Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, AutoGravity, Avoka, Baker Hill, Compass Plus, Credit Sesame, Deserve, Envestnet, Fidor Bank, Fiserv, ID.me, iSignthis, nCino, On Deck Capital, Payment Ninja, SelfScore, Symbiont, Temenos, ThreatMetrix, VISA, Yodlee

On Finovate.com

  • AutoGravity Partners with Global Lending Services.
  • SelfScore Rebrands as Deserve, Closes on $12 Million in Funding.
  • Credit Sesame Raises More than $42 Million, Unveils Robo Advisor for Credit.

Around the web

  • Avoka extends strategic partnership with Mitek for digital identity verification solutions.
  • Commercial loan origination, CRM are among the new features in Baker Hill NextGen solution.
  • OnDeck partners with Ingo Money and Visa to provide loans to SMEs via debit card.
  • Westpac NZ to transition to real-time banking platform from ACI Worldwide.
  • Regions Bank to add P2P payment and account-to-account transfer solutions from Fiserv.
  • iSignthis announces new agreement with Omnislots.com operator, Dialinvest.
  • Payment Ninja to launch in the U.S. in November.
  • ThreatMetrix and ID.me partner to deliver ID verification for government and commercial digital services
  • Russian bank Lipetskcombank implements new mobile banking app built on Tranzware Mobile Banking from Compass Plus.
  • Accenture and nCino expand alliance to accelerate digital transformation within top U.S. banks
  • Symbiont joins Wall Street Blockchain Alliance as corporate member.
  • Envestnet | Yodlee to integrate risk insight solutions with Fannie Mae’s Ddsktop underwriter validation Service.

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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

The Future of Fintech in Dubai

The Future of Fintech in Dubai
By Heather Stowell Posted on
Categories: Finovate Marketing, FinovateMiddleEast 2018

In the fight for the fintech title — London, Berlin, Barcelona, New York, Silicon Valley, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, Cape Town, Abu Dhabi — Dubai is a heavy weight. With fintech investment set to grow 270% in the Middle East in 2017, the future of fintech might be in Dubai.

Join us on February 26 and 27 to find out.

Supported by Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), FinovateMiddleEast will keep demos at its core while introducing content driven panels, regulatory perspectives and world-class keynotes tailored to address the evolution of financial services and the impact on both the providers and the end-users.

See the speakers. See the demoing companies. See the regional startups. And save $200 when buying your ticket by October 26.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Kabbage Expands to France and Italy

Kabbage Expands to France and Italy
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Kabbage

Alternative lending company Kabbage has deepened its ties with ING this week. The Atlanta-based fintech is leveraging its two-year strong partnership with the Dutch bank to bring its services to Spain.

Through the partnership, millions of small businesses across France and Italy will have access to the Kabbage Platform via ING, which offers a paperless and automated lending service. Qualifying businesses can access ongoing lines of credit up to $118,000 (€100,000) with ING. By analyzing small business data, the Kabbage Platform is able to quickly underwrite small business loans and continually adjust each line of credit based on real-time business performance data.

“This expansion distinguishes ING as one of the most progressive financial institutions for small business lending across Europe,” said Kabbage Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Rob Frohwein. “Using the power of automation through the Kabbage Platform, our bank partners can reach a dramatically higher number of small businesses than with traditional underwriting, and expand into new geographies without considerable investments or additional operational costs.”

The Kabbage Platform is used by “multiple” top 50 banks across Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, the U.K., and Spain. Earlier this Fall, CB Insights listed the company in its round-up of Top-Targets for European banks. That same week, Kabbage earned its place on the Inc. 5000 list. The company most recently demoed its Kabbage Card small business line of credit at FinovateSpring 2015. Check out our video interview with Kabbage’s COO and co-founder Kathryn Petralia at FinovateFall 2017 last month.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

BLUERUSH Raises $1.3 Million in New Funding

BLUERUSH Raises $1.3 Million in New Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BLUERUSH, Funding

BLUERUSH closed a non-brokered private placement this week, raising $1.3 million in capital. Participating in the funding were Round 13 Capital Founders Fund, which was responsible for $750,000 of the financing, and newly appointed director Steve Taylor, who subscribed for $250,000.

