Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Finovate Debuts: How Trunomi Shares Customers’ Personal Info while Maintaining Their Privacy

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Trunomi

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There are special requirements banks must abide by when handling customers’ personal identifiable information (PII) data. Trunomi helps banks safely use PII so that they can tailor services to customers and provide a better overall experience.

Stats

    • $2 million in funding
    • Started earning revenue in 2014
    • 7 employees
    • Founded in 2013
    • Headquartered in Bermuda, Dublin & Silicon Valley
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Trunomi’s TruLink serves as the background architecture that powers TruMobile, a system that verifies the customer’s identity on their mobile device and enables them to share PII securely.

When a bank wants to use customer PII, regulations specify that customer consent:

    1. Occurs prior to sharing
    2. Is able to be audited
    3. Has context for each individual experience

TruLink generates certifications that prove all of the above. Additionally, it authenticates user identity and validates questionable transactions.

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Trunomi benefits both the financial institution and the end customer:

Bank benefits

    • Eliminates the cost of call centers
    • Accesses customer PII
    • Offers audit-level certification of customer consent
    • Creates new revenue centers by expanding customer data
    • Offers a configurable app that’s tailored to bank preferences
 Customer benefits
    • Ability to trade PII while maintaining privacy
    • Access to a clean user interface
    • Can respond to bank requirements in a way they’re comfortable with

Trunomi’s live demo video from FinovateEurope 2015 will be available on the Finovate video archives page this week.

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Interview With Nostrum Group CEO, Richard Carter

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CEO Interview, Nostrum Group

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Between the risk involved with lending and the number of resources needed, it can be costly for banks. Nostrum Group is helping banks on both fronts with a set of tools that reduce friction in the lending process.

At FinovateEurope 2014, Nostrum Group showed off Virtual Collector, a system that automates loan delinquency management. This year it applied for FinovateEurope and was selected to debut a new iteration of its core system that aims to make lending cheaper, faster, and safer.

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Richard Carter, CEO, has an extensive background in the credit and lending space. We interviewed him recently about Nostrum’s loan platform:

Finovate: In addition to its Virtual Collector, Nostrum offers loan application technology. What role does big data have here? What role do you see big data taking on in the lending industry in the future?

Carter:
That’s right, in fact at FinovateEurope 2015 we launched our new Virtual Finance platform, which is our fully digital loan management platform. This platform enables lenders to completely automate the loan application and servicing process, including delinquency management, which is where Virtual Collector fits in. 

The focus of our efforts when developing the Virtual Finance platform was on automating a truly personal and bespoke customer experience. Big data plays a vital role in the way lenders can optimize their lending decisions, as it offers such a rich source of insight to inform their scorecards.
The driver of all of this of course is that smartphone adoption is nearing saturation. A person’s Facebook activity can probably tell you much more about their loan affordability than bank statements from six months ago for example and therefore lenders can expect to make better lending decisions and improve the performance of their loan book.
On a more simplistic level, the interaction of the applicant with the site can be used to supplement the lending decision. If a customer applies for the largest loan amount available with the shortest term in milliseconds and skims through the T&C’s are they entering into a loan agreement with strong intent to pay?
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Finovate: What can you tell us in the way of metrics?
Carter:
Perhaps the most telling metric is the fact that Nostrum’s lending platform processes a loan application every 10 seconds on behalf of our clients. When you consider that we only employ around 80 staff, the efficiencies of automation are clear.
Historically (and even now), some paper based lenders would take several weeks to confirm their decision on a loan application. Using our systems this can be done within seconds, but not only that, we can have the funds in the applicant’s bank account within minutes. We’ve not quantified the financial or operational benefits to lenders because, quite frankly, the case in favour of automation is an overwhelmingly compelling one. However, you’d call out the ability to process applications and service queries without the requirement for agents as a major overhead reduction. The flip side is that we know customers want to engage in this manner, so that will drive acquisition. 
The strong demand for our product shows how the lending industry is transforming. Over the last two financial years our turnover has increased by 137% and based on our current line of sight of our order book, this digital trend is set to continue for some time to come. You only have to see how many banks have created senior digital leaders to understand that this isn’t a short-term play.

