Author: David Penn

Finovate Global Singapore: AI, Quantum Computing, and Sustainable SMEs

Finovate Global Singapore: AI, Quantum Computing, and Sustainable SMEs
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Finovate Global, VISA

This week’s edition of Finovate Global highlights recent fintech news from Singapore.

Monetary Authority of Singapore announced plans to invest $74.36 million (100 million Singaporean dollars) to fund quantum computing and AI projects. The funding is part of the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Grant Scheme (FSTI 3.0) designed to support banks and other financial institutions as they innovate and develop capabilities in both quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

This month’s investment comes in the wake of a $110 million infusion into FSTI back in August 2023. The FSTI 3.0 was launched in 2022 as part of an effort to fortify and future-proof Singapore’s position as a major international fintech hub. MAS originally pledged 150 million Singaporean dollars to the scheme over a three-year period, and this month’s investment is an addition to that amount. The scheme is live until March 2026, but could be extended.

Given the emphasis on AI in financial services of late, MAS’s interest in quantum computing and its applications for banks and financial services companies is especially noteworthy. MAS will support eligible financial institutions with up to 50% funding for the construction of quantum computing technology centers. Companies that develop quantum computing-based cybersecurity solutions can receive up to 30% in co-funding.

With regard to AI, MAS is also supporting the development of AI innovation centers. Again, one of the main areas of emphasis is cybersecurity, which MAS identified as a use case for the first pilot project. Noting that AI tools have become “more widely accessible” and that “financial institutions have been progressively adopting AI,” MAS also observed that the degree of “AI-readiness and adoption” across financial institutions in Singapore is uneven. The AI component of FSTI 3.0 is designed in large part to remedy this.

Blockchain-based financial infrastructure company Partior has raised more than $60 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Peak XV Partners (previously known as Sequoia Capital India & SEA). Valor Capital Group and Jump Trading Group also participated as new investors along with existing shareholders J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, and Temasek.

Founded in 2021, the Singapore-based company offers banks unified, ledger-based interbank rails for real-time clearing and settlement. Partior’s 24/7 blockchain network works with real-time local currency payment and RTGS systems globally and facilitates direct and indirect settlement flows with market participants. The shared ledger further supports transfers with real-time settlement finality, providing instant liquidity and transparency compared to the sequential processing typical of legacy payment systems.

“Partior is breaking down silos and rewriting the rules for cross-border clearing and settlement,” Partior Chief Executive Officer Humphrey Valenbreder said. “We see a very bright future for blockchain-based frictionless, cross-border transactions. Having some of the world’s best banks and investors back our vision validates this even further.”

The fresh capital will fuel new capabilities including intraday FX swaps, cross-currency repos, Programmable Enterprise Liquidity Management, and Just-in-Time multi-bank payments. The funding will also enable Partior to integrate a range of new currencies beyond currently supported USD, EUR, and SGD.

“As one of the founding shareholders of Partior, we’ve always believed in the transformative potential of its technology to shape global financial market infrastructure. This latest round of investment is a testament to the incredible progress Partior has made toward this endeavor,” Temasek Managing Director for Investment (Blockchain) Pradyumma Agrawal said.

DBS and Deloitte have teamed up to launch the Sustainability Accelerator Tool. The new offering will help SMEs in Singapore accurately assess their sustainability maturity levels and identify and address gaps in their efforts.

The two firms hope to empower 1,000 SMEs in Singapore over the next 12 months with the new solution, and plan to introduce the tool to other markets from the next year forward.

“The Sustainability Accelerator Tool is unique in its ability to provide SMEs with meaningful and practical guidance,” Deloitte Southeast Asia Sustainability & Climate Leader Brian Ho said. “Leveraging Deloitte’s expertise in sustainability transformation, it not only identifies strengths and gaps, but also provides actionable recommendations to enhance sustainability performance.”

Three key benefits of the new offering are industry-specific analysis, which provides insights into unique sustainability challenges; customized strategic recommendations based on the degree of progress (“emerging,” “maturing,” or “leading”) the business has achieved in its path toward greater sustainability; and regional adaptability to ensure that the solution can be used by SMEs across Asia.

SMEs using the tool also get a customized Sustainability Readiness Report which gives them an analysis of the company’s sustainability maturity, as well as provides insights on how to address any specific sustainability challenges they may have.

“The Sustainability Accelerator Tool is the latest in our ongoing efforts, where we strive to futureproof SMEs through practical and holistic solutions,” DBS Group Head of Corporate and SME Banking Koh Kar Siong said.

