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Finovate Blog
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Recognise Financial Services to deploynCino’sBank Operating System.
NCR announces plans to acquire Midwest POS Solutions.
Courtesy of a new partnership with Personetics, Metro Bank launches its Business Insights solution for business customers.
Revolutteams up with Bottomline, enabling real-time payment services to its retail and business customers in the U.K.
As part of a new initiative, open banking specialist NDGIT to bring its PSD2 Compliance APIs to Switzerland.
3E Software’s Teslar Softwareadds Pendleton Community Bank to list of clients.
Overbond, FI.SPAN, and Finn.AI among 12 Canadian fintech startups chosen for U.K. trade mission.
CardFlight’sSwipeSimple terminal available on PAX A80.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
NYMBUS, makers of the SmartCore private cloud-based core processing platform, announced today that it has licensed the D3 Digital Banking platform from fellow Finovate alum NCR. The license will enable the two companies to help financial institutions rapidly deploy branded digital products and solutions for their business and consumer customers.
“Combining NCR’s D3 digital banking platform with NYMBUS’s core banking platform allows us to better serve progressive financial institutions, and corporations with well-known brands seeking to address the needs of digital-savvy customers in high-growth market segments,” NYMBUS President David Mitchell said.
NCR acquiredD3 Banking – also a Finovate alum – over the summer for an undisclosed sum. At the time, company president and CEO Michael D. Hayford said the purchase would help NCR grow its digital banking offerings into new markets, especially the enterprise market as a solution provider for big FIs. “D3 has a well-earned reputation for innovation and product excellence,” Hayford said in July. “(The company) delivers one of the most advanced digital platforms for large banks,”
“Financial institutions are introducing digital bank brands to meet the needs of Gen Z and Millennials, address new market segments, and drive deposit growth,” NCR D3 Digital Banking General Manager and former D3 Banking CEO Mark Vipond explained. “Combining our platforms allows financial institutions to rapidly go to market with digital banking offerings, quickly accelerate growth, and meet the needs of their customers.”
D3 Banking demonstrated its technology at FinovateFall 2015. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company raised more than $33 million in equity funding prior to being purchased. More than three million users have deployed D3 Banking’s technology since the company’s inception in 1997 – including Zions Bancorporation, which announced a partnership with D3 in April.
Based in Duluth, Georgia and founded in 1884, NCR demonstrated its VR Collaboration for ATMs technology at FinovateSpring 2017. The demo used a fully immersive virtual reality experience to show what an ATM looks like from the inside. In addition to its purchase of D3 Banking, NCR has spent 2019 teaming up with fellow Finovate alum Bluefin and Powertranz to support POS card processing for quick service restaurants in the Caribbean. The company alsopartnered iwith Santander U.K. to enhance customer service at the 600-branch bank. The company began the year launching its EMV-integrated Equinox Luxe devices for NCR Connected Payments, providing a secure payment path for retailers.
Fresh of its most recent Finovate appearance last month at FinovateFall where it demonstrated its SmartLaunch financial services platform, NYMBUS was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida. The company has forged a host of partnerships this year, teaming up with Centier Bank in September, Pacific National Bank in May, and both Moxy Bank and Inspire Federal Credit Union in the spring. With $33.4 million in funding, NYMBUS includes Home Credit Group and Vensure Enterprises among its investors.
Expensify is the latest fintech to get into the card game. The San Francisco, California-based expense management solution provider announced today that its free corporate Expensify Card, will give businesses of all sizes a unique combination of spending power and control along with real-time expense management.
For Expensify, the new corporate card is a case of going back to the future. “Expensify started as a corporate card way back in 2008 before we decided to focus on expense,” company founder and CEO David Barrett explained, “so it’s fun to see the product come full circle with a card that naturally extends our existing platform. The card will make life easier for our customers, who no longer have to worry about lost receipts, late fees, or accidental overspending.”
The new offering automatically inputs expense details and produces an audit-protected receipt whenever an employee makes a transaction with the card. Expenses and transactions are shared with administrators in real-time, providing what the company called an “unmatched” degree of card control and significantly less risk of employee overspending.
The new Expensify corporate card also features continuous reconciliation of all approved expenses, spending controls and card limits on unapproved expenses, and no fees, interest, or personal guarantees. The card also offers perks from partners including Amazon Web Services, Stripe, Bill.com, and Stack Overflow.
One of Finovate’s earliest alums – making its Finovate debut in 2009 – Expensify most recently demonstrated its technology at our developers conference, FinDEVrSiliconValley, in 2016. At the event, David Barrett led a presentation titled Bedrock – Expensify’s Open-Sourced Infrastructure Secret Weapon, that discussed how the company’s geo-redundant database technology enabled it to become the fastest growing ERP software in the world.
