Author: David Penn

SoFi’s Choice: Former Twitter COO Anthony Noto to Take Helm as New CEO

SoFi’s Choice: Former Twitter COO Anthony Noto to Take Helm as New CEO
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: SoFi

Social media’s loss is social finance’s big gain.

Anthony Noto, Chief Operating Officer for Twitter, has stepped down from his post at the popular social networking platform. His destination? A job as Chief Executive Officer for lending and wealth management firm, SoFi.

“We are simply thrilled to have found someone of Anthony’s expertise and knowledge to lead SoFi,” interim CEO Tom Hutton said. “The SoFi board unanimously agrees that Anthony’s deep understanding of technology, consumer, and financial businesses make him the perfect fit to be SoFi’s CEO. We could not be more excited to have someone of his caliber on board.”

Starting at Twitter as Chief Financial Officer in 2014, Noto became COO in November 2016. He came to Twitter after serving as co-head of global TMT investment banking at Goldman Sachs, a firm he first joined in 1999, and where he was named partner in 2004. From 2008 to 2010, Noto was CFO for the National Football League. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, and has an MBA from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

“SoFi has a significant opportunity to build on its leadership position in student and personal loans to revolutionize consumer finance and build a next-generation financial services company,” Noto said. “I’m excited to work with Tom and the rest of the SoFi team.”

Noto arrives at a time of significant growth for the company. SoFi announced surpassing $25 billion in funded loans last year, and reported that its student loan refinancing products helped borrowers save more than $2 billion. The company said that in the fourth quarter of 2017 it completed its largest securitizations to date for refinanced student loans ($776 million) and personal loans ($727 million). For the full year, SoFi’s total issuance was $6.9 billion.

A financing innovator, SoFi provides student loan refinancing, as well as mortgages and personal loans. The company looks beyond credit scores and debt-to-income ratios to consider factors such as cashflow, career, and education to offer lower rates to borrowers it refers to as “members.” This underscores another unique aspect of SoFi, which stands for Social Finance. The company proactively supports timely repayment of loans through a variety of tools, resources, and strategies including temporarily suspending payments in the event of job loss.

SoFi also provides wealth management and insurance services. The company’s investment management solution combines both live advisors and automated rebalancing to give investors comprehensive and low-cost advice and support for their long-term financial planning. The company has also partnered with Protective Life to offer life insurance coverage up to $1 million for online applicants and up to $5 million for applicants with a medical exam.

SoFi partnered with Quovo to present How Quovo and SoFi Perfected Bank Authentication at FinDEVr New York 2017, winning the Favorite FinDEVr Alum award. The company has raised more than $2 billion in funding, and has an estimated valuation of $4 billion based on its most recent $500 million fundraising in February 2017.

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Zopa Boosts Executive Ranks with Trio of C-Level Hires

Zopa Boosts Executive Ranks with Trio of C-Level Hires
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Zopa

En route to its launch of a next generation challenger bank later this year, P2P lender Zopa is staffing up its executive ranks. The company announced today that it was appointing a new Chief Financial Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and Chief Customer Officer.

At the post of CFO, Steve Hulme comes to Zopa after a stint as CFO for Tandem Money. Previous to Tandem Money, Hulme was CFO for PayPal’s global credit business and CFO for Capital One’s business in the U.K. and Canada. He was educated at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, earning a BA in Geography.

Taking the helm as Chief Risk Officer is Phillip Dransfield. With a Masters in Commerce, Finance, and Banking from UNSW and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Wollongong, Dransfield held executive positions at TSB Bank and Lloyds Banking Group.

Zopa also hired a new Chief Customer Officer to start the new year. Clare Gambardella previously worked in a number of capacities for Virgin Active, and ended her tenure at the health club, gym, and spa network as Chief Marketing Officer. Also a veteran of the Boston Consulting Group, Gambardella was educated at the University of Cambridge, where she earned a degree in English Literature.

“We’re delighted to have three high profile and exceptionally talented people join the business,” Zopa CEO Jaidev Janardana said. “Our people are our biggest competitive advantage and these additions further strengthen our position.”

Along with the $41 million (£32 million) investment the company picked up last summer, the new hires are part of the preparation for the launch of Zopa Bank. The challenger bank will offer customers personal and auto loans, flat rate credit cards, and savings and investment products. “We’re uniquely placed to make the next generation bank a leader in consumer finance combining our customer-centric culture, agile technology and data excellence with a track record of loan origination and risk management,” Janardana wrote in a blog post last fall. “No other provider has this combination of attributes.”

