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
What have the companies that have won Best of Show at FinovateFall in recent years been up to since receiving top honors from our Finovate audiences?
With FinovateFall 2021 right around the corner, we thought now would be an excellent time to check in with some of the celebrated alums from our most recent autumn events.
2020
Q2, which won Best of Show honors at FinovateFall 2020 for its online digital marketplace that enables collaboration between fintechs and financial institutions, acquired fellow Finovate alum ClickSWITCH in April of this year.
Also in April, FinovateFall 2020 Best of Show winner Monit secured $5.2 million in seed funding for its finance app that gives small business owners insights and personalized guidance to help them manage their businesses better. The round was led by TTV Capital.
Lendsmart secured pre-seed funding in a round led by INV Fintech in February. The investment came after the company earned a Best of Show award at FinovateFall 2020 for a demo of its AI-driven technology that brings automation and transparency to the lending process.
2019
Zogo, which leverages partnerships with financial institutions to promote financial literacy among the young, raised an undisclosed sum a little over a year after making its Best of Show winning appearance at FinovateFall 2019.
Winning Best of Show in its FinovateFall debut in 2019, digital charitable giving platform Pinkaloo was acquired by philanthropic services firm RenPSG in the spring of 2021.
Multiple-time Best of Show winner MX, which picked up its latest Best of Show trophy at FinovateFall 2019, secured $300 million in Series C funding in January of this year, driving its valuation to $1.9 billion.
Digital customer service innovator Glia, another company that has earned multiple Best of Show trophies from Finovate audiences – including at FinovateFall 2019, raised $78 million in January of this year.
Cinchy not only raised $10 million in Series A funding after a Best of Show winning demo of its data collaboration platform at FinovateFall the previous autumn. The Canada-based company also secured an additional $10 million in funding in May of this year, as well.
2018
White-label digital banking solution provider Meniga, which picked up a Best of Show award at FinovateFall 2018, secured a $11.8 million investment this spring in a round led by Velocity Capita and Frumtak Ventures.
In a Series A round led by Canaan Partners, Bumped raised $10.4 million in new funding last November. Earning a Best of Show award in its debut at FinovateFall in 2018, the company enables brands to give their customers free stock for their purchases, turning shoppers into shareholders.
FinovateFall returns to New York City next month, September 13 through 15. To get your ticket and save your spot, visit our FinovateFall hub today. Register by September 3rd to save up to 12% off your ticket.
Moven’s platform is powered by core processing technology from fellow Finovate alum Q2. CorePro, as the technology is named, will give these community banks the ability to build a solution with a front-end based on financial wellness and a backend able to interact with a variety of legacy core systems.
Keith Mansfield, Chief Operating Officer with the Louisiana-based b1 BANK, underscored how the partnership with Moven will enable the institution to offer its customers new tools to enhance their financial wellness. Mansfield added that working with Moven will also help the $3.9 billion AUM bank gain the kind of customer insights that will enable it to “compete with both larger banks and fintech competitors.”
Citizens Bank of Edmond ($350 million in assets) CEO and President Jill Castilla was even more direct, highlighting both the importance of “deliver(ing) exceptional products and exceptional customer service in an increasingly digital manner” as well as the key role that community banks play in the financial lives of a sizable number of individuals and families.
“No one is more skilled at developing relationships and meeting customer needs than community banks,” Castilla explained. She praised both Moven and Q2 as companies that not only understood this reality but also were “committed to bringing a first-class digital experience to underbanked and underserved communities in need.”
The initiative announced this week is not the first time Moven and Q2 have collaborated. Most recently, in the fall of 2020, the two companies teamed up to offer a turn-key digital bank-in-a-box that can be deployed by financial institutions in as few as 30 days. Combining financial data aggregation and savings tools from Moven with Q2’s CorePro cloud processing technology, the new offering provides real-time alerts and notifications, the ability to issue savings and demand deposit accounts, as well as instant external account verification, wishlist savings, and an emergency account.
“Community financial institutions are frustrated with their legacy core provider(s) and want flexibility and affordability in delivering solutions that empower the consumer,” said Bryan Clagett, industry expert and advisor who helped bring Moven and Q2 together for the project. “Digital banking, as we know it, is evolving quickly and bringing together fintech organizations that have complementary competencies is key to the future of the financial services industry.”
Courtesy of Blackhawk Network, championship-winning professional athletes aren’t the only ones headed to Disneyland. The branded payments solution provider announced late last week that it is leveraging its proprietary ScanIt solution to power retail ticket purchases using QR codes. Moreover, among the first customers of this new offering is none other than Disneyland, which will offer QR code ticket sales in major retailers throughout the state of California.
