Author: David Penn

5 Tales from the Crypto: Partnerships, Tax Proposals, and the Rise of Perpetual Futures

5 Tales from the Crypto: Partnerships, Tax Proposals, and the Rise of Perpetual Futures
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Coinbase, Cryptocurrency

News that Venmo is now accepting transfers of cryptocurrency is among the top stories in crypto of late. Here are some of the other stories making the crypto headlines.

Paxos Partners with Fierce Finance

Blockchain infrastructure platform Paxos has forged a partnership with financial services app, Fierce Finance. Paxos’ technology will be leveraged to power Fierce Finance’s new digital asset experience. This new offering will combine an FDIC-insured checking account, a no-fee debit card, and fractional stock, ETF, and cryptocurrency trading all in a single app.

“We are the qualified custodian managing the licensing, trading, and technical complexity so that our clients can focus on building a seamless user experience,” Paxos Chief Revenue Officer Michael Coscetta said. “By integrating with Paxos platform, Fierce ensures its users get the best prices with the proper consumer protections in place so that their assets always remain safe and accessible.”

Headquartered in New York, Paxos was founded in 2012. The company reached a major milestone at the beginning of last month when it surpassed ten million active end user digital wallets globally. Earlier this year, Paxos launched an engineering R&D Center in Israel focused on “security and cryptography excellence.” The center will serve as a hub for cryptography researchers and security specialists to develop secure solutions on top of the blockchain.

Paxos has raised more than $540 million in funding. The company’s investors include Oak HC/FT, Declaration Partners, and PayPal Ventures.  

Tax on Cryptocurrency Mining Proposed

If the Biden administration gets its way, the electricity used in mining cryptocurrencies could get a lot more expensive. The White House is proposing a 30% tax to offset the impact of cryptocurrency mining on the environment.

A statement from the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) argues that the “high-energy consumption” of cryptocurrency mining “has negative spillovers on the environment, quality of life, and electricity grids” wherever they are located. A report from the White House released last fall suggested that cryptocurrency mining devours more electricity than the country of Australia. In the U.S., cryptocurrency mining represents between 0.9% and 1.7% of all electricity use. The U.S. is home to approximately a third of the world’s cryptocurrency mining.

Some critics of the proposal believe less in the administration’s concerns over the climate and more in its antipathy toward the cryptocurrency industry in general. Other observers suggest that taxing greenhouse gas emissions from cryptocurrency mining makes more sense than simply taxing electricity use – which can come from clean sources.

If enacted, the tax could yield $3.5 billion over 10 years.

Coinbase Launches International Exchange

Hot on the heels of securing a license to operate in Bermuda, U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has launched its Coinbase International Exchange. The new exchange will give institutional market participants in eligible jurisdictions outside the U.S. the ability to trade perpetual futures.

Perpetual futures are similar to futures contracts in other assets. But there are important differences. Perpetual futures do not have an expiration period – unlike traditional futures contracts. This enables traders to hold on to their positions for longer periods – or even indefinitely. Trading in perpetual futures is not allowed in the U.S. But the market for perpetual futures is sizable. Almost 75% of cryptocurrency trading worldwide last year was in perpetual futures.

Coinbase International exchange listed perpetual futures contracts for both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) this week. The contracts provide 5x leverage and all trades are settled in USDC.

New Digital Asset Venture Fund Coming from Fineqia

Digital asset and fintech investment company Fineqia will launch a new venture capital fund to invest in startups in the digital asset space. The new fund, Fineqia Glass Slipper Ventures (FGSV), will focus on investments in early and growth-stage technology companies. Among Fineqia’s current investments in the industry are digital asset manager Wave Digital Assets LLDC, and blockchain gaming platform company Forte Labs. The fund has identified blockchain infrastructure, decentralized finance, and the metaverse as areas of particular investment interest.

“We have a proven track record of investments that are generating extraordinary returns,” Fineqia CEO Bundeep Singh Rangar said. “An investment fund will give us more firepower to invest in the most promising firms among the scores we see monthly and take advantage of entry valuations not frothy as they were 18 months ago.”

