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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Chime has launched Instant Loans, a micro-lending product offering up to $500 instantly with a fixed interest rate of 29.76%, without credit checks.
When members repay these loans on time, it can help boost their credit scores by 10 to 30 points, as Chime reports on-time payments to credit bureaus.
The Instant Loans product complements Chime’s existing suite of financial tools targeted toward middle-income users, including MyPay (paycheck advances) and SpotMe (fee-free overdrafts).
Neobank mega-competitor Chimeannounced that it has launched Instant Loans, a new product that allows users to access to up to $500 in funds instantly with a fixed interest rate.
The Instant Loans are three-month installment loans of up to $500 available to Chime members who receive direct deposits to their Chime Checking Account and are pre-approved, with no credit check required. To underwrite the loans, Chime uses its own technology combined with its own unique data sources.
Chime will notify members who are pre-approved within the Chime app and if a customer chooses to access the funds, they pay a fixed interest rate of $5 for every $100 borrowed and repay the funds in three monthly payments of $35 per $100 borrowed. This equates to an interest rate of 29.76%.
When consumers repay on time, they can potentially build up their credit, as Chime reports each on-time payment to credit reporting agencies. According to Chime, customers who pay on time may see their credit score increase by 10 to 30 points.
“We are relentlessly focused on helping everyday people achieve financial progress,” said Chime Chief Product Officer Madhu Muthukumar. “Our members have told us that they want simple and transparent tools to access money when they need it, and to help them build credit — and we’re excited Instant Loans provides both to our members.”
Chime was founded in 2012 and is well known in fintech for offering tools and services that cater to lower-to-middle income consumers. The challenger bank is best known for its earned wage access tool that allows users to receive their paycheck up to two days earlier when they set up direct deposit, but Chime also offers a credit-building tool and a feature that will spot users up to $200 to avoid account overdrafts.
Today’s launch of high interest micro-loans is a perfect fit for Chime, which aims to create transparency in lending with the fixed interest rate. The new Instant Loans product sits in Chime’s portfolio of other micro-loans, including MyPay, which is a paycheck advance product that allows members to access up to $500 of their check before payday with no interest; and SpotMe, which allows members to overdraft without fees.
The rage over regtech is real. In response to growing customer demands, emerging financial crime threats, and attempts by regulatory bodies to manage both of these developments, the field of regulatory compliance has never been more topical in financial services.
To this end, we interviewed banking and financial services compliance veteran Tracy Moore. Director of Thought Leadership & Regulatory Affairs at Fenergo, Moore joins the Finovate blog to provide her perspective on the regulatory environment for banks, fintechs, and financial services companies in 2025.
As part of Finovate’s commemoration of Women’s History Month, we also discuss issues of gender diversity in banking and financial services, and the role of mentorship in helping foster future leaders in the industry.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and the work you do at Fenergo?
Tracy Moore: I began my career in corporate legal training, specializing in finance and treasury transactions. My journey took me to Europe, where I transitioned into banking, spending much of my career in legal and compliance roles at global financial institutions. Upon returning to the U.S., I continued this path at a super-regional bank, gaining extensive experience in regulatory compliance and financial crime risk management.
Today, I serve as the Director of Thought Leadership & Regulatory Affairs at Fenergo, the global leader in Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) technology for financial institutions. In this role, I focus on financial crime risk management, regulatory change, and digital transformation, helping institutions solve for complex regulatory environments while enhancing operational efficiency.
I am deeply passionate about influencing industry change and driving technological advancements that make the financial sector safer and more resilient. My work involves collaborating with global regulators, financial institutions, and technology providers to develop innovative solutions that protect the industry against financial crime. I help connect regulation and technology to shape the future of compliance and risk management in today’s financial landscape.
What is it about the field of banking compliance that you find most interesting professionally?
Moore: I find it fascinating how geopolitical events shape the global financial industry, influencing not just regulatory frameworks but also presenting new challenges, such as financial crime and evolving risk landscapes. Today’s economy is so interconnected, and this means that financial institutions must constantly shift to address challenges such as sanctions, emerging threats, and evolving compliance requirements.
What truly interests me is the delicate balance financial institutions must strike meeting regulatory expectations, staying ahead of increasingly sophisticated bad actors, driving revenue growth, and ensuring safe financial services for their clients. Achieving this balance requires a combination of strategic foresight, innovation, and collaboration across the industry. Everyday has a new perspective and new challenges.
How has banking compliance changed over the course of your career in the industry?
Moore: Looking back over the past 25 years, the evolution of banking compliance has been nothing short of dramatic. When I started my career, compliance was often seen as a back-office function, more about checking boxes than driving change. Fast forward to today, and compliance has become a core pillar of financial institutions, shaping everything from risk management to customer experience.
