Privakey Unveils Single Sign-On Solution for Enterprises

Privakey Unveils Single Sign-On Solution for Enterprises
  • Authentication platform Privakey has launched its Single Sign-On (SSO) solution, Privakey SSO.
  • The new offering enables enterprises to leverage passwordless authentication and authorization.
  • Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Privakey made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2017 in New York.

Passwordless authentication solution provider Privakey launched its Single Sign-On (SSO) solution last week. Designed for enterprises, Privakey SSO responds to the demand for passwordless authentication as cybercriminals leverage social engineering to take advantage of traditional password-based systems.

“Privakey SSO is designed for speed and simplicity in both implementation and user experience,” company CEO Charles Durkin explained. “Small and medium-sized businesses can have Privakey SSO up and running within hours. Large enterprises benefit from a single, highly secure passwordless gateway to authorized applications and services.”

The new offering leverages a strong cryptographic authenticator to incorporate biometric data, PIN, and passkey for both authentication and authorization. Users supply the biometric or PIN, and a device-based secure passkey provides an additional layer of security by verifying the user’s identity as initially registered. Privakey SSO removes the inconvenience of passwords and out-of-band codes. Businesses can deploy the technology as a standalone, company identity platform, or integrate it to enable passwordless login to enterprise identity solutions from companies ranging from Microsoft to Google to Okta.

“We’ve engineered our solution to be fast, easy to use, scalable, and robust, ready to help you eliminate passwords – the primary target of cybercriminals,” Durkin said. He added that the solution was “ideal” for a variety of verticals including financial services, ecommerce, and IT.

Privakey is currently inviting companies interested in its technology to participate in its Privakey SSO Free Beta Test. The beta testing period runs from January 30, 2024 to May 31, 2024.

Headquartered in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, and founded in 2016, Privakey made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2017 in New York. At the conference, the company demoed its cloud-based, password-free alternative to identity authentication that is consistent, convenient, and secure.


Photo by Aphiwat chuangchoem

Finovate Global Mexico: Banorte’s Digital Bank, Amazon’s BNPL Partnership with Kueski Pay

Finovate Global Mexico: Banorte’s Digital Bank, Amazon’s BNPL Partnership with Kueski Pay

This week in Finovate Global we take a look at some recent fintech developments in Mexico.

First up is news that Grupo Financiero Banorte has launched Mexico’s first fully digital bank, bineo. The company noted that it hopes to add 2.8 million new customers in the next five years.

“The launch of bineo is a great milestone in the history of Grupo Financiero Banorte that will allow us to meet all needs: those who prefer a human-digital combination and those who seek 100% digital banking, with the financial security that has always characterized the institution,” Grupo Financiero Banorte chairman Carlos Hank Gonzalez said.

Bimeo offers a pair of accounts for customers. The bimeo Total Account allows for unlimited deposits. The Light Account has a monthly cap of 3,000 UDIS (investment units), which equals approximately 24,000 Mexican pesos.

Account holders will have access to both a digital and a physical debit card that includes a feature that enables them to allocate their savings toward specific goals. Card holders can use their physical card at more than 10,000 Banorte ATMs. Additionally, in a nod to sustainability, the physical card consists of biodegradable materials.

The new digital bank also offers financing products for bineo account holders. Customers will be able to apply for digital loans in amounts ranging from 5,000 to 200,000 MXN. Repayment terms range from six to 24 months. The bank also pledges competitive rates and instant access to funds once loans are approved.

“We imagine a bank that puts people at the centre, and we created it!” bineo CEO Victor Moya said. “We think in a different way of managing finances, where personalization is the heart of what we do. Bineo will offer new products and services based on customer needs so as not to confine them to a product designed by us.”


A partnership between Amazon Mexico and Kueski Pay will bring a new, installment payment option to Mexican consumers. Currently available only to select Amazon customers, the payment option will be available to all eligible Amazon customers “soon.”

Pago en Quincenas with Kueski Pay is the name of the new payment option. It enables payment for purchases in biweekly installments, helping make shopping on Amazon more affordable to many Mexican consumers. The option also helps deal with the fact that less than a third of the adult population in Mexico has a credit card. By leveraging Kueski Pay, one of Mexico’s most popular buy now, pay later platforms, Amazon Mexico helps expand purchase financing beyond both credit as well as debit cards.

