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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
The Best of Show winners of FinovateFall this year featured both veterans and newcomers, established companies and bold, Millennial-led startups, fintech innovators from as far away as Europe and Latin America, as well as home-grown talent from right here in the U.S.A.
To be honest, we could not imagine a better way to celebrate Finovate’s return to New York!
So please join us in offering a hearty congratulations to the companies selected by our attendees as the FinovateFall 2021 Best of Show.
Array for its personalized consumer credit, identity, and financial wellness tools available via both API as well as embeddable components. Video.
AutoBooks for its small business digital invoicing and online payment acceptance tools for FIs. Video.
Bambu for its B2B robo-advisory platform for financial institutions and fintech disruptors. Video.
Dreams for its banking platform that leverages behavioral science to boost customer engagement and financial well-being. Video.
Horizn for its platform that helps banks accelerate digital banking knowledge, fluency, and adoption. Video.
Infocorp for its Mobile Native App, that brings hyper-personalized experiences for every user in one single bank app. Video.
Long Game for its gamified finance app that helps banks acquire new customers and increase engagement with their Millennial and Gen Z customers. Video.
Ocrolus for its intelligent automation technology that transforms documents into data analytics, helping lenders make timely, high quality credit decisions. Video.
PwC for its Customer Link solution that turns customer data into smarter action and provides a 360 degree view of your customers. Video.
Thanks to all the demoing companies, our sponsors and speakers, and our attendees for making our return to live fintech conferencing such a resounding success. Keep in touch with us via the Finovate blog for updates on our upcoming events next year in London for FinovateEurope, in San Francisco for FinovateSpring, and beyond!
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 nine 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 2021 conferences are below:
“Wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome …” to Day Two of FinovateFall 2021!
From the smiles on the faces of the hundreds who joined us yesterday at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square to the thunderous applause that greeted virtually every demoing company and keynote speaker, yesterday was a wonderful reminder of both how much we missed hosting live events and how much so many of you have enjoyed attending them.
Today on Day Two we plan to keep the momentum going with another full day of fintech demos, insightful keynotes, and fireside chats. And to finish off the day – in addition to our Best of Show Awards Ceremony – we’re hosting a quartet of free-wheeling, no-holds-barred, Champagne Executive Boardroom sessions held under Chatham House Rules. With topics ranging from New Technology and Fighting Financial Crime to Open Banking and how to take advantage of “the Single Biggest Wealth Transfer in History,” these cocktail-hour sessions are not to be missed.
Here’s the schedule for today. All times Eastern Standard.
8:00am – 8:50am | Registration, Breakfast, and Networking
The day we’ve been waiting for is here. After more than a year and a half of all-digital events, Finovate is LIVE!
With more than 75 innovative fintechs scheduled to demo their latest technologies and 1,100+ registered attendees (900+ in person), we could not be more excited for the start of FinovateFall this year.
Our return to the live stage begins bright and early Monday morning and continues through Wednesday afternoon with live demos, dynamic panel discussions, and keynote addresses from some of fintech’s most insightful and accomplished analysts and entrepreneurs.
For those who are joining us in New York at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, we look forward to seeing you in person this week. We also want to assure you that we take the challenges of COVID-19 seriously, and have taken a number of steps to comply with local guidelines and requirements to provide the safest possible environment for this week’s event.
To this end, please review our FinovateFall 2021 At-Event Safety FAQ, which provides information on vaccination requirements, masking policy, and other additional measures we are following.
And if you can’t make it here, you can still enjoy Finovate anywhere you’ve got an internet connection via our Digital Pass offering.
However you plan to join us, here are the essentials for Day One of FinovateFall 2021 that all attendees – in-person and virtual – need to know. All times Eastern Standard.
8:00am – 8:50am | Registration, Breakfast, and Networking
The Road to Greater Financial Inclusion in Latin America
This week’s Finovate Global Reports takes a look at the drive for financial inclusion in Latin America. BN Americas this week featured a research survey conducted by Peruvian financial services company Credicorp and research firm Ipsos. The study queried approximately 8,400 households in seven Latin American countries: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, and Peru.
