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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Intuit is closing down Mint, which it acquired in 2009.
Mint users are being directed to sign up for a Credit Karma account.
Founded in 2006, Mint is one of the oldest B2C fintechs.
For those of us who have grown up and grown old with fintech, January 1, 2024 will go down in history. That’s because Mint– which is arguably the first-ever direct-to-consumer fintech– is shutting its doors on that day.
Mint parent company Intuit announced earlier this week that it is folding Mint into Credit Karma and is inviting all Mint users to open an account at Credit Karma. “We know the most active Minters use Mint to monitor their cash flow and track their spending, and not only does Credit Karma offer these capabilities, but we’re able to take things even further for our members,” Intuit announced in a blog post.
As a bit of history, Intuit acquired Mint in 2009 for $170 million and purchased Credit Karma in 2020 for $4.7 billion. After acquiring Credit Karma, there was likely a bit of internal unrest at Intuit, since Mint and Credit Karma are essentially rivals. Both companies rely on advertiser spend via product referrals, and growing one brand would hurt the other.
Rolling Mint into Credit Karma will help Intuit double-down on sponsored advertisement revenue. The move will also build Credit Karma into a more robust competitor in the PFM space. Credit Karma was founded in 2007 to offer a flagship credit tracking and credit card comparison service and has since expanded to offer a tax filing service, checking account, savings account, credit-building credit card, and more.
It’s not surprising to see Mint’s demise. Intuit already started to cannibalize the brand earlier this year when it pulled Mint’s team in to build Credit Karma’s new NetWorth feature, a tool that enables users to view and track their net worth in a single place. Also, in a way, Mint died a long time ago. The company, which claimed 3.6 million monthly active users in 2021 but as of this year has had no material revenue, hasn’t released any new features or made any significant announcements in recent years. In fact, my last blog post about the company was titled, “Mint Brings User Interface into 2018.” Meanwhile, the company’s competitors in the PFM space were releasing their own banking tools, lending services, and investment tools.
In the grand scheme of today’s fintech landscape, this announcement will have little impact. However, the news is worth noting for the sake of history. Mint– a company that at one point owned the entire fintech category– stood still while watching the entire fintech industry evolve around it. The company even demoed at the first-ever Finovate conference in 2007. Mint may have been able to keep up had it not been acquired by Intuit, but we’ll never know. Rest in peace, Mint (2006- 2023), and say hello to all of the other fintech ghosts on the other side for me.
With more than 100 new loans in Q2 and over a billion dollars in new loan commitments, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is “doing the same thing we’ve been doing for over 40 years,” according to SVB’s Head of National Fintech and Specialty Finance Nick Christian. Now a division of First Citizens Bank, Silicon Valley Bank has been a key component of the innovation economy since 1983, providing critical financial services to Bay Area technology entrepreneurs and their companies.
Nick sat down with Finovate Vice President and host of the Finovate Podcast Greg Palmer earlier this month in the wake of SVB’s recently released Future of Fintech report. The report looks at the outlook for innovation in the fintech sector based on SVB’s unique sector knowledge and proprietary data. How are cash reserves holding up for fintechs? Which direction are valuations going? What can we expect from funding growth heading into 2024? Nick and Greg discussed these issues and more including:
The resilience of early-stage companies in the face of the funding slowdown
The importance of becoming cash-flow positive
How embedded finance is revolutionizing payments and putting new emphasis on monitoring and compliance
French bank BNP Paribas announced a partnership with factoring and asset-based lending solution provider Lenvi.
BNP Paribas will leverage Lenvi’s Riskfactor platform to help mitigate risk and enhance operational efficiencies.
Lenvi made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2023 in March.
BNP Paribas announced last week that it is partnering with risk management solution provider for factoring and asset-based lending Lenvi. The French bank will deploy Lenvi’s Riskfactor as part of a multi-year contract to help the financial institution mitigate risk and improve operational efficiencies.
“Riskfactor allows businesses to harmonize responses and operations across jurisdictions, resulting in significant improvement in overall operations efficiency,” Lenvi CEO Richard Carter said. “We look forward to working together with BNP Paribas to support them in optimizing their risk management capabilities, while preventing fraud and improving overall efficiency. BNP Paribas’ commitment to risk management ensures a future-proof business.”