“Our agreement with Amazon demonstrates the need Mexicans have for more flexible , secure, and inclusive payment alternatives,” Kueski Pay SVP of Sales Lisset May said. “Kueski Pay enables merchants to deliver more innovative shopping experiences and help Mexican consumers live their personal finances with more excitement.”

Kueski Pay has provided nearly 15 million loans to date. The company notes that 1 in 4 of Mexico’s most relevant merchants offer the payment option. Customers who opt for Pago en Quincenas with Kueski Pay can choose from plans of up to four interest-free biweekly payments as part of an introductory offer, or as many as 12 biweekly payments. Payments can be made by linked bank account, debit card, or cash at participating networks. A one-time application must be completed during the Amazon checkout process the first time a customer chooses the Kueski Pay option.


Finovate has been happy to host a handful of fintechs from Mexico over the years. Some of our Mexico-based alums include:

Nufi

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Nufi made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2021 in New York. The company demoed its Fintech Legos offering, a set of modular building blocks that enable firms to build their own financial solutions. At the conference, Nufi showed how its Fintech Legos could be used to build a modular, adaptable KYC process that could be deployed by any company.

Sr. Pago

Mexico City-based fintech Sr. Pago was founded in 2010 and made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2014. At the conference, the company’s CEO and co-founder Pablo Gonzalez Vargas demoed the Sr. Pago Card + Reader, which help small businesses and individuals accept card payments for services and have those payments loaded onto the recipient’s Mastercard. The company was acquired by Mexico-based online lending platform Konfío in 2021.

Prestadero

Also headquartered in Mexico City, Prestadero made its Finovate debut in 2013 at FinovateSpring. Founded in 2011, Prestadero was the first fully legally compliant and operational P2P lending platform in Mexico. At FinovateSpring, the company demonstrated how its proprietary management software enabled Prestadero to parse out declined loans in seconds and offer rates for approved loans in less than a minute.

Kuspit

Founded in 2010 and based in Mexico City, Kuspit is a regulated broker/dealer in Mexico. The company targets retail investors with little investing experience and offers an investing community in which learning, sharing, and investing “dynamically integrate with one another.” Making its Finovate debut in 2012 at FinovateSpring, the company showed how it uses visualization to help investors understand the relationship between risk and return.


Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Regulators in India ordered digital payments provider Paytm to cease much of its business operations due to non-compliance issues.
  • Mastercard and SadaPay extended their partnership to support the financial needs of SMEs and freelancers in Pakistan.
  • Indian private sector bank Karnataka Bank teamed up with financial services platform Northern Arc Capital.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Paytech Paysecure announced its intention to expand into Latin America, with an initial focus on Brazil.
  • Mexican financial group Grupo Financiero Banorte launched its new digital bank, Bineo.
  • Mexico-based Kueski Pay teamed up with Amazon to launch a new deferred payment offering, Pago en Quincenas.

Asia-Pacific

  • China announced plans to revise its AML rules to accommodate cryptocurrency transactions.
  • Philippine-based Asia United Bank (AUB) announced that its HelloMoney e-wallet solution is now accepted in South Korea, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.
  • KrAsia offered “seven key takeaways” about the fintech industry in Thailand.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Nigerian fintech Miden to join Y Combinator’s Winter 2024 cohort.
  • IT Web profiled South African fintech SOLmate amid growing demand for its digital wallet.
  • Fintech Futures interviewed Principal and Head of Africa at CommerzVentures Hangwi Muambadzi on the growth of fintech in Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Digital engineering company Nagarro teamed up with Temenos to help build banks in Romania and Poland.
  • German payment processing provider Unzer launched its mobile POS solutions in Austria and Luxembourg this week.
  • Garanti BBVA, a financial services provider based in Turkey, introduced a new Request Payment feature via its mobile and online banking services.

Middle East and Northern Africa


Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán

Quavo Fraud & Disputes Launches New Capabilities to its Dispute Management Platform

Quavo Fraud & Disputes Launches New Capabilities to its Dispute Management Platform
  • Quavo Fraud & Disputes introduced new automated ACH capabilities to its dispute management platform.
  • Among the new features is a verbal attestation capability that eliminates the requirement of a digital or manual signature.
  • Quavo founder and CEO Joseph McLean will lead a conversation on modernizing fraud and dispute management on February 6th as part of the Finovate Webinar series.

