Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

AlphaPoint Launches Solution for Initial Coin Offerings

AlphaPoint Launches Solution for Initial Coin Offerings
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: AlphaPoint

With the price of Bitcoin rising past $2,000 this morning and India in the midst of a currency unrest, people are starting to pay attention to digital currencies. All of this makes for perfect timing for digital currency exchange platform AlphaPoint to introduce a solution enabling clients to launch, manage, trade, and maintain Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).

Founded in 2013, AlphaPoint powers digital asset networks and maintains the AlphaPoint Distributed Ledger Platform (ADLP), the platform on which the asset issuance and custody solution is based. The ADLP, which interoperates with more than 20 ledger technologies, enables users to host crowdfunding events, such as ICOs. The ICOs issue newly created digital assets on the exchange, which is hosted on AlphaPoint’s infrastructure.

“This is an exciting time for technology to drastically change the way companies gain access to capital,” said Joe Ventura, Founder and CEO of AlphaPoint. “ICOs create a new source of funding to accelerate innovation, and we are proud to be building the technology platform to support those initiatives.”

Along with today’s announcement, AlphaPoint reported that it joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, which tripled in size today with a slough of 85 others joining the initial batch of 30 members that piloted the alliance. The company also joined the Hyperledger consortium, an open source collaborative effort to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies.

At FinovateEurope 2015 Ventura, along with AlphaPoint’s VP of Sales, Scott Bambacigno, debuted version two of its digital currency exchange platform. Earlier this year, the company completed a successful blockchain trial with Scotiabank, which tested its internal system with a range of use cases for AlphaPoint’s Distributed Ledger Platform.

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Algomi Acquires AllianceBernstein’s ALFA’s Fixed Income Liquidity and Analytics Tool

Algomi Acquires AllianceBernstein’s ALFA’s Fixed Income Liquidity and Analytics Tool
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Algomi, Mergers & Acquisitions


In a deal announced this week, Algomi, a company that offers tools for buy-side and sell-side trading in fixed income securities, has acquired ALFA (Automated Liquidity Filtering & Analytics) from AllianceBernstein. The acquisition includes the IP and technology behind ALFA as well as the brand name. As a part of the acquisition, AllianceBernstein is taking an undisclosed, minority stake in Algomi, as well as a seat on the company’s Board.

Originally developed as an in-house liquidity tool, ALFA is now called Algomi ALFA. The solution provides cross-market information on liquidity and trading to give the buy-side a real-time view of the entire bond market. Algomi, which AllianceBernstein selected via a competitive process to take over ALFA, will become the sole marketer of Algomi ALFA, which will be sold to buy-side fund managers.

At FinovateFall 2014, Algomi debuted Honeycomb, a buy-side GUI that helps investors see which dealer is best to facilitate illiquid block trades without disturbing the market. Founded in 2012, Algomi has 140 employees with offices in London, New York, and Hong Kong. Earlier this year, the company received a $10 million investment from Euronext, boosting its funding to more than $10 million after Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer invested an undisclosed amount of capital in a 2016 round.

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Additiv Lands $25.5 Million Investment

Additiv Lands $25.5 Million Investment
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: additiv, Funding

Digital financial solutions company additiv has scored $25.5 million (CHF21 million) this week. The investment, which comes from BZ Bank and Patinex, marks the company’s first round of funding.

The investment will help additiv meet demand for its products across Europe and Asia. In the press release, the company’s founder and CEO, Michael Stemmle said, “This funding will finance our international expansion and help strengthen our management team. It will also fuel our production of cutting-edge SaaS/cloud-based products that ensure our clients are ahead of the curve. It really is crunch time for the sector and this funding allows us to be at our best when our clients need us most.”