The introduction of the Sustainability Accelerator Tool follows the spring launch of DBS’s ESG Ready Programme to help SMEs efficiently transition to lower carbon business models. Headquartered in Singapore, and boasting a presence in 19 markets, DBS provides a full range of consumer, SME, and corporate banking services. The firm has been named “Safest Bank in Asia” by Global Finance for 15 consecutive years from 2009 to 2023.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • International embedded finance platform Liberis announced its entry into the German market in partnership with Nexi.
  • Lithuanian identity verification company iDenfy unveiled its automated utility bill verification tool.
  • Germany-based private markets platform bunch secured $15.5 million in Series A funding.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Visa announced a significant partnership with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) to grow the Visa B2B Connect network regionally.
  • UAE-based fintech startup, Mamo, completed a $3.4 million funding round to fuel expansion of the company’s product line for SMEs.
  • Bank of Israel has chosen 14 teams of private and public sector professionals to investigate use cases for a digital shekel.

Central and Southern Asia

  • HSBC India teamed up with Open Financial Technologies to streamline payment operations for Indian business customers.
  • Indian digital payments company Paytm agreed to a collaboration with Axis Bank.
  • India-based payments and API banking company Cashfree Payments secured a payment aggregator-cross border license from the RBI.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • The Brazilian central bank announced a pause in their plan to add recurring payments to its Pix platform.
  • Argentine fintech Tapi secured $22 million ahead of its expansion into Mexico.
  • BBVA opened an international cybersecurity center in Mexico.

Asia-Pacific

  • Melbourne, Australia-based Airwallex secured an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) the first major payments company to do so.
  • Bank Indonesia and Bank of Korea inked a MoU to encourage cross-border payments between the two countries.
  • In a bid to become a “global fintech hub,” the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has invested $74.36 million (100 million Singaporean dollars) into quantum computing and AI projects.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • South African fintech Peach Payments acquired custom software development firm Operativa.
  • Kenya’s Diamond Trust Bank forged a partnership with Network International.
  • Nigerian wealth management platform Risevest announced plans to acquire Kenyan fintech Hisa.

Photo by Elina Sazonova

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Wealthify Introduces New CEO Richard Ambrose

Wealthify Introduces New CEO Richard Ambrose
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Wealthify
  • Online investing and savings service Wealthify introduces its new Chief Executive Officer Richard Ambrose.
  • Ambrose will succeed Andy Russell, who has served as CEO of the company for the past four years.
  • Wealthify made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in London in 2017.

U.K.-based online investing and saving platform Wealthify has appointed Richard Ambrose as its new Chief Executive Officer. Ambrose replaces Andy Russell, who had served as CEO of the company since the summer of 2020.

“It’s been a privilege to lead Wealthify over the last four years,” outgoing CEO Andy Russell said. “I am very proud of our purpose-driven strategy, our culture of accessibility and quality, and the resulting growth we’ve achieved during this time.”

Most recently General Manager (GM) of Payments at Papaya Global, Richard Ambrose worked as CEO of Azimo for more than three years from 2019 to 2023. Before his appointment as Azimo CEO, Ambrose had been the company’s Chief Operating Officer for two years. He also held numerous roles during his nearly six-year tenure at PayPal, joining the company as Marketing Director for the U.K. in 2011 and eventually becoming Senior Director, Chief of Staff, EMEA.

“I am thrilled to join Wealthify as CEO,” Ambrose said in a statement. “Its mission to make investing more affordable and accessible for everyone is in the best traditions of fintech. Wealthify has built some great technology, and I’m proud to be joining its brilliant team.”

Wealthify is dedicated to using technology to democratize investing. The company offers a range of investment and savings solutions, from ISAs, GIAs, and SIPPs to an instant access savings account. Customers can open investing accounts for as little as £1 (£50 for pensions), and manage their funds via the Wealthify app or website. Wealthify uses passive investment vehicles such as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to build different investment plans based on the investor’s risk tolerance. Ranging from “Cautious” to “Ambitious,” Wealthify also offers “Ethical” versions of each plan that use negative screening to exclude companies from industries such as tobacco, weapons, and gambling, as well as positive screening to include businesses that have demonstrated a commitment to corporate ethics, social justice, and/or sustainability.

Founded in 2014, Wealthify made its Finovate debut in 2017 at FinovateEurope in London. Wealthify began this year partnering with ClearBank, which now serves as the embedded banking partner for the company’s savings product.

Photo by Scott Webb

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U.S. Bank Launches Accounts Receivables Platform in Partnership with Billtrust

U.S. Bank Launches Accounts Receivables Platform in Partnership with Billtrust
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, US Bank
  • U.S. Bank launched its Accounts Receivables platform, U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables, in partnership with Billtrust.
  • U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables will help businesses keep costs low and benefit from real-time visibility into cash flow and financial position.
  • U.S. Bank most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2021 in New York.

Courtesy of a partnership with Billtrust, U.S. Bank has launched its new comprehensive accounts receivable (AR) platform. U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables will help suppliers accelerate cash flow, lower costs via automation, and provide better payment experiences.

