Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Compass Plus, FICO, Finovate Global, Ripple, Sberbank, Temenos

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Banco Fassil is the first Bolivian company to migrate its ATM network to TranzAxis from Compass Plus.
  • Legal Tech News reviews the improved opportunity for investment in the Mexican fintech market.
  • Can blockchain technology fix Argentina’s financial crisis? VentureBeat considers the challenge.

Asia-Pacific

  • Siam Commercial Bank is the first bank on Ripple’s RippleNet to pioneer multi-hop, a feature that allows payment settlement on behalf of other financial institutions on the network.
  • Singapore and Hong Kong-based digital private banking clients of Credit Suisse now can communicate with their bank via Apple Business chat.
  • Singtel launches electronics payments alliance with a pair of Thailand-based partners.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • South African fintech Centbee announces beta launch of its bitcoin cash wallet.
  • BitCoinke looks at funding for African fintech startups in 2018.
  • Fintech Association of Nigeria begins fintech learning series in partnership with the SEC.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Sberbank to offer loans of up to RUB 300,000 without proof of income as part of new pilot program.
  • FICO to provide KYC and onboarding solutions for Belarus-based lender, Belgazprombank.
  • Alfa Group of Russia plans to launch online insurance company, Mango.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Cameroon’s biggest bank, Afriland First Bank, to deploy Temenos’ T24 core banking platform.
  • Qatar Islamic Bank to leverage solutions from Volante Technologies to help meet PSD2 and open banking standards.
  • ICS Financial Systems completes blockchain proof of concept for Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB).
  • Tunisia’s Banque de l’Habitat (BH) selects Temenos’ T24 core banking system.

Central and South Asia

  • KPMG releases its latest report: Fintech in India: Powering a Digital Economy.
  • Paytm secures 33% market share of UPI payments in India.
  • Medici looks at the state of financial inclusion in India.

Top image designed by Freepik

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FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: UNPay

FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: UNPay
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateAsia 2018, FinovateAsia 2018 Sneak Peek, UNPay

FinovateAsiaA look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAsia on October 29 and 30, 2018 in Hong Kong. Register today and save your spot.

UNPay’s UN Smart Cashier integrates functions of a retail cashier and dynamic advertisements on one platform. It can optimize sales processes and aggregate e-marketing services.

Features

  • Leverages facial recognition by scanning the customer and showing gender-appropriate ads
  • Uses Face ID-associated accounts for payments and loyalty points
  • Processes a myriad of payment modes

Why it’s great
Enables businesses to showcase gender-appropriate advertisements to maximize sales. It also links to associated accounts for payments and loyalty points for enhanced convenience.

Presenters

Yulong Hu, Co-Founder
Hu is a serial entrepreneur in entertainment, electronic commerce, and payment industries and is the founder of the first domestic electronic coupon platform, “LuckyMoney.”

Ernest Lo, Singapore Country Manager
Lo is a veteran in e-payments and holds a MSc in Telecommunications from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Agreement Express, Jumio, Munnypot, MX, Smart Valor, Top Image Systems, UNPay

On Finovate.com

  • Agreement Express Signs Deal with Independent Financial Partners.
  • MX to Power Ent Credit Union’s Money Insight Tool.
  • Check out a sneak peek of these upcoming FinovateAsia demoing companies:

Around the web

  • Jumio wins gold in Access Compliance and Risk Management Innovations in 2018 Golden Bridge Awards
  • Allied Bakeries selects Top Image Systems’ eFLOW AP for SAP for centralized, automated invoice processing.
  • SMART VALOR joins Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA).

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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Credit Karma Goes for Insurtech

Credit Karma Goes for Insurtech
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Credit Karma

Consumer-facing financial health company Credit Karma unveiled plans for an auto insurance comparison tool. Starting today, members in California and Texas can determine if they are paying too much for car insurance based on how much similar members are paying for comparable coverage.

The move aims to help members make the best decision about their auto insurance, coverage that Credit Karma estimates Americans overspend on by $21 million each year. The new tool builds on Credit Karma’s Online Vehicle Center. Launched in November of last year, the Online Vehicle Center is an informational dashboard that helps consumers manage and organize their vehicle-related finances and information by leveraging driver and vehicle data from the DMV.