Quavo unveiled new automated ACH capabilities to its dispute management platform, QFD (Quavo Fraud & Disputes) this week. The enhancements make additions to the intake questionnaire, and add a new verbal attestation functionality for WSUD compliance.

Quavo Chief Technology Officer and co-founder David Chmielewski said that the enhancements will reduce friction. “For ACH, the process is cumbersome for consumers,” he explained, “with banks requiring physical or digital signage signatures.” Quavo’s solution to this challenge was innovative. “We poured over Nacha regulations and developed a verbal attestation solution where accountholders aren’t bothered by manual signature requirements,” Chmielewski said. “Quavo reimagined ACH requirements for the automated back-office operations needed to support account holders today and in the future. And this is only the beginning.”

This new release includes enhanced intake questionnaires as well as additional claim reasons to support back-office ACH investigations. The enhanced functionality also includes automated return capability which streamlines back office operations via straight-through processing on ACH disputes. The platform also now offers a new signer disclosure that allows verbal attestation during claim intake. To enable this capability, the platform prompts an agent to read a disclosure to the account holder, which satisfies Nacha’s WSUD requirement with a physical or digital signature.

Quavo’s first customer to go live with the enhanced ACH functionality has completed more than 12,000 automated returns and recovered $7.69 million in funds. This top 25 bank accomplished all of this without human intervention.

Quavo has raised $11 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. The company includes FINTOP Capital and JAM FINTOP among its investors. Founded in 2025, Quavo is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.

Join me February 6th for my conversation with Quavo Fraud & Disputes founder and CEO Joseph McLean on 4 Game-Changing Benefits of Modernizing Your Fraud and Dispute Management.


Photo by Praswin Prakashan on Unsplash

Tales from the Crypto: Funding Startups, Fighting Fraud, and Why the U.S. is a CBDC Laggard

Tales from the Crypto: Funding Startups, Fighting Fraud, and Why the U.S. is a CBDC Laggard

This week in Tales from the Crypto we look at some traditional and alternative ways that investors are backing their favorite cryptocurrency companies, examine a new report explaining why the U.S. lags behind its peers when it comes to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and learn about U.S. Department of Justice charges – and a guilty plea- in a $1.9 billion dollar crypto pyramid scheme.


Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum scores new funding

Has crypto winter yielded to the year’s first crypto unicorn? Swiss crypto banking group Sygnum has raised $40 million in strategic funding in a round led by Azimut Holdings. The round gives the firm a valuation of $900 million, not quite enough for a unicorn horn, but more than enough to raise not just eyebrows but new expectations at what might be in store for cryptocurrency businesses and the funds that invest in them.

The company will use the capital to fuel its expansion into new markets in both Europe and Asia. The investment will also accelerate development of Sygnum solutions such as its bank-to-bank platform, currently supporting crypto offerings from more than 15 banks and FIs around the world.

“Our core thesis has always been that Future has Heritage, and our strategy to build trust via regulation and good governance has guided us throughout all market cycles,” Sygnum co-founder and Group CEO Mathias Imbach said. He underscored the challenge of “closing a successful funding round” in the current financial environment, which fellow co-founder and CEO of the company’s Singapore office Gerald Goh called “a testament to Sygnum’s strong and unique position as a leading regulated financial institution in the global digital asset industry.”


Report: U.S. progress on CBDCs lagging other nations

Former President Donald Trump said recently that he would “never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).” As the front runner for the Republican nomination for President this year, Trump’s words are worth paying attention to.

But according to a new report, the future of any U.S.-created CBDC has plenty of issues – even without the antipathy of the once (and maybe future) U.S. president. According to a report from think tank Atlantic Council, the U.S. is falling behind other countries that are exploring or developing CBDCs. The Council claimed that the U.S. Federal Reserve has deployed “less than 20” people to work on research and development on CBDCs. By contrast, the Council said that the People’s Bank of China has more than 300 people working on their CBDC project. The effort in the U.K. was also praised compared to the U.S., with the Council favorably noting that the Bank of England had deployed a joint task force including both the Treasury and Parliament.

