credit institution license by year’s end that will allow it to become a bank.
Investors in the firm credited Qonto for its ability to efficiently provide financial services for an underserved sector such as freelancers. Managing Partner for DST Global Tom Stafford praised the company for “using technology to change banking for small and medium size businesses from a source of friction to a source of competitive advantage.”
Founded in 2017, Qonto offers freelancers and SME business owners a range of financial services from streamlined account opening and expense management to real-time notifications and visibility into cash flow. The company was named one of the “hottest startups in Paris” by Wired U.K. last August.
It is hard to imagine having a better start to your week than Plaid had seven days ago when the innovative fintech (and Finovate alum) announced that it had agreed to be acquired by Visa for $5.3 billion.
But the €90 million ($100 million) raised by Swedish open banking platform Tink on Monday is nothing to sneeze at. In fact, the funding, which is the company’s largest to date, is a reminder that investment interest in (and funding for) companies dedicated to developing the infrastructure that connects consumers, banks, and the financial technologies is very much in abundance.
“Our aim is to become the preferred pan-European provider of digital banking services and to offer the technology needed for banks, fintechs, and startups to leverage the opportunities of open banking and enable them to successfully develop financial services in the future,” Tink co-founder and CEO Daniel Kjellén said in a statement.
Tink demonstrated its platform most recently at FinovateEurope 2019. For more on this year’s Finovate event in Europe kicking off next month, visit our FinovateEurope 2020 page.
Azimo, one of our earliest FinovateEurope alums, announced a pair of big changes at the top to begin the new week.
The London-based money transfer firm, founded in 2012, promoted its COO Richard Ambrose to CEO back in August, as Azimo founder Michael Kent took what TechCrunch referred to as a lateral move to become executive chairman. Today, Fintech Futures, Finovate’s sister publication, reports that the company has appointed Dora Ziambra to the post of Chief Operating Officer. Azimo also promoted its head of finance Tatiana Okhotina to the post of Chief Financial Officer.
“We’re fortunate to have the depth of talent to fill these top roles internally,” Ambrose said in a statement. “We’re lucky too that Azimo will continue to benefit from the experience and leadership of these two outstanding women.”
Here’s our weekly roundup of the latest news from our Finovate alumni:
Union Bank to leverage technology from FIS for core banking.
Italy-based CREDEM leveragingWorldline’s Payment and Liquidity Hub software CRISTAL to process Target2 payments
POS software Vend partners with Klarna to offer retailers more flexible payment options.
U.K. food retailer The Co-operative to deployACI Worldwide’s fraud management solution, ReD Shield.
A partnership between TransferGo and Currencycloud will enable the money transfer company to enter 14 new markets.
YellowDogforges reseller agreement with Annex Pro.
Bankable cozies up with Plaid to allow its bank customers to connect with their users’ bank accounts.
Ohpenappoints former Tesla marketing leader Corinne Aaron as new head of marketing.
Segmint to acquire WAND’s Product and Service Taxonomy division.
CuneXuscelebrates 2019 success with a 40% year-over-year increase in consumer reach.
Three Key Lessons We Learned from Plaid – Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard that Visa is acquiring Plaid for a deal that’s worth $5.3 billion. The fact that they were so widely used at such an early stage is a testament to the quality of their code, but there are also a few key lessons to take away from their success.
ITSCREDIT’s Joao Pinto on the Digital Lending Opportunity – ITSCREDIT is a spinoff from ITSECTOR and is a fairly new player in the digital lending space. In this interview, Pinto talks to us about the digital lending opportunity, how his company fits into the current state of this fintech subsector, and what we can expect to see next.
Kasasa Enhances its Take-Back Loan – Community bank marketing expert Kasasaannounced a partnership with Carleton today in which Kasasa will integrate Carleton’s insurance and debt protection calculations into its Kasasa Loan.
Plinqit Brings Rewards-Powered Financial Literacy to First Community Bank – One day in the distant future, children will be educated in basic financial literacy as readily as they are taught algebra. Until then, solutions like Plinqit from HT Mobile Apps will be valuable tools for credit unions and community banks looking for novel ways to engage and educate their members and customers.
Credit, Data, and Cryptocurrencies: Graychain Rebrands as Credmark – The company that is bringing credit data clarity to the cryptocurrency industry is entering 2020 with a new name.
