This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
AI-powered customer experience specialist Inbenta has acquired digital adoption platform Horizn.
Inbenta will integrate Horizn’s embeddable interactive product demos into its platform.
Horizn has won Finovate’s Best of Show award five times, most recently at FinovateFall last September.
AI-powered customer experience platform Inbenta has acquired digital adoption platform Horizn. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Inbenta CEO Melissa Solis referred to the acquisition as part of the company’s commitment to helping businesses lower customer service costs, grow sales, and enhance the customer experience in general. Inbenta’s platform leverages natural language processing, neuro-symbolic AI, and Generative AI across four digital communications modules – Chatbot, Knowledge, Search, and Messenger. These modules enable the platform to deliver comprehensive, configurable solutions for businesses in verticals from financial services and ecommerce to telecom and utilities.
The integration of Horizn’s technology, in particular the company’s embeddable interactive product demos, will enhance Inbenta’s platform in a number of ways. In addition to making employee training more effective and further enhancing the customer experience, the integration will also help reduce agent escalation. Horizn’s technology has reduced agent escalations in favor of self-service in 80% of cases.
“Everyone knows how helpful and time-saving a tutorial can be when presented in an easy to understand, visual format,” Solis said. “At Inbenta, customer experience is at the center of everything we do – it was only natural that product demo capabilities should be included within our customer experience platform.”
Founded in 2012, Horizn has partnered with more than 40 financial institutions around the world. This includes some of the largest banks like Wells Fargo and RBC, as well as regional and community banks. A Finovate alum since 2017, Horizn has won Best of Show on five different occasions. The Toronto, Canada-based company most recently took home top honors with its demo at FinovateFall last September.
“By acquiring Horizn, Inbenta has expanded the number of customer experience touchpoints that it can offer, setting itself apart from the industry’s text-reliant majority,” Horizn co-founder and CEO Janice Diner said. “The entire Horizn team is excited about this next stage of impact and innovation and looks forward to integrating itself into Inbenta’s leading customer experience platform.”
Post-acquisition, Diner will take a new position as Inbenta’s Head of Marketing.
The only thing more exciting than being chosen to demo your latest innovation at a Finovate conference is winning the accolades our attendees and taking home a Best of Show award. With FinovateFallright around the corner, we wanted to take a look at the companies that won Best of Show at last year’s event and give you the latest on what they’ve been up to in the year since.
Remember that early bird savings for FinovateFall – September 11 through 13 – end this weekend! Visit our FinovateFall registration hub and save your spot today!
Cybercrime analytics platform SpyCloud raised $110 million in Series D funding last week.
The funding will help the company accelerate innovation in key use cases, as well as grow its database of recaptured data.
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, SpyCloud won Best of Show in its Finovate debut in 2017.
Cybercrime analytics platform company SpyCloud has secured a $110 million growth round commitment of primary and secondary capital. The round, a Series D, was led by Riverwood Capital and featured participation from Silverton Partners. New valuation information was not provided. The investment takes the company’s total equity funding to more than $168 million, according to Crunchbase.
SpyCloud offers technology that enables the discovery and recapture of data from the Dark Web in order to better protect businesses from identity-based cyberattacks. Cybercriminals use these stolen employee credentials and consumer session data to attack businesses, individuals, and networks. SpyCloud’s approach to fighting cybercrime differs from traditional threat intelligence strategies by offering a credential monitoring and alert service that directly and proactively finds and recovers stolen assets from threat actors and other sources.
To date, SpyCloud has recaptured more than 450 billion assets, more than 31 billion passwords, and more than 33 billion email addresses. The company’s most recent platform enhancement, unveiled in January, provides what it calls “Post-Infection Remediation.” This protocol gives companies a framework to reset application credentials and invalidate session cookies in the wake of a cyberattack or breach.
In a statement, SpyCloud listed a number of ways the new capital will help fuel the company’s growth. The funding, for example, will enable SpyCloud to accelerate innovation across a number of use cases, including consumer risk and enterprise protection. The company will also be able to grow its database of recaptured malware assets, further develop its analytic capabilities, and add to its list of integrations. The platform is currently integrated with Active Director, Okta, and Tines.