The key takeaways from the study underscored both the need for more aggressive efforts to boost financial inclusion, as well as the concern that those most in need of financial services are also those who are the most marginalized in society overall. The survey highlighted special challenges when it comes to better engaging women, seniors (people over the age of 60), as well as people living in rural locations and those with “limited education and income” in the mainstream financial ecosystem.
Credicorp Head of Corporate Affairs Enrique Pasquel said that promoting financial inclusion was a critical component of improving the business climate in Latin America. “If Latin America continues to have societies where not all enjoy the same benefits,” Pasquel said, “it’s difficult to see how a business can be viable in the long term.”
Education is one of the tools Pasquel sees as especially valuable in driving greater financial inclusion in the region. Many of the study’s respondents who had low levels of engagement with their country’s financial system pointed to a number of issues – from a lack of interest to an inability to see the benefits to a sense that the services available were not necessary to them – as chief obstacles.
Nevertheless, Pasquel believes that the benefits of financial inclusion – such as the increased safety in enabling individuals to reduce their use of cash – are significant enough to overcome many of these reservations. He called on the private sector to play a greater role in financial inclusion efforts.
Checking In on Fintech Innovation in the Middle East
IBS Intelligence took a look at the fintech industry in Egypt and highlighted a quartet of companies – Fawry, MoneyFellows, Paymob, and Yomken – that it believes represent the pinnacle of fintech in North Africa’s most populous country.
The article noted that recent changes in the financial services industry in Egypt are likely responsible for what has made fintech one of the fastest-growing sectors in the country. The Arab republic passed major new banking legislation in 2020 that, in addition to mandating new minimum capital requirements for Egyptian banks, also provided new guidance for both the Egyptian banking sector, as well as for the country’s growing population of e-payments startups, fintech companies, and cryptocurrency firms.
With a tip of the hat to the four major Egyptian fintechs noted by IBS Intelligence, this week’s Finovate Global Lists is sharing eight other fintechs from the country that have made recent Finovate Global headlines. While not as well known as the quartet highlighted above, we think the eight Egypt-based fintechs below are worth keeping an eye on in the months and years to come.
Cassbana: Helps underserved communities obtain financial identities via micro-lending and an AI-powered, behavior-based scoring system.
Dayra: Provides financial services to un- and underbanked gig economy workers and micro-businesses.
Digital Finance Holding: Supports and promotes fintech innovation in Egypt’s non-banking financial services industry
Flextock: Offers technology-enabled, fast, and affordable fulfillment solutions for businesses.
Hollydesk: Provides a SaaS platform for SMEs that supports daily expense and accounts payable management.
Khazna: Serves underbanked communities in Egypt with a solution that provides convenient and secure smartphone-based financial services.
MoneyHash: Offers a single platform to enable access to payment and financial services across the Middle East and Africa.
Telda: Provides a P2P payment service designed for Egypt’s Millennial and GenZ population.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
FinovateFall 2021 is right around the corner (Monday, September 13th through Wednesday, September 15th). That means there’s no better time than the present to pick up your ticket and save your spot as Finovate returns to New York City for its first live fintech conference in more than a year.
We’ve already shared a ton of Sneak Peeks into the innovative technologies our demoing companies will have on display next week. To further whet your appetite, here’s a quick look at some of the keynote speakers and fireside chatters who will share their insights on the hottest topics in fintech.
The Transformative Role of AI in Financial Services – Tuesday, 9.14.21, 10:20am
Jeremy K. Balkin – Managing Director, Global Head of FinTech and Innovation, J.P. Morgan. LinkedIn. With Maria Gotsch – President and CEO, Partnership Fund for New York City. LinkedIn.
The Platform Economy is Coming – How Much of a Threat are the Tech Giants to Incumbents? – Tuesday, 9.14.21, 10:35am
How are fintechs helping financial institutions make successful digital transformations? What is required in order for financial institutions to maximize the opportunities available from increasingly ubiquitous enabling technologies to better engage and serve their customers and members? What lessons can we draw from those banks, credit unions, and other financial services providers that have prioritized digital transformation over the past several months?