Tradeshift Lands $240 Million as it Inches Toward Profitability – The San Francisco-based company will use the investment to boost expansion efforts and gear toward a “direct path to profitability in the near future.”
Fintech, Financial Services, and the Case for 5G – Calling 5G “something banks aren’t even thinking about,” Celent SVP Dan Latimore said, “we believe the effects of 5G are going to be subtle and profound over time.”
Backbase-as-a-Service Helps Banks Leverage the Cloud to Innovate and Scale – The solution makes the company’s broad portfolio of digital banking offerings available to FIs looking to accelerate their ability to develop and offer new technologies to customers.
Also on Finovate.com
Visa to Acquire Plaid in $5.3 Billion Deal – “Today marks an important milestone for our company and for fintech,” company co-founder and CEO Zach Perret wrote on the Plaid blog earlier today. “What started with two founders building in a cramped conference room has become an incredible network that enables millions of consumers to interact with over 2,500 digital finance products.”
Not Another 2020 Trends Prediction Post (Seriously, It’s Not!) – We’re taking a look at the trends you can expect to see on stage next month at FinovateEurope. To keep things simple this year, we assessed the themes at a very high level and broke them down into three categories: the big, the little, and the trends in-between.
Singapore’s Digital Banking License Space Race Accelerates – Is there anyone out there who is NOT trying to secure a digital banking license in Singapore? The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced last week that has received 21 applications for digital bank licenses.
MogoSpend Offers Credit, Cashback, and Help Reducing Your Carbon Footprint – The new digital spending account from Canadian fintech Mogo does more than help Canadians get control of their finances. The solution also offers cardholders generous cashback rewards and a way to make a positive impact on the environment by reducing their carbon footprint.
Getsafe Expands its Insurtech to the U.K. – If your insurance company is offering you drone insurance, you know it’s not your grandmother’s insurance agency. Germany-based insurtech Getsafe does just that– and the company announced today it is expanding its home contents insurance offering (though, sadly, not its drone insurance offering) to users in the U.K.
Raisin’s New Acquisition Gives Company Access to the U.S. Market – European deposit marketplace Raisin announced today it acquired New York-based Choice Financial Solutions.
French Fintech Lydia Locks in $45 Million – TechCrunch reported this morning that French mobile payment app Lydia has raised $45 million (€40 million) in a round led by Tencent.
Visa’s Tap to Phone Brings Contactless Payments to mPOS – With Visa’sTap to Phone app arriving pre-installed on the new, enterprise grade smartphone from Samsung, a broad range of merchants will have access to yet another way to accept payments from customers.
INTL FCStone Acquires International Bank Transfer Firm – Headquartered in Germany, GIROXX offers international bank transfers and currency hedging. INTL FCStone plans to leverage this technology to expand its current client base to small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The new digital spending account from Canadian fintech Mogo does more than help Canadians get control of their finances. The solution – which also comes with a Mogo Visa Platinum Prepaid Card – also offers cardholders generous cashback rewards and a way to make a positive impact on the environment by reducing their carbon footprint.
“With MogoSpend,” company founder and CEO David Feller explained, “our goal was to create a product that gives consumers even more control than a debit card and with cashback rewards that rival the best credit cards in Canada, without charging monthly or annual fees, and importantly, we wanted to make this a card that also help make a positive impact on the planet.”
Feller noted that 57 percent of Canadians carry credit card debt, which he connected with the problem of overspending. This, according to Feller, leads to overconsumption which he said was “directly linked to climate change.” He added, “Being more mindful around spending can help us achieve important life goals like buying a home and retirement, and many of us are becoming increasingly aware that being a mindful consumer is key to a healthy planet.”
MogoSpend is accessible via Mogo’s iOS and Android app, and can be set up in less than three minutes. The free service has no monthly or annual fees, works like a checking account, and enables users to instantly transfer funds from their bank account to their MogoSpend account. MogoSpend gives 1.5% cashback on domestic purchases and 3% on international currency purchases. Users can see how much cashback they have earned on the app in real time, and those funds are credited to the users account on a monthly basis, rather than at year’s end.
The only payment card in Canada to offer a carbon offset program, MogoSpend will offset one pound of CO2 for every dollar MogoSpend users spend using the card. The program comes courtesy of a partnership between Mogo and Canadian sustainability and carbon-management solution provider, Offsetters.
Mogo will make the new offering available to members on its waiting list “in the next few months.” Those interested can join the waiting list by downloading the free Mogo app and opening an account.