This summer, Expensify became the first fintech company to win a Cannes Lio aard for Expensify This, a rap-influenced, marketing campaign featuring 2Chainz and Adam Scott. This year, the company partnered with bookkeeping franchise Supporting Strategies, and integrated with Southeast Asia-based ride-sharing firm Grab.
Founded in 2008, Expensify has raised more than $38 million in funding from investors including CIBC, OpenView Venture Partners, PJC, and Redpoint Ventures.
We are harnessing the collective wisdom of some of the most insightful fintech analysts and observers next week at FinovateAsia in Singapore. Our Power Panels, on October 14 and 15, will investigate key trends that are driving fintech innovation in the Asia Pacific region.
A preview of the upcoming conversation is below. And if you will be in Singapore next week, here’s how to join us for what promises to be a series of fascinating discussions on fintech in Asia.
Off the Record Session with Regulators: What Are Our Priorities & Concerns in Regulating Fintech?
How can we support fintech start-ups and balance risk and innovation – what is “right touch” regulation? Data privacy is on the rise globally – will this impact regulation of the use of data in Asia? How can regtech address compliance and regulatory challenges?
Featuring Scott Bales, Samantha Emery, Pralhad Giri, and Kooi Fei Foong
Power Panel: Mapping Out Your Digital Transformation Journey – Start with the Customer & Work Backward
The battle for customer data and insight – what are the keys to success in the age of hyper personalization? How can financial institutions adopt open innovation to avoid becoming just the infrastructure and losing the customer engagement space?
Featuring Brit Blakeney, Samuel Hall, Dennis Khoo, Ravinder Pal Singh, and Scott Bales
Challenger Bank Power Panel: What Have We Learned On Our Journey to Build a Digital Only Bank
What are the challenges in building a digital only bank in today’s environment? How can companies take advantage of new openness toward challenger bank? Where do digital only challenger banks fit in the financial ecosystem along with traditional banks and financial service providers, as well as fintechs?
Featuring Louise Beaumont, Umang Moondra, Tony Ohlsson, and Jeremy Berger
Power Panel: How Tech Giants, Platform Players and Their Super Apps Are Reaching New Consumers In A Tech-Driven World
Who are the most innovative tech giants and platform players of today? What are these companies doing right to maintain their edge in the market? How do super apps help innovative firms attract and engage new, tech-savvy consumers in an increasingly competitive environment.
Featuring Helen Yi, Samita Malik, Yin Long, Johann Hauswald and Scott Bales
Mentoring Power Panel: What Every Startup Needs to Know about Fundraising, Winning Investors, Marketing, Building Scale, and Overcoming the Hurdles to Form Fruitful Partnerships in Asia
What kind of opportunities do Asian markets present for fintech startups? How important is it for fintechs based outside of Asia to partner with firms inside of the region? What are the biggest challenges that startups face when seeking to partner with financial institutions in Asia?
Featuring Karen Contet Farzam, Dhiritiman Hui, Kuo-Yi Lim, Paul Spronk, and Daniel Ramamoorthy.
In addition to our Power Panels, FinovateAsia will also feature a series of roundtables and debates on the latest topics in Asian fintech.
Strategy Roundtable (Emerging Asian Markets Stream): Capturing the Opportunities in Asian Emerging Markets – Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Korea.
Strategy Roundtable (Digital Lending Stream): Retail, Small Business, and Commercial Lending in Asia – Where are the Opportunities for Incumbents and Startups? How Will Regulation Change the Game?
Strategy Roundtable (Digital Payments Stream): Payments Innovation – Where Is Asia Ahead of the West and Where Is It Lagging? What Will the Asian Retail and Wholesale Payments Ecosystem Look Like in 2025?
Strategy Roundtable (Investech Stream): How Can Incumbents Harness New Technologies and Identify and Collaborate with New Players to Embrace Innovation and Transform Investment Management?
Investors Debate: Where Is the Smart Money Investing in Asian Fintech? Will the Consumer Focused Fintech Model Evolve into a Business Focused Model? What Do We Know About the Next Generation of Unicorns?
Analyst Showcase: What’s Hot and What’s Not in Fintech? What Has Changed in the Last 12 Months?
FinovateAsia kicks off in Singapore on October 14 through 15, with a special Summit Day on the 16th. For more information, and to pick up your ticket and save your spot, visit our registration page today.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
The 100 million members of Credit Karma will soon have access to more than just tools to better understand and improve their credit scores. The company announced this week that it is launching a new, high-yield savings account with no fees, no minimums and an initial rate of 2.03%. Credit Karma added that it will leverage its partnerships with as many as 800 banks to find and switch to those institutions offering the best rates on cash.
