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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
U.K.-based Connect Earth landed $5.6 million (£4.65 million) in seed funding this week.
The company, founded in 2021, offers a carbon tracking API to help financial institutions access sustainability data.
Connect Earth made its Finovate debut in March at FinovateEurope in London.
Connect Earth, an environmental data company based in the U.K., has landed $5.6 million (£4.65 million) in seed funding. The startup, founded in 2021, will use the capital to accelerate its expansion among large enterprises in the U.S. and Europe. Connect Earth noted that it has already begun working with financial institutions like KBC Bank and strategic partners like FIS Global.
“We are delighted to have secured this investment, which will enable us to significantly increase our capacity for working with new partners around the world,” Connect Earth co-founder and CTO Nick Carmont said. “Connect Earth has the potential to make a huge impact on the financial sector and this investment will accelerate our ambitions to become the environmental data backbone of financial services across the globe.
The funding round was led by Gresham House Ventures. Also participating were Love Ventures, Global Brain, The Norinchukin Bank, Portfolio Ventures, and Super Capital VC, as well as strategic angel investors. Existing investors Market One Capital, Mustard Seed MAZE, and Venista Ventures were also involved in the round.
Connect Earth enables businesses to gain critical insights into the climate impact of their spending and investment decisions. The company’s carbon tracking API helps democratize access to sustainability data, empowering individuals and institutions alike to make sustainable choices. Connect Earth’s API can be embedded into financial institutions’ mobile apps to provide carbon footprint estimates for every spend-based transaction. This, according to Connect Earth, helps “bridge the gap between intent, knowledge, and action” when it comes to meeting sustainability goals.
Since the beginning of 2022, Connect Earth has estimated carbon emissions for more than 500 million financial transactions. Partner KBC Bank noted that it saw an increase in customer engagement of 2% and an increase in customer environmental awareness of 20% within the first two months of integrating Connect Earth’s API within its mobile app.
In a statement on the Connect Earth blog, Carmont added that the company also plans to launch “several new products that will break down the barriers to accessing environmental data and tools.” Connect Earth recently announced the launch of Connect Invest, an API solution that provides carbon emissions estimates for stock and share investments.
Connect Earth’s funding announcement – and recent new product – come at an opportune time. In the same Connect Earth blog post, Gresham House Ventures Associate Director Benjamin Faulkner noted that Connect Earth may benefit from “extensive regulatory tailwinds such as TCFD and SFDR” which mandate that financial institutions improve disclosure of their carbon footprints. Accompanying the investment, Gresham House Ventures’ Steward Holness will join Connect Earth’s board of directors.
Connect Earth made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2023 earlier this month in London.
Banking software provider Blend is partnering with Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU).
The partnership will enable NFCU to reimagine its digital account opening process for new members with greater automation and enhanced workflows.
Blend made its Finovate debut in 2016, presenting its technology at both FinovateSpring and at our developer’s conference, FinDEVr Silicon Valley.
Cloud banking software provider Blend will bring its deposit account product to Navy Federal Credit Union to help the 90+ year financial institution reimagine its digital account-opening process for new members.
NFCU will leverage Blend’s deposit account solution to automate more processes and unify workflows across multiple acquisition channels. The integration will enable members to open new accounts quickly (“in just minutes”) and supports identity and eligibility verification, membership confirmation, decisioning, and new account funding. The new user interface and functionality come courtesy of Blend’s Composable Origination Platform, which is a low-code solution that enables designers to build unique workflows and customer integrations quickly and easily.
“We are thrilled to deepen our long-term relationship with Navy Federal to support this initiative in streamlining deposit account openings,” Blend’s Nima Ghamsari said. “The ability to rapidly deploy innovative solutions in cases like these validates the flexibility and power of our product offerings underpinned by Blend Builder, and we look forward to continuing to work with them on providing best-in-class offerings to America’s service members.”
Blend made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring in 2016, and also demonstrated its technology at our developer’s event, FinDEVr Silicon Valley, that year. Making its first big splash as an innovator in the mortgage lending space, Blend leveraged high-fidelity data sources to enable lenders to originate efficient, data-driven mortgages. In recent years, Blend has expanded its mission by providing a new range of services beyond mortgages, including deposit accounts, credit cards, and support for other lending solutions such as personal, home equity, and auto loans.