“This financing will allow us to ramp up our sales and R&D efforts as we continue on our path toward a recurring revenue model,” BLUERUSH President and CEO Larry Lubin said. “The investors in the private placement are highly strategic and bring decades of experience in high growth technology companies. They will be a valuable asset to us going forward.”

BLUERUSH President and CEO Larry Lubin demonstrating INDIVIDEO at FinovateFall 2017.

In a blog post at the BLUERUSH website, the company noted that the funding will also boost its digital platform strategy, providing momentum for the company’s sales enablement platform DIGITALREACH and its personalized video/rich media content platform, INDIVIDEO. Rielle Ullberg, Digital Marketing and Sales Coordinator for BLUERUSH wrote, “the demand for personalized digital experiences continues to increase; specifically within the realm of financial services.” Ullberg noted that the company’s client list includes “some of the biggest and most progressive banks, brokers, and insurance companies in North America.”

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, BLUERUSH demonstrated its “advice engine” INDIVIDEO at FinovateFall 2017. The company, which also has offices in Montreal, Quebec and in Herndon, Virginia, leverages AI and big data visualization to create more engaging customer experiences for clients in financial services, healthcare, and media. From strategy development and lead generation to video marketing and interactive tools and training, BLUERUSH helps brands develop customized strategies to grow their businesses.

In financial services, BLUERUSH’s technology simplifies information and enables professionals to communicate it in a more compelling way. This makes it easier for consumers to make better decisions and helps advisors build trust with their clients. “It’s not just business,” Lubin said from the Finovate stage in September, emphasizing the importance of “advice” in the self-serve oriented, fintech experience. “It’s personal. And financial matters are really personal.”

BLUERUSH trades on the TSVX under the ticker symbol “BTV,” and has a market capitalization of $5 million (6 million CAD).

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Tink Receives $16.5 Million in Funding, Announces Expansion, New Clients

Tink Receives $16.5 Million in Funding, Announces Expansion, New Clients
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Tink

Swedish-born PFM app Tink has landed $16.5 million today for its personal financial management app and packaged APIs. The funds come from SEB, Nordea, Nordnet, ABN Amro, Creades and Sunstone and brings the company’s total funding to $30.5 million.

“This latest funding will allow us to put great focus on the European market, scale our offer, and help banks to keep pace with the expectations of their customers,” said Daniel Kjellén, co-founder and CEO of Tink. “We see this need continuing to grow as customers exert their rights to access their financial information and take control of their money.”

In addition to expanding its pocketbook, the company has also broadened its horizons. Not only has Tink signed licensing agreements with Nordea, Nordnet, and Klarna, it also announced plans to further its European expansion. Today’s partnerships add to the company’s existing agreements with Sweden-based SEB and Dutch-based ABN Amro who teamed up with Tink last year. Through the partnerships, Nordea, Nordnet, and Klarna can integrate Tink’s aggregation, payment initiation technology, and PFM platform into their existing customer channels. Klarna, a bank focused on the online payment experience, demoed its flagship payment technology at FinovateSpring 2012.

Kjellén announced that the company will be live in 10 European countries at the beginning of 2018. He said that Tink’s technology “transforms the industry” by assisting banks to build a customer experience that helps clients understand their finances, make smarter choices, and “ultimately brings them financial happiness.” Kjellén continued, “We see today’s announcement as evidence of a new generation of bank and fintech partnerships. By working together, we are paving the way for a new era of banking in Europe – unlocking the market to create greater choice and a better deal for consumers.”

Tink is an active supporter of the European Union’s proposed PSD2 legislation and has campaigned for greater consumer access to their financial data. The company’s APIs enable banks to plug-and-play account aggregation, payment initiation, PFM, and product recommendation technology in a single platform.