Finovate: Do you view alternative lending sites, such as Lending Club, as competition or complementary to traditional bank lending?
Carter:
We see alternative lenders as complimentary because in most instances they are fulfilling demand for loans in areas of the market where banks don’t want to lend. The alternative lending sector has grown quickly though and combines the latest technology with highly efficient operating models, so the threat to the banks is an increasingly real one. On a slightly controversial note, we would highlight payday lenders as having driven technology adoption. They pushed high levels of automation through their lending operations – they had limited appetite to staff up contact centers, so the whole application process was automated including electronic signatures on agreements and immediate disbursements. That legacy is now continuing through mainstream lending as customers demand immediacy of service with mainstream banks and other product providers.
The challenge the alternative lenders face is whether they can scale up their operations to compete not just on rate, but in terms of the volumes of business they can write. The question that needs to be asked is whether these alternative lenders are trying to supply a product that customers want, or do they just represent a great idea looking for a home? Looking back at previous examples, prepaid cards were in a similar stage of maturity, and a great product, but lack of demand stifled growth.
Digital banks now face a similar journey, and our view is that the most successful alternative lenders and digital banks will find themselves being acquired by the major banks, who will inevitably retain the vast majority of the customers. At the end of the day, the banks or lenders who have the customers are the ones who will be the winners. That’s generally the case in most industries. 
In the UK, for example, we are already seeing collaboration between major banks and peer-to-peer lenders, to pool resources and drive progress to critical mass.
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Finovate: Tell us an original fact about Nostrum Group that you’ve never before shared.
Carter:
The fact I would really like to tell you is the list of high street retailers and well-known global consumer brands who use our systems to provide finance facilities to their customers. We’ve never shared this before because we’re not allowed to name most of our clients. 
So, although I’d like to tell you, I’m not allowed! However, what I can say is that if you search for a list of the top 20 UK retail brands you’ll find at least six of our current
clients, and nearly the same number again who we are actively in talks with. 
Finovate: As CEO, what past experiences do you have that help you provide lenders with a better way to serve borrowers?
Carter:

My entire career has been spent working in technology in financial services, specifically in the lending industry. So I’m a subject matter expert and I’ve got experience and relationships that span three decades. I’ve been at the heart of the industry through boom and bust periods, and some of the most pivotal innovations the market has experienced including telephone banking, internet banking, and most recently the dawn of the cloud, social media, smartphones and tablets. 

I think what really helps me to add value to our clients though is the simple fact that I’m a consumer myself, and one who is fascinated by technology and gadgets, and obsessive about customer service. I follow innovations and success stories across consumer industries with great interest and these have been the source of many sparks of inspiration for our own technology. 

I can sit down with our clients and talk to them from combined perspectives of a technology provider, a lending industry expert, and an active and passionate consumer. I think it’s a combination they value.

Nostrum Group is self-funded and is based in the UK. Check out the debut of Virtual Collector at FinovateEurope 2014. Its FinovateEurope 2015 video will be available on the demo video archive pages later this week.

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Betterment Raises a Fresh $60 Million in Round Led by Francisco Partners

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Betterment, Funding

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In what amounts to almost double its previous funding round, Betterment has pulled in $60 million in VC investment. The series D round was led by Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm. Existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures and Northwestern Mutual also contributed.

The new installment boosts Betterment’s total funds to $105 million and will be used to speed transactions and rollovers for its 65,000 customers, as well as enhance branding for advisor apps and services.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Betterment is now valued at $400 to $500 million. In comparison, competitors Personal Capital and Wealthfront are valued at $250 million and $700 million, respectively.

In a conversation with Investment News, Betterment CEO, Jon Stein, stated, “We didn’t need to raise the money today,” He says it still has $20 million in the bank from its last funding round. However, he goes on, “We’re getting a lot of interest from investors.”

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Betterment, which manages about $1.4 billion in assets, fits in the “robo-advisor” category; it seeks to disrupt the wealth management space with specialized algorithms and tools that use automation to lower the cost of a personal advisor service. CB Insights reports that robo-advisors raised a cumulative $290 million in funding last year, double the amount raised in 2013.

Betterment demonstrated its Multiple Goals Feature at FinovateFall 2011.