Zopa made its Finovate debut in 2008. The London-based company* was founded in 2005 and has raised more than $112 million in funding. Named to the European Fintech 100 and ranked in the Inc. 5000, Zopa partnered with fellow Finovate alum Aire last fall and opened a new development center in Barcelona, Spain last summer.

*Updated to reflect Zopa headquarters in London.

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Innovation and Collaboration: The Rise of Fintech in the MENA Region

Innovation and Collaboration: The Rise of Fintech in the MENA Region
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateMiddleEast 2018

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With more than 400 attendees, more than 100 scheduled speakers, and more than 20 fintech innovators demonstrating their technologies live on stage, Finovate’s first foray into the Middle East next month is an event not to be missed.

Dubai, the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, will host FinovateMiddleEast on the 26 and 27th of February. And in addition to our trademark live, seven-minute technology demonstrations, FinovateMiddleEast will also feature a strong slate of keynote addresses, roundtable conversations, and panel discussions on some of the most contemporary themes, trends, and topics in fintech. Here’s an advance look at some of what we’ll talk about at the conference.

Day One – What do fintechs want? What do banks want? What do investors think?

How do we successfully leverage technology to help solve 21st century financial challenges for the Middle East and North Africa? Finding harmony in the different interests and agendas of technologists, banks, and investors is key to creating the kind of environment that will lead to dynamic fintech innovation. During our FinovateMiddleEast Summit Days, we’ll learn what fintechs and banks want and need in order to effectively and profitably collaborate with each other. We’ll also explore the role of investors in providing the critical capital and guidance that will help turn today’s innovators into tomorrow’s market leaders.

For all the talk of disruption, leaders in MENA countries are looking for a more constructive relationship between fintech innovation and the societies they are innovating in. This means a fintech industry that is flexible enough to serve both the sizable number of ultra high net worth and high net worth consumers in the MENA, as well as the fast-growing, mobile-inclined, social media-connected youth population. Innovations that are able to respond to needs resulting from these “second wave sectors” like wealth management and international money transfers, are as important as those catering to traditional areas like banking and payments and “hot” technologies like the blockchain.

From banking and payments to AI and blockchain

Fintech in the MENA is dominated by innovations in the banking and payments space. As much of 84% of fintech in the MENA is payments-related, per Wamda/Payfort. Digital wallets are one area where banks and fintechs are working together and providing solutions. Earlier this month, Batelco and Arab Financial Services launched a new digital wallet and payment solution. Also this month, UAE-based Noor Bank partnered with UB QFPay to offer new mobile payment solutions. We’ll take a look at just how far digital wallet adoption in the MENA region can go, and look at how the launch of Apple Pay in the UAE may provide some visibility into the future of contactless payments in the region.

At the same time, new technologies like AI, the blockchain and cryptocurrencies are being explored eagerly by fintechs, banks, and governments alike in the MENA region. Dubai-based ArabianChain announced last week that it was launching a cryptocurrency exchange. In June, a company called MAG Lifestyle Development will introduce a Sharia-compliant cryptocurrency for buying property in June. Finovate alum NCR plans to introduce bitcoin-enabled ATMs in the UAE in the spring.

We’ll examine the results of an interbank blockchain pilot involving Emirates NBD and ICICI Bank India launched last fall, as well as a look at how blockchain technology can increase efficiency and accountability for financial transactions in the GCC more broadly. We’ll also take a tour of 3D printing facilities and visit local accelerator, Future Foundation, as a prelude of sorts to our accelerator showcase on Day Two.

Day Two – Regulations and regtech as catalyst for innovation

What are the biggest challenges to the vision that fintech entrepreneurs, banks, investors, and technologists have for the MENA region? Ensuring that regulation is used as a tool to steer fintech toward its most productive possible role in society – one in which its solutions are effective, trusted, cost-effective, and widely available – is important.

So in addition to discussing future opportunities for fintech in the MENA region, we’ll take the time to understand both the current and emerging regulatory infrastructure that will define the kind of fintech that will develop in the Middle East. These topics range from helping fintechs in the region offer new, innovative Sharia-compliant products and services to anticipating the effects of the introduction of VAT in the UAE.

Part of our journey into this topic will hosted by a panel of leading fintech research analysts from firms like Gartner and Forrester who have specific expertise in the MENA region. We’ll also look at fintech regulation in the Middle East and compare it to how regulations are being developed in other areas like Asia and Europe. Do the differences between these regions – and their different regulatory needs and concerns – help us better understand how regulation and innovation should go and in hand for fintech in the MENA?  Our conversation on Day Two is designed to help us explore these issues deeply.

