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Finovate Debuts: Novabase Puts Watson-Powered Wizzio to Work Boosting Sales and Productivity

By David Penn Posted on February 26, 2015
Categories: Finovate Debuts, Novabase

Is it a contradiction that technology can make it easier for bank relationship managers and other financial professionals to do a better job of providing more “human” engagement?

That’s the goal of Novabase, a new Finovate alum based in Portugal that is leveraging the cognitive computing of Watson to give financial professionals sophisticated resources to better serve their clients and customers.

You may remember Watson as the supercomputer that surprised viewers of the game show Jeopardy! with its ability to outwit its human opponents. Now that same technology that was used to answer questions ranging from cable TV personalities to New Testament geography is being used in industries ranging from transportation and telecommunications to energy and financial services.

“Our vision is to make life simpler and happier for people and businesses, through technology,” the company said in response to questions about its experience at FinovateEurope 2015 in London. “Wizzio is a Novabase solution for a next generation sales tool for bank relationship managers and financial advisors that provides a unique approach to sales and engagement.”

The Stats

Founded in 1989
Headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, with offices in Angola, UAE, Spain, Mozambique, and the United Kingdom
Has more than 2,000 employees
Invested more than €22 million in research and development for specialized products over the past three years

The Story

Novabase believe that the greater connectivity and greater independence ushered in by the mobile world has made a major impact on consumers’ attitudes. Consumers now expect the institutions they rely on to be both more responsive and better able to meet us on our own, increasingly on-the-go terms.

Consumers also increasingly expect personalization and customized service. Not only do consumers and clients expect you to be where they are. They also expect you to know, understand, and treat them as unique individuals, with unique, specific challenges.

Technology like Novabase’s Wizzio Powered by Watson can help banks and other financial institutions respond to these demands with a proactive, multichannel approach. To the extent that getting to know customers is essentially data work, technology like Wizzio handles the heavy lifting, giving the sales professional the time and energy to focus on the “personal touch”.

The Technology

Wizzio powered by Watson can be thought of as an “intelligent ecosystem of apps and widgets” designed to help financial professionals keep track of everything they need to do their jobs more efficiently. Information on client accounts, finances, and investments are as readily available as agenda, email, and real-time stock market information.

With Watson, the Wizzio is capable of responding to questions in natural language, and combines predictive analysis and cognitive computing to put critical and insightful information into the hands of financial professionals sooner. These time-savings equate into both more personal one-on-one time with customers as well as greater opportunity to add new clients.

Platform features include the ability to interrupt processes and return to them later without losing place, and a “meeting mode” that allows professionals to share their device with clients and keep sensitive information hidden. Wizzio powered by Watson integrates with banks’ existing systems, and can be added to by third party and in-house development teams.

The Future

Novabase comes away from its first Finovate with high marks, calling the live demo format and networking environment, “refreshing” and “intimate”. Datamonitor Financial gave Novabase a “5/5” rating based on originality, potential to have a long-lasting effect, game-changer potential, novelty or newness to consumer, and ability to change the market. Wrote analyst Daoud Fakhri, “it’s a perfect score for Novabase’s multi-channel banking platform, Wizzio.”

The company sees its growth very much tied to the spread and proliferation of smart machines – from phones, to tablets, to wearables and beyond. And as computers and artificial intelligence change our ability to process and integrate data, we should anticipate more ways tools like cognitive computing can and will be applied to our daily lives.

“Wizzio will extend the degree that cognitive computing reshapes the way we work,” Novabase said in a statement after the conference. “With more connected devices in the world, the role of smart machines will set a new standard for collaboration.”

Novabase’s video demo from FinovateEurope 2015 will be available soon in the Finovate Video Archives section.

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Alumni News– February 26, 2015

By David Penn Posted on February 26, 2015
Categories: authenticID, Azimo, Boku, Fastacash, Feedzai, Fiserv, investUP, MasterCard, PayPal, ProfitStars, Tradier, TransferWise

Feedzai releases API updates to its fraud detection technology.

Bank of the West adds Snap-to-Pay functionality from Fiserv to its mobile banking app.

authenticID partners with Sionic Mobile to bring catfishAir to ION Rewards and ShopGive consumer apps.

