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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Mobile money operator Paga is poised for growth. The Nigeria-based fintech acquired U.S. software company Apposit and announced plans to expand its services geographically.
Apposit was founded in 2007 and builds software to power African tech businesses. The region is, as the company states on its website, a place where “formidable challenges and exceptional opportunities abound.”
Paga will leverage Apposit to expand into Ethiopia, a country that deals with similar cash and payment issues to Nigeria. To help fuel the expansion, the company will tap the experience of Apposit Co-founder and CEO Adam Abate, who will serve as CEO of Paga Ethiopia.
Through the acquisition, Paga Founder and CEO Tayo Oviosu said, “we not only gain a scalable world-class internal engineering team, but we also are in a stronger position to grow our global payments business.”
Paga and Apposit first partnered in 2009. After bringing on Apposit’s 62 employees, Paga’s staff now totals 530+ people. Additionally, the company adds Addis Ababa, London, and Mexico City to its list of office locations.
“Last year we refined our mission and vision to birth our massive transformative purpose: To make it simple for one billion people to access and use money,” added Oviosu. “Apposit has demonstrated strong alignment with our purpose and they have some of the very best engineers I have been privileged to work with, in over two decades in technology in Silicon Valley and elsewhere.”
Does fintech have its first “double unicorn” of 2020?
Leading accounts payable and payments automation solution provider AvidXchange has secured $260 million in equity funding in a round involving TPG Sixth Street Partners as well as other investors. The funding will power the company’s continued growth and takes AvidXchange’s total capital to more than $800 million. The investment also likely boosts the company’s valuation to more than $2 billion.
“We’re shaping the future of the B2B payments industry by fundamentally changing the way businesses pay their bills,” AvidXchange CEO and co-founder Michael Praeger said. “(We) provide a single platform for AP and payments with the largest payments network for the middle market.”
Praeger noted that even in 2019 more than 60% of businesses in the U.S. relied on paper checks to pay bills, generating $2.7 trillion in annual administrative costs. AvidXchange enables mid-market businesses to avoid this expense by automating invoice and payment processing in a single platform. the company processes 9.5 million payments a year via its network of more than 500,000 suppliers.
The funding announcement comes as the company reports that new acquisition BankTEL has secured its first partnership leveraging AvidXchange’s AvidPay solution. BankTEL will collaborate with Studio Bank, a Nashville, Tennessee-based boutique bank, which will use the platform to automate and streamline their AP to payment process.
AvidXchange was named to the Inc. 5000 list in November and earned a spot on the Forbes Cloud 100 list in October. Last year, the company also added 175 new workers, taking its total workforce to 1,400+ across seven offices. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, AvidXchange was founded in 2000.
With FinovateEurope less than a month away, we thought we’d take a look at some of the fundraising success the conference’s alums had in 2019.
From companies that demoed at our very first FinovateEurope in 2012 to some of FinovateEurope’s newest players, alums of our European conference raised more than $940 million in funding last year. We’ve listed the companies below in alphabetic order, along with a link to their demo so you can learn more about the company and its work.
Looking to showcase your latest fintech innovation on stage? Send us an email at [email protected] to find out how to become one of our demoing companies next month at FinovateEurope in Berlin, Germany, on February 11 through 13.
And if you haven’t picked up your ticket yet, run, don’t walk, to our registration page and save your spot today! Take advantage of big savings by signing up before January 31.
Vive la France, indeed! One week after French payment app Lydia announced a $45 million fundraising, neobank Qonto reports that it has just closed the largest funding round to date for a French fintech.
French challenger bank Qonto has raised $115 million (€104 million) in Series C funding. The round was led by Tencent and DST Global, and also featured participation from existing investors Valar and VC Alven. Two angel investors, Taavet Hinrikus (TransferWise co-founder) and Ingo Uytdehaage (Adyen CFO), were also involved in the financing. Qonto now has raised a total of more than $150 million (€136 million) in capital.
The company will use the funds to fuel its expansion into three new markets just entered in 2019: Italy, Spain, and Germany. The investment will also help Qonto strengthen its position in France where the majority of its 65,000 SME and freelancer customers do business. The funding will help the company grow its headcount from 200 to 300 within a year, and help Qonto secure a credit institution license by year’s end that will allow it to become a bank.
Investors in the firm credited Qonto for its ability to efficiently provide financial services for an underserved sector such as freelancers. Managing Partner for DST Global Tom Stafford praised the company for “using technology to change banking for small and medium size businesses from a source of friction to a source of competitive advantage.”