In addition to its partnership with Navy Federal Credit Union, Blend also this year announced that KeyBank has experienced “significant results” – including the ability to close home loans 17 days faster on average – since deploying Blend’s cloud banking technology. “Blend’s mission to bring simplicity is paying off for our teammates who are having a streamlined experience, as it’s also bringing greater transparency to our clients to be instantly in touch with where their closing stands and obtaining it quicker than we’ve ever been able to,” President of Home Lending for KeyBank Dale Baker said.
Blend began the year with news that BMO had fully digitized its residential mortgage refinancing operations for loans secured by property in states and counties that accept e-signatures and digital notaries. BMO is using Blend’s mortgage eNotes capabilities, as well as the company’s Close product which enable customers to complete their mortgage refinancing from any location at any time.
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Blend was founded in 2012.
Kredivo Holdingshas raised $270 million in Series D funding. The round was led by Japan’s Mizuho Bank. Square Peg Capital, Jungle Ventures, Naver Financial Corporation, GMO Venture Partners, and Openspace Ventures also participated. Kredivo will use the funding to enhance its status as a digital financial service provider, particularly via online lending, credit cards, and its buy now, pay later offering. The company will also use the capital to power the launch of its neobank brand, Krom.
“The upcoming expansion into digital banking is deeply synergistic with the existing Kredivo product and also opens up a very promising channel for us to become the digital financial services platform of choice for tens of millions of consumers in Southeast Asia,” Kredivo Holdings CEO Akshay Garg said. “Finally, we are delighted to have Mizuho join us as a valuable investor and strategic partner.”
Formerly known as FinAccel, Kredivo Holdings operates a number of brands including its digital credit platform, Kredivo, which serves customers in Indonesia and Vietnam. Kredivo Holdings also maintains a bank entity, Krom Bank Indonesia (formerly Bank Bisnis Internasional). Most recently, the company announced that it is launching an Indonesia-based neobank called Krom.
The new funding takes Kredivo Holdings’ total equity capital to nearly $400 million, according to TechCrunch. Valuation information was not immediately available. Garg indicated to TechCrunch that the firm’s valuation has increased by 4x to 5x with each valuation round.
Last spring, Kredivo launched its Infinite Card. The offering is a virtual card that enables Kredivo customers to transact on e-commerce and online platforms using their linked Kredivo accounts. The Infinite Card can be used across all of Mastercard’s online merchant network.
Broom, an Indonesian firm that enables automobile dealers to secure short-term funding by using their car inventories as collateral, has raised $10 million in pre-Series A funding. The round was led by Openspace Ventures, and featured participation from MUFG Innovation Partners, BRI Ventures, AC Ventures, and Quona Capital. Broom will use the capital to diversify its product mix and “accelerate inventory turnover” for its customers.
The investment takes the company’s total capital to $13 million. Valuation information was not immediately available.
Founded in 2021 by CEO Pandu Adi Laras and CFO Andreas Sutanto, Broom launched its flagship service, Buyback, a year later. Buyback supports used car dealers in Indonesia who often struggle to secure financing. Laras noted that car dealers typically must wait until they sell enough of their existing inventory in order to raise the capital to acquire new inventory. Instead, with Buyback, dealers get access to short-term working capital via a temporary car sale service with a built-in repurchasing option. Rather than a loan, Buyback involves a temporary sale – including a change of ownership – after which the dealer can buy back the inventory “at a slightly higher price.”
With more than 5,000 used car dealer customers in Indonesia, Broom said that its technology has enabled dealers to triple their inventory size. Broom noted that the used car market in Indonesia is estimated to be worth $65 billion, with analysts expecting the market to grow to $70.3 billion by 2027.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Earned wage access platform Rain has raised $116 million in Series A funding.
The round consisted of $66 million in equity and $50 million in debt financing.
Rain has disbursed more than $150 million in earned wages to its users, and grown its user and client base by 20% in the past 30 months.
Rain, an earned wage access platform, has secured $116 million in combined equity and debt funding. The Series A round consisted of $66 million in equity financing and $50 million in debt, and was led by QED Investors and Invus Opportunities.
“We built Rain to empower people, especially hourly workers, to take control of their finances and eliminate the need for predatory loans,” Rain CEO Alex Bradford said. “With this investment, we will continue to improve our platform and deliver a powerful employee benefit that improves individual financial wellbeing and boosts morale while giving employers a valuable tool for recruiting and retaining workers during a tight labor market.”
Also participating in the Series A were WndrCo, Tribe Capital, and Dreamers VC. The debt facility was provided by Sound Point Capital Management. Rain will use the funding to fuel expansion in the U.S., as well as make investments in technology, infrastructure, marketing, and employee and employer experience.