“We spent the first 12 years focusing on helping Americans manage their debt,” Credit Karma CEO and founder Ken Lin said. “We want to make savings accessible to every American in the same way we have with credit scores. We look forward to helping our members grow their money with Credit Karma Savings.”
Credit Karma will facilitate the opening and managing of the savings accounts, while the funds themselves will be kept and insured by FDIC-licensed partner MVB Bank to the tune of $5 million. The current rate offered by Credit Karma Savings is more than 20x the national average. The solution will be available via the Credit Karma app, and members can begin signing up for the new feature on October 28.
“When we built Credit Karma Savings, we wanted to develop a product that made opening a savings account as easy as possible for our members,” Credit Karma General Manager of Savings and Tax Jagit Chawla said. “We’re also making it possible for members to see the power of high-yield savings with our savings simulator, which shows how your money could grow over time.”
The move by the company comes as more fintechs are focusing on savings solutions as a way to add value to their personal finance or roboadvisory offerings. Companies like MaxMyInterestannounced a few weeks ago that it is adding a high-yield checking account to its high-yield savings option. Other fintechs in the wealthtech space, such as Betterment and Wealthfront have also introduced high-yield savings options. We took a look at the way fintechs are innovating on the savings side in our feature by senior analyst Julie Muhn: The Race is On in the High Yield Savings Game.
Founded in 2007 by Ken Lin (CEO) and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Credit Karma demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2008. One of Finovate’s earliest alums, the company began the year with news it had been added to the Forbes Fintech 50 roster of the most innovative companies in fintech.
Credit Karma has raised $868 million in funding. The company includes Silver Lake Partners, SV Angel, QED Investors, CapitalG, and Susquehanna Growth Equity among its investors.
Join us next week as our annual Asia-Pacific fintech conference returns to Singapore! FinovateAsia is one of the best ways for fintech startups and innovative industry veterans from the region and around the world to showcase their latest technologies before an audience of C-level decision-makers, venture capitalists, all-star analysts, and more.
FinovateAsia runs from October 14 through October 15, with an additional Summit Day on October 16. Visit our registration page and pick up your ticket today.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Finovate alums Hydrogen, Sedicii, Strands, and Wealth Migrateearn finalist spots in the South African Reserve Bank’s Fintech Demo Day.
Carbon CEO Chijioke Dozie offersFive Lessons Global Banks Can Learn from African Fintechs.
Business Tech highlights 12 of the hottest fintechs in South Africa according to the country’s biggest banks.
Central and Eastern Europe
Alior Bank’s Alior Kantor to deployEfigence’sEFI4 Digital Banking Platform.
Deloitte Romania and FintechOSpartner to offer banks digital transformation and automation solutions.
Sberbankunveils new “Apply for Mortgage” feature on its Sberbank Online mobile app.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Dubai earns top ten ranking in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI).
Boubyan Bank of Kuwait and Zain Telecom team up to launch a digital Islamic bank.
Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) authorizes financial technology experimental permits enabling three companies to build an equity crowdfunding platform.
Central and Southern Asia
Khatabook, an Indian fintech that helps SMEs track and record businesses transactions, raises $25 million.
Varanium Capital launches $28 million venture fund focused on Indian fintech.
Indian fintechs await regulatory guidelines for deployment of Video KYC technology.
Latin America and the Caribbean
OurCrowd to open its 13th global office in São Paulo, Brazil.
Colombian small business lender Sempli raises $8 million in Series A funding.
EBANX will process payments for Uber in Brazil and other countries in Latin America.
CredoLab, which made its Finovate debut at FinovateAsia last fall, has teamed up with all-digital CIMB Bank Philippines to help improve financial inclusion in the country. The bank is using CredoLab’s white label solution, CredoApp, to gain instant insight into the creditworthiness of loan applicants. CIMB Bank hopes to leverage the AI-powered technology to better serve underbanked populations with “thin-file” credit histories.
“With CredoLab, we are now focusing on making our application and underwriting process more efficient so that we can extend credit to a broader market without compromising on our cost of risk,” explained CIMB Bank Philippines CEO Vijay Manoharan. “In this way, we can further drive financial inclusion by enabling more Filipinos access to formal credit lending facilities efficiently.”
Personal loans are the first products to be introduced as part of this collaboration between CIMB and CredoLab. Customers can now apply for a loan of up to one million Philippine pesos ($19,000 USD) and receive in-principle approvals via their CIMB app. The bank said that within the first two weeks of launching the partnership, more than 1,000 customers have already been scored.
“CIMB Bank has been steadfast in adopting the latest technologies to present the best banking solutions to their customers,” CredoLab CEO and co-founder Peter Barcak said. “We are delighted that through our plug and play solution that complements and boosts their existing processes, we are powering CIMB Bank Philippines’ latest effort in driving financial inclusion by providing credit to those who lack a traditional credit background.”
