Author: David Penn

ThetaRay Partners with ABN AMRO to Boost AML Capabilities

ThetaRay Partners with ABN AMRO to Boost AML Capabilities
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ThetaRay

ABN AMRO, the third largest bank in the Netherlands and one of the leading banks in northwest Europe, has partnered with ThetaRay in a five-year, bank-wide project to improve the Dutch bank’s AML and CTF (counter-terrorist financing) capabilities. ThetaRay is a specialist in leveraging machine learning and sophisticated mathematical algorithms to detect financial crime in its earliest stages. The company will help the bank focus on making its post-transaction monitoring more effective and efficient.

“We are very happy to have ABN AMRO join the distinguished group of leading banks already using ThetaRay’s solution,” SVP of Sales for ThetaRay Shay Dovev said. “Today banks are dealing with complex challenges when facing terrorism and financial crime. They have no option but to use the best technologies based on artificial intelligence and machine learning to protect themselves and meet increasing regulatory requirements.”

ThetaRay’s platform enables financial institutions to build customized solutions to identify anomalies in large, complex data sets in real time regardless of source. The product of more than 15 years of academic research, ThetaRay’s approach to fraud detection is data agnostic and rules-free, leveraging “the wisdom of the algorithm crowd” to deliver a faster, more accurate cybersecurity solution and a new paradigm in anomaly detection.

Founded in 2013, ThetaRay demonstrated its fraud & credit risk analytics platform at FinovateFall 2015.  The company has been especially busy in the first half of this year, partnering with Singapore bank OCBC in March,  and winning the Regulatory Technology Implementation of the Year category at the 2018 Asian Banker Risk Management Awards in May. Earlier this month, ThetaRay won the 2018 ATMIA Global Award for Next Generation ATM Security.

ThetaRay is headquartered in Israel and maintains offices in New York, London, and Singapore. The company has raised more than $30 million in funding, and includes Poalim Capital Markets (PCM), Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), and General Electric among its investors. Mark Gazit is CEO.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Fiserv, Gro Solutions, Payfone, SigFig, Signicat, ThetaRay

On Finovate.com

  • ThetaRay Partners with ABN AMRO to Boost AML Capabilities.
  • SigFig Raises $50 Million in Series E.

Around the web

  • Signicat integrates Belgian digital identity scheme, itsme, into its platform.
  • Australia’s Bendigo and Adelaide Bank selects OneSumX from Wolters Kluwer for regulatory reporting.
  • Fiserv inks deals with Sioux Valley Community CU and Coulee Dam FCU based in Iowa and Washington state, respectively.
  • Payfone collaborates with Canadian telecom EnStream to develop mobile federated authentication service.
  • Indiana-based Elements Financial Credit Union ($1.5 billion in assets) to deploy digital sales platform from Gro Solutions.

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.

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Finastra Acquires Malauzai

Finastra Acquires Malauzai
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finastra, Malauzai, Malauzai Software

Global financial software provider Finastra, the combination of D+H and Misys that was forged a year ago this month, has added a new major element to its mix. The company announced today that it would acquire fellow Finovate alum Malauzai, a firm that specializes in retail and business banking solutions for community banks and credit unions. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Calling these smaller financial institutions “the fabric of American financial services,” Finastra CEO Simon Paris said bringing Malauzai into the Finastra fold will be a major boon for large and small FIs. “Together, our two companies deliver a fully integrated open core platform for payments, lending, and digital, across Finastra’s 4,500-strong U.S.-based community market customers and Malauzai’s non-core U.S.-based customers.” Paris added that Malauzai’s “leadership” and “open approach” are in “perfect alignment with our open platform vision.”

Malauzai co-founder and Chief Product Officer Robb Gaynor during a live demo of the company’s Conversational Banking for Business solution at FinovateFall 2017.

It’s also worth noting that the acquisition was the consumption of a relationship between the two companies that began years ago. Finastra and Malauzai have been collaboration partners with more than 130 shared customers since 2015. As such it was no surprise to hear Malauzai CEO Tom Shen echo Paris’ praise for the synergies between the two companies. “By combining a best-in-class core experience, backed by leading innovative mobile and Internet banking capabilities and our mobile-only design approach, community financial institutions win,” Shen said.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Malauzai has distinguished itself as a major provider of digitally-innovative products and solutions for local and community-based financial institutions. For the company’s FinovateSpring 2015 demo, co-founders Robb Gaynor and Danny Piangerelli were joined on stage by representatives from six different community banks that were offering Malauzai-powered features including P2P payments, picture bill pay, and debit card on/off to their customers and members.

Solutions like MOX Pay and Conversational Banking for Business, both demoed at recent Finovate events, further distinguished Malauzai has a partner for financial institutions looking to provide their retail and business customers with the same level of digital innovation as the larger banks.

“The acquisition creates a compelling proposition for our existing customer base and enables Finastra’s customers to deliver a seamless banking experience with a robust breadth of services, via a single provider,” Shen said. Malauzai serves more than 350 community financial institutions in the U.S. and has more than one million active users of its solutions.

Malauzai has raised more than $24 million in funding from investors including Wellington Management and Live Oak Banking Company. In May, the company teamed up with its future acquirer to help Horicon Bank launch its digital banking platform . InApril, Malauzai partnered with fellow Finovate alum Geezeo to develop a new mobile app for Axiom Bank, the second-largest community bank in Florida.

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Baker Hill Brings its Cloud-Based Loan Origination Solution to First Bank

Baker Hill Brings its Cloud-Based Loan Origination Solution to First Bank
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Baker Hill

North Carolina-based First Bank, with 102 branches and assets of $5.6 billion, has partnered with loan origination platform provider Baker Hill, and will leverage the fintech’s consumer lending and online loan application solution to support its continued growth.

“Our goal at Baker Hill is to help community financial institutions, like First Bank, generate efficient and profitable growth,” President and CEO of Baker Hill, John M. Deignan said. “With the support and expertise of our team, combined with the intuitive design of our solutions, First Bank is positioned to maximize its growth potential and more importantly, best serve its customers by providing a positive lending experience.”

Baker Hill VP of Marketing Mike Horrocks and Sr Product Manager Eric LaPlante demonstrating NextGen Small Business Online Loan Application & Auto Decisioning Solutions at FinovateSpring 2018.

Baker Hill leverages 30 years of industry experience to provide banks and credit unions with cloud-based loan origination and portfolio management solutions for business and consumer lending. The company’s NextGen loan origination, risk management, and analytics solution makes it easier and faster for businesses to apply for loans, and conforms to the specific credit policies of each individual institution to provide sound creditworthiness determinations based on application data, credit scores, and other calculated information.

More than 20% of the top 150 banks in the U.S. and 20% of the top 25 credit unions use Baker Hill’s technology. The company’s commercial lending clients manage more than $1.3 trillion in commercial loan opportunities, while Baker Hill’s small business lenders have submitted  almost $153 billion in SME loan applications via its platform.

George Lewis, SVP for Credit Administration for First Bank, praised both the support Baker Hill provided during the onboarding process as well as the company’s “longstanding reputation within the industry.” Calling it a “valuable partnership,” Lewis aded “We look forward to the benefits these implementations bring to both our customers and our employees.”

Baker Hill demonstrated its NextGen Small Business Online Loan Application and Auto Decisioning Solutions at FinovateSpring 2018. Last month, the company announced an agreement with Virginia’s Old Point National Bank, which will deploy Baker Hill’s loan origination technology to support both commercial and consumer lending. In addition to the company’s return to the Finovate stage this spring, Baker Hill upgraded its omni-channel marketing suite in April, and teamed up with Built Technologies in March to recommend each company’s solutions to the other company’s clients.

With offices in both Carmel, Indiana, and Beaverton, Oregon, Baker Hill was founded in 1983. The company was acquired by the Riverside Company, a $4.6 billion global private equity firm, in a 2015 leveraged buyout.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Aire, Baker Hill, Emailage, Finastra, Fiserv, Malauzai, Malauzai Software, Nubank, Revolut, TransferWise, Trunomi, Yoyo

On Finovate.com

  • Baker Hill Brings its Cloud-Based Loan Origination Solution to First Bank.

Around the web

  • Online banking innovator Dollar Bank to upgrade its digital offerings with technology from Fiserv.
  • Brazil’s Nubank reaches milestone of 1.5 million digital account openings in six months.
  • Aire, Onfido, Trunomi, TransferWise, YoYo Wallet and Revolut earn finalist spots in TechCrunch Europas Awards.
  • Emailage announces expansion across APAC and plans to double the size of its Phoenix, Arizona office.

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.

