Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daon, Equifax, Finovate Global, Revolut, Samsung, Tinkoff Credit Systems, TransferTo, TransferWise

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.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Revolut announces recruitment initiative in Kraków, Poland to hire 100 new workers in a single day employment in its offices in Eastern Europe.
  • Forbes features Tinkoff Bank in look at Russia’s efforts to develop its digital economy.
  • Polish financial group Aforti Holdings to launch non-bank lender for SMEs and startups in Romania.

Asia

  • Banks in South Korea to introduce blockchain based identity verification for mobile and online logins. The technology is reportedly built on a private blockchain system developed by Samsung SDS.
  • Daon Partners with Tradelink to Bring Biometrics to Dah Sing Bank.
  • Bank of Thailand is developing and testing blockchain apps in its regulatory sandbox.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Financial technology services firm, One Global, discusses plans for expansion into Egyptian market.
  • ADGM Reglab reports record number of fintech applications for its third cohort.
  • Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange turns to Equifax for advice on development of new technologies to improve operational efficiency.

Africa

  • TransferTo, Orange Money Botswana, and EcoCash partner to support digital money transfers between Zimbabwe and Botswana.
  • IMF review of South Africa suggests “increased focus on the role fintech …” could access to credit for SMEs and promotion broader financial inclusion.
  • Nigerian startup, Piggybank.ng, raises $1.1 million to further develop its online savings platform.

Latin America

  • Diario Financiero interviews Ángel Sierra, executive director of La Asociación Fintech Chile, on digital innovation (video in Spanish).
  • TransferWise initiates service in Argentina.
  • PayU goes live in Colombia with its PayU te fía (PayU You Trust) solution that enables borrowers to extend repayment terms (in Spanish).

Top image designed by Freepik

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Daon Partners with Tradelink to Bring Biometrics to Dah Sing Bank

Daon Partners with Tradelink to Bring Biometrics to Dah Sing Bank
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daon

Biometric authentication specialist Daon has teamed up with Tradelink to give customers of Hong Kong’s Dah Sing Bank the option of biometric authentication when accessing bank services. The bank, one of the top 10 banks in Hong Kong, will leverage Daon’s IdentityX platform to offer both fingerprint and facial authentication.

“We are pleased to partner with Tradelink on this innovative initiative for Dah Sing Bank. Our partnership with Tradelink continues to make a significant impact in the financial and banking industry throughout Hong Kong,” Daon CEO Tom Grissen said. “Daon’s technology provides a trusted digital security experience for all of our customers. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Tradelink as the demand for more secure and convenient authentication increases among mobile banking customers.”

The IdentityX platform provides FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) capabilities that enable authentication based on a wide variety of biological attributes including voice, face, behavior, and palm. Institutions can integrate their current security systems into the platform, as well as add new authentication systems as they become available. This enables institutions to extend the lives of their older or customized security systems and devices. The component approach also makes it easier for organizations like Dah Sing Bank to make more specific decisions on which cybersecurity technologies best suit their specific customer preferences.

Daon’s collaboration with Tradelink to support FIs in Hong Kong is part of an initiative the two firms have launched to provide authentication solutions for banks in the region. In February, Daon reported on the successful implementation of a FIDO biometric solution with one of Hong Kong’s largest banks. The deployment was completed in partnership with Tradelink subsidiary, Digi-Sign, and has proven to be a model for similar implementations for “multiple financial institutions in the region,” the company noted in a statement.

Headquartered in Reston, Virginia and founded in 2002, Daon demonstrated its IdentityX platform at FinovateFall 2016. The company began the year partnering with North African security and document dematerialization specialist GEMADEC. Last fall, Visa announced that it would leverage IdentityX to power biometric services for its Visa ID Intelligence platform. The Visa news came during a season of partnership activity for the company, which also announced agreements with Kony in September and Nations Trust Bank of Sri Lanka in November.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: AI Foundry, Coinbase, Daon, Dorsum, Entersekt, eToro, First Data, Insuritas, Jack Henry, Klarna, Mambu, MasterCard, MX, PaySend, Prosper, Revolut, rplan

On Finovate.com

  • Daon Partners with Tradelink to Bring Biometrics to Dah Sing Bank.
  • AI Foundry Overhauls Agile Mortgages Solution.