Founded in 2017, Qonto offers freelancers and SME business owners a range of financial services from streamlined account opening and expense management to real-time notifications and visibility into cash flow. The company was named one of the “hottest startups in Paris” by Wired U.K. last August.
Challenger bank Vive Bank received some good news from the Bank of England today. The U.K.-based startup has been granted a banking license with restrictions.
Vive is aiming to ship its offerings in the second quarter of 2020 but unlike the region’s other challenger banks, Vive Bank will not be launching a current account. Instead, Vive Bank will focus on unsecured personal loans, a fixed-rate savings account, and PFM tools.
“It’s just not difficult to get a current account, so we want to focus on serving our customers with what they really need,” Vive CEO Nick Anthony said in an interview with AltFi. “We’re looking to serve a market where it’s more difficult for customers to get banking products. We want to make it simple and straightforward. Our unsecured personal loans, for example, will be far more than the narrow offering from high street banks, aimed at helping those with less than perfect credit scores.”
Vive Bank was founded in 2017 and has since refrained from promoting its services. While a waiting list is available on its website, the startup has intentionally remained quiet until today.
If you’ve ever been hacked, having either money or personal credentials stolen, did you stop to think about what type of person, organization, or agenda you were inadvertently supporting?
“Let’s talk about the funding of evil,” said Trusona founder and CEO Ori Eisen during his first Finovate demo. “When a bank loses $10 million, it’s not a good day for the bank. But where the money goes and what it’s being spent on is not good either.” Eisen then turned to the audience to suggest their responsibility in the matter. “You can help stop or curb the funding of evil,” he added.
At first I thought he was joking. Discussion of the “funding of evil” and “stopping the bad guys” sounded like something straight out of a kid’s TV program. However, it’s no joke and it’s unnerving to think of what these “bad guy” fraudsters do with their stolen cash.
In the demo, Eisen went on to explain that one way to curb funding these fraudsters is to make user’s accounts more secure. And in Trusona’s opinion, the best way to do that is to get rid of passwords entirely. The Arizona-based company just raised $20 million this month in support of this concept– getting rid of the password. The investment brought Trusona’s total funding to $38 million.
So what does web authentication look like without a password? The 30 second process requires the user to have their smartphone with them, but doesn’t require access to a cellular network. Upon logging in, the user clicks Login with Trusona. The web interface shows a unique QR code, and the user then opens the Trusona app on their smartphone, scans the QR code, and taps to accept. Once complete, the user can enter the website without the need for a username or password.
In addition to simple authentication, Trusona also offers solutions for ID scanning and proofing, multi-factor authentication, and VPNs.
The need for such a solution stems from faulty password management skills common among consumers and employees today. In fact, last year Trace Security reported that 81% of company data breaches were caused by poor passwords. Trusona offers an SDK that businesses can integrate into their own app to simplify logins for both employees and end customers.
With its recent funding, Trusona said it will focus on expanding its customer base as well as begin working on new product offerings.
Trusona was founded in 2015 and counts Aetna, Kleiner Perkins, and Bain Capital among its clients. The company has demoed at Finovate twice and won Best of Show awards at both of its appearances. Check out Trusona’s most recent demo below.
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 14-16, 2020. Register today and save your spot.
With Subaio, take control of your subscriptions, see all your recurring payments, cancel subscriptions and get notified about changes – all in a white-label setup.
Features
Overview of all recurring payments
Ability to cancel subscriptions
Smart notifications about changes to recurring payments
Why It’s Great 35% of bank customers want their bank to deliver a subscription management service to them according to Cicero Consulting. Subaio helps you gain control of your subscriptions.
Presenter
Soren Nielsen, Chief Commercial Officer Nielsen is a seasoned fintech entrepreneur who’s built successful teams in the past. Always with an emphasis on the ‘why’. It needs to make sense. Like it does as the CCO of Subaio! LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 14-16, 2020. Register today and save your spot.
FinTecSystems is one of the leading experts in accessing and analyzing bank transactions for B2B and can help to make the right decisions based on the right data.
Features
Analytic platform stands for customized financial reports
Increased customer understanding and new sales potentials
Leverage digital sales by turning bank transactions into money
Why It’s Great FinTecSystems is able to address the financial needs of the customers, give warnings in case of financial issues, and identify sales opportunities based on “key-life events”.
Presenter
Martin Schmid, Chief Market Officer Schmid has more than ten years of experience in ePayment and eCommerce. As part of the founding team and CMO at FinTecSystems, he is responsible for Marketing, Customer Success, and Sales. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 14-16, 2020. Register today and save your spot.
FinTech Insights by Scientia Consulting is an innovative, online platform that analyzes, measures and compares all Digital Services of Banks and FinTechs worldwide for functionality and UX offered.
Features
Analyzes Digital Banking and FinTech services behind the login screens
Measures and presents functionality and UX across all channels of each Bank
Compares head-to-head Banks and FinTechs
Why It’s Great FinTech Insights exhaustively analyzes and compares all Digital Banking offerings and FinTech services, based on functionality and UX, behind the login screens using real Bank accounts.
Presenters
Kostas Stivaros, Partner Stivaros is Partner in Scientia Consulting and mainly responsible for its international expansion. He has worked in Banks and FinTechs for over 20 years and holds a PhD in Computer Science. LinkedIn
Alexandros Argyriou, Managing Partner Argyriou is the Managing Partner of Scientia Consulting Group and a recognized FinTech and Digital Banking expert. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 14-16, 2020. Register today and save your spot.
ReceiptHero unlocks the power of receipt data for banking & accounting users, enabling real-time digital receipts to flow from POS terminals to mobile apps.
Features
Reducing the need for paper receipts
Increasing business insights – product level data powering business decisions
Seamless accounting UX for expense management
Why It’s Great ReceiptHero provides real-time solutions. First bank partner is Nordea, with more banks announced soon. Looking for new partners globally including banks or PSPs, please reach out to get more insights!
Presenter
Chris Moore, CPO Moore works closely with banks, fintechs and PSPs. His background is in startups & scaleups in addition to working in OP Financial Group’s innovation lab before joining ReceiptHero. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 14-16, 2020. Register today and save your spot.
ARM Insight’s synthetic data process unlocks the value of data by delivering actionable insights from hard-to-access financial transaction data while ensuring privacy is protected
Features
Privacy Data Protection: Reducing the use of raw data
Regulation Compliance: Managing privacy and data obligations (i.e. GDPR)
Product Innovation: Using AI/ML tools to enable data-driven innovation
Why It’s Great Synthetic data is the “breakthrough” data set for maximizing your data potential, while minimizing your risk. It is the future of data that should be used now.
Presenter
Steve Shaw, SVP Marketing Shaw is responsible for the overall marketing, branding and communications strategy for ARM Insight. Shaw has over 20 years of marketing experience at startups and Fortune 500 companies. LinkedIn
It is hard to imagine having a better start to your week than Plaid had seven days ago when the innovative fintech (and Finovate alum) announced that it had agreed to be acquired by Visa for $5.3 billion.
But the €90 million ($100 million) raised by Swedish open banking platform Tink on Monday is nothing to sneeze at. In fact, the funding, which is the company’s largest to date, is a reminder that investment interest in (and funding for) companies dedicated to developing the infrastructure that connects consumers, banks, and the financial technologies is very much in abundance.
“Our aim is to become the preferred pan-European provider of digital banking services and to offer the technology needed for banks, fintechs, and startups to leverage the opportunities of open banking and enable them to successfully develop financial services in the future,” Tink co-founder and CEO Daniel Kjellén said in a statement.
Tink demonstrated its platform most recently at FinovateEurope 2019. For more on this year’s Finovate event in Europe kicking off next month, visit our FinovateEurope 2020 page.
Azimo, one of our earliest FinovateEurope alums, announced a pair of big changes at the top to begin the new week.
The London-based money transfer firm, founded in 2012, promoted its COO Richard Ambrose to CEO back in August, as Azimo founder Michael Kent took what TechCrunch referred to as a lateral move to become executive chairman. Today, Fintech Futures, Finovate’s sister publication, reports that the company has appointed Dora Ziambra to the post of Chief Operating Officer. Azimo also promoted its head of finance Tatiana Okhotina to the post of Chief Financial Officer.
“We’re fortunate to have the depth of talent to fill these top roles internally,” Ambrose said in a statement. “We’re lucky too that Azimo will continue to benefit from the experience and leadership of these two outstanding women.”
Here’s our weekly roundup of the latest news from our Finovate alumni:
Union Bank to leverage technology from FIS for core banking.
Italy-based CREDEM leveragingWorldline’s Payment and Liquidity Hub software CRISTAL to process Target2 payments
POS software Vend partners with Klarna to offer retailers more flexible payment options.
U.K. food retailer The Co-operative to deployACI Worldwide’s fraud management solution, ReD Shield.