One of the biggest shifts of course has been technology advancements. Alongside this, the sheer pace and complexity of regulatory change. Events like 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and major geopolitical shifts have completely reshaped the regulatory landscape. We’ve moved from more localized, paper-based processes to a hyper-digital, data-driven, and globally interconnected approach to compliance.
As a woman in this industry, I’ve also witnessed the growing role of diverse leadership in compliance and risk management. The field has evolved beyond traditional legal and audit backgrounds to welcome technologists, data analysts, and strategic thinkers, many of whom are women bringing fresh perspectives to a historically male-dominated space.
Issues (and innovation) in banking compliance have never been more top of mind. How have we arrived at this point, and is it a good thing for banks and their customers?
Moore: We’re here because the stakes have never been higher. Over the past two decades, a mix of financial crises, evolving threats, digital disruption, and geopolitical shifts has pushed compliance to the forefront. Regulators have responded with increasingly complex expectations, bringing the role of compliance into strategic planning for financial institutions.
This pressure has fuelled innovation.
AI, automation, and data analytics are transforming compliance, reducing manual processes, improving risk detection, and enhancing the customer experiences. Banks are now able to onboard clients faster, monitor activity in real time, and anticipate threats before they escalate.
For banks, it’s both a challenge and an opportunity. Compliance is tougher than ever, but those who embrace technology can gain a competitive edge. And for customers stronger compliance means better security, smoother transactions, and more trust in the system.
Seeing this shift firsthand is what lead me to make the decision to leave the traditional compliance role in banking and join Fenergo because I knew technology would be the driving force behind the future of compliance, and I wanted to be part of this transformation.
How do AI and automation create new compliance challenges for banks? In what ways can firms use these technologies to address compliance issues?
Moore: AI and automation can streamline compliance, but they also raise concerns both from regulators and banks themselves. Many institutions are skeptical, worrying about black-box decision-making, regulatory scrutiny, and potential biases.
The key challenge is explainability. Regulators need to understand how AI-driven decisions are made, so firms must prioritize transparency, clear documentation, and strong oversight.
That said, when used responsibly, AI can enhance risk detection, automate manual tasks, and improve compliance efficiency. The solution lies in communication by working with regulators to ensure AI models are interpretable, auditable, and aligned with compliance standards.
What areas of banking compliance do you think deserve more attention than they are getting?
Moore: Emerging digital assets and global regulatory alignment are two areas that need far more attention in banking compliance. The rapid rise of crypto, tokenization, and digital payments has outpaced regulatory frameworks, leaving financial institutions in a tough spot. How do you innovate while staying compliant in an environment where the rules are still being written? Without clear, consistent guidelines, banks are hesitant to fully engage, creating uncertainty for the entire industry.
At the same time, jurisdictional differences make compliance incredibly burdensome in today’s global economy. Financial crime doesn’t stop at borders, but regulations do, forcing banks to navigate a patchwork of requirements that slow down operations and increase costs. More global alignment and collaboration between regulators could ease this burden, ensuring that compliance is both effective and practical in a world where money moves faster than ever.
And lastly, the evolving nature of financial crime. Criminals are getting more sophisticated, using everything from deepfake identities to crypto mixing services to evade detection. Compliance programs need to move beyond traditional rule-based approaches and embrace real-time, predictive intelligence to stay ahead.
What are your thoughts on the progress made—or not made—toward greater gender diversity in banking in recent years? Are you optimistic about the future of women in banking, particularly in areas like compliance?
Moore: Women in banking, especially in compliance, have made progress, but not nearly enough. Too often, diversity is overlooked as a business advantage instead of recognized for the value it brings. In today’s geopolitical and financial environment, organizations need diverse perspectives to navigate risk and drive innovation, yet those perspectives are still dismissed.
Despite this, I am optimistic. Women are smart, resilient, and persistent. We continue to prove our expertise in ways that cannot be ignored. Compliance is an area where women thrive because it demands strategic thinking, problem-solving, and leadership under pressure.
Real change will happen when companies move beyond surface-level efforts and embrace diversity as a competitive advantage. Women will keep breaking barriers, whether the industry is ready or not.
Mentorship can play a key role in helping women entering financial services or launching fintechs. Did mentorship play a significant role in your early career? What message would you give to banking and financial services professionals when it comes to sharing their insights and experience as mentors?
Moore: Mentorship has been invaluable in my career. I have always sought out mentors and sponsors—both men and women—who could guide my development and challenge me to grow. Beyond that, I have chosen a personal board of directors: female professional leaders across various industries who have provided insight, support, and perspective at every stage of my journey.
For those in banking and financial services, mentorship is more than just giving advice or sharing a coffee. It is about opening doors, advocating for talent, and sharing real, honest experiences. The next generation of female leaders is watching and learning. It is up to us to make sure they feel supported, empowered, and ready to step forward.