Rain’s platform enables employers to offer workers on-demand pay or access to earned wages. The company refers to the benefit as “income streaming,” and allows employees to receive their pay after completing a shift rather than waiting for a payday that may be weeks away. Workers are charged a small fee which Rain equates to an “ATM charge” when withdrawing earned wages. Additionally, workers cannot withdraw more than 50% of their gross earned wages per pay period. Earned wage access has emerged as a alternative to payday loans, which often charge exorbitant rates of up to 400% APR. Rain noted that employers using its app have experienced a reduction in employee turnover of up to 80%.
Founded in 2019, Rain is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The company launched its Instant Pay app in 2020, and has grown its user and client base by more than 20% over the past 30 months. Rain has disbursed more than $150 million in earned wages to its users, helping them avoid “tens of millions in predatory fees” the company noted in a statement.
As the going gets tough for crypto, will the underlying blockchain technology get going?
That was one of the top takeaways from the conversation on cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and the blockchain at FinovateEurope in London last week. We may be in a crypto winter – if not, as author Steven Van Belleghem quipped during his keynote address, a crypto “ice age.” But while the sun may be setting on the initial promise of cryptocurrencies, a dawn of new use cases and novel user interfaces may arrive sooner than we think.
To that end, it is interesting that much of this week’s crypto news revolves around stablecoins and ways that innovative banks and fintechs are using the technology to better serve customers.
Xapo Bank partners with Circle to leverage USDC as Swift alternative
One example of this trend comes in the news that Xapo Bank has teamed up with Circle to become the first licensed bank to integrate USDC payment rails as an alternative to SWIFT. The partnership will enable the Bitcoin custodian and private bank to offer its members the ability to make deposits and withdrawals via the USDC stablecoin without having to pay any fees to Xapo Bank. The institution is offering a 1:1 conversion rate from USDC to USD, further helping its customers avoid both the time and cost of SWIFT-based payments.
“Xapo Bank’s USDC payment rails mark a watershed moment in financial history, combining the speed and cost efficiency of the digital dollar, with the security guarantees of a licensed private bank,” Xapo Bank CEO Seamus Rocca said. “Enabling auto converted USDC deposits and withdrawals at Xapo Bank gives crypto members a safe haven for their savings.”
USD deposits are guaranteed up to $100,000 courtesy of Xapo Bank’s membership in the Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Scheme (GDGS). The bank noted that all USDC deposits are automatically converted to USD, giving members a 4.1% annual interest rate return on deposits.
Stables issues USDC-to-fiat Mastercard powered by Marqeta
A new partnership between card issuing platform Marqeta and Stables, a stablecoin-based digital wallet formerly known as Tiiik, will enable Stables customers to convert stablecoins into fiat currency and spend wherever Mastercards are accepted, online or in-store. Stables will leverage Marqeta’s dynamic spend controls and Just-in-Time funding capabilities to give its customers broader ability to transact with their stored stablecoins.
“Stables is committed to expanding what’s possible with stablecoins, giving people more flexibility and choice in their payment habits,” Stables co-founder and CEO Erez Rachamim said. “With increasing demand for digital assets, we’re thrilled to work with Marqeta to develop a card that enables more seamless spending on everyday items.”
Headquartered in Sydney, Australia and founded in 2021, Stables rebranded from tiiik at the beginning of this year. In a statement at the company blog, co-founder Bernardo Bilotta wrote, “This update better encapsulates what we can plan to offer to our loyal community. It highlights our dedication to expanding our focus to solve stablecoin related payment problems and any new use cases/services built around stablecoins.”
Circle supports USDC; sets up European HQ in France
We mentioned Circle earlier with regard to Xapo Bank’s new payments offering. Circle also made crypto headlines for its decision to set up its European headquarters in what it referred to as the “crypto-friendly climate” of France. The company, founded in 2013 and maintaining a U.S.-based headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, has applied to French regulators to become both a licensed Electronic Money Institution (EMI) and a fully registered Digital Assets Service Provider (DASP). Securing these approvals would make Circle the first company to receive full authorization under the DASP regulatory regime.
“France’s comprehensive efforts towards innovation-forward crypto regulation are commendable and closely align with Circle’s vision for the future of the digital payments sector,” Circle CEO and co-founder Jeremy Allaire said. “The DASP registration provides an initial path to support sensible digital asset innovation.”