The Atlantic Council says that there is an innovation gap between the U.S. and other developed nations when it comes to CBDCs. The Council also criticized the relatively slow rollout of the U.S. interbank settlement system compared to similar systems in Europe that were deployed sooner. And while the Council accepts that there’s no reason to “disrupt the currency that underpins the global economy,” it still believes that the U.S. dollar needs to “innovate.”


PayPal invests $5 million stablecoin in Mesh

The Fed may not have much faith in crypto. But PayPal is putting $5 million worth of its own crypto to work in support of embedded crypto payments startup Mesh. PayPal announced that it has invested $5 million worth of its own U.S. dollar denominated stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), in the company, which facilitates digital asset transfers and account aggregation.

This investment, announced this week, marks the first time PYUSD has been used as the funding instrument for an investment by PayPal Ventures. “The shift toward digital currencies requires a stable instrument that is both digitally native and easily connected to fiat currency like the U.S. dollar,” PayPal president and CEO Dan Schulman said last year when PYUSD was introduced. “Our commitment to responsible innovation and compliance, and our track record delivering new experiences to our customers, provides the foundation necessary to contribute to the growth of digital payments through PayPal USD.”

Founded in 2020, Mesh enables companies to integrate crypto payments and transfers directly into their existing platforms. The firm has more than 300 integrations with exchanges, digital wallets, and brokerages. This week’s funding follows a $22 million Series A funding round Mesh closed in September. Bam Azizi is co-founder and CEO.


DOJ announces charges, guilty plea in cryptocurrency fraud scheme

On the “Law & Order: Crypto Edition” front, the U.S. Department of Justice has levied criminal charges against two individuals – and accepted the guilty plea of a third – for their involvement in a cryptocurrency fraud scheme called HyperFund. The SEC charged two of the three individuals civilly for their role in what they allege to be a $1.89 billion cryptocurrency pyramid scheme.

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron, called the amount of fraud “staggering.” Barron added “whether it’s cryptocurrency fraud, or any other financial frauds, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

The scheme ran from June 2020 through November 2022, alleges the Department of Justice. The scheme’s conspirators are alleged to have told investors that they would earn daily returns of between 0.5% and 1% until their initial investment doubled or tripled thanks in part to revenues from crypto mining operations. The DOJ alleges that HyperFund began blocking investors from withdrawing their money in July of 2021 and the scheme collapsed the following year.

According to the SEC, one of the conspirators who agreed to settle civil charges of violating securities laws against fraud, had received more than $3.7 million from the HyperFund platform and its investors. This individual is also the one who has already pled guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. The maximum sentence for all three conspirators is five years in prison if convicted.


Odds and Ends

  • Former U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne joined Coinbase’s advisory council.
  • Payments infrastructure provider Transak teamed up with Visa to support conversion of crypto into local fiat currencies.
  • Cryptocurrency platform Kraken introduced new Chief Operating and Product Officer Gilles BianRosa.
  • Reuters reported that FTX has abandoned the idea of relaunching its exchange and will instead pursue a liquidation with a goal of repaying customers in full.
  • Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared his thoughts on the present and future of cryptocurrencies in a blog post this week.

Photo by Traxer on Unsplash

Plumery Partners with Identity Verification Platform Sumsub

Plumery Partners with Identity Verification Platform Sumsub
  • Digital banking technology company Plumery forged a technology partnership with identity verification platform Sumsub.
  • Via the partnership, Plumery has integrated Sumsub’s verification technology into its banking engagement platform.
  • Headquartered in London, Sumsub made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin.

Mobile and digital banking technology company Plumery will integrate verification technology from Sumsub into its banking engagement platform. The integration comes courtesy of a newly announced technology partnership between the two companies. Of Sumsub’s various capabilities, Plumery first will launch Sumsub’s Know Your Customer (KYC) suite.

“Using our APIs, Plumery has been able to create a completely seamless end-to-end onboarding journey for its users,” Sumsub co-founder and CEO Andrew Sever said. “Through this partnership, we can now combine their innovation-focused digital experience … with the highest levels of compliance and fraud protection, provided by our platform.”