We checked in with Mithu Bhargava, Senior Vice President and General Manager for NCR’s Global Professional Services Organization to talk about the current pace of digitization in financial services, and what financial institutions are doing to meet their customers’ growing expectations for shared, seamless experiences.
What are the most significant changes NCR has seen in the banking landscape over the past year?
Mithu Bhargava: The pandemic served as an impetus for banks to digitally transform. While the industry has been talking about digital-first banking for years, Covid-19 firmly accelerated this transformation. At NCR, we were prepared to manage the shift; we have been evolving toward a digital-first and self-directed banking approach for years. As a result, we were able to help banks and credit unions continue to serve their customers and keep operations running even while social distancing. Moving forward, we believe digital-first banking will be the route institutions must take to survive.
Over the past year, we’ve also noticed a growing customer demand for cryptocurrency, which is why NCR recently announced that we’ve entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LibertyX, a leading cryptocurrency software provider. We plan to offer the LibertyX capabilities as part of our solutions for banks, retailers and restaurants across both physical and digital touchpoints. This will ultimately provide a complete digital currency solution for our customers.
It’s time for financial institutions to leverage flexible, modern digital technologies to navigate changing business needs and demands. At NCR, we firmly believe that digital-first banking doesn’t just mean adopting new digital banking tools, a common misconception. Rather, digital-first banking is a shift in mindset; it requires re-imagining an institution’s holistic digital strategy to evolve alongside customer expectations, digitizing all aspects of the financial journey and connecting digital and physical experiences. Financial institutions that focus on creating these shared, seamless experiences are able to differentiate their brand and expand existing customer relationships while attracting new ones.
Obviously digital experienced a significant uptick because of the pandemic – is that here to stay? What role will branches play in the future?
Bhargava: Yes, we believe that this trend in digital channels will not be reversed; consumers that traditionally shied away from digital (for example, older generations) have now seen how easy and convenient it is. While the branch will always remain a critical touchpoint, the pandemic has forced the traditional branch model to evolve. Branches are elevating in terms of functionality and services offered. Expect to see more banks and credit unions approach the branch from an advisory perspective, serving as a place for customers and members to go for personal financial advice and complex services—not routine transactions.
We also anticipate the rise of digital bank branches that leverage self-directed technologies like ITMs and ATMs. Such technologies provide convenience and speed to customers while creating efficiencies for the institutions, enabling them to cost effectively extend service hours. More banks and credit unions are expanding the ITM functionality offered, incorporating more video teller capabilities to maintain the human connection. There will be a shift in how institutions manage these machines, as well; more will transfer the burden of machine maintenance and updates to a trusted partner via the cloud. Such a hosting option makes the self-directed banking channel simpler by offering a better, digital-first customer experience while reducing the total cost and onus of ownership. Branches are evolving to build profitable relationships and long-term loyalty.
What trends should bankers watch out for here in the second half of the year?
Bhargava: Customers expect a fast and frictionless experience at every touchpoint, and they’ve proven they’re not afraid to walk away when those expectations aren’t met. Looking forward, there will be a continued (and accelerated) convergence of digital and physical channels. What have traditionally been channel-specific experiences are being made ubiquitous across the bank through software that can connect those experiences.
Self-directed banking will also continue to take off. This approach puts the customer in the driver’s seat, allowing them to decide how they would like to engage with their bank or credit union across all channels and touchpoints. The need for a customer to ever have to work in silos is eliminated, creating a seamless, connected experience. Self-directed banking empowers the customer with flexibility and choice and those banks who embrace the shift will be well positioned for success heading into 2022 and beyond.
Everyone talks about digital transformation, but many still struggle to get it right. What are some key tips and strategies to make it work?
Bhargava: I have three thoughts on this. First, too often, we see bankers jump on emerging technology trends versus really evaluating their current gaps and needs. The first key to digital transformation is to focus on your bank’s overall approach; don’t just pick a technology but pick a specific problem area to focus on. Those that leverage rationalization to determine which processes are ready to be digitized right now and which need to be reimagined entirely before digitizing will be best positioned to navigate digital transformation. Digitizing a flawed process typically just makes a cumbersome process faster.
