Neustar Helps TELUS Fight Caller ID Spoofing

Neustar Helps TELUS Fight Caller ID Spoofing
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Neustar

Data services company Neustar has joined forces with TELUS this week to fight caller ID spoofing. The Canadian telecommunications company recently finalized a test of Neustar’s Certified Caller software suite.

The trial was done per the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) mandate that telecommunications service providers deploy caller ID authentication and verification for voice over internet (VoIP) calls to reduce illegal caller ID spoofing. TELUS tested Neustar’s Certified Caller in its NFV lab environment using the STIR/SHAKEN protocol.

STIR, which stands for Secure Telephony Identity Revisited, is a set of technical standards to certify the identity of originating calls. SHAKEN, which stands for Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs, is a framework that focuses on implementing STIR within IP-based service provider networks. The industry sees STIR/SHAKEN as the most feasible measure of trust in the phone number and name displayed during an incoming call.

“We fully support the adoption of STIR/SHAKEN as a means to restore trust in calls,” said Neustar General Manager and Vice President of Caller ID Solutions James Garvert. “Neustar’s Certified Caller is a full STIR/SHAKEN solution that enables service providers to meet the standards to authenticate and verify the caller telephone identity between originating and terminating carriers and detect and warn subscribers of spoofing.”

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Virginia, Neustar combines identity and data to offer businesses a range of marketing, risk, communications, security, and registry services. Among the company’s clients are Google, Tesco, Ticketmaster, Allstate, and Pinterest.

Neustar demoed its marketing solution at FinovateSpring 2016. Earlier this year, the company acquired fraud solutions provider TrustID. Neustar is a public company, listed on the NYSE under the ticker “NSR.” The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion. Charles Gottdiener is president and CEO.

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Personetics Unveils AI-Enabled Small Business Banking Solution

Personetics Unveils AI-Enabled Small Business Banking Solution
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Personetics

Personetics is leveraging its success in developing AI-enabled consumer banking solutions to help small businesses better manage their day-to-day banking affairs. The tool is geared toward the small business owners who cite a “lack of tools that fit their needs” as the primary challenge to banking digitally. Personetics’ integrates the solution into the bank’s online and mobile channels to give SMEs deeper insight into cash flow and liquidity.

“The small business solution is a result of our work with banks around the globe to address the shifting expectations of business customers as they become more digital-savvy,” Personetics co-founder and CEO David Sosna explained. “Banks that act on these emerging needs have an opportunity to turn online and mobile banking into the go-to places for businesses to manage their day-to-day finances and stay ahead of the rapidly evolving needs of their small business customers.”

Personetics’ new solution proactively identifies potential issues in payments and receivables, anticipates future cashflow, and offers relevant financing options to help users reach liquidity and growth objectives. Additionally, the technology leverages bank and accounting information to give users a comprehensive overview of both financial planning and actual activity.

The company’s announcement is the latest sign of Personetics’ determination to bring AI-enabled personalization solutions to more financial institutions. In March, Personetics teamed up with fellow Finovate alum MX in a technology partnership designed to help FIs translate data into actionable insights.

Also this spring, Personetics partner BGL BNP Paribas, one of the largest banks in Luxembourg, launched its personalized, intelligent digital assistant, Genius. The AI-powered solution, which the bank said was “developed in close collaboration with the fintech Personetics,” encourages financial wellness by providing information on user spending, analyzing cash flow for unusual transactions or other issues, and offering tips on better banking.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, Personetics demonstrated its Personetics Anywhere chatbot solution at FinovateFall 2016. The company works with six of the top 12 banks in North America and Europe, and serves more than 60 million customers around the world.

Personetics has raised more than $18 million in funding from investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital Israel, and Viola Ventures. The company announced an investment of an undisclosed amount from United Overseas Bank last summer.