Tink has 50 employees and was founded in 2012. The Tink app has more than 400,000 users in Sweden. This summer the company earned a place on CB Insights’ Fintech 250 list., Kjellén, along with the company’s Commercial Director Tashi Sylten, took home a Best of Show win for their demo of Tink at FinovateEurope 2017 in London. Three years earlier, at FinovateEurope 2014, the company won Best of Show for its debut of the Tink platform.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: AApay Technology

FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: AApay Technology
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: AApay Technology, FinovateAsia 2017, FinovateAsia 2017 Sneak Peek


A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAsia on November 7 and 8 in Hong Kong. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

AApay is an aggregation payment system, the product of a start-up company founded by three young aspirants who graduated from HKUST.

Features

  • Offers real-time automatic bill-splitting among customers
  • Enables aggregation of various popular payments in the greater China region
  • Provides an efficient platform to launch advertisements precisely

Why it’s great
Share your bill with the world in seconds.

Presenters

Fiona Hong, CMO
Hong is CMO of AApay Technology (Hong Kong) Limited. She has strong market sense and rich knowledge in corporate governance.

Ye Ma, CEO
Ma is CEO of AApay Technology (Hong Kong) Limited. He is a serial entrepreneur and designer.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: Strands

FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: Strands
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateAsia 2017, FinovateAsia 2017 Sneak Peek, Strands

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAsia on November 7 and 8 in Hong Kong. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

Strands is the fintech partner for banks and SMEs, providing solutions that empower people to better manage their financial and consumer lifestyle and facilitating the transition into Open Banking.

Features

  • Enables banks to adopt a role as an SME business partner
  • Provides banks with better understanding of SME’s preferences and behaviour patterns
  • Helps accelerate the process into Open Banking

Why it’s great
Offers one point-of-entry, a 360 degree financial picture, more efficient money management, and an engaging, meaningful conversation between SME and bank.

Presenters

Victoria Yasinetskaya, Marketing Director
Yasinetskaya is a senior marketing executive with extensive experience in FS. She is an active participant in the conversation about women’s role in fintech and setting the precedent for female inclusion in financial services.
LinkedIn

Albert Morales, Product Manager
Morales is the Product Manager of digital money management solutions. Since his previous role at Kantox, Morales has been a hands-on witness of the technological revolution within the finance industry.
LinkedIn

Yogesh Desai, Business Development Manager – APAC
Desai has 18+ years of experience in the technology industry. He focuses on assisting banks to add new revenue streams, enhance customer experience and increase wallet share. He works with banks in the APAC region.
LinkedIn

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: AApay Technology, Blackhawk Network, BLUERUSH, Chain.com, Fidor Bank, Strands, Tavant, Temenos, Tink, TransferWise

On Finovate.com

  • Tink Receives $16.5 Million in Funding, Announces Expansion, New Clients.
  • BLUERUSH Raises $1.3 Million in New Funding.

Around the web:

  • Blackhawk Network appoints Charles O. Garner as Chief Financial Officer.
  • Tavant enabling digital mortgage experience for goodmortgage.com.
  • TechCrunch: TransferWise changes fees for GBP transfers, introduces complicated flat transaction fees.
  • Chain.com announces a new service called Sequence, a cloud-based ledger service for managing balances in financial and commerce apps.
  • Fidor partners with Eight to jointly design the customer experience for Fidor’s  financial services marketplace.
  • Temenos and Abu Dhabi Global Market announce fintech collaboration.

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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finn.ai Powers Facebook Messenger’s First, Fully-Featured, AI-Powered Virtual Banking Assistant

Finn.ai Powers Facebook Messenger’s First, Fully-Featured, AI-Powered Virtual Banking Assistant
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finn.ai

Courtesy of a new partnership with Finovate multiple Best of Show winner Finn.ai, the 700,000 banking customers of ATB Financial now have access to virtual banking assistance via their Facebook Messenger app. “AI is completely reinventing the consumer banking experience,” Finn.ai CEO Jake Tyler said. “With the Finn.ai platform, you get more than immediate, secure banking access, you get smart, personalized financial insights to help you achieve your specific financial goals.”