Circle is the issuer of the USDC stablecoin. The company has come under pressure in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank crisis as its relationship with another troubled bank, Signature Bank, limited its ability to process minting and redemption of USDC. A de-pegging of USDC, in which the stablecoin lost its one-to-one relationship to the U.S. dollar resulting in investors cashing out of the digital asset by more than $2.6 billion in 24 hours, only added to the company’s woes of late.
Centi launches Swiss franc stablecoin
Swiss fintech Centi, which was founded in 2020, has announced the launch of its Swiss Franc pegged stablecoin. The stablecoin is backed 1:1 by a Swiss bank, and will serve as the foundation for the company’s Global Payment Network. The new offering will enable merchants to get direct payment settlement in their bank accounts in the fiat currency of their choice. Merchants will not need to make any changes to their current accounting processes nor do they need to have extensive cryptocurrency knowledge. Centi noted that its stablecoin will help bring buying power to both buyers and sellers by eliminating the fees and costs charged by credit card companies.
Centi’s Global Payment Network leverages a low-cost transaction model based on a micropayments facilitation foundation. This enables the network to offer the advantages of both cash and electronic payments, as well as seamless integration with online, POS, and cashier payment systems. By leveraging blockchain technology, the network is able to offer fees that are as much as 90% less expensive compared to competing payment services.
“With Centi we have created a new payments universe,” Centi CEO and founder Bernhard Müller said. “Our technology uses the efficiency of the blockchain to lower payment processing fees without requiring users to understand anything about crypto. Our payments solution is a first use case implementation of this technology with many others expected to follow it.”
LiquidStack raises capital to help lower carbon footprint of bitcoin mining
One of the earliest antagonists to the bitcoin and cryptocurrency movement were environmental activists who decried the impact of bitcoin mining on the environment.
This week we learned that LiquidStack, a Massachusetts-based immersion cooling company, has secured Series B funding to build a manufacturing facility in the U.S. Moreover, the firm says that is has a solution, at least in part, to bitcoin mining’s carbon footprint problem. The company boasts the largest install base of liquid cooling for data centers around the world, and has been proven to meet the thermal challenges of cloud, high performance computing, and crypto-mining applications.
The Series B investment came from Trane Technologies, and the amount of the funding was not disclosed. LiquidStack said that it will use the capital to accelerate manufacturing, including the opening of a facility in the United States. LiquidStack CEO Joe Capes noted that the investment from Trane Technologies comes “at a time when demand for sustainable liquid cooling technology has never been greater.”
LiquidStack’s two-phase immersion cooling process reduces data center direct and indirect carbon footprint by more than 1,500 tons per megawatt compared to air cooling. The company’s technology can also be used to reduce the amount of water used to power and cool data centers by more than 300 billion liters per year.
How has the challenge of digital transformation impacted banks and credit unions in recent years? Has the momentum for change slowed since the peak of the pandemic? How can banks win the “expectations game” with increasingly digital-first customers?
These are some of the questions we posed to Savana CEO Mike Wolfel. Headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Savana offers banks and other financial institutions a digital delivery platform that provides single location, real-time orchestration for all processes and transaction requests across the enterprise.
In recent months, Savana has announced partnerships with Primis Bank, Capco, and Battle Financial. Founded in 2009, the company has raised more than $53 million in funding from investors including Georgian and LiveOak Venture Partners.
What is the primary challenge for banks and credit unions that are trying to undergo digital transformation today in 2023?
Mike Wolfel: Most of the challenges banks and credit unions face center on technical innovation constraints based on their existing technical and operating architectures. Banks and credit unions are often limited either by their complex and rigid solutions already in place to support multiple channels or products, or by the inflexible multi-system architecture that allows them to be more agile. In addition, the lack of complete API exposure of underlying core systems leaves little opportunity to drive digital self-service or product innovation.
The inconsistency of processes implemented in different channels or across products is both a technical constraint and an operational efficiency challenge. These inconsistencies of processes and dependencies on manual work can also create regulatory issues or, at a minimum, lead to customer dissatisfaction.
There was a great deal of momentum behind digital transformation during COVID. Has that momentum waned? If so, why?
Wolfel: The momentum has not changed, but the focus seems to have shifted to different areas and more broadly expanded across various layers of the banking technology. The drive for transformation during COVID, especially during the first year, was a general improvement in digital consumer experiences due to the branch banking challenges. However, the banks we are working with seem to be taking a broader and more systemic internal view to recognize that they need more agility in terms of next-gen cores and more operationally efficient operations systems.
How can banks win the expectations game? How can the customer experience at banks keep up with the kind of CX/UX people experience in other digital interactions?
Wolfel: Bank experiences need to deliver more active intelligence, using AI, to consumer experiences. An adaptive information approach to tailor content and action needs to be more dynamic based on customer intelligence and behavior analytics. Just as Amazon or social media applications recommend the content of interest, consumers can be enlightened with relevant information on their banking behavior that will enable them to see opportunities better.
In addition, the capabilities of the experience, not just a pretty design, need to provide an effective and comprehensive set of services to the consumer to take action without requiring the need to engage the bank in the direct channels (branch, call center). Clearly, consumers prefer self-service and being able to act at a time and place of their choosing. Additionally, having the same processes and awareness of customer engagement actions need to be available to the banker if the consumer reaches out for direct support. Often, in today’s environment, the bank is unaware of why the customer might be calling when making a transition for support between digital to direct engagement.
What are the first key steps a financial institution needs to take in order to be ready for digital transformation – to say nothing of executing the transformation itself?
Wolfel: That depends on the goals and the transformation journey desired by the bank. But, in general, several things are consistent for the banks we work with on their journeys. First, they are taking a much broader view than trying to solve for a specific channel improvement. For those that are considering new next-gen core technology, they need to decide on a big bang or progressive renovation approach. The progressive renovation (gradual cutover to a new core) takes significant planning because it will create significant operational issues with customer and account data spread across multiple cores.
Comparatively, a big bang cutover to a next-gen core will require significant ecosystem rework and presents a potentially higher risk. Fortunately, Savana’s approach and architecture support our bank partners regardless of their desired approach. In the end, having a clear vision of the full end-state vs. a siloed or segmented view is the critical consideration.
What role does Savana play in helping facilitate digital transformations for financial institutions?
Wolfel: Savana’s Digital Delivery Platform is driving ‘Core-to-Customer’ innovation. Savana’s platform is designed to operationalize the bank across all cores, all products, and all channels. The system provides a consistent customer engagement experience and standardized bank operations processes from OAO & OLB across any engagement channel, including self-service, branch, and assisted call center operations.
Savana recently raised a significant amount of equity capital. What did that investment say about Savana’s accomplishments and potential. What will the investment enable the company to do in 2023 and beyond?
Wolfel: Savana has been working with early adopter customers over the last few years to get the platform into production and be able to continue the buildout of the solution architecture to meet the original strategy and the diverse needs of our bank partners. The investment by fintech investors and about six strategic bank partners is a validation of our strategy and confirmation of the capabilities and value that Savana’s platform brings to the market. The investment allows us to continue our growth strategy more broadly in the market across banks and credit unions. Savana has delivered a unique and differentiated solution for our bank partners to execute complex transformation journeys, as recognized by the investment. Savana will continue accelerating our offerings in all areas of digital, branch, call Center, and bank operations and for a broader market segment.
Qolo announced a partnership with payouts company PayQuicker.
The partnership will combine PayQuicker’s Payouts OS platform with Qolo’s card issuing and payments technology.
Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Qolo made its Finovate debut at FinovateFalll 2022.
Omnichannel payments and card issuing processor Qolo has teamed up with global payouts company PayQuicker. The partnership will combine PayQuicker’s Payouts OS platform with Qolo’s card issuing and payments technology. This will enable PayQuicker to issue a more advanced suite of card products, as well as make multi-channel payouts to help its corporate customers meet a wide range of payout needs.
“We chose Qolo as an issuing-processing partner because they offer the most modern, scalable, and flexible platform that will enable us to bring unique and differentiated payment solutions to our customers,” PayQuicker President Charles Rosenblatt said.
Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Qolo made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2022 in New York. At the conference, Qolo demoed its Companion Core, which offers banks low-cost, fintech functionality that runs in tandem with their existing system. Via a single API set, Qolo provides direct access to all payment rails and account types and offers program management, processing, and platform licensing, as well as acquiring, card and non-card payments, and account solutions.
“Qolo and PayQuicker are aligned in our vision to bring the best payments offerings to market,” Qolo CEO Patricia Montesi said. “We are thrilled to work with them and help power their innovative consumer and commercial programs.”
Founded in 2018, Qolo began the year with news that the company had processed more than $1 billion in total payouts in Q4 of 2022. Qolo has raised $19 million in funding, most recently securing $15 million in a Series A round led by The Raptor Group. The investment, in August 2021, came in the wake of a tripling of Qolo’s staff, as well as a pair of C-suite hires, and the launch of a beta version of its Qolo Accelerator program.
“We experienced strong investor interest fueled by our unique value proposition and rapid pace of customer acquisition,” Montesi said when the funding was announced. “The current fintech climate is driving massive growth, and Qolo’s 100% cloud-native omnichannel offering is perfectly positioned to meet the demand. And we have yet to see a payments model we can’t power.”
There is a challenge when it comes to writing about an event like FinovateEurope when you’re busy covering live demos, hosting on-stage fireside chats, and conducting off-stage video interviews. On the one hand, there’s a lot you’re going to hear and see. On the other hand, however, there’s a lot you’re going to miss, as well.
With that in mind, my apologies if I overlooked your favorite demo or keynote presentation in this “day-after” review of what I found most memorable at FinovateEurope. Better still, drop us a line and let us know just what kind of magic moment you had at our annual European fintech conference in London last week. We’d love to hear what you think!
Bringing the “E” the “S” and the “G” to the ESG Party
The maturation of the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) movement in fintech and financial services was on display as early as rehearsal day (the day before FinovateEurope officially opens when demoing companies practice their presentations on stage). It was impressive to see the number of companies that were offering solutions to make it easier for banks and FIs to leverage technology to better track their – and their customers’ – carbon footprint. Innovators like Connect Earth were among the most prominent. But companies like Storied Data, Topicus/Fyndoo, and OpenFinance also made it a point to show how their technologies gave institutions often granular insights into not just their environmental impact, but also into ways to minimize it.
From the main stage, ESG was also a theme that speakers returned to – often emphasizing the importance of connecting the “S” or “social” component of ESG with the “E” or “environmental” component. Sanghamitra Karra, who runs the Inclusive Ventures Lab at Morgan Stanley, reminded attendees during her Wednesday morning Fireside Chat that those who live in the most economically and socially underserved conditions in society are often those who are the most vulnerable to the challenges of climate change.
And in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) crisis, it is easy to see how “G” or “governance” has become an increasingly important issue for those who work for and rely on fintechs and financial services organizations. While some critics were busy trying to blame SVB’s woes on “wokeness”, or an inappropriately intense focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, other more astute observers noted that Silicon Valley Bank, for example, did not have a Chief Risk Officer for much of 2022.
Crypto Still Out in the Cold
As the crypto winter slowly metastasizes into what FinovateEurope 2023 keynote speaker Steven Van Belleghem referred to as a “crypto ice age,” it was probably no surprise that the number of demoing companies boasting their cryptocurrency bonafides at FinovateEurope this year was low.
That doesn’t mean that there was zero discussion of cryptocurrencies at FinovateEurope this year. But what it does mean is that there has been a reckoning during which it looks as if digital assets like Bitcoin and ethereum will have to take a backseat while those innovating with the underlying blockchain technology search for better use cases.
Fortunately, there is a precedent for the path cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology may be forced to pursue over the next 5-10 years. In the same way that it took almost a decade for the promises of the dot.com era to be realized, so too may a few dark years for crypto be just what the industry needs in order to figure out how its technology can be best used in order to solve real world challenges. Beware of solutions in search of a problem, Van Belleghem warned from the FinovateEurope stage last week. And while he was talking about enabling technologies writ large – from embedded finance to the metaverse – those innovating in the cryptocurrency/blockchain space would do well to heed his advice.
CX as the Killer App
Whether the task was right-sizing the responsibilities that financial institutions have to ESG concerns, or understanding that building new products alone is not enough to help people solve problems, the solution offered was both consistent and clear: focus on the customer.
Want to improve your carbon footprint – or help your customers do so? Make it easier for customers to access the data and insights they need in order to make the changes they are often eager to make? Want to see more innovative technologies in the hands of more consumers? Make interfaces more intuitive, more seamless, and with greater interconnectivity and interoperability. Think more fintechs should be using your tools and platforms? Leverage low- and no-code building blocks to enable innovators with more modest technical resources to be as creative as larger, better resourced firms.
It has been a cliche in fintech and financial services that “every year is the year of the customer.” But at this moment of retrenchment – with fintech funding down, crypto crashing, and new enabling technologies still en route to proving their true utility – keeping the customer’s needs top of mind might be the best strategy for weathering the current storm and emerging unscathed when the clouds finally do part.
Fintech 2023: Don’t Call it a Comeback
From the crypto crash and subsequent crypto ice age to the Silicon Valley Bank crisis, there has been a headline sense that fintech may be entering a slowdown period. Very little of this was in evidence at FinovateEurope this year. Chris Skinner reminded us that great things often emerge from the rubble of dashed dreams. Hundreds of fintech and financial services professionals braved the turbulent winds at Heathrow airport (as well as a tube strike) to mix, mingle, and talk shop as our return to live events continues.