Around the web

  •  Klarna partners with EMaC, a U.K. automotive service plan provider, for a drive now, pay later service.
  •  Paysend triples its customer base over the last 6 months.
  • eToro announces that clients can now invest directly in shares on the platform.
  • MX appoints Ben Holzman, a former managing director of Bain Capital Ventures, as new COO.
  • TechCrunch: Coinbase opens its crypto index fund to accredited U.S. investors.
  • Langley FCU to deploy Symitar Episys core processing platform from Jack Henry & Associates.
  • Mambu announces new board member, former SAP CEO, Henning Kagermann.
  • Revolut partners with Cyprus-based telecommunications company, PrimeTel.
  • First Data and Mastercard collaborate on a digital disbursement platform for business customers.
  • Entersekt opens new office in Atlanta, Georgia to support the company’s growth in North America.
  • The Open Bank Project collaborates with Citizens Bank on innovation event.
  • First National Bank Texas ($1.8B Assets) selects Insuritas to power turnkey insurance agency.
  • Prosper resumes operations for Montana residents

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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PayStand Announces Canadian Expansion

PayStand Announces Canadian Expansion
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: PayStand

Next generation payment solution provider PayStand is expanding into Canada. The Scotts Valley, California-based company announced that its digital payments platform will support domestic B2B commercial payments and help it earn a share of the Canadian payments volume that takes place over electronic funds transfer (EFT) – more than a third of which is B2B.

“Today’s commercial payments infrastructure in Canada is built on many layers of outdated technology and processes that are needlessly complex and time-consuming, not to mention error-prone and labor-intensive,” Jeremy Almond, PayStand CEO, explained in the company’s press release announcing the expansion. He pointed out that PayStand’s infrastructure provides native support to Canada’s EFT and card payment technology, “essentially transforming and modernizing the entire payments lifecycle for businesses, no matter the type or matter of payment.”

Founded in 2013, PayStand helps businesses access the “$550 billion stuck in pre-Internet paper, plastic, and manual processes.” By leveraging smart network and blockchain technologies, PayStand’s platform digitizes account receivables and automates processing. Its customers, representing verticals ranging from manufacturing to software services, use its Payments as a Service (PaaS) technology to integrate digital payments into their mobile apps, websites, ERP billing systems, and invoices.

An alum of our developer’s conference, PayStand presented Comparing the Strengths and Weaknesses of Different Payment Terms at FinDEVr 2014. At the event, PayStand’s Almond compared the relative advantages and disadvantages of card networks, eChecks, and digital currencies as payment options, and the value of flexible payment rails that provide multiple alternatives.

Earlier this year, PayStand announced B2B payments integration with SuiteCloud, which enabled quick fund transfer from 18,000 financial institutions and six major credit card brands. In January, PayStand was featured along with fellow Finovate alums Truphone and Featurespace in The Silicon Review’s 50 Smartest Companies of 2017 roster. The company has raised $8.3 million in funding, and includes BlueRun Ventures and LEAP Global Partners among its investors.

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Kinetica Taps Dell for Hardware

Kinetica Taps Dell for Hardware
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Kinetica

Data insights company Kinetica expanded on its partnership with Dell EMC this week. The two have collaborated to offer a bundled solution to help clients quickly gather actionable insights from raw data.

Dell EMC, part of Dell Technologies, collaborated with Kinetica to create a data platform that handles– as Kinetica calls it– “extreme data.” These large and complex data sets require more computing performance, which will be powered by Dell PowerEdge servers. Ron Pugh, vice president and general manager for the Americas at Dell EMC OEM Solutions said, “We are excited to collaborate with Kinetica to deliver a solution that offers massive amounts of additional computing performance for real-time streaming data, machine learning and geospatial visualization of enterprise workloads.”

Kinetica’s GPU-accelerated insight engine will focus on the software side to analyze massive sets of data in real-time. Paul Appleby, Kinetica CEO said, “Previously, in the manufacturing economy data was used for business validation; as we evolved to the service economy, data was used to make informed decisions; and, now, in the extreme data economy our business is powered by data. Dell, NVIDIA and Kinetica are combining forces to provide enterprises with the freedom to analyze data whenever it is most valuable and gain instant insights that revolutionize the way they do business.”

Since it was founded in 2009, Kinetica has raised $63 million in funding from Canvas Ventures, Citi Ventures, GreatPoint Ventures, and Meritech Capital Partners. At FinovateEurope 2018, the company showcased its GPU-Accelerated In-Memory Database. At the start of this year, Kinetica partnered with UClick to launch solutions in South Korea and in April it earned a spot on the insideBIGDATA IMPACT 50 list.

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Finovate First: Three Events this Fall

Finovate First: Three Events this Fall
By Heather Stowell Posted on
Categories: Finovate Marketing

For over 10 years, Finovate has been the leading showcase of financial, banking and payments technologies. Following the trail of fintech innovation has led us across the globe to New York in 2007, Bay Area in 2008, London in 2010, Singapore in 2012, Hong Kong in 2016, Dubai earlier this year, and now Cape Town in November.

And for the first time this fall, Finovate has three events in three months — September, October, November.

Whether you’re planning to join as an attendee, demoing company, sponsor, or speaker, there are a few things to keep in mind before heading out for the summer holidays.

First, conference tickets are on sale now. For all event days, tickets cover everything from mainstage demos and keynote speakers to track session panels and fireside chats to exhibition booths and networking.

Next, apply now to demo your new fintech innovation. Over the past several years, fintech has expanded to include not just financial and banking technology, but also payments, wealth management, lending, investment, insurance, security, compliance, and regulation tools and tech. And our audiences want to see it all.

Finovate events give demoing companies a powerful platform to promote their new fintech, drive production adoption and partnerships, find new funding, establish technical leadership, garner press recognition, and more. Participating in events is an investment of time and resources, and we set up our events to give presenters as much return on that investment as we can.

Lastly, align your brand with fintech innovation by sponsoring the event. This can be done alone or in conjunction with demoing at an event. Sponsorships often include a speaking opportunity on one of our track panels, introductions with hard-to-access executives, interactive webinars, exhibition booths, etc.

More information and links to all events are available at finovate.com. Inquiries and questions can be sent to info@finovate.com. Rest up this summer for a busy Finovate fall!

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: InComm, Kinetica, PayPal, PayStand, Revolut, Trulioo, WorkFusion

On Finovate.com

  • Kinetica Taps Dell for Hardware.

Around the web

  • Workfusion announces Smart Process Automation 9.0 — the newest evolution of its flagship AI-powered RPA software.
  • Trulioo and Acuant join forces on AML/KYC Compliance.
  • SnapCar and Revolut team up to offer instant payouts to SnapCar drivers (in French).
  • InComm achieves HITRUST CSF Certification to mitigate security and compliance risk.
  • Glassdoor lists PayPal as one of 20 companies that champion LGBTQ equality hiring.

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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German Banking Software Provider NDGIT Raises $4.7 Million in Series A Funding

German Banking Software Provider NDGIT Raises $4.7 Million in Series A Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, NDGIT

Here’s a bit of funding news from a new Finovate alum that slipped beneath the radar earlier this year. Open banking and insurance platform NDGIT has raised $4.7 million (€4 million) in new funding. The investment comes courtesy of a Series A round led by Capnamic Ventures and featured participation from PROfounders and existing investors Dieter von Holtzbrinck Ventures and business angels. The funding takes NDGIT’s total capital to $5.8 million.

The Munchen, Germany-based fintech said the additional capital will be used to grow its team and further product development. NDGIT, which stands for “Next Digital Banking”, is the developer of the first API platform for both banking and insurance, and its technology helps banks leverage open banking APIs and PSD2-ready solutions to work and integrate with digital partners. NDGIT includes Swiss bank Hypothekarbank Lenzburg and Germany’s Bank fur Sozialwirtschaft among its bank, fintech, and insurance company clientele.

“In Capnamic we have gained a leading investor with experience in the FinTech and InsurTech sectors,” NDGIT founder and CEO Oliver Dlugosch said in a statement. “In light of the common PSD2 Directive and international Open Banking developments, the investment by PROfounders Capital provides further proof of NDGIT’s European market relevance. With the support of our partners we intend to accelerate our growth and keep on driving NDGIT’s development into a market-leading Open Banking platform in Europe.”