Uniting fintechs, banks, and investors to better serve the underbanked

There can be no discussion of financial technology without a discussion of serving the underbanked. And while this is an important conversation in all areas, it may be especially acute in the Middle East and North Africa. According to a recent report from Wamda/Payfort, more than 85% of adults in the MENA do not have access to a bank account. Moreover, as Daniel Navarro wrote last spring in the Khaleej Times, financial inclusion is a major requirement for broader economic development.

“The solutions to increase financial inclusion need to be implemented properly, customized for each market segment, include microfinance services, low cost transfers, international remittances and other digital services to leverage the economic and social development. Also, the financial inclusion initiatives shall always be accompanied by proper security measures for KYC, AML, and CFT controls.”

Our conversation looks at opportunities, challenges, and successes alike. We’ll discuss Turkey’s plan to go cashless by 2023, as well as look at what is necessary from banks, fintechs, and the rest of the players in a modern economy in order to serve “the digital person.”

Another big feature on Day Two is the accelerator showcase which spotlights fintech startups that are based in the MENA region or doing significant business in the area. Added to the Finovate format last fall, the Accelerator Showcase provides a no-middleman opportunity for attendees to see and hear first hand what some of the MENA region’s most innovative young fintech startups are developing. And by viewing MENA startups through the lens of the accelerator programs that sponsored them, we get another opportunity to see and discuss the importance of startup culture and a dynamic, supportive ecosystem when it comes to preparing the next generation of fintech innovators.

What can banks gain from fintech innovation? What can fintechs gain from bank partnership and collaboration? And what incentivizes investors to come in from the sidelines with their critical support? Join us next month in Dubai as we tackle these and other issues driving the future of fintech in the Middle East.

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WealthForge Tops $500 Million in Investments Processed

WealthForge Tops $500 Million in Investments Processed
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: WealthForge

Private placement platform for capital markets WealthForge is starting 2018 with the announcement that it has reached a new milestone: more than $500 million in investments processed on its platform.

“We’re very pleased by the momentum we’re seeing in our business,” said Mat Dellorso, WealthForge Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder of the company. “Our average offering size – currently $17 million – has grown 50% in the past year. More than $200 million was invested in 2017 alone, and we’ve seen an exciting ramp up in volume heading into the new year.”

WealthForge reports that the $500+ million investments represent funding in more than 300 private offerings, each averaging $17 million. The company noted in a blog post that the $500 million includes a $25 million litigation fund and a $9 million private capital fundraising for an industrial real estate acquisition. WealthForge also announced the platform hosted its first Regulation A (Reg A+) offering, which picked up more than 400 investors since its launch in October.

“WealthForge’s scalable subscription technology and compliance services for alternative investments are pillars supporting an overall mission to increase transparency, efficiency, and access to alternative investments for issuers and advisors,” WealthForge CEO Bill Robbins said. He called the milestone a “proof point” that the company enjoys the reputation as “a trusted partner for so many.”

Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia and founded in 2009, WealthForge demonstrated The WealthForge Network at FinovateSpring 2016. The WealthForge Network connects issuers and intermediaries in the private capital market, enabling issuers to present their offerings to registered intermediaries and helping intermediaries provide a branded online investment process for their investors.

WealthForge is a winner of the UBS Future of Finance Challenge, and was named a Company to Watch by Venture Forum RVA. The company has raised more than $5 million in funding and counts New Richmond Ventures (NRV) and SenaHill Partners among its investors.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Coinbase, Compass Plus, Dwolla, Ephesoft, Featurespace, Infosys, iSignthis, Kony, TransferWise, WealthForge, Worldline

On Finovate.com

  • iSignthis and Worldline Finalize Partnership.
  • WealthForge Tops $500 Million in Investments Processed.
  • Innovation and Collaboration: The Rise of Fintech in the MENA Region.
  • Dwolla to Power Identity Verification for Yahoo!’s Tanda Savings App.

Around the web

  • TransferWise updates its remittance comparison tool.
  • Featurespace hires Ritz Steytler as Chief Operating Officer.
  • Infosys selected as tech partner by A S Watson Group.
  • Ephesoft moves headquarters to Irvine, California.
  • Compass Plus to help VietinBank issue Diners Club cards in Vietnam.
  • Coinbase appoints Tina Bhatnagar as VP of Operations and Technology.
  • Kony launches Kony Base Camp, an online community to empower developers to gain skills to accelerate app development and delivery.

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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Fintech News from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Fintech News from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateMiddleEast 2018

Designed by Naumaan Hassan

As Finovate prepares for its first conference in the Middle East, here’s a round up of recent fintech news and need-to-knows from the MENA region. Learn more about how to join us in Dubai in February for FinovateMiddleEast.

  • Dubai-based ArabianChain launches cryptocurrency exchange, Palmex.
  • Qatar commits to building fintech hub.
  • UAE-based Noor Bank announces partnership with UB QFPay to offer new mobile payment solution.

MENA Fintech Fact E-commerce and fintech topped tech startup funding for MENA region in 2017, according to a report from Magnitt

  • Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) inks MoU with SWIFT and seven global CSD companies to collaborate on distributed ledger technology projects.
  • Oman’s Bank Nizwa takes to the road to promote its Ladies Banking Account services.
  • Jordan’s InvestBank teams up with F5 Networks to boost cybersecurity protections.

Thought Leadership What is the key for success for technology entrepreneurs innovating in the Middle East? Arabian Business writes “The Middle East is still building towards the right start-up culture.”

  • Gulf News Banking looks at how Dubai is “charting a unique story in fintech.”
  • Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance announces signing of MoU with Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group to promote financial education for Saudi youth.
  • Thomson Reuters’ ZAWYA interviews Ola Doudin, CEO and co-founder of Dubai-area cryptocurrency exchange, BitOasis.

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Finicity’s Mvelopes Introduces Budget Makeover Program

Finicity’s Mvelopes Introduces Budget Makeover Program
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finicity

 

What’s old is new again – Mvelopes, the PFM platform from Finicity that uses a digitized version of the time-tested envelope budgeting method to help people improve their saving habits, is launching Budget Makeover. The 10-week crash course in personal finance leverages the same strategies behavior modification strategies used by health and fitness coaches to provide financial education, resources, and a financial plan. Even the length of the program is based on studies from the University of College London that indicate that 66 days is the amount of time needed to permanently develop new habits.

“The coaching aspect of the Mvelopes Budget Makever is unlike anything else offered in the personal finance space,” EVP of Consumer Services for Mvelopes Christopher Tracy said. “It’s a high-touch and highly personalized program that benefits our users with measurable, long-term financial impact.”

During the program, Budget Makeover clients will get an initial financial assessment, seven financial training sessions, daily check-in texts, bi-weekly budget reviews, and a weekly challenge from an Mvelopes-certified financial trainer. Clients will also have access to the Mvelopes app – available in iOS and Android – which provides real-time insights into their personalized budget.

“In the 17-plus years we’ve spent perfecting our budgeting products, we’ve seen that accountability is the single, most important factor in actually developing new behaviors that lead to long-lasting change,” Mvelopes director of financial training Wes Shelnutt said.

To find out more about how to become a part of the Mvelopes Budget Makever, visit www.2018Budget.com.

Created by Finicity in 1999, Mvelopes offers a trio of plans – Basic, Plus, and Complete. Each provides varying levels of service, ranging from auto transaction importing and account balancing monitoring with the Basic plan, to debt assessment and a dedicated personal coach with the Plus and Complete plans. The plans range in cost from $4 a month for Basic, to $19 a month for Plus, to $79 a month for Complete.

Finicity demonstrated its Credit Decisioning platform at FinovateSpring 2017. The solution simplifies access to its Verification of Income (VoI) and Verification of Assets (VoA) reports, making it easier for lenders to quickly verify information on borrowers. The company has also participated in our developer’s conference, discussing The Frictionless Aggregation Experience at FinDEVr New York 2017.

Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Finicity has raised more than $50 million in funding, and includes fellow Finovate alum Experian among its investors. Steve Smith is CEO.

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Jumio Partners with Byteball to Bring KYC to ICO Issuers

Jumio Partners with Byteball to Bring KYC to ICO Issuers
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Jumio

When the gold rush is on, popular wisdom says it is often a better business strategy to sell picks and shovels to the miners than to go into business as a miner oneself. Best of Show winner Jumio is the latest fintech to lend its expertise to the world of cryptocurrencies with its newly-announced partnership with cryptocurrency platform, Byteball.

“ICOs have transformed the financial arena as an alternative means for listing companies to raise funds for development projects or to launch new businesses,” Jumio VP of Product Philipp Pointner said. “However, as they are currently unregulated and, as transactions in cryptocurrencies are, by their nature, anonymous, regulatory bodies are becoming increasingly concerned that they provide an avenue for money laundering and other financial crime.”

Byteball provides a distributed, decentralized platform to give clients launching initial coin offerings (ICOs) security against fraud. The platform will use Jumio’s identity verification solution, Netverify, to help ICO operators ensure the people they are dealing with are who they say they are. Netverify uses both ID Verification and biometric Identity Verification to make the process as friction-free as possible for users, while helping ICO issuers become “proactively compliant” with what the company called “imminent regulatory guidelines.”

“By partnering with Jumio, we bring identity to the distributed ledger, both for ICOs and other financial transactions, creating strong connections between the crypto and the real world,” Byteball founder Tony Churyumoff said. “For end users, we offer them a sovereign identity that is totally private, secure, and incredibly easy to use. For business, it is an opportunity to build applications that leverage the identity layer that were not possible before.”

ICO participants on Byteball’s platform will scan a government-issued ID such as a driver’s license or passport. Once the document is verified – Netverify authenticates in real-time – the participant will submit a live selfie which is analyzed by the platform’s Face Match technology. The combined approach makes sure that the selfie image is a match with the ID document, and that both the selfie and the document are physically present at the time of verification.

Jumio added that it is looking at other ways to collaborate with Byteball in the future, such as providing identity verification for credit card payments and lending.

Founded in 2010 and based in Palo Alto, California, Jumio demonstrated its Netverify Document Verification platform at FinovateSpring 2017. Last month, the company announced a partnership with socially-responsible financial health company Meed to provide identity verification and document verification services. Also in December, Jumio Business Development Manager Gordon Harrison participated in our webinar, Solving the Identity Problem for PSD2 and GDPR.

Jumio has raised more than $55 million in funding, $40 million of which was picked up before the company was acquired by Centana Growth Partners in May 2016. Stephen Stuut is CEO.

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Ledger Raises $75 Million in New Funding

Ledger Raises $75 Million in New Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Ledger

In an oversubscribed Series B round led by Draper Esprit, cryptocurrency and blockchain security firm Ledger has raised $75 million (€61 million) in new funding. The investment takes the company’s total capital to more than $85 million.

“We initially designed our Ledger hardware wallet as an enabler for the blockchain revolution,” Ledger CEO Eric Larcheveque said. “Three years later, and with this Series B, we are reaching a significant milestone in our path to build a technological giant in the promising space of cryptocurrencies.”

Ledger plans to use the funds to scale its operations as demand for cryptocurrency and blockchain related products and services soars. Ledger’s Series B is one of the largest traditional Series B investments into blockchain and cryptocurrency-based technologies (ICOs aside). In addition to Draper Esprit’s backing, the round also featured participation from current investors, CapHorn Invest, GDTRE, and Digital Currency Group. Via the Draper Venture Network funds, Draper Associates, Draper Dragon and Boost VC, FirstMark Capital, Cathay Innovation, and Korelya Capital were also involved in the round.

Draper Esprit CEO Simon Cook called blockchain a truly revolutionary technology, and pointed out that security will be key to the technology’s future. “We believe that Ledger has built the world’s best security platform to manage private keys for all blockchain and crypto asset applications,” Cook said. Adding that Ledger’s technology  provides “security for cryptocurrency far beyond what I get from my bank,” Tim Draper, Founder of DFJ, the Draper Network said, “Ledger lets me take control of my currency rather than having to ask my bank.”

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Paris, France, and San Francisco, Ledger demonstrated Ledger Blue, a multicurrency hardware wallet for cryptocurrencies, at FinovateEurope 2016. Ledger Blue includes a touchscreen for improved UX/UI, but is still small enough to be easily handheld. The hardware wallet can be connected to a laptop, PC, or smartphone via USB or Bluetooth.

Last fall, Ledger announced a collaboration with Intel that enabled it to integrate its Blockchain Open Ledger Operating System (BOLOS) into Intel’s Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX). Introduced in 2016, BOLOS enables developers to build source code portable native applications around a secure core which both protects the core against application attacks and keeps applications isolated. The company called BOLOS “our way of turning bitcoin hardware wallets into personal security devices.”

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Featurespace Hires Jonathan Crossfield as New CFO

Featurespace Hires Jonathan Crossfield as New CFO
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Featurespace

Featurespace is starting off the new year with a new Chief Financial Officer – Jonathan Crossfield.

“I am pleased to welcome Jonathan to our leadership team. He brings a wealth of industry experience and sector knowledge which will be invaluable to developing the business further as we expand internationally,” Featurespace CEO Martina King said.