Plumery’s banking engagement platform, Headless, enables banks, fintechs, and financial institutions of various types to build apps on top of its APIs. Headless can be deployed without requiring companies to make changes to the user interface (UI) of their apps or to their core banking technology. The partnership with Sumsub will add KYC and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions to verify new customers by leveraging data such as email addresses, tax residency, and proof of address (PoA). The solution will also screen identity documents and make sure new users pass liveness tests as part of the verification process.

The goal of the combined offering is to give both traditional and challenger banks the ability to provide customizable onboarding flows for their customers while remaining fully compliant. In a statement, the companies noted that the integration can save businesses up to 80% on implementation costs and time. The integration also saves companies more than 50% of onboarding costs for each customer.

“Digital and mobile onboarding has become an essential part of any digital banking experience in the last five years,” Plumery CEO Ben Goldin said. “Now, together with Sumsub, our joint customers can integrate this capability faster and more cheaply than ever before, to launch new propositions and whole banks in record time.”

Founded in 2015, Sumsub – which stands for “Sum & Substance” – has raised more than $37 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. The company made its Finovate debut four years ago at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin. At the conference Sumsub demoed its all-in-one technical and legal platform that manages all of a company’s KYC/KYB/AML requirements. The solution enables firms to covert more customers, accelerate the verification process, lower costs, and reduce fraud.

Sumsub began the year with an announcement that it had joined the MENA FinTech Association (MFTA). The company’s new membership in the six-year old organization will help it boost business growth in the Middle East and Northern Africa, as well as raise awareness about the challenges of identity fraud in the region.


Photo by Pixabay

Jack Henry Unveils Banno Business to Help Regional FIs Bring Banking Innovations to SMEs

Jack Henry Unveils Banno Business to Help Regional FIs Bring Banking Innovations to SMEs
  • Jack Henry has launched its cloud-native business banking solution, Banno Business.
  • The new solution will help community and regional banks bring modern banking solutions to small and medium-sized businesses.
  • A Finovate alum since 2010, Jack Henry was founded in 1976.

Jack Henry unveiled its cloud-native business banking solution, Banno Business, last week. The new offering enables community and regional financial institutions to bring the innovations of modern banking to SMEs.

“Banno Business centralizes the business banking capabilities and partnerships we’ve created over the years into a single platform,” Jack Henry Managing Director of Digital Solutions Julie Morlan said. “We’ve built our platform to be highly configurable and scalable, enabling banks and credit unions to compete across the business spectrum. With Banno Business, financial institutions can expand and monetize their market share – a $370 billion revenue opportunity – while making a continued impact in their communities.”

Banno Business combines business solutions – such as cash management and commercial lending – with embedded payment capabilities, cash flow tools, reporting, and other features to help business owners better manage their finances. SMEs can also link external accounts to their financial institution via an integration with Finicity (a Mastercard company). Banno Business empowers regional and community financial institutions to leverage their relationships with and knowledge of their local businesses and business owners.

Institutions like High Plains Bank of Colorado are using Banno Business to attract more small and medium-sized businesses as customers, while at the same time helping local businesses improve their finances. The bank’s Chief Experience Officer Brian Otteman praised the ease with which business owners can “manage permissions for their employees, simplify their money movement, and understand their cashflow.” Freedom First Credit Union, a community-based financial institution headquartered in Virginia, is leveraging Banno Business to ingratiate itself to the local business community. “Having a full business solution with the digital user experience that our members know and trust makes for an easy transition to new markets,” Freedom First CU President and CEO Paul Phillips said. “Banno Business positions us to mature existing member relationships and grow net new business; it’s a win for our deposit acquisition strategy and diversifies our portfolio.”

Headquartered in Monett, Missouri, and founded in 1976, Jack Henry made its Finovate debut at Finovate 2010 in New York. The company returned to the Finovate stage four years later at FinovateEurope in London. A leading fintech and solution provider for financial institutions, Jack Henry empowers banks and credit unions to attract commercial accountholders, grow revenues, improve efficiency, and bolster the financial health and banking experience of their customers and members. Jack Henry has approximately 7,500 clients, and more than 10.5 million registered users of its Banno retail platform, which supports the company’s Banno Business offering.