Riskfactor’s risk metrics analyze portfolios to identify unusual behavior, enabling users to investigate and take action on the highest risk accounts. Riskfactor automates risk processes and workflows, assigns follow up tasks for further investigation, and provides schedules to facilitate managing audits, debt verification, client and debtor reviews, and more. The platform oversees $63.4 billion (€60 billion) in lending and monitors more than 60,000 accounts worldwide. With deployments in 17 territories around the world, Lenvi notes that 90% of the receivables market in the U.K. use Riskfactor. BNP Paribas stated that it will deploy the complete Riskfactor product portfolio in eight countries in Europe.
“We are confident that Riskfactor will deliver on its promise and we are happy to have Lenvi’s support in implementing the solution,” BNP Paribas Global Head of Factoring Lionel Joubaud said.
BNP Paribas was founded in 2000 as the product of a merger between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas. The ninth-largest banking group in the world by assets, BNP Paribas is the largest banking group in Europe. As of 2022, BNP Paribas had total assets of $2.8 trillion (€2.67 trillion).
Headquartered in Leeds, U.K. and founded in 1988, Lenvi demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope earlier this year. Last month, the company announced partnerships with financial data provider Validis and secured finance technology company Lendscape.
Last week, Elon Musk informed his employees that he wanted X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to become the next big thing in consumer finance starting next year. And while this seems like an audacious plan for the man behind Tesla and SpaceX, Musk is a member of the PayPal mafia, after all. Could he know something about turning X into a financial services superapp that the rest of us don’t?
Let’s take a look at a few reasons why Elon Musk might be crazy as a fox when it comes to turning X into a fintech superapp – and a reason or two why he might not stand a chance.
Payments: The Gift That Keeps Giving
Whether you see payments as the “gift that keeps giving” in fintech or merely the lowest hanging fruit for a platform looking to expand into financial services, the idea of adding payments to X as an initial step in the direction of becoming a financial superapp makes sense.
Moreover, Musk sees payments as not just an initial step, but a key one in terms of not just the success of X but the end of the bank account as we know it.
“When I say payments, I actually mean someone’s entire financial life,” Musk said in an all-hands staff meeting last month. “If it involves money, it’ll be on our platform. Money or securities or whatever. So, it’s not just like send $20 to my friend. I’m talking about, like, you won’t need a bank account.”
Although often forgotten amid his achievements with satellites, rockets, and automobiles, Elon Musk is a member of the group that paved the way for PayPal. Known colloquially as the “PayPal Mafia”, the group of 20+ technologists includes a number of entrepreneurs who, like Musk, have gone on to do more great things in the world of technology. These include the founding of companies such as YouTube and LinkedIn.
Musk’s specific contribution to the group was his founding of online financial services and e-mail payment company X.com in 1999. Among the first online banks to be federally insured, X.com merged with online bank Confinity in 2000, which had launched its money transfer service PayPal the year before. Interestingly, it was Musk who has been credited for moving the combined entity away from internet banking and toward a focus on payments. Nevertheless, within a month Musk was replaced as X.com CEO by Peter Thiel. The company took on the name PayPal in 2001 and in the following year generated more than $61 million in its IPO.
Embedded Finance Empowers All
The rise of embedded finance has made it possible for virtually any platform that wants to offer financial services to do so. Writing in The Financial Brand, Jim Marous underscored embedded finance as an “existential threat” to banks that could “divert 50% of banking revenue to other providers.” He noted a projection from consulting firm Publicis Sapient that suggested that revenue from embedded finance will reach $160 billion by 2025.
And while early adopters of embedded finance were fintechs and other financial-adjacent companies, the ability to embed basic, widely used financial services into a wider and wider range of consumer experiences has proved irresistible. From ridesharing and retail to hospitality and social media, the opportunity to boost customer engagement and create new revenue streams via embedded finance is clear. And between Musk’s payments pedigree and his desire to monetize X, the rise of embedded finance could not come at a better time.
Increasingly, the question for platforms will not be “can I do payments with you?” Instead, it will be “why would I want to do payments with you?” In this, a popular social media platform will have some advantages that other platforms will not.
Are Elon’s Eyes Bigger Than His Plate?
