Author: David Penn

Mphasis Forges Strategic Partnership with Conversational AI Platform Kore.ai

Mphasis Forges Strategic Partnership with Conversational AI Platform Kore.ai
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Kore
  • Conversational AI platform company Kore.ai announced a strategic partnership with IT solutions provider Mphasis.
  • The partnership will enable Mphasis to help its enterprise clients transform customer experience management and employee engagement.
  • Kore.ai demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2022 in New York last September.

IT solutions provider Mphasis and enterprise conversational AI platform company Kore.ai have forged a new strategic partnership. The alliance will enable Mphasis to offer new customer experience management and employee engagement solutions to its enterprise clients.

“Conversational AI solutions are leading the way in which enterprise clients are interacting with their end customers,” Mphasis CEO and Managing Director Nitin Rakesh said. He referred to Kore.ai as an “undisputed leader in the space” and said that the company’s generative AI solutions will complement Mphasis’ product engineering capabilities. Rakesh also added that Kore.ai would benefit from cross-selling opportunities “particularly in the contact center transformation space.”

Kore.ai helps enterprises automate their business and voice and digital interactions. The company’s Experience Optimization (XO) platform enables companies to design, build, test, and deploy conversational user interfaces and virtual assistants without requiring technical expertise or support. The technology uses generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to create and deploy intelligent conversational experiences for the benefit of customers, contact center workers, and employees alike. Additionally, the platform supports cloud, on-premises, and hybrid deployments for more than 40 channels in 120+ languages. More than 200 Global 2000 companies leverage Kore.ai’s XO platform and solutions to automate their interactions and processes.

“We automate billions of interactions every year through out conversational AI platform and solutions and have already delivered an estimated $1 billion in cost savings to global enterprise customers,” Kore.ai CEO and founder Raj Koneru said. “Together we will accelerate innovation and drive growth,” Koneru said, “providing exceptional solutions and experiences to our customers.”

Kore.ai’s partnership with Mphasis comes just a few weeks after Kore.ai announced a collaboration with digital solutions company Ciklum. The firm will leverage Kore.ai’s technology to build advanced virtual assistants. These solutions will be deployed in use cases ranging from customer experience to enterprise automation. “This partnership will enable businesses to radically transform their customer and user experiences and provide more human-like interactions,” Ciklum VP and Global Head of Intelligent Automation Gourav Datta said.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Kore.ai has raised more than $73 million in funding. The company’s investors include NVIDIA, Vistara Capital Partners, PNC, and Sterling National Bank. This year, Kore.ai was named a leader in 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Conversational AI Platforms. Kore.ai made its Finovate debut in 2021 and returned the Finovate stage the follow year for FinovateFall 2022.

Photo by M-DESIGNZ

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Bankers Helping Bankers Fund Invests in Digital Customer Engagement Specialist Agent IQ

Bankers Helping Bankers Fund Invests in Digital Customer Engagement Specialist Agent IQ
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Agent IQ, Alumni News, Daily news, Funding
  • Agent IQ secured a strategic investment from the Bankers Helping Bankers Fund (BHB Fund).
  • The digital customer engagement innovator demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2022 in New York.
  • The BHB fund launched in 2022 to give community banks wider exposure to a range of innovative fintechs.

Terms were not disclosed. But the Bankers Helping Bankers Fund (BHB Fund) made a strategic investment in digital customer engagement solutions provider Agent IQ this week. The capital adds to the $18.5 million in equity funding Agent IQ has raised via previous seed and Series A rounds.

“This investment is representative of Agent IQ’s commitment to helping FI’s foster deep and meaningful customer relationships while also meeting the digital demands of today’s customers,” Agent IQ CEO and co-founder Slaven Bilac said in a statement.

Agent IQ offers an AI-enabled solution, Lynq, that improves communication between financial institutions and their customers. The platform enables customers to make basic queries, such as requesting a routing number, as well as more sophisticated requests, such as help in depositing a check. Lynq also allows customers to speak with a human agent at any point in time during the engagement. Via a “banker carousel” with brief bios and profile pictures, Lynq customers can choose and engage with a personal banker to quickly find the human assistance they need.