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Alumni News– February 20, 2015

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alkami Technology, Betterment, Digital Insight, Entersekt, Evo Snap*, EyeVerify, FIS, InComm, Level, Loop, MaxMyInterest, Moven, MX
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgInComm to offer Hip Digital access to selection of gift cards and delivery options.
  • Betterment Raises a Fresh $60 Million in Round Led by Francisco Partners.
  • FPS GOLD Partners With MX for Personal Financial Management.
  • US News features MaxMyInterest, Moven, and Level Money in a feature on money-saving and simplifying tools.
  • Alkami Technology Brings its Digital Banking Platform to Patelco Credit Union.
  • Samsung Acquisition of LoopPay Puts Apple Pay on Notice.
  • FIS earns new ISO certification.
  • TheStreet.com column on new security technologies for banks features EyeVerify and Digital Insight.
  • EVO offers processing to underserved direct response merchants.
  • Moneyweb mentions Entersekt’s role in South African-based fintech.
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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Finsphere Lands $1.8 Million, Partners with Visa

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Finsphere, Funding

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Finsphere, a company that uses mobile phone location data to authenticate a consumer’s identity, announced $1.8 million in new funding last week. The new round is internal, with an additional contribution from an unnamed investor. Its funding now totals $33 million.

More notably, the Bellevue-based company partnered with Visa to offer what the credit card company is calling Mobile Location Confirmation. Visa will use Finsphere to ensure the GPS location of the customer’s smartphone matches the location their credit card is swiped. This helps eliminate unnecessary purchase declines, while ensuring the purchase isn’t fraudulent.

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In a dovetail announcement this week, Finsphere also reported that it will bring retail banking executive Deanna Oppenheimer on board as a strategic advisor.

Finsphere demonstrated its identity security service at FinovateEurope 2012.

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Alumni News– February 19, 2015

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Azimo, Digital Retail Apps, Dwolla, Encap, eToro, Finsphere, Kantox, MaxMyInterest, Motif Investing, PayPal, Pindrop Security, Ping Identity
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgAmerican Banker: Retail Banking Vet Deanna Oppenheimer Joins Tech Vendor Finsphere.
  • American Banker: Federal Payments Website Partners with PayPal, Dwolla.
  • Kantox Surpasses $1 Billion in Foreign Exchange Transfers.
  • Pindrop Security Raises $30 Million.
  • eToro launches its Popular Investment Programme to recognize and reward the network’s top traders.
  • Phroogal reviews Motif Investing.
  • MaxMyInterest brings consolidated tax reporting functionality to its cash optimization platform.
  • Encap Security CEO Thomas Boström Jörgensen and Ping Identity Managing Director EMEA Jason Goode weigh-in on Touch ID banking.
  • Digital Retail Apps featured in Toronto Star’s coverage of Canada’s first financial technology cluster.
  • Azimo launches its money transfer service in China.
  • Finsphere Lands $1.8 Million, Partners with Visa.
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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Kantox Surpasses $1 Billion in Foreign Exchange Transfers

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Kantox

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Foreign exchange management solution Kantox last week announced that it has exceeded $1 billion in currency transfers since its 2011 launch.

The U.K.- and Barcelona-based company reports that $200 million was traded in November and December alone. At this rate, it expects to reach another $1 billion by the end of 2015.

Kantox counts more than 1,000 businesses as clients, which is double the number of businesses that were using the platform a year ago.

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Kantox drives down FX costs by disintermediating banks and brokers with its platform, whereby companies can trade directly with one another.

Kantox demonstrated Peer FX at FinovateEurope 2013. Check out the video here.

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FinovateEurope 2015 in the Press

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2015

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FinovateEurope 2015 concluded last week and was a huge success. Not only did we host a record-breaking audience, we also saw the most press coverage.

Thanks to all of the contributors who worked hard to document the great technology demonstrated on stage. A special thanks to the analysts at Datamonitor for their extensive coverage.

Here’s the coverage in alphabetical order:

American Banker
U.K. Banks Pilot Loan Sales to Crowdfund Site investUP
Bailey Reutzel
Link

Bank Innovation
Xignite APIs Now Powering +50 FinTech Ventures
by Philip Ryan
Link

Banking Technology
Delegates skeptical at Finovate London
by Elliott Holley
Link

Bob’s Guide
Show report: The best innovators at FinovateEurope 2015
by Nicole Miskelly
Link

CC Group
Finovate Europe 2015—a microcosm of FinTech?
by Daniel Lowther
Link

C’est Pas Mon Ideé blog
Redy, paiement mobile et monnaie virtuelle
by Patrice Bernard
Link
Link (Translated to English)

City A.M.
Finovate Europe: Global FinTech stars meet up at London’s Old Billingsgate
by Oliver Smith
Link

Cloud Lending blog
Cloud Lending at Finovate Europe 2015
by Vidur Jain
Link

CNBC
The valuation industry is now big business
by Jenny Cosgrave
Link

Cognito
Finovate: Understanding what the media wants
by Paul Bowhay
Link

ComputerWorld
Telenor banka și Asseco SEE prezente la prestigioasa Conferință Finovate de la Londra
by Adaugat de Dali Dinu
Link