“Suppliers face many challenges from the time they receive an order until the cash is in their account. This includes numerous manual and paper-based steps, a cumbersome credit process, billing errors, and payment delays,” U.S. Bank Global Treasury Management Head of Product Alberto Casas explained. “With U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables, businesses can transform their entire receivables process to drive down costs and gain real-time visibility into their financial position and cash flow.”

U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables combines U.S. Bank’s payment and risk management capabilities with Billtrust’s AR technology. The new offering is comprised of five core solutions – invoicing, payments, cash application, collections, and credit – each of which enhances the B2B receivables process. U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables builds on the bank’s complementary digital payment solutions, such as U.S. Bank AP Optimizer, which automates accounts payable operations from invoice receipt to payment disbursement. Together the two offerings enable companies to digitize and automate their end-to-end payment processes.

With $680 billion in assets, U.S. Bancorp is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the firm serves millions of customers locally, nationally, and around the world with services including consumer banking, business banking, commercial banking, institutional banking, payments, and wealth management. Billtrust, which partnered with U.S. Bank to launch the bank’s new AR offering, is an integrated AR solutions provider whose technology is used by more than 2,400 companies worldwide. These clients range from Coca-Cola and FedEx to Staples and United Rentals.

Earlier this month, Billtrust announced that it had extended its collaboration with Visa to support its Business Payments Network (BPN). Introduced in partnership with Visa in 2018, BPN links suppliers to buyers via connectivity to their preferred bank and payables providers. Headquartered in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, and founded in 2001, Billtrust was acquired by EQT Private Equity for $1.7 billion in 2022.

U.S. Bank most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall in 2021. At the conference, the bank demoed its U.S. Bank Card as a Service (CaaS) solution. The technology enables fintechs and other businesses to extend corporate credit digitally, and to create a custom virtual payment experience for customers via API integration.

Photo by Pixabay

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Zafin Partners with Rabobank to Drive Digital Transformation

Zafin Partners with Rabobank to Drive Digital Transformation
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Zafin
  • Financial services company Rabobank has turned to Zafin to optimize its pricing, billing, and invoicing capabilities.
  • The partnership will help Rabobank fulfill its mandate of becoming a 100% digital institution.
  • Zafin made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2017. The company was acquired by Nordic Capital earlier this year.

Multi-national banking and financial services company Rabobank has tapped SaaS core modernization solutions provider Zafin to optimize its pricing, billing, and invoicing capabilities.

“Innovation lies at the heart of Rabobank’s digital transformation journey,” Rabobank Manager (Payments) Paul Wolda said. “It supports our mission of ‘growing a better world together’ and our goal to improve the everyday life of our customers.” Wolda praised Zafin’s reputation around the world and said that the partnership “reinforces our commitment to invest in innovative technologies that modernize our legacy applications, drive operational efficiencies, lower costs, and offer our clients a more personalized and sophisticated banking experience.”

The partnership comes as Rabobank pursues its mandate to become 100% digital. The firm will deploy Zafin’s platform, replacing its current pricing tools, and lowering the cost of creating, changing, and launching customized product propositions and pricing to its clients. Rabobank will leverage the platform to access a consistent view of product, billing, and invoicing data across channels. This will reduce revenue leakage and deliver real-time insights into preferences and needs of Rabobank’s diverse retail and corporate customer base.

“Our partnership with Rabobank is a significant milestone in our mission to deliver core modernization solutions for the banking industry,” Zafin SVP of EMEA Sales Hali Khan said. “For decades, Rabobank has maintained leadership in sustainability-oriented banking, and we are excited to help transform its pricing and billing capabilities in the Netherlands.”

Active in 37 countries, Rabobank is an international financial services provider offering retail banking, wholesale banking, private banking, leasing, and real estate services. Headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands, Rabobank was first established in 1895 as a local credit cooperative for farmers and even today maintains a market share of more than 85% in the country’s agrarian sector. Rabobank launched its first internet only savings bank, Rabobank.be, in 2002.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based Zafin demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2017. The company was acquired by Nordic Capital in February of this year. In May, Zafin co-founder Al Karim Somji announced that he would step down from the role of CEO after more than two decades in leadership.

Photo by Iván Rivero

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Featurespace and OrboGraph Team Up to Fight Check Fraud

Featurespace and OrboGraph Team Up to Fight Check Fraud
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Daily news, Featurespace

A partnership between Featurespace and OrboGraph will help banks and other financial services companies defend themselves against check fraud.

“OrboGraph’s expertise in check fraud detection perfectly complements our expertise and, together, we can offer a powerful tool that seamlessly integrates check image display functionality and common check risk data sources,” Featurespace President of Americas Carolyn Homberger said.