The Online Vehicle Center tool received significant traction since launching just under one year ago; more than 8 million members, 8% of Credit Karma’s total user base, have synced their vehicle information with the platform. The new comparison aspect of the tool leverages DMV information and combines it with data from credit bureaus and public insurance filings to estimate insurance quotes. Unlike traditional insurance quote comparisons, which require users to input 30 to 40 fields of data, Credit Karma generates a comparison in real-time.

“We built the auto experience to help put money back into the pockets of our members. With our refinance experience, we’ve helped our members save nearly $150 million on their auto loans in under a year,” said Kenneth Lin, founder and CEO of Credit Karma. “We plan to do the same for insurance.”

Another aspect of the new tool that’s worth mentioning is the education piece. Credit Karma will offer users an interactive experience that shows how certain factors such as moving violations and credit score can impact rates. The San Francisco-based company said that it plans to roll out the new tool to users in more U.S. states “in the coming months.”

At FinovateSpring 2009, Credit Karma CEO Ken Lin demonstrated the company’s platform, which offers free credit reports from Equifax and TransUnion, and seeks to serve as a hub for users to monitor their financial health. Since it was founded in 2007, the company has expanded not only into vehicle information management and monitoring but also identity monitoring and tax filing. Most recently, Credit Karma acquired mortgagetech startup Approved to move beyond its basic mortgage rates comparison tool.

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Larky Lands Three: Mobile Engagement Platform Adds New CU Partners

Larky Lands Three: Mobile Engagement Platform Adds New CU Partners
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Larky

Loyalty and engagement platform provider Larky is starting off the fall with a trio of new partnerships. The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company announced this week that it has launched three new client programs, teaming up with Canada’s Encompass Credit Union, BayCoast Bank of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and Tulsa-based Oklahoma Central Credit Union.

“With our location-based platform, the audience of a financial institution can receive mobile notifications when they are near a specific location where there is a special offer or the FI wants to promote a specific product or service,” explained Larky CEO Gregg Hammerman. “This encourages local purchasing at the most convenient time for the user, while increasing cross-selling opportunities for the FI.”

Founded in 2012, Larky helps community-based financial institutions engage with their customers in the digital and mobile worlds that are increasingly the channels of choice in both financial services and ecommerce. The company’s engagement platform enables FIs to provide highly-contextual, digital rewards and offers to their members and customers, including community-building discounts to local merchants. The solution also helps firms boost non-interest income, with Larky clients reporting an increase of 4% to 8% in interchange revenue due to increased use of their credit and debit cards.

Larky demonstrated its Android app and white-label mobile and web solutions at FinovateFall 2014. In a busy year of making friends and forging partnerships, Larky teamed up with Fort Dodge Family CU in March, and CFE FCU of Florida in July, helping both credit unions generate more cross-selling opportunities and offer location-based rewards to members. Larky began the year expanding its relationship with core processing solutions provider Sharetec, extending its technology through the latter’s network of credit union customers.

Larky has raised $2.4 million in funding, and includes North Coast Technology Investors, Ann Arbor SPARK, the First Step Fund, and the Michigan Angel Fund among its investors.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BLUERUSH, DAVO Technologies, Fenergo, FICO, Gusto, Insuritas, Larky, PayNearMe

On Finovate.com

  • Larky Lands Three: Mobile Engagement Platform Adds New CU Partners.

Around the web

  • Larky launches with Encompass Credit Union (Canada), BayCoast Bank (MA), and Oklahoma Central Credit Union (OK)
  • Insuritas announces partnership to launch digital insurance agency platform for 3Rivers FCU.
  • Fenergo creates new team to further develop and foster its partner ecosystem.
  • First Round Review analyzes Gusto’s brand.
  • Coast to Coast Motors dealership strikes deal with PayNearMe.
  • BlueRush announces partnership with Microsoft Azure.
  • FICO to provide KYC and onboarding solutions for Belarus-based lender, Belgazprombank.

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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DAVO Announces Strategic Funding Round

DAVO Announces Strategic Funding Round
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: DAVO Technologies

Automated sales tax tools company DAVO Technologies landed a fresh round of funding this week. The amount was undisclosed, but adds to the company’s previously-raised $5 million in venture and seed rounds.

The strategic investment, which DAVO anticipates will fuel expansion, was led by Anania & Associates Investment Company (AAI). As part of this expansion, DAVO has added to its Board of Directors and boosted its operations team. Since this growth mandated the need for a larger location, the company relocated to a 5,500 square foot office space as its Maine-based headquarters.

In addition to the funding, DAVO will also benefit from AAI’s human resources and financial back office services. “The investment comes with much needed infrastructure support provided by Anania & Associates,” said Owen Brown, CEO of DAVO. “The depth of experience they bring adds enormous value. In addition the investment allows us to build upon our commitment to excellence and to expand our platform’s feature and functionality set.”

Founded in 2011, DAVO demoed its flagship product at FinovateFall 2015. During the demo, the company’s CEO Owen Brown showed how DAVO Sales Tax automatically and passively collects, files, and pays sales tax on a merchant’s behalf. Since then, DAVO launched Sweep & Save, a cash management tool that automatically sets funds aside daily and returns them for businesses to meet monthly needs such as bills and equipment leases. Additionally, the company’s new Savings Club automatically sets funds aside and returns them in December to help businesses meet end-of-the-year needs such as holiday expenses and bonuses.

Over the past year, DAVO has experienced an average of 20% month-over-month customer acquisition growth via Clover, Square, Revel, Poynt and QuickBooks Online. The company plans to launch a new website, along with new product releases, in the fourth quarter of this year.

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Salt Edge Serves Up Open Banking Payment Infrastructure for Testing

Salt Edge Serves Up Open Banking Payment Infrastructure for Testing
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Salt Edge

Just weeks after announcing a collaboration with smart money app, Yolt, Salt Edge is back with news of another new partnership. Today, the company reported its Open Banking payment infrastructure is now available for testing by third party providers.

The complete payment process can be simulated by TPPs who log into the Salt Edge system, which facilitates one-time payments, scheduled and future-dated payments, and bulk payments. The Open Banking hub is equipped with all four of PSD2-required authorization types: redirect/OAuth, embedded, decoupled, and app2app. PISP (Payment Initiation Service Provider) licensed-TPPs that elect to go live with the technology can begin the integration immediately.

Lisa Terziman-Gutu (Business Development EMEA) and CEO Dmitrii Barbasura (not pictured) during their live demo at FinovateEurope 2018.

Salt Edge provides financial data aggregation APIs, open banking and PSD2 solutions, as well as white label retail banking, and data enrichment services. The company demonstrated its Priora PSD2 and Open Banking solution at FinovateEurope earlier this year. The technology enables small and medium-sized banks to become fully PSD2 and Open Banking compliant in months. It provides a number of key features such as its Connector API and SCA Authenticator, and Salt Edge handles cumbersome TPP management – including communication, verification, and onboarding – for the bank.

“Our primary goal at Finovate was to demonstrate a complete user journey in the PSD2 and Open Banking world,” Salt Edge CEO Dmitrii Barbasura said. Calling the technology “secure, customer friendly, and reliable,” he added: “We believe that our solution covers all the needs and concerns that banks have in the wake of PSD2’s deadline, and goes beyond them by delivering the possibility of added-value services.”

Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Salt Edge was founded in 2013. The ISO 27001 certified company is connected to more than 3,100 banks in 60+ countries. Salt Edge has processed more than one million transactions, and has raised $3 million in funding as of this spring.

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Cracking the Fintech Code: Secrets to Success for Start-ups

By Charlie Burgess Posted on
Categories: Startups

FinovateFall welcomed over 70 start-ups to demo exciting new products and ideas, and opened the stage to pioneering thought-leaders to discuss the future of finance, technology and how the two come together to solve real world problems. We sat down with leaders of inspiring start-ups to get their insight on what the recipe for success is this often overcrowded space.