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Q2 and ALTR Leverage the Blockchain to Boost Data Security

Q2 and ALTR Leverage the Blockchain to Boost Data Security
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ALTR, Q2

Hot on the heels of its Finovate debut earlier this month, blockchain-based data security platform ALTR has teamed up with digital banking solutions provider Q2 to unveil a new solution to improve data security.

The new technology, Q2 TrustView, powered by ALTR, adds to Q2’s approach to data management and protection by mitigating security breaches in real time. The solution protects critical data by fragmenting personally identifiable information (PII) across a private, low-latency blockchain, and makes data-at-rest unusable to unauthorized parties. Q2 TrustView powered by ALTR also gives authorized users a comprehensive insight into who accesses sensitive information, as well as data on when and how frequently that data is accessed.

“Great financial experiences are built on a foundational confidence and trust that an account holder’s data will be protected,” Q2 CTO Adam Blue said. “With Q2 TrustView, we are strengthening our data management approach to ensure that protections are in place for our customers and their users at every step of the data journey.”

ALTR CEO Dave Sikora praised Q2’s leadership in a “highly-regulated industry,” and said it was a “powerful validation of the confidence (that) banking and lending institutions” have in his company’s technology. He added, “Data is critical to these institutions, and the integration of ALTR’s smart driver and blockchain technologies into Q2 TrustView reinforces Q2’s approach to data security, privacy, and governance by implementing a critical human error countermeasure.”

Founded in 2004, Q2 demonstrated its Biller Direct solution at FinovateSpring 2018. Biller Direct enables consumers to aggregate their bills and pay them via credit or debit card. The solution both improves the billpay experience for consumers and gives financial institutions the opportunity to earn interchange revenue in the process.

We highlighted Q2 earlier this year in our look at how banks can compete with the new credit card from Apple. The company closed out 2018 with the acquisition of fellow Finovate alum, Gro Solutions.

Making its Finovate debut less than a month ago at FinovateSpring, Austin, Texas-based ALTR was founded in 2014 to help businesses leverage blockchain technology to change the way data is monitored, accessed, and stored. The company announced in April that its technology had earned Level 1 Service Provider accreditation for the latest version of the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). In February, ALTR partnered with IT solutions integrator Sirius Computer Solutions to provide its blockchain-based data security as a managed service.

Named one of Built in Austin’s 50 Startups to Watch in 2019, ALTR has raised $15 million in funding.

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Fintech Illustrated

Fintech Illustrated
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2019

If you had to draw fintech, what would it look like? For our audience at FinovateSpring last week, it might look similar to the illustrations below.

Check out sketches that cover the highlights from 10 sessions at last week’s show (there’s a lot to unpack, so click on the image to open it in a new tab).

A huge thanks to Giselle Chow Consulting (gisellechow.com) for the composition and use of the images!

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ALTR, BlueVine, Coinbase, Currency Cloud, Equifax, Fenergo, Finastra, Fintech OS, Kony, Lendio, Meniga, Neustar, Personetics, Q2, SparkPost, The Currency Cloud, Tink

On Finovate.com

  • Q2 and ALTR Leverage the Blockchain to Boost Data Security.
  • Neustar Helps TELUS Fight Caller ID Spoofing.
  • Fintech OS Raises $1.2 Million.
  • Personetics Unveils AI-Enabled Small Banking Solution.
  • SparkPost Launches Predictive Email Intelligence Platform.

Around the web

  • Meniga opens an office in Barcelona, Spain.
  • Coinbase extends support for USD Coin (USDC) trading in 85 countries.
  • Finastra hires Mark Miller as new Chief Financial Officer.
  • Fenergo announces API integration with global financial markets data provider Refinitiv.
  • Hastings Direct extends deal with Equifax by signing a multi-year deal.
  • SDC and Tink partner to give 120 Nordic banks access to account aggregation and payment initiation services.
  • Kony Quantum powers Qualifacts’ new CareLogic mobile app.
  • WireBarley partners with Currencycloud to boost its operations in the U.S.
  • Lendio named to Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance.
  • BlueVine taps Herman Man as new Chief Product Officer.