“Shoppers’ comfort with QR codes exploded in the last year,” Helena Mao, VP of global product strategy at Blackhawk explained. “Now, as consumers return to in-person entertainment, we are pleased to continue the innovation around QR codes with the introduction of entertainment and amusement park ticketing.”
Amusement parks are only one use case of Blackhawk’s technology. The company’s solutions can also be applied to other experiences that have historically relied on paper tickets, such as music concerts, museums, zoos, and other forms of live entertainment. Contactless, QR code-based payments also support the public’s growing preference for purchasing goods and services in the analog world the same way that they do in the digital world. Research conducted by Blackhawk, for example, suggests that 73% of consumers surveyed would prefer “online” payment methods – even when shopping “in-store.”
“Our technology affords retailers the luxury of a content selection that is no longer hindered by physical space,” Mao added. “And it gives shoppers access to a broader selection of digital content, such as e-tickets and digital gift cards, within a convenient purchase experience.”
To this end, Blackhawk Network has spent 2021 forging partnerships with a variety of companies. This year, the firm has teamed up with eGifting company Givingli, supermarket Tops Friendly Markets, digital asset marketplace Bakkt, and apparel retailer UNTUCKit. Most recently, technology from Blackhawk Network has been deployed to enable both PayPal and Venmo bring additional digital payment options to leading supermarket retailer Giant Eagle.
Blackhawk Network was founded in 2001, and has been a Finovate alum for almost ten years. A publicly traded entity on the NASDAQ – under the ticker “HAWK” – Blackhawk Network has a market capitalization of $2.5 billion. This year has featured a number of C-suite changes for the Pleasanton, California-based company, appointing former Google executive Nikhil Sathe as Chief Technology Officer in February, Cory Gaines as Chief Product Officer in May, and David McLaughlin as Chief Financial Officer in June.
Ramp’s 5-in-1 approach to enterprise spending management offers zero-fee corporate cards, accounting automation, billpay (including invoices, approvals, and payments), as well as expense management and real-time reporting that delivers insights that can be key to uncovering further savings opportunities. The platform offers automated expense reporting that includes collection and verification of more than 90% of receipts, and smart-rule powered automated reconciliation which, along with multi-entity and custom field support, enables accounting teams to close books up to 86% faster. Ramp integrates out-of-the-box with more than 100 different accounting, productivity, and security software packages from QuickBooks and Xero, to Slack and 1Password, to Google Suite and Okta.
According to company co-founder and CEO Eric Glyman, Ramp customers are saving 3.3% on average after switching to Ramp. This comes courtesy of a combination of savings insights, real-time spend reporting, and a 1.5% cashback policy. “This is tangible money saved that customers are reinvesting into activities that actually grow their business,” he said.
In addition to its funding announcement, Ramp also announced an acquisition. The company purchased “negotiation-as-a-service” platform Buyer which helps facilitate big-dollar business costs such as annual software contracts. The acquisition was the first for Ramp, which was founded in the spring of 2019; terms of the transaction were not immediately disclosed.
In a blog post at the Ramp website, Glyman noted that the funding raised, as important as it is, was not “the main news.” Instead, Glyman underscored the value of the financing automation platform Ramp is building, a platform that will help business save “even more time and money that we’ve done to date.” Glyman added that this will enable the company to move from providing savings insights based on the past to instead being “able to proactively save you money before you spend.” Everything from helping companies save money on travel expenses to enabling them to keep software costs low are on Ramp’s radar.
There were many lessons drawn from the economic response to the COVID pandemic in 2020. Among them was the role that digital technology can play in helping facilitate financial assistance to small businesses coping with lockdowns, quarantines, and a workforce wary of exposure to a deadly virus.
As many of our worst concerns about COVID-19 have begun to subside and economies have started to return to something approximating normalcy, the drive to make financing easier for individuals and small business remains an important part of a financial inclusion conversation that predates the pandemic. This is one of the reasons why we should expect to see more partnerships like the one announced today between Texas-based Cooperative Teachers Credit Union and AI-powered credit decisioning platform provider Scienaptic.
Courtesy of the new partnership, Cooperative Teachers Credit Union (CTCU) will be able to make faster, more accurate credit decisions for its members, as well as offer a range of additional financial options to them. Founded in 1953 “by teachers and for teachers,” CTCU currently serves more than 7,000 members and their families in East Texas and has more than $124 million in assets.
“Through the years, CTCU has grown in assets, in members, and in offerings,” the credit union’s president and CEO Tim Miller said. “We are excited to partner with Scienaptic and build upon this growth by tapping its AI-powered credit decisioning platform. Scienaptic’s AI will enable us to offer enhanced credit access to our members and improve their financial well-being.”
New York-based Scienaptic helps banks and credit unions move beyond outdated credit decisioning tools such as credit algorithms and traditional underwriting technologies that provide financial institutions with high credit loss rates and a subpar experience for potential borrowers. In contrast, Scienaptic drives traditional and alternative data through a powerful, preconfigured predictor library and explainable AI models to deliver more informed “yes/no” credit decisions, more accurate credit scoring and pricing, as well as more appropriate credit line levels for consumers. A boon for both credit underwriting and SME lending, Scienaptic’s platform is available as a hosted SaaS offering to keep capex costs low for its clients.
“By leveraging Scienaptic’s AI enhanced decision-making capabilities,” Scienaptic President Pankaj Jain said, “CTCU is positioned to create more approvals faster and strengthen member relationships, all while delivering an exceptional customer experience without increasing risk.”
The collaboration with CTCU is only the latest partnership Scienaptic has forged in recent weeks. In the month of August alone, the credit decisioning platform provider announced teaming up with automobile financing specialist Right Decision Financial Services, Oregon’s InRoads Credit Union, and the 140,000+ member Credit Union of Colorado.
For many, the economic inequality and low financial literacy that plague a country like South Africa are reasons to look elsewhere for fintech opportunities. But for New York-based Wahed, these same features are reason for not only optimism, but for investment and expansion.
The company, parent firm of a leading halal financial investment platform, announced this week that it has been granted a new regulatory license from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), South Africa’s financial markets regulator. The license will enable Wahed to launch its investment app in the sub-Saharan nation, making it easier for South Africans to grow their finances in a manner consistent with their cultural preferences and values.
“We are looking forward to making an impact in South Africa,” Wahed CEO Junaid Wahedna said. “We know we can help bridge the wealth divide in South Africa through our products. We combine fintech and values to create simple, accessible, and halal products – we are honored to be trusted and to launch in South Africa.”
With more than 200,000 customers in the nine different jurisdictions around the world, Wahed brings affordable and accessible investing to populations that are often overlooked and unable to use traditional investment solutions. The company enables individuals and families to invest in stocks and sukuks (Islamic bonds) – as well as in real estate and gold. Wahed offers free portfolio recommendations and the ability to invest in multiple accounts that may represent different investment goals – from saving for higher education to buying a first home. And with low, $100 account minimums, Wahed’s portfolios offer diversification among asset classes; efficiency and low cost; and optimization using modern portfolio theory to maximize returns based on the customer’s risk profile
Founded in 2015 and going live in the U.S. and the U.K. two and three years later, respectively, Wahed launched the first ever Halal equity ETF in 2019. By 2020, the company had topped more than 100,000 customers around the world. With its arrival in South Africa, Wahed looks forward to being able to serve the more than 446 million Muslims and others on the continent who need investment opportunities that are consistent with their faith and values.
“We are delighted to provide financial products that put the customer first,” General Manager for Wahed in South Africa Rashaad Kalla said. “South Africa has a thriving fintech ecosystem, an established banking sector, and a population that is hungry to reap the benefits of a new and better way to invest.”
Wahed has raised $40 million in funding from investors including Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures, Rasameel Investment Company, Dubai Cultiv8, BECO Capital, and Cue Ball. In June, the company announced new U.K. General Manager Umer Suleman.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Also participating in the Series B were Obvious Ventures, Foundation Capital, and Core Innovation Capital.
One is designed to help middle class families and individuals better manage their finances – without spending money on fees or requiring minimum balances. The company offers a high-yield savings account with a 1.00% APY, free ACH bank transfers, access to 55,000 no-fee Allpoint ATMs, and early access to earned wages when enrolled in direct deposit. One’s Pockets feature helps middle class families better organize their finances and pay bills by managing their money in Spend, Save, and Auto-Save categories. The latter Auto-Save category enables One accountholders to earn 3.00% APY on up to 10% of their direct deposit amount up to $1,000 per month.
“Stretched middle-income households and working families deal with financial stress on a daily basis and are largely unsupported by current offerings,” One CEO Brian Hamilton explained. “Every day we are marching towards changing this landscape to better serve customers and challenge the antiquated practices and uncompetitive pricing of traditional banking products. One offers features that can make a lasting financial impact for hard working people.”
In addition to helping accountholders better manage the money they make and save, One also offers tools such as its Credit Builder solution to enable them to improve their ability to secure affordable financing. Credit Builder allows accountholders to automatically build (or rebuild) their credit scores every time they use their One card. After linking their card to their Credit Builder Pocket, accountholders will automatically have money subtracted from their Credit Builder Pocket’s available balance and have those funds held back in order to make a complete, on-time and in-full payment to cover the cost of the transaction. As these payments are reported to primary credit bureaus, the account holder benefits from the positive impact the consistent, on-time payments have on their credit score.
Accountholders who are not eligible for Credit Builder can take advantage of One’s Credit Line offering. The Credit Line offering gives accountholders a low-cost, flexible financing option with a monthly grace period before interest (1% per month or 12% APR) is owed.
One was founded by Hamilton and former Intuit and PayPal CEO Bill Harris, who was also the founding CEO of Personal Capital. The company’s banking services are provided courtesy of Coastal Community Bank, an FDIC institution. One claims that its accountholders have saved more than $2 million via its auto-saving feature since the company’s launch.
Financial data platform MX announced a collaboration with 1.2 million-member BECU (Boeing Employees Credit Union) to build a new mobile app feature called Quick Save that will help members boost their savings. Piloted last year with BECU members that had low savings account balances, Quick Save helps increase savings via an easy-to-use “slide to save” module that enables frequent, small dollar amount transfers.
“BECU is continually innovating and leveraging technology to improve our members’ experience and empower them financially,” BECU Director of Digital Strategy Liz Wagner explained. “It’s been inspiring to see Quick Save go from a concept to a fully functioning tool that members in this pilot are using to build their savings.”
The pilot project was conducted – and evaluated – in coordination with the Financial Health Network (FHN). Over the course of five months, FHN determined that BECU members using the new solution had transferred more than $2 million into savings accounts, representing an 18% increase in savings balance for the credit union’s low-balance savers, and a 26% increase in money movement via mobile transfers. Wagner credited the “combined power” of all three parties involved for both helping build and measure the effectiveness of the Quick Save offering, adding that the solution would “meaningfully improve our members’ financial health.”
Quick Save is only the latest example of the relationship that the Utah-based fintech and BECU have cultivated. More than five years ago, BECU went live with Helios by MX, a cross-platform framework that enables device- and platform-agnostic, full-featured digital banking.
“When it comes to mobile banking, every option we looked at functioned about the same,” BECU VP of Digital Banking Howie Wu said after the technology had been implemented. “We saw Helios as a chance to stand out and provide a very different experience.” Wu highlighted digital money management, aggregation, budgeting, and alert notifications among the offerings available via the framework – “all features that would enable our members to be financially strong,” Wu explained. Within 18 months of its deployment, BECU reported a 170% increase in billpay, a 56% increase in money transfers, and a 22% increase in check deposits.
Headquartered in Tukwila, Washington (a suburb of Seattle) and founded in 1935, BECU has assets of more than $26 billion. The institution is the largest credit union in Washington State and the fourth largest credit union in the U.S.
“BECU and MX have been aligned partners for years, both resolute in our determination to help strengthen the financial well-being of BECU members and their community,” MX Chief Customer Officer Nate Gardner said. He called Quick Save “yet another example of BECU’s wholehearted commitment to financial strength” as well as delivering “intelligent and personalized money experiences for the hundreds of thousands of members they serve.”
This summer, as part of our Finovate Fintech Halftime Review, we helped make the case for the U.S. midwest as an under-recognized source of fintech innovation.
Today, our conversation with Nicole Lorch of the First Internet Bank is a reminder of what “America’s Heartland” has to offer in terms of leveraging technology to make online banking a reality for small businesses and families. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Indiana, First Internet Bank was the first state-chartered, FDIC-insured financial institution to offer exclusively online banking services. At the same time, First Internet Bank has continued to emphasize the importance of personal connection and service to the community.
We caught up with Ms. Lorch recently to talk about First Internet Bank, the evolution of online and digital banking, and her goals as the institution’s new President and Chief Operating Officer.
You joined First Internet Bank as Director of Marketing at its launch in 1999. How has the idea of an “Internet bank” changed over the years?
Nicole Lorch: At the time of our launch, we operated as a direct-to-consumer bank with a fairly standard lineup of products: checking, savings, CDs, and credit cards.
While we actually were the first state chartered, FDIC-insured bank to operate entirely online, a number of competitors quickly emerged. However, many of them couldn’t make it work or were absorbed into another entity:
Compubank (Acquired by NetBank)
Netbank (Closed by OTS, 2007)
Wingspan Bank (Closed by its parent, BankOne, in 2001)
ING Direct (Divested U.S. operations, sold U.S. relationships to Capital One)
Security First Network Bank (Acquired by Royal Bank of Canada)
Telebank (Acquired by E*Trade)
Even with our early successes, many industry pundits believed that moving to more complex banking services, like mortgage and real estate lending, could not be done on a direct-to-consumer, nationwide basis. While we considered ourselves trailblazers in the new world of digital banking, it was critical that we created processes that allowed us to function in a sustainable, repeatable, and compliant way. As a result, we were able to efficiently – and profitably – become leaders in lending.
Imagination has always been fundamental to our existence. Our innovative approach to banking has continued to play an essential role in the development of First Internet Bank – and with it our ability to build a national lending platform with digital DNA behind it.
How has the challenge of educating the public about the Bank’s offerings changed from a time when there were very few if any “Internet banks” to now when the idea is more commonplace?
Lorch: One thing is certain: it is much easier for people I meet to wrap their heads around the concept of a branchless bank now than it was 22 years ago! The world has changed, and consumers have adapted and embraced the digital realm. From shopping and ordering food to conducting financial transactions, it’s all available instantly at our fingertips. But we need to remember, this is a very human business, not one that should be labeled “contactless.” We still pride ourselves in delivering the personal service our customers deserve.
Consumer demand and the way people want to access their money has moved in the direction we predicted: more electronic transactions, fewer cash-based transactions … with so few paper checks these days.
What are your first priorities as President and Chief Operating Officer?
Lorch: My new role with First Internet Bank is evolving. But our strategic agenda remains unchanged – which is good for our team because we move fast and get a lot of things done! We continue to concentrate on improving the customer experience by creating new solutions that foster greater efficiency and ease of use, strengthening our existing business and personal banking relationships, and diversifying our revenue streams. We have a great team that responds to challenges head-on, which makes achieving all our priorities much easier.
What are some of the bigger challenges that financial institutions like First Internet Bank are facing right now?
Lorch: Disruptive fintechs will continue to challenge our industry, bringing with them new consumer expectations and innovation. Fintechs have the ability to disrupt four primary categories of any traditional bank’s business: market share, margins, information security/privacy, and customer churn. However, financial institutions still maintain a greater sense of consumers’ trust.
Many fintechs do not face the same regulatory demands that chartered, insured depositories do, nor do they face the shareholder expectations of a publicly-traded company. Having a leaner virtual operation, more flexibility through not being regulated as a deposit-gathering institution and, in many cases, significant venture capital cash allows fintech startups to attract customers with competitive pricing and to move in a more nimble fashion when market conditions dictate.
We must continue to evolve and look for opportunities where they exist, to meet the changing demands of consumers. There is, however, one important area where we can continue to win: by providing great, high-touch (human) service that backs up our customer-facing technology.
What do your small business customers need most from First Internet Bank? And what kind of help do your retail customers most frequently request?
Lorch: Our customers need us to be creative. Sometimes they think they need a line of credit when they really need a term loan. Sometimes they think that they need a conventional product, when they need an SBA loan. We listen to their needs and customize our responses to their situation, instead of talking at them or selling them something they don’t need or want. If we can’t help them, we go so far as to make introductions to other financial institutions that can help them.
Most importantly, we have always believed that customers need surety of execution and respect for their time. On a loan request, a fast “no” is better than a long, drawn out “maybe.” Whether they are buying a business or a home, they need to know they can count on us to get them to the closing table – and closed – on time.
What of the popular enabling technologies have been most effective in helping First Internet Bank grow its top-line and better engage customers?
Lorch: AI allows us to leverage the data we have to acquire new customers as well as enhance our relationship with existing ones by identifying and offering products, services, features, and partnerships better tailored to their evolving needs. It also assists in fraud prevention.
APIs allow us to extend our platform and rapidly integrate new features, partnering with best-in-class service providers to create a robust, constantly-improving user experience while limiting the burden of legacy technologies and in-house coding.
What are some of the bigger initiatives the bank is pursuing this year?
Lorch: The last eighteen months have really tested our nation’s small business owners. We are poised to help entrepreneurs rebound and accelerate their growth. The pandemic pulled forward consumer acceptance of digital delivery of services by several years. We have a small window, albeit brief, to capitalize on the opportunity to layer our more than 20 years of direct-to-consumer know-how, with a next-generation user-interface, to give consumers a better way to bank.
We are growing our small business lending team while we overhaul the customer experience and our back office processes. It’s like flying the plane while we’re tuning the engine and refurbishing the cabin, but it’s necessary to ensure that our customers receive the level of service they expect from us.
In a round led by Sequoia Capital Global Equities, Chime Financial has raised $750 million in new funding. The investment gives the San Francisco, California-based company a valuation of $25 billion and likely anticipates the firm’s debut as a publicly listed company next year.
Also participating in the Series G round were SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, along with existing investors Dragoneer Investment Group, General Atlantic, and Tiger Global Management. Chime CEO and co-founder Chris Britt said that the new funding would help support the company’s growth as well as the launch of new services. Chime also introduced a trio of independent directors to its board: Cynt Marshall, CEO of professional basketball team the Dallas Mavericks; Jimmy Dunne, Vice Chairman of investment bank Piper Sandler; and Sue Decker, founder and CEO of community building platform Raftr.
Founded in 2013 by Britt and current Chief Technology Officer Ryan King, Chime gives consumers a digital-first alternative to traditional banks. Chime offers an online checking account with no hidden fees or overdraft charges, and a spending account with a Visa debit card with no minimum balance or monthly fees. The company has an early payday service for customers who choose direct deposit, no fee money transfers, and a “credit builder” program with a secured, Visa-branded credit card to help customers improve their credit scores.
Chime’s banking services are provided courtesy of a partnership with The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank (issuer of Chime’s Visa Credit Builder Card). With more than eight million account holders – and on track to reach more than 13 million account holders this year – Chime reached EBITDA profitability last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CNBC.
From the snap election called by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the country’s recently expressed eagerness to accept refugees in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, there have been more than a few reasons for the Great White North to make news headlines of late.
Now fintech fans in particular have another reason to pay attention to what’s going on in the chronically under-discussed nation. FreshBooks, a cloud accounting software company based in Toronto, Ontario, has raised $130 million in new funding. This gives the firm a valuation of more than $1 billion, becoming Canada’s latest fintech unicorn.
FreshBooks CEO Don Epperson said that the funding, which included $50 million in debt financing, was an “injection of confidence” in the company’s mission to help small businesses digitize their accounting operations. Epperson added that the capital will fuel investment in markets that are experiencing significant increases in regulation and help those small business owners better “manage their finances” by “simplifying workflows.”
The Series E round was led by long-time FreshBooks investor Accomplice. Also participating in the funding were J.P. Morgan, Gaingels, BMO, and Manulife. New investor Barclays, one of FreshBooks’ platform partners, was also involved in the financing.
Founded in 2003, FreshBooks is active in more than 160 countries, including Croatia, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the U.S. – as well as its native Canada. The company’s technology has helped more than 30 million people better manage their finances, billing operations, and payments, while increasing customer engagement with its ten-time Stevie award-winning customer support. In July, the company announced that it was teaming up with the Ontario government in a data-sharing partnership to help understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses. In May, FreshBooks co-founder Mike McDerment was featured in Profiles in Leadership where he discussed the company’s origins from its humble beginnings in “his parents’ basement” to the 500-employee company that is now among the top cloud accounting software firms in the world.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
It seems like only yesterday when Finovate VP and host of the Finovate Podcast Greg Palmer was introducing his first guest (Jim Bruene, founder of Finovate, by the way). Nearly two years later, having sat down with fintech innovators and influencers from Jim Marous and Louise Beaumont to Brett King and Tosin Agbabiaka – Palmer is celebrating the 100th episode of the Finovate Podcast.
In this centennial edition, Palmer discusses the Three Gold Rules of Fintech that he has learned from his years in the industry and the conversations he’s had – both on-air and at our Finovate conferences – with professionals from every corner of the fintech and financial services ecosystem.
Launched in 2019, the Finovate Podcast began as a way to continue and extend the conversation beyond the live demoes and insightful observations of our fintech conferences. In the months and years since, the program has grown into one of the key forums for fintech’s most visionary entrepreneurs and thought leaders to discuss the most important trends in our industry – from the rise of challengers and neobanks to the growing emphasis on financial inclusion and bringing banking to underserved communities around the world.
Check out the 100th episode of the Finovate Podcast featuring the Three Golden Rules of Fintech – and then visit the Podcast archives for hours of great conversation and valuable insights into trends driving one of the fastest growing fields in technology today.