“For the last seven years, we have proven that reacting quickly to identity and authentication exposures is the crucial factor in stopping the cycle of cybercrime,” SpyCloud CEO and co-founder Ted Ross said. “As authentication methods improve, businesses need to adjust their defenses to keep up with criminals’ new behavior. SpyCloud allows you to do just that – and we will continue to illuminate and resolve the most critical risks facing security teams today, stopping attacks they haven’t been able to see coming.”
SpyCloud won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2017. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the company was founded in 2016. More than 500 corporations – including half of the Fortune 10 – leverage SpyCloud’s technology to combat ransomware, account takeover, session hijacking, online fraud, and other cybercrimes.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) unveiled its Fintech Promotion Roadmap today. The goal of the document is to provide a strategic outlook for the coming year to promote fintech adoption and innovation across Hong Kong’s diverse financial services ecosystem.
The top takeaways? The Roadmap highlights three business verticals: wealthtech, insurtech, and greentech – as primary. The planning document also underscores both artificial intelligence (AI) and distributed ledger technology (DLT) as a pair of enabling, if not revolutionary, technologies that will play a major role in future innovation in financial services.
Critically, the Roadmap shows the eagerness of the HKMA to take a proactive, hands-on approach to fintech adoption and innovation in Hong Kong. To this end, the HKMA has announced a range of initiatives it plans to adopt over the next 12 months. These efforts include a fintech knowledge hub; sponsored events, roundtable discussions, and dialogues to foster collaboration; as well as seminars and training sessions to provide cross-sectoral information exchange and the opportunity for continuous learning. The HKMA will also facilitate educational content creation, including use-case videos and research reports, to help broaden understanding of the opportunities of fintech adoption.
HKMA Deputy Chief Executive Arthur Yuen called the Roadmap “a beacon for the entire financial services industry.” He added, “We’re looking beyond banking, casting a wide net to encompass sectors like insurance, wealth management, and capital market activities. Through synergies with our financial regulators and continuous engagement with stakeholders, our vision is a resilient, inclusive fintech ecosystem for Hong Kong.”
Yuen said that the underpinning philosophy of the Roadmap is “collaboration”.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the region’s central banking institution. Founded in 1993, the HKMA is the product of the merger between two agencies – the Office of the Exchange Fund and the Office of the Commissioner of Banking. A key enabler of innovation in fintech and financial services in the region, the HKMA developed and launched a Faster Payments System in 2018 and began offering virtual banking licenses in 2019. Eddie Yue Wai-man was appointed Chief Executive in that year; he is the third CEO in the HKMA’s 30-year history.
In more good news for the region, Hong Kong has a new fintech unicorn. Micro Connect, a fintech that facilitates institutional investments in Chinese micro- and small businesses, raised $458 million in funding earlier this month. The Series C round gives the startup $578 million in total capital raised, and a brand new valuation of $1.7 billion.
Micro Connect’s statement did not list the investors involved in the funding. However, according to Forbes Asia, Baillie Gifford – a Scottish investment company – as well as returning investors Sequoia China, Lenovo Capital, Vectr Fintech, and Dara Holdings, were among those who participated.
Micro Connect will use the capital to enhance the market structure of its Micro Connect Financial Asset Exchange (MCEX) platform. MCEX leverages blockchain technology to enable small businesses to access financing in return for an agreed-upon percentage of the business’s daily revenue over a specified period of time. The scheme helps growing businesses secure the capital they need without having to take on additional debt. MCEX is scheduled to go live in August.
Micro Connect has facilitated investment in more than 2,400 stores and 169 brands across China. Charles Li (Chairman) and Gary Zhang (CEO) founded the company in 2021.
Finovate has brought its international fintech conference to Hong Kong three times: in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Here are some of the local companies that demoed their technology live on stage at FinovateAsia in Hong Kong.
AApay Technology
Chekk
Peakford Electronics
Proximiti
Velotrade
That said, Finovate has been hosting fintech conferences for audiences in the region since 2012. Here are a few more Hong Kong-based Finovate alums that demoed at our FinovateAsia events in Singapore and online.
Advanced Merchant Payments
Matchi.Biz
Mobexo
Modtris
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Mastercard and Checkout.com teamed up to bring instant wallet top-ups to UAE-based Careem Pay.
How will artificial intelligence – AI – drive innovation in fintech and financial services? This year at FinovateSpring we checked in with our experts to find out how AI will impact everything from the financial services workforce to the way customers interact with their bank or credit union.
Yahoo has acquired social investing platform, Commonstock. Terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition will bring investor insights to the company’s Yahoo Finance brand.
Launched in 1997, Yahoo Finance has more than 150 million monthly users.
Yahoo has acquiredCommonstock, a San Francisco, California-based social investing network. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Yahoo Finance president Tapan Bhat said that the purchase would help create a “singular destination for all our customer’s financial needs.” He praised Commonstock for creating a “trusted community” and for “sharing high-quality insights and knowledge that help everyday investors create wealth.”
Specifically, the acquisition will add investor insights to the Yahoo Finance platform. Commonstock offers a social network, integrated with brokerages, where retail investors and traders can discuss trading and investing strategies, portfolio performance, and more. Commonstock provides features such as real-time alerts to let users know when investors they are following are making trades. This helps facilitate the exchange of investment strategies, fostering a collaborative investing climate. The network has more than $10 billion in connected assets.
David McDonough, Commonstock founder and CEO, said the acquisition was an opportunity to “build community and products on the largest consumer finance stage.” Note that Yahoo Finance currently has more than 150 million monthly users. McDonough added, “This acquisition will allow us to accelerate our mission at scale, emphasizing community-driven knowledge and ensuring the amplification of quality insights to separate signal from noise.”
The acquisition was personal for McDonough, who said that Yahoo Finance made a major impact on his career trajectory. In his statement, he credited the company’s message boards for helping him learn about the stock market during the financial crisis. He said that the combination of Yahoo’s reach and Commonstock’s expertise would be a significant value for investors.
Launched in 2020, Commonstock has raised more than $34 million in funding. The company includes Coatue, QED, Floodgate, Upside Ventures, Resolute Ventures, and Abstract Ventures among its investors. Individual investors ranging from Bill Ackman and Ari Emanuel to Turner Novak and Jill Carson also have backed the startup.
Yahoo Finance offers free stock quotes, timely business news, and portfolio management resources. Additionally, the platform provides mortgage rate data and other information to help individuals better manage their finances. Launched in 1997, Yahoo Finance is among the top 20 largest news and media websites. The platform began covering cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency news in 2017.
A pair of Finovate alums – Backbase and SavvyMoney – have forged a new partnership.
The partnership will integrate SavvyMoney’s Credit Score Insights into the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform.
The integration will enable customers to access real-time credit scores from within their banking apps.
Engagement banking company Backbaseannounced a strategic partnership with credit score solutions firm and fellow Finovate alum SavvyMoney. The partnership will integrate SavvyMoney’s credit score solution, Credit Score Insights, into the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform. This will give community banks and credit unions the ability to provide their customers with real-time credit scores directly from their banking app.
“There’s a growing demand from consumers for guidance from their banking apps to help them make informed financial decisions,” Backbase VP of Product Management for the U.S. mid-market Brian McNutt said. He added that it was “crucial” that customers and members see community banks and credit unions as “trusted financial advisors,” and that doing so would help these FIs compete with their larger rivals. “That’s the idea behind our Fintech-as-a-Service offering,” he added, “to reduce our customers’ time-to-market and time-to-value, so FIs can focus on innovation.”
SavvyMoney’s Credit Score Insights helps FIs offer tailored financial recommendations and advice to their customers and members. The technology also helps FIs manage their marketing efforts to build hyper-personalized offers and deals. The increased value brought to banking apps courtesy of the Credit Score Insights integration also will help improve stickiness and app usage trends. At the same time, end users will benefit from a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to their credit score. They will also be able to update their credit report, run credit score simulations, and build an action plan to set and meet credit score goals.
“As a company, we are committed to empowering individuals to achieve their financial goals and improve their overall financial well-being,” SavvyMoney President and CEO JB Orecchia said. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Backbase to make crucial credit score functionality easily accessible via banking apps.”
Formerly known – and first appearing on the Finovate stage – as DebtGoal, the company rebranded as SavvyMoney in 2011. In the years since then, SavvyMoney has forged partnerships with more than 1,150 financial institutions and driven $3.8 billion in loans for clients courtesy of its SavvyMoney offer engine. The company unveiled its pre-approval marketing solution earlier this year – in partnership with Credit Union of Southern California (CU SoCal). SavvyMoney was named a “2023 Best Place to Work in the Bay Area” by Fintech Finance in May.
A Finovate alum since 2009, Backbase has won Best of Show on four different occasions. Most recently demoing its technology last September at FinovateFall, Backbase serves more than 120 financial institutions around the world. The company’s Engagement Banking Platform gives FIs a unified platform designed to respond to every step of the customer journey – from onboarding and servicing to loyalty and loan origination. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Amsterdam, Backbase also recently announced partnerships with Vietnam’s Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) and business and IT consulting provider Valleysoft.
TreviPay, a B2B payments and invoicing network, announced support for cross-currency sales between businesses.
The new capability will serve as an “enhanced trade credit” and will help businesses increase buyer loyalty.
Headquartered in Kansas, TreviPay made its Finovate debut last September at FinovateFall.
B2B payments and invoicing network TreviPay announced support for cross-currency sales between businesses. The new capability will enable TreviPay to facilitate transactions in which buyers want to be invoiced in and to pay with a currency that is different from the currency disbursed to the merchant. Referring to the capability as an “enhanced trade credit,” TreviPay believes it will help businesses boost buyer loyalty.
Brandon Spear, TreviPay CEO, pointed out that merchants operating on a global scale have unique challenges when it comes to their more diverse customer base. “Not all merchants are able to establish a bank account in every preferred currency of their customers,” Spear said. “TreviPay’s enhanced technology and cross-currency solution empowers geographical expansion and makes global trade more accessible to merchants across all sales channels.”
Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, TreviPay made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateFall. At the conference, the company showed how its Small Business Supplier Payments Network enables banks tap into the small business B2B trade credit market and expand their small business product offerings. In her presentation, TreviPay SVP and Head of Small Business Markets Rissi Lovern explained the financial burdens placed on small business suppliers as an opportunity for banks.
“Every day our small business suppliers act as a bank for their business customers,” Lovern said to the FinovateFall audience last September. “Oftentimes these business customers are much larger than they are. In fact, in the U.S., they extend five trillion dollars in trade credit annually, financing less than 15% of those extensions, and waiting an average of 51 days to get paid.”
Small business suppliers want real-time, risk-free, debt free payments, Lovern said. Business buyers, at the same time, demand trade credit because it is a key component of their working capital stack. TreviPay’s Small Business Supplier Payments Network responds to both needs.
In the year since its Finovate debut, TreviPay has teamed up with payments orchestration technology provider BlueSnap and acquired payments platform Apruve, and forged partnerships with SME cashflow specialist Cloudfloat and SaaS-based marketplace management solution Mirakl. More recently, the company announced a partnership with Samsung Electronics Australia. The deal will enable Samsung’s direct-to-consumer business to extend payment terms and invoice-based purchasing to B2B buyers.
“In today’s world, enabling merchants to extend credit to their buyers in a streamlined and convenient embedded payment experience is essential to compete globally and drive customer loyalty,” Spear said.
Operating in 32 countries and in 20 currencies, TreviPay processes more than $6 billion in transaction volume annually.
Will 2023 be known as the year AI came of age? With the advent of Generative AI and tools like ChatGPT, the technology world got an unexpected boost this year as interest in the potential for artificial intelligence soared.
What does the surge in interest and activity in AI mean for financial services? How can fintechs leverage the technology to help banks, credit unions, and other financial services organizations and institutions better serve their customers with more choice, more security, and more efficiency?
We caught up with Dr. Benjamin Harvey, founder and CEO of AI Squared. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AI Squared made its Finovate debut earlier this year at FinovateSpring and will return to the Finovate stage next month for FinovateFall. The company specializes in integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning into existing apps. We discussed the rise of AI, the impact AI might have on financial services, and the work of AI Squared in helping businesses take advantage of the emerging technology.
We also talked about the challenges Harvey has faced as an African American entrepreneur and founder in the technology industry. As we commemorate Black Business Month here in August, we are also happy to share his insights and advice on what African American founders and entrepreneurs need to keep in mind when starting out.
Let’s start with a big picture question: what is overhyped about AI, what’s underhyped, and what are we getting right?
Benjamin Harvey: There’s a lot of hype around AI, and some of it is warranted, but not all. One of the most overhyped ideas is that AI will replace humans in the workforce on a large scale. While AI can automate certain tasks, it can’t replicate the creativity, empathy, and critical thinking that humans bring to the table. On the flip side, what’s underhyped is the potential for AI to be simple while being useful. Many AI products have incredible potential but are too complicated for widespread adoption. Simplifying AI and making it more accessible can unlock its true potential and bring about transformative change across industries.
