Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Actiance, DarcMatter, iProov, iSignthis, LendStreet, MicroStrategy, Token, Trulioo

On Finovate.com

  • iProov Wins Contract with U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
  • iSignthis Unveils B2B Transactional Banking Service, Partnership with Gobbill.
  • LendStreet Raises Additional $117 Million for Debt Restructuring.
  • DarcMatter Partners with Crypto Fund #Hashed.

Around the web

  • Trulioo’s AML/KYC identity verification now covers Romania.
  • MicroStrategy wins 2018 NetworkWorld Asia Information Management Award.
  • Token completes PISP open banking transaction.
  • Actiance and Smarsh update executive leadership team in wake of merger.
  • Investor Junkie takes 401(k) roboadvisor Blooom for a test drive.

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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iProov Wins Contract with U.S. Department of Homeland Security

iProov Wins Contract with U.S. Department of Homeland Security
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: iProov

iProov received accolades for its identity authentication tools after being voted an audience favorite and winning Best of Show at FinovateEurope 2018. Now, the U.K.-based company is boasting social proof from another audience– the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

iProov recently won a bid with the government agency to support border security for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This makes iProov the first overseas company to win a contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP).

The government will leverage the company’s Flashmark technology, which allows users to take a photo of themselves using their smartphone to verify their identity at border crossings. CBP will cross-check the live photo against travelers’ pre-registered information complete the authentication without human intervention. The process is not only more secure, it is also much faster for the traveler to self-authenticate than to wait in line for a border patrol agent.

In the press release, iProov stated that the reason it was selected by CBP is because of its ability to detect spoofs, recognizing when users attempt to trick the technology using a fake photo, screenshot, or doctored video. Andrew Bud, chief executive of iProov, said that this capability is due to advancements in machine learning and artificial intelligence. In a press release, Bud said, “We’re now seeing more and more cases of governments and banks turning to self-service, spoof-resilient face verification as the biometric of choice to both increase security and ensure ease of use.”

Founded in 2011, iProov demoed at FinovateEurope earlier this year, showcasing its ID-Matcher, a technology that uses selfie face verification to authenticate users against their photo ID. In addition to winning Best of Show for their demo, the company has received multiple other accolades, including winning the 2017 National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Dragon’s Den competition at CYBERUK 2017, receiving numerous grants from Innovate U.K., and being named member of the SINET16.

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Xero Launches Connected Accounting

Xero Launches Connected Accounting
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Xero

At its Xerocon Atlanta event this week, online accounting software specialist Xero announced the first wave of new features designed to automate many basic daily business tasks. Calling the new solutions, Connected Accounting, VP of Products and Partnerships for Xero Americas Herman Man added that in addition to automatically categorizing accounting data, Connected Accounting gives businesses insights that can help them better understand their finances.

“With the features introduced at Xerocon Atlanta today, we’re delivering connected accounting so accountants and bookkeepers can help their clients ask the big questions, on cash flow, profit, and revenue,” Man said. “It is these kinds of capabilities working seamlessly together that enables small businesses to pursue their passion, be successful and do beautiful business.”

Initially, Connected Accounting will enable Xero’s platform to capture and automatically populate data from PDF bills to make bank reconciliation simpler. Xero Projects, a job tracking solution for small business now available to Xero’s U.S. customers, is now connected to the platform in a way that allows businesses to combine contact, invoicing, billing, and reporting information with the rich data existing on the platform. The Projects app has also been improved, making it easier for workers to track project work on the go and giving business owners more control over access permissions.

Xero also announced coming enhancements to its query solution Ask and a to-be released solution for Xero HQ, Relationships, that will make it easier for businesses to maintain contacts and sync data across the Xero platform.

In addition to product announcements, Xero also shared news of a new partnership with Citibank. Via the agreement, joint Citibank-Xero customers will get access to direct bank feeds from within the Xero platform. This will give businesses real-time visibility of their finances, including cash flow and overall business performance. The deal with Citibank builds on the relationships with FIs that Xero has forged in 2018 alone, including deals with the National Bank of Australia in February, and the Development Bank of Singapore in January.