Calling the partnership “one more way we’re delivering on our commitment to really make banking work for people,” ATB Chief Transformation Officer Wellington Holbrook expressed excitement at the idea of bringing “conversational commerce” to its retail banking customers. “The more you interact with the assistant the smarter it gets,” Holbrook said. “This empowers us to continually improve service and delivery to our customers with a level of security consistent across our digital offerings.”

Finn.ai CEO Jake Tyler demonstrating the Finn Virtual Banking Assistant at FinovateFall 2017.

The largest “home-grown” financial institution in Alberta, Canada, ATB Financial has been testing AI and chatbot technology with early adopters since February with the goal of leveraging the popular Facebook Messenger app to provide banking services. The firm credited Finn.ai for being able to help an “agile, mid-sized FI” like ATB Financial quickly move the project from proof-of-concept status to “rapid full-market deployment.” Holbrook noted that ATB, with more than $48 million in assets and more than 5,000 team members, hopes to expand use of the technology to other platforms, including smart devices like televisions.

More than just a Q&A chatbot, ATB’s Finn.ai-powered virtual assistant enables secure billpay, viewing of account balances, money transfer between accounts – including cross-currency money movement. The virtual assistant also provides spending insights, access to live customer support, and Mastercard statement alerts.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Finn.ai demonstrated its Virtual Banking Assistant at FinovateFall 2017, winning Best of Show. Earlier this year, Finn.ai earned a spot in Payment Canada’s pitch competition, Dragon’s Den. The company has also been recognized this summer by Capegemini’s global InnovatorsRace and at the VivaTech conference in Paris. We featured Finn.ai in our look at artificial intelligence and fintech, A Fintech Filter for Artificial Intelligence in 2017 back in January.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

BioCatch to Power Behavioral Biometrics for Samsung SDS America

BioCatch to Power Behavioral Biometrics for Samsung SDS America
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BioCatch

Behavioral biometrics and threat detection firm BioCatch announced it is working with software solutions and IT services company, Samsung SDS America, to combat fraud that occurs after a user has logged in.

Through the partnership, BioCatch will integrate a layer of fraud protection that works beyond the login process into Samsung SDS’ Nexsign enterprise biometric authentication software. The integration is intended to fill security gaps that occur when mobile apps don’t require users to login multiple times to validate their identity. To solve this, BioCatch will collect and analyze more than 500 parameters around a user’s activity– continuously monitoring their behavioral patterns within the app to authenticate the user and detect abnormal bot or malware behavior.

In a statement Eyal Goldwerger, Chief Executive Officer at BioCatch remarked at how new innovations in fintech have made it easy for users to conduct their banking activities. He added:

“However, given how sophisticated fraudsters are today, the consumer-grade authentication protocols that exist leave open the real possibility of account takeovers. In fact, all the fraud that BioCatch finds today, comes from within authenticated sessions, prompted by malware, social engineering and other sophisticated attacks that circumvent the login method entirely. As a result, security continues to be a major factor holding back the full potential of mobile banking and payments… Through Nexsign and our partnership, Samsung has created the platform that resolves this constant battle.”

Founded in 2011, BioCatch monitors 4 billion transactions per month for a handful of major banks. Earlier this year, the company bolstered its fraud detection by forming a relationship with LexisNexis Risk Solutions to offer companies additional risk scores by monitoring user behavior and discerning between real and fraudulent users. In April, the company partnered with Experian to prevent new account fraud for CrossCore users and in February BioCatch teamed up with Nuance Communications to power continuous authentication for Nuance Security Suite solution.

At FinovateFall 2014, the company showed off Invisible Challenges. The company has raised $11.6 million and is headquartered in Israel.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Clinc Teams with Enacomm to Bring AI Chatbots to Small Banks and Credit Unions

Clinc Teams with Enacomm to Bring AI Chatbots to Small Banks and Credit Unions
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Clinc

You may have met Clinc’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Finie at FinovateFall last year, where the company took home a Best of Show award. Today, thanks to a partnership with Enacomm, the Michigan-based company is making that chatbot more widely available.