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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ClickSWITCH Raises $13 Million in Series B

ClickSWITCH Raises $13 Million in Series B
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ClickSWITCH, Funding

Minnesota-based ClickSWITCH is having a big month. A week after making its first-ever appearance on the Finovate stage, the account acquisition solution provider has announced raising $13 million in new funding.

The Series B was led by Commerce Ventures and Points72 Ventures, and will help the company accelerate its product roadmap, add to its executive leadership ranks – as well as to its sales and development teams – and contribute toward the firm’s overall growth.

ClickSWITCH CEO Cale Johnston underscored the momentum the company has experienced with clients and prospects since closing its previous, Series A round. “We remain focused on providing the best automated account switching solution available in the market for financial institutions and fintechs,” Johnston said. “We are eager to continue working with Commerce Ventures, Points72 Ventures, and our other tremendous investors to further growth of our customer base and expand our service offerings.”

Founded in 2014, ClickSwitch offers financial institutions a white-label technology that enables customers to easily and quickly switch their direct deposits and recurring payments when opening new accounts. In addition to improving the process for banking customers, the solution makes it easier for FIs to onboard new customers by making new account funding a faster process.

Commerce Ventures Partner Dan Rosen referred to the landscape as a “battle for banking deposits” between banks and fintechs. “ClickSWITCH is a critical utility for onboarding and activating valuable new customers,” he said. Point72 Venture’s Tripp Shriner added that changing direct deposits was one of the “biggest pain points” for banking consumers when it comes to opening a new account. ClickSWITCH, per Shriner, “dramatically reduce(s) friction … increasing choice for customers.”

This latest round of funding puts ClickSWITCH’s total capital at $17.1 million. Earlier this year, the company announced a partnership that would bring its account switching solution to Virginia’s Old Point National Bank. ClickSWITCH demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring in May. Video of the company’s live demonstration will be available soon.

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masterQueue Closes First Round of Funding

masterQueue Closes First Round of Funding
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Intellaegis

Debt collection solutions company Intellaegis, which does business under the name masterQueue, is marking its first round of funding today. The amount of the investment is undisclosed.

“To this point, we’d been self-funded by the founders and two strategic Angel investors,” said Co-Founder and CFO Perla Lewis. “This allowed us to double staff and increase our year over year Q1 revenue from 2018 to 2019 by eighty percent.”

The company has also brought on Lance Suder, a former entrepreneur and Stanford grad, as its Director of Operations. “As masterQueue makes contacting customers easy, efficient and compliant, I’m proud to join their seasoned team, and we’re excited to have found an investor that shares our vision and passion,” said Suder.

masterQueue’s debt collections tools help recapture delinquent loans by gathering, organizing, and tracking big data from dozens of data aggregators to find customer assets. The resulting workflow facilitates compliant debt collection, skip tracing, and repossession efforts.

Debt collection technology is one of the lesser-heralded sub-sectors of fintech. Perhaps startups are hesitant to enter the space because of its associations with loan sharks. We have, however, seen a handful of successful entrants in the space, including TrueAccord, collectAI, and Global Debt Registry.

Headquartered in California, Intellaegis demonstrated masterQueue’s debt collection workflow at FinovateSpring 2011. John Lewis is president and CEO.

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Finastra Inks New Bank Partners for its Blockchain-Based Lending Platform

Finastra Inks New Bank Partners for its Blockchain-Based Lending Platform
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finastra

Finastra has signed three global banks on its Fusion LenderComm platform: BNP Paribas, Natixis and Societe Generale, following a recent sign-up by NatWest, reports Henry Vilar of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

“All of these banks were part of our Fusion LenderComm pilot and the momentum that the platform has seen since then is nothing short of extraordinary,” said Grant Jones, VP, Fusion LenderComm, Finastra. “This brings global banks together on the platform in the live Fusion LenderComm environment, for seamless and secure information exchange.”