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, Xero demonstrated the Business Identification feature of its online accounting platform at FinovateSpring 2011. Earlier this month, the company announced its Canadian launch, partnering with Deloitte Private’s financial collaboration platform ctrl by Deloitte. In February, Xero teamed up with IT management solutions provider Kaseya, providing direct integration between the company’s business management solution, BMS by Kaseya, and Xero’s platform.

Xero is publicly-traded on the Australian stock exchange under the ticker “XRO” and has a market capitalization of $5 billion. Rod Drury is CEO.

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Ignite Sales and FIS Team Up on Digital Engagement

Ignite Sales and FIS Team Up on Digital Engagement
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FIS, Ignite Sales

Data analytics company Ignite Sales and financial services giant FIS joined forces this week. Through the partnership, Ignite Sales will make its customer engagement technology available to FIS community banking clients.

The cloud-based customer engagement and application conversion technology, Ignite Dialogue, is made available in affordable, easy-to-implement packages. Ignite adapted this technology last March to make the service– previously only accessible to larger banks– now affordable and approachable for smaller financial institutions.

“We are excited and honored to partner with the FIS team,” said George Noga, CEO of Ignite Sales. “We share a common goal of empowering banks and credit unions with technology and service that delivers a competitive differentiator in the market place.”

Ignite Dialogue helps smaller banks enhance the customer experience for their consumer and small business customers by guiding banks to discover each client’s needs and match them with products and services tailored to meet their specific financial requirements. The service comes with an IQ Analytics reporting portal that guides the bank to develop their sales capabilities across all channels. The press release reports strong success metrics, citing that banks using the technology “often see customer satisfaction scores go up by as much as 40% and an increase in customer product adoption by as much as 200%.”

Headquartered in Texas, Ignite Sales offers customer engagement solutions for a range of bank sizes. The company also offers LeadLync, which automatically reports customer engagement results and recommendations directly into Salesforce; and IQAnalytics, an on-demand cloud-based analytics solution for customer and front office insights.

At FinovateFall 2013 the company launched the Branch Profitability Dashboard that offers a visual overview of profitability and sales across branches. The dashboard also presents a gap analysis for each sale to uncover where the branch falls short. Last month, Ignite Sales won a 2018 Stevie Award for AI / Machine Learning New Product of the Year.

FIS most recently demoed at FinovateFall 2016. The company debuted its Cardless Cash solution that provides a fast, secure options for sending and picking up cash at any ATM. Headquartered in Florida, FIS serves more than 20,000 clients in more than 130 countries.

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Envestnet | Yodlee’s AI FinCheck Takes Financial Wellness to a New Level

Envestnet | Yodlee’s AI FinCheck Takes Financial Wellness to a New Level
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Envestnet, Yodlee

Data aggregation and analytics firm Envestnet | Yodlee bolstered its PFM capabilities this week with the launch of AI FinCheck.

The AI-powered financial wellness solution leverages consumers’ transaction data, AI, and machine learning to monitor users’ financial health and offer actionable financial guidance tailored to their circumstances. AI FinCheck, along with the company’s OK to Spend feature that offers forward-looking cash flow balance information, are offered as part of Envestnet | Yodlee’s financial wellness suite.

Vice President of Product Applications at Envestnet | Yodlee Katy Gibson said, “By expanding our Financial Wellness Solution to include the new AI FinCheck application, financial service providers can provide their consumers with a personalized virtual financial wellness assistant which delivers actionable insights to help improve their financial health.” She added that because the tool uses real-time data, it can help consumers make informed financial decisions.

For each user AI FinCheck offers automated, personalized financial health insights across users’ spending, saving, borrowing and planning habits. To keep users continuously engaged, the tool offers interactive insights on their preferred channel. This not only helps them improve their financial situation but also improves their relationship with the brand. Some of the features of AI FinCheck include:

  • Provides personalized guidance alongside education
  • Leverages actionable data to deepen customer relationships
  • Enhances Next Best Offer (NBO) strategies
  • Provides contextual recommendations and actionable next steps
  • Makes it easy to deliver a virtual financial wellness assistant quickly and cost-effectively

Other tools in Envestnet | Yodlee’s financial wellness suite include FastLink, which allows users to link external financial accounts and see all of their financial information in one place; Save for a Goal, which helps users set, achieve, and fund their financial goals; and Cash Flow Analysis, which allows users to view historic cashflow data and see forecasted flows for each month.