Founded in 2016, NDGIT made its Finovate debut earlier this year at FinovateEurope 2018 where the company demonstrated its Ecosystem Builder solution. Ecosystem Builder is based on NDGIT’s open banking platform and enables banks to build app stores to offer their fintech partner network to their clients. The solution gives FIs an engaging front end that provides an overview of all the apps available via the banking portal, an SSO connection to fintech partners, secure data integration with the bank’s systems, as well as analytics and reporting.

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Avoka Unveils Springboard Deposit Account Opening Solution

Avoka Unveils Springboard Deposit Account Opening Solution
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Avoka

Could Avoka make digital customer acquisition any easier? With the release of its Springboard Deposit Account Opening Solution, Avoka is offering FIs an off-the-shelf solution that integrates digital KYC, fraud and risk evaluation, and funding that will help them provide “outstanding customer acquisition and onboarding journeys.” In its announcement, Avoka cited Aite Group Senior Analyst Tiffani Montez who said the new solution “gives financial institutions a digital account opening and on boarding solution prebuilt with best-in-class customer experience and Fintech integration.”

Built on Avoka’s Transact platform, Springboard Deposit Account Opening leverages technologies from a number of partners to deliver a range of features. These include Data Pre-Fill, courtesy of an integration with Mitek’s Mobile Fill solution; Fraud Screening and Scoring via iovation’s FraudForce technology; and Risk Screening using ChexSystems’ Product Suite. Address Lookup and Instant Funding are also components of the new solution. The Springboard Deposit Account Opening Solution features configurable branding, decision rules, and deposit account type options, as well.

Avoka Chief Product Officer Steve Demchuk called digital account opening “the most rapidly changing capability on the U.S. retail banking landscape.” He cited a company report from earlier this year that pointed to a large and growing gap between the digital account opening capabilities of larger banks and those of smaller regional and community banks and credit unions. “It’s clear consumers already expect a first-class digital experience for deposit opening, so banks of all sizes must act fast to remain competitive,” Demchuk said.

At its most recent Finovate appearance – FinovateEurope 2017 – two-time Best of Show winner Avoka demonstrated the Transact Insights module of its Transact digital sales platform. Insights continuously optimizes the account opening journey by measuring and analyzing how customers progressing through the application process, noting areas of friction, requests for assistance, and even abandonment. This enables businesses to quickly spot problems in the process, make necessary changes, and then measure results.

Recent headlines for Avoka include the company’s partnership with RACQ Bank of Australia to enhance account opening and on boarding at the newly-launched financial institution – the first bank in the world to be opened by an automobile club. In April, Avoka teamed up with Alpine Bank, a Colorado-based bank with more than $3.5 billion in assets that will use the company’s Transact solution to support expansion and better serve current customers.

Avoka has raised $28 million in funding courtesy of rounds led by Moelis Australia Asset Management and professional investor Roger Allen. Philip Copeland is CEO.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Avoka, Bpm'online, Ephesoft, Experian, Finastra, Horizn, NDGIT, PayNearMe, Tango Card

On Finovate.com

  • Avoka Unveils Springboard Deposit Account Opening Solution.
  • German Banking Software Provider NDGIT Raises $4.7 Million in Series A Round.

Around the web

  • Experian unveils MarketingConnect platform.
  • Tango Card partners with Alvin Healthcare.
  • PayNearMe allows LimeBike riders to pay in cash.
  • Finastra integrates Optimal Blue into its Fusion MortgagebotPOS solution.
  • bpm’online wins Company of the Year award from American Business Awards for third year in a row.
  • Horizn takes top honors at Digital Banking 2018 American Banker conference.
  • Latest version of Quest Diagnostics’ content management solution features Smart Capture technology from Ephesoft.

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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DarcMatter Partners with Crypto Fund #Hashed

DarcMatter Partners with Crypto Fund #Hashed
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: DarcMatter

Alternative investment platform DarcMatter has teamed up with South Korean crypto investment fund and accelerator, #Hashed. The partnership will enable DarcMatter, which specializes in providing direct access to pre-vetted hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital funds, to extend its reach into the Asian market and gain insight into the crypto investment industry.

And as a blockchain-based investment fund and an incubator with an emphasis on community-building and impact investing, #Hashed will benefit from DarcMatter’s connections with both the traditional and alternative investment worlds.

Discussing the news in an interview with Tech Bullion, DarcMatter CEO Sang Lee pointed out that both companies share experiences and a vision that are “very aligned and rooted in the core premise of increasing transparency and efficiency throughout financial markets globally.”

Simon Kim, CEO of #Hashed, called DarcMatter a “great partner and a leader in the fintech industry that can utilize blockchain and cryptocurrency to accelerate the industry towards the next level.”

With offices in Seoul, South Korea, and San Francisco, #Hashed was founded in 2017 and has become the largest blockchain fund in Korea. The company has accelerated the largest wallet provider in South Korea, CoinManager, as well as a number of startups applying distributed ledger and blockchain technology to cybersecurity, social networking, and payments – among other areas.

This week’s news adds to the blockchain and crypto-based headlines DarcMatter has been making of late. Last month, the company’s blockchain project, DarcMatter Coin, revealed in April, announced its first strategic investment and partnership with trade.io. The firm’s seed and venture arm will invest $2 million into the coin’s public presale. Aside from blockchain news, the company won the Retail Investment Innovation Award at the 2018 FinTech Breakthrough Awards in May.

New York City-based DarcMatter was founded in 2014 and made its Finovate debut one year later at FinovateSpring 2015 where it demonstrated its decentralized alternative investment platform.

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LendStreet Raises Additional $117 Million to Help Borrowers Restructure Debt

LendStreet Raises Additional $117 Million to Help Borrowers Restructure Debt
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, LendStreet

Debt restructuring platform LendStreet added $117 million in combined debt and equity to its funding total this week. Of that amount, $7 million is equity and $110 million is debt. Today’s influx brings the California-based company’s total combined financing to $149 million, comprised of $39 million in equity and $110 million in debt.

The $7 million Series A equity investment was led by Prudential Financial and Radicle Impact, with participation from existing investors Accion, the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), Serious Change, Crunchfund, Kapor Capital, and Cross Culture Ventures. The debt portion comes from Prudential and Community Investment Management.

Jerry Nemorin, founder and CEO of LendStreet discussed the company’s plans for the financing in a blog post, saying, “These investments will enable us to scale our platform and reach more consumers who are struggling with too much debt.” Nemorin added, “Prudential, CIM, Radicle Impact, and our other investors share our vision of finally giving mainstream Americans access to an equitable and transparent alternative for their mounting credit card debt.”

Founded in 2010, LendStreet helps consumers and small businesses consolidate, restructure, and refinance debt. The company helps borrowers in distress and negotiates their old debt with their previous creditor for a lower monthly payment amount and lower interest rate. These debts are restructured as a loan, funded by accredited investors on the LendStreet platform, who buy a share of each loan. After the borrower’s new monthly payment plan is organized, LendStreet sets them up with educational tools and resources to help them rebuild their credit and take control of their finances.

“The LendStreet platform provides a solutions-based user experience for consumers under financial stress,” said Tom Coombs, Co-Founder and Vice President of Product Development at LendStreet. “Understanding your options to pay down debt and rebuild your credit is not easy. LendStreet is giving overbanked consumers a more manageable, transparent and sustained path to restructuring debt and improving their financial health.”

Miljana Vujosevic, Vice President of Impact Investments, as well as Catha Groot, Principal at Radicle, will join R. Jerry Nemorin, Michael Snyder, and KG Charles-Harris on LendStreet’s Board of Advisors.

Since launching in 2013, LendStreet has helped customers reduce their debt by almost 40% and improve their credit score by an average of 100 points. At FinovateSpring 2011, Nemorin debuted the LendStreet platform on stage with Jason Mars, who has since transitioned to become the founder and CEO of Clinc, which first appeared on the Finovate stage in 2016. Earlier this year, LendStreet earned its its place on the Tech Tribune’s list of the 10 best startups in Oakland.

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