Many consumers, especially younger consumers, have abandoned paper checks. In fact, some analysis suggests that paper checks represent less than 5% of transactions in the U.S. as of 2022 (compared to 17% for cash and more than 31% for credit and charge cards). At the same time, that relatively modest amount of paper check writing still amounts to $27 trillion in value. It is also worth noting that while paper checks have become less common in consumer transactions, paper checks are still used in nearly half of all B2B payments according to Paystand.

This means that there is an ample opportunity for fraudsters. In fact, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has reported that check fraud is becoming increasingly prevalent and, as of 2023, represents more than a third of all fraud at depository institutions.

To this end, the integration of Featurespace’s financial crime prevention technology with OrboGraph’s check processing automation and fraud detection software and services will enhance detection of fraudulent checks and reduce the number of false positives for banks and financial institutions in the U.K.

“Check fraud is a growing and concerning area of financial crime – we know banks and financial institutions are experiencing a rise in reports and are in need of more advanced tools that can tackle the issue,” OrboGraph CEO Barry Cohen said. “Combining our expertise with Featurespace will enable us to deliver a more robust and comprehensive fraud detection solution, helping financial institutions to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated check fraud schemes.”

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Cambridge, U.K., Featurespace made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2016. The company returned to the Finovate stage later that year to demo its technology at FinovateFall in New York. Today, the company processes more than 50 billion events a year, and protects 500 million customers in 180+ countries from fraud risk. Featurespace’s signature solution, its ARIC Risk Hub, leverages Adaptive Behavioral Analytics and Automated Deep Behavioral Networks to model and predict individual behavior in real-time to enhance fraud prevention and anti-money laundering efforts.

This spring, Featurespace forged a partnership with The Knoble, an alliance of financial services professionals, regulators, and law enforcement that focuses on crimes such as human trafficking and elder financial exploitation. In May, the company announced the results of a pilot project with Pay.UK designed to defend consumers from Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud. Featurespace’s proof of concept detected more than $178 million (£138 million) in fraud with a 5:1 false positive ratio. Applying its Generative AI solution TalllierLTM enabled Featurespace to boost its fraud detection rates to 56%, identifying an additional $51 million (£40 million) in fraud.

“Fraud is the single largest crime in the U.K. It accounts for 40% of all crime and contributes to £2.3 billion in losses annually,” Featurespace CEO Martina King said. “But the UK is leading the charge to tackle this issue and the game-changing pilot with Pay.UK is one that the world has been watching. It shows the immense power of collaboration and technology, and the scale of positive change that is possible when the payments industry works together to tackle fraudulent activity.”

Featurespace has raised more than $108 million in funding according to Crunchbase. The company’s investors include Chrysalis Investments, MissionOG, and Insight Partners.

Photo by Peter Spencer

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Klarna Integrates New Payment Service to Enhance Checkout Security

Klarna Integrates New Payment Service to Enhance Checkout Security
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Klarna

A nearly ten-year old acquisition may turn out to be Klarna’s secret weapon to improve security during the checkout process.

The Swedish payments company announced this week that it has integrated a new payment service into its Klarna Pay Now product suite. The integration is designed to improve checkout security and has been made possible thanks in large part to Klarna’s acquisition of Germany-based Sofort in 2014.

“We are integrating Sofortüberweisung into the Klarna environment to offer consumers and merchants the best of both worlds: the familiar Sofort payment process combined with the smoother, more secure payment experience and global reach of Klarna,” Klarna Chief Commercial Officer David Sykes said. “The combined product is better for merchants and consumers, and (is) also a platform for Klarna to expand the functionality of Sofortüberweisung globally.”

Sofortüberweisung is a bank-to-bank payment service that Klarna gained access to by acquiring Sofort GmbH in 2014. Klarna has been incorporating Sofort’s technology into its solutions since 2017, and has launched the service in some of its other markets around the world, including the U.K. With this week’s integration, consumers will be able to track their Sofortüberweisung payments from within the Klarna app, as well as make payments without having to re-enter their payment information. This, combined with Klarna’s two-factor authentication, facilitates both greater convenience and increased security.

To that point, customers will need a Klarna account in order to take advantage of the Sofortüberweisung integration, and the company notes 95% of Sofort customers already have one. Klarna also reports that the “improved user-friendliness” of the integration has produced a 5% increase in conversion rates for consumers who use it.

Founded in 2005, Klarna made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2012. In the decade-plus since then, the company has grown into a major e-commerce and payments business with 150 million total active customers in its network – including 34 million in the U.S. With more than 500,000 total merchants using its technology, Klarna facilitates two million transactions per day.

The company also recently made headlines with word that it is preparing for an initial public offering in the U.S. as early as the first half of 2025. Also this month, Klarna announced that it had partnered with Adobe Commerce to make it easier for merchants on the platform to implement Klarna’s Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services.