Envestnet | Yodlee recently demoed its Financial Health Check at FinovateFall last year in New York. At the start of this year, the company finalized its acquisition of wealthtech solutions company FolioDynamix. Last month, Envestnet | Yodlee teamed with Quovo and Morningstar to support open data access for consumers. Envestnet was founded in 1999 and acquired Yodlee in 2015 for $660 million. Envestnet | Yodlee is a public company listed on NYSE under the ticker ENV. It has a market cap of $2.52 billion.

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Blockbid Partners with LexisNexis Risk Solutions and ThreatMetrix

Blockbid Partners with LexisNexis Risk Solutions and ThreatMetrix
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ThreatMetrix

Every gold rush needs someone to sell picks and shovels. And in the gold rush that is the cryptocurrency boom, some of the most valuable picks and shovels are tools to help cryptocurrency exchanges remain compliant with regulations regarding anti-money laundering (AML).

So it is no surprise to learn that Australian digital asset exchange Blockbid is shoring up its AML safeguards by partnering with LexisNexus Risk Solutions’ ThreatMetrix. The deal will give Blockbid the ability to leverage identity verification, authentication, and KYC/AML solutions, as well as physical and digital identity data, geolocation, and threat analysis to provide its users with the most secure trading experience possible.

“Cryptocurrency exchanges, like Blockbid, that are prioritizing security on their marketplace, face a complex set of challenges and cyberthreats,” ThreatMetrix Chief Product Officer Alisdair Faulkner said. Among these challenges is the increasingly global nature of cybercrime, Faulkner noted, which meant organizations needed “the power of a global shared network” in order to identify threats before they are able to do harm. By leveraging data from millions of daily consumer interactions, Faulkner said, “suspicious behavior can be detected and flagged for review and step-up authentication or rejection before a transaction is processed. (This creates)  a low-friction experience for trusted users.”

A market leader in the field of cloud-based digital identity and transaction authentication, ThreatMetrix was acquired by RELX at the beginning of the year in a deal worth $830 million, and was incorporated into the RELX’s Risk and Business Analytics’ LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The company, founded in 2005 and based in San Jose, California, analyzes 100 million transactions a day across 35,000 websites from 5,000 customers. This gives ThreatMetrix’s Digital Identity Network a repository of 1.4 billion unique online identities from 4.5 billion devices in 185 countries.

ThreatMetrix demonstrated its Digital Identity Graph at FinovateAsia 2016. Last month, the company won the 2018 Best Identity Verification and Authentication Solution category at the CNP Awards, and picked up top honors at both the LendIt Awards 2018 – where it won Top Enterprise Technology Company – and the Fintech Breakthrough Awards 2018 – where ThreatMetrix earned the Top Fraud Prevention Platform award.

The company released the Spring 2018 version of its ThreatMetrix ID technology in April which represented the first product integration between ThreatMetrix and LexisNexis Risk Solution since the RELX acquisition. The same month, ThreatMetrix CEO Reed Taussig was named CEO of the Year by independent strategy and research firm, One World Identity.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BBVA, BlueVine, Clinc, Envestnet, FIS, Geezeo, Ignite Sales, NF Innova, Revolut, ThreatMetrix, Urban FT, Xero, Yodlee

On Finovate.com

  • Envestnet | Yodlee’s AI FinCheck Takes Financial Wellness to a New Level.
  • Blockbid Partners with LexisNexis Risk Solutions and ThreatMetrix.
  • Ignite Sales and FIS Team Up on Digital Engagement.

Around the web

  • Revolut goes live in Russia courtesy of partnership with QIWI.
  • Clinc brings its conversational AI technology to Turkey’s Isbank.
  • BBVA teams up with IPsoft to enhance service at its call centers in Mexico.
  • PYMNTS.com interviews BlueVine CEO Eyal Lifshitz on the “real value of invoice factoring.”
  • CFO Tech Outlook names Urban FT a top ten fintech solution provider.
  • NF Innova powering omnichannel banking for Halkbank ad Skopje.
  • Geezeo issues fully-fledged launch of Responsive Tiles PFM feature.

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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Trustly Brings New Payment Options to Alpha Fintech’s AlphaHub Platform

Trustly Brings New Payment Options to Alpha Fintech’s AlphaHub Platform
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Trustly

European online payments innovator Trustly is celebrating its tenth birthday this week by partnering with Alpha Fintech. The deal will make Trustly’s payment solutions available to international banks, MSPs, and merchants using Alpha Fintech’s AlphaHub platform.