Azimo expands its online money transfer service to Romania.

Fastacash teams up with Visa Europe, enabling P2P payments via social network for users of Visa Direct.

Finovate Debuts: InvestUp Launches UK Crowdfunding Supermarket.

PYMNTS looks inside MasterCard’s Masters of Code Hackathon.

ProfitStars launches EPS SmartPay Express to enable FIs to provide online payment and donation services for business customers.

Tradier integrates with AbleSys’ AbleTrend.

PayPal and eBay prepare for breakup later this year.

Boku launches phone-on-file technology to remove friction from online transactions.

TransferWise marks US launch with #nothing2hide semi-naked march through New York financial district.

Fintech Finance’s video production showcases FinovateEurope 2015 action.

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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Finovate Debuts: InvestUp Launches UK Crowdfunding Supermarket

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on February 25, 2015
Categories: investUP

InvestUp (known simply as Up) launched at FinovateEurope earlier this month. The UK-based startup offers investors a single place to search for, invest in, and track multiple investments across numerous crowdfunding sites.

Stats

1,500 pre-registered users
Aggregates 13 crowdfunding sites
$525,000 seed capital raised
8 employees

Awards

Up’s clean user interface offers many benefits to investors:

1) Provides a single place to access crowdfunding deals hosted on multiple sites

2) Saves time by minimizing paperwork. Investors have just one account and a single portfolio that aggregates all crowdfunding investments

3) Completely free

The screenshot below shows how the filtering capability (located at top) narrows results of available campaigns that fit the user’s specifications:

When the user selects a campaign they’re interested in, they see more details, and can add it to their Wishlist. To invest, they select Get Access:

The 13 crowdfunding sites aggregated on the Up platform benefit by free access to more investors. The startup generates revenue from financial services advertising.

What’s next?

Up currently offers business loans and will soon launch equity and personal lending options. Eventually, it plans to build an auto-invest feature, offering a “set it and forget it” approach that automatically invests users’ cash, according to their preferences.

Up debuted its crowdfunding supermarket at FinovateEurope. The live demo video will be available in the Finovate video archives later this week.

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Alumni News– February 25, 2015

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on February 25, 2015
Categories: Bluefin Payment Systems, BodeTree, CAN Capital, Credit Karma, Digital River, Lending Club, LendingRobot, PaySimple, ProfitStars, Rippleshot, Social Money, Trunomi, ValidSoft, Verde International, Xero

Finovate Debuts: How Trunomi Shares Customers’ Personal Info while Maintaining Their Privacy.

LendingRobot adds Automated Secondary Market Trading.

Entrepreneur features BodeTree.

Digital River wins the 2015 Merchant Payment Ecosystem Award.

PYMNTS looks at Credit Karma’s funding history and future plans.

Lincoln Savings Bank to Deploy CorePro from Social Money.

Verde International and Lending Club featured in PYMNTS column on banks and non-traditional loan decision-making.

Xero Raises $110 Million from Accel Partners, Matrix Capital.

CAN Capital and Worldpay partner to improve access to capital for SMEs.

Crain’s Chicago Business looks at Rippleshot and its plans for winning bigger clients.

ValidSoft launches its Device Trust solution with a second major UK bank.

Yelp Senior Vice President of Revenue Jed Nachman joins PaySimple Board of Directors.

Bluefin Payments partners with Infinite Peripherals, an mPOS device provider.

ProfitStars launches its Commercial Lending Center, a small business lending portal.

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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Finovate Debuts: How Trunomi Shares Customers’ Personal Info while Maintaining Their Privacy

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on February 24, 2015
Categories: Trunomi

There are special requirements banks must abide by when handling customers’ personal identifiable information (PII) data. Trunomi helps banks safely use PII so that they can tailor services to customers and provide a better overall experience.

Stats

$2 million in funding
Started earning revenue in 2014
7 employees
Founded in 2013
Headquartered in Bermuda, Dublin & Silicon Valley

Trunomi’s TruLink serves as the background architecture that powers TruMobile, a system that verifies the customer’s identity on their mobile device and enables them to share PII securely.

When a bank wants to use customer PII, regulations specify that customer consent:

Occurs prior to sharing
Is able to be audited
Has context for each individual experience

TruLink generates certifications that prove all of the above. Additionally, it authenticates user identity and validates questionable transactions.