A partnership between TransferGo and Currencycloud will enable the money transfer company to enter 14 new markets.
YellowDogforges reseller agreement with Annex Pro.
Bankable cozies up with Plaid to allow its bank customers to connect with their users’ bank accounts.
Ohpenappoints former Tesla marketing leader Corinne Aaron as new head of marketing.
Segmint to acquire WAND’s Product and Service Taxonomy division.
CuneXuscelebrates 2019 success with a 40% year-over-year increase in consumer reach.
Three Key Lessons We Learned from Plaid – Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard that Visa is acquiring Plaid for a deal that’s worth $5.3 billion. The fact that they were so widely used at such an early stage is a testament to the quality of their code, but there are also a few key lessons to take away from their success.
ITSCREDIT’s Joao Pinto on the Digital Lending Opportunity – ITSCREDIT is a spinoff from ITSECTOR and is a fairly new player in the digital lending space. In this interview, Pinto talks to us about the digital lending opportunity, how his company fits into the current state of this fintech subsector, and what we can expect to see next.
Kasasa Enhances its Take-Back Loan – Community bank marketing expert Kasasaannounced a partnership with Carleton today in which Kasasa will integrate Carleton’s insurance and debt protection calculations into its Kasasa Loan.
Plinqit Brings Rewards-Powered Financial Literacy to First Community Bank – One day in the distant future, children will be educated in basic financial literacy as readily as they are taught algebra. Until then, solutions like Plinqit from HT Mobile Apps will be valuable tools for credit unions and community banks looking for novel ways to engage and educate their members and customers.
Credit, Data, and Cryptocurrencies: Graychain Rebrands as Credmark – The company that is bringing credit data clarity to the cryptocurrency industry is entering 2020 with a new name.
Tradeshift Lands $240 Million as it Inches Toward Profitability – The San Francisco-based company will use the investment to boost expansion efforts and gear toward a “direct path to profitability in the near future.”
Fintech, Financial Services, and the Case for 5G – Calling 5G “something banks aren’t even thinking about,” Celent SVP Dan Latimore said, “we believe the effects of 5G are going to be subtle and profound over time.”
Backbase-as-a-Service Helps Banks Leverage the Cloud to Innovate and Scale – The solution makes the company’s broad portfolio of digital banking offerings available to FIs looking to accelerate their ability to develop and offer new technologies to customers.
Also on Finovate.com
Visa to Acquire Plaid in $5.3 Billion Deal – “Today marks an important milestone for our company and for fintech,” company co-founder and CEO Zach Perret wrote on the Plaid blog earlier today. “What started with two founders building in a cramped conference room has become an incredible network that enables millions of consumers to interact with over 2,500 digital finance products.”
Not Another 2020 Trends Prediction Post (Seriously, It’s Not!) – We’re taking a look at the trends you can expect to see on stage next month at FinovateEurope. To keep things simple this year, we assessed the themes at a very high level and broke them down into three categories: the big, the little, and the trends in-between.
Singapore’s Digital Banking License Space Race Accelerates – Is there anyone out there who is NOT trying to secure a digital banking license in Singapore? The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced last week that has received 21 applications for digital bank licenses.
MogoSpend Offers Credit, Cashback, and Help Reducing Your Carbon Footprint – The new digital spending account from Canadian fintech Mogo does more than help Canadians get control of their finances. The solution also offers cardholders generous cashback rewards and a way to make a positive impact on the environment by reducing their carbon footprint.
Getsafe Expands its Insurtech to the U.K. – If your insurance company is offering you drone insurance, you know it’s not your grandmother’s insurance agency. Germany-based insurtech Getsafe does just that– and the company announced today it is expanding its home contents insurance offering (though, sadly, not its drone insurance offering) to users in the U.K.
Raisin’s New Acquisition Gives Company Access to the U.S. Market – European deposit marketplace Raisin announced today it acquired New York-based Choice Financial Solutions.
French Fintech Lydia Locks in $45 Million – TechCrunch reported this morning that French mobile payment app Lydia has raised $45 million (€40 million) in a round led by Tencent.
Visa’s Tap to Phone Brings Contactless Payments to mPOS – With Visa’sTap to Phone app arriving pre-installed on the new, enterprise grade smartphone from Samsung, a broad range of merchants will have access to yet another way to accept payments from customers.
INTL FCStone Acquires International Bank Transfer Firm – Headquartered in Germany, GIROXX offers international bank transfers and currency hedging. INTL FCStone plans to leverage this technology to expand its current client base to small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