It’s been nearly a year since we celebrated the innovators crowned Best of Show winners at FinovateSpring 2024. As we gear up for our upcoming FinovateSpring 2025 event in sunny San Diego, taking place May 7 through 9, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the impressive achievements of last year’s standout demo companies. These fintechs have continued their momentum from FinovateSpring by making waves in the fintech industry.
Business Insider listed Cascading AI as one of 15 Most Promising AI-Powered Fintech Startups to Watch in 2025.
Gartner identifies Casca as a key vendor for GenAI in lending.
Prosperity Now announces Lukas Haffer, CEO and Co-founder of Casca, as second place award winner of the RISE Challenge Award for its solution to improve loan assistance and identification.
Cascading AI featured in AI in Business Lending Report fro Datos Insights.
Finopotamus features how Remynt rethinks debt collection.
Fox 26 interviews Remynt Founder and CEO Gwyneth Borden on the state of debt in Texas.
Badcredit.org highlights how Remynt brings empathy to collection practices.
FinovateSpring 2025 kicks off May 7 through 9 in San Diego, California. Visit our FinovateSpring hub today to learn more about our emerging speaker lineup, demoing companies, and how to plan your visit to Finovate’s first conference in SoCal!
The first full week of spring is bringing news of partnerships in fraud prevention, lending, and insurtech as well as new product launches in regtech and payments. Be sure to check Finovate’s Fintech Rundown all week long for the latest in updates and announcements in fintech.
Fraud prevention and identity verification
Wisconsin-based community bank IncredibleBank partners with Alloy to enhance its account opening process.
Income and employment verification technology company Trueworkannounces enhancements to its Truework Intelligence platform.
Regtech
Financial services compliance company Thistle Initiativeslaunches its integrated Risk Management as a Service (RMaaS) solution.
Vanquis Banking Group choosesFinScan to help optimize AML processes and strengthen financial crime risk management.
Encryption and tokenization technology payments company Bluefinteams up with Printec Group to bring its PCI-validated, point-to-point encryption solution to retailers in Europe.
Somalia launches its first national instant payment system powered by BPC.
Blackhawk Network and Exchange Solutions partner to offer robust data-driven consumer loyalty program capabilities.
AstroPayexpands access to multicurrency wallet across Latin America.
Splititunveils first fully embedded white-label installment solution for Shopify merchants.
Grazzy teams up with U.S. Bank’s debit card program simplifies the way tipped employees earn and receive digital tips.
Digital banking
Canada’s largest federal credit union, Coast Capital, launches its new digital commercial banking platform courtesy of its partnership with ebankIT.
Credit Union 1 selectsnCinoto power omnichannel experiences for members.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from the South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
Ualá Raises $66 Million at $2.75 Billion Valuation
In a funding round that featured participation from Mexican media titan TelevisaUnivision, Argentina-based fintech Ualá has added $66 million in funding to its Series E round. The additional funding brings the round’s total to $366 million and gives the company a valuation of $2.75 billion.
The capital comes via an equity sale and will be used to fuel Ualá’s growth throughout Latin America—with a particular emphasis on expansion in Mexico. Ualá Founder and Chief Executive Officer Pierpaolo Barbieri praised the participation of TelevisaUnivision, which he called a “very relevant and influential outlet, across Spanish-speaking markets but especially in Mexico.” Barbieri added, “It will help us create confidence and closeness with a lot of Mexicans that still don’t know us.”
The first close of the Series E round was led by Allianz X, German insurance company Allianz SE’s venture capital arm. Also participating in the first close were Stone Ridge Holdings Group and Pershing Square Foundation. Additional investors in the extension round were not named.
Founded in 2017 in Argentina, Ualá offers financial services including payment accounts connected to an international Mastercard prepaid card, as well as savings accounts, loans, investments, business collection solutions, and more. The company has nine million users in the region, including in countries such as Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.
Ualá began the year by announcing the availability of six new mutual funds in its ecosystem, including one fund denominated in dollars. In February, the company integrated an advanced artificial intelligence platform, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4, into its customer service process.
dLocal partners with Temu, Belmoney
Uruguayan fintech and cross-border payments company dLocal announced a pair of partnerships in recent days. First, dLocal launched a new collaboration with Europe-based, remittance-as-a-service (RaaS) provider Belmoney. The goal of the partnership is to facilitate cross-border payouts, leveraging the integration of more than 900 local and alternative payment methods (APMs) such as credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and instant transactions. The collaboration is also designed to boost service reliability and efficiency for those making cross-border transactions in countries including Bangladesh, Ecuador, Peru, and Pakistan.
“Our partnership with dLocal is a game-changer in the remittance space,” Belmoney CEO and Founder Bruno Pedras said. “By integrating with dLocal’s comprehensive network, we can significantly lower costs, improve transaction speeds, and provide a better cross-border payments experience for both senders and recipients.”
Second, dLocal announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with Temu, the international e-commerce platform of China’s PDD Holdings. Together, the two companies seek to provide shoppers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America with new seamless and secure payment options that are suited to local preferences. Millions of customers in 15 emerging markets in these regions stand to benefit from the collaboration.