Through the reseller agreement, Enacomm will distribute Finie to mid-tier banks, community banks, and credit unions. In a statement Clinc CEO Jason Mars described Enacomm as the “right partner” because the company shares Clinc’s “vision for modernizing the consumer banking experience.” Mars continued, “Teaming up with Enacomm will help us to empower a greater number of smaller financial institutions, like community banks and credit unions, with next-generation, voice-controlled AI technology that otherwise would be out of reach.”

Clinc’s Finie AI chatbot leverages machine learning and natural language to engage users in natural, human-like conversations about their finances without requiring them to learn commands or rules. Finie delivers real-time, personalized responses in chat format ranging from spending advice, balance information, and complex transaction details.

“Not only does intelligent interaction technology conserve resources, but Clinc’s advanced AI platform provides the best experience we’ve seen to enable customers to quickly and easily find the information they need to make informed decisions about their money through conversations with their bank accounts,” said Enacomm CEO Michael Boukadakis.

In August, Clinc announced a partnership with USAA. The startup agreed to power AI for the bank’s voice banking skill for Alexa, enabling USAA’s 12 million members to engage with Clinc’s AI chatbot regarding their finances. The skill is currently in a pilot phase.

Clinc was founded in 2015 by Mars and his fellow University of Michigan professors, Lingjia Tang, who serves as the company’s CSO; Michael Laurenzano, CTO; and Johann Hauswald, Chief Architect. Earlier this year, Clinc raised $6 million in Series A funding from Drive Capital, Cahoots Holdings, Hyde Park Venture Partners, and Stuart Porter. Those funds boosted Clinc’s total funding to $7.8 million.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Ledger Partners with Intel to Boost Blockchain App Security

Ledger Partners with Intel to Boost Blockchain App Security
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Ledger

Ledger, the Paris, France-based specialist in providing security for cryptocurrency and blockchain applications, has partnered with Intel to bring greater protection for users of digital wallets. Ledger will integrate its Blockchain Open Ledger Operating System (BOLOS) into Intel Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX), with the joint solution initially being deployed with cryptocurrency software wallets Electrum and MyEtherWallet.

“We have seen an increasing demand from the market for secure solutions to manage crypto assets over the past couple of years,” Ledger CEO Eric Larchevêque said. He added that the collaboration with Intel “is a unique opportunity to keep providing our growing client base with innovative solutions for cryptocurrency and blockchain applications.”

Eric Larchevêque, Ledger CEO, demonstrating Ledger Blue at FinovateEurope 2016.

The solution is designed to help cryptocurrency owners safeguard their digital assets by protecting their private keys from unauthorized use. The collaboration between Ledger and Intel means that sensitive information will be stored within an Intel SGX enclave instead of on the application. In addition to stopping many software-based attacks, the solution provides users with a compromise between software wallets and hardware wallets. Back in May, Ledger announced a soft launch of its Ledger SGX Enclave, which provided hardware security features on Intel Skylake Core CPUs and in many ways previewed this week’s news.

Ledger designs and builds trusted hardware wallets and security devices for decentralized applications such as Bitcoin and the blockchain. Explaining the importance of cryptocurrency security during his FinovateEurope demo last year, Larchevêque put it bluntly “if your bitcoin are stolen, they are stolen. There is no bank. There is no insurance. Pretty much, it is game over.” He explained, “when you own bitcoin what you really own are private keys, a critical piece of information that you use to sign bitcoin transactions. So anyone with access to your private keys can at any time empty your account.” Comparing storing private keys on your computer or smartphone to displaying gold bars on your chimney, Larchevêque said that the hardware wallets his company has built – such as Ledger Nano and Ledger Blue – are specifically designed to solve this problem.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Paris, France, Ledger demonstrated its Ledger Blue solution at FinovateEurope 2016. Earlier this month, the company announced a partnership with Gemalto to provide security infrastructure for crypto asset applications. In August, Ledger announced support for Segwit (Segregated Witness) optimizations to scale Bitcoin. With clients in 165 countries, and more than 60 employees, and 300,000 Ledger wallets sold, the company has raised more than $10 million in funding and includes MAIF Avenir and XAnge among its investors.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook