Finovate Talks: The Conversation Continues

Today at FinovateFall, we continued to speak to some of our key speakers about the hottest topics that we have been discussing over this year’s event. Here, Nathan Snell, Chief Innovation Officer at nCino stresses the importance of customer experience and how the “innovation journey” can be improved when he spoke to Julie Muhn, Finovate Research Analyst at the conference.

Watch more interviews here:

 

Finovate Talks: Creating the Foundations for Financial Literacy

Ederick Lokpez, Director Engagement Strategy, Customer Experience Office, U.S. Bank

Watch here >>

 

Finovate Talks: RegTech – Innovation vs. the Regulation Regime

Joanne Barefoot, CEO at Barefoot Innovation Group

Watch here >> 

 

Finovate Talks: RegTech – Tech or Die

Pascal Bouvier, Fintech Venture Investor & Thought Leader

Watch here >>

 

How Can Banks with Older Core Systems Take Advantage of Fintech Innovation?

Oded Shoshany, CEO at CelerityFinTech

Watch here >>

 

Investing with a Difference: How To Stand Out From the Crowd

Ross Baird, CEO, Village Capital

Watch here >>

 

Top Tips for Startups To Stand Out Within Incubators

Matt Armstead, Executive Director, Fintech71

Watch here >>

 

Top Fintech Innovations To Look Out For in 2018

Top Fintech Innovations To Look Out For in 2018

 

Fintech innovation is experiencing its highest-ever interest levels, and 2017 has seen some revolutionary new ways of doing business emerge. With the stage set for an explosive 2018, what are some of the top innovations to watch out for next year? Hear what global industry leaders predict for the future of fintech.

Nick Ogden – founder and Executive Chairman, ClearBank

The number one thing that’s going to occur in 2018 is fragmentation of the marketplace as we know it today. The days of big banks delivering everything and being specialists in everything are over. Some of them might still not accept that but the reality is that it’s happened.

You’ve got ringfencing in the UK occurring, and it will be in place by January 2019. Where you’ll get to is a situation whereby there’ll be transactional banking, which everybody needs – it’s how we pay bills and how we receive our salary. And it’s the same structure for businesses.

Then there’ll be different ways in which we consume financial services – things that we use occasionally like a car loan, a house loan, or a holiday loan. And the market will change to encourage customers to seek alternative choices as opposed to feeling reliant on one choice.

Ajay Bhalla – President of Global Enterprise Risk and Security, MasterCard

These technologies are now reaching a point where they can really change consumer experience, and that’s one of the reasons for our investments in this artificial intelligence space. These algorithms and the way they make decisions are becoming so good that we as consumers will increasingly leave our devices to start making decisions for us.

And it’s cool and it’s sometimes worrying, but in the bigger picture it’s going to change the way we live. And I think that’s not very far away now.

Karen Kerrigan – Chief Legal Officer, Seedrs

Rather than looking at a specific technology, have a look at a particular sector. There are a lot of challenger banks out there at the moment – Starling Bank, ClearBank, Monzo, Tandem – and they’re all vying for the same space. They’re all doing things slightly differently, but  ultimately are taking on the banks.

How they do that, what technologies they use, and how they embrace user experience will be a fascinating journey, and I’d urge everyone to keep their eyes on it.

Want to learn more about the future of finance from these and other global industry leaders, including Professors Nir Vulkan and Alex Pentland, and David Shrier?

Saïd Business School, University of Oxford is collaborating with online education provider GetSmarter to present the Oxford Fintech Programme, a 10-week online programme designed to equip you with the skills, tools, knowledge, and network you need to take a fintech startup from concept to execution.

Finovate Talks: How To Make it as a Small Business in Fintech – Kathryn Petralia, Kabbage

This year at FinovateFall, we spoke to some of our key speakers about the hottest topics that we have been discussing over this year’s event. Watch the interviews here:

 

Finovate Talks: Meet the Fintech Observer

Dave Birch, Global Ambassador, Consult Hyperion

Watch here >>

 

Finovate Talks: Financial Inclusion for Latin American Communities 

Ramona Ortega, CEO & Founder, My Money My Future

Watch here >>

 

Finovate Talks: How BankMobile Has Turned Digital Banking on its Head

Luvleen Sidhu, Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer and President of BankMobile

Watch here >>

 

Does the US Have a Savings Problem? 