Founded in 1998, additiv offers a digital financial suite, robo advisor and advisor services, as well as digital mortgage tools. At FinovateEurope 2016, the company’s CEO and founder, Michael Stemmle, along with Adriano Lucatelli and Marc Sauter from Descartes Finance, demoed how Descartes Finance built a digital private banking platform on top of additiv’s digital finance suite. The technology enables self-directed investors to implement portfolios based on allocation and optimization methods.

additiv’s Digital Finance Suite (DFS) recently began powering Natwest’s new robo-advice offering, which launched for the U.K. savings and investment market. This comes after the company piloted similar projects with Coutts, a private bank, and RBS Group. We featured the company earlier this year in our roundup of top business-to-business wealth tech players.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: additiv, Algomi, BioCatch, Clover Network, Finn.ai, Google, ID.me, Kony, Market EarlyBird, Outsystems, PayPal, ProfitStars, TickSmith

On Finovate.com

  • Market Earlybird Helps Market Professionals Identify Trading Opportunities First.
  • Additiv Lands $25.5 Million Investment
  • Algomi Acquires AllianceBernstein’s ALFA’s Fixed Income Liquidity and Analytics Tool

Around the web

  • Kony partners with KMC controls to bridge mobile apps and IoT
  • Clover now enables Android Pay’s Smart Tap
  • TickSmith releases a Python API for the new generation of financial data scientists
  • ID.me wins Trailblazer Award at 1st Annual K(NO)W Nodes Awards Show
  • Finextra: Google and PayPal partner for mobile shopping by fingerprint
  • ProfitStars introduces Automated Website Governance Solution
  • FinovateAsia Best of Show winner Finn.ai earns spot in Payments Canada’s pitch competition, Dragon’s Den.
  • OutSystems adds Tom Schodort and Bill Macaitis to its board of directors.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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Top 3 Things to Know about Fintech Climate Change

Top 3 Things to Know about Fintech Climate Change
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinDEVr 2017 London, FinDEVr London 2017 Roundtable

The new regulatory environment in the U.S. and around the world has the potential to introduce a major climate change for the fintech industry. Here’s a quick look at what you need to know about how the rising tides of regulation can impact your bank, your business, and your bottom line.

Regulation is always changing

With the new administration in the U.S., we’ve already seen revisions in some sectors, and there is a strong possibility of disruption in others. For example, the Durbin Amendment that was passed in 2010 may soon be repealed. No matter which side you’re on, you need to prepare your bank or business for the reality of a possible repeal. And it’s not only new leaders that have the power to change regulation– in the U.K., the advent of APIs will soon mandate open banking through pending PSD2 regulations. What’s next? Perhaps we’ll see biometric authentication requirements or a mandated, standardized approach to cryptocurrencies. All you can know for sure is that things won’t stay the same.

Serve local, think global

Fintech isn’t immune from the global economy– in fact, the opposite is true. Fintech is actually driving the global economy. Because of this, even if your financial services company doesn’t operate on a global scale, international regulations will still alter your business. That’s because regulations not only play into the “animal spirits” that dictate consumer behavior but more importantly, they adjust incentives, which can fundamentally change a company’s business model.

Adapt and win

You don’t need to be a first-mover when it comes to regulation, but if you fail to adopt policies or adapt to changes, it’s possible you may face fees, penalties, or worse– loss of consumer and/or client trust. Taking the time to study pending regulations and learn about ways to overcome a challenge they may pose or take advantage of an opportunity it presents can pay off in the end.

With rampant regulatory hurdles and minefields, it’s never been easy to operate a financial services company, and 2017 is no exception. TrustedKey CEO, Prakash Sundaresan, will have more on this topic during a roundtable discussion at FinDEVr London next month. Sundaresan will lead an exploration of Fintech climate change: Top challenges & regulatory impacts facing the financial services environment.

To learn more about how to participate in the roundtable discussion or the presentations, check out FinDEVr.com. Register before May 27 to get a discounted ticket.