FIs using Agent IQ’s technology have reported a reduction in call center volume of 29%. Additionally, these customers also have noted that Lynq’s configurable, self-service technology is handling more than 80% of incoming conversations.

Left to right: Soren Bested (COO) and Matt Phipps (CMO) of Agent IQ at FinovateFall 2022.

“Our team looks forward to empowering more community banks with data-driven technology and the ability to allow relationship banking to thrive in the digital world,” Bilac added. “We are excited to be a part of the BHB Fund as the organization is helping more community banks overcome their shared challenges, operate more efficiently, and discover new sources of income.”

The BHB fund launched in 2022. Latitude38 Venture Partners manages the fund in partnership with IBAT Services, Inc. and banking market intelligence and advisory firm, FedFis. IBAT Services is a subsidiary of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT). The goal of the fund is two-fold. First, the fund seeks to give community banks exposure to a range of fintech investments capable of boosting growth, improving efficiencies, and enhancing competitiveness. Second, the fund offers the potential for outsized venture capital returns uncorrelated to traditional bank operations.

Latitude38 Venture Partners Managing Partner Richard Leggett praised Agent IQ as an ideal fit for the fund’s investment thesis. In a statement, Leggett noted that it was important for community banks to leverage technology to drive digital engagement. Agent IQ, which most recently demoed its platform at FinovateFall last year, offers technology that does just that.

Agent IQ’s funding news comes in the wake of a major new hire. In April, Agent IQ appointed fintech veteran Ruthann Paulin Glyman as EVP, Head of Partnerships and Strategic Alliances. Glyman brings with her more than 15 years of financial services industry experience to the job. Previous to her move to Agent IQ, Glyman was Director of Sales at Array, another Finovate alum.

Agent IQ is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company was founded in 2015.

Photo by Daria Obymaha

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Banking Technology Innovator NYMBUS Raises $70 Million in Series D Funding

Banking Technology Innovator NYMBUS Raises $70 Million in Series D Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, NYMBUS
  • Banking technology company Nymbus raised $70 million in Series D funding.
  • The round was led by Insight Partners. ConnectOne Bank and PeoplesBank also participated.
  • Nymbus introduced itself to Finovate audiences at FinDEVrNewYork in 2016. The company most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2019.

Banking technology company NYMBUS has secured $70 million in new funding. The Series D round was led by Insight Partners, and featured participation from ConnectOne Bank and PeoplesBank. The Banc Fund Company and Mendon Venture Partners also participated.

The investment takes the company’s total capital raised to more than $199 million. Valuation information was not immediately available. Nymbus will use the additional capital to support expansion and further development of its core system and product portfolio.

“This latest round of financing positions the company to double down on our mission of bringing new thinking to financial institutions to help them thrive in an ever-evolving market,” Nymbus CEO and Chairman Jeffrey Kendall said. “These strategic investments are a testament to the confidence in Nymbus’ ability to transform the financial services industry by modernizing outdated legacy systems with proven technology and business models that result in growth for our current and future clients.”

Nymbus helps financial institutions successfully undergo digital transformation and offer new digital experiences to their customers. Solutions like Nymbus’ SmartLaunch enable financial institutions to launch a fully-operational digital bank in as few as 90 days. FIs can take advantage of these deployments without having to undergo a major transformation or calling in additional human resources. The company’s SmartCore, SmartDigital, and SmartPayments solutions provide financial institutions with modern core, payments, and digital banking solutions, respectively.

Among these institutions taking advantage of Nymbus’ technology is Arizona-based Vantage West Credit Union. The $2.6 billion financial institution partnered with Nymbus to launch a new niche financial brand in April. The previous month, Michigan State University Federal Credit Union worked with Nymbus to launch a pair of standalone digital brands – AlumniFi and Collegiate. AlumniFi provides financial wellness, debt management, and charitable donation tools to MSU alums. Collegiate brings digital banking services to MSU students, faculty, and staff.

“Nymbus is empowering credit unions to deliver growth models with the people, process, and technology needed to deliver digital financial services that complement their core business,” Nymbus CUSO President John Janclaes said.