“Trustly wants to make account-to-account payments simple and secure for merchants and their customers,” Trustly Director of Partner Sales, Adam D. Bowman, said. “Partnering with Alpha Fintech supports this strategy thanks to Alpha Fintech’s one simple API, through which merchants can now access Trustly’s payment functionality. Alpha Fintech’s significant international reach will also enable Trustly to reach new merchants.”

The new partnership means that when customers choose Trustly during the checkout process, and indicate their preferred country, they will be shown a list of local banks partnered with Trustly that are able to offer real-time bank transfers. Customers choose their bank, log into their online banking platform, enter the amount of the payment, and confirm.

Chief Product Officer at Alpha Fintech Rónán Gallagher added “As more customers turn to bank-based payment methods, through the AlphaHub merchants will be able to offer this key payment method in markets as diverse as Australia, Singapore, and now 29 countries in Europe via a single integration providing a consistent user experience,”

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Trustly facilitates online payments for consumers in 29 European countries. Surpassing €10 billion in total processed volume last year, as well as launching its Direct Debit and Pay N Play products, Trustly was acquired by Nordic Capital this spring. 2017 also marked the return of Trustly to the Finovate stage, as the company demoed its Direct Debit solution at FinovateEurope.

Recognized earlier this year by The Financial Times as one of the fastest growing companies in Europe, Trustly partnered with German open payment platform optile in March, the same month the company furthered its expansion plans in Germany by earning TUV-certified status for legal data protection and IT security for its online banking e-payments method. Trustly began the year forging an agreement with Latvian national airline airBaltic that will enable customers to buy tickets directly from their bank accounts.

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InComm Acquires Gift Card Impressions

InComm Acquires Gift Card Impressions
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: InComm, Mergers & Acquisitions

Prepaid products company InComm is boosting its e-gifting capabilities today with the acquisition of its former competitor in the space, Gift Card Impressions (GCI).

The financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed. Logistically, GCI will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of InComm, and its operations and leadership team members will join InComm’s 2,300 employees across the globe and remain in the company’s Missouri location.

Brooks Smith, CEO of InComm, described GCI as being “on the cutting edge of the digital gift card evolution” and noted the company’s superior method to selling stored value products as being “a much warmer, personalized, and transformative approach.” Brooks added, “This transaction also brings us an experienced management team with a great deal of consumer packaged goods industry knowledge that can be leveraged to help drive the growth of physical and digital gift card sales.”

Brett Glass is founder and CEO of GCI, which has received 40 industry awards for innovation in the last seven years. Glass will continue to lead the company’s team from the Missouri location and said his team is “thrilled to have the opportunity to build on their outstanding track record of achievement.”

This is the company’s seventh acquisition since it was founded in 1992. InComm acquired GroupCard and Zeevex in 2010, Adility and On-Line Strategies in 2012, Giftgango in 2013, and most recently ValuAccess in 2016.

InComm offers more than 500,000 points of retail distribution with 1,000+ brand partners in more than 30 countries. The company debuted CorFire Mobile Commerce at FinovateFall 2011. More recently, InComm showed off the Cashtie API at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2014. The company made headlines in April of this year with the announcement of a planned $20 million expansion at its Atlanta headquarters, adding 150 new jobs in the state of Georgia.

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Pindrop Security Partners with Bank of the West

Pindrop Security Partners with Bank of the West
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Pindrop Security

Voice security and authentication innovator Pindrop Security will provide fraud detection solutions for Bank of the West. The San Francisco, California-based financial services company with more than $89 billion in assets will leverage the security specialist’s technology to identify and mitigate a variety of cyberthreats including caller ID spoofing, voice distortion, and social engineering.

“Pindrop’s machine learning technology allows us to better know our customers and more effectively protect their assets,” Bank of the West’s Head of Enterprise Customer Experience Patricia Nowak said. “Using emerging technology to better serve our customers is a key initiative for Bank of the West.”

With more than 600 branches and offices in 23 states and digital channels, Bank of the West sees its partnership with Pindrop as part of its broader commitment to leveraging innovative technology to provide customers with a unique and secure experience. In Pindrop, Bank of the West will enhance its ability to proactively defend against fraud while maintaining a seamless customer journey over the voice channel.