Second, once your bank has the right mindset for digital transformation, it’s time to focus on the people. Engaging the right leadership team with the relevant skillsets will be a huge asset. Digital transformation should be something that’s embraced organization-wide, not just at the leadership level. Make sure to secure buy-in from stakeholders across the institution. In addition to leveraging appropriate people from within the organization, most banks and credit unions find significant value in partnering with technology providers where appropriate to extend reach and come to market better and faster.
Setting goals and clearly defining a realistic digital transformation roadmap from the onset will allow the institution to evaluate progress. Technology should be used to help effectively monitor and measure performance against goals to help keep everyone on track. User feedback should also be evaluated throughout when applicable, not just at the very end. Finally, it’s important to remember to keep it simple. Complexity on the institution’s end can result in friction for customers.
The competitive landscape continues to intensify and grow more complicated – how can community and regional FIs protect their market share?
Bhargava: The embrace of digital-first banking quickly and completely will position banks and credit unions for success. Why? Digital-first banking creates new and exciting opportunities for traditional institutions who now find themselves up against a slew of emerging fintech companies adept at swiftly closing the widening gaps between yesterday’s and tomorrow’s consumer banking needs. And the world has changed. We will never be the same as we were before March 2020, at least when it comes to how consumers interact and connect with their service providers.
Personalization will also be critical moving forward. Those that continue to leverage marketing campaigns to the masses will quickly turn off customers. Instead, outreach should be intentional and tailored. Institutions have a wealth of data available to them, and it’s time to use it for insights to guide customers in making the smartest financial decisions.
Digital-first banking is all about merging digital and physical experiences to meet customers’ timely financial needs and making it simple to serve the customer across all channels and touchpoints—without breaking the back office. Those that can do this while leveraging their data to personalize engagements will be well equipped to protect their market share and relevance.
“We respect Payveris as a leader in the money movement space and we’re excited about this partnership because it will help our joint customers have full control over almost every aspect of the experience for money movement,” MX co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Brandon Dewitt said. “Payveris has a long track record of strength, security, and reliability in lowering the friction to the user experience, significantly reducing operating costs, and future-proofing their IT investment.”
The integration, announced this week, will enable organizations to offer intelligent digital payment and money movement services, as well as use Payveris’ MoveMoney platform and suite of open APIs, SDK widgets, and SSO products – all embedded into an integrated money movement offering.
Payveris VP of Product Management Chirag Patel said that the partnership was a response to growing demand from financial institutions for automation in billpay and money movement. Patel noted that this challenge was especially acute for banks and credit unions that are facing new competition from technology companies and retailers that are offering banking services. “Banks and credit unions are looking to have a major role in delivering the best experience possible for their users,” Patel said. “With MX’s industry-leading financial data platform and modern connectivity, we’re making the payment experience seamless – the way consumers move and manage money – and simpler than ever.”
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Cromwell, Connecticut, Payveris was acquired by cloud-based billpay technology company Paymentus last month for $152.2 million. In July, Payveris announced that it had optimized the P2P functionality on its MoveMoney platform, enabling users to send money to anyone with a U.S. bank or credit union account using only the recipient’s mobile phone number of email address. In May, the company reported that its MoveMoney platform supported a total of more than 225 credit unions, including 27 CUs added in the past year alone.
Named to the Forbes Cloud 100 last month, Lehi, Utah-based MX includes partnerships with finance platform and “virtual goal mall” Goalry, credit union giant BECU, and fellow Finovate alum Dwolla among its more recent collaborations. The company connects more than 16,000 financial institutions and fintechs with its data connectivity network, and powers 85% of digital banking providers – in addition to thousands of banks, credit unions, and fintechs. Be sure to check out the latest from MX as the multiple-time Best of Show winner returns to the Finovate stage next week for FinovateFall 2021.
Could the death of credit turn out to be fintech’s greatest gift to humanity?