“By partnering with dLocal, we’re excited to extend these benefits to millions of customers in emerging markets, ensuring that more people can enjoy accessible, convenient shopping experiences,” a Temu spokesperson said in a statement.
Launched in 2022, Temu is an online marketplace that offers consumer goods at significantly discounted prices. Shipping goods directly from the People’s Republic of China, Temu reportedly has more than 292 million monthly active users of its app worldwide. The app was among the most popular in US app stores for both iOS and Android in 2024.
Founded in 2016, dLocal is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay. The country’s first unicorn, dLocal offers an all-in-one payment platform that enables companies to accept and disburse a wide range of local payment methods and currencies. In 2024, the company processed more than $25 billion worth of payments. dLocal works with 700+ merchants, supports 900 payment methods, and operates in more than 40 countries. A publicly traded company on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker DLO, dLocal has a market capitalization of $2.7 billion. Sebastián Kanovich is CEO.
Ant International’s Bettr brings embedded finances services to ecommerce merchants in Brazil
Speaking of partnerships between businesses in Asia and Latin America, we learned this week that Bettr, Ant International’s AI-driven lending business, has gone live in Brazil. Bettr will help expand lending opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by working with local partners such as AliExpress. Through this partnership, Bettr will introduce a new financing solution, Bettr Working Capital, for local merchants working on AliExpress’s platform.
“This collaboration reinforces our commitment to helping small and medium-sized businesses thrive by providing accessible and efficient financial tools that can take their operations to the next level,” LatAm director of AliExpress Briza Bueno said. “In this way, we are not only supporting the individual growth of these entrepreneurs but also contributing to the advancement of e-commerce in the country.”
Bettr Working Capital will be introduced gradually; the first round of disbursements began this week. The technology analyzes merchant sales records and other unstructured business data from AliExpress to make smarter, tailored, more affordable loan solutions. This will help small and medium-sized businesses better manage cash flow and expand into new markets.
Headquartered in Singapore, Ant International is an international digital payments and financial technology provider. Bettr is the company’s digital lending business, which specializes in serving micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The firm combines emerging technologies like AI and data-driven credit modeling to offer secure financial solutions that better fit borrower needs.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina-based fintech Uala raised $66 million at a valuation of $2.75 billion in an extended Series E round.
Remittance company Pomelo integrated with Visa clearing house in Mexico.
Asia-Pacific
Indonesian ride-hailing service InDrive teamed up with Singapore’s Fingular and Indonesia’s Sharia-compliant P2P lending platform Ammana to launch its new inDrive.Money app.
Malaysian wealth management platform Versa raised $6.8 million in Series A funding.
Japan’s international payment brand JCB partnered with integrated payment provider First Cash Solution, expanding JCB Card acceptance in Germany.
Sub-Saharan Africa
African payments technology giant Flutterwave integrated with Pay With Bank Transfer to support businesses in Ghana.
Mastercardextended its collaboration with London-based Paymentology to boost financial inclusion in South Africa.
Compliance and fraud prevention platform Sumsubannounced a partnership with the Association of Fintechs in Kenya.
Central and Eastern Europe
Lithuanian identity verification provider iDenfy announced a collaboration with mobility provider Evemo.
Estonian fintech Hoovi raised €8 million in funding via a structured bond issue from Finland’s Multitude International Bank.
Moldova-based digital wallet and electronic money institution (EMI) Paynet partnered with open banking services provider Salt Edge.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Israeli fintech FINQ became the first Israeli company to secure a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Registered Investor Advisor (RIA) license without relocating to the US.
Egyptian fintech Fawry inked a strategic agreement with Contact Financial Holding to expand access to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services.
This week’s edition of Streamly Snapshot features Swift Managing Director and Head of Innovation Nick Kerigan in a conversation titled, “Digital Assets in Financial Services: Are You Ready?”
In this interview, Kerigan talks with Finovate Senior Research analyst Julie Muhn about the rise of the digital asset market and its potential impact on banking and financial services. Kerigan explains why financial institutions should act now in order to take advantage of the opportunities in digital assets. He also discusses Swift’s collaboration with organizations throughout the industry as part of its live digital asset trials this year.
“We’ve seen a real resurgence in interest in digital assets. There are many institutional changes that are happening, (including) developments in the US with the executive order, in the European Union, Hong Kong, Singapore, with new regimes coming into place. We’re seeing that institutional framework being developed and, as a result, we’re also seeing quite a lot of real-world issuance of digital assets.”
The world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services, Swift is an international, member-owned cooperative founded in 1973 and headquartered in Belgium. Swift’s messaging platform, products, and services connect 11,000+ banking and securities organizations, market infrastructures, and corporate customers in 200+ countries and territories.