Crowdfund Insider
investUP launches New Platform at Finovate Europe
by Samantha Hurst
Link

Datamonitor
Finovate FinTrack: Advice Games
by Sean Harrison
Link

Finovate FinTrack: BankClip by Crealogix
by Helen Allingham
Link

Finovate FinTrack: Fiserv
by Theresa Jameson
Link

Finovate FinTrack: mydesq
by Katri Tuomainen
Link

Finovate FinTrack: PROFOS by CPB Software
by Helen Allingham
Link

Finovate FinTrack: Quisk
by Samuel Murrant
Link

Finovate FinTrack: Yoyo
by Theresa Jameson
Link

Finovate FinTrack: Novabase wizzio
by Daoud Fakhri
Link

Finovate: Our Best in Show
Link

FinTrack FinovateEurope 2015 Special: Day One (Report)
Link

FinTrack FinovateEurope 2015 Special: Day Two (Report)
Link

Finance Zweinull
Die Letzte Finovate
by Boris Janek
Link

The Financial Brand
Radical Bank Branch Design Fuses Digital with Physical
by Jim Marous
Link

Finextra
Finovate Europe 2015—Day 1 roundup
Link

Finovate Europe 2015—Day 2 Roundup
Link

Finews.ch
Fintech: Fünf heisse für Trends 2015
Link

Finovate
FinovateEurope 2015 Best of Show Winners Announced
by David Penn
Link

Forrester’s Benjamin Ensor’s Blog
Finovate Europe 2015: Execution Is Harder Than Idea Generation
by Benjamin Ensor
Link

FS Tech
Finovate reveals ‘best of show’ winners
by Michelle Stevens
Link

Innovation in Finance
Coinjar interview at Finovate Europe, London, February 2015
by Damien Ducourty
Link

Lets Talk Payments
The Best of FinTech Europe from Finovate 2015
by Kate
Link

LinkedIn Pulse
Fintech isn’t just for ‘Fins’
by Matthew Stammers
Link
 
Time for a Finovate Fringe Festival?
by David Jones
Link

Mapa Research
Finovate Europe 2015: Our top picks from day one
by Katie Nachshon
Link

Mollie
Mollie: een pionier in de Fintech
by Remco Boer
Link

My Private Banking
Wealth Management Solutions at FinovateEurope 2015
by Francis Groves
Link
 
Nostrum Group
Finovate Day 1—reflections from FinTech’s showpiece
Link

Finovate Day 2—FinTech’s focus is on user experience
Link

FinovateEurope 2015—Nostrum’s reflections
Link

Ormsby Street
Key Performance Metrics
by Martin Campbell
Link

Payment Eye
3 ways payment technology is boosting financial inclusion
by Lindsey Kennedy
Link

Payments Journal
Recapping Finovate London 2015
by Tristan Hugo-Webb
Link

Pirean blog
Pirean demonstrate their Identity and Access Management as a service offering at FinovateEurope 2015
Link

Sitepoint.com
Finovate 2015, the Part Mobile is Playing in Fintech
by Chris Ward
Link

Rts.rs
Banka u džepu – tehnologija budućnosti
Link

SME Finance Forum
Finovate Europe 2015—bigger and even more interesting than last year!
Link

SME Insider
3 of the best new technologies to supercharge SME growth
by Lindsey Kennedy
Link

How to get the funding you need to grow your business
by Lindsey Kennedy
Link

Tech City News
Fintech monthly: Judopay raised $6 million, banking apps tested, Finovate Europe and much more…
by Ben Goldsmith
Link

Tech Cocktail
LifePay Acquires iboxPro, Expands into Asian Markets
by Will Schmidt
Link
 
The Telegraph
Banks get out their chequebooks to chase the next banking revolution
by Marion Dakers
Link

Le Temps
Du gadget à l’innovant, tour d’horizon  des nouveautés de la finance
by Mathilde Farine
Link

Treasury Insider
The 5 hottest new trends in fintech
by Lindsey Kennedy
Link
 
Waters Technology
KPAX Brings Data Reconciliation Product to the Cloud
Link
 
World Finance
Heilmann: ‘Germany needs to take a hardline on Greek debt’
Link

As more coverage is published, we’ll be adding it to this post in the coming weeks. If you have a piece you’d like us to include, please contact research@finovate.com.