Mimi Chan, CEO & Founder, Littlefund

Watch here >>

 

How Will AI Change the World of Underwriting? 

Mike Armstrong, President, ZestFinance

Watch here >>

 

How Can Fintech Facilitate Stability in a Gig Economy?

Rachel Schneider, Senior Vice President, CFSI

Watch here >>

FinovateFall 2017 Best of Show Winners Announced

FinovateFall 2017 Best of Show Winners Announced

Join us in a hearty congratulations for the seven companies that earned not just the admiration of our FinovateFall 2017 attendees, but their votes for Best of Show, as well.

With more than 70 companies demonstrating their technologies live on stage over the course of two days, some diversity in theme and topic is to be expected. What is especially interesting about our Best of Show winners this time around is that, while numbering only seven, these innovators still reflect a wide variety of approaches toward solving some of the most vexing challenges in our financial lives. These are the technologies that we increasingly turn to for help when it comes to saving and investing for the future, working better and more efficiently with our banks and credit unions, and safeguarding our property, our financial transactions, and even our identities against fraudsters, hackers, and other malevolent actors.

So hats off to the Best of Show winners of FinovateFall 2017. From Finovate veterans that have been honored by our attendees with Best of Show trophies in the past to newcomers who made huge, positive impressions in their Finovate debuts this week, these are the companies that help define our industry and show us the direction of fintech innovation to come.

Envestnet | Yodlee for its Financial Health Check that leverages account and transaction-level data to measure and score overall financial health across multiple dimensions including spending, savings, borrowing, and planning.

 

Finn.ai for its Virtual Banking Assistant, powered by artificial intelligence and available via channels ranging from Facebook Messenger to Amazon Alexa, which makes everyday banking simple and easy for customers.

 

Jiffee for its tap & pay mobile technology that turns any device into a payment terminal, enabling consumers to pay anywhere and everywhere without relying on plastic credit and debit cards.

 

Sensibill for its +Pulse solution that helps spot revenue opportunities from on- and off-card purchase data, providing a targeted prospect list for personalized, in-app campaigns.

 

SpyCloud for its monitoring and alert service that helps organizations better understand their employee and customer digital footprints by giving them visibility into their exposed credentials actively being traded in the underground.

 

Sustainably for its social good platform for consumers and businesses that turns the spare change from shopping into micro-donations to philanthropic causes.

 

Voleo for its social trading app that makes it easy for people to invest together, saving time and money, while simultaneously leveraging the collective wisdom of networked investors to pursue market-beating returns.

We want to thank all of the companies that demonstrated their technologies live on stage this year for FinovateFall 2017. From AI, the blockchain, and chatbot technology to mortgagetech, payments, and voice-enabled banking, the breadth of solutions and services shown over the past two days of our conference bodes well for the future of fintech. And be sure to join us Wednesday morning at 9:15 a.m. as we host our first-ever roundtable discussion featuring representatives from each of our Best of Show winning companies.


Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The seven companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from our 2015 and 2016 conferences are below:
FinovateEurope 2015
FinovateSpring 2015
FinovateFall 2015
FinovateEurope 2016
FinovateSpring 2016
FinovateFall 2016
FinovateAsia 2016
FinovateEurope 2017
FinovateSpring 2017

Keeping Up with Fintech

Keeping Up with Fintech

According to Google Trends, the search term “fintech” only began its upward swing in search popularity in January 2015, hitting its peak in May 2017. This rapid increase in search prevalence came as a result of the world’s collective interest and investment in financial innovation and disruption.

While the evolution of financial technologies and innovation is ushering in an exciting new world of opportunities, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the fast-paced growth of the global fintech industry. And with so much global interest, it’s near-impossible to stay ahead of the curve.

As Professor Alex Pentland, guest speaker on the Oxford Fintech Programme, puts it: “Fintech is happening right now. We’re seeing all these very exciting changes ranging from Bitcoin, which is sort of old, to Initial Coin Offerings, which are very new. We’re also seeing much more of the democratisation of fintech, so a lot of the crowdsourcing things are opening up new ways of investment that just haven’t happened before.”

From digital wallet Curve, to AI-driven mortgage auction system Lendr, fintech startups are being created by anyone and everyone with a good idea and the appropriate tools.