What most observers and commentators are getting right about AI is that it’s here to stay. AI is not just a passing trend; it’s a technological revolution that’s reshaping the way we live and work.
Now let’s turn to your company. What problem does AI Squared solve and who does it solve it for?
Harvey: AI Squared is a platform designed for product owners, data scientists, and enterprise leaders. We empower users to accelerate both predictive and generative AI projects, measure their benefits, and drive significant revenue growth and cost reduction. Our solution is industry-agnostic and loved by our users.
We address a critical issue in the AI industry: 90% of AI and ML models never make it into production or use, largely due to the time and cost involved. AI Squared tackles this problem head-on, reducing the time to production and use of AI and ML models from an average of 8 months to 8 hours or less. We provide a secure environment for accelerating AI projects, enabling users to measure benefits, use no/low code solutions, and deliver trustworthy AI results. By streamlining the AI deployment process, we help organizations harness their data to drive game-changing AI capabilities, driving innovation and growth.
How does AI Squared solve this problem better than other companies, other solutions?
Harvey: We understand that the key to successful AI adoption is seamless integration into existing workflows. Our solution is designed to fit effortlessly into the applications that our customers already use on a daily basis. By embedding AI capabilities directly into these familiar tools, we eliminate the need for users to switch between different platforms, thereby reducing friction and increasing efficiency. This approach not only enhances the user experience, but also drives greater AI adoption across the organization. Our technology is versatile and accessible, making it a valuable asset for teams at all levels, from operational staff to executive leadership. The result is a more informed, agile, and productive organization that can leverage AI to its full potential.
What is your primary market? What has their response to your technology been like?
Harvey: Our primary market is financial services and the response has been overwhelmingly positive! Financial services organizations are constantly seeking ways to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance customer experiences. And our platform has been proven to address these needs by accelerating the deployment of AI and ML models, making it easier for these organizations to harness the power of their data.
When clients see how we can reduce AI implementation from 8 months to 8 hours they’re blown away. We’re proud to say that we’ve turned our clients into our biggest champions. The value we provide goes beyond just the technology; it’s about the tangible benefits that our platform brings to their operations. They appreciate the speed at which they can now bring AI projects to fruition, the ease of integration with their existing systems, and the measurable ROI that our platform delivers.
Are there any deployments or features of your technology that are especially noteworthy?
Harvey: First and foremost, we prioritize data security and privacy. Unlike many other AI platforms, we don’t store or copy our customers’ data. This is a crucial differentiator, especially for organizations in highly regulated industries like financial services, where data privacy and security are paramount.
We offer flexible deployment options to suit the specific needs of our customers. Our on-premises deployment ensures that all data remains within the customer’s own infrastructure, providing an added layer of security. For those who prefer a cloud-based solution, we offer a multi-tenant deployment that still maintains robust data privacy and security measures.
One of our standout features is our Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) capability. This feature allows human verification and corrections to be made to the data generated by Generative AI before it’s used in critical business applications. This ensures a high level of accuracy and reliability in the data, which is essential for making informed business decisions. Our HITL feature is particularly valuable for organizations that need to ensure the utmost accuracy in their AI-generated data, such as those in the financial services sector where even small errors can have significant consequences.
You and many of your team have significant backgrounds in academia and the government. How has the transition into a more entrepreneurial space been?
Harvey: The transition from academia and government to the entrepreneurial space has been both challenging and rewarding. Initially, it was a bit of a culture shock to shift from a focus on the technical aspects of AI to a more value-driven approach. In academia and government, the emphasis is often on the theoretical and technical aspects of AI, whereas in the entrepreneurial space, the focus is on delivering tangible value to customers.
But once we got past the initial adjustment, we found that our diverse backgrounds gave us a unique perspective and a competitive edge. While our experience in academia has equipped us with a deep understanding of the technical intricacies of AI, our government experience has given us insights into the importance of security and compliance, especially when dealing with sensitive data.
We’ve been able to leverage these insights to develop a platform that not only delivers powerful AI capabilities but also addresses the specific pain points and challenges faced by our customers. Our approach is rooted in a deep understanding of both the technical and practical aspects of AI, and we’re able to offer solutions that are tailored to the unique needs of each customer.
Left to right: AI Squared’s Benjamin Harvey, Alvin McClerkin (COO), and Michelle Bonat (CTO) at FinovateSpring.
We also want to showcase AI Squared as part of our Black Business Month commemoration. What challenges have you faced as a Black founder and entrepreneur? What advice would you give?
Harvey: Launching a company as a Black entrepreneur, particularly in the AI/technology space, comes with its own unique set of challenges. One of the most significant hurdles is the lack of resources and representation in the industry. As a Black founder, I often found myself navigating uncharted territory without the benefit of a robust network or role models to look up to. However, I believe that these challenges can be overcome with determination, persistence, and a strong support system.
My advice to aspiring Black tech founders is to build a solid network of mentors, advisors, and peers who can provide guidance and support along the way. Don’t be discouraged by setbacks or rejections; instead, use them as learning opportunities to refine your approach and strategy. Do your homework, stay informed about industry trends, and be prepared to articulate the value proposition of your technology clearly and convincingly. Most importantly, reach out to other Black founders and executives who have walked the path before you. Their insights and experiences can be invaluable as you navigate the complexities of the tech startup ecosystem.
Remember, you are not alone in this journey. There is a growing community of Black tech founders and professionals who are eager to support and uplift each other. By working together, we can break down barriers, create more inclusive opportunities, and pave the way for future generations of Black tech entrepreneurs.
Speaking of African-Americans, AI Squared is headquartered in Washington, D.C. What is the technology scene like there?
Harvey: D.C. is a hotbed of tech innovation, especially in security and intelligence. Being close to the Federal Government and defense agencies, we’re in a unique spot to work on projects that matter for national security. It’s a vibrant scene here, with big tech firms, cool startups, and research hubs all mixing it up. We’re a tight-knit community, always meeting up, sharing ideas, and pushing each other to innovate.
The best part is that if your tech is good enough for national security, it’s good enough for anything. We’re talking finance, healthcare, consumer goods – you name it. Being in D.C. gives us the credibility to branch out into these sectors. It’s an exciting place to be, and we’re happy to be part of it.
You demoed your technology at FinovateSpring earlier this year. What was that experience like for you?
Harvey: The experience of demoing our technology at FinovateSpring was exciting and valuable for us. It provided us with a unique platform to showcase our product to a large audience of stakeholders, and to connect with key decision-makers in the financial services industry. We got valuable feedback on our product.
But the demo wasn’t without its challenges. Some technical difficulties with signing in and that, combined with the strict time constraints of the event, impacted our demo. These are things that tend to happen when demo-ing in a new forum. But it’s in our DNA to adapt and we did – and received positive feedback from attendees and made valuable connections that have since led to fruitful discussions. Overall, the experience was a great opportunity for us to showcase our technology, connect with industry leaders, and learn from the challenges we faced.
What can we expect from AI Squared over the balance of 2023 and into next year?
Harvey: Our primary goal for AI Squared is to continue delivering exceptional value to our customers, with a focus on the financial services sector. We’re committed to optimizing our product to enhance the customer experience and build strong, lasting relationships. As we approach the end of 2023, we are on track to exceed our internal goals, thanks to the dedication of our team.
Looking ahead to next year, we have ambitious plans for growth. We’re preparing to raise our next round of funding with a strategic team of investors who share our vision. This funding will enable us to continue providing world-class service and products. We’re also planning to expand our product offerings and explore new markets. We are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and look forward to sharing our progress with you!
Cybersecurity company VU and digital payments solutions innovator NovoPayment announced a strategic partnership today.
The alliance will make VU’s fraud protection technology available to users of NovoPayment’s banking-as-a-service platform.
Headquartered in Miami, Florida, NovoPayment was co-founded by CEO Anabel Pérez in 2007.
Cybersecurity firm VU will join the 60-partner application network of digital payments solutions company NovoPayment. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, NovoPayment offers a banking-as-a-service platform that leverages its network of open APIs, partnerships, and third-party integration to help its customers scale and adapt.
“Collaborating with NovoPayment allows us to expand our vision and address new challenges in the field of cybersecurity in the financial sector,” VU founder and CEO Sebastián Stranieri said. “Together we are committed to generating a positive impact by creating digital solutions to improve the quality of life for citizens and organizations.”
NovoPayment offers services within three principal categories: digital banking, payment infrastructure, and card solutions. The company helps its clients enhance their existing systems to generate new deposits, transaction streams, and customer experiences. In addition to its Miami HQ, NovoPayment maintains offices in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Ecuador, enabling the company to serve a range of customers across the Americas. The company’s clients include financial institutions and acquirers, as well as neobanks and fintechs.
“This alliance will enable us to enhance our payment solutions, providing users with an even safer and more reliable experience,” NovoPayment CEO and co-founder Anabel Pérez said. “We are excited to work with VU, a leader in cybersecurity, to ensure the peace of mind of our clients in the digital world.”
NovoPayment’s partnership with VU comes a little over a month after the company unveiled enhancements to its Orchestra technology. Orchestra is an advanced, cloud-based middleware orchestration layer of its BaaS platform. The technology helps financial institutions modernize their infrastructure and now features enhancements that add capabilities and new API-based use cases. Perez called Orchestra “a streamlined, convenient way to unify user experiences and fast-track innovation while ensuring compliance.”
Earlier this year, NovoPayment and Forrester Research published research on digitization trends at smaller banks and credit unions. In the report, the authors highlighted the compatibility with existing infrastructure as a major hurdle for digitization. Another challenge was the lack of staff to support customer-service based digital strategies. The report concluded that strategic partnerships can help smaller FIs bridge the gap between themselves and their larger competitors.
Mahalo Banking and Larky have announced an expanded partnership to enhance account holder engagement for Mahalo clients.
The partnership will integrate Larky’s nudge platform into Mahalo’s online banking platform.
Larky made its Finovate debut in 2014. Mahalo Banking will make its Finovate debut next month at FinovateFall.
An expanded partnership between a pair of Finovate alums is designed to help boost account holder engagement. Mahalo Banking, a banking solution provider for credit unions, and account holder engagement technology company Larky announced this week that they are building on their relationship by integrating Larky’s nudge technology into Mahalo’s online banking platform.
“Our partnership with Larky enables us to offer our credit union clients an invaluable tool for member engagement at a time when the market needs new approaches to nurture and grow depositor relationships,” Mahalo Banking co-founder and COO Denny Howell said.
The integration with Larky’s nudge platform will give account holders notifications about the different product and service offerings from their financial institution. Notifications also alert account holders to contextually relevant information about their branch. Financial institutions benefit from access to analytics and A/B testing to learn how their customer and member engagement programs are working. Mahalo customers will also be able to access Larky’s nudgeScore. This solution leverages AI to predict the performance of new push notifications.
“We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with Mahalo, opening doors for their clients to harness the power of our nudge platform’s tailored and proactive engagement capabilities,” Larky VP of Growth Scott Brown said. “This reinforced partnership interweaves the unique assets of both organizations, bolstering the digital banking landscape for consumers and fostering expansion for community based financial institutions.”
August has been a busy month for the Ann Arbor, Michigan based company. Larky just reported that Innovations FCU has gone live with its customer engagement platform. And a few days ago, Larky announced a collaboration with credit union technology partner Trellance and Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU). The goal of the partnership is to build a unique, data-centric solution that leverages enhanced, AI-driven segmentation and targeting for MSUFCU. This will enable MSUFCU to create and execute more engaging campaigns to boost tap rates and increase engagement.
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Larky made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2014.
Mahalo Banking will be making its first Finovate appearance next month at FinovateFall. The company is a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) that serves as a banking partner for credit unions. The company’s platform features deep integrations into credit union cores to provide robust features sets across all delivery platforms in order to deliver a true omni-channel experience. Mahalo is also unique insofar as its platform features functionality to support customers with cognitive distinctions such as dyslexia, autism, epilepsy, visual impairments, and more.
Like Larky, Mahalo also has been on a furious partnership-making pace this year. Last month, Mahalo announced a partnership with Gerber Federal Credit Union, a Michigan-based financial institution with $225 million in assets. In June, Mahalo teamed up with RiverLand FCU, an FI based in New Orleans with more than $300 million in assets. Also, in May, Mahalo announced new partnerships with two credit unions: ParkView FCU and Rock Valley Credit Union. ParkView FCU is based in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and has $350 million in assets. Rock Valley Credit Union is headquartered in Loves, Park, Illinois, and has assets of $150 million.
Mahalo Banking is based in Troy, Michigan. Jim Stickley is CEO.
Courtesy of a just-secured regulatory approval from the National Futures Association, Coinbase’s U.S. customers will soon get the opportunity to trade futures contracts on cryptocurrencies. Coinbase’s Coinbase Financial Markets has been granted authority to operate as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and offer eligible customers in the U.S. access to crypto futures trading on the Coinbase platform.
In a blog post at the Coinbase website, company Head of Institutional Product, Greg Tusar called the approval a “watershed moment” in the project to bring regulated cryptocurrency products to U.S. customers. The ruling comes as Coinbase is at odds with other regulatory bodies – such as the SEC – over its operating practices.
The ruling also comes at a time when the crypto derivatives market around the world has climbed to 75% of all crypto trading volume. Tusar called this market “a critical trader access point.” This is because crypto derivatives enable traders to participate with more leverage and less upfront capital, as well as give cryptocurrency holders the ability to express long and short positions, and hedge risk.
“Where regulations are clear and sensible, we will work with regulators to receive the authorizations needed to offer products that align with our purpose of using crypto to update the financial system to advance economic freedom and opportunity,” Tusar wrote.
Coinbase made its Finovate debut in 2014. The San Francisco, California-based fintech was founded in 2012.
eToro’s Crypto Trends
Social trading and investment platform eToro announced a new partnership to help its customers stay on top of the latest information about cryptocurrencies. The firm has teamed up with analysis company Reflexivity Research in a content partnership called “BTC etc.” that will provide a weekly overview of the cryptocurrency market as well as a monthly podcast. The weekly overview will focus on key trends. The podcast will feature experts from eToro, Reflexivity Research, and the broader cryptocurrency industry.
“As a crypto pioneer, we see it as our responsibility to provide accessible, timely, and relevant content for our users,” eToro Editor in Chief Mati Alon said. “As the market matures, cryptoassets deserve the same level of attention and coverage as other financial assets. We are excited to collaborate with Reflexivity to increase understanding of crypto.”
A Finovate alum since 2011, eToro has won Best of Show at each of its six Finovate appearances. The company offers trading and investing in stocks, options, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as well as cryptocurrencies. eToro offers 0% commissions, the ability to trade fractional shares, and a social network to enable traders and investors to benefit from the wisdom of the platform’s top performers.
EToro has become increasingly bullish on the prospects for cryptocurrencies. The company’s Global Markets Strategist Ben Laidler was quoted earlier this week highlighting three key developments that could put cryptocurrencies back on track by making it easier for institutions to participate in the market.
CBDCs Gain Ground in Brazil, Raise Doubts in Canada
The arguments for and against central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) got an international airing of sorts in recent days.
In Brazil, the country’s central bank has given its CBDC an official name – and logo. Commonly referred to as the “digital real,” the Brazilian Central Bank has decided to call its new digital currency, the Drex. The name refers to both the assets colloquial name, “Real Digital,” with an “e” for “electronic” and an “x” to represent a variety of notions including the concept of “modernity and connection.”
“Drex arrives to make life easier for Brazilians” a press release from the country’s central bank pronounced. “It will provide a secure and regulated environment for developing new businesses and more democratic access to the benefits of the economy’s digitization, both for individuals and entrepreneurs.”
Among the projected use cases for the digital currency are government benefit payouts, which would use a tokenized version of the currency. The bank also believes that the Drex will help accelerate digitalization in the financial sector and ultimately promote financial inclusion.
Meanwhile, some five thousand miles north, the concept of central bank digital currencies is getting a much cooler reception. A new report from the Bank of Canada cast a dim light on the prospect of mass CBDC adoption by Canadians. The blame was placed on the wide number of payment options Canadian consumers and businesses already have.
The staff discussion paper, “Unmet Payment Needs and a Central Bank Digital Currency,” envisions a hypothetical cashless environment, and then considers how a CBDC would solve unmet payment needs in such a society.
The report concludes that for a CBDC to benefit those who have unmet payment needs, the digital currency would first have to secure widespread adoption among the majority of the population. This would be necessary to ensure sufficient digital currency adoption by merchants. The challenge is that insofar as the majority of consumers “already have access to a range of payment options,” it would be unlikely for a significant enough number of these consumers to both widely adopt the digital currency as well as use the CBDC at scale.
The insights from the paper should prove valuable to those who support digital currencies, especially to the degree that digital currencies allegedly support financial inclusion. “The minority of consumers with unmet payment needs will be able to benefit from a CBDC,” the report writers conclude, “if the majority of consumers experience material benefits and therefore drive its use.”