Fusion LenderComm is based on Corda Enterprise, R3’s commercial version of its open source blockchain platform, Corda. The firm says it is enabling banks to expose real-time credit agreement, accrual balances and position information data to lenders, directly from agent bank loan servicing platforms, such as Finastra’s Fusion Loan IQ.

Philippe Boulas, Global Head of Corporate Banking Operations at BNP Paribas, said: “With the creation of this community and a collaborative mindset we have a unique opportunity to tackle the operational pain points we have all been experiencing for years and that constrain syndicated loan market expansion.”

Finastra said that Fusion LenderComm integrates directly into the overall technology stack at the banks.

Cécile Bartenieff, COO of global banking and investor solutions at Societe Generale, said: “The Fusion LenderComm initiative will help provide greater transparency and operational efficiency to the syndicated loan market for the benefit of all participants, including the pool of banking lenders and our borrower clients. This is an illustration of how blockchain can help banks optimize the entire flow of financial operations in a standardized and secured framework.”

The product of a merger between Misys – which demonstrated its FusionFabric.cloud technology at FinovateEurope 2017 – and D+H two years ago, Finastra recently announced the appointment of Chief People Office Sharon Doherty. Named a leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide End-to-End Corporate Banking Solution Providers 2019 Vendor Assessment report in March, Finastra has forged a variety of partnerships in the first half of the year, including deals with Al Taif Islamic Bank in Iraq and Silvergate Bank of San Diego, California.

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The ID Co. Lands $2 Million

The ID Co. Lands $2 Million
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, MiiCard, The ID Co.

Bank data expert The ID Co. boosted its funding total to $11 million this week after closing on $2 million (£1.5 million). Headline investors in today’s round are Amadeus Capital Partners and SixThirty.

The company, which already has clients in 30 countries, said the funding will fuel further global growth. CEO James Varga said, “We are hiring fast and entering new markets and geographies across the globe. The recent launch of DirectID Insights and Income Verification means that we are in an excellent place to capitalise on the need for greater efficiency in lending practices to reflect borrowers’ expectations.”

The ID Co. has two main branches, DirectID, its B2B offering, and NoMo, its B2C product launched last fall. DirectID’s product lineup includes Insights, a dashboard that displays data to assist underwriters in lending decisions, and Income Verification, a tool that combines real time data with six algorithms to offer a clear picture of clients’ income. In addition, the company offers an onboarding solution, a categories and classifications engine, and a bank account validation tool.

James Varga, CEO (right), and Lazaro Campos, Chairman

The ID Co. was prepared for the onset of the U.K.’s Open Banking mandate well before it came into play last January. Atul Kamra, Managing Partner of SixThirty said, “James and The ID Co. team have gotten a real nice head start here, and are well positioned to take advantage from the regulatory tail winds afforded by Open Banking.”

Varga added, “The financial world is being fundamentally changed through Open Banking. It improves our understanding of each individual, allowing us to move away from traditional credit reference agencies.” Varga last demonstrated miiCard’s identity as a service capabilities at FinovateFall 2013.

Launched as miiCard in 2011, the company pivoted to The ID Co. in 2016. Within the last year, the company has launched its Open Banking API, released its NoMo consumer cashflow tracking app, and unveiled its Income Verification solution.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: additiv, clevercircles, ClickSWITCH, CustomerXPs, FamZoo, Finastra, Finhorizon, Intellaegis, Strands, The ID Co., Tradeshift

On Finovate.com

  • The ID Co. Lands $2 Million.
  • Finastra Inks New Bank Partners for its Blockchain-Based Lending Platform.
  • ClickSWITCH Raises $13 Million in Series B.
  • masterqueue Closes First Round of Funding.