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TransferTo’s Remittance Service Enables the Sender to Know How the Money is Spent

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2015, TransferTo

TransferToLogo2.jpgThis post is part of our live coverage of FinovateEurope 2015.

TransferTo showed how its Prepaid Electricity Remittance gives the sender more control over how recipients spend their money.

A major and recurring issue with money remittance is the sender not knowing how their money is spent.

TransferTo has developed a new service to overcome this problem whereby the sender can remit value for a specific purpose. We call it Value Remittance. TransferTo works directly with service providers to enable remote payment for services such as utilities, petrol, healthcare, school tuition, groceries, etc.

A great example of this is the Prepaid Electricity in Indonesia. Indonesian migrant workers in the Middle East send millions of rupees back to their families. Instead of sending money, TransferTo enables them to remotely top up the Prepaid Electricity meter of their loved ones back home.

 

Presenters: CEO Eric Barbier, and EVP Charles Damen, global business development

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Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B)

HQ: San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Founded: 2005

Website: transfer-to.com
Twitter: @TransferTo

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Jumio’s Netverify Makes Mobile Account Opening Easy

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2015, Jumio

JumioLogo.jpgThis post is part of our live coverage of FinovateEurope 2015.

Jumio showed how Netverify makes it quick and easy for customers to open new accounts on their mobile device.

Jumio’s Netverify turns your customer’s mobile device into an ID-document-scanning terminal that instantly sees, scans, and extracts name and date of birth, and if present, address data. The data is instantly and neatly populated into the account-opening fields, making it quicker and easier for customers to complete applications.

Jumio also authenticates the ID document by determining that it is a bonafide, non-manipulated, and legitimate government-issued ID.
 
Account opening can be completed instantly so that customer sign-up momentum is not broken when a customer is asked to provide physical copies of ID documents.

 

Presenters: David Pope, marketing director, and John McIntosh, sales engineer
 
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Product launch: 2012

Metrics: 300+ employees; $60 million raised; half of the top-10 consumer internet companies along with hundreds of other retailers, financial institutions, marketplaces, gaming companies and more have adopted Jumio products and services

Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B), through other fintech companies and platforms

HQ: Palo Alto, California, U.S.A.
Founded: 2010

Website: jumio.com
Twitter: @jumio

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Yoyo’s Mobile Payments App Rewards Customers While Providing Retailers with Analytics

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2015, Yoyo

YoyoLogo.jpgThis post is part of our live coverage of FinovateEurope 2015.
 

Yoyo showed how its mobile payments app rewards consumers and offers retailers added benefits.

Yoyo integrates into the retailer’s till system and uses a unique QR code for each transaction, which is scanned at the point of sale. For consumers, it’s a quick and easy way to pay and get rewarded. For retailers, Yoyo provides a set of tools which enables them to better target their customers with relevant rewards, offers, and incentives.

We recently launched V3 of the Yoyo app, and we are constantly introducing new product features. Most recent additions include social gifting, digitalized receipts, and card to mobile.

Presenter: Co-founder Michael Rolph, COO
 
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Product launch: V1 app launched January 2014, V3 launched September 2014

Metrics: $5M seed funding raised to date, 25 employees, around 15,000 registered users since launch in January 2014, currently processing 80,000 transactions a month

Product distribution strategy: Direct to Consumer (B2C), Direct to Business (B2B)

HQ: London, United Kingdom
Founded: May 2013

Website: justyoyo.com
Twitter: @justyoyo

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AdviceGames Uses Gamification to Help Users Budget for their Mortgage

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: AdviceGames, FinovateEurope 2015

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This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateEurope 2015.
 
AdviceGames unveiled its Risk Game to help users budget better for their mortgage:

The Risk Game teaches the players how to budget more wisely. The starting point is the Financial Health Score (FHS), an index of a consumer’s financial health. The FHS determines the starting level in the game and drives the routing.

Players can use their earned points for saving and protecting themselves against unexpected events. Real life comes in when the players receive tips and see their FHS adjusted in their bank account based on their real behavior. The objective of the game is to activate people to better budget and therefore be able to pay their mortgage installments, reducing the risk for the bank.

 

Presenters Diederick van Thiel, CEO & Founder, and Rosali Steenkamer, COO & Founder
 
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Product Launch: March 2015
Metrics: Privately owned, 15 employees, 7 customers, broke even in 2014
Product distribution strategy: Through financial institutions, through other fintech companies and platforms, licensed
HQ: Hilversum, The Netherlands

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