Jack Henry is a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker JKHY. The firm has a market capitalization of $12 billion. Last week, Jack Henry announced that CEO and Board Chair David Foss will transition to a new role as Executive Board Chair at the end of June. The company will name current President and Chief Operating Officer Greg Adelson as CEO and President on the first of July.


Photo by Adrien Olichon

Kevin Dinino of KCD PR Joins the Finovate Podcast

Kevin Dinino of KCD PR Joins the Finovate Podcast

This week on the Finovate Podcast, Finovate VP and podcast host Greg Palmer sat down with fintech strategist, host of the Cyber Insiders Podcast, and owner of PR firm KCD PR, Kevin Dinino.

Dinino is founder and President of KCD PR, one of the top ranked public relations and marketing firms with an emphasis on financial services, fintech, technology, and transportation. He manages the day-to-day business operations for the firm, and leads business development while providing strategic counsel to clients on high profile issues.

Dinino is also host of Cyber Insiders, an iHeartRadio podcast series that features industry leaders involved in the cybersecurity industry.

In his Finovate Podcast interview, Dinino talks with host Greg Palmer about the “wonders and blunders” from 2023. Dinino also shares his ideas about what to expect from the world of fintech and financial services in 2024.

Last year was really quite an eventful year in terms of fintech and banking. Look at the Super Bowl last year to kick of 2023. We had TV commercials with the amazing Larry David in it for FTX and, in the ad, the irony of the campaign was that it was called Don’t Miss Out. And his character was like, ‘Eh, maybe I don’t want to do that’.

So it’s hard not to lump in what happened with crypto in general last year. Various scandals, FTX, and everything that happened with SBF probably being among the bigger ones, for sure. There was plenty on the ‘blunder’ side with that.

Check out Episode 201 of the Finovate Podcast and the rest of the conversation featuring Greg Palmer and Kevin Dinino of KCD PR.


Photo by Seej Nguyen

1Kosmos Unveils its BlockID 1Key Solution for Mobile-Free Passwordless Authentication

1Kosmos Unveils its BlockID 1Key Solution for Mobile-Free Passwordless Authentication
  • Identity and authentication platform 1Kosmos launched its BlockID 1Key solution this week.
  • BlockID 1Key is a biometric security key that provides passwordless multi-factor authentication for customer help desks, retail bank branches, and other environments deemed too sensitive to allow access to mobile devices.
  • 1Kosmos won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2023.

Blockchain-powered identity and authentication platform 1Kosmos launched its BlockID 1Key solution this week. BlockID 1Key is a biometric security key that provides passwordless multi-factor authentication for Senstive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIF). The phishing-resistant solution also works for manufacturing clean rooms, customer help desks, retail bank branches and other environments deemed too sensitive to allow access to mobile devices.

“Passwordless is extremely difficult and costly to deploy in environments such as call centers and manufacturing floors where mobile devices aren’t permitted or used,” 1Kosmos CEO Hemen Vimadalal said. “BlockID 1Key eliminates this roadblock and provides a phishing-resistant, scalable and interoperable passwordless experience for workers in dynamically assigned workspace settings – using a stationary, one-to-many FIDO-compliant key.”

BlockID 1Key enables organizations to verify identity at the initial access attempt and at every subsequent access attempt. This helps defend against attacks like phishing and vishing that exploit password vulnerabilities. The technology also secures the registered biometric to create an immutable chain of custody. Once secured, the biometric provides identity verification that is tamper-evident, and credentials that are phishing-resistant.

The technology is also suitable for workstation-independent contexts. BlockID 1Key’s register-once-use anywhere model lets users authenticate and work on any managed device. All they need is their username and a biometric fingerprint scan. The solution features support for Windows login as well, and is compatible with WebAuthn services and applications.

1Kosmos won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring last year, and returned to the Finovate stage last September for FinovateFall. Headquartered in East Brunswick, New Jersey, 1Kosmos has raised $15 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. The company includes Gula Tech Adventures and Forgepoint Capital among its investors.


Photo by Alexander Grey

Tink Unveils Risk Signals to Help Prevent Fraud and Reduce Settlement Risk

Tink Unveils Risk Signals to Help Prevent Fraud and Reduce Settlement Risk
  • Open banking company Tink has launched its new rules-based risk engine, Risk Signals.
  • Risk Signals leverages account, transaction, and payment data to help prevent fraud and lower settlement risk.
  • Tink won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2014.