Around the web

  • Fintech Switzerland lists additiv, finhorizon, and clevercircles on list of wealthtechs offering more than just roboadvisory.
  • Forbes on how Tradeshift is fighting modern day slavery.
  • Mint Life names FamZoo on list of apps to teach kids about money.
  • IBS Intelligence features CustomerXPS’ Clari5 in its latest report.

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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Segmint Powers Data Analytics for Buzz Points

Segmint Powers Data Analytics for Buzz Points
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Segmint

Data insights startup Segmint has agreed to power analytics capabilities for Austin, TX-based Buzz Points. Specifically, Ohio’s Segmint will enable Buzz Points to help its clients to build marketing segments based on cardholders’ buying behavior.

“The ability to identify customers with a strong probability of action in combination with a strong call to action like rewards is a marketer’s dream,” said Dwayne Spradlin, Buzz Points CEO. “We’re excited to find strategic partners like Segmint that help us continue to offer robust platform solution with an even greater ROI for our clients.”

Founded in 2007, Segmint leverages the raw, unstructured data from banks’ consumer transactions to form marketing insights that lead to customer acquisition, cross-selling, and more efficient marketing techniques.

The company’s products include Merchant Payment Cleansing, a tool that decodes merchants’ cryptic transaction data descriptions; Transaction Analytics, which cleans and categorizes data to make it useful for marketers; and Data-Driven Marketing Platform, an all-in-one tool to help non-technical marketers create, deliver, and monitor campaigns.

Segmint, which demoed at FinovateFall 2012, was founded by John Cale, Nate Shahan, and Rob Heiser, who serves as CEO. The company has raised $30 million.

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Onfido Delivers ID Verification to Mobility-as-a-Service Firm Drover

Onfido Delivers ID Verification to Mobility-as-a-Service Firm Drover
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Onfido

Mobility-as-a-service platform Drover has teamed up with identity verification specialist Onfido to support smarter, more secure onboarding for its customers.

“Balancing security against a smooth user experience is a challenge for many businesses, but our AI technology means we’re able to help Drover deliver both,” Onfido CEO Husayn Kassai said. “Reducing risk and building trust is core to both of our businesses, so the partnership is a natural fit.”

With Onfido as a partner, Drover will offer its drivers the ability to easily verify their identity when signing up for the company’s flexible car subscriptions. Drivers take a photo of their government-issued ID document, and Onfido checks to assure that the document is genuine by cross-referencing it against international databases. The technology also leverages machine learning to conduct facial checks to ensure image accuracy and liveness.

Drover CEO Felix Leuschner highlighted this last factor as one of the key reasons for partnering with Onfido. “As we grow our user base, being able to consistently deliver the speed our users want with the security they need is crucial,” he said. “Onfido helps us do both, so we can protect our platform without impacting on (our) user experience.”

An alternative to car leasing and buying, Drover began as an option for drivers working for Uber. Founded in 2015, the company has since grown into a subscription service for consumers that provides access to a new car for a single, all-in-one monthly payment. Drover is based in London, U.K., and has raised more than $9.7 million (£7.5 million) from investors including Partech, Version One Ventures, Cherry Ventures, Forward Partners, and BP Ventures.

Onfido demonstrated its Facial Check with Video technology at FinovateFall 2018. The London, U.K.-based company, which was founded in 2012, raised $50 million in new funding last month in a round led by SBI Investment and Salesforce Ventures. Appointed to the FIDO Alliance Board of Directors and added to the inaugural cohort of cross-border regulatory sandbox, Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) this spring, Onfido also made major C-suite moves in the first half of the year, appointing Kevin Goldsmith as Chief Technology Officer and Thomas Ammirati as Chief Revenue Officer.

In addition to its partnership with Drover, Onfido has teamed up with a variety of businesses and institutions this year. In March, the company announced a collaboration with INTERPOL to help the international police organization better spot fraudulent IDs. In February, Onfido announced it would provide identity verification for 2nd Address, a California-based online rental marketplace for extended accommodations.

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