 

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LendUp Gives the Underbanked What No Traditional Bank Will

LendUp Gives the Underbanked What No Traditional Bank Will
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: LendUp

Socially responsible lender LendUp is expanding its L Card credit card offering this week. The San Francisco-based company has built on its joint venture partnership with Beneficial State Bank to quadruple the availability of the L Card, a credit card for the underbanked community that is designed to help members establish their credit files and grow their scores.

Originally launched in April of 2015, the L Card boasts low fees, offers users incentives for paying off their balance early, and provides materials to boost their financial education. Unlike major credit card companies, LendUp presents credit card applicants with an instant decision. And in order to better build users’ credit scores, LendUp reports to all three major credit bureaus.

Further differentiating its credit card offering, LendUp doesn’t require a security deposit, has an annual fee of $0 to $60, and offers an APR that ranges from just under 20% to just under 30%. Even if a customer makes a late payment, LendUp will not raise the fee. In fact, late fees, which are capped at $7, are only issued after a 14-day grace period.

Sasha Orloff, LendUp co-founder and CEO said that LendUp and Beneficial State Bank are “completely aligned on the same North Star.” Orloff added, “Our partnership is a perfect example of bringing our house-built technology, product design, and educational experiences to bear for a similarly mission-driven bank and well-deserving consumers across the country.”

Though overall the card may be good for consumers, the introductory line of credit, capped at $300 to $1,000, could possibly lead to a high credit utilization ratio, which lowers consumers’ credit scores. However, the line of credit has the potential to double after a year of responsible use so if the company’s payoff incentives and financial education work as they are supposed to, it may actually help consumers in the long-run.

Founded in 2011, LendUp began offering loans specifically designed to help consumers build credit using education, gamification, and a transparent fee structure. The company’s CEO and Co-Founder, Sasha Orloff, and CTO and Co-Founder, Jacob Rosenberg, launched the RESTful API lending platform at FinovateSpring 2014, a year after winning Best of Show at FinovateSpring 2013 for debuting the LendUp Ladder. Named to the H2Ventures and KPMG Leading 50 category of the Fintech 100 list last October, LendUp received a $100 million credit facility from Victory Park Capital this spring.

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FinDEVr APIntelligence

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: aixigo, Capital One, eSignLive, eWise, FinDEVr APIntelligence, Fiserv, Green Key Technologies, Harborx, LeanXcale, Outsystems, SoFi, Streamdata.io, Trulioo, Xero

Our first developers conference in the U.K. is just over a month away. Join us for two days of developer-focused presentations, demonstrations, and conversations at FinDEVr 2017 London, June 12 and 13. Stop by our registration page today and save your spot.

On FinDEVr.com

  • Trulioo Bolsters Regtech Solution with Mitek Partnership

Alumni updates

  • Trulioo Bolsters Regtech Solution with Mitek Partnership
  • Greenkey Technologies announces interconnection partnership with iMarket.
  • FinDEVr alum OutSystems expands to Asia with new office in Japan.
  • Ohio-based First National Bank of Pandora chooses core account processing platform from Fiserv.
  • Xero announces new partnership with Capital One to give SMEs more control over their data.

Stay current on daily news from the fintech developer community! Follow FinDEVr on Twitter.

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Swaper’s P2P Marketplace Guarantees Returns

Swaper’s P2P Marketplace Guarantees Returns
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Finovate Debuts, Swaper

Screen Shot 2017-04-06 at 12.50.13 PM

Latvia-based Swaper seeks to make P2P investing as simple as possible. The company offers European investors access to unsecured consumer debt in Poland and Georgia, and has plans to expand its reach across the globe. What’s unique about Swaper is that every loan comes with a buyback guarantee. That means that even if a borrower fails to pay back a loan on time, the investor still receives their principal plus interest on the loan.

Founded in 2016, the company’s CEO, Iveta Brūvele, and COO, Elīna Rasmane, debuted the Swaper mobile app at FinovateEurope 2017. The Portfolio Invest feature of the app lets users invest in a single click. And because they can access their investments from their smartphone, users can control their portfolio anywhere and anytime.