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AlphaPoint Raises $15 Million in Series A Led by Galaxy Digital Ventures

AlphaPoint Raises $15 Million in Series A Led by Galaxy Digital Ventures
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AlphaPoint, Funding, Fundings

AlphaPoint, a New York-based fintech that leverages distributed ledger technology to enable financial institutions to digitize, trade, and manage any asset, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with news that it has raised $15 million in new funding. The Series A round was led by Galaxy Digital Ventures, and brings the company’s total capital to $16.6 million. AlphaPoint says it will use the funds to double the size of its team by year’s end.

“We are delighted to have Galaxy Digital Ventures as a strategic investor who shares our vision to unlock the value of illiquid assets for a wider audience of investors and traders,” AlphaPoint CEO Salil Donde said. “This investment allows us to continue our focus on our customers’ success.”

Galaxy Digital Ventures managing director Greg Wasserman credited AlphaPoint for having the combination of talent and technology in order to take advantage what he called a “tremendous” demand for the digitization of illiquid assets. AlphaPoint estimates the total value of the illiquid asset market – including gold and real estate – at more than $11 trillion and sees its technology as a way to provide badly needly liquidity. “Consumers are demanding increased access, transparency, and trust,” said Wasserman, who will join AlphaPoint’s board of directors as part of the strategic investment. “Businesses are seeking increased liquidity with reduced fraud, risk, and cost.”

Founded in 2013, AlphaPoint demonstrated its AlphaPoint Distributed Ledger Platform (ADLP) at FinovateFall 2017. The general-purpose blockchain platform streamlines the deployment of distributed financial applications, and enables financial institutions to participate in digital asset issuance, confidential smart contracts, and automated workflows. Running in live production since 2013, the solution has facilitated  transactions totaling more than $100 billion to date for platform customers. The company’s partners include Intel – with whom AlphaPoint teamed up last fall – Microsoft, and RedHat. The CME Group, London Block Exchange, and BTCC are a few of AlphaPoint’s more than 30 global clients.

Earlier this year, AlphaPoint announced completion of a blockchain trial with Scotiabank that explored a variety of use cases for the company’s ADLP. In April, AlphaPoint teamed up with CME Group and The Royal Mint to support the Royal Mint Gold initiative, a trading platform for digital gold. And last month, AlphaPoint introduced its Regulated Asset Backed Token (RABT), a new framework designed to support the launch of blockchain tokens supported by regulated assets. The goal is to leverage blockchain technology to add liquidity to the real estate market.

Donde took over the CEO spot at the company last fall – at the same time AlphaPoint unveiled plans for a new public blockchain network. He arrived at AlphaPoint after serving as EVP of Global Information Services at Nasdaq.

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Nextmarkets Picks Up $6.9 Million in New Funding

Nextmarkets Picks Up $6.9 Million in New Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, nextmarkets

Courtesy of a just-completed Series A round, Cologne-based nextmarkets has raised $6.96 million (€6 million) in capital. The round featured participation from existing investors FinLab, Peter Thiel and Falk Strascheg, as well as new investors Axel Springer Media for Equity GmbH, Cryptology Asset Group PLC, and British hedge fund manager Alan Howard.

The Series A takes the company’s total equity to nearly $14 million. Howard commended the firm for its “impressive technology” which he said will add to the company’s future innovations to make a “lasting impact on the retail investment space.”

The funding news is only one headline nextmarkets has made this week. The company also launched its real-money offer, which enables customers to open real money accounts and participate in equity markets on the nextmarkets platform. The company plans to add crypto market options soon. Nextmarkets also announced that its subsidiary, nextmarkets Trading Limited, has obtained a Category 3 Investment Service License in Malta.

“With obtaining the license and going live we have taken a major milestone in our success story,” nextmarkets co-founder and CEO Manuel Heyden said. “From now on we will focus on dynamic growth in Europe and soon globally with our highly scalable, transactional business model.”

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Cologne, Germany, nextmarkets demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2015. A specialist in the field of curated investing, nextmarkets enables individual investors and traders to benefit from the expertise of 14 investment professionals who provide real-time trading insights via the web or smartphone on more than 1,000 markets, including equities, indices, foreign exchange, and commodities.

And with both ETF and crypto currency markets to be added soon, nextmarkets will make it even easier for traders and investors to remain vigilant for market opportunities – especially in sectors with which they are less familiar. “As an active investor, I always wonder who has the time to analyze the wide range of stocks and cryptos,” nextmarkets co-founder and CTO Dominic Heyden said. “Now I have my own investment professionals in my pocket and will be backed by them on the markets. If one of my coaches makes a profit in his bitcoin analysis, I do it on my account.”

The Heyden brothers have a history in social investing, having co-founded ayondo in 2008. Ayondo participated in FinovateEurope 2013, where the brothers – along with CMO Alexander Surminski – demonstrated the third edition of its social trading platform.

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Best of Show Winner Finn AI Partners with Visa Canada to Boost Chatbot Capabilities

Best of Show Winner Finn AI Partners with Visa Canada to Boost Chatbot Capabilities
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finn.ai

Visa Canada and Finn AI have teamed up to offer new capabilities in conversational banking chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI), powered by the Visa Developer Platform, reports Antony Peyton of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

The Vancouver-based fintech firm will use Visa Developer Platform APIs to enhance its conversational AI technology to “provide a more personalised experience” for banks to interact with their customers.

Jake Tyler, CEO at Finn AI, said: “This will help banks meet consumers’ needs on their terms, allowing them to set travel notifications, flag fraudulent transactions, manage subscriptions and more – as easily as chatting to their friends – 24/7 in the channels of their choice.”

For example, users could ask “Where is the closest ATM?” or “Please cancel my card” using Finn AI technology and the APIs.

A customer could chat with a virtual assistant and follow a process to ensure their cards are optimised while they are travelling.

Or they could turn on travel notifications before departing, retrieving foreign exchange rates while at the airport, and locating the nearest ATM at their destination.

A customer can also disable a misplaced card to ensure protection against fraudulent transactions through a “simple, natural conversation”.

Other Finn AI partnerships include ATB Financial, Bank of Montreal (BMO), Banpro Grupo Promerica in Nicaragua, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Finn AI made its Finovate debut at FinovateAsia 2016, winning Best of Show. The company returned to the Finovate stage the following fall for FinovateFall 2017, once again taking home top honors for a demonstration of its virtual banking assistant.

Finn AI has raised $3 million in funding and includes Yaletown Partners, Flying Fish Partners and angel investor John Livingston among its investors.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AlphaPoint, Equifax, Expensify, nextmarkets, Passport, Signicat

On Finovate.com

  • AlphaPoint Raises $15 Million in a Series A Led by Galaxy Digital Ventures.
  • Nextmarkets Picks Up $6.9 Million in New Funding.

Around the web

  • NetSuite names Expensify Innovation Partner of the Year.
  • Passport hires its first Chief Corporate Development Officer.
  • Signicat to offer Freja eID for customer onboarding thanks to partnership with IT security firm, Verisec
  • Equifax appoints former IBM Watson and Cloud Platform CTO Bryson Koehler as its new Chief Technology Officer.

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.

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Ondot Introduces Digital Card Services Platform

Ondot Introduces Digital Card Services Platform
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Ondot Systems

Winner of Best of Show awards at FinovateSpring and FinovateMiddleEast, Ondot Systems has launched its digital card services platform. The new offering provides card issuers with full digital card life-cycle management – from initial invitation through secure payments – in a single platform.

“In a digital-first world where payments are becoming invisible and consumers expect instant gratification, card issuers must attract, acquire, and empower consumers with personalized digital experience,” Sung-Wook Han, CTO for Ondot, explained. “Ondot provides a comprehensive set of services around the ‘digitized card,’ integrating into existing mobile apps, card management systems, and authorization platforms.”

Ondot CEO Vaduvur Bharghavan demonstrating the Ondot Digital Card Mobile App at FinovateSpring 2018.

Ondot’s latest solution takes advantage of social networking and bot technology to enhance the customer acquisition, application, and KYC processes. Approved cardholders get instant digital card issuance with dynamic security codes (CVV2) to support secure e-commerce, and the ability to make in-app push provisions to digital wallets. Ondot also brings to bear its innovations in card control technology, enabling cardholders to control how and when their cards can be used. Cardholders can also set spending limits, location parameters, and allow or block transactions with specific merchants.

Ondot’s latest offering can be integrated into current mobile banking apps via APIs/SDKs, or accessed as a white label mobile app with customized branding. The platform supports credit, debit, and prepaid cards, including Visa, Mastercard and private label cards.

Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and having offices in Bangalore, India, Ondot Systems made its Finovate debut in 2014. At the event, the company won Best of Show for a live demonstration of its Mobile Card Services solution. More recently, Ondot participated in our inaugural FinovateMiddleEast conference in February, demoing its Digital Card Mobile App. The company followed its Best of Show winning demonstration with news that it was bringing Mobile Card Services to customers in Asia.