Whether or not you are a fan of Elon Musk’s X-ification of Twitter, it is hard to see X as a finished product. Some of the platform’s earliest adopters have left or are considering leaving. This is often due to combination of technical issues, changes in functionality, or an environment that critics have described as “a cesspool.”
How fixable are these problems? Much of X’s technical woes have been attributed to staffing issues – Musk claimed this spring to have cut the company’s staff by 80% – and Musk’s own mercurial management style. And many of the changes in functionality – such as making popular features like Tweetdeck a premium service – are essentially just attempts to monetize a platform that has been undermonetized for years in the eyes of many. As for the debate over how much X differs from Twitter in terms of tone and civility, social media platforms inevitably track the tone and civility of the societies that support them. If X in 2023 is a less happy place than Twitter was in 2013, there’s probably a good reason for that. And it isn’t Elon Musk.
That said, the idea that X could grow from a social media platform with a growing list of unfixed flaws into a trusted and widely used financial superapp does seem to skip a step.
Would You Put Your Trust in Musk?
As the launcher of rockets and the developer of tomorrow’s cars, Elon Musk has earned widespread praise and acclaim. But his tenure at the top of X has been rocky – both in terms of technical issues with the platform as well as the alleged proliferation of unsavory actors. Kara Swisher, a technology journalist and writer who has known Musk for years, astutely pointed out in a recent interview that Musk was surprised that he was not able to immediately parlay his success in the world of technology into the world of media. As such, it is an open question as to whether or not people who trust Musk enough to drive his cars, also trust him enough to safely move their money.
Cybersecurity company Adlumin has raised $70 million in Series B funding.
Adlumin offers a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) platform that provides enterprise-grade security to small and middle-market organizations.
Founded in 2016, Adlumin made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2019.
Washington, D.C.-based cybersecurity company Adluminclosed a $70 million Series B funding round last week. The company, which made its Finovate debut four years ago at FinovateFall, offers a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) platform that provides continuous threat detection and response. Adlumin’s technology also provides cybersecurity teams with the tools they need for threat hunting, incident response, vulnerability management, darknet exposure monitoring, and compliance support.
The investment was led by SYN Ventures. First In Ventures, Washington Harbour Partners, and BankTech Ventures also participated. The investment boosts Adlumin’s total equity funding raised since inception to $83 million.
Adlumin will use the capital to accelerate growth. The funding will also help the company meet the demand of the 200,000 middle market businesses in the U.S. for enterprise-grade cybersecurity technology. Adlumin enables businesses to leverage one license and one platform that serve as a command center for security operations. The platform enhances collaboration with service providers with pre-integrated solutions that augment the platform’s capabilities and enhance existing systems and processes.
Adlumin founder and CEO Robert Johnston underscored the importance of helping small and middle market organizations not just access the necessary technology, but also the necessary talent. “With a significant cybersecurity skills gap, hiring the right people is an expensive, challenging and sometimes impossible task for small and mid-sized organizations who are competing with big government and businesses for talent,” Johnston explained. “This is why empowering service providers – whose expertise can be multiplied across several organizations – will be essential to securing mid-market organizations, and why we built a platform that does exactly that.”
Adlumin’s platform also ensures visibility into the organization’s security posture. This transparency is complete and available in real-time. Adlumin’s customers can see why an alert was issued and how it was resolved; access investigation data, reporting, and threat intelligence on-demand; and more – whether they are running the platform themselves or having a third-party run it for them.
The company’s investment announcement after the launch of a pair of new security solutions for middle-market organizations. These new offerings were a subscription-based incident response service and no-cost warranty and discounted cyberinsurance policies. Earlier this month, Adlumin announced a partnership and integration with cloud native security pioneer Aqua Security. Over the summer, Adlumin announced a partnership with IT services provider MNJ Technologies.
Digital asset infrastructure platform AlphaPoint announced a partnership with Coincover.
A blockchain protection firm, Coincover will provide enhanced security for AlphaPoint customers.
AlphaPoint made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2015 and returned to the Finovate stage two years later for FinovateFall.
AlphaPoint, a digital asset infrastructure platform, has turned to blockchain protection firm Coincover to provide its customers with enhanced security. Courtesy of the partnership, AlphaPoint customers will be able to access Coincover’s Asset Protection solution which helps mitigate a variety of security threats including hacking, human error, and scams.