“Bank of the West will see an improved customer experience with the implementation of our solutions,” SVP of Product for Pindrop Security Scott Rose said. “These results are made possible by Pindrop’s machine learning technology, which enables improved fraud detection and delivers value to the customer from the very first time they contact the bank.”

Founded in 2011, Pindrop Security demonstrated its Fraud Detection System at FinovateFall 2012. Its anti-fraud and authentication solutions – Pindrop Protect and Pindrop Passport, respectively – leverage the company’s Phoneprinting, Toneprinting, and Deep Voice Biometric Engine technologies to provide call centers with protection against both known cybercriminals as well as suspicious, atypical behavior that could indicate fraudulent activity.

This spring, the company announced that it would provide its Phoneprinting technology to U.K.-based, online retailer Shop Direct to help the company improve customer service and fight fraud. Also earlier this year, Pindrop teamed up with voice solutions provider Aeriandi to make its phone authentication and anti-fraud technology available via Aeriandi’s cloud-based voice platform.

With more than $122 million in funding, Pindrop Security includes Andreessen Horowitz, IVP (Institutional Venture Partners), and CapitalG among its investors. Co-founder Vijay Balasubramaniyan is CEO and CTO.

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Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, Infosys

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.

LATAM

  • Integrated touch sensors at sign-in kiosk and video wall enhance experience for customers of Chile’s half bank, half cafe Santander WorkCafes.
  • Brazilian online lender Banco Agibank sets price for its upcoming IPO; targets valuation of $2.7 billion.
  • Forbes looks at the increase in the number of Brazilians opening crypto trading accounts.

CEE

  • Blockchain company Billon picks up €1 million in funding from Polish National Center for Research and Development.
  • Polish cryptocurrency exchange BitBay to move to Malta.
  • Lithuania’s central bank hosts hackathon to mint world’s first digital collector coin.

Asia

  • White paper from APAC research firm Solidiance predicts Vietnam’s fintech market will grow by nearly $8 billion by 2020.
  • Myanmar Ministries of Agriculture and Planning and Finance partner with Singapore-based fintech to develop official livestock registry that would be used to help farmer use livestock as collateral for loans.
  • Korean fintech Qarasoft launches AI-based financial forecasting app, Kosho.

MENA

  • Oman’s Bank Sohar to deploy core banking platform from Infosys Finacle.
  • Jordanian P2P lending platform liwwa surpasses $11 million in loans issued milestone.
  • Entrepreneur.con features ten startups to emerge from Cairo, Egypt’s Flat6labs accelerator including fintechs like 7aweshly and Tombeely.
  • Abu Dhabi Global Market and Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission announce cooperation agreement to support innovation in financial services.

Africa

  • First Bank and WorldRemit team up to bring digital money transfers to Nigeria.
  • African Development Bank partners with The Rockefeller Foundation, Microsoft, and Facebook to initiate Coding for Employment Program.
  • Money transfer platform OROBO introduces remittance and bill pay service to Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Sierra-Leone courtesy of partnership with OpenWay.
  • Disrupt Africa looks at what investors are seeking in Africa’s fintech sector.

Top image designed by Freepik

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Algomi, Coinbase, Dashlane, Envestnet, Equifax, FICO, Fiserv, InComm, LendKey, Pindrop Security, Trustly, Yodlee

On Finovate

  • Pindrop Security Partners with Bank of the West.
  • InComm Acquires Gift Card Impressions.
  • Trustly Brings New Payment Options to Alpha Fintech’s AlphaHub Platform.

Around the world

  • Algomi hires Scott Eaton, former EMEA COO at MarketAxess, as its new CEO.
  • Envestnet | Yodlee launches AI FinCheck. an AI-powered financial wellness assistant for financial service professionals.
  • FICO and Equifax partner to launch FICO Risk and Affordability Decision Suite powered by Equifax to help banks measure repayment risk.
  • Dashlane integrates with new Apple Security API rolling out in iOS 12.
  • WSJ features Coinbase’s move into Japan.
  • LendKey names Lewis Goldman Chief Marketing Officer.
  • VyStar CU leverages technology from Fiserv to power its mobile banking app.

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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