Trunomi benefits both the financial institution and the end customer:

Bank benefits

Eliminates the cost of call centers
Accesses customer PII
Offers audit-level certification of customer consent
Creates new revenue centers by expanding customer data
Offers a configurable app that’s tailored to bank preferences

Customer benefits

Ability to trade PII while maintaining privacy
Access to a clean user interface
Can respond to bank requirements in a way they’re comfortable with

Trunomi’s live demo video from FinovateEurope 2015 will be available on the Finovate video archives page this week.

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Xero Raises $110 Million from Accel Partners, Matrix Capital

By David Penn Posted on February 24, 2015
Categories: Xero

How many Xero’s are there in $110 million dollars?

The cloud accounting specialist reported Tuesday that Accel Partners will invest NZ$132.9 million by way of a share purchase valued at NZ$20 per share. Along with Matrix Capital Management, which will invest NZ$14.3 million, the investment will bring Xero’s total cash to NZ$285 million, or $213 million USD.

Xero CEO Rod Drury said that the investment was “a testament to our success and our potential to become the small business SaaS platform of choice for entrepreneurs around the globe.”

Accel partner Andrew Braccia pointed to Xero’s plans for expansion in the United States as one of the reasons his company was enthusiastic about Xero. “Accel always looks for enduring technologies with global reach and we see the need and opportunity for millions of small businesses to grow on Xero’s platform.”

The New Zealand-based company plans to use the funds to support growth in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Xero also announced a major personnel change on Tuesday, appointing Russell Fujioka to U.S. President.

Above: David Pollock, Head of U.S. Partnerships, presenting at FinDEVr San Francisco 2014

The investments for both Accel Partners and Matrix Capital are expected to close in mid-March. With its investment, Accel will join Matrix in being able to participate in future share placements.

Xero has enjoyed a great deal of positive press in recent months. The company was highlighted as “our best purchase of 2014” by Business Betties, named to KPMG’s 50 Best Fintech Innovators, and reached a milestone of 400,000 paying customers last December.

Xero participated in the inaugural FinDEVr 2014 event in San Francisco.

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Alumni News– February 24, 2015

By David Penn Posted on February 24, 2015
Categories: Bluefin Payment Systems, Jwaala, Kapitall, Nostrum Group, Xignite

Xignite to provide MSCI Global Equity Index data through its cloud API platform.

Kapitall highlighted in feature on the best apps for mobile financial trading.

Check out our interview with Nostrum Group CEO, Richard Carter.

Jwaala’s success: The online banking solutions provider adds 14 CU clients in 2014.

Bluefin Payments receives PCI validation for its PayConex P2PE (point-to-point encryption) solution.

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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Interview With Nostrum Group CEO, Richard Carter

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on February 23, 2015
Categories: CEO Interview, Nostrum Group

Between the risk involved with lending and the number of resources needed, it can be costly for banks. Nostrum Group is helping banks on both fronts with a set of tools that reduce friction in the lending process.

At FinovateEurope 2014, Nostrum Group showed off Virtual Collector, a system that automates loan delinquency management. This year it applied for FinovateEurope and was selected to debut a new iteration of its core system that aims to make lending cheaper, faster, and safer.

Richard Carter, CEO, has an extensive background in the credit and lending space. We interviewed him recently about Nostrum’s loan platform:

Finovate: In addition to its Virtual Collector, Nostrum offers loan application technology. What role does big data have here? What role do you see big data taking on in the lending industry in the future?

Carter:
That’s right, in fact at FinovateEurope 2015 we launched our new Virtual Finance platform, which is our fully digital loan management platform. This platform enables lenders to completely automate the loan application and servicing process, including delinquency management, which is where Virtual Collector fits in.

The focus of our efforts when developing the Virtual Finance platform was on automating a truly personal and bespoke customer experience. Big data plays a vital role in the way lenders can optimize their lending decisions, as it offers such a rich source of insight to inform their scorecards.

The driver of all of this of course is that smartphone adoption is nearing saturation. A person’s Facebook activity can probably tell you much more about their loan affordability than bank statements from six months ago for example and therefore lenders can expect to make better lending decisions and improve the performance of their loan book.

On a more simplistic level, the interaction of the applicant with the site can be used to supplement the lending decision. If a customer applies for the largest loan amount available with the shortest term in milliseconds and skims through the T&C’s are they entering into a loan agreement with strong intent to pay?

Finovate: What can you tell us in the way of metrics?

Carter:

Perhaps the most telling metric is the fact that Nostrum’s lending platform processes a loan application every 10 seconds on behalf of our clients. When you consider that we only employ around 80 staff, the efficiencies of automation are clear.

Historically (and even now), some paper based lenders would take several weeks to confirm their decision on a loan application. Using our systems this can be done within seconds, but not only that, we can have the funds in the applicant’s bank account within minutes. We’ve not quantified the financial or operational benefits to lenders because, quite frankly, the case in favour of automation is an overwhelmingly compelling one. However, you’d call out the ability to process applications and service queries without the requirement for agents as a major overhead reduction. The flip side is that we know customers want to engage in this manner, so that will drive acquisition.

The strong demand for our product shows how the lending industry is transforming. Over the last two financial years our turnover has increased by 137% and based on our current line of sight of our order book, this digital trend is set to continue for some time to come. You only have to see how many banks have created senior digital leaders to understand that this isn’t a short-term play.

Finovate: Do you view alternative lending sites, such as Lending Club, as competition or complementary to traditional bank lending?

Carter:

We see alternative lenders as complimentary because in most instances they are fulfilling demand for loans in areas of the market where banks don’t want to lend. The alternative lending sector has grown quickly though and combines the latest technology with highly efficient operating models, so the threat to the banks is an increasingly real one. On a slightly controversial note, we would highlight payday lenders as having driven technology adoption. They pushed high levels of automation through their lending operations – they had limited appetite to staff up contact centers, so the whole application process was automated including electronic signatures on agreements and immediate disbursements. That legacy is now continuing through mainstream lending as customers demand immediacy of service with mainstream banks and other product providers.

The challenge the alternative lenders face is whether they can scale up their operations to compete not just on rate, but in terms of the volumes of business they can write. The question that needs to be asked is whether these alternative lenders are trying to supply a product that customers want, or do they just represent a great idea looking for a home? Looking back at previous examples, prepaid cards were in a similar stage of maturity, and a great product, but lack of demand stifled growth.

Digital banks now face a similar journey, and our view is that the most successful alternative lenders and digital banks will find themselves being acquired by the major banks, who will inevitably retain the vast majority of the customers. At the end of the day, the banks or lenders who have the customers are the ones who will be the winners. That’s generally the case in most industries.

In the UK, for example, we are already seeing collaboration between major banks and peer-to-peer lenders, to pool resources and drive progress to critical mass.

Finovate: Tell us an original fact about Nostrum Group that you’ve never before shared.

Carter:

The fact I would really like to tell you is the list of high street retailers and well-known global consumer brands who use our systems to provide finance facilities to their customers. We’ve never shared this before because we’re not allowed to name most of our clients.

So, although I’d like to tell you, I’m not allowed! However, what I can say is that if you search for a list of the top 20 UK retail brands you’ll find at least six of our current
clients, and nearly the same number again who we are actively in talks with.

Finovate: As CEO, what past experiences do you have that help you provide lenders with a better way to serve borrowers?

Carter:

My entire career has been spent working in technology in financial services, specifically in the lending industry. So I’m a subject matter expert and I’ve got experience and relationships that span three decades. I’ve been at the heart of the industry through boom and bust periods, and some of the most pivotal innovations the market has experienced including telephone banking, internet banking, and most recently the dawn of the cloud, social media, smartphones and tablets.

I think what really helps me to add value to our clients though is the simple fact that I’m a consumer myself, and one who is fascinated by technology and gadgets, and obsessive about customer service. I follow innovations and success stories across consumer industries with great interest and these have been the source of many sparks of inspiration for our own technology.

I can sit down with our clients and talk to them from combined perspectives of a technology provider, a lending industry expert, and an active and passionate consumer. I think it’s a combination they value.

Nostrum Group is self-funded and is based in the UK. Check out the debut of Virtual Collector at FinovateEurope 2014. Its FinovateEurope 2015 video will be available on the demo video archive pages later this week.

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Nutmeg Launches Personal Pension Service

By David Penn Posted on February 23, 2015
Categories: Nutmeg

After previewing the news weeks ago, Nutmeg is making good on its plan to provide a personal pension service for investors in the U.K.

“We have listened to our customers and delivered what they truly want,” Nutmeg CEO Nick Hungerford said. “In an industry embroiled in hidden charges, fees and complexity, our transparency promise will be a welcome reassurance to customers.”

The service is a partnership between Nutmeg, which will invest and manage the pensions, and Hornbuckle Mitchell, which will provide technology to serve and administer the pensions.

Nutmeg is an “online discretionary investment manager” in the words of CEO Hungerford. The technology leverages investors’ unique attitudes toward money to help align their goals, investment risk tolerance for the specific goal, and ability to save for that goal into personalized portfolios. Nutmeg actively manages the portfolios, including regular rebalancing, and provides a rewards program that can help lower fees further.

Nutmeg’s personal pension plans will be tailored to the needs of individual investors, as well, and will also use exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to ensure low-costs and broad diversification. The minimum investment is £5,000. There is an annual management fee between 0.3% and 1% depending on assets under management. The fee includes the VAT.

Above: left to right: Jono Hey, Head of User Experience, and Nick Hungerford, CEO, at FinovateEurope 2012

“The notion of receiving bi-annual pension statements in the post is incredibly archaic,” said Hungerford in Money Marketing’s coverage of the news. “You should be able to see where your pension pot is invested and how it’s performing whenever you want.”

Founded in London in 2011, Nutmeg was recently named to the FinTech 50 and the KPMG Fintech Innovators for 2014. The company, whose name we saw on buses in London during our recent visit, raised $32 million from new investors a year ago in June, bringing its total capital to more than $50 million. Nutmeg was a Best of Show winner at FinovateEurope 2012.

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Alumni News– February 23, 2015

By David Penn Posted on February 23, 2015
Categories: ACI Worldwide, blooom, Fiserv, Green Dot, Loop, Misys, Nutmeg, SeedInvest

Nutmeg launches its first personal pension plan.

Misys wins award for “Best OMS Provider” at MENA Fund Manager Services Awards with its FusionInvest technology.

USA Today Technology interviews Loop CEO Will Graylin about his company’s acquisition by Samsung.

Barron’s takes a look at what’s new with Blooom.

ACI Worldwide to deploy Self Service Business Banking, Mobile, and Billpay solutions at Apple Bank.

Mad Money’s Jim Cramer interviews SeedInvest CEO Ryan Feit.

LA Times features Green Dot and its efforts to engage the “unhappily banked” with its prepaid cards.

Bank of Ozarks implements Premier banking solution from Fiserv.

Taulia expands management team with 4 new members.

Recent partnership enables Synergy Resources clients to integrate Expensify with their Infor VISUAL back-end.

City of North Las Vegas partners with PayNearMe to enable residents to pay bills in cash at 17,000 retail stores.

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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Betterment Raises a Fresh $60 Million in Round Led by Francisco Partners

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on February 20, 2015
Categories: Betterment, Funding

In what amounts to almost double its previous funding round, Betterment has pulled in $60 million in VC investment. The series D round was led by Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm. Existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures and Northwestern Mutual also contributed.

The new installment boosts Betterment’s total funds to $105 million and will be used to speed transactions and rollovers for its 65,000 customers, as well as enhance branding for advisor apps and services.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Betterment is now valued at $400 to $500 million. In comparison, competitors Personal Capital and Wealthfront are valued at $250 million and $700 million, respectively.

In a conversation with Investment News, Betterment CEO, Jon Stein, stated, “We didn’t need to raise the money today,” He says it still has $20 million in the bank from its last funding round. However, he goes on, “We’re getting a lot of interest from investors.”

Betterment, which manages about $1.4 billion in assets, fits in the “robo-advisor” category; it seeks to disrupt the wealth management space with specialized algorithms and tools that use automation to lower the cost of a personal advisor service. CB Insights reports that robo-advisors raised a cumulative $290 million in funding last year, double the amount raised in 2013.

Betterment demonstrated its Multiple Goals Feature at FinovateFall 2011.

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