Company facts

  • Originated 6,430 loans worth €1.3 million and saw investments from 161 active investors in November of 2016
  • Offers buyback guarantee
  • Boasts interest rates of 12% to 14%

(above) Iveta Brūvele (CEO) and Elīna Rasmane (COO) debut Swaper on the FinovateEurope stage in London

We interviewed Swaper CEO Iveta Brūvele (pictured) after FinovateEurope for a quick look at Swaper and its future plans.

CEO_Iveta_Bruvele

Finovate: What problem does Swaper solve?

Brūvele: The main difference from other investment opportunities is the high income that we offer our investors. The second is the BuyBack guarantee that is available for all loans on our platform. These two Swaper values are constant, and our aim is to keep them constant so investors can be sure that rules are not going to change, and they will receive the interest rate and the BuyBack guarantee that was promised.

The Swaper mobile app solves availability and easy usability problems too– we are the first of our closest P2P marketplace competitors who have launched a mobile app, and 80% of our customers use it.

Finovate: Who are your primary customers?

Brūvele: Investing on Swaper now is available to private individuals and companies from the European economic area. Our largest markets for now are Germany, Latvia, Spain, Austria, and Great Britain. And we also have plans to widen our customer base to other countries outside the EEA.

Finovate: How does Swaper solve the problem better?

Brūvele: Swaper was launched with the idea to build better financial products and to offer many different financial products. For now our company offers loans and investing options, but we are not going to stop at this. In the near future we are going to present new products. One of our most important advantages is our extensive experience in the financial services area– everyone on our team has gathered huge experience working in a financial sector.

Finovate: Tell us about your favorite implementation of your solution.

Brūvele: I would say that it is our mobile app. Actually, the application itself is a step forward– according to the number of users we see, it was exactly what investors needed.
And the coolest feature in the app is definitely the slider that allows users to invest in a single click. Because all the loans offered for investments have the same interest rate and BuyBack guarantee, it doesn’t matter which loans the user invests in. That’s where the idea of the slider was born– after investors choose the amount and term, in just one click it’s done!

Finovate: What in your background gave you the confidence to tackle this challenge?

Brūvele: It is our team. Our team is very experienced in the fintech field, so we had no doubt we could build awesome financial products. Many of us have worked in different banks across the Europe as well as in the financial services area. The idea of knowing that we can do better is what unites us. And we really want to do better. Our main goal is to make financial services more understandable, available and suitable for the rhythm and technologies of modern life.

Finovate: What are some upcoming initiatives from Swaper that we can look forward to over the next few months?

Brūvele: We are going to launch two to three new loan products that will be offered as investments on Swaper. After a few months we will also offer our customers new financial products besides lending and investing options. Furthermore we are already working on new features for the Swaper mobile app.

Finovate: Where do you see Swaper a year or two from now?

Brūvele: Of course we have huge ambitions. And we are going to accomplish them, because our advantage is our experience in the financial area and we launch products and services much faster than our competitors do. We want to keep that rapidity and flexibility. We are going to be an international company that offers a wide range of available and contemporary financial services all around the world.

Iveta Brūvele (CEO) and Elīna Rasmane (COO) debut Swaper on the FinovateEurope stage in London

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Six Alums Earn a Spot on on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 List

Six Alums Earn a Spot on on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 List
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Payoneer, Persado, Quid, SoFi, Trulioo

CNBC released its 2017 collection of 50 disruptive tech companies today. The fifth annual list names private companies “whose innovations are changing the world” and meet additional criteria according to CNBC’s methodology.

The list, which boasts 31 unicorns, includes household names such as Airbnb, Uber, and SpaceX. The 50 companies have an aggregate market valuation of $239 billion, and almost 20% of the list consists of fintech companies, six of which are Finovate and/or FinDEVr alums.