Fintech innovation isn’t limited to the game of upsetting incumbents and big banks, either. Proptech applications are allowing potential homeowners to virtually tour and remodel their future homes using VR, and with the increase in size of the transactions taking place on fintech platforms, recording, monitoring, and ensuring compliance will need to be high on everyone’s priority list, driving the need for regtech.

These revolutionary new technologies bring with them exciting opportunities, and worrying prospects. Industry experts believe that between 2 million and 6 million jobs will be lost over the next decade due to disruptive financial technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain. Illustrating the potential, digital challenger banks such as Starling and Monzo can operate with 90% less headcount than traditional banks.

While this is exciting for big business owners, the average employee will stand the chance to find themselves without a job very soon. But fintech, proptech, regtech, and other associated innovations will enable small and medium businesses to create both new wealth for expansion, and new job roles. The challenge now is finding a way to not only engage with fintech, but to also stay ahead of the curve.

One way to up-skill quickly is to tap into the knowledge of global experts, and put the skills you learn to use immediately. As industries and innovation continue to evolve at a rapid pace, interactive and online burst-like education is a natural solution. This format of learning allows you to enhance your skills in a matter of weeks, in your own time, and collaborate with like-minded individuals from across the globe.

Saïd Business School, University of Oxford is collaborating with online education provider GetSmarter to present the Oxford Fintech Programme, a 10-week online programme designed to equip you with the skills, tools, knowledge, and network you need to take a fintech startup from concept to execution.

FinovateFall 2017: Demo Days Review and Preview

FinovateFall 2017: Demo Days Review and Preview

The first day of FinovateFall 2017 is in the books. With 36 companies presenting their technologies live on stage Monday morning and afternoon, fintech fans were treated to an advance look at what our industry’s top executive and technical talent has to offer. If you missed our opening day of demos, don’t worry. We’ll have videos of each and every demonstration available in our video archives within the next few weeks.

As a refresher, here are the companies that demonstrated their technologies on Day One of Finovate Fall.

And below is the schedule for the companies that will be demonstrating their latest innovations on Tuesday, Day Two of our Demo Days presentations.

>> 8:45 to 10:15: Demo session 5 <<

>>10:15 to 10:45: Intermission & refreshments<<

>>10:45 to 12:05: Demo session 6 <<

>> 12:05 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Buffet lunch <<

>> 1:00 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.: Demo Session 7 <<

>> 2:20 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.: Intermission & refreshments<<

>>2:50 p.m. to 4:10 p.m.: Demo Session 8 <<

>> 4:10 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.: Open bar reception, networking, and Best of Show presentation <<

Remember that after two days of live fintech demonstrations, FinovateFall 2017 continues on Wednesday and Thursday with two days of keynote addresses, panel discussions, roundtables and more. To get a peek at our expanded, Discussion Days schedule, check out our agenda for more.

Ready, Steady, Go! Welcome to FinovateFall 2017

Ready, Steady, Go! Welcome to FinovateFall 2017

FinovateFall 2017 drops on Monday – which means it’s rehearsal day here at the New York Hilton Midtown. And while the rest of the town is gearing up for the opening day of the NFL season, we’ve busy with tech checks, run-throughs, and all the preparations needed to ensure that our biggest FinovateFall to date will be our best FinovateFall yet.

And to help you make the most of your time here at our newly-expanded FOUR DAY conference, here are a few last-minute notes to keep in mind before you make your way to Manhattan.

What

This year, FinovateFall is a four-day affair, with two days of live demonstrations and two days of keynotes, panel discussions, and roundtables on many of the most critical issues and innovations in financial technology today. Check out the agenda and see what we’ve got planned for you.

Where

FinovateFall returns to the New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. The hotel is located in the heart of Manhattan and is readily accessible by public transportation.

When

FinovateFall begins Monday, September 11 and concludes Thursday, September 14. Live demonstrations will take place Monday and Tuesday. Keynotes and panel discussions will take place Wednesday and Thursday. Registration begins at 8am, with the first demonstrations beginning on Monday and Tuesday at 8:45am. On our Discussion Days, we will begin at 9am.

Who

FinovateFall features more than 70+ fintech companies – both innovative startups and industry veterans – who will demonstrate their latest technologies live on stage during our Demo Days on Monday and Tuesday. During our Discussion Days on Wednesday and Thursday, you’ll hear from some of the leading thought leaders in the financial technology industry today. And with our newly-expanded format, look forward to joining upwards of 1,600+ of your fellow (and soror) fintech fans over the course of our four-day event.

Why

FinovateFall provides fintech professionals with an opportunity to see the future of fintech today. The companies that demo their technologies live at Finovate conferences are the same innovators that financial institutions all over the world seek out for partnerships, collaborations, and insights into how to use technology to better serve, engage, and understand their customers and clients.

How

FinovateFall tickets are still available! Whether you’re focused on the live demonstrations during our Demo Days, looking forward to hearing from fintech visionaries during our Discussion Days, or planning to stay the whole week, visit our registration page today and save your spot.

This year we are offering a new way to help you and your colleagues make the most of our new, four-day Finovate experience. With our Split Your Ticket program, you can split the four-day conference with a colleague and pay just $700 more instead of paying the regular ticket price for each attendee. And, as always, group discounts are available, as well. Check out our FinovateFall registration page for more information.

Another way to maximize your participation at FinovateFall is to join the FinovateFall community on our event app. Keep up with the event agenda, network with fellow attendees, and learn more about our demoing companies, our Discussion Days speakers, as well as our sponsors and partners. The app is available at both Google Play and the Apple Store. Download. Log-in with your registration e-mail. And get social! If you have any difficulties with the app, please send us an e-mail at fall@finovate.com.

We’re looking forward to seeing you in New York!

What Does it Take to Be in the Audience of FinovateFall?

What Does it Take to Be in the Audience of FinovateFall?

With four days of fintech demos, discussions, and networking, FinovateFall is our largest show yet (there’s still time to reserve your spot). Starting September 11 we’ll host two days of demos showcasing the newest in fintech, then launch into thought-provoking keynote and panel discussions from September 13 through 14. It’s all taking place at the Hilton Midtown Manhattan in New York.

The show is only two days away, and we’ve gathered a massive audience of fintech and banking players, media, and VCs from across the globe:

So what does it take to be a part of the audience at FinovateFall? Getting your ticket is the easy part. Now here is your attendee checklist for the week:

  1. Find the right outfit– should you dress up in a full suit or dress down with Chuck Taylors, jeans and a blazer?
  2. Remember your business cards
  3. Clap at least 36 times per day– once for each demo
  4. Hold off on the second round of dessert. The lemon cheesecakes are tasty, but if you eat the second one you may not be able to fit into tomorrow’s pants.
  5. Try not to be obvious when looking at someone’s badge because you didn’t remember their name the first time
  6. Keep up with all of the incoming LinkedIn requests (congratulations: you’re so popular!).
  7. Select your favorite demo for Best of Show. With so many good companies, it’s difficult to choose.
  8. Decide between wine or beer at happy hour. Wine can potentially stain your shirt but beer might fill you up too much (see point number 4). Teetotalers, don’t get off easy, either. Water, soda, coffee, tea … we’ve got plenty of choices to keep you hydrated during happy hour, as well.
  9. Try not to get so distracted by the free coat check that you lose your claim tag.
  10. Remember your hotel room number (it’s a prime number… is it 317 or 357?).

Think you have what it takes? Then join us!

Cloud Lending Solutions Picks Up Investment from ABN Amro’s Digital Impact Fund

Cloud Lending Solutions Picks Up Investment from ABN Amro’s Digital Impact Fund

ABN AMRO’s venture capital fund, the Digital Impact Fund (DIF) has made an investment in Cloud Lending Solutions this week. The amount of the funding was not disclosed. “We are excited for the long-term support of ABN AMRO’s Digital Impact Fund with this investment,” Cloud Lending Solutions CEO Snehal Fulzele said in a statement. “We look forward to working with DIF to deepen out global footprint and broaden our lending impact.”

This week’s funding adds to the more than $8 million in capital already raised by Cloud Lending Solutions, which also completed a Series B round in February (amount undisclosed). ABN AMRO joins SF Capital Group and Cota Capital as investors in the company.

Pictured: Cloud Lending Solutions co-founder and CEO Snehal Fulzele demonstrating CL Exchange at FinovateSpring 2015.

Director of DIF, Hugo Bongers, praised the company’s management team, its “broad and innovative product portfolio,” and its track record. “With Cloud Lending Solutions’ robust worldwide growth, they will be able to utilize our investment to further their global expansion,” Bongers said. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Cloud Lending Solutions also currently has offices in London, Sydney, and Bangalore.