Coincover secures its clients against hacking and theft by proactively screening and protecting transactions. The company’s crypto threat intelligence and machine learning models continuously monitor activity across millions of digital wallets and transactions, flagging potentially malicious behavior. Coincover’s technology delivers proactive alerts that enable users to take action when abnormal patterns are spotted. The company has more than 300 partners worldwide, protects five million crypto wallets, and has checked $30 billion in transactions. David Janczewski is co-founder and CEO.
“By collaborating with Coincover, a top innovator in asset protection, we’re providing our customers with leading-edge insurance to safeguard their assets,” AlphaPoint CEO and co-founder Igor Telyatnikov said. “This partnership demonstrates our commitment to delivering complete peace of mind through institutional-grade security and infrastructure.”
AlphaPoint made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2015. The company returned to the Finovate stage two years later for FinovateFall in New York. In the years since then, AlphaPoint has grown into leading digital asset infrastructure company with more than 150 customers in 35 countries. The company’s platform supports more than 10 million registered accounts, more than one trillion in trading volume, and billions in assets. AlphaPoint counts CME Group and XP Securites among its clients. El Salvador chose AlphaPoint to operate its Chivo Bitcoin wallet in 2022 as part of the country’s experiment in mass bitcoin adoption.
Earlier this month, AlphaPoint launched AlphaPoint Labs. The new entity provides advisory, development, and implementation services for FIs, exchanges, and businesses seeking to integrate digital assets and blockchain technology. This spring, the company forged a new partnership with cryptoasset risk management company Elliptic. Over the summer, AlphaPoint teamed up with verification platform Sumsub.
AlphaPoint is headquartered in New York. The company has raised more than $23 million in funding.
A few months ago we opined here on the Finovate blog that the funding woes that had plagued fintech in the first half of 2023 might abate in the second half.
If Q3 is any indication, then it will have to be the fourth quarter of the year when that happens.
Eight Finovate alums raised more than $293 million in Q3 of 2023. The number of alums raising funding was consistent with last year’s total. But the overall level of funding for Finovate alums was down from previous third quarters. In fact, the last time Q3 alum funding was less than $1 billion was in 2018, when 19 alums raised $400 million.
Admittedly, two of the eight alums to report funding in the third quarter of 2023 did not disclose funding amounts. This means that the total investment for Finovate alums in Q3 could be significantly higher than what is known today. And it was interesting to note how many fintechs that did secure investment over the summer months were headquartered in developing markets. But that aside, for markets in the U.S., the U.K., and Europe, in particular, the fintech funding drought continues to define the terrain.
Previous Quarterly Comparisons
Q3 2022: More than $1 billion raised by eight alums
Q3 2021: More than $1.1 billion raised by 14 alums
Q3 2020: More than $1.2 billion raised by 14 alums
Q3 2019: More than $1 billion raised by 21 alums
Top Equity Investments for Q3 2023
The top equity investment of the quarter among Finovate alums was clearly the $110 million raised by SpyCloud. The company, which won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2017, specializes in helping businesses fight account takeover fraud, as well as other types of cybercrime.
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, and founded in 2016, SpyCloud gives organizations visibility into exposed credentials actively traded on the dark web. In response, SpyCloud’s platform not only uncovers these stolen credentials, but also leads to the capture of 40 million exposed assets every week. The company’s Q3 investment takes its total equity funding to more than $168 million.
Also noteworthy in the third quarter were the investments secured by Tradeshift ($70 million), ThetaRay ($57 million), and Splitit ($50 million).
Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q3 2023.
July 2023: More than $4.5 million raised by three alums
If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the third quarter of 2023 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.
Digital commerce solutions provider Flywheel is being acquired by marketing and advertising company Omnicom.
The deal is expected to close for $835 million in the first quarter of next year.
Omnicom plans to integrate Flywheel’s Commerce Cloud product and transaction data into its audience and behavioral data.
Digital commerce solutions provider Flywheel has agreed to be acquired by marketing and advertising company Omnicom for $835 million. The deal is set to close in the first quarter of next year.
Owned by data and e-commerce optimization company Ascential, Flywheel was founded in 2014 and offers a suite of tools to help companies grow their digital commerce operations by selling more efficiently on marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart, and Alibaba. Among the tools in the Flywheel Commerce Cloud are AI-powered content recommendations, automated fee recovery, retail performance analytics, and more.
Switzerland-based Omnicom offers services for advertising, strategic media planning and buying, precision marketing, commerce and branding, customer relationship marketing, public relations, healthcare marketing, and other sectors. The company has more than 5,000 clients spread across 70+ countries.
“The acquisition of Flywheel significantly broadens our reach and influence in the rapidly expanding digital commerce and retail media sectors, two of the fastest-growing parts of the industry,” said Omnicom Chairman and CEO John Wren. “Together, we will seamlessly integrate our offerings across retail and brand media, digital and in-store commerce, and CRM, ultimately delivering superior results for our clients.”
With 4,500 brands as customers, Flywheel and its Commerce Cloud manage “tens of billions”of dollars in product sales and “billions” of dollars in advertising spend on an annual basis across digital marketplaces. Once the acquisition is complete, Flywheel Commerce Cloud’s product and transaction data will be connected to Omnicom’s audience and behavioral data. Logistically, Flywheel will serve as what Omnicom is calling a “Practice Area.” Ascential CEO Duncan Painter will lead the newly created division.
Today’s deal is an example of how data-driven decision making has infiltrated the world of retail and ecommerce. Banks and fintechs can take note: leveraging data-driven insights is becoming tablestakes across multiple sectors, and is something consumers are growing to expect.
Payments platform Paysend announced a partnership with Western Union this week.
The partnership will enable consumers to send money via Western Union directly to Visa and Mastercard debit cards.
Paysend made its Finovate debut in 2016 at FinovateEurope.
International payments platform Paysendinked an agreement with Western Union today. The partnership will enable consumers to send money via Western Union’s branded digital solution directly to both Visa and Mastercard debit cards. Paysend will provide a single API that ensures seamless processing of these Western Union customer payments at live FX rates, 24/7, 365 days a year.
“Paysend’s mission is to make money transfer easier for everyone,” Paysend Executive Chairman and co-founder Abdul Abdulkerimov said. “We are thrilled to join forces with Western Union, a company known for its global reach and commitment to financial inclusion. Together, we will empower millions with accessible cross-border money transfer services.”
The remittance market continues to be a major source of economic growth for communities around the world. The World Bank estimated that remittances grew 5% to more than $800 billion last year. This week’s partnership comes in the wake of a pilot program recently launched by the two companies. The program will help customers send money from the U.S. and U.K. to Pakistan, the U.K., and Spain easier -with additional locations coming soon. The news also follows strategic collaborations between Paysend and Visa and between Paysend and Mastercard that were announced last month. These partnerships are part of the company’s effort to expand its ability to improve cross-border payments for SMEs and individuals. “Our mission at Paysend is simple,” Abdulkerimov said, “to deliver the world’s simplest money transfer service.”
Founded in 1851, Western Union today serves as one of the largest money transfer businesses in the world. The company is active in more than 200 countries and territories, and facilitates fund transfers in nearly 130 currencies. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Western Union offers wire transfer, mobile money transfer, and other fund transfer services. These offerings include Western Union Connect, which facilitates fund transfers between the U.S. and China. Last week, Western Union reported Q3 results that, according to company President and Chief Executive Officer Devin McGranahan, “exceeded our expectations and demonstrate a continued positive trajectory against our ‘Evolve 2025’ goals.”
Paysend made its Finovate debut in 2016 at FinovateEurope, and returned to the Finovate stage two years later for FinovateSpring. Headquartered in London, the company this year has forged partnerships with global onboarding and payroll platform RemotePass, payroll platform Ontop, and Spanish-language content and media company, TelevisaUnivision.
Paysend has raised more than $272 million in funding. Global PayTech Ventures and InfraVia Capital Partners are among the company’s investors.
Supply chain financing company Twinco Capital has received $53 million in debt financing from BBVA Spark.
The funds boost Twinco Capital’s total combined debt and equity to $71.3 million.
Twinco Capital works with more than 150 suppliers and has grown 3x in the past four years.
Supply chain finance company Twinco Capitalannounced it has landed $53 million (€50 million) in debt financing. The funds come from BBVA’s BBVA Spark. The funds boost Twinco Capital’s total combined debt and equity funding to $71.3 million.
The Spain-based company offers financing to suppliers of large corporations working in retail and apparel. To help free up working capital, Twinco advances up to 60% of the order value within 48 hours after the retailer places the order. Twinco then pays the remaining percentage after the goods have been delivered. The company leverages business performance and ESG data combined with machine learning to assess and mitigate risk, therefore minimizing losses.
“The value added Twinco is providing to customers stems from the combination of its unique funding solution with business intelligence that provides a holistic overview of supply chain risk,” said Twinco COO Carmen Marin. “Technology and machine learning provide invaluable data insights on commercial, financial and ESG suppliers’ performance, giving our customers a state-of-the-art supply chain risk management tool.”
BBVA Spark was launched in 2022 as an investment arm to provide venture debt and growth loans to what it calls “high-impact” companies. The firm currently has more than 800 clients and has facilitated $265 million (€250 million) in financing.
Launched in 2019, Twinco has received equity funds from Quona Capital, Working Capital Fund, Mundi Ventures, and Finch Capital. The company works with more than 150 suppliers located across 13 different countries. Twinco has grown 3x in the past four years.
“We are very pleased to support Sandra and Carmen, two entrepreneurs who, with Twinco, have reinvented the way supply chains are financed on a global scale and who have also incorporated innovative environmental and social criteria into their supplier financing model,” said BBVA Spark Head Roberto Albaladejo.
Arguably the premier fintech hub in Asia, Singapore has benefitted from its own strong growth, the emerging economies of its neighbors, and a robust regulatory regime in the form of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
According to the 2022 FinTech State of Play report from the Singapore Fintech Association, Singapore has more than 1,000 fintech firms in its jurisdiction. The majority of fintechs in Singapore are involved in payments, financial services infrastructure, regtech, lending, and money management. Payments is considered the most mature sector within the industry. At the same time, observers have highlighted regtech as an area of potential opportunity for growth.
This week in Finovate Global we take a look at handful of recent developments in Singapore’s fintech industry. These items include a new investment, positive signs for AI adoption in financial services, and new regulatory guidance from the MAS.
Singapore-based multi-currency mobile wallet company YouTrip has secured $50 million in funding. The Series B round was led by venture capital firm Lightspeed. The investment takes YouTrip’s total capital raised to more than $105 million. The company plans to use the funding to launch new products and features, invest in technology, and expand into new markets. YouTrip also expects to offer GooglePay later this year.
“YouTrip launched in 2018 with the bold vision to empower everyone with a smarter and more convenient way to pay in foreign currency,” YouTrip CEO Caecilia Chu said. “The latest funding round is a testament to our strong potential in the B2C and B2B payment spaces.”
YouTrip is a mobile financial platform that offers a multi-currency mobile wallet and a contactless Mastercard. Users can make fee-free payments in more than 150 currencies. YouTrip also features 10 selected currencies that are available for in-app exchange. This enables users to lock in favorable exchange rates when they become available.
In a blog post at the company’s website, YouTrip thanked its customers for not abandoning the company during the pandemic. “You stuck with us through thick and thin – supporting us when we expanded to e-commerce to help you continue saving on FX transactions as you stayed safe indoors,” the company noted.
YouTrip achieved profitability in April. The company processes $10 billion in payments annually. These payments come largely from the consumer side of YouTrip’s business. This includes facilitating payments for users traveling overseas, transactions on international websites, and corporate spending by SMEs that use YouTrip’s YouBiz service.
How eagerly are financial services companies embracing AI? OCBC Bank Singapore announced this week that it is making a new AI-powered chatbot available to its 30,000-member staff across 19 countries. The bot, OCBC ChatGPT, was developed in partnership with Microsoft Azure, and operates similarly to Open AI’s ChatGPT.
The solution will be used to help bank employees with writing, research, and ideation, and comes to OCBC Bank after a six-trial. Approximately 1,000 OCBC employees participated in the trial, and reported completing their tasks twice as fast with the bot – including fact-checking – compared to without.
OCBC Bank is currently working with four specific generative AI functions. These roles are: Wingman, which helps coders write code; Whisper, which transcribes and summarizes voice calls; Buddy, which retrieves data from company documents and records staff meetings; and Document AI, which provides summaries of documents like financial reports.
“We are excited to be one of the first banks in the world to deploy generative AI tools at scale,” OCBC Head of Group Data Donald MacDonald said. “We believe that these tools have the potential to transform the way our employees work by automating a wide range of time-consuming tasks, freeing up their time to focus on more strategic and value-added work.”
Looking for someone to blame when it comes to phishing scams? The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) have weighed in with a new paper proposing a Shared Responsibility Framework (SRF) for phishing scams. The framework points to specific actions both financial institutions and telecommunications companies need to take in order to mitigate the damage from phishing scams. The SRF also requires these entities to pay affected scam victims when these actions are not carried out.
“This incentivizes vigilance by all parties in the ecosystem to uphold safety in e-payments,” MAS Deputy Managing Director Ho Hern Shin said. Additionally, the two entities proposed heightened standards in the E-payments User Protection Guidelines (EUPG) to strengthen anti-scam efforts. IMDA Deputy Chief Executive Aileen Chia praised the involvement of telecommunications companies in the effort to fight phishing. “The inclusion of Telcos in the Shared Responsibility Framework as supporting infrastructure providers serves to strengthen the ecosystem against scams,” Chia explained.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Eastern Europe
Turkish invoice financing marketplace Figopara partnered with Provenir to automate risk decisioning.
NerdWallet is launching its first consumer-facing credit card called NerdUp.
Launched in partnership with Evolve Bank & Trust and Bond, NerdUp aims to help consumers build credit responsibly.
The NerdUp card comes with benefits consumers expect from traditional credit scores, such as 1% cashback and free credit scores.
NerdWallet is expanding from financial content production into consumer products this week. The California-based company announced today it is launching a credit card called NerdUp, its first consumer-facing financial product.
Banking-as-a-service offers the opportunity for any company to become a fintech company, and NerdWallet is a prime example of this. Through partnerships with Evolve Bank & Trust and FIS‘ Bond, NerdWallet’s NerdUp aims to help users build and improve their credit responsibly.
NerdWallet is focused on helping consumers and small businesses make smarter financial decisions, and the company’s new card has a handful of features that help cardholders build credit responsibly. First, the card does not charge a monthly fee; it is free to use. Second, NerdUp does not conduct a hard credit check, which means that nearly all U.S. adults can qualify. Third, the card only requires a minimum deposit of $100.
But just because it is meant for credit novices doesn’t mean that the NerdUp card is void of typical credit card benefits. NerdUp cardholders earn 1% cashback on purchases. Each month, the cashback earned is automatically added to user’s deposit account to boost their credit limit. NerdUp also offers users a free credit score, along with insights and tips to improve their financial situation. Additionally, since NerdUp requires users to pay off their balance every month, the NerdWallet’s credit card offers a 0% interest rate. This may seem like semantics, but it is a key feature for users trying to build their credit.
However, according to NerdWallet CEO and Co-Founder Tim Chen, the company may not add more financial products to its lineup. “We don’t strive to offer our own financial products, but in this case we saw an opportunity to address a gap in the market,” said Chen. A recent survey NerdWallet conducted with The Harris Poll found that 23% of Americans indicate that a lack of credit or bad credit prevents them from reaching their financial goals. In another study, 43% said their credit score has negatively impacted them in the past.
“With NerdUp, we believe we can create a win-win-win for consumers, traditional card issuers, and NerdWallet,” Chen added. “By leveraging our existing distribution channels to reduce costs, we are uniquely positioned to design and offer a product that passes lower costs on to consumers, with a secured card that requires a low minimum deposit, no annual fees, and no credit check while also offering cash back rewards, helping consumers build good credit behavior and unlock new credit opportunities.”
With its launch of NerdUp, NerdWallet is in good company with other credit-building credit cards. Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, Chime, Petal, and Experian all offer credit building programs that require the user to pre-fund their account. And another fintech, Neu, launched today with its credit card aimed to help college students build their credit.
With its seasoned brand and well-earned consumer trust, NerdWallet should do well with its new credit card. Founded in 2009, NerdWallet is a public company listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker NRDS. The company has a current market capitalization of $511 million.