From the Cancel Student Debt movement to the rise of Buy Now Pay Later payment options, Millennials have led the way in a broad rejection of interest-based consumer financing. For those of us who vividly remember the carnival-like atmosphere of credit card companies aggressively courting new students on college campuses during the first weeks of the school year, this youth-led shift away from debt-fueled consumption has been an impressive development.
Today we learned that Point, a challenger bank based in San Francisco, California, has raised $46.5 million in Series B funding to support development of its “anti-credit card.” Point’s account and debit card offer users many of the same benefits and rewards they get with traditional credit cards, while providing them with the kind of payment flexibility they have come to appreciate with debit.
Like most debit cards, Point offers direct deposit, ATM withdrawal access, and the ability to top up your Point card with funds from another debit card. The Point card also supports contactless payments courtesy of an embedded RFID transponder, instant money transfer, and card spending controls.
However, the Point card also offers a number of rewards typically not found with debit card products. These include 5x points on subscription services such as Netflix and Spotify, 3x points on delivery services like DoorDash and ride-sharing services like Uber, and 1x points on all other transactions ranging from gasoline purchases to groceries.
Another interesting feature of Point’s rewards system is the way the company offers limited-time, cash-back rewards with specific, popular brands. Among the company’s current offerings are 15x points with Nike, Reformation, and Italic, as well as 5x points with Amazon, Whole Foods, and Starbucks.
Point also offers insurance for smartphone loss or damage, trip cancellation, and car rentals, as well as for new purchases if damaged or lost within 90 days. Becoming a Point account and cardholder costs $49 a year, and deposits are backed by Radius Bank, which was recently acquired by Finovate alum Lending Club.
Point’s Series B round was led by existing investor Valar Ventures. Also participating in the funding were Breyer Capital, YC Continuity, and Human Capital. Combined with a Series A investment of $10.5 million in the summer of 2020 and a previous seed funding round, Point has raised $60 million in total equity capital. The company said that the financing will enable it to add talent, launch new functionalities, and introduce new products.
Low-code fintech platform provider Veritran has secured a strategic growth investment from Trivest Partners, a private equity fund based in Miami, Florida. The specific amount of the investment was not disclosed, but the company did report that funding gives the Buenos Aires, Argentina-based firm a valuation of $225 million.
“Today marks a major milestone for Veritran’s team, as we embark upon a new chapter of becoming the next fintech unicorn,” Veritran CEO and co-founder Marcelo Gonzalez said, “while continuing to democratize access to the digital economy.” Gonzalez highlighted Trivest Partners’ successful track record of working with “founder-owned businesses” and said the collaboration would help Veritran expand “into new geographies and reach new customers.”
Founded in 2005 and maintaining offices in the U.S., Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, and Guatemala, Veritran offers a low-code platform that helps companies integrate new, enabling technologies into their legacy systems. Companies looking to enhance customer engagement via digital channels ranging from mobile banking and digital wallets seek out Veritran’s technology to future-proof their retail and corporate banking operations, as well as digital payments and onboarding processes.
With 50 bank clients and 25 million users, Veritran processes 25 billion transactions a year on its platform. In August, the company announced that it had partnered with Visa to promote push payments, tokenization, and Click to Pay projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The previous month, Veritran teamed up with behavioral biometric-based online fraud detection platform Revelock to help banks reduce fraud losses and call center costs. The partnership with Revelock – a Feedzai company – followed Veritran’s collaboration with another biometric technology company, FaceTec, which brought its facial recognition technology to the Buenos Aires-based firm’s low code platform.
Veritran’s funding announcement comes less than a month before it makes its return to the Finovate stage at FinovateFall in New York. The company will join what may be the largest contingent of Latin America-based fintechs ever assembled at a Finovate event (see below).
FinovateFall 2021 takes place at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City, September 13 through 15. For more information, including how to attend our autumn fintech conference live or on-demand, visit our FinovateFall hub today.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
The company that strives to be America’s most-loved pharmacy is the latest retailer to get deeper into the banking business. Courtesy of a partnership with InComm Payments, Walgreens announced today that its bank account and debit card product, Scarlet, is now live. The new card is powered by Mastercard, issued by MetaBank, and available exclusively at more than 9,000 Walgreens locations in the U.S., as well as online and on the Walgreens mobile app.
In addition to credit and debit solutions, Scarlet offers Walgreen Cash rewards, and personal financial planning and payment tools ranging from early direct deposit and billpay to mobile check capture and money transfer to other Scarlet accountholders. Maria Smith, VP of Payments & Financial Services at Walgreens, put the new offering in the context of other financial services initiatives from the company, including the Walgreens mobile wallet, remittances, ATMs, third party banking services, and the company’s “recently launched myWalgreens Credit Card.”
“With a focus on our customers’ health and wellbeing,” Smith said in a statement “Walgreens is pleased to expand our financial services offerings with Scarlet, and further expand the broad spectrum of financial solutions that are accessible to the customers, patients, and communities we serve.”
The latest evolution in the 12-year partnership between Walgreens and InComm was announced back in the spring, and was heralded as part of the drugstore chain’s “alternative profit strategy” and a “broader initiative” to offer a wider range of services to its customers. The collaboration between the two companies, the latter a Finovate alum since 2011, also supported the relaunch of Walgreens’ branded gift card program, including boosting distribution of Walgreens’ gift card offering – physical and digital – across B2B, loyalty, rewards, and e-commerce channels.
“We’re honored that Walgreens has selected InComm Payments’ financial services solutions to provide further benefits to its customers and communities,” InComm Payments President Stefan Happ said earlier this year when the collaboration was announced. “This new product offering will establish Walgreens as a destination for financial services, building on Walgreens’ legacy as a one-stop shop for pharmacy and convenience.”
Courtesy of San Francisco, California-based fintech Prelim, community banks and credit unions will have new tools to connect with enabling technologies and systems to enhance their offerings to their customers and members. A specialist automating the customer experience for financial institutions of all sizes, Prelim has unveiled a new proprietary framework technology that, with a single line of code, will enable smaller FIs to connect their core systems with mobile and commercial banking, digital account opening, and treasury management solutions.
“We enable community FIs to more effectively compete in the marketplace by providing a modern, efficient customer journey by leveraging the easy-to-use API connectors,” Prelim founder and CEO Heang Chan said. In a statement, Chan highlighted the operational and resource challenges that most community banks and credit unions must overcome in order to provide the same high-level of digital customer service as their larger, more tech-savvy rivals. “By distilling system interfaces down to a single line of code, we are bringing a new level of accessibility, control, and convenience to financial institutions as they implement their digital roadmaps,” Chan explained.
Founded in 2017, Prelim has raised $2.1 million in seed funding from investors including S2 Capital, Fuel Capital, and Liquid 2 Ventures – as well as angel investor Max Altman and Flexport founder and CEO Ryan Petersen. A Y Combinator alum, Prelim unveiled enhanced digital account opening functionalities for business banking accounts in May, as well as a Status Center tool to make it easier for financial institutions to collect and manage business client data to facilitate pre-approvals and small business loan applications. The company unveiled its enhanced capabilities to support treasury origination and management services in June.
Prelim includes Pacific Western Bank, Climate First Bank, and Advantage Credit among its customers. The company says that some of the biggest banks in the country use its white-labeled, low-code/no-code technology to automate and enhance the digital experience.
From the renewed emphasis on contactless commerce to the promise of real-time payments, the business of facilitating transactions for goods and services is as hot a subsector of fintech as any other. To this end, we caught up with Jeff Kump, Head of Payments for recently rebranded CSG Forte, a unified payments platform based in Allen, Texas, to talk about innovations in payments, the power of enabling technologies, and the role played by companies like CSG Forte.
Since 2006, Kump has been tasked with leading and growing CSG Forte’s operational and cross-functional teams. Additionally, he has proven instrumental in advancing CSG Forte’s corporate development and growth strategy, serving as Forte’s COO and CFO before the company’s acquisition by CSG in 2018. During his tenure at Forte, the company was recognized by the Inc. 5000 as one of America’s Fastest Growing Companies for eight consecutive years. The company is an alum of our developers conference, FinDEVr, having hosted presentations on payment technology at events in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
What problem does CSG Forte solve and who does it solve it for?
Jeff Kump: To start, we offer one of the most complete and customizable payments solutions in the world, enabling companies to scale digital payments smarter and grow their business faster while also reducing costs.
Offered as a unified end-to-end payments platform, our technology was purposefully engineered to make it easy for companies and integrated software providers to set up, integrate, quickly adapt to changing needs and scale fast—because speed so often translates to success. We have done this by managing the entire payment lifecycle within a single platform, fueled by modern APIs and RESTful architecture that transforms their payments operations into a competitive business strategy.
This agile foundation has also helped us to succeed across hundreds of industries. It can be difficult to find a partner both competitive on price and legitimately equipped to provide the custom solutions necessary to succeed. Our team leverages deep yet specific channel expertise to support our customers’ verticals, including security, compliance, and integration.
Our unique approach to payments has enabled us to grow rapidly – outperforming larger competitors and transforming payments from an expense to a critical growth driver. From 2010 to 2018, Forte was, for example, listed on the Inc. 5000 list as one of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies. Today, we work with over 70,000 merchants across hundreds of industries in North America.
What impact did the COVID-19 pandemic have on your business? What are some of the biggest takeaways from 2020?
Kump: When COVID hit, many companies were forced to transform how they interact and support their customers and employees. The pandemic also had a lasting impact on the payments industry, but maybe not in the way that many expected.
While contactless and mobile payments certainly received their fair share of attention, it was the rapid rally around electric payments that was critical to the success of social distancing, stay-at-home orders and bill payments. Merchants and governments across a range of verticals turned to CSG Forte to get smart in e-commerce – quickly enabling their websites to handle online orders, introducing store-specific apps that allow their customers to shop more easily from home or encouraging pay-by-phone.
We also saw a surge in self-service payments kiosks and anticipate this interest in these kiosks will increase for businesses and consumers alike who want to arm themselves against future emergencies, rely less on cash, and encourage social distancing habits post-pandemic. Kiosks are a flexible solution, offering a breadth of payment options to support both people using cash (including underbanked populations) and payers who prefer to avoid human interaction. Moving forward, you will see a rise in VR (Voice Response)-enabled and Conversational AI-enabled kiosks that minimize the number of times payers need to touch the screen or keypad.
Related to the rise of contactless payments, it has not all been hype. As consumers have returned to their normal in-person shopping habits, more and more merchants have turned to CSG Forte in the last year to put in place the point-of-sale infrastructure that supports contactless options and mobile pay.
Which of the main payment trends – digitalization, tokenization, contactless, the security/fraud challenge etc. – will have the most impact on payments in the near term? What will businesses need to do in order to successfully take advantage of these trends?
Kump: We think that digitalization is the most important trend for businesses to follow and act on right now – paving the way for the rise in virtual cards, contactless, and other payments advancements.
Reinforced by COVID, industries are shifting from paper methods to digital processes, and more transactions are taking place online. Digital payment solutions can improve security, accuracy, efficiency and profits, giving businesses a competitive advantage in a digital economy. For instance, ACH payments are more secure and considerably faster than paper checks, cost less to process, and leverage advanced technologies to protect against check fraud, data breaches, and identity theft.
The challenge of digitalization is addressing the security concerns it presents. With increasing digitalization, hackers gain more access to sensitive data, leaving individuals and enterprises vulnerable. Over half of U.S. merchants have faced a data breach at some point – in 2017, over 19% reported an incident. About 60% of consumers say they will actively avoid businesses that have experienced a recent data breach, especially when it involves credit card information.