“Consumers are embracing the flexibility that Buy Now Pay Later services can provide, with Adobe Analytics data showing over 11 percent growth this year,” Jason Knell, Adobe Sr. Director, Content & Commerce Partners, said. “Klarna’s global footprint enables Adobe Commerce merchants to meet the changing needs of their customers and stay competitive in today’s digital economy.”

Klarna is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Sebastian Siemiakowski is Klarna’s CEO.

Photo by Karolina Kaboompics

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Boku, NCR Corporation, WorldPay

The week begins as banks, fintechs, and financial services companies alike work to recover from Friday’s historic IT outage.

Be sure to check back throughout the week as we continue to track the latest in fintech news and announcements.

Cybersecurity

BBVA inks agreement with Telefónica Tech; opens international cybersecurity center in Mexico.

Galileo Financial Technologies adds 3D Secure to bolster online fraud protection.

Identity verification

IDenfy launches automated bill verification tool for utilities.

Veriff enhances biometric authentication solution to prevent account takeover fraud.

Payments

International payment services company PXP Financial launches its Partner Portal.

Online payment service provider PayU GPO introduces new Chief Risk Officer Simona Covaliu.

ACI Worldwide extends its strategic partnership with Worldpay.

Payment processor and ledger infrastructure provider Episode Six announces that its issuer payment solution is now available on the AWS Marketplace.

Mobile payment solutions provider Boku introduces new Chief Financial Officer Rob Whittick.

Pay-by-Bank solutions company Aeropay launches its proprietary bank aggregator, Aerosync.

Accounting

Legaltech Clio unveils Clio Accounting, the latest addition to its suite of fintech offerings for legal professionals.

Investing and wealth management

Franklin Templeton partners with investment management, accounting, reporting, and analytics provider Clearwater Analytics.

Data management and operations technology provider Arcesium unveils its investment lifecycle management platform, Opterra.

AI and innovation wealth platform TIFIN announces international expansion to India and strategic investment from DSP Group.

Credit unions

Black Hills Federal Credit Union ($2.3 billion in assets) teams up with NCR Atleos’ ATM-as-a-Service and ITM-as-a-Service offerings.

Small business

AI-powered spend management platform Brex introduces new Chief Compliance Officer Sibongile Ngako.

Digital banking

Rabobank selects Zafin to power digital transformation efforts.

Photo by Markus Spiske

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Finovate Global Brazil: Instant Payments, Acquiring AI Tech, and Money for Med Students

Finovate Global Brazil: Instant Payments, Acquiring AI Tech, and Money for Med Students
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Finovate Global, Temenos

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech developments in Brazil.

Brazilian fintech Matera raised $100 million in funding from U.S. investor Warburg Pincus. The investment gives Warburg Pincus a majority stake in the firm, and is designed to help fuel Matera’s expansion into North America.

A key part of Brazil’s PIX instant payments ecosystem, Matera offers core banking, instant payments, and QR code payment technology to more than 250 banks, credit unions, and financial institutions globally. The company includes two of the top three banks in the world and more than one-third of all banks in Brazil as its customers.

This week’s investment arrives as the company reports 2023 revenues of $77 million and 4x growth since 2020. Within a real-time payments system that accounts for more than 40% of all electronic transactions in Brazil, Matera alone processes more than five billion transactions a year.

“PIX set the standard for the digital finance revolution,” Matera CEO Carlos Netto said. “At Matera, we know first-hand the pressure for banks to modernize their infrastructure to keep up with innovative new payment methods such as instant payments and pay-by-bank. We’re honored to leverage our PIX expertise with proven solutions to help financial institutions across North America keep pace with their customers’ digital demands.”

Matera’s flagship solution for the North American market is Digital Twin, a high-performance ledger that sits on top of a bank’s existing core platform. Digital Twin responds to two particular issues: core banking modernization and the ability to create real-time digital user experiences. Additionally, Matera is introducing its QR code payments solution. The technology enables both billers and merchants to offer consumers QR codes to make payments via mobile phone. Matera’s QR code payments offering also enables consumers to generate QR codes from a mobile app in order to make payments.

Matera was founded in 1987 in Sao Paulo. The company also maintains offices in Rio de Janeiro, Maringá, and Campinas in Brazil; as well as in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

One of Finovate’s few Brazilian alums, Nubank, is also one of the biggest fintechs in the country. And while the company has received a great deal of acclaim for its efforts to promote financial inclusion, Nubank is also making inroads when it comes to integrating AI technology into its operations.

To this end, the company has acquired U.S.-based data intelligence start-up Hyperplane. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Nubank said that it will use Hyperplane’s AI technology in multiple ways, generating insights, improving decision-making, and enhancing the customer experience.

“Nubank’s mission since its founding is to fight complexity and empower fanatical customers,” David Vélez, founder and CEO of Nubank, said. “Our early investments in AI, coupled with the impressive infrastructure and talent that (the) Hyperplan team has been able to put together, will accelerate our mission. Consumers globally will access not only the very best financial products but also receive truly customized financial advice that empowers them to live a better life.”

Founded in 2013, Nubank made its Finovate debut at FinDEVrNewYork 2016. The digital banking platform serves more than 100 million customers in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia with solutions for credit and lending, investment, payments, and insurance. Last month, the company launched direct cryptocurrency transfers, and forged partnerships with Lightspark and fellow Finovate alum, Wise.

Alume, a Brazilian fintech that specializes in providing financing for higher education expenses raised $7 million (R$39 million) in funding this week. The round was led by Japan-based Credit Saison.

Helping fund the education of the country’s future medical professionals is Alume’s specialty. The company offers student loans to medical students in Brazil, as well as to newly graduated doctors. To date, the company has more than 4,000 clients and has disbursed $29 million in financing.

“Alume differentiates itself by combining technology with a deep understanding of the medical sector,” Alume Co-founder and CEO Pedro Silveira said. “Our medical-specialized accountants deliver a superior experience and tax savings for professionals.”

Alume offers three different kinds of student loans. The company provides financing of up to 80% of the student’s monthly tuition fees starting with the ninth semester of attendance onwards. Alume also offers an allowance of up to R$1,600 per month (approximately $287) to help pay for housing, food, and transportation expenses. Third, Alume provides financing for medical residency preparatory courses. Monthly interest rates start at 1.99%.

In addition to financing, the company is adding an accounting service to its offering. The service will be designed to assist doctors who serve as legal entities and will help them manage both their accounting and tax reporting.

Headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Alume was founded in 2019.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Accelerex, a digital payment services provider based in Nigeria, introduced its “Payment with Fingerprint” system.
  • Stanbic Bank Kenya upgraded its Temenos core in partnership with Temenos regional implementation partner Orion Innovation.
  • Nigerian fintech Fintava unveiled its banking-as-a-service technology.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Estonia-based fintech Mifundo is awarded a $2.7 million (€2.5 million) grant from European Innovation Council.
  • Latvian multi-asset investment platform Mintos announced its entry into the Czech market this week.
  • Digital wallet Kuady has expanded to Bulgaria.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Egyptian fintech unicorn MNT-Halan raised $157.5 million to support expansion outside the country.
  • Jordan Kuwait Bank teamed up with Mastercard and UAE-based fintech FOO to launch new prepaid digital wallet, eliWallet.
  • The Central Bank of Bahrain will require all licensed financial and banking institutions to adhere to the country’s Open Banking regulations by the first of September.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Indian startup TechFini secured approval from NPCI to facilitate UPI-based payment solutions to banks, financial institutions, and fintechs.
  • Paytech Paysys Labs and Raqami Islamic Digital Bank Pakistan partnered to enhance digital payments in the country.
  • India-based credit card company OneCard announced a collaboration with Razorpay.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Mexican fintech OCN secured $86 million in Series A funding.
  • Brazilian banking software provider Matera raised $100 million in funding from Warbug Pincus.
  • Argentina-based payments processor Tapi secured $22 million to support its expansion into Mexico.

Asia-Pacific

  • Singapore based fintech Qashier launched its payment linked loyalty program, Treats.
  • Financial infrastructure platform Stripe unveiled a new series of products designed for the Japanese market.
  • Hong Kong-based digital bank ZA Bank announced new reserve banking services for stablecoin issuers.

Photo by Florencia Potter

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Streamly: Community Banks, Credit Unions, and Big Tech Partnerships

Streamly: Community Banks, Credit Unions, and Big Tech Partnerships
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Interview, Streamly

Our Streamly series of interviews continues with four more conversations from fintech and financial services professionals who spoke at FinovateSpring earlier this year.

For more from Streamly and FinovateSpring, check out our blog post from last week, AI in Financial Services: Automation, Profitability, and Fraud Prevention.

Unlocking advertising potential: Financial services on Amazon

Chief Revenue Officer at Revive Media Danielle Shamos discusses strategies to reach targeted audiences and how the effective use of data can enable even further audience growth. Shamos also talks about the uniqueness of Amazon as an advertising platform.

How can community banks gain a competitive edge through technology?

Barb MacLean, SVP and Head of Technology Operations and Implementation at Coastal Community Bank, talks about how technology can help community banks secure a competitive edge. MacLean also discusses the importance of internal innovation and the challenges of banking-as-a-service.

Reimagining community banking: How can you adapt your strategy to changing customer needs?

John Waupsh, Chief Revenue Officer of Manifest Financial, explains why it is important for community banks to define their strategic purpose at a time of increasing competition. Waupsh also discusses the importance of adapting business strategies to ever-evolving customer needs.

Credit union solutions: What’s different about this landscape?

Managing Director at TruStage Ventures Sam Das discussed the unique challenges that confront credit unions today – from membership retention to cybersecurity. Das also explains that while there is demand from credit unions for tailored fintech solutions, fintechs needs to “come prepared” if they want to successfully partner with these financial institutions.

Photo by CoWomen

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Stratyfy and Prism Data Team Up to Help Lenders Make Better Decisions

Stratyfy and Prism Data Team Up to Help Lenders Make Better Decisions
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Stratyfy
  • AI technology company Stratyfy announced a strategic partnership with cash flow underwriting and data analytics platform Prism Data.
  • Stratyfy will integrate Prism Data’s cash flow data and scoring to improve decision-making for lenders.
  • New York-based Stratyfy won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2022.

AI technology company Stratyfy has forged a strategic partnership with cash flow underwriting and data analytics platform Prism Data. Courtesy of the partnership, Stratyfy will put Prism Data’s cash flow data and scoring to work to help lenders make better decisions when traditional credit data does not provide enough information.

“Solely depending on traditional credit data can paint an incomplete financial picture of loan applicants, which results in lenders missing out on good, profitable customers,” Stratyfy Co-Founder and CEO Laura Kornhauser explained. “By combining our proprietary AI/ML technology with Prism Data’s CashScore, we can harness cash flow data to help lenders accurately and transparently identify credit-worthy customers who may have been overlooked otherwise.”

Prism Data’s CashScore solution analyzes thousands of financial data points that are often absent from traditional credit reporting. These factors include income, assets, expenses, volatility, and the ability to repay. CashScore simplifies complex cash flow underwriting to a three-digit score and can be used by lenders to approve or decline credit applications or as part of a process that includes traditional credit models and scoring.

“Prism’s CashScore enables credit decisions that are more accurate and more inclusive – allowing lenders to say ‘yes’ to up to 30% more customers without taking on additional risk,” Prism Data President Erin Allard said. “Paired with Stratyfy’s cutting-edge decisioning technology, we’re confident lenders will be better positioned to advance financial inclusion and boost profits at the same time.”

Founded in 2016, New York-based Prism Data launched its CashScore FirstDetect solution earlier this year. FirstDetect predicts the likelihood that a customer will default on a loan. The technology uses a variety of financial details as well as trend and pattern analysis to obtain a clear overview of the customer’s spending, earning, and saving behavior. FirstDetect is especially helpful in dealing with “first-party fraud” in which a customer applies for a loan in their own name, but does so with no intention of paying the loan back.

Headquartered in New York and founded in 2017, Stratyfy made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2018. The company returned to the Finovate stage for FinovateFall 2022, winning Best of Show for a demo of its Unbias solution. Unbias enables financial institutions and fintechs to “uncover, understand, and undo” bias in complex financial decision-making such as underwriting. The technology, delivered via API, is part of Stratyfy’s suite of machine learning tools to help institutions minimize bias, support inclusion, and enhance risk-adjusted returns.

Photo by Dobromir Hristov

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ReceiptHero Secures New Funding

ReceiptHero Secures New Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, ReceiptHero
  • ReceiptHero announced new funding this week, courtesy of investors including SeedX VC, LifeLine VC, and SuperHero VC, as well as angel investors.
  • The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
  • ReceiptHero made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin, Germany.

Finland-based ReceiptHero has secured new funding, the company reported this week. Participating in the round were SuperHero VC, SeedX VC, LifeLine VC, as well as angel investors and team members. The amount of the investment was not disclosed; prior to this week’s announcement, the company had raised more than $6.2 million (€5.7 million) in total capital.

ReceiptHero said that the funding will accelerate the company’s goal of eliminating paper receipts and creating greater value in the data that is available from real-time receipt delivery. To this end, ReceiptHero has stated that its goal is to serve more than a million payment terminals in Europe and the U.K., with the first retail pilots in the U.S. to launch within the next year and a half.

“When we founded ReceiptHero over five years ago, we had to spend a lot of time heavily educating the market on what a digital receipt is,” ReceiptHero CEO Saku Pihlajaniemi said. “Fast forward to today we see a large amount of merchants inquiring about our service and they have a clear strategy on how they want to deploy digital receipts across their stores.”

Receipt Hero made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin, Germany. At the conference, the company showed how its API platform enables receipts to be created and distributed via a variety of channels. Business customers benefit from the compatibility between digital receipts and their accounting software. Individual customers get not only an enriched transaction list in their mobile banking app, but also the ability to have that transaction data used to enhance their app’s budgeting and spending tools.

This year has been a big partnership year for the Helsinki-based firm. The company began 2024 by integrating with Shopify, bringing digital receipts to the e-commerce platform. In March, ReceiptHero announced partnerships with Finnish retailer HalpaHalli, ceramics and textiles brand Pentik, and cashless payment solutions company CoreGo. More recently, the company teamed up with cash register and payment terminal solution Solmio-kassa, and TuloPOS, a point of sale and ordering system for the hospitality industry.

For more, check out our Finovate Global interview with ReceiptHero Chief Operating Officer Scott Moore.

Photo by Markus Winkler

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Meet the Finalists of the 2024 Finovate Awards!

Meet the Finalists of the 2024 Finovate Awards!
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Awards, List series

After months of deliberation, the finalists for the 2024 Finovate Awards have been selected!

In categories ranging from “Best Alternative Investments Solution” to “Top Emerging Fintech Company,” more than 130 innovative companies and individuals have made the short-list. We are now set for an exciting autumn showdown when winners are announced at Finovate Fall 2024 in New York in September.

“This year’s finalists are an amazing group!” Finovate VP Greg Palmer said. “From huge banks like JP Morgan, US Bank, and BNP Paribas, to cutting-edge fintechs like TodayPay, Kobalt Labs, and Wysh, there are amazing things happening all across the fintech ecosystem. The competition was intense for everyone who applied, and making it to the final round is an immense achievement. Congratulations to all of our finalists!”

Check out our finalists below. To learn more about the awards, visit our Finovate Awards hub.

Best Alternative Investments SolutionAlphaPoint
Ctrl Alt
Frec
iCapital, Inc.
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Best Anti-Fraud/AML SolutionCredit Union of Colorado
ING Turkiye
JP Morgan AWM
Mastercard
Worldpay
Best Back-Office/Core Services SolutionFINBOA
LoanPro
Mastercard Cybersecurity
Mitek Systems
Taktile
Zafin
Best Banking-as-a-Service ProviderB4B Payments
Colendi
Grasshopper Bank
North Bay Credit Union
Pathward, N.A.
Best Consumer-Facing Payments SolutionEngage People
InPost Pay
Pushpay
Transact Campus
Trustly
Best Consumer Lending SolutionJP Morgan AWM
Jenius Bank
Prosper
Best Corporate Payments SolutionBILL
Global PayEx
Helcim
TransferMate
TreasurUp
US Bank
Best Customer Experience SolutionACE Money Transfer
DBS BAnk
JP Morgan AWM
Millennium BCP
NF Innova – OTP banka Srbija
Syfe
Best Digital BankDave
IndusInd Bank
Papara Elektronik Para A.S.
RCBC
Best Embedded Finance SolutionBM Technologies
Clair
QuickFi
TaxBit
Wysh
Yabx Technologies
Best Enterprise Payments SolutionAPEXX Global
Orum
Papaya Global
PayNearMe
SWIVEL
VGS
Best Financial Mobile AppBNP Paribas
FINOM
Industrial Bank of Korea
JP Morgan AWM
Best Fintech PartnershipAmerican Heritage CU and Datava
Apiture and Newtek Bank
Fnality International and Lloyds Banking Group
Pagaya and US Bank
Panacea Financial and Bankjoy
Sunrise Banks and MoCaFi
Best Generative AI SolutionBank of Montreal
Intuit Credit Karma
Nest Bank S.A.
Socure
Symphony AI
Talkdesk
Best Insurtech SolutionCompanjon
Kakaopay Insurance
Quantiphi
TruStage Payment Guard
Wysh
Best RegTech SolutionKobalt Labs
Napier AI
Quavo Fraud & Disputes
Symphony AI
Tookitaki Holding Pte Ltd
Winnow Solutions
Best SMB/SME Banking SolutionFINOM
Neural Payments
Relay
TD Bank
Best Wealth Management SolutionAddepar
Ak Asset Management
Flourish
JP Morgan AWM
Sidekick
Excellence in Financial InclusionBNY Mellon and MoCaFi
DailyPay
Interledger Foundation
Mastercard
Omniscient
Penny Finance
Excellence in SustainabilityMPOWER Financing
Quik!
Sunstone Credit
Transact Campus
Executive of the YearJohn Retting, BILL
Sanjiv Yajnik, Capital One
Chermaine Hu, Episode Six
Jon Briggs, KeyBank
Roben Dunkin, PGIM
Nancy Langer, Transact Campus
Matt Hawkins, Waystar
Chris Hilliard, Winnow Solutions
Innovator of the YearMatt Brown, CAIS
Yelena Melamed, Catchlight
Sindhu Joseph, CogniCor
Josh Owen, Flourish
Geralyn Hurd, K1x
Ken Moore, Mastercard
Kelly Uphoff, Tala
Alex Matjanec, Wysh
Most Impactful AI-Based SolutionBrex
Napier AI
Pagaya
Socure
Uplinq
Winnow Solutions
Top Emerging Fintech CompanyArro
Brightwave
Lettuce Financial
Oscilar
Plenty
TodayPay

Photo by Designecologist

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