Matt Armstead, Executive Director, Founding Member, Board Member, FintechAccel gives his advice to start-ups and explores why getting a great team behind the idea is critical.

Jon Zanoff,  Managing Director, Techstars on knowing when a start-up is re ready to take a next step and join an accelerator.

Pini Yukeul,  CEO of Optimove, on how AI helps with segmentation, prediction and optimization within marketing and how start-ups and established businesses can leverage it.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Compass Plus, Earnix, Featurespace, Fiserv, HackerOne, IdentityMind Global, Ripple, Risk Ident, Salt Edge

On Finovate.com

  • Cracking the Fintech Code: Secrets to Success for Fintech Start-ups.
  • Salt Edge Serves Up Open Banking Payment Infrastructure for Testing.

Around the web

  • Earnix forges strategic alliance with automated machine learning innovator, DataRobot.
  • IdentityMind Global partners with digital currency risk assessment specialist, CipherTrace.
  • HackerOne now accepts Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash payments for bug bounties courtesy of new partnership with BitPay.
  • Fiserv taps Lee Cameron as new managing director for EMEA.
  • Siam Commercial Bank is the first bank on Ripple’s RippleNet to pioneer multi-hop, a feature that allows payment settlement on behalf of other financial institutions on the network.
  • Danske Bank leverages Featurespace’s ARIC fraud hub to reduce fraud.
  • Risk Ident wins Best eCommerce Technology Innovation at the London eCommerce Awards.
  • Banco Fassil is the first Bolivian company to migrate its ATM network to TranzAxis from Compass Plus.

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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Gro Solutions Helps Vermont FCU Deliver Better Banking Experiences

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Gro Solutions

Members of Vermont Federal Credit Union have something to look forward to when 2019 rolls around: the $500 million asset institution has signed a deal with Gro Solutions to enhance its digital offerings, including streamlined online deposit and loan account opening.

“Our goal is to create a world-class digital experience for our members with products and services that are fast, consistent, personalized, and user-friendly,” Vermont FCU Director of Business Intelligence, Nicholas D. Gallerani said. He referred to Gro Solutions’ platform as the embodiment of these principles, adding that the technology will provide the credit union with “the tools essential to create … great experiences in the digital realm for our members.”

Vermont FCU plans to introduce the new Gro Solutions-enabled services to its more than 38,000 members in the first quarter of 2019.

“More and more of today’s members are going digital for their banking needs,” Gro Solutions CEO David Eads added. “They want that experience to be quick and convenient, regardless of whether it’s in-branch, at home or on their phones.”

Atlanta, Georgia-based Gro Solutions demonstrated its Digital Sales platform at FinovateFall 2017. The company has been on a busy partnership-making pace this year, teaming up with Indiana’s Elements FCU ($1.5 billion in assets) in June, partnering with PeoplesBank ($1.7 billion in assets) in April, and working with Congressional FCU ($900+ million in assets) in March to streamline the credit union’s digital onboarding process.

Gro Solutions has raised $4.3 million in funding and includes TTV Capital, BIP Capital, BLH Venture Partners, and Croft & Bender among its investors.

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Bringing Legacy Banks into the 21st Century

By Charlie Burgess Posted on
Categories: Bank Innovation

FinovateFall brought together fintech innovators from all over the world and representatives from some of the largest banks in the U.S., so naturally there were discussions around forging new partnerships and benefiting from the culture and technology shared between the different sides. We sat down with some of the key speakers to get their insights on how legacy banks and financial institutions can compete or collaborate in this new era.

Jeremy Balkin, Head of Innovation, Retail Banking & Wealth Management, HSBC USA on successful innovation projects and how to get them off the ground.

Mary Jane Ajodah, Vice President, Strategy, BNY Mellon, on how legacy banks can leapfrog start-ups – when they have the right strategy.

Steven Ramirez, CEO at Beyond the Arc, discusses the new trends he’s noticed emerging from the shadows.

Jim Marous, Publisher / Fintech Strategist, The Financial Brand/The Digital Banking Report explores why historical success can be a liability, as well as an asset for a bank.

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