Trulioo
Identity verification specialist for AML/ KYC compliance
Rank: 37
Launched: 2011
Funding: $23.3 million
Showcased GlobalGateway at FinovateFall 2016

Payoneer
Global mass payout service platform
Rank: 40
Launched: 2005
Funding: $234 million
Debuted the Payoneer Commercial Account at FinovateAsia 2013

SoFi
A unique, online lending company that prides itself on social finance
Rank: 45
Launched: 2011
Funding: $1.9 billion
Presented its use of Quovo’s authentication API at FinDEVr New York 2017

Persado
Automated marketing messaging company
Rank: 48
Launched: 2012
Funding: $66 million
Debuted PersadoGo at FinovateEurope 2016

Quid
Offers unstructured data analysis
Rank: 50
Launched: 2010
Funding: $56.2 million
Demoed Opus at FinovateSpring 2016

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alkami Technology, Passport, SoFi, Swaper, Upserve

On Finovate.com

  • Six Alums Earn a Spot on on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 List

On FinDEVr.com

  • Online Lending Innovator SoFi Launches Robo Advisor

Around the web

  • Upserve grows 100%, Boasts 32 Million Active Diners, 21 Million Meals per Month, $11 Billion in Annual Transaction Volume.
  • Passport Launches Mobile Parking App in Ann Arbor.
  • Alkami has increased client base by 38%; grown users by 103%,  & grown contracted users by 51% since January 2016

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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Trulioo Bolsters Regtech Solution with Mitek Partnership

Trulioo Bolsters Regtech Solution with Mitek Partnership
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Mitek, Trulioo

Trulioo’s GlobalGateway just added a layer of biometric authentication to its identity verification tool. Through a partnership with Mitek, the company will compare a photo of the user’s ID document with their selfie to ensure they are who they say they are.

GlobalGateway offers a single API to help financial services companies comply with AML and KYC regulations. The regtech platform evaluates new and existing users; its 200 data sources help identify more than four billion people in 50 countries. The new partnership with Mitek will enable Trulioo to collect, analyze, and authenticate 3,500 different types of identity documents matched against a real-time photo of the user.

“Identity document verification with facial comparison enables an additional factor of authentication for high-value transactions,” said Stephen Ufford, CEO of Trulioo. “This new partnership with Mitek ensures our clients continue to have instant access to powerful tools for their fraud prevention and compliance systems.”

At FinovateFall 2016, Trulioo’s Head of Growth, Anatoly Kvitnitsky, demonstrated how GlobalGateway blocks fraudulent users from onboarding in real time. Earlier this month, the company added new Canadian data sources to reflect Canada’s new AML rules for remote ID verification. Trulioo will offer a presentation geared toward developers at FinDEVr London next month on June 12 and 13 during London Tech Week. Register today to secure your spot at the event.

Mitek recently demoed at FinovateEurope 2017, where the company’s  General Manager of Identity Solutions, Sarah Clark, and CMO, Kalle Marsal, showcased the company’s Mobile Verify solution that helps onboard customers without requiring them to visit a branch.

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Finovate Debuts: Dorsum Puts the AI in DAISY, its Onboarding ChatBot

Finovate Debuts: Dorsum Puts the AI in DAISY, its Onboarding ChatBot
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Dorsum, Finovate Debuts

You can’t spell the name Daisy without AI, which is good because it’s the premise behind Dorsum’s new banking chatbot, the Dorsum Artificial Intelligence SYstem.

The Hungary-based company debuted its bank Botboarding platform at FinovateEuorpe earlier this year and took home a Best of Show win. The bot uses AI to interact with users in a friendly, human-like way. The bot’s personalized and targeted questions help with client onboarding. The system also offers a backend dashboard that offers real-time analytics about usage and allows banks to alter how the chatbot presents products and services.

Company facts

  • 20+ years of experience in financial software development
  • 250+ employees
  • 70+ financial institutions use its solutions
  • Serves more than 8000+ individual users
  • Has clients in 8+ countries
  • Has 4 offices in CEE

Above: Imre Rokob (Business Development Director), Reanta Stein (Business Development Director), and Peter Sallai (Head of Mobile Development) on stage at FinovateEurope 2017 in London

We interviewed Róbert Kő (pictured), Dorsum CEO, for a bit more insight into Dorsum and Daisy, it’s Botboarding chatbot.