Crossfield (pictured) comes to Featurespace after serving as a partner at Oakhall, a consultancy firm where he performed market analysis, financial modeling, fundraising, and business development for privately-held technology companies. Trained as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte, Crossfield was an Equity Research Analyst for Bank of America Merrill Lynch for more than seven years, and a Technology Analyst at Cazenove for four years. He is also currently Financial Advisor for London-based data center, Aegis Data.

“I have known Featurespace for some time and am delighted to see the company’s advanced fraud prevention solutions achieving industry-wide recognition from clients,” Crossfield said. “The opportunity to work with such a talented and experienced team at this stage in the company’s growth trajectory is incredibly exciting.”

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Cambridgeshire, U.K., Featurespace demonstrated its ARIC Fraud Manager solution at FinovateFall 2016. The platform leverages the ARIC engine, a machine learning software platform developed at the University of Cambridge, to distinguish legitimate activity from anomalous behavior in real time.

Describing the technology during his Finovate demo, Chief Operating Officer Matt Mills noted that Featurespace has been able to help its customers do everything from detect credit card fraud to “spotting people who have a gambling addiction from the way they are playing with the machines inside the casinos.” The company’s customers include Vocalink/Zapp, William Hill, and fellow Finovate alum, TSYS. 

Ranked in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for the second year in a row and named to the European Business Awards inaugural Ones to Watch list for 2018, Featurespace’s technology has been deployed with organizations that operate in more than 180 countries. The company has raised more than $38 million in funding and includes Highland Europe and TTV Capital among its investors.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Flywire, Ledger, Liferay, ShopKeep POS, Temenos

On Finovate.com

  • ShopKeep Integrates First Data’s Clover POS Technology.
  • Ledger Raises $75 Million in New Funding.

Around the web

  • Liferay featured among Gartner’s Digital Experience Platform leaders.
  • Blue Code mobile payments solution for banking apps goes live on Temenos Marketplace.

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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Envestnet | Yodlee Unveils Single API Solution to Support PSD2, Open Banking Compliance

Envestnet | Yodlee Unveils Single API Solution to Support PSD2, Open Banking Compliance
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Envestnet

Are you looking for a single API solution to make it easier to comply with the U.K.’s PSD2 and Open Banking API specifications for account information services? If so, Envestnet | Yodlee has got your back.

“We are proud to be a leading data aggregator to support the Open Banking movement, a truly revolutionary development that represents the wave of the future for global financial services markets around the world,” VP of International Markets at Envestnet | Yodlee Mark Herlihy said. “We have always been an advocate for innovative financial services that adhere to the highest standards of data security,” he added. “Now we are able to further this mission by enabling developers to easily integrate bank data at scale in compliance with the Open Banking API protocol.”

The new solution is a result of close collaboration between the company, PSD2 stakeholders, and the Open Banking Implementation Entity. Envestnet | Yodlee has developed and built a robust consent architecture that enables developers to rely on a single API that “encapsulates the consent for account access requirements” necessary to fulfill PSD2.

Developers using the API will be able to avoid having to work with multiple APIs, differing data formats, as well as user credentials. Financial institutions, fintechs, and individual consumers stand to benefit from greater access to financial innovation, while protecting consumer data and securing data acquisition by third party financial service providers and fintechs.

Envestnet | Yodlee’s new API comes just a few months after the company announced a strategic partnership with open banking platform provider and fellow Finovate alum Token. Steve Kirsch, founder and CEO of Token, said at the time: “When it comes to PSD2, developers are not going to support hundreds of unique bank APIs; they will only write to one common API, maybe two.” He explained that banks that decide to go on their own with proprietary APIs in this environment stand to lose big when it comes to “deliver(ing) the variety and freedom that customers expect in the digital age.”

Founded in 1999, Envestnet | Yodlee demonstrated its Financial Health Check solution at FinovateFall 2017, winning Best of Show. The company finalized its $195-million acquisition of wealth tech solutions company, FolioDynamix, earlier this month. Last fall, Envestnet | Yodlee integrated its risk insight solutions with Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter validate service. Envestnet | Yodlee launched its expanded data analytics portfolio for wealth managers in May and a suite of risk reporting tools in March. The company also participated in our developer’s conference in 2016, presenting Fast Track API Integration with Envestnet | Yodlee at FinDEVr Silicon Valley.

With a market capitalization of $2.4 billion, Envestnet | Yodlee trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker, ENV. Judson Bergman is chairman and CEO.

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