FinovateAsia Best of Show Winners Announced

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Arival Bank, Avaloq, Best of Show, FinovateAsia 2018, Voca.ai
Congratulations to the trio of companies that earned Best of Show honors from our FinovateAsia 2018 audience. This year's selections reflect two key themes in fintech: the importance of enabling banks with the resources they need to empower SMEs to better serve their customers, and the rise of intelligent virtual assistants to improve efficiency and enhance the customer experience. Arival Bank for its ArivalOS digital banking platform that integrates a full suite of third party fintech products tailored for SMEs, including bank accounts, money transfers, debit cards, mPOS, factoring, and lending. Video.   Avaloq for its platform that provides seamless access to fintech solutions via a "double marketplace" that brings the app store concept to banking. Video. Voca.ai for its human-friendly, virtual intelligent agent for financial services call centers that helps drive lead generation, cross-sales, notifications, scheduling, and more. Video. To see all the demo videos from FinovateAsia 2018, visit…

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Coinbase, eToro, Insuritas, Lendio, Temenos
On Finovate.com Coinbase Raises $300 Million, Becomes Unicorn 8x Over. Around the web The Financial Brand features Michigan First CU's tech powered by Insuritas. eToro lists Binance Coin (BNB) on its platform. Leading Libyan private bank selects Temenos to power Islamic growth. Lendio announces the opening of a Lendio franchise in Utah. 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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Welcome to the Second Day of FinovateAsia

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateAsia 2018
We're off to a great start at FinovateAsia, and after yesterday's sessions and demos, we're already craving more. Registration opens at 8 am again today, and the first session begins at 8:45 am. And don't miss the Best of Show awards ceremony today, taking place at 16:40 in the auditorium. Visit our website for a full, interactive agenda, or check out a quick preview below: 8:00 to 8:45 Registration and continental breakfast 8:45 to 8:50 Welcome 8:50 to 9:15 Keynote address 9:15 to 9:25 Analyst all stars 9:25 to 10:15 Demo session #3 Avaloq LendingStar Jumio PayReverse Payjo Kiwi New Energy 10:15 to 10:45 Intermission, refreshments, and networking break 10:45 to 10:55 Analyst all stars 10:55 to 11:05 Challenges in building global financial infrastructure for crypto-assets 11:05 to 11:50 Demo session #4 Siam Commercial Bank Topicus Fintech Software Rootant Unpay Identitii LENDindex 11:50 to 12:10 Special address 12:10 to 13:20 Lunch plus expert briefing on…

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NTT DATA Services to Acquire Sierra Systems

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Mergers & Acquisitions, NTT Data
Consulting and software development firm NTT Data announced it is bolstering its presence in Canada this week with the pending acquisition of IT services and consulting firm Sierra Systems. Terms of the deal were undisclosed but NTT Data anticipates the acquisition will offer the Tokyo-based company a "significant" presence in Canada. Sierra Systems, which was founded in 1966, also comes with brand reputation and client relationships in addition to new talent in areas such as Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, and ServiceNow. “Sierra Systems’ reputation as a trusted advisor in Canada is evidenced by the strength of their client relationships, many of which have spanned decades,” said Bob Pryor, CEO of NTT DATA Services. “With the addition of Sierra Systems’ talented team, we’ll expand our ability to deliver innovation and business outcomes to clients in Canada and extend our North American delivery capabilities. Growth prospects are very strong in Canada, so this…

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Quid Lands $37.5 Million Round Led by Lexis Nexis Parent

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Quid
Data insights and visualization startup Quid has been putting AI and machine learning to work since it was founded in 2010. Today, the California-based company landed a generous amount of funding to continue that work. The $37.5 million round was led by REV Ventures, the investment arm of Lexis Nexis, and bumps Quid's total funding up to just over $108 million. Also participating in the round are Julian Roberson, Henry Kravis, Lixil Group, Artis Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. In addition to the investment, Quid also took out $8 million in debt; its valuation remains undisclosed. Quid told Bloomberg that the fundraising process for this round began over a year and a half ago. The company's founder, Bob Goodson, decided to keep the round open to other investors and ended up receiving buy-in from REV Ventures, among others, to buoy the round up to the current amount. In a…

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BioCatch, Equifax, Fiserv, Geezeo, Neener Analytics, NTT Data, Quid
On Finovate.com Quid Lands $37.5 Million Round Led by Lexis Nexis Parent NTT DATA Services to Acquire Sierra Systems. Around the web Equifax partners with consents.online to develop Open Banking solutions. Fiserv powers digital banking platform for Bogota Savings Bank. Neener Analytics launches pilot with MAPFRE Insurance. Best Innovation Group deploys Geezeo PFM SDK. BioCatch partners with 7 tier-one Latin American banks. 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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Welcome to FinovateAsia