Deloitte Leverages the Blockchain for KYB, KYC

Will the next big thing in decentralized finance come from the underlying blockchain technology or from products like cryptocurrencies? The latest entry in the “innovative blockchain use case” competition comes courtesy of Deloitte Consulting. The firm announced that it has partnered with BOTLabs GmBh to use its KILT protocol to support KYC and KYB processes.

“By offering re-usable digital credentials anchored on the KILT blockchain, Deloitte is transforming verification processes for individuals and entities,” Head of Deloitte Managed Services Micha Bitterli said. “Digital credentials that are convenient, cost-effective and secure have the potential to open new digital marketplaces, from e-commerce and DeFi to gaming.”

Re-usable credentials are stored on the customer’s wallet on their own device. Customers have full control over whom they share their credential with. They can also control which data points on the credential they grant access to. Deloitte digitally signs the credentials and is able to revoke credentials via the blockchain if a customer’s circumstances change.

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BioCatch Secures $40 Million Minority Stake Investment from Permira Growth

BioCatch Secures $40 Million Minority Stake Investment from Permira Growth
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, BioCatch, Daily news, Funding
  • Behavioral biometrics and fraud detection innovator BioCatch has raised $40 million in funding.
  • The investment gives Permira a “significant minority stake” in the Tel-Aviv-based company.
  • BioCatch made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2014.

Behavioral biometrics innovator BioCatch has raised $40 million in funding courtesy of an investment from Permira Growth Opportunities. The capital gives Permira a “significant minority stake” in the New York and Tel Aviv-based company. In fact, along with Bain Capital and Maverick Capital, this week’s capital infusion makes Permira BioCatch’s third largest shareholder.

“Permira is one of the leading global private equity firms in the world, with particularly strong experience in the technology space,” BioCatch CEO Gadi Mazor said. “We believe its deep sector expertise and company-building capabilities will help us to expand our business and strengthen our global position.”

The funding takes BioCatch’s total capital raised to more than $213 million. No new valuation information was provided. BioCatch will use the capital to help support geographical expansion, product development, and potential M&A.

BioCatch is a pioneer in behavioral biometric intelligence and advanced digital fraud detection. Its technology leverages AI and machine learning to collect thousands of data signals to analyze the cognitive intent of users. This enables BioCatch to provide highly accurate insights into the legitimacy of a user’s identity and behavior. Financial institutions using BioCatch’s technology have been able to better fight fraud, accelerate digital transformation efforts, uncover new revenue opportunities, and boost customer satisfaction.

Founded in 2011, BioCatch made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2014. In the years since, the company has grown into a fraud detection leader with a global footprint of 22 countries. More than 100 international banks rely on BioCatch’s technology to fight financial crime and defend themselves against fraud. BioCatch announced early this year that 2022 had been the firm’s “most successful” – with annual recurring revenue growth of more than 40%. BioCatch also revealed that the company added more than 100 leading global banks as customers in 2022 and detected more than $1.5 billion in fraud, saving banks nearly $1 billion.

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh

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Celerant Technology Partners with Buy Now Pay Later Innovator Sezzle

Celerant Technology Partners with Buy Now Pay Later Innovator Sezzle
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Sezzle
  • Retail software company Celerant Technology has partnered with BNPL innovator Sezzle.
  • Celerant will integrate Sezzle’s SezzlePay solution into its platform. SezzlePay enables consumers to pay for purchases in four, interest-free installments over six weeks.
  • Sezzle made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2016.

Retail software provider Celerant Technology announced a partnership with consumer financing solutions company Sezzle. The partnership will enable retailers who use Celerant eCommerce to add Sezzle Pay to their payment choices. This option gives consumers the ability to take advantage of Sezzle’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) financing, with 0% APR. Retailers will also benefit from engagement with potentially millions of Sezzle users, an opportunity that could lead to increased online sales and new customers.

“We’re excited to partner with a leader in the retail software industry and to bring Sezzle’s Buy Now, Pay Later financing to the millions of consumers that shop at Celerant’s diverse ecosystem of brands,” Sezzle co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer Paul Paradis said.