Photo by Susn Dybvik

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Digital ID Verification Firm OCR Labs Embraces Diversity, Innovation in IDVerse Rebrand

Digital ID Verification Firm OCR Labs Embraces Diversity, Innovation in IDVerse Rebrand
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, IDVerse, OCR Labs

Digital ID verification (IDV) innovator OCR Labs Global will begin the second half of 2023 with a new identity of its own. The company, which introduced itself to Finovate audiences at our developer’s conference, FinDEVrSiliconValley 2016, announced its rebrand as IDVerse this week.

In a statement, the firm noted that the new name and brand combine a set of key concepts – identity, universality, versatility, and diversity – that underscore the company’s priorities when it comes to developing digital ID verification technology. The rebrand also reflects the company’s growth, technological innovations in the field of identity verification, the evolving regulatory landscape, and mandates for greater financial inclusion.

“With OCR Labs we set out to develop an identity verification solution, from scratch,” company CEO Myers said, “The birth of IDVerse means we’re now ready to go to the next level to make user verification effortless with Zero Bias AI.”

IDVerse’s Zero Bias AI leverages generative AI to train deep neural network systems to guard against bias based on gender, age, and ethnicity. At the beginning of the year, the company announced that its technology had achieved non-bias certification from independent biometric testing laboratory BixieLab. The evaluation included male, female, and transgender subjects, aged 18 to 70 years old, from eight different ethnic categories. The test results revealed no demographic bias and a zero percent error rate for the company’s facial liveness detection solution. “The time has come to refocus efforts on achieving inclusivity to prepare for the future when more people than ever will use identity solutions for everything,” company General Manager International Russ Cohn said, “even ‘unlocking our car with our face’.”

Two months later, the company received certification from the U.K.’s Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF). This gives the firm the right to serve employers, landlords, HR vetting firms, and other organizations as a compliant Identity Service Provider (IDSP). “Our Zero Bias AI technology eliminates barriers that lead to exclusion,” company Head of Legal, Risk, & Compliance Terry Brenner explained, “so that everyone has access to digital ID systems in society, such as recruitment and right to work, right to rent.”

In addition to the drive for financial inclusion and regulatory mandates, technological innovation is also playing a major role in the company’s transition to IDVerse. Founded as a research entity in 2014, the firm pioneered the deployment of optical character recognition and facial recognition to provide identity proofing and fraud detection on mobile and web platforms. The rise of technologies like synthetic media and generative AI have produced new challenges for fighting fraud. This has encouraged firms like IDVerse to embrace strategies such as identity orchestration that provide a coordinated fraud defense across the entire customer lifecycle.

Today, IDVerse verifies more than 16,000 identity documents in 220+ countries and territories. By matching people with their government-issued IDs, the company helps fight fraud and enables organizations to meet AML and KYC identity verification requirements.

Headquartered in London, Silicon Valley, and Sydney, IDVerse has raised $45 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. The firm’s investors include Equable Capital and OYAK.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

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FinovateSpring 2023 Best of Show Winners Announced!

FinovateSpring 2023 Best of Show Winners Announced!
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: 1Kosmos, 9Spokes, Alumni News, Best of Show, Daily news, Flybits, QuickFi, SAVVI AI, Wink

There’s still one more day to enjoy FinovateSpring. But as far as the live demo portion of our program is concerned, the Best of Show celebrations have begun. With that in mind, please join us in congratulating the winners of Best of Show at FinovateSpring 2023.

1Kosmos for its technology that automates user onboarding for workers and customers, protecting against stolen and synthetic identities while eliminating ATO and fraud. Video.

9Spokes for its technology that unlocks the potential of open data, giving financial institutions a powerful set of tools to engage business customers. Video.

Flybits for its personalization platform that enables financial institutions to deliver best-in-class personalized digital banking experiences. Video.

QuickFi for its 100% digital, self-service equipment financing platform that enables business equipment financing in minutes. Video.

SAVVI AI for its technology that helps any FinCo team build and deploy AI apps in minutes. No data scientists, pre-existing data, or custom infrastructure required. Video.

Wink for its biometric payments and identity platform that enables users to say goodbye to passwords and fraud – and say hello to secure and simple authentication. Video.

On behalf of the entire Finovate team, we want to thank all of our demoing companies, our partners, and our sponsors. We also want to express our gratitude toward our attendees in the fintech and financial services industry who bring so much positive energy to our events. We look forward to seeing you again next year right here in San Francisco for FinovateSpring 2024!

Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their six favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The six companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from our 2015 through 2023 conferences are below:
FinovateEurope 2015
FinovateSpring 2015
FinovateFall 2015
FinovateEurope 2016
FinovateSpring 2016
FinovateFall 2016
FinovateAsia 2016
FinovateEurope 2017
FinovateSpring 2017
FinovateFall 2017
FinovateAsia 2017
FinovateMiddleEast 2018
FinovateEurope 2018
FinovateSpring 2018
FinovateFall 2018
FinovateAsia 2018
FinovateAfrica 2018
FinovateEurope 2019
FinovateSpring 2019
FinovateFall 2019
FinovateAsia 2019
FinovateMiddleEast 2019
FinovateEurope 2020
FinovateFall 2020
FinovateWest 2020
FinovateEurope 2021
FinovateSpring 2021
FinovateFall 2021
FinovateEurope 2022
FinovateSpring 2022
FinovateFall 2022
FinovateEurope 2023

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Finovate Global: Showcasing International Alums at FinovateSpring

Finovate Global: Showcasing International Alums at FinovateSpring
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: 9Spokes, Finovate Global, FinTech Insights by Scientia, FINTEQ & Smart Faktor, Flybits, Fundica, Horizn, Hyperswitch, Kani Payments, Lucinity, Nubank, PayTic, SESAMm

With FinovateSpring only days away (May 23 through May 25), this week’s edition of Finovate Global will showcase those innovators demoing at the event that are headquartered outside the United States.

There’s still time to register and join us in San Francisco, California for our annual Spring fintech conference. Visit our FinovateSpring 2023 hub today and get your ticket today!

9Spokes

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in New Zealand, 9Spokes unlocks open banking and data, giving financial institutions a powerful set of tools to engage SMB customers. LinkedIn.

FinTech Insights by Scientia

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in London, U.K., FinTech Insights by Scientia offers a competitive analysis tool for banks and fintechs to help them create compelling digital banking experiences. LinkedIn.

FINTEQ

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Poland, FINTEQ removes credit risk from the supply chain, giving suppliers a healthy and sustainable trade finance alternative. LinkedIn.

Flybits

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Flybits offers a personalization platform that enables financial institutions to deliver best-in-class personalized digital banking experiences. LinkedIn.

Fundica

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Fundica is a government funding platform used by some of the largest financial institutions in North America to acquire clients at scale. LinkedIn.

Horizn

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Horizn helps financial institutions maximize the impact of digital and accelerate returns on digital investments with customers and employees. LinkedIn.

HyperSwitch

Founded in 2022 and headquartered in India, HyperSwitch is an open source payments switch designed to make payments fast, reliable, and affordable. LinkedIn.

Kani

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Newcastle, U.K., Kani offers end-to-end reconciliation and reporting, automating the back office for payments companies and fintechs, and ensuring accuracy and compliance. LinkedIn.

Lucinity

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, Lucinity combats financial crime with innovative GenAI technology for smarter and faster FinCrime compliance. LinkedIn.

PayTic

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Charlottetown, Canada, PayTic is a SaaS platform that automates and manages all key aspects of program management: network fees, reconciliation, reporting, and fraud. LinkedIn.

SESAMm

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Metz, France, SESAMm specializes in big data and artificial intelligence, providing analytics from more than 20 billion articles and messages using NLP. LinkedIn.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

Middle East and Northern Africa

Central and Southern Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean

Asia-Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

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Payroll Connectivity Firm Argyle Announces New Customers, Unveils Latest Edition of Platform

Payroll Connectivity Firm Argyle Announces New Customers, Unveils Latest Edition of Platform
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Argyle, Daily news
  • Payroll connectivity platform Argyle announced that it has onboarded more than 35 new customers year over year.
  • The New York-based company also unveiled the latest edition of its platform, Argyle 2.0.
  • Argyle made its Finovate debut last May at FinovateSpring 2022.

Payroll connectivity platform Argyle is crediting its new customers – more than 35 of them – for doubling the number of customer verifications the company has facilitated year over year. The announcements from the New York-based firm arrive as the company unveils the latest edition of its technology, Argyle 2.0.

“We’ve packaged five years of learning and innovation into our next-gen platform to continue automating critical workflows, reducing business risk, and providing exceptional experiences,” Argyle founder and CEO Shmulik Fishman said. “The growth of our company over the past year echoes the demand for real-time access to reliable, direct-source data.”

Argyle offers businesses direct-source data portability tools for mortgage, lending, banking, background, and tenant screening, among other use cases. With Argyle 2.0 the company seeks to change the way businesses are able to retrieve and use income and employment data – a key factor in expanding access to financial services. Lake Michigan Credit Union VP of Mortgage Strategy John Harpst praised the company’s technology for its ability to provide “a complete picture for the member without the concern that we missed important information that could affect the outcome of their loan approval.”

Argyle’s new platform also features updates to Argyle Link, Console, and API. Argyle Link is the platform’s front-end interface which enables consumers to connect their accounts and share income and employment data with service providers in real-time. Argyle Link also supports the manual upload of income documents. The company notes that it covers more than 210 million U.S. consumers and 95% of Fortune 1000 companies. This enables Argyle to achieve a verification “hit rate” that is 5x better than other solutions.

Founded in 2018, Argyle made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2022. At the conference, company co-founder and COO Billy Marsden demoed the latest design update of Argyle’s platform. The redesign helped increase transparency, decrease drop-off rates, and improve the overall look at feel of the technology for end users.

Argyle has raised more than $77 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. The company’s investors include Bain Capital Ventures and Checkr.

Photo by Pixabay

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Tyro Payments Launches Tap to Pay on iPhone

Tyro Payments Launches Tap to Pay on iPhone
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Tyro
  • Tyro Payments enables in-person, contactless payments for its users.
  • The new functionality is made possible courtesy of an integration between Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone and Tyro BYO App.
  • Tyro Payments made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2017.

Australia-based Tyro Payments announced today that its customers in-country can now accept in-person, contactless payments. Courtesy of the new Tyro BYO App, the company’s customers will be able to seamlessly and securely take advantage of Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone contactless payment acceptance technology.

“Tap to Pay on iPhone is a fantastic simple and secure way for new or existing Tyro customers to accept payments using only their iPhone, anytime, anywhere – without the need for additional hardware,” Tyro CEO Jon Davey said. “We are excited to provide this new offering to our customers, providing greater flexibility when staff are working on-site or on the move.”

Tap to Pay on iPhone only requires an iPhone and the Tyro BYO app in order to accept contactless payments. These payment options include Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, as well as other digital wallets. To use Tap to Pay on iPhone, users simply need to hold their Apple mobile device (iPhone or Apple Watch) near the merchant’s iPhone. Payments are completed securely using NFC technology. PIN entry, with multiple accessibility options, is also available. Tap to Pay on iPhone users also benefit from Apple’s commitment to privacy and security insofar as Apple does not store card numbers on the mobile device nor on its servers.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Tyro Payments made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring in 2017. At the event, the firm demoed its first lending product, Smart Growth Funding. This offering became the first lending solution released by an Australian challenger bank. In the years since then, Tyro has grown into a leading paytech with more than 600 employees; more than 66,000 customers; and more than $150 billion in transactions since inception. Going public in 2019, the company celebrated its 20th year in operation in February.

“From Australia’s largest EFTPOS provider outside the big four to streamlined business lending and banking products, I’m proud of how Tyro is powering the future of payments and business, both now and into the future,” Davey said.

Photo by Catarina Sousa

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Where Are They Now? Catching Up with FinovateSpring 2022’s Best of Show Winners

Where Are They Now? Catching Up with FinovateSpring 2022’s Best of Show Winners
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, FinovateSpring 2022, List series

FinovateSpring 2023 is only days away! If you have already registered for our annual spring fintech conference – May 23 through May 25 – great! We’re looking forward to showing you the latest innovations from many of fintech’s most exciting companies. We’re also happy to be returning to San Francisco, California – where there’s plenty of opportunity for both networking and leisure when the conference day is done.

And if you have not already registered, then there’s no better time than the present to visit our FinovateSpring 2023 hub and save your spot. To whet your appetite, here’s a look back at what the Best of Show winners from last year’s event have been up to in the time since taking home Finovate’s top prize.

Array

  • HQ: New York City, New York
  • Founded: 2020
  • CEO: Martin Toha
Pictured: Leigh Gross, SVP, Sales and Business Development

Demoed Array’s financial enablement platform, specializing in embeddable tools and white label solutions, used by leading financial institutions. Demo video.

Updates since Spring 2022

  • Partnered with Jack Henry to offer consumers personalized credit and financial insights.
  • Teamed up with Alkami to helps banks boost digital engagement.
  • Integrated with Q2’s digital banking platform to offer products including My Credit Manager.
  • Launched Credit-Builder Loans-as-a-Service solution, BuildCredit Loan, a private-label installment loan product.

FinGoal

  • HQ: Boulder, Colorado
  • Founded: 2019
  • CEO: David Nohe
Pictured: Ariam Sium, VP of Product | Jenn Underwood, Product Analyst

Demoed FinGoal’s insights platform that cleans, enriches, and analyzes personal financial data to better understand users and provide actionable insights. Demo video.

Updates since Spring 2022

Horizn

  • HQ: Toronto, Canada
  • Founded: 2011
  • CEO: Janice Diner
Pictured: Colm Bermingham, Director Sales | Steve Frook, SVP Global Sales

Demoed Horizn’s platform that helps banks globally accelerate digital banking knowledge, fluency, and adoption with both customers and employees. Demo video.

Updates since Spring 2022

  • Partnered with ebankIT to support digital transformation.
  • Won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2022 in New York.
  • Teamed up with Coventry Building Society to provide skill development for branch workers.

Keep Financial Technology

  • HQ: Atlanta, Georgia
  • Founded: 2022
  • CEO: Rob Frohwein
Pictured: Rob Frohwein, CEO | Troy Deus, Co-founder & Head of Experience

Demoed Keep Financial Technology’s innovation that solves the hiring and retention challenges of companies by introducing a new form of employee compensation called Cash Vesting Plans. Demo video.

Updates since Spring 2022

  • Raised $9 million in seed funding in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
  • Launched its Keep compensation platform and initial Keep Vesting Cash Plans.
  • Introduced KEEP Performing, adding defined goals to its platform.

QuickFi

  • HQ: Fairport, New York
  • Founded: 2018
  • CEO: Bill Verhelle
Pictured: Nate Gibbons, Chief Operating Officer | Jillian Munson, Technology Project Manager

Demoed QuickFi’s 100% digital, self-service mobile equipment financing platform that enables business equipment financing in minutes. Demo video.

Updates since Spring 2022

  • Won “Best SMB/SME Banking Solution” at the 2022 Finovate Awards.
  • Announced a partnership with 3D printing ecosystem manufacturer Ackuretta.
  • Named “Best Overall LendTech Company” in the 2023 FinTech Breakthrough Awards for a second year in a row.

Spave

  • HQ: East Lansing, Michigan
  • Founded: 2021
  • CEO: Susan Langer
Pictured: Susan Langer, CEO | Sarah York, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer | Christen Wright, Head of Product

Demoed Spave’s all-in-one financial wholeness app that allows users to effortlessly save and give as they spend. Demo video.

Updates since Spring 2022

  • Announced that its founder CEO Susan Langer has been named a “2022 Dealmaker of the Year” by Smart Business Dealmakers of Charlotte, North Carolina.
  • Featured its partnership with non-profit chaplaincy, Salt & Light Partners.
  • Commemorated Financial Literacy Month with new nonprofit partner Lemonade Day Houston.

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Consumer Engagement Platform SKUx Launches New Card Program with Highnote

Consumer Engagement Platform SKUx Launches New Card Program with Highnote
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Highnote
  • Embedded finance company Highnote is powering the new card program from SKUx.
  • SKUx is a payments technology and consumer engagement platform headquartered in Florida.
  • San Francisco, California-based Highnote made its Finovate debut last May at FinovateSpring 2022.

SKUx, a payments technology and consumer engagement platform, has launched a new card program. The company has teamed up with embedded finance company Highnote to power the new offering. SKUx noted in a statement that the partnership will help the Florida-based company continue to innovate in the disbursements space.

Highnote’s card platform technology enables a range of solutions from SKUx. Among these products are SKUx Customer Care and Recovery, which streamlines the product recall process, and SKUx Crisis Disbursements, which streamlines emergency payments to individuals. These new solutions join SKUx’s flagship solution, SKUPay, for product-based payments redeemed at the point of purchase.

In a statement, SKUx co-founder and President Bobby Tinsley highlighted the “magnitude of money” that moves between merchants and customers. Tinsley also bemoaned the fact that so much of these flows take place over “outdated and clunky” systems. He added, “We are obsessed with powering the best experiences by providing payments at the speed of today’s consumer – designing products optimized for digital wallets, mobile payments, and QR codes. Our partnership with Highnote enables us to continue this vision at both the quality and service our clients demand.”

Founded in 2021, Highnote is based in San Francisco, California. The company made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring last year. At the conference, Highnote demoed its GraphQL API-based card issuance platform, showing how the technology enables organizations to make card issuance an embedded feature in their solution. The platform uses notifications and SDKs to empower developer teams to bring card products to market quickly. A no-code dashboard enables management and support, as well as providing product-wide visibility.

“The average consumer has become more digitally savvy, and their expectations around ease of use and instant access to funds have risen,” Highnote CEO John MacIlwaine said. “SKUx has tapped into this trend by providing more elegant and modern solutions to consumer needs, and we couldn’t be more proud to be their enabler in driving this digital transformation.”

Highnote has raised more than $104 million in funding. The company’s investors include Costanoa Ventures and Oak HC/FT.

Photo by SHVETS production

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Generative AI-Powered Business Automation Specialist Kognitos Secures $6.75 Million

Generative AI-Powered Business Automation Specialist Kognitos Secures $6.75 Million
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, Kognitos
  • Business automation specialist Kognitos raised $6.75 million in seed funding. The investment takes the company’s total capital to $9.35 million.
  • Kognitos leverages Generative AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to enable business users to build automations using “English as code.”
  • Kognitos made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring last year.

Here’s a funding announcement from a new alum that slipped beneath our radar. Business automation solution provider Kognitos raised $6.75 million in seed funding earlier this year. The round was led by Clear Ventures. Engineering Capital and Wipro Ventures, the corporate investment arm of Wipro, also participated. The investment takes Kognitos’ total funding to $9.35 million.

Kognitos will use the capital to expand its cloud-based Koncierge platform. The platform leverages an AI engine that interprets English as well as humans do. This enables businesses to build automations using natural language. Koncierge blends business data and logic with logic learning machine (LLM) technology to automate business processes at cloud scale.

“It’s time for computers to behave like humans, and humans to stop behaving like machines,” Kognitos founder and CEO Binny Gill said. He referred to the technology as an “unprecedented engine that runs English as Code.” He also noted that now “anyone can describe what they want to be automated, and their automation is generated – all in auditable English. That means no developers, no complex tools, no bots.”

Kognitos’ technology responds to two challenges. On the one hand there is a growing opportunity in business automation. On the other hand, there is a relative lack of skilled workers in the automation field. Kognitos’ solution tackles these issues with a combination of Generative AI and NLP to enable automation of a wide variety of processes from invoicing processing and insurance claims to credit card payment reconciliation. The ability to use natural language also gives Kognitos’ technology an advantage over many no code/low code solutions. This is because those technologies still require the involvement of IT and other service providers. Clear Ventures founder and General Partner Rajeev Madhavan underscored the value of avoiding this obligation. “Kognitos already has several customers using this capability in production,” Madhavan said, “saving significant time and resources in their businesses, without the need for developers.”

Founded in 2020, Kognitos made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateSpring 2022. At the conference, Gill and VP of Growth Jason Langone explained how its business automation solution helps all business users contribute to the company’s competitive advantage. By enabling them to build automations and microservices with NLP and Generative AI, Kognitos technology empowers users and helps remove obstacles and technical barriers-to-entry for a wide variety for businesses.

Kognitos is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Photo by Brett Sayles

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Finovate Global France: Automating Payments, Extending Loans, and Collaborating on Crypto

Finovate Global France: Automating Payments, Extending Loans, and Collaborating on Crypto
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, iProov, Mambu, MasterCard, Numeral, PaySend, Revolut, VISA

This week’s edition of Finovate Global takes a look at recent fintech developments involving companies headquartered in France.

First up is news that European Buy Now, Pay Later firm Alma has partnered with BNP Paribas and new Finovate alum Numeral to automate payments.

“As part of our goal to create the most fluid and seamless experience for both merchants and customers, paying our 11,000 and growing merchants reliably and efficiently is critical,” Alma COO and co-founder Guillaume Desloges said. “Numeral enables us to scale with confidence and focus on our core business.”

Alma Finance and Strategy Senior Manager Simon Shohet explained that the integration of Numeral into both its systems as well as BNP Paribas’ systems, audit trails, and approval rules will enable automation of the process of managing “thousands of daily payments at scale.” Shohet added, “Thanks to Numeral, we can focus on the most critical incidents and rapidly solve merchant’s issues.”

Alma plans to eventually use Numeral’s platform to become a SEPA participant via BNP Paribas. This would enable Alma to issue IBANs in its own name, a strategic advantage for the firm.

Numeral made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in London earlier this year. At the conference, the Paris-based company showed how financial institutions can leverage Numeral’s platform to automatically send, receive, and reconcile SEPA payments. The platform also enables financial institutions to manage payment errors via SEPA R transactions. The company is on track to process €5B in 2023.

Also this week, we learned that Revolut will begin offering customer credit products in France at the end of the month. The company announced that consumer loans will be available to Revolut’s more than two million French users starting on May 30th.

Revolut currently offers lending products in other European markets. These markets include Ireland, Lithuania, and Romania. Mortgage products are not part of the current package. But Revolut VP of Growth Antoine Le Nel said that these products are in the pipeline.

Thanks to Revolut’s embrace of open banking, prospective borrowers will be able to apply for loans without having to deal with hardcopy paperwork. Instead, applicants will get virtual “instant feedback” on their loan requests. Loans come with zero opening fees and are available from as low as €1,000 to as high as €50,000. Terms range from three months to 84 months and interest rates range from a low of 3.9% to 21.12%.

France has earned a reputation for being friendly to the cryptocurrency industry. This week’s news of a partnership between Canada’s Advanced Payment Solutions (APS), Cyprus’ Armenotech, and France’s Tempo France is another modest testament to this.

Back in at the beginning of the year, Armenotech and payments company Tempo Finance teamed up to develop an ecosystem supported by the Stellar blockchain. This week, we learn that London-based Advanced Payment Solutions has joined the pact.

APS CEO Serik Igbayev highlighted the importance of giving businesses the ability to work with traditional and digital assets. And in a statement, Igbayev praised the partnership with Armenotech for playing a key role in making this happen. “Clients increasingly demonstrate a demand for services that would enable them to operate both traditional and digital assets, combining various payment methods,” Igbayev said. “We have successfully been using state-of-the-art Armenotech solutions to meet this demand.” These solutions included tools that facilitate the conversion between fiat and digital assets, as well as products for fraud protection, security, KYC, and ALM.

Tempo France is serving as the corporate payment operator for the alliance. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Paris, Tempo France provides a fast and secure bridge between cash and cryptocurrencies. The company offers online, offline, and digitally backed remittances to nearly 100 countries with more than 300 physical agent locations. Alla Zhedik is CEO.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central and Eastern Europe

Middle East and Northern Africa

Central and Southern Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean

Asia-Pacific

Photo by Chait Goli

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