With that in mind, businesses should invest in technologies such as End to End (E2E) encryption, EMV, and tokenization that can mitigate risk related to fraud and security breaches caused by bad actors. E2E encryption can be used alongside digital platforms that support point-of-sale (POS) transactions and IVR phone payments; the technology hides payment information and converts it into an unreadable code as it is transmitted across the payment network that is decrypted with a private key upon reaching the intended destination. Merchants who have POS devices that accept contactless payments are able to securely transmit payment data using EMV technology that works by generating a one-time transaction code. The code is unique to each purchase, eliminating the fraud risk of duplicate credit cards that often occurs with magstripe cards. Tokenization is used for eCommerce, recurring and automated transactions, and stored cardholder data. Tokens replace the payment data with a randomly generated code that can only be exchanged for real data by the payment processor that stores it. These are often used by merchants that offer automatic/recurring payments like subscription- or membership-based services. Tokens are easy to use and effective for the security they provide. Any cybercriminal that gets their hands on tokenized data will find it unreadable, as only payment processors can exchange tokens for real data, ensuring both external and internal protection.
Implementing secure technology such as E2E encryption and data tokenization can help protect businesses from enduring the negative and costly impact of fraud and data breaches that can also cause reputational harm to their brand. CSG Forte has several solutions that are out-of-box and/or easy to integrate and can reduce the scope and burden of managing PCI and Nacha compliance requirements. Businesses that do not have these protections in place should engage a trusted payment processor, such as CSG Forte, to assist with implementing these necessary security measures.
CSG Forte announced a partnership with CivicPlus this spring. This reflects one trend – government modernization – that was accelerated by the pandemic. Can you tell us more about the partnership, including how it came about?
Kump: Government modernization is a hot topic indeed. With many offices closed to the public in 2020 and into 2021, government agencies turned to CSG Forte to quickly evolve the way they do business. In response to sky-high demand, we doubled down on our partnerships and innovations that empower the government vertical in the last year – joining forces with CivicPlus, gWorks, SeamlessDocs, and Accela, to name a few. In 2020, we were also named a preferred partner by Nacha for Government Agency ACH Payment Gateways.
CivicPlus and our CSG Forte team have been bumping into each other for a couple of years now, having been involved in similar projects with local municipalities and state governments. After a few of these encounters, and one where we helped them to quickly get some new accounts deployed, the idea of a true partnership truly took root – and is what we announced this spring.
By partnering with CivicPlus, we can offer over 4,000 local governments a full end-to-end payments solution that accelerates the evolution of traditional payments services and meets the needs of today’s digital-savvy citizens while providing key capabilities needed to drive an industry-leading online payments experience. This includes:
Enhanced security: E2E encryption protects sensitive card data throughout the transaction lifecycle
Seamless payments: Secure, online payments received instantly through an intuitive, easy-to-use platform
Check processing with verification: Gives government agencies the ability to accept checks with confidence, providing checking account validation. Verification capabilities meet new requirements set forth by Nacha
Updated payment status: Automatically records the payments status to keep the system updated in real-time
What else can we expect from CSG Forte over the balance of 2021?
Kump: First off, we just rebranded the business. Previously known as Forte Payments Solutions, the holistic CSG Forte rebrand includes a new logo, website, and social pages that position CSG’s payments business for rapid growth into new regions and across the hundreds of verticals it serves.
As we look at innovation and product enhancements for the remainder of the year, our focus at CSG Forte is to simplify the customer experience and improve their journey. Consumers are increasingly interested in Apple Pay and Android Pay, among others, so we are enhancing our product roadmap to include digital wallet options for merchants. Additionally, we are transforming the way that we manage transaction monitoring to ensure a seamless processing experience for merchants.
Our customer-centric approach is also focused on developing solutions that minimize compliance burdens such as Nacha’s “Supplementing Fraud Detection Standard” mandate, which impacts many of our merchants who leverage ACH services, as well as accelerating value delivery to merchants by reducing onboarding time so they can begin processing transactions faster. We will continue to evolve our payments platform to align with the voice of the customer and ensure we are not only meeting but exceeding their expectations, making ordinary customer experiences extraordinary.
Jeff Kump is Head of Payments at CSG and leads the newly rebranded CSG Forte business, where he oversees go-to-market strategy and new opportunities in the global payments market. Kump previously served as Head of Operations for Forte, focusing on continuous business process improvement, risk and fraud management and providing an unparalleled customer experience.