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateAsia 2018
We're back in Hong Kong this week for what is shaping up to be Hong Kong's most dynamic fintech event of the year, FinovateAsia. We have a dozen companies ready to demo their freshest ideas. And our impressive speaker lineup, along with panelists representing some of the region's top banks and fintechs, also are ready to impress. FinovateAsia will take place at the Hong Kong Convention Center where registration opens at 8:00 am and the first session starts at 8:45 am. There's still time to register and if you have any questions, please contact a member of our event staff. You can check out today's full agenda, complete with speaker information, online, but here is a quick preview: 8:00 to 8:45 Registration and continental breakfast 8:45 to 8:50 Welcome 8:50 to 9:20 Keynote address 9:20 to 9:25 Opening remarks 9:25 to 9:35 Analyst all stars 9:35 to 10:25 Demo session…

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Welcome to Wan Chai: FinovateAsia Kicks Off Hong Kong FinTech Week

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateAsia 2018
Rehearsal day is underway here at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in Wan Chai. With FinovateAsia 2018 starting Monday morning, our demoing companies are busy practicing their pitches in preparation for two days of live fintech demonstrations. That said, FinovateAsia is more than just fintech demos. As part of Hong Kong FinTech Week, FinovateAsia will also host a variety of in-depth presentations - from keynote addresses and expert briefings to breakout tracks on topics such as AI and blockchain technology, open banking, insurtech, payments, digital transformation, lending, and more. And in addition to Analyst All-Star panels and our Accelerator/Incubator Showcase, FinovateAsia will also feature an "off the record" session with global regulators, a conversation among VCs on where the smart money is investing in fintech, and a special breakout track focusing on fintech opportunities on mainland China. More detailed information about our agenda is available on our FinovateAsia…

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Swych Powers WeChat’s Travelex Pay Service

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Swych
Digital gifting platform Swych partnered with WeChat and Travelex this week, announcing that its blockchain-based gift card technology will power Travelex's Travelex Pay, a cashless spending tool hosted within messaging app WeChat. Travelex Pay will enable Chinese travelers visiting the U.S. to use digital gift cards on the Swych platform to make purchases at U.S. retailers within the WeChat app using funds in their WeChat Pay account. To make a purchase at one of the 700 retailers participating with Swych, WeChat's 800 million WeChat Pay users can use Travelex Pay to generate an electronic gift card close to the purchase amount, and WeChat automatically deducts the amount in their home currency in real time. To complete the purchase, the cashier either scans a barcode or enters a payment code and receives payment in USD. The gift cards are fee-free and help users avoid foreign exchange fees which could add up…

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Bazaarvoice, Bento for Business, Blockchain, Expensify, Ledger, PayActiv, Swych
On Finovate.com Swych Powers WeChat’s Travelex Pay Service. Around the web Bento for Business partners with payroll and HR company Cast & Crew PayActiv announces Walmart as Destination to Pick Up Cash-Based Earned Wages. TechCrunch: Blockchain startup Blockchain to launch hardware wallet in partnership with Ledger. Monetate and Bazaarvoice partner on product recommendation strategies. CLA selects Expensify for its clients' receipt tracking and expense reporting 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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Yoyo Lands $30 Million Partnership Agreement

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Yoyo
U.K. payment and loyalty app startup Yoyo Wallet entered into a major partnership agreement this week. The deal, worth $30 million, is with Greg Kidd's investment firm Hard Yaka. Well-known in the fintech industry, Kidd was an early investor in Ripple, Square, Twitter, and Coinbase. For its end of the deal, Yoyo will integrate its commerce API with Hard Yaka's Global ID, a global user identification platform. Global ID helps users prove their identity via their electronic footprint. The tool's identity token is a key feature to help users make purchases online and in-store; this commerce element is where Global ID will leverage Yoyo's loyalty and purchasing app. “Yoyo is the cornerstone to the global delivery of the Hard Yaka vision. We know about data – and our collaboration together will generate a boost to the Global ID movement that will shape the future of the global consumer market and disrupt the…

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OnDeck Partners with PNC Bank to Streamline SME Financing

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: On Deck Capital
Starting in 2019, PNC Bank will offer digital business lines of credit up to $100,000 within one to three business days. This expansion of its current online lending business comes courtesy of a partnership with OnDeck, whose OnDeck Platform-as-a-Service (ODX) solution - launched earlier this month - will simplify and speed up the loan origination process for PNC Bank's SME customers. "Small and medium-sized business owners are continually searching for simpler, easier and quicker means to apply for and receive funding and to that end, PNC is investing in this new avenue to find solutions that work for them," Head of Retail Lending at PNC Bank Lakhbir Lamba said. "Our relationship with OnDeck is PNC's first opportunity to leverage the services of a fintech company in a platform-as-a-service model that will make it easier for businesses to borrow from us in order to support their growth." PNC Bank, National Association,…

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