Paradis underscored the popularity of BNPL financing among millennials and Gen Z consumers. He pointed to the fact that BNPL financing charges no interest and no fees when purchases are paid for on time, as well as the ability to use BNPL to build credit, as two factors in favor of the financing option. “It’s a runaway hit,” Paradis said.

Celerant’s eCommerce platform enables retailers to offer Sezzle to customers directly from their website. The process is straightforward. Customers select SezzlePay as their payment option during checkout. This will enable them to split the cost of the transaction into four interest-free payments over six weeks. Sezzle pays the merchant in full at the time of the transaction; funds are direct deposited in the merchant’s account within one-to-three business days. Sezzle also assumes full risk of any missed payments.

“With more consumers turning to instant credit apps to make ends meet, it was important to expand our technology with additional consumer financing options,” Celerant President and CEO Ian Goldman said. “As a popular ‘buy now, pay later’ solution in the industry, partnering with Sezzle provides more options for our retailers to offer their customers payment flexibility and help financially with larger purchases, and in turn increase our retailers’ online sales.”

Sezzle made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring in 2016. The company returned to the Finovate stage two years later for FinovateFall. Sezzle began 2023 as the first BNPL company in Canada to offer free credit-building service to users. The firm also began the year as a profitable company, growing from a net loss of $75.2 million in fiscal year 2021 to ending 2022 with net income in Q4. The turnaround came as a result of major cost-cutting strategies. These efforts included layoffs; a retreat from potential expansion in Asia, Europe, and Latin America; and a renegotiation of merchant fees. Sezzle also benefitted from a premium membership drive that brought on more than 132,000 subscribers.

Founded in 2016, Sezzle is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Photo by cottonbro studio

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Avalara Teams Up with eBay to Bring Cross-Border Compliance Support to Merchants

Avalara Teams Up with eBay to Bring Cross-Border Compliance Support to Merchants
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Avalara, Daily news
  • Seattle, Washingtion-based regtech Avalara has teamed up with online marketplace eBay.
  • Together, the two companies have launched eBay International Shipping, a compliance support solution for merchants operating across borders.
  • Avalara made its Finovate debut as part of our developer’s conference, FinDEVr Silicon Valley, in 2015.

Automated sales tax solution provider Avalara announced a new tool to help make it easier to sell products on eBay and ship them around the world. eBay International Shipping leverages Avalara’s technology to streamline the process of cross-border compliance for merchants on eBay’s platform.

“With eBay International Shipping, we’re making global connections even more accessible, affordable, and profitable, significantly increasing the volume of items available to shoppers in 200+ countries and making it even easier for our sellers to tap a universe of new business opportunities,” eBay U.S. VP and GM Adam Ireland said.

According to Juniper Research, the value of cross-border ecommerce will top $2.1 trillion this year. But the cross-border ecommerce market is not without its complications. Businesses must navigate through a range of customs duties and import taxes in a process that can be both complex and costly. Using Avalara’s software, eBay International Shipping determines Harmonized System (HS) commodity classification codes, identifies item-level trade restrictions, and generates landed cost pricing for more than 200 items hosted on eBay. The new offering will help the platform’s more than five million merchants sell to more than 70 million buyers worldwide.

“With Avalara’s cross-border solutions embedded within eBay’s International Shipping program, we’re able to simplify cross-border compliance complexity and reduce potential customer experience disruptions by providing more transparent landed cost pricing for global buyers and helping ensure parcels meet local customs requirements,” Avalara EVP and GM of Indirect Tax Jayme Fishman said.

Avalara made its Finovate debut at our developer’s conference, FinDEVr SiliconValley in 2015. In the years since, the company has grown into a leading regtech with more than 30,000 customers across 95 countries. Avalara went public in 2018. The firm was acquired in 2022 by Vista Equity Partners in a deal valued at $8.4 billion. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Avalara was founded in 2004. Scott McFarlane is CEO.