Kerigan has served as Swift’s Managing Director and Head of Innovation since 2020. In his role at Swift, Kerigan is responsible for executing Swift’s innovation strategy, managing the organization’s portfolio of innovation sprints, and leading Swift’s response to emerging trends such as CBDCs and tokenized assets.
Earlier this week, we highlighted some of the women who will be introducing their companies to Finovate audiences via the demo stage at FinovateSpring 2025 in San Diego, May 7 through 9.
Today, as part of our continued Women’s History Month commemoration, we feature the “content” side of Finovate conferences by showcasing the women who will be discussing and interpreting many of the trends and technologies that are shaping fintech today.
Ipsita Basu
Product Management Leader, Shopify
Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Shopify is an international commerce company that provides tools to enable entrepreneurs to start, grow, manage, and market a retail business of any size. The company powers millions of businesses in more than 175 countries.
Behavioral scientist and Managing Director, Irrational Labs
Irrational Labs leverages behavioral science to make people happier, healthier, and wealthier. The company applies behavioral economics findings to product, marketing, and organizational design problems. Through environment design and thoughtful interventions, Irrational Labs improves decision-making for both companies and their customers.
SVP, Chief Marketing Officer, Valley Strong Credit Union
With more than 350,000 members, Bakersfield, California-based Valley Strong Credit Union offers checking and savings accounts, credit cards, personal and auto loans, mortgage and home loans, investing and retirement services, and more.
Headquartered in London, Wise provides currency management and exchange solutions that enable individuals and businesses to hold more than 40 currencies, move money between countries, and spend money abroad. Launched in 2011 as “TransferWise,” the company serves 16 million people and businesses around the world.
Culture Fluid is a monthly newsletter, published on LinkedIn, that offers “a new way to think in a post-AI world.” Recent newsletter topics include “What is Creativity in an AI Age?” “DeepSeek: Searching for Answers in the Depth of the US-China AI War,” and “The Agentic Future and How it Will Change Work.”
Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) provides independent perspectives, interactive data, and research across a variety of industries and international markets. The BI team features 400 research professionals who help clients make more informed decisions in an ever-shifting investment landscape.
A paid subscription service of Amazon, Amazon Prime gives users access to a range of additional services including one- or two-day goods delivery; streaming music, video, e-books, gaming, grocery shopping services, and more. The company has more than 200 million subscribers around the world.
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, TTV Capital invests in fintechs that serve the diverse needs of businesses in financial services as well as the consumers of financial products. With more than 100 years of venture capital and relevant industry operating expertise, TTV creates value for entrepreneurs and investors, helping them grow and succeed.
Chief Research and Digital Experience Officer, MSU Federal Credit Union
MSU Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) was founded in 1937 in order to help its members secure financial success and stability during challenging economic times. MSUFCU has 23 locations including five in Oakland County, one in downtown Detroit, two in Grand Rapids, and two in Traverse City.
Built by community bankers to help community banks innovate, evolve, and thrive, BankTech Ventures is a strategic investment founded in 2021. Based in Costa Mesa, California, BankTech Ventures seeks to generate both strategic value and financial returns for their investors. The fund sources, vets, invests in, and introduces bank-enabling technology solutions to boost the competitive positions of its community bank partners.
Innovator, Technologist, and Connector, Unconventional Ventures
Unconventional Ventures provides boutique consulting services to drive innovation that enhances financial wellness. The firm connects founders to funders, provides mentorship to entrepreneurs, advises a broad range of corporates, and helps broaden opportunities for diversity with financial services. Unconventional Ventures works with banking clients, fintech startups, and technology firms alike
Managing Director, Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI)
Based in San Francisco, California and founded in 2022, Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) works with payment and technology companies from around the world to help them make strategic decisions in emerging markets through research, data analysis, and innovative thinking. PCMI is a subsidiary of Latin America-based market intelligence company Americas Market Intelligence (AMI).
Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869. A leading global investment banking, securities, and investment management firm, Goldman Sachs offers a range of financial services including investment banking, securities trading, asset management, and wealth management to corporates, governments, financial institutions, and individuals.
A digital bank serving small businesses, startups, and investors in the innovation economy, Grasshopper Bank offers digital solutions for small businesses, venture-backed firms, fintech-based Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and commercial API banking platforms, as well as both SBA and commercial real estate lending. Founded in 2019, Grasshopper Bank is based in New York.
U.S. Bank is the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States. The firm offers a diversified mix of businesses, including commercial and institutional banking, business banking, payments, wealth management, and consumer banking. The company is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Finovate conferences showcase cutting-edge banking and financial technology through a unique combination of live, short-form technology demonstrations and mainstage presentations from thought leaders and analysts in fintech and financial services.
Head of Embedded Payments, SVB, a Division of First Citizens Bank
SVB, a Division of First Citizens Bank, is known for its role in supporting innovative companies, entrepreneurs, and investors. More than 70% of cyber companies featured on the Fortune Cyber 60 list are SVB clients as are 50% of all US VC-backed technology companies with 2024 IPOs.
Curinos was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in New York. The firm leverages AI-based decisioning tools, predictive analytics, and science-based platforms to enable clients to spot emerging opportunities that lead to better decision-making and enduring performance gains.
Head of Credit / Trade Finance, Crescendo Asset Management
Crescendo Asset Management offers a trade finance strategy focused on supply chain finance, embedded finance, accounts receivable purchasing, structured trade and other trade finance structured products that support the SME (small and mid-sized enterprise) market in the US as well as around the world.
SVP, Chief Retail Officer, Valley Strong Credit Union
Headquartered in Bakersfield, California and founded in 1938, Valley Strong Credit Union serves its community with extensive loan programs—including home and auto—as well as the latest in digital technology, retirement and wealth management services.
Headquartered in San Diego, California, Symphonic Capital is a pre-seed venture capital fund. Led by veteran pre-seed investors and operators, the fund bets on founders at their earliest stages and matches them with the tools, guidance, and capital they need in order to succeed.
Founded in 2011 and known as “TransferWise” when it made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2013 in London, Wise today facilitates the movement of $37 billion (£30 billion) across borders each quarter. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the ticker WISE, and has a market capitalization of $11.5 billion.
Core banking provider Tuum and verification platform Sumsub announced a partnership this week.
The collaboration will help banks, fintechs, and financial institutions enhance fraud prevention without compromising the user experience.
Tuum won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2024 in London. Sumsub made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin.
A newly announced partnership between core banking provider Tuum and full-cycle verification platform Sumsub will give banks, fintechs, and financial institutions the ability to streamline customer onboarding and enhance fraud prevention without adding friction to the user experience.
The integration of Sumsub’s compliance solutions will help financial institutions deal with the growing threat of fraud and financial crime. This includes a global, fourfold increase in AI-driven deepfake scams. Adding to this challenge is the proliferation of new regulations that are tightening compliance requirements and mandating greater security and operational resilience.
“Regulatory compliance and fraud prevention are no longer just obligations—they are critical to long-term success in financial services,” Tuum Partnerships Director Peter DeSouza said. “With new frameworks like PSD3 and DORA shaping the industry, banks and fintechs must embed resilience, security, and real-time fraud detection into their core operations.”
Through the partnership, banks and fintechs working with Tuum will benefit from automated identity verification and AI-powered fraud detection and transaction monitoring. This will enable them to onboard customers faster and comply with international KYC/AML regulations. Tuum-powered institutions will also benefit from the ability to securely scale and operate in multiple markets thanks to real-time decisioning and continuous risk monitoring.
“As financial institutions navigate increasingly complex regulatory landscapes, seamless compliance and fraud prevention are more critical than ever,” Sumsub Business Development Director for EU/UK Julia Bonda said. “Over three-quarters of fraud now occurs beyond the onboarding stage, with identity fraud in Europe surging by 150% year-over-year in 2024.”
Making its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin, Sumsub offers a full-cycle verification platform including customizable solutions for KYC, KYB, transaction monitoring, and fraud prevention. Founded in 2015, the company has more than 4,000 clients in industries such as fintech, trading, e-commerce, crypto, transportation, education, and more. Sumsub’s customers include Bitpanda, Bybit, Wirex, and TransferGo. Andrew Sever is the company’s Founder and CEO.
Of late, Sumsub has forged partnerships with the Association of Fintechs in Kenya (AFIK), workforce payroll and payments platform Papaya Global, and Latin America-based corporate expense management company Clara. Most recently, the company announced a partnership with Duolingo to bolster security for the language-learning app’s English language proficiency test, the DET.
Headquartered in the UK and Estonia, Tuum won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2024. At the conference, the company demonstrated how its modular, cloud-native, API-first banking platform leverages a microservices architecture to provide high scalability and flexibility along with lower maintenance costs. In the year since then, Tuum has secured partnerships with numerous fintechs including TransactionLink, CREALOGIX, DDCAP ETHOS, Ozone API, Flexys, ComplyAdvantage, and audax. The company was founded in 2019. Myles Bertrand is CEO.
Core10 is partnering with PayNearMe to integrate loan repayment options, allowing its bank clients to offer payments via PayPal, Venmo, Cash App Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, and even cash at 62,000 retail locations.
The integration with Core10’s Mesh middleware simplifies adoption, enabling real-time core banking connections for faster payment posting, balance updates, and improved transaction accuracy.
The partnership aims to enhance borrower payment experiences by reducing agent-assisted transactions, decreasing delinquency rates, and lowering operational costs for financial institutions.
Middleware provider Core10announced today that it has selected payments innovator PayNearMe to enhance loan repayment capabilities for its bank clients.