The desire to innovate in our industry remains strong. And with a focus on improving the lives of everyday customers – from individuals and families to businesses small and large – we are optimistic that fintech’s best, most productive days, are still to come.
Banking and insights platform FinGoal announced a new investment this week. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
The funding round was led by existing investor Naples Technology Ventures (NTV).
FinGoal won Best of Show at FinovateSpring 2022 for its Aggregator Switch Kit, developed in partnership with fellow Finovate alum Envestnet | Yodlee.
Digital banking and personal finance insights platform FinGoalsecured new funding this week. The Boulder, Colorado-based fintech announced that it has closed an investment round led by existing investor Naples Technology Ventures (NTV). The amount of the funding was not immediately disclosed.
“We believe FinGoal’s offering is a game changer in the banking and finance space,” NTV Managing Partner Mike Abbaei said. “Their platform will be a thriving success in the new digital world.”
This week’s funding marks the second time NTV has backed FinGoal. The company first invested in FinGoal in early 2022.
A specialist in enabling greater personalization in banking, FinGoal helps financial institutions understand where their customers are spending their money. These insights not only help FIs learn which banking products and services to offer their customers. This analysis also informs banks and other financial institutions on how best to market new offerings to their customers, as well.
“A business owner isn’t shopping for a business payments product – they want a way to better serve their customers and reduce costs,” FinGoal CEO David Nohe said. “Knowing what is really happening in the lives of customers allows FIs to do more with the account holders they already have.”
Making its Finovate debut in 2021, FinGoal returned to the Finovate stage less than a year later, securing a Best of Show award for its Aggregator Switch Kit that makes it easier for developers to quickly and easily transition away from their current data aggregator. The solution was developed in partnership with fellow Finovate alum Envestnet | Yodlee and provides a translation layer API that enables engineering teams to switch to Envestnet | Yodlee’s enrichment and make their first API call soon afterwards.
“Before today, switching aggregator was a pain in the butt,” FinGoal’s VP of Product Ariam Sium said from the FinovateSpring stage last May. “It took a lot of time and put a lot of product road maps at risk. At FinGoal, we believe that the best data made available through reliable and safe infrastructure is key to the future of financial services. That’s why we’re going to show you how to switch aggregators in minutes.”
Learn more about FinGoal in our podcast interview with Finovate VP Greg Palmer and FinGoal’s Sium.
Winds of more than 60 mph tossing 787s around like paper planes. A wave of multi-industry strikes sending parents, patients, and passengers scrambling to reroute plans and rearrange schedules. There is no doubt that the attendees of FinovateEurope 2023 have had more than their fair share of challenges to make it to the Intercontinental O2 this year.
But make it they have – and we are all the better for it. Now, with the votes tallied from those undaunted delegates, we are happy to reveal the names of the companies that have earned Finovate’s most coveted prize: Best of Show.
10x Banking for its technology that enables banks to move from monolithic to next-generation core banking solutions with its cloud native SaaS core banking platform Supercore. Demo.
FinTech Insights by Scientia for its competitive analysis tool for banks and fintechs that offers all the data companies need to outsmart the competition. Demo.
NayaOne for its technology that enables institutions to 10x their digital transformation with single-key access to 200+ fintechs to discover, evaluate, and scale new solutions to production. Demo.
TAZI AI for its technology that empowers experts and data scientists to create, update, and deploy ML models with a no-code platform, making smart decisions in dynamic environments. Demo.
Your Juno for its solution that engages more than 50,000 users around financial education. Demo.
We congratulate this year’s winners – as well as all of our demoing companies – for taking to the Finovate stage to show us their latest fintech innovations. And, of course, a hearty thanks to our sponsors, our partners, and – perhaps most of all – our attendees whose attention, participation, and appreciation make our annual European fintech conference such a joy to host. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year!
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 three 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 five 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 2022 conferences are below:
Israel-based payroll and payments technology company Papaya Globalunveiled its latest solution this week. The new offering, Papaya Global Payroll Payments, is a fully automated, embedded payments platform that facilitates global payroll processing and mass payments. The solution is designed to assist payroll vendors who typically outsource these payments to third party vendors who often are not best suited to handling payroll payments.
“Papaya Payroll Payments is a game changer, full stop.” Papaya CEO and co-founder Eynat Guez said. “No other company is offering fully automated, embedded payments designed for payroll. We are the first payroll payments company in the industry to help its clients navigate the needs of the local employee and the global employer.”
Papaya’s solution will also enable its customers to process payments faster given the fact that Papaya owns money transfer licenses globally and its technology is built specifically to facilitate payroll payments. The company said that payroll payments typically arrive within 72 hours, which it calls “an industry first.”
“We’re giving organizers with global workforces a true borderless solution for getting team members their payments quickly and accurately,” Guez said. “No more manual processes, no more late or inaccurate payments, no fees reaching the employees.”
Founded in 2016, Papaya Global maintains offices in Tel Aviv, New York, Austin, London, Kiev, Singapore, and Melbourne, Australia. Named to the Forbes Cloud 100 and CNBC’s Top Startups for the Enterprise, Papaya Global has raised more than $444 million in funding from investors such as Scale Venture Partners and Insight Partners.
E-commerce risk management platform Riskified announced late this week that it was pulling $500 million in cash and equivalents out of Israel. The move comes as concerns grow about a controversial judicial reform plan championed by the current government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The proposal would give the executive branch greater control over judge selection and limit the ability of the country’s Supreme Court to strike down legislation.
Riskified CEO Eido Gal was quoted by Reuters as fearing that the Israeli government might limit transfers and withdrawals of large sums should the financial situation in the country “continue to deteriorate.”
In addition to transferring funds out of the country, Riskified reported that it will expand hiring in its research and development site in Lisbon, Portugal.
Riskified was founded in 2012 and is based in New York. The company is publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker RSKD and has a market capitalization of more than $940 million.
Learn more about the challenges currently faced by startups in Israel in this explainer from Crunchbase News. Note that Papaya Global, mentioned above, also moved funds out of Israel earlier this year, citing similar concerns about the country’s business climate and political uncertainty. Shuly Galili, founding partner at UpWest, a Silicon Valley-based seed investor that specializes in funding Israeli startups, was quoted as saying that passage of the judicial reform legislation would result impact “investments coming into the country, founders staying or not staying in the country.” Galili added that the new law could result in between $7 billion to $10 billion in funds leaving Israel.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Kennebec Savings Bank, based in Maine, went live with the digital banking platform from Alkami.
The technology will help the $1.6 billion financial institution provide a seamless and consistent user experience for its business, retail, and mobile banking customers.
Alkami made its Finovate debut in 2009 as “iThryv.” The company is headquartered in Plano, Texas.
Kennebec Savings Bank launched the AlkamiDigital Banking Platform this week. The Maine-based financial institution, with $1.6 billion in assets, will leverage the newly integrated solution to provide a seamless digital banking experience for its business, retail, and mobile banking customers. Founded more than 150 years ago, Kennebec Savings Bank has a team of nearly 200 employees and maintains offices in Augusta, Farmingdale, Freeport, Waterville, and Winthrop.
“One of our key goals is to expand support for local businesses,” Kennebec SVP and Chief Information Officer Kevin Dono explained. “Alkami’s platform enables us to provide a seamless and consistent user experience for our business customers by giving them access to all accounts through a common user interface within a single system. Self-service capabilities help them manage multiple accounts and enable functionality options for individuals through permission settings.”
Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Alkami made its Finovate debut as “iThryv” in 2009. The company’s digital banking platform offers an intuitive solution for enhancing the onboarding process for new customers, and accelerating deposit and loan growth. The platform also supports digital cards and P2P transfers, offers financial wellness tools, and will enable Kennebec to leverage data to provide customers with greater personalization.
“We are excited to support Kennebec’s efforts to go beyond the traditional banking footprint and further empower and engage with customers,” Alkami CEO Alex Shootman said. “The Alkami Platform, combined with Kennebec’s outstanding service, will position them to deliver even greater value and service benefits to both current and future customers.”
Alkami began the year earning special recognition from AMOCO Federal Credit Union, which named Alkami its “Partner of the Year.” The award is designed to recognize the “outstanding positive impact” that the FCU’s business partners have had on the institution’s member service, growth, and innovation. AMOCO FCU, with 78,000 users — including 56,000 active digital banking users – has relied on Alkami’s Digital Banking Platform since 2019.
“We were very specific about the user experience (UX) and capabilities we needed for our members,” AMOCO SVP of Operations Technology Nate Ashworth said. “Alkami not only brought a best-in-class UX to the table, but also has the extensibility to build in the integrations we require now and into the future.”