Photo by Amanda Grove

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Celebrating Asian-American Achievement in Fintech at FinovateSpring

Celebrating Asian-American Achievement in Fintech at FinovateSpring
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Diversity in Fintech, FinovateSpring 2023

May is Asian-American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month. May is also the month that brings Finovate back to San Francisco for our annual spring fintech conference, FinovateSpring.

To this end – and to officially launch our Asian-American Month Commemoration – we’re highlighting the women and men of Asian-American heritage who will be taking the stage at FinovateSpring May 23 through May 25.

Demo Stage Presenters

Yoshiko Akai

Chief Product Officer, Storied Data

Heang Chan

Co-Founder & CEO, Prelim

Sam Kim

SVP, Head of Banking Platform, Prelim

Main Stage Speakers

Michelle Tran

Co-Founder, NYC Fintech Women – Power Panel: Women in Fintech

Theodora Lau

Founder, Unconventional Ventures – Power Panel: Beyond the Hype: Why Banking in the Metaverse Matters; Power Panel: AI in Action

Brian Chin

Consultant, Santander – Power Panel: From Competition to Collaboration and Co-Creation

Iris Chan

Partner, Mighty Capital – Power Panel: The Future for Blockchain

Duke Chung

Co-Founder and CEO, TravelBank – Power Panel: Achieving Digital Acceleration

Christie Kim

Chief Operating Officer, Persona – Power Panel: Compliance as Leverage

Kurt Lin

Co-founder and CEO, Pinwheel – Power Panel: Walking the CX Talk

Lawrence Lin Murata

Co-Founder and CEO, Slope – Fireside Chat: How Fintech Can Jump on the Generative AI Bandwagon

Rocio Wu

Principal, F-Prime Capital – Power Panel: Achieving Digital Acceleration

Vivian Yeung

Chief Digital & Technology Officer, EVP, Fremont Bank – Power Panel: AI in Action

Katherine Zhang

Investor, Upfront – Regulation, Regulatory Technology and the Road Ahead

Photo by Thirdman

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Making Financial Literacy Fun: A Conversation with Finotta Founder and CEO Parker Graham

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CEO Interview, Finotta

As Financial Literacy Month draws to a close, we reached out to Parker Graham, founder and CEO of Finotta. We wanted to hear his thoughts on what it means to be financially literate at a time of major digital transformation and technological change – both in financial services and in the world writ large.

Finotta enables banks and credit unions to personalize their mobile banking experiences for their customers. Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, and founded in 2018, Finotta helps smaller financial organizations generate new revenue streams, boost user engagement, and compete with larger financial institutions.

Finotta made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateFall.

What does it mean to be financially literate in 2023?

Parker Graham: For many people, managing their finances and staying financially literate is not just a challenge – it feels harder than ever.

With decades-high inflation and historic interest rate hikes, consumers are feeling the heat.  Most workers reported that any salary gains they’ve received in the last year have been outpaced by inflation.  We’re really seeing this hit young people hard. Half of Gen Z and Millennials are living paycheck to paycheck.

Many consumers don’t know what steps to take to get ahead. And with traditional digital banking channels lacking that personalized experience, they aren’t getting the advice they need. Banks and credit unions must prioritize financial education for their customers because they can’t afford to be left behind.

In today’s world, is digital literacy required in order to be financially literate?

Graham: Digital literacy is a huge challenge we’re facing in the banking industry. More than 15 million people are not digitally literate. Consumers should not have to know how to bank online to make good financial choices.

To tackle this, banks should ensure that customer experience is at the forefront of all of their technology decisions.  Banking apps need to be easy to read, quick to navigate, and intuitive – even for individuals who are not digital natives.  This is exactly why we work directly with users when building our technology at Finotta to make sure it is easily accessible, navigable, and understandable.

Banking tech also must go the extra mile and make it personal by providing Personalized Financial Guidance (PFG) to customers. This guides consumers through their financial journey, no matter where they are, by offering tailored advice on how to meet their financial goals.

How can we make sure technology is an enabler of financial literacy rather than an obstacle to it?

Graham: Banks have to remember that acquiring a new digital banking solution isn’t just about technology for the sake of seeming flashy or modern. A banking app can actually help with financial literacy by taking the guesswork out of what customers should do with their money.

Your banking app needs to deliver the right experience, service, or product to the customer based on their individual data. Then, it should offer users concrete suggestions, like opening a new savings account for college tuition, that help them achieve financially healthy lives. The cherry on top is offering in-app rewards, like badges and milestones, that recognize customers for their positive choices and make financial literacy fun.

How does personalization in digital banking help foster financial literacy? How can fintechs help digital banking customers turn insights into action?

Graham: Consumers are looking for financial guidance beyond typical personal financial management tools, which do nothing more than provide fancy pie charts that show a customer’s spending. 

From a consumer’s perspective, getting alerts in their banking app that tell them how much money they spent at Starbucks over the last month (when that money could have gone towards a 401K instead) does nothing more than shame them. It’s essentially saying, “Hey, you’re in a hole.”

Instead, banks can take consumer data one step further by helping them take actionable steps to reach their goals – like setting up monthly direct deposits to save towards retirement.  A bank using a personalized approach can say, “Hey, we see you’re in a hole, and here’s how you can get out.”

Finotta made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateFall. What was that experience like?

Graham: Debuting our technology last year at FinovateFall was incredible. It gave us an opportunity to tell the story of how powerful and impactful our platform is in a room of our customers and peers.

What can we look forward to hearing about from Finotta in the coming months?

Graham: The next few months for us are going to be about scaling with more and more customers. It’s been a journey building our software and now we are focused on replicating our successes with as many financial institutions as possible.

Photo by Taylor Hunt

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Digital Banking Solutions Company Tyfone Raises Capital and Announces Merger

Digital Banking Solutions Company Tyfone Raises Capital and Announces Merger
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Tyfone
  • Digital banking solutions company Tyfone has secured a “significant investment” from Demopolis Equity Partners.
  • The Portland, Oregon-based company also announced a merger with digital banking provider Cubus Solutions.
  • Tyfone made its Finovate debut in 2008 at FinovateSpring.

Digital banking solutions company Tyfone hit the fintech headlines with a pair of big announcements in recent days. First, the company has received a significant investment from Demopolis Equity Partners. The amount of the funding was not disclosed.

Tyfone is also announcing that it has merged with digital banking provider Cubus Solutions. The two companies will move forward under the Tyfone brand. The investment and merger are designed to help accelerate the adoption of Tyfone’s nFinia digital banking platform. The addition of Cubus’ customers, digital solutions, and expertise will help the combined entity better serve financial institutions, helping them boost revenues and efficiency.

“Today success in digital banking – in fact, success in any financial technology – is all about engaged digital experiences and the ability to scale,” Tyfone CEO Dr. Siva Narendra said. “That means scaling up to power digital growth for larger institutions and scaling down to facilitate the smaller ones (to) stay relevant.”

Cubus CEO John-Ashley Paul added: “It is rare to find two companies so culturally well-aligned that also complement each other technologically. Our best-of-breed loan payments, loan skips, e-statements, and rewards solutions will extend the Tyfone digital banking ecosystem, leading to tighter integration and a truly exceptional user experience.”

Tyfone demoed its technology at FinovateSpring in 2008. In the years since, the Portland, Oregon-based company has grown into a provider of market-leading software for credit unions and community banks. This year, Tyfone has announced partnerships with Southwest Financial, a Texas based financial institution with 9,200 members and $81 million in assets; and with Members Advantage Credit Union, a credit union based in Wisconsin Rapids with 11,000 members and $178 million in assets.

Photo by Ruvim Miksanskiy

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Payments Consulting Firm Yeeld Teams Up with Stripe

Payments Consulting Firm Yeeld Teams Up with Stripe
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • Payments consulting startup Yeeld has teamed up with Stripe.
  • Two former Stripe employees – Emily Tsitrian and Mira Boora – founded Yeeld in the fall of 2022.
  • Earlier this month, Yeeld announced a partnership with Merit Software Holdings.

Payments consulting company Yeeld has announced a partnership with Stripe. What makes the partnership interesting is that Yeeld was launched just a few months ago by a pair of former Stripe employees: Emily Tsitrian and Mira Boora. The two financial services professionals are leveraging their more than 24 years of payments experience to help businesses optimize all aspects of the payments process – from managing chargebacks to streamlining payouts. Yeeld’s partnership with Stripe is the most recent example of this effort.

“Payments is no longer a commodity – it’s a strategy,” Tsitrian said. “It involves customer experience, geographic expansion, managing risks, and building for scale. Yeeld is passionate about helping businesses of all sizes achieve their payments-related ambitions, and partnering with Stripe will help (us) to do so faster.”

Yeeld offers service at three tiers: Kickstarter, Premium, and Enterprise. These tiers target tech-enabled SMEs and startups; marketplaces, mid-sized businesses, and e-commerce firms; and established companies, respectively. All Yeeld customers benefit from an initial, deep dive into the company’s current payment operations. This enables Yeeld to determine the best path toward optimizing the company’s system. Companies also receive a customized integration guide, a detailed project plan, as well as developer support and custom training. In its few months of existence, Yeeld already has gained 18 clients and completed 20 projects.

Earlier this month, Yeeld announced its partnership with Merit Software Holdings. Merit Software acquires, manages, and builds vertical software businesses. Yeeld will serve as the firm’s embedded payments consulting partner for Merit’s portfolio companies.

“We are excited to leverage the deep industry expertise from the Yeeld team to further accelerate growth and deliver even greater value to our customers, portfolio, and future acquisitions,” Merit CEO John Burke said.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Yeeld was founded in November 2022.

Photo by Expect Best

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Plumery Raises $4.5 Million for its Component-Based Banking Tech

Plumery Raises $4.5 Million for its Component-Based Banking Tech
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Banking technology provider Plumery raised $4.5 million in seed funding.
  • Tomorrow Ventures, Headline, Seedcamp, and Cocoa Ventures led the investment.
  • Former Mambu CTO and CPO Ben Goldin founded Plumery in 2020.

Component-based banking technology company Plumery has raised $4.5 million in funding. Better Tomorrow Ventures, Headline, Seedcamp, and Cocoa Ventures led the investment. Also participating in the funding were business angels Didier Valet, Ricky Knox, and Alan Morgan. Valet is former deputy CEO of Société Générale. Knox is the founder of Tandem Bank. Morgan is a former senior partner at McKinsey. Ben Goldin, former CTO and CPO of Finovate alum Mambu, founded the company in 2022. Plumery will use the capital to fuel product development.

“The banking industry has changed and continues to evolve every day,” Goldin said. “Today, consumers are looking for a seamless digital onboarding and customer experience, continuous product improvements that are personalized, and reliability when it comes to their bank. However, many traditional banks aren’t able to make these changes as easily as one would think which is why it’s essential that we build a next-generation platform.”

Plumery offers a software overlay that enables banks to develop and launch mobile and web apps faster. Financial institutions can use Plumery’s technology without having to overhaul their existing banking infrastructure. The company expects to launch a publicly accessible version of its solution via a subscription-based model later this year.

Headquartered in Amsterdam, Plumery was founded in December 2022. Goldin, who serves as the company’s CEO, brings more than 20 years of experience to the new venture. He spent more than five years at Mambu as CTO, CPO, and Strategic Advisor. Previously to his tenure at Mambu, Goldin spent more than four years at Backbase – another Finovate alum.

In a LinkedIn post, Headline General Partner Jonathan Userovici explained the role he believed Plumery would play in helping banks innovate better.

“Something we all noticed,” Userovici wrote, “successful tech companies, including some challenger banks, improve their mobile applications up to 5x more frequently than traditional banks. With Plumery, everyone will be able to implement mobile and web apps blazingly fast and at a fraction of current costs.”

Photo by _ Harvey

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Plaid Partners with Gen Z Personal Finance App Buddy

Plaid Partners with Gen Z Personal Finance App Buddy
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Plaid

Gen Z-focused personal finance app Buddy has teamed up with open finance specialist Plaid. The partnership will enable Buddy users to manage their finances and track their spending more easily thanks to Plaid’s open finance APIs. Plaid’s APIs ensure secure connections between users’ financial accounts and financials apps. The integration will allow users to easily monitor accounts and expenses in a single location, as well automate their savings.

“By using apps like Buddy, younger generations can gain better control over their finances and make more informed decisions, helping them to develop healthy habits that will serve them well in the future,” Buddy founder and CEO Olle Lind said. “By teaming up with Plaid, we are making this process quicker and more painless than ever before, helping millions across the world budget and plan for the future they want and deserve.”

Buddy is among the top personal finance apps in the U.S. and Canada. The app has three million users and operates in 175 countries. The Stockholm, Sweden-based company was founded in 2017.

Plaid’s partnership announcement with Buddy came just days after Plaid reported that it was working with fellow Finovate alum Finastra. The two companies announced that Plaid had integrated with Finastra’s Fusion Digital Banking platform. The integration will provide account verification tools to make it easier and more secure for customers to link their financial accounts to financial apps.

“As the world continues to embrace open finance, it is critical that we deliver the services community banks, credit unions, and all financial institutions need to make it simpler and easier for their customers to connect the various pieces of their financial picture,” Finastra Chief Product Officer of Universal Banking Narenda Mistry said.

April has been a busy time for Plaid. The company launched its Instant Payouts feature earlier in the month. The new offering is a real-time payment tool to send funds instantly via Plaid’s Transfer solution. In April, the company also announced a partnership with mobile banking app Monzo.

Plaid has been a Finovate alum since 2014. The company’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Europe. Plaid has raised more than $734 million in funding from investors including American Express Ventures and Bedrock Capital. The company achieved a valuation of $13.4 billion in the spring of 2021. Founded in 2013 by Zach Perret and William Hockey, Plaid is based in San Francisco, California.

Photo by Scott Webb

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Array Launches Debt Manager to Bring Transparency to Customer Accounts

Array Launches Debt Manager to Bring Transparency to Customer Accounts
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Array, Daily news
  • Financial enablement platform Array has launched its Debt Manager solution.
  • Debt Manager provides consumers with real-time information about their debts.
  • Array won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2021. The company won a second Best of Show award on its return to the Finovate stage at FinovateSpring 2022.

Financial enablement platform Array has launched its Debt Manager solution. The new offering is an embedded solution that gives consumers real-time information about their debts. Debt Manager is especially helpful during lead qualification, debt management, and similar processes. The technology helps reduce borrower risk and enhance loan marketing by ensuring that the prospective borrower’s most current credit data is accessible.

“At Array, our vision is to empower every individual to own their financial future by providing access to the right data and tools at the right time,” Array founder and CEO Martin Toha said. “Today’s introduction of Debt Manager is another key step to delivering on that vision by ensuring consumers can secure a loan faster or pay down debt quicker without having to jump through unnecessary hoops to make that possible.”

Debt Manager helps financial services companies negotiate two specific challenges. The first issue is the cumbersome task of gathering and collecting data from a range of financial accounts. These accounts often include credit cards, mortgages, student and auto loans, and more. The second issue is that, without this data, financial institutions can often make “suboptimal decisions” and court “significant risk” in the words of Array VP and GM of Digital Financial Management Products Deepak Sharma.

Debt Manager is the latest addition to Array’s suite of solutions for financial services companies and their customers. The new offering joins Array’s credit and financial management tools like its BuildCredit Loan, HelloPrivacy, and Identity Protect. The company is also moving toward the launch of its Subscription Manager product. This technology gives consumers better insight into their recurring payments. Array reported that 47% of banking customers in the U.S. would find subscription management tools “useful” on mobile banking apps.

The launch of Debt Manager comes one month after the company announced its partnership with FICO. The collaboration will bring FICO scores and credit data to consumers on Array’s platform. “Our partnership with FICO delivers on our promise to provide valuable data with the experience that people want, and it provides banks, credit unions, and fintechs with an embeddable solution to enable them to offer FICO Scores to meet the growing demand for credit score data.”

Founded in 2020, Array is headquartered in New York. The company has raised $67 million in funding from investors including General Catalyst, Battery Ventures, and Nyca Partners. Array won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2021. The company returned to the Finovate stage the following year, securing a second Best of Show award at FinovateSpring 2022.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

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Finovate Global: CFDs, Licenses, and the Latest on Crypto in Central and Eastern Europe

Finovate Global: CFDs, Licenses, and the Latest on Crypto in Central and Eastern Europe
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Finovate Global

One of my biggest takeaways from my conversations about digital assets with delegates at FinovateEurope last month was the idea that new use cases will be among the first signs that the industry has emerged from so-called “crypto winter.”

That bar is likely years away from being cleared. In the meanwhile, crypto exchanges continue to expand access to digital assets for traders and investors. Today’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent developments in the cryptocurrency and digital asset industries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Austria-based Bitpanda announced this week that it now offers CFDs – contracts for difference – for trading cryptocurrencies. CFDs are available for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana on Bitpanda’s platform. These products enable cryptocurrency traders and investors to speculate on both rising and falling prices. The new offering, on the platform under the appropriate name “Bitpanda Leverage,” also gives cryptocurrency traders the ability to leverage their trades 2x.

According to coverage in The Paypers, Bitpanda is well aware of both the risk of “complex financial instruments” like CFDs and the “high risk of losing money” they often bring to traders’ portfolios. Bitpanda also acknowledges that the new products are more suited to short-term trading than longer-term investing. The CFDs have been available to a limited number of Bitpanda customers since late 2022. This week, the company is announcing that the products are being made available to all traders on the Bitpanda app.

CFD trading is not as regulated as trading in other financial products like stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). As such, CFD trading is illegal in the U.S. and U.S. residents are forbidden from opening CFD accounts. The derivatives are traded in markets in the Euro Zone, however, as well as in the U.K., Switzerland, Japan, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, among others.

There are many ways in which Ukraine, which continues to defend itself from Russia’s invasion more than a year ago, is seeking greater integration with its neighbors to the West. This week we can add cryptocurrency regulatory policy to that list.

Ukrainian regulatory authorities announced this week that they would adopt the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation just passed by the European Parliament. Heralded as a major advancement for the cryptocurrency industry in Europe, MiCA seeks to provide uniform regulations and standardized rules for digital assets in the E.U. At present, companies in the cryptocurrency space in the region must negotiate 27 different regulatory frameworks – crippling efficiency and limiting innovation.

“We, along with colleagues from the NKCPFR (National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market) and other regulators, are already working on implementing some provisions of MiCA to make crypto assets legal in Ukraine,” Yaroslav Zheleznyak said. Zheleznyak is the Deputy Chairman of the Tax Committee of Ukraine.

Cryptocurrencies have played an interesting role in Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression. An article at the World Economic Forum last month noted that more than $21 million in cryptocurrency has been donated to pro-Ukrainian war efforts. According to blockchain analytics company Elliptic, $80 million of that amount went directly to support the Ukrainian government.

Cryptocurrency investors and traders in Lithuania have a new exchange to do business with. Crypto exchange Bitget, which is based in the Seychelles, announced this week that it has secured its registration in Lithuania. This will enable Bitget to offer its service in or from the central European nation.

Analysts consider Lithuania to be among the leading countries in the European Union when it comes to legislation helping develop the cryptocurrencyindustry. The country has been praised for the clarity and transparency of its regulations regarding cryptocurrency licensing – as well as a shorter licensing process compared to other countries in the E.U.

“The global regulation of digital assets is advancing on a daily basis, and we actively observe the regulatory changes around the globe,” Managing Director of the Bitget exchange Gracy Chen said. “We have a whole dedicated compliance team in place to focus on various regulatory compliance matters.” In its statement, the company noted that its compliance team has grown by 50% in the last 12 months. Bitget also recently launched a $300 million user protection fund.

Founded in 2018, Bitget serves more than eight million users in more than 100 countries and regions.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia-Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central and Eastern Europe

Middle East and Northern Africa

Central and Southern Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean

Photo by Anthony Beck

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