Open banking company Tink launched its new rules-based risk engine, Risk Signals this week. Risk Signals leverages account, transaction, and payment data to help prevent fraud and lower settlement risk.

“Risk Signals is an ideal fit for businesses looking to offer a secure and fast payment method especially in markets without real-time settlement – like Germany,” TInk SVP of Payments and Platforms Tom Pope explained. “With Tink’s Risk Signals, you no longer need to compromise between a fast checkout and reducing risk.”

Risk Signal features a suite of risk checks that are customizable to both financial institution and market. These risk checks include verifications of live balances to ensure a user’s ability to pay, transaction history review (including a review of previous non-settled payments), and velocity checks to identify suspicious transaction activity. Tink reports that firms such as payment service provider (PSP) Adyen are already using the solution. Additionally, the company said businesses have been able to fully implement Risk Signals within a week. In part, this is because Tink configures Risk Signals as a service, requiring no integration from the customer.

“By leveraging the real-time risk analysis during payment processes, Adyen can offer a payment option that not only ensures security and reliability but also aligns perfectly with both merchants’ and shoppers’ expectations,” Adyen Payment Partnerships Lead for Europe Dirk Jan Meijers said.

A two-time Finovate Best of Show winning company, Tink first won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2014. The Stockholm, Sweden-based company returned to the FinovateEurope stage three years later to take home its second Best of Show award.

In the years since, Tink has grown into an open banking leader. The company has 6,000+ connections to major banks in Europe, and 10,000 developers using its platform. Founded in 2012, Tink processes more than 10 billion transactions a year, and is active in 18 markets. The company was acquired by Visa in 2022 in a deal valued at $2.1. billion (€1.8 billion). Daniel Kjellén is CEO.

Interested in demoing at FinovateEurope in London next month? We are happy to read applications from innovative companies with new solutions that are ready to show. Visit our FinovateEurope hub today to learn more.


Photo by Allan Mas

MX Unveils Customer Analytics to Help Firms Leverage the Power of Financial Data

MX Unveils Customer Analytics to Help Firms Leverage the Power of Financial Data
  • Open finance company MX introduced Customer Analytics for financial services providers this week.
  • Customer Analytics leverages enhanced transaction data and actionable consumer insights to help financial services companies increase deposits and customer engagement.
  • Lehi, Utah-based MX is a multiple-time Finovate Best of Show winner.

Open finance innovator MX introduced Customer Analytics for financial services providers this week. The new offering uses enhanced transaction data and actionable consumer insights to enable financial services providers to grow deposits and boost engagement. Customer Analytics helps these firms spot opportunities for cross-selling and secure greater ROI on their marketing efforts. The technology also helps financial services companies better anticipate and mitigate customer churn.

“Financial services providers have a tough assignment when it comes to piecing together disparate data to truly understand their customers and meet their needs,” MX Chief Product Officer Nandita Gupta said. “MX’s Customer Analytics takes out the guesswork by providing actionable financial data intelligence in a single source.”

Customer Analytics provides a set of intelligent models, dashboards, and tools to analyze both consumer-permissioned and enhanced transaction data. These tools can be readily embedded into marketing platforms and CRMs to help organizations get a more holistic view of their customers’ finances. This helps financial services providers improve customer segmentation and conduct more effective marketing initiatives.

Since its Finovate debut in 2012 (as Money Desktop), MX has won Finovate’s Best of Show award eight times. The Lehi, Utah-based fintech helps financial services providers and other organizations connect and verify account and transaction data. This enables them to uncover insights that can lead to new revenue streams, as well as better, more personalized money experiences for consumers. Founded in 2010, MX most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall in 2021. Jim Magats is CEO. Ryan Caldwell is Founder and Executive Chair.


Photo by Uva Rova

Onfido Unveils Compliance Suite to Enhance Customer Onboarding for Growing Businesses

Onfido Unveils Compliance Suite to Enhance Customer Onboarding for Growing Businesses
  • Automated identity verification specialist Onfido announced the launch of its Compliance Suite.
  • The Compliance Suite features qualified electronic signatures, one-time passwords, and no-code compliance workflows.
  • Onfido made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018.