Cloud Lending Solutions provides end-to-end loan and leasing technology that digitizes every aspect of the lending process including origination, underwriting, servicing, and collections. Built natively on Salesforce.com, the company’s solutions enable FIs to leverage the cloud to provide alternative financing to unbanked and underbanked communities worldwide. Founded in 2012, Cloud Lending Solutions demonstrated its CL Exchange platform at FinovateSpring 2015. CL Exchange gives participating online marketplaces and lenders the ability to exchange both consumer and business loan applications to source the most appropriate loans for each company’s lending portfolio. Last month, the company introduced new enhancements to its CL Lease solution in an upgrade that included more than 45 specific product changes and “hundreds of smaller updates.”

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Cloud Lending Solutions Picks Up Investment from ABN AMRO’s Digital Impact Fund.

Around the web

  • Digital Onboarding and Geezeo forge new partnership. See Digital Onboarding at FinovateFall next week.
  • Icon Solutions initiates functional testing between Instant Payments Framework and RT1.
  • Veridium CTO John Callahan discusses the potential of iris recognition as a biometric security solution for the enterprise.
  • Harborx Wins two Innovation Awards from the World Finance Markets.

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.

Realty Mogul Launches Second REIT, MogulREIT II

Realty Mogul Launches Second REIT, MogulREIT II

Just one year after celebrating the first anniversary of its first real estate investment trust (REIT), Realty Mogul has unveiled its second REIT offering: MogulREIT II. The trust will invest in multi-family apartment communities that have shown “consistently high occupancy and income levels across market cycles,” according to the company’s press release.

Calling multifamily housing “a great sector for investment,” Realty Mogul CEO and co-founder Jilliene Helman pointed to how consumers – especially millennials –  are shifting from buying a home to renting. She highlighted this generation’s preference for lifestyle flexibility, but added “we’re even seeing an emerging demand among baby boomers, who are moving back into city centers from their home in the suburbs.”

“The response to MogulREIT I overwhelmingly reinforced our view that retail investors are looking for a better way to invest in real estate,” Hrach Simonian, General Partner at Realty Mogul investor, Canaan Partners, said. “Multifamily is one of the most requested products by our customers and we have tailored this fund to that category.”

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Realty Mogul demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2013. The company enables accredited, non-accredited, and institutional investors to invest in a variety of real estate properties through its secure, private, online platform. Investors can search and review investment opportunities on the platform, as well as examine due diligence information, and sign legal documents in a secure environment.

Finovate research analyst Julie Muhn profiled Realty Mogul in her look at Real Estate Investing Tech earlier this year, and interviewed CEO Helman in her feature “Why PropTech and MortgageTech Are the Future of Fintech.” Realty Mogul has raised more than $46 million in funding, and includes Sorenson Capital and Canaan Partners among its investors.

German Challenger Bank N26 Deploys Banking Technology from Mambu

German Challenger Bank N26 Deploys Banking Technology from Mambu

Mambu has gone on the record about its core banking software project at N26, a German-based challenger bank, reports Tanya Andreasyan of Banking Technology (Finovate’s sister publication).

N26 is using Mambu’s flagship core system, provided on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) basis. The vendor said it enables the mobile-only bank “to integrate systems and quickly bring services to market in support of its growth strategy”.

N26 migrated to Mambu’s platform once it obtained its own banking licence late last year. Prior to that, it had been relying on a partner bank.

The bank’s customer base has recently reached 500,000 across Europe.

According to Gino Cordt, CTO of N26, the new platform resulted in a “drastic” decrease of the bank’s operating costs and minimising the IT resource requirements.

Cordt also complimented Mambu’s “ease of integration, flexibility and time to market”.

Mambu’s core banking system supports current accounts, overdraft and loan products at N26.

Eugene Danilkis, co-founder and CEO of Mambu, praised N26, saying “By putting customer experience at the centre of their strategy, they have created an app which gives their customers a truly simple banking experience.

“This is a great example of how retail banking can be redesigned in the 21st century.”

Mambu demonstrated its technology at FinovateAsia 2013 in Singapore. Headquartered in Berlin, the company has raised more than $13 million in funding, and includes Action Capital Partners and CommerzVentures GmbH among its investors.