Core10 will integrate PayNearMe’s platform within its Mesh middleware to enable financial institutions to seamlessly connect PayNearMe’s solution to their core banking system. PayNearMe will allow firms to offer borrowers a full suite of modern payment options, including PayPal, Venmo, Cash App Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, cards, and ACH. Uniquely, thanks to PayNearMe’s merchant partnerships, banks can also allow customers to pay their loan balances using cash at more than 62,000 retail locations. By offering a wide range of payment options, Core10 will enable borrowers to pay using their preferred methods, which ultimately increases on-time payments and self-service transactions while reducing reliance on customer support.
“Partnering with Core10 is a key step in expanding our reach in the banking and credit union market,” said PayNearMe CRO Michael Kaplan. “Core10’s Mesh platform, with its pre-built connections to major core systems, makes deploying PayNearMe fast and simple. With PayNearMe, banks and credit unions can provide borrowers with a frictionless, mobile-first payment experience—reducing agent-assisted payment interactions by up to 40%. By improving the payment experience, financial institutions can decrease delinquency, reduce call center volume, and lower their cost of acceptance.”
PayNearMe was founded in 2009 to enable unbanked individuals to transact online by paying with cash at brick-and-mortar retailers. Today, the California-based company offers payments processing, exception management, and diverse payment options for banks, toll companies, mortgage servicing companies, online gaming, auto lenders, and buy here pay here payment collectors.
With its connections to major core banking providers including Jack Henry, Fiserv, CSI, Core10 will help its bank clients quickly implement PayNearMe with minimal IT effort. The real-time core integration will enable immediate payment posting and balance updates that will help improve the efficiency and accuracy of organizations’ transaction processing.
“Core10 is dedicated to helping financial institutions innovate faster,” said Core10 CEO Jeff Hanson. “Our Mesh middleware makes it easy for financial institutions to connect new fintech solutions into their ecosystems, and PayNearMe is an ideal payments partner. Together, we’re helping banks and credit unions deliver exceptional payment experiences that drive down costs through streamlined operations and improved payment success rates.”
Savings and purchase fulfillment platform SaveAway has introduced a suite of new features.
The new functionality includes Custom Plans and Friends & Family Comments and Voting, which move beyond traditional anonymous reviews and blind gift-giving.
SaveAway made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2016 in New York. Om Kundu is Founder and CEO.
Goal-based savings and purchase fulfillment platform SaveAway introduced a range of new features. The new capabilities expand the platform’s core functionality to fulfill purchases without relying on credit or debt.
For years, SaveAway customers have been able to use the platform to establish a savings and purchase goal, set up autopay via their FDIC-insured SaveAway wallet, and then receive their item after the savings goal is met. With this announcement, SaveAway now enables users to purchase any product—not just those available via the SaveAway web app—simply by providing product details. This Custom Plans functionality expands access to a broader range of products and a wider network of retail partners and brands. It also makes it easier for users to set purchase goals that are better aligned with their personal preferences.
The company also announced Friends & Family Comments and Voting capabilities. This functionality lets users invite friends, family, and other members of their own “trusted circle” to comment, advise, and vote on a user’s potential purchases. Not only can they provide feedback on prospective purchases, but friends and family also can contribute financially toward the purchase. This functionality takes e-commerce beyond traditional anonymous reviews and blind gift-giving by integrating both the opinions and support of those who know and care about the consumer and their personal finances.
“SaveAway triages these first-of-its-kind capabilities to make the path to purchase more memorable and responsible, rather than one that relinquishes agency to the slippery slope of credit/debt/regret,” company Founder and CEO Om Kundu said in a statement. “Buyers and sellers can thus join the community of those who SaveAway to realize their purchase goals, while retailers recapture lost sales previously perceived as abandoned carts, affordably and sustainably.”
SaveAway’s announcement comes as the company ramps up its outreach efforts through campaigns such as “$25 for ’25,” a referral program that rewards new users and those they refer when they sign up for SaveAway and complete a savings and purchase plan. The company also announced its program to encourage content creators, influencers, and early adopters to try and test the platform. Lastly, SaveAway has enhanced its “Monitor Your Plan” page, boosting ease of use and transparency by making the content more intuitive and informative.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in New York, SaveAway made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2016. At a time when Buy Now Pay Later platforms are gaining prominence, SaveAway offers an alternative for those looking to limit or reduce their reliance on credit and debt. More than simply a better way for consumers to “save for what matters,” SaveAway enables consumers to leverage the wisdom (and, potentially, the discretionary cash) of friends and families to promote financial wellness and to build a generation of smarter savers and smarter spenders.
Block has rebranded Afterpay to Cash App Afterpay, embedding BNPL directly into Cash App. This move allows Cash App’s 57 million monthly users to access Pay Over Time products when shopping at partner merchants.
The integration strengthens Block’s vision of Cash App as an all-in-one financial platform that combines banking, payments, investing, and now BNPL to drive deeper engagement with both consumers and merchants.