Finovate: What problem does Dorsum solve?

Róbert Kő: Based on Dorsum’s latest research and many discussions with existing and future clients, currently the greatest challenge is customer acquisition. The Botboarding platform is our answer to this challenge; allowing financial companies to build onboarding chatbots which incorporate a human-like way of communication with traditional customer data gathering and user profiling to help banks acquire new customers in a fast and frictionless way.

Finovate: Who are your primary customers?

Kő: Dorsum would like to help financial organizations which serve clients from mass affluent and high net worth  individuals. Therefore, our primary customers are wealth management companies and banks that offer premium or private banking services. Naturally we can help many other financial organizations map their individual needs and provide exclusive contracts with customized offers.

Finovate: How does Dorsum solve the problem better?

Kő: People are fed up with filling endless and boring forms– besides, they like chatting. Facebook Messenger, which has 1.2 billion daily active users, opened up its platform for developers in April 2016 to build outstanding solutions – chatbots – in order to serve people who wish to communicate with businesses. Dorsum’s solution enables financial services providers to utilize the inherent potential in customer acquisition by using a chatbot instead of a form or other customer profiling solutions. With Dorsum’s Botboarding, financial services providers can reach higher conversion rates and can reduce churn ratios.

Finovate: Tell us about your favorite implementation of your solution.

Kő: Our chatbot is currently in delivery phase for two retail banks. Despite the legal and IT security barriers it is currently under configuration. Both of the banks wanted the chatbot to generate leads for their best performing mortgage products. These leads are distributed for the ‘users’ every day in a detailed Excel spreadsheet which contains the essence of the communication with the chatbot. The development itself of the functions took only two weeks to cover the business process of the banks. All of the above we have started negotiations with one large Dubai-based company but this stage the details are strictly confidential.

Finovate: What in your background gave you the confidence to tackle this challenge?

Kő: Dorsum, which has recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, has a remarkable track record in offering outstanding software to capital market players. Over the last 20 years the company has grown from a few employees into an organization with a staff of 250, including an experienced project team for delivering integrated investment IT solutions. Today more than 70 financial institutions use our solutions, serving more than 8,000 individual users. We support our clients by offering them unique cooperation throughout the lifecycle of the products, managing expectations in terms of functionality, time and budget. Dorsum has two subsidiaries in order to emphasize its presence in the CEE region and to respond faster to local needs. Dorsum entered the Western European and Middle East markets recently by attending financial events (e.g. FinovateEurope 2017 – presenter; MEFTECH – exhibitor) and conducting initial negotiations with a number of financial institutions.

Finovate: What are some upcoming initiatives from Dorsum that we can look forward to over the next few months?

Kő: Our solution is now available on Facebook Messenger. In the near future we are planning to extend our developments to other platforms in order to ensure our clients reach the widest customer range.

Finovate: Where do you see Dorsum a year or two from now?

Kő: I should like to make Dorsum the best in the region in our professional field, or for instance one of the three best wealth management software solutions in Europe. It appears that the stars are aligned in our favor at the moment as two months before the Finovate victory we won a regional tender from the Raiffeisen group extending to 5 countries, for the wealth management products mentioned above. I believe that these two “BOOMS” one after the other signify a very good debut on the European Union market. An earlier dream of ours has become realized: Dorsum is capable of developing a renewable product (chatbot solution), and furthermore, another of our prize-winning solutions was given a new impetus last year. Of course, we are not standing still… In the coming years we will be there at Finovate and other fintech world events – with the standard expected from us.

 Check out the FinovateEurope 2017 live demo with Imre Rokob (Business Development Director), Reanta Stein (Business Development Director), and Peter Sallai (Head of Mobile Development):

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