Last month, Ondot celebrated a major milestone by having 3,000 financial institutions offer mobile card controls powered by its technology. Founded in 2011, the company has raised $28 million in funding. Vaduvur Bharghavan is CEO.

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Dorsum Unveils My Wealth Mobile App

Dorsum Unveils My Wealth Mobile App
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Dorsum

Budapest, Hungary-based Dorsum launched a new wealth management mobile app this week. The investment software provider’s new My Wealth mobile app helps customers better understand and review their portfolio holdings, as well as make new investments with just a few taps. The app leverages gamification and an education marketplace toolkit to ensure that customers remain well-informed about basic investment concepts and principles. My Wealth also features a self-learning chatbot as well as the ability to request a human financial advisor to take over the conversation, giving users the benefits of both AI and human advisory.

Imre Rokob, Director of Business Development at Dorsum noted that innovations like the My Wealth app are driven largely by a combination of a shift in investing preferences and the arrival of non-financial participants in the investment arena. “Present-day investors want to manage their portfolios on the go while staying in control in an efficient and intuitive way,” Rokob explained. “I’m very proud that our continuous effort to revolutionize our B2B software offerings has resulted in a digital innovation offering a unique wealth management mobile application with the right balance between intelligent automation and a human approach.”

My Wealth not only helps bridge the gap between AI and human financial advice. The technology also helps investors bridge the gap between their actual and optimal investment portfolios. When this occurs, the app provides customers with a list of potential investments the user could make that would help bring the actual portfolio more in line with the optimal portfolio. Users can receive personalized notifications and news on the app, as well as set up a meeting for a call or chat with an advisor. The solution works for both iOS and Android, and can be readily integrated into any wealth management platform or system. While designed for customers, financial advisors can use the app to keep in touch with clients and to send personalized notes and advice, as well.

“Our exceptional solution merges with the traditional advisory and the digital advisory process into a hybrid model,” Dorsum CEO Robert Ko said. “Our software meets the digital expectations of the younger generations, ready to fight with robo disruptors and boost performance of personal financial advisors.”

Dorsum demonstrated its Botboarding platform at the inaugural FinovateMiddleEast 2018 conference earlier this year. The technology, which won the company a Best of Show award last year at FinovateEurope 2017, creates customer onboarding chatbots that combine natural language communication with traditional data collection and user profiling.

In addition to its Botboarding platform, Dorsum offers a client acquisition tool that supports client engagement with vivid presentations and a portfolio calculator that provides instant financial planning simulations, as well as its wealth management platform. With subsidiaries in Romania and Bulgaria, Dorsum includes Raiffeisen Bank International, Erste Bank, and Generali among its clients.

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Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daon, Equifax, Finovate Global, Revolut, Samsung, Tinkoff Credit Systems, TransferTo, TransferWise

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Revolut announces recruitment initiative in Kraków, Poland to hire 100 new workers in a single day employment in its offices in Eastern Europe.
  • Forbes features Tinkoff Bank in look at Russia’s efforts to develop its digital economy.
  • Polish financial group Aforti Holdings to launch non-bank lender for SMEs and startups in Romania.

Asia

  • Banks in South Korea to introduce blockchain based identity verification for mobile and online logins. The technology is reportedly built on a private blockchain system developed by Samsung SDS.
  • Daon Partners with Tradelink to Bring Biometrics to Dah Sing Bank.
  • Bank of Thailand is developing and testing blockchain apps in its regulatory sandbox.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Financial technology services firm, One Global, discusses plans for expansion into Egyptian market.
  • ADGM Reglab reports record number of fintech applications for its third cohort.
  • Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange turns to Equifax for advice on development of new technologies to improve operational efficiency.

Africa

  • TransferTo, Orange Money Botswana, and EcoCash partner to support digital money transfers between Zimbabwe and Botswana.
  • IMF review of South Africa suggests “increased focus on the role fintech …” could access to credit for SMEs and promotion broader financial inclusion.
  • Nigerian startup, Piggybank.ng, raises $1.1 million to further develop its online savings platform.

Latin America

  • Diario Financiero interviews Ángel Sierra, executive director of La Asociación Fintech Chile, on digital innovation (video in Spanish).
  • TransferWise initiates service in Argentina.
  • PayU goes live in Colombia with its PayU te fía (PayU You Trust) solution that enables borrowers to extend repayment terms (in Spanish).

Top image designed by Freepik

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