The news is an indication that the BNPL space is heating up, with Cash App Afterpay now competing more directly with Klarna, which just secured an exclusive BNPL partnership with Walmart.
Block (formerly Square) announced it has rebranded Afterpay to Cash App Afterpay. The new brand will serve existing Afterpay customers while being embedded into Cash App, allowing eligible Cash App customers to access Afterpay’s Pay Over Time products when shopping online at partner merchant’s sites.
Block expects that as Afterpay becomes embedded into Cash App, merchant partners offering Afterpay’s Pay Over Time products can reach eligible customers in Cash App’s active monthly user base of 57 million people. Cash App was ranked among the top five most authentic brands to Gen Z, the brand’s target demographic, which may be the reason why Block chose to bring Cash App’s branding over to Afterpay.
“The scale of Cash App’s 57 million monthly actives means our merchant partners benefit from a larger network of customers, and eligible customers gain greater access to simple, fair, and accessible payment options outside of traditional systems,” said Global Head of Sales at Block and Co-founder of Afterpay Nick Molnar. “We believe that Cash App Afterpay will not only be an accelerant to Cash App growth, but also an accelerant in the growing preference towards BNPL options in the United States.”
Starting this week, Cash App customers shopping on the brand’s hundreds of thousands of merchant partner sites can select Afterpay at checkout to pay over time for their purchases. Customers will be able to manage their Pay Over Time transactions from merchant checkouts directly within Cash App. And while the brand name is changed, the user experience for Afterpay’s existing customers will remain the same.
Block released Cash App in 2013, five years before Zelle. At the time, Cash App most directly competed with Braintree’s Venmo, which was slow to gain traction; Braintree was acquired by PayPal that same year. Twelve years on, Cash App still has its roots in peer-to-peer payments, but it has now diversified into a more robust digital banking platform that enables users to hold funds, deposit their paychecks, spend their money using a QR code or cash, invest, manage their Bitcoin, and file their taxes.
Afterpay was acquired by Block in 2022 for $29 billion, marking one of the largest fintech acquisitions to date. The purchase indicated Block’s interest in expanding beyond payments into the broader financial services space, specifically into lending by leveraging Afterpay’s installment lending model to deepen ties with both consumers and merchants.
By fully integrating Afterpay into Cash App, Block is doubling down on its strategy to turn Cash App into a one-stop financial platform, further blending banking, payments, investing, and now, BNPL into a single ecosystem. It will also offer a boost to Cash App Afterpay, exposing the new brand to Cash App’s 57 million users. This lift will aid Cash App Afterpay in competing with the likes of brands like Klarna, which just announced it received a buoy of its own after Walmart selected it as exclusive BNPL provider.
BaaS platform Synctera secured $15 million in funding in a round co-led by Fin Capital and Diagram Ventures.
The investment takes Synctera’s total funding to date to $94 million.
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California and founded in 2020, Synctera made its Finovate debut last September at FinovateFall 2024.
Banking and payments platform Synctera has raised $15 million in funding. The round was co-led by Fin Capital and Diagram Ventures, and featured participation from existing investors First & Main, Evolution, and True Equity.
The investment takes Synctera’s total capital raised to date to $94 million. The firm indicated that the additional capital will help fuel its current expansion plans, including better serving its growing customer base. “This is a vote of confidence that enables us to continue to drive scalable growth and excellence for our customers and community of banks,” Synctera Co-Founder and CEO Peter Hazlehurst said.
Synctera’s banking and payments platform provides companies with the tools they need in order to build and scale a variety of innovative financial services products: from bank accounts to card programs to money movement services. The company’s technology also enables sponsor banks to better manage compliant partnerships with fintechs.
Synctera’s funding announcement comes just days after the company announced inking a deal with its largest customer to date: Bolt. A fintech that specializes in one-click online checkouts, Bolt—supported by its bank partner, Midland States Bank—will soon offer new financial services to consumers courtesy of its new relationship with Synctera.
“Bolt has always been incredibly driven to deliver the absolute best online checkout experience for consumers of some of the largest brands on the planet,” Bolt Founder and CEO Ryan Breslow said. “We’re excited to partner with Synctera to arm brands with more ways to engage with their customers.”
Additionally, Synctera recently announced a new partnership with fellow Finovate alum Hawk. The alliance will integrate Hawk’s AML and CFT technology into Synctera’s platform, strengthening Synctera’s status as a category leader in risk management and compliance.
“The reason we built Hawk was because we wanted to combine AML and fraud use cases in one platform. Native, Explained AI, and our capability to handle (the) largest volume in real-time position us well to support Synctera’s growth plans, which we love to be a part of,” Hawk Co-Founder and CEO Tobias Schweiger said.
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California and founded in 2020, Synctera made its Finovate debut last September at FinovateFall 2024 in New York. At the conference, the company demomstrated how its platform gives banks an end-to-end solution to start or scale a compliant Banking-as-a-Service program.