CredoLab demonstrated its CredoScore solution at FinovateAsia 2018. The technology leverages AI-backed algorithms to turn the digital footprints of customers into highly predictive scorecards. With more than 50,000 data points from the customer’s mobile device – collected with the customer’s permission and privacy consent, CredoScore enables financial institutions to gain more accurate insights and make more informed decisions.
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Singapore, CredoLab has raised more than $3 million in funding from investors including Walden International, Fintonia Group, and FORUM. The company was featured in FintechNews Singapore’s 29 Hottest Fintechs in Singapore in 2019 roster earlier this year.
A newly announced strategic partnership between SigFig and Refinitiv will enable the company’s clearing and custody platform, Refinitiv BETA, to offer institutional clients an end-to-end robo advisory solution complete with account opening, automated investment management, money movement, and more.
Refinitiv Managing Director and global head of Wealth Management Joe Mrak highlighted the ability to offer investment management services and advice as a way for its clients to “differentiate themselves and add greater value for their customers.” The partnership with SigFig comes as the financial markets data specialist adds to its overall offerings in the wealthtech space, most recently its Market Psych Indices introduced in September. With SigFig’s technology, the company will be able to offer its wealth management clients an enterprise-grade digital advisory solution that Mrak said “will dramatically transform and improve their investing services and capabilities.”
Founded in 2007, SigFig made its Finovate debut in 2010 as Wikinvest. In the years since, the company has grown into a leading digital advisory technology firm that reaches more than 70 million consumers via partnerships with some of the largest financial institutions in the world. Earlier this year, the company introducedSigFig Atlas, an interactive, financial advice and software-guided sales platform for banks and customers.
“By partnering with Refinitiv, SigFig is able to continue to expand access to our industry-leading digital management advice solutions for both consumers and advisors,” SigFig CEO and co-founder Mike Shea said. “By bringing new levels of speed, scalability, and efficiency to Refinitiv’s wealth management business solution, we’re creating a fully integrated solution from front end client experience all the way to the back office.”
With more than $119 million in funding, SigFig includes General Atlantic, DCM Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Union Square Ventures among its investors. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAsia on October 14 through 15, 2019 in Singapore. Register today and save your spot.
Upgrade Pack is a market-first platform for exclusive travel upgrades. The company helps financial institutions reward their most valued customers while also driving incremental card revenue.
Features
Brand differentiation by providing customers with exclusive upgrade offers in real time
Highly scalable platform technology, no complex integration
Purchase data aids future customer segmentation
Why it’s great Upgrade Pack helps you optimize the latest platform technology to deliver product innovation that will retain and attract the most high value customers.
Presenters
Urchana Moudgil, Co-Founder and Group COO Moudgil has held senior finance roles in leading consultancy firms. Her experience in financial management and operations has helped Upgrade Pack raise £3 million and scale internationally in just a year. LinkedIn
Tobias Berger, COO-Asia Pacific A digital leader with 20 years of experience, Berger has built and led digital innovations within APAC for brands including Expedia and Google, with a recent focus on platforms and commercial strategy. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAsia on October 14 through 15, 2019 in Singapore. Register today and save your spot.
ThefcaseFraud Orchestration platform is the future of fraud operations, reducing fraud by 20% and fraud operations overhead by 40%. See the full picture of fraud with fcase.
Features
Fraud automation
A global view of fraud (case management, compliance reporting, automation, collaboration, APIs)
Continuous adaptive risk trust assessment
Why it’s great Orchestration delivers true fraud automation and collaboration that reduces fraud and customer friction at scale with efficiency.
Presenter
Barry Bowen, Global Head of Sales Bowen has 25 years focusing on fraud prevention and orchestration in financial markets. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAsia on October 14 through 15, 2019 in Singapore. Register today and save your spot.
Libertypool is empowering people around the world to achieve financial independence through asset accumulation, especially by cryptocurrency investment.
Features
A borderless investment platform for busy investors
A diversified portfolio reflecting the entire cryptocurrency market with 99% accuracy
Customers need 60 seconds to start investing
Why it’s great LPx is the first borderless investment platform that enables people to invest with as little as $500 in the entire cryptocurrency market in a few clicks.
Presenters
Yu Yamanaka, CEO Yamanaka is a high-tech entrepreneur. He worked for startups in security, media, and AI for eight years. He entered the blockchain world as a CTO of an ICO platform that raised $9 million through a token sale. LinkedIn
Goku Anand, Head of Growth An author of ebooks on online marketing and growth hacking, Anand has more than five years of startup experience in growth hacking, digital marketing, branding, and video marketing. LinkedIn