Automated identity verification specialist Onfido unveiled its Compliance Suite this week. The new offering helps companies meet the regulatory requirements for customer onboarding as they expand into new markets.

Compliance Suite brings qualified electronic signature (QES) and One-time Password (OTP) functionality, as well as no-code compliance workflows, to Onfido’s Real Identity Platform. QES offers a digital signature solution that relies on signals unique to the signer. The technology is also backed by a qualified digital certificate that provides a reliable way to confirm the identity of the individual associated with the signature.

Along with the company’s AI for fraud prevention and global document coverage, the result is a fully customizable identity verification solution that enables businesses to manage both local and global compliance needs under a single provider and control center. Compliance Suite has successfully passed its conformity assessment board checks and will be deployed by Onfido customers across Europe.

“Onfido’s Compliance Suite eases the regional compliance headache and delivers a one-stop-shop compliance offering that allows leaders to focus on their expansion, register customers faster, and remain agile to future regulatory demands,” Onfido Chief Product Officer Yuelin Li said. “With Compliance Suite, we now have the most comprehensive verification offering in the market, making Onfido the go-to scaling partner for globally trusted institutions.”

Onfido made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018 and returned to the Finovate stage later that year for FinovateFall. The announcement of Compliance Suite follows news last month that Onfido had teamed up with digital investment platform InbestMe. The partnership made InbestMe the first roboadvisor in Spain to integrate identity verification technology as part of its onboarding process.

Headquartered in London, Onfido has raised more than $182 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. Crane Venture Partners and TPG Growth are among the firm’s most recent investors. Mike Tuchen is CEO.

Interested in demoing at FinovateEurope in London next month? Applications are still being accepted from innovative companies with new solutions that are ready to show. Visit our FinovateEurope hub today to learn more.


Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Digital Conversations Platform Eltropy Enhances In-Branch Experience with Lobby Management

Digital Conversations Platform Eltropy Enhances In-Branch Experience with Lobby Management
  • Digital conversations platform Eltropy has unveiled its Lobby Management solution.
  • The offering will help community financial institutions (CFIs) create better branch lobby experiences for customers and members.
  • Eltropy made its Finovate debut in 2017. The company most recently demoed at FinovateFall in 2022.

Digital conversations platform Eltropy launched its Lobby Management solution last week. The new capability will enable community financial institutions (CFIs) to offer a better branch lobby experience for their customers.

“The branch remains an essential member and customer touchpoint in community banks and credit unions, yet inefficient queues and resource allocation often undermine the experience for both visitors and employees,” Eltropy co-founder and CEO Ashish Garg said. “With Lobby Management, we can make every visit effortless while unlocking many operational efficiencies and equipping staff to serve members better.”

Lobby Management is a part of Eltropy’s Branch Management solution portfolio within its Unified Digital Conversations Platform. The new offering gives branch managers the ability to manage walk-in customer flow, and to enhance convenience with tools such as virtual queuing. Integrated with Eltropy’s Appointment Management, Lobby Management also enables members and customers to use a check-in kiosk to check-in for scheduled appointments or to book new ones. Lobby Management also provides lobby traffic analytics to help branch managers best allocate staff and service offerings.

“Lobby Management, powered by the Eltropy Unified Platform, allows CFIs to tie their branch operations with digital operations, thereby holistically serving their members and customers in physical and digital channels seamlessly and simultaneously,” Eltropy VP of Products Jack Chawla said. “With our unique approach to resource management in physical and digital channels, we can help CFIs efficiently service the members in the channel of their choice, including the branch lobby.”

Eltropy made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring in 2017. In its most recent appearance on the Finovate stage two years ago, the company demoed its Eltropy One solution. Eltropy One is the company’s all-in-one omni-channel solution that enables FIs to manage both in- and outbound communications from a universal console. With Eltropy One, FIs can leverage text, secure chat, video, audio, cobrowsing, and conversational bots to handle both simple and complex customer communication.

Founded in 2014, Eltropy is headquartered in Milpitas, California. The company began the year surpassing the 600th customer milestone. In a statement, Eltropy noted that it was the fastest CFI-focused fintech to achieve this accomplishment. The new milestone announcement came with news that the company was increasing its investment in Generative AI and product R&D by 36% this year.


Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash