Alumni News

SmartStreamAir Expansion Takes Company into the Insurance Business

SmartStreamAir Expansion Takes Company into the Insurance Business
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, SmartStream
  • Transaction Lifecycle Management (TLM) solutions provider SmartStream is entering the insurance business with the latest expansion of its reconciliation and data management platform, SmartStream Air.
  • SmartStream Air leverages AI and machine learning to automate the process of reconciling and managing large volumes of data.
  • Founded in 2000 and headquartered in London, SmartStream made its FinovateEurope debut in 2022.

London-based financial Transaction Lifecycle Management (TLM) solutions provider SmartStream is bringing its technology to the insurance sector. The company announced an expansion of its AI-powered reconciliation and data management platform, SmartStream Air, that will help insurers deal with rising transaction volumes, data quality challenges, and an increasingly complex regulatory environment.

For companies that have front office systems that need to report to back office systems or are transitioning from legacy infrastructures to new technologies, SmartStream checks and assures data integrity throughout the process. SmartStream Air enables institutions to reconcile and manage large volumes of data, leveraging AI and machine learning to automate this process.

In the insurance business, this means identifying and resolving discrepancies in data such as payments, reimbursements, claims, policyholder transactions, or investment operations. SmartStream Air can serve numerous insurance-specific use cases including premium collection and processing, commission payments, claims management, financial reporting, reinsurance settlements, policyholder refunds, investment account reconciliation, data validation, risk and reserve management, expense tracking, and fraud detection.

SmartStream’s announcement comes as regulations like IFRS 17 and DORA create new challenges for insurance companies when it comes to accounting and operational resilience, respectively. These challenges—and others—have exposed both operational inefficiencies and compliance risks. And while analysts such as Celent’s Karlyn Carnahan expect this to be a “transformative year in insurance,” there is still a sense that “getting arms around AI from a compliance and use case perspective is difficult.” To this, SmartStream’s AI-powered solution serves as opportunity, in Carnahan’s words, to deploy “proven technologies from other industries” that will help insurers grow effectively and efficiently.

SmartStream Global Head of Reconciliations Robin Hasson highlighted this point. “Our heritage and experience in working with the world’s top 100 banks gives us a strong foundation to support the insurance sector as firms identify use cases for increased automation.” Hasson added, “We’re already partnering with leading insurers to implement AI-powered solutions that enable data-driven agility. In today’s environment, insurers must respond swiftly to market shifts and customer expectations, or risk falling behind due to inefficiencies and increased exposure.”

Founded in 2000, SmartStream made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2022. At the conference, the company demonstrated how SmartStream Air provides fast AI and machine learning data quality analysis without requiring training or an IT skillset. The company has more than 2,000 customers and analyzes more than one billion SaaS transactions monthly.

This spring, SmartStream launched its RegRegistry Service as part of its Reference Data Services (RDS) business. The company’s RegRegistry Service identifies counterparty and trading venues as required by regulatory authorities such as ESMA, FCA, GLEIF, CFTC, and ISO MIC. Also this year, SmartStream announced a partnership with fellow Finovate alum Finastra to extend collateral management workflows across treasury and capital markets.

Photo by Chris Panas

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Autobooks Taps Fundbox to Launch Autobooks Capital

Autobooks Taps Fundbox to Launch Autobooks Capital
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Autobooks, Daily news
  • Autobooks is launching Autobooks Capital, a short-term working capital tool embedded directly into its platform and powered by Fundbox.
  • The embedded lending experience helps financial institutions retain small business clients by offering fast, flexible funding without requiring third-party apps or extra accounts.
  • By partnering with Fundbox, Autobooks is enabling over 2,000 financial institutions to deliver capital access seamlessly inside their digital banking platforms.

Small businesses often face a frustrating gap between sending an invoice and getting paid. Payment and accounting platform Autobooks is seeking to change that with the launch of Autobooks Capital, a funding product embedded within the Autobooks platform. The new short-term working capital tool is powered by embedded capital infrastructure provider Fundbox.

With fast underwriting, competitive rates, and flexible repayment options, Autobooks Capital is designed to complement traditional lending programs by helping small businesses access working capital. By embedding Fundbox’s funding tools directly into its platform, Autobooks enables financial institutions to retain customers, compete with alternative lenders, and serve as the primary operating hub for small business clients.

“While Fintech 1.0 tried to sidestep financial institutions, we believe that working with banks where small businesses already manage their finances is critical to addressing the trillion-dollar SMB capital opportunity,” said Fundbox CEO Prashant Fuloria.

Teaming up with Fundbox will allow Autobooks to offer flexible funding directly within its platform without redirecting the borrower or requiring extra accounts. By placing Autobooks Capital within the Autobooks product suite, the company is able to offer small business owners working capital right when and where they need it. Autobooks’ product suite also includes digital invoicing, payment acceptance, automated bookkeeping, and financial reporting.

The embedded aspect of Autobooks Capital is key. Embedding lending tools directly into digital banking platforms helps turn lending products into seamless, context-aware experiences. Instead of sending small businesses to third-party lenders or apps, Autobooks Capital meets business owners where they already manage cash flow tasks such as invoicing, payments, and bookkeeping.

“The launch of Autobooks Capital gives financial institutions a powerful new way to support small business growth with fast, flexible funding, delivered right inside digital banking,” said Autobooks CEO Steve Robert. “By partnering with Fundbox and leveraging our distribution network of over 2,000 financial institutions, we’re embedding capital access directly into the banking experience—in a way that complements and does not compete with financial institutions. It’s seamless, intuitive, and built to help bridge short-term cash flow gaps for small businesses.”

Founded in 2013, Fundbox is a digital-first provider of capital infrastructure for small businesses. Its platform enables customers to seamlessly embed financial tools into their own user experiences. To date, Fundbox has helped over 150,000 small businesses access more than $6 billion in capital.

With more than 2,000 financial institutions in its distribution network, Autobooks is well-positioned to scale this offering rapidly. As embedded finance continues to mature, embedded products like Autobooks Capital will be a successful way for small businesses to access capital from inside their banking app.

Autobooks was founded in 2015 and now serves more than 60,000 small businesses with a range of tools including digital payment acceptance, online invoicing, online enrollment, accounting, bookkeeping, financial reporting, billpay, and now lending. The company white labels its technology to firms including TD Bank, Alkami, Bottomline, CSI, FIS, Jack Henry, NCR, and Q2.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Coinbase Unveils New Business Platform

Coinbase Unveils New Business Platform
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Coinbase
  • Coinbase announced plans to launch Coinbase Business, a crypto operating account designed to help small businesses send, receive, and manage crypto payments with no fees.
  • The platform offers instant settlements, high-yield USDC savings of up to 4.1% APY, and integrations with QuickBooks and Xero to streamline crypto-powered financial workflows.
  • With this move, Coinbase enters the commercial crypto space, competing with Circle and Fireblocks.

Crypto exchange platform and wallet Coinbase is expanding its horizons into the business world. The California-based company revealed plans to launch Coinbase Business, a crypto operating account that small businesses can use to manage payments, crypto assets, and automated payouts.

“At Coinbase, we’ve spent over a decade building the trusted foundation for the cryptoeconomy to increase economic freedom around the world,” the company announced on its blog. “Now, we’re bringing that same security, scale, and compliance to everyday businesses with Coinbase Business—a modern financial stack built with the speed and scale of crypto.”

The new, fee-free accounts will allow businesses to benefit from the fast, borderless, and low-cost aspects of transacting in crypto and stablecoins. Coinbase built its Business accounts to streamline financial workflows and create a single place for businesses to send and receive payments, manage crypto assets, and automate payouts.

Coinbase Business is designed for startups managing global contractors, ecommerce companies accepting stablecoin payments, DAOs distributing tokens, or service providers working with clients in emerging markets. With automated USDC payouts and integration with QuickBooks and Xero, Coinbase is allowing businesses to leverage crypto as not just an investment tool, but also use it as a part of their working capital infrastructure.

Among the features of Coinbase Business are: crypto payments with instant settlements, no delays, and no chargebacks; the ability to buy, sell, and exchange crypto directly from the business account; high interest savings of up to 4.1% APY earned on USDC; simplified onboarding; and streamlined accounting with reconciliation into QuickBooks and Xero.

Coinbase’s entrance into the commercial space highlights a growing interest that small businesses have shown in crypto infrastructure. As traditional banking systems remain slow, expensive, and siloed across regions, crypto can serve as an alternative for faster money movement, especially across borders. With Coinbase Business, companies can avoid high foreign exchange fees, streamline vendor payments, and integrate crypto into day-to-day operations without needing specialized knowledge.

The launch places Coinbase in competition with other crypto-native business tools like Circle’s USDC treasury services, Fireblocks, and even legacy fintech platforms that are starting to explore stablecoins. Coinbase, however, can differentiate itself with its built-in user base, regulatory compliance, and direct access to a deep liquidity pool via its exchange.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

ID-Pal Unveils Reusable KYC Solution

ID-Pal Unveils Reusable KYC Solution
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, ID-Pal
  • Identity verification innovator ID-Pal has unveiled its reusable KYC solution, ID-Pal Once.
  • The new offering streamlines the verification process, enabling users to complete identity verification as much as 5x faster.
  • Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, ID-Pal most recently demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2025.

AI-powered identity verification specialist ID-Pal has introduced its reusable KYC solution ID-Pal Once. The offering will enable organizations to streamline identity verification processes, control costs, and enable them to focus on growing their businesses. As a reusable identity verification solution, ID-Pal Once enables returning users to complete the verification process up to five times faster. The company estimates that this produces an 80% time savings.

“With ID-Pal Once, we’re not just speeding up KYC, we’re removing unnecessary friction, ID-Pal Once is an incredibly powerful solution that meets and exceeds the needs of organizations and customer expectations, underpinned by our existing full suite of world-class biometric, document, and database checks,” ID-Pal Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer Robert O’Farrell said. “ID-Pal Once ensures that only genuine, verified identities are reused and importantly, doesn’t use humans to access the data. This is about secure identity reuse that respects the time of organizations and customers and respects your data.”

ID-Pal Once works by building profiles from previously-verified identity data, re-validating the data against the organization’s risk rules so as not to require users to repeat the data submission process. An accurate, secure, and real-time liveness check is all that is required in order for the technology to recognize returning users and reduce the verification process to a matter of seconds. The solution scales as organizations grow, allowing companies to continue to rely on consistent, policy-aligned identity verifications across regions, products, and channels. Deployed to power step-up authentication efforts for high-risk or high-value transactions, time-based re-checks for compliance requirements, as well as instant re-verification of returning customers, ID-Pal Once is already being used by the company’s customers in verticals ranging from financial services to telco to gaming.

“ID-Pal Once marks a major leap forward in how organizations can manage identity verification,” ID-Pal Head of Product Rob Sheehan said. “By enabling secure re-verification linked to biometrics, we’re eliminating redundant steps, reducing operational costs, and dramatically improving the user experience. It’s a win for both our partners and their customers.”

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, ID-Pal made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2024 and returned to the Finovate stage a year later for FinovateEurope in London. In its most recent appearance, ID-Pal showed how its platform uses 100% AI-powered technology to provide real-time verification that detects AI-generated documents, deepfakes, injection attacks, and more.

ID-Pal’s product news comes a month after the firm announced a partnership with UK-based financial services consultancy, Albany Beck. The partnership will combine Albany Beck’s AML/KYC Academy with ID-Pal’s identity verification and AML screening technology. The Academy is designed to instruct consultants on best-practices and provide them with practical skills to review AML/KYC processes and ensure regulatory compliance.

“Our partnership with ID-Pal marks a significant step forward in enhancing KYC/AML programs. By combining our training and development expertise with ID-Pal’s advanced technology, we can deliver unparalleled value to our clients, providing experts who will continue to deliver immediate impact, protecting the firms we work with and their end customers,” Albany Beck Partner Head of AML/KYC Emer McPartland said.

Photo by Matheus Câmara da Silva on Unsplash

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

ANNA Money Partners with Episode Six

ANNA Money Partners with Episode Six
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, ANNA
  • Business account provider ANNA Money has teamed up with card infrastructure company Episode Six.
  • Via the partnership, ANNA Money has migrated its business card program to Episode Six’s platform to better serve its small business customers.
  • Headquartered in Cardiff, Wales, ANNA Money made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020.

All-in-one business account provider ANNA Money has partnered with card issuing and ledger infrastructure company Episode Six. ANNA Money has successfully migrated its business card program to Episode Six’s platform to better meet the product, expansion, and integration needs of its customers.

“We needed a partner with proven infrastructure and the ability to match our pace and expansion,” ANNA Money COO Alex Kokovin said. “Episode Six delivered on all fronts, addressing the limitations we previously faced. Their technology allows us to offer business debit cards, deliver a seamless experience to our customers, and scale with confidence. We reviewed a large number of vendors and Episode Six stood out for their experience, agility, and proven ability to migrate live card programs successfully.”

ANNA Money has leveraged Episode Six’s modern card infrastructure to integrate virtual and physical card capabilities into its mobile-first business account solution. The integration enables visibility into real-time transactions, instant card issuance, and the ability to configure both features and workflows. A core component of ANNA Money’s offering, business debit cards enable the fintech’s customers to pay suppliers and make business payments directly from their account conveniently and securely. In their announcement, the companies noted that their partnership comes as demand for modern card solutions is growing among SMEs in the UK. A 2024 study by Juniper Research estimated that the number of cards issued by modern card issuing platforms will soar from 748 million in 2024 to 1.4 billion in 2029.

“ANNA Money is a great example of what’s possible when fintechs pair vision with the right infrastructure,” Episode Six CEO and Co-Founder John Mitchell said. “By leveraging our platform, they’ve migrated to a sophisticated card platform to enhance the overall ANNA Money offering for its business customers, at scale and with speed.”

Episode Six helps banks, fintechs, and brands launch card, deposit, and credit products at speed and scale their offerings without having to rewrite their core. The company’s technology enables firms to build consumer, business, and secured credit cards; prepaid and debit cards; commercial cards and spend controls; multi-currency cards and wallets; virtual accounts and embedded wallets; installments, BNPL, lending features, and more. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Episode Six operates in 50 markets around the world, has more than 70 enterprise customers, and more than 40 million end users.

Headquartered in Cardiff, Wales, and founded in 2017, ANNA Money made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020. At the conference, ANNA Money demoed how its tax and VAT accounting functionality provides self-assessment and VAT returns without the cost of relying on dedicated accountants. The technology automatically categorizes and reconciles expenses, calculates VAT and tax in real time, and submits completed tax and VAT returns to the HMRC.

This week’s announcement comes weeks after ANNA Money reported that it was working with Australian fintech Shaype, which helps businesses embed banking and payment options into their offerings. The partnership enabled Shaype to launch an all-in-one business finance super app that consolidates services including business banking, taxes, expenses, company formation, and corporate cards into a single platform.

Photo by Balazs Bezeczky

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Parlay Finance Secures $2 Million in Seed Funding for its Loan Intelligence System

Parlay Finance Secures $2 Million in Seed Funding for its Loan Intelligence System
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Funding, Parlay Protocol
  • Loan intelligence system (LIS) company Parlay Finance has secured $2 million in seed funding in a round led by JAM FINTOP.
  • The funding will help Parlay expand product development and grow its network of community lenders.
  • Parlay made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2024.

In a round led by JAM FINTOP, loan intelligence system (LIS) company Parlay Finance has raised $2 million in seed funding. The funding will help the Virginia-based fintech expand product development, deepen integrations with existing systems of record, and expand its network of community lenders.

“JAM FINTOP’s investment and network of banks creates a powerful multiplier effect for our technology,” Parlay CEO and Co-Founder Alex McLeod said. “Through this partnership, we’re empowering community lenders nationwide to maintain rigorous underwriting standards while drastically improving operational efficiency and insight. By democratizing access to AI-powered technology, Parlay is helping community banks to better compete while advancing their mission to serve local businesses.”

Parlay Finance offers a solution that helps lenders boost loan volume, enhance operational efficiency, and maximize profitability without incurring additional risk. The company’s loan intelligence system complements existing loan origination systems (LOS) and features capabilities including digital customer onboarding, information verification, and a decision management system—powered by AI—that streamlines the processing of Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, which are notoriously complex and costly to underwrite.

In a statement, Parlay noted that it also has intensified its relationships with banks in the JAM FINTOP network. JAM FINTOP Investor Stephen Schroder, who will join Parlay’s board of directors, underscored the opportunity for its partnering banks. “Parlay has built what our banks need: a system of intelligence that integrates with existing systems of record to deliver substantial improvements in both volume and efficiency,” Schroder said. “We are confident the team’s deep understanding of banking operations and proven ability to execute will drive value for financial institutions nationwide.”

Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, Parlay Finance made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2024. At the conference, the company showed how its technology helps lenders generate high-quality loan packets and provide scalable technical assistance for small business applicants. This helps boost customer loyalty, improve the efficiency of lending operations, and create interest and fee revenue for Parlay’s lending partners.

Last month, Parlay Finance partnered with credit-decisioning firm and fellow Finovate alum Stratyfy. The strategic partnership will combine Parlay’s platform with Stratyfy’s credit solutions to offer a frictionless intake and underwriting experience that helps banks increase lending to qualified small business borrowers.

Photo by Jenna Hamra

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

PayPal to Ship Physical Credit Card

PayPal to Ship Physical Credit Card
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, PayPal
  • PayPal launched a physical credit card, expanding PayPal Credit’s reach from online use to in-store purchases, with no annual fee and flexible repayment options for travel purchases.
  • At launch, the card is offering buy now, pay later flexibility that will allow customers to spread travel costs over six months and access additional BNPL loans at checkout.
  • Despite its practicality, PayPal’s new card takes a more conventional approach compared to other fintechs that offer bold designs, tiered rewards, or unique incentives like stock or credit-building tools.

In a time dominated by digital payments, physical cards are holding strong. This week, fintech pioneer PayPal introduced a new physical credit card, extending the reach of PayPal Credit from online purchases to in-store payments.

The new card, which is issued by Synchrony, will allow customers to leverage buy now, pay later (BNPL) payment options. At launch, new card customers will have the option to pay for their travel purchases made by January 31, 2026, over the course of six months. Leveraging the BNPL model in combination with the flexibility of a credit card gives account holders more ways to pay for travel purchases by spreading the cost over time to best suit their cash flow.

For further payment flexibility, customers can also apply for a PayPal Buy Now Pay Later loan at the point of sale to break their purchases into smaller payments over weeks or months. The card also comes with no annual fee, purchase protection, ID theft protection, and travel concierge services.

“PayPal Credit is one of our most popular products and customers have long been requesting the ability to use it on-the-go as they look for more choice and flexibility wherever they shop,” said PayPal SVP, Global Head of Consumer Financial Services Scott Young. “From our buy now pay later options to our credit cards, we continue to bring customers a range of solutions to help them manage cash flow and pay in the ways that suits their budgets for the things they love and need.”

Credit is not new to PayPal. The company launched PayPal Credit, formerly known as Bill Me Later, in 2008, after PayPal’s then-parent company eBay acquired Bill Me Later for $945 million. Physical cards are not new for PayPal, either. The California-based company launched its Business Debit Mastercard in 2003 and began issuing debit cards for Venmo users in 2018.

PayPal said that the physical card will begin rolling out “in the coming weeks” to US customers.

PayPal’s move into physical credit cards comes as no surprise, but its approach is. While many consumer-facing fintechs have leaned into creative card designs and differentiated perks like sleek metal cards, bold rainbow finishes, or eco-friendly recycled materials, PayPal has opted for a more traditional route. Other fintechs have layered in tiered rewards, credit-building features, or even stock-based incentives. Though PayPal’s flexible repayment option for travel purchases adds some value, its new card feels relatively conservative compared to the more imaginative offerings from its fintech peers.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Token.io Receives Strategic Investment from HSBC

Token.io Receives Strategic Investment from HSBC
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Funding, Token
  • Account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure company Token.io has received a strategic investment from HSBC. The amount was not disclosed.
  • The investment underscores the two companies’ history of collaboration, which includes Token.io’s support for HSBC’s Open Payments solution.
  • Token.io made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015 and returned to the Finovate stage two years later for FinovateEurope in London.

Token.io, an account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure innovator, secured a strategic investment from HSBC this week. The amount of the funding was not disclosed. The two firms have been partners since 2019, when Token.io helped the bank launch its HSBC Open Payments solution.

“We are excited to deepen our partnership with HSBC as we embark on this collaboration,” Token.io CEO Todd Clyde said. “This investment will not only accelerate Token.io’s growth and innovation, it will also advance our shared vision of making Pay by Bank a mainstream payment method—delivering benefits for HSBC’s customers across the region.”

Pay by Bank is a payments service that gives customers a secure, fast, and convenient way to conduct peer-to-peer payments, account deposits, and loan repayments, as well as securely authenticate transactions via their banking app. Supported by open banking and real-time payment infrastructure, Token.io’s technology makes the service available to anyone with a UK or European bank account. In a statement, the company noted that analysts believe in the future growth of Pay by Bank, predicting that three-in-four Europeans will be regular Pay by Bank users by 2029. In fact, by 2030, analysts estimate that use of Pay by Bank for e-commerce transactions in Europe will become more popular than all other digital payment options, with the exception of digital wallets.

HSBC’s Open Payments solution is based on this infrastructure. The technology enables businesses to connect their checkout pages with online apps or mobile platforms used by customers. Purchasers are given a request for pre-populated payments and, once the payment is authorized, the seller is granted an “instant and irrevocable credit” to their account. The new offering helps businesses get working capital faster and keeps both the risk of fraud and the cost of collections low.

“Our investment in Token.io reflects the trust and confidence we have in their team and technology, and our firm belief in the role that innovative Open Banking solutions play in transforming the payments experience for both corporates and consumers,” HSBC Head of Global Payments Solutions Manish Kohli said.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Token.io made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015 and returned two years later to demo its latest technology at FinovateEurope in London. A major account-to-account payment infrastructure provider for banks and other financial institutions, Token.io’s partners include three of the largest financial institutions in Europe as well as companies such as Global Payments and fellow Finovate alums Mastercard and ACI Worldwide.

Last month, Token.io became the first third-party provider to be admitted to the giroAPI scheme. This will enable the company to provide account-to-account payment solutions to its partners—including micropayments that are exempt from Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements. Launched by the German Banking Industry Committee associations—BVR, DSGV, VÖB, and the Association of German Banks—at the beginning of the year, the API scheme is built on the Berlin Group’s openFinance API framework and provides a standardized, secure, and commercially governed interface to connect banks with third-party providers such as Token.io.

“By joining giroAPI, Token.io is enabling the next wave of premium, API-driven payment services—making it easier for businesses to offer innovative payment options and for consumers to benefit from seamless, secure experiences,” Token.io Chief Product Officer Charles Damen said. “We are proud to lead the way in bringing the full potential of open banking-enabled payments to the European market.”

Photo by Franco Monsalvo

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FISPAN Locks in $30 Million in Series B Funding

FISPAN Locks in $30 Million in Series B Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, FISPAN, Funding
  • Embedded ERP banking innovator FISPAN secured $30 million in Series B funding.
  • The round was led by Canapi Ventures and featured participation from existing investors, including Rhino Ventures.
  • FISPAN most recently demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2022 in London.

In a round led by Canapi Ventures, embedded ERP banking specialist FISPAN has raised $30 million in Series B funding. Existing investors, including Rhino Ventures, also participated in the round. In a statement, the company said that the funds will help FISPAN expand the set of ERP platforms it supports, add actionable insights to its Accounts Payables solution, and launch a new Accounts Receivables automation product. In addition to accelerated product development, FISPAN noted that the capital will help the firm scale its go-to-market efforts and expand its market reach as well as support strategic talent acquisition.

FISPAN helps businesses integrate banking services directly into their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and accounting software. The company helps banks maximize their investments in host-to-host and API platforms that have enabled large businesses to experience greater productivity by connecting to their financial institutions directly. FISPAN’s technology packages these connectivity capabilities to empower banks to deliver their treasury products to mid-market and smaller businesses by way of an easy-to-install, out-of-the-box, in-ERP plugin. This empowers banks to offer integrated client experiences via financial and banking capabilities that are embedded directly into their existing ERP systems. This facilitates centralized financial workflows, automated processes, and fewer manual errors for businesses.

“This Series B funding is a pivotal moment for FISPAN, empowering us to significantly scale our innovation and market reach,” FISPAN Founder and CEO Lisa Shields said. “Canapi quickly distinguished themselves through their understanding of the embedded ERP banking landscape and our unique opportunity within it. With an LP network of over 75 financial institutions—and partners with banktech operating expertise—Canapi is a natural partner for our next chapter. We’re excited to work with Canapi to help more treasury teams optimize their operations.”

A multi-stage venture capital firm, Canapi Ventures invests in fintech and enterprise software and is backed by the Canapi Alliance, whose network of leading financial institutions stretches across the US. As part of its investment in FISPAN, Canapi Ventures’ General Partner Tom Davis will join the company’s board of directors.

“FISPAN is at the forefront of a fundamental shift in how businesses interact with their banks,” Canapi Ventures General Partner Tom Davis said. “Their proven ability to deliver highly sought-after embedded finance solutions positions them for tremendous growth. Our investment reflects our confidence in their visionary team and their capacity to build a leading platform that drives efficiency and value for both financial institutions and their corporate clients.”

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, FISPAN made its Finovate debut in 2017 at FinovateFall in New York and most recently demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2022 in London. The company counts the world’s largest banks and nearly 5,000 businesses throughout North America among its customers. FISPAN began 2025 announcing that partner BMO had launched its embedded banking solution, BMO Sync. The new offering will enable businesses to automate payments, streamline workflows, and achieve enhanced cash flow visibility to simplify the payments process.

Photo by Kyle Ryan on Unsplash

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

ThetaRay and Spayce Team Up To Fight Fraud in Cross-Border Payments

ThetaRay and Spayce Team Up To Fight Fraud in Cross-Border Payments
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, ThetaRay
  • Financial crime compliance innovator ThetaRay announced a strategic partnership with cross-border payments platform Spayce.
  • The collaboration will combine ThetaRay’s Cognitive AI Transaction Monitoring solution with Spayce’s payments infrastructure to enhance the platform’s financial crime detection capabilities.
  • ThetaRay made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2015 in New York.

Cognitive AI financial crime compliance company ThetaRay is working with cross-border payments platform Spayce to bring enhanced security and fraud fighting ability to payments. The strategic partnership will combine ThetaRay’s Cognitive AI Transaction Monitoring solution with Spayce’s global payments infrastructure to give the platform better financial crime detection capabilities.

“Financial crime is evolving rapidly, and the technology used to combat it must evolve even faster,” ThetaRay CEO Peter Reynolds said. “Our partnership with Spayce unites robust payment infrastructure with ThetaRay’s Cognitive AI to deliver proactive risk mitigation, greater transparency, and the trusted cross-border transactions needed to power global growth.”

ThetaRay’s Cognitive AI technology analyzes transaction data to accurately identify suspicious activity and complex financial crimes. The company’s offering helps institutions better combat the growing sophistication of criminal networks who are able to thwart traditional rule-based anti-money laundering (AML) systems. Spayce will leverage ThetaRay’s AI-first solution to ensure regulatory compliance and scale securely.

“Partnering with ThetaRay empowers us to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated financial threats, while continuing to deliver seamless, trusted payment experiences for our customers worldwide,” Spayce Co-Founder and Partner Debra LePage said.

Operating in more than 200 countries and territories, Spayce is a cross-border payment platform that enables secure and scalable global transactions. The company offers real-time payments via its Spayce Real-Time Payments solution, ACH via its Spayce ACH Payments solution, as well as Open Banking services. Use cases for Spayce’s solutions include vendor payouts, global payroll, ecommerce settlements, and real-time B2P and B2B payments via a combination of APIs, a hosted checkout solution, and a merchant portal.

Founded in 2013, ThetaRay made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2015 in New York. Today, the company offers transaction monitoring, dynamic customer risk assessment, and real-time transaction and customer screening to financial institutions around the world including Santander, Mashreq Bank, and Travelex. ThetaRay leverages Cognitive AI to help financial institutions distinguish legitimate customers from fraudsters, and its SaaS-based solutions provide companies with shorter implementation lifecycles as well as the ability to scale faster.

ThetaRay began 2025 with news that it had formed a strategic partnership with New York-based private and commercial bank, IDB Bank. The institution, a wholly owned subsidiary of Israel Discount Bank, deployed ThetaRay’s AI-powered transaction monitoring solution to “enhance (its) operational fortitude and core competencies” in the words of bank president and CEO Ziv Biron. “In leveraging ThetaRay’s next generation technology,” Biron added, “we hope to introduce an innovative solution that will allow IDB to continue providing strong protections within the financial services industry, for our customers and operations against financial crime.”

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Scalable Capital Secures €155 Million in its Largest Funding Round to Date

Scalable Capital Secures €155 Million in its Largest Funding Round to Date
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Funding, Scalable Capital

Digital wealth management and investing platform Scalable Capital has raised €155 million ($175 million). The largest funding round in the company’s history, the investment was led by Sofina and Noteus Partners, and featured participation from existing investors Balderton Capital, Tencent, and HV Capital. The funding brings Scalable Capital’s total raised to more than €470 million (more than $535 million).

Among Europe’s leading digital investment platforms, Scalable Capital enables traders and investors to buy and sell stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds, cryptocurrencies, derivatives, private equity, and other products. More than €30 billion is held on the Scalable Capital platform by more than one million customers. The company also offers Scalable Wealth, a digital wealth management service that provides clients with professional ETF portfolio investment. The service is also available as a white-label solution via Scalable Capital’s B2B partners.

“Noteus Partners and Sofina perfectly complement our global investor base. The recent funding round is a clear endorsement, and an important step on our path to becoming the leading retail investment platform in Europe,” Scalable Capital Founder and Co-CEO Erik Podzuweit said. “Through our investment platform and additional new products, we’ll be able to offer even more people in Europe the best options for their investments. We have a firm focus on wealth creation and saving for retirement for the whole family.”

Scalable Capital began the year with the launch of its private equity offering courtesy of a partnership with BlackRock. Available to Scalable Capital’s qualified investors in Germany via Scalable Broker, investors will be able to access the BlackRock Private Equity Fund, and invest with one-off investments of as little as €10,000. Scalable Capital is the first digital investment platform to offer the private equity solution from BlackRock, which is also available as a savings plan once the initial investment is made.

More recently, Scalable Capital announced that its clients can invest in Swiss stocks as of May 2, 2025. Tradable via the European Investor Exchange, gettex, and Xetra, access to Swiss stocks comes after more than five years of suspension from EU stock exchanges. Previously, EU investors were only able to invest in Swiss shares indirectly through products such as American Depository Receipts (ADRs) or by way of over-the-counter trading options. Revocation of this regulation went into effect at the beginning of the month.

“The Swiss stock exchange has much more to offer than the three big dividend aristocrats,” Scalable Capital Chief Economist Christian Röhl said, referring to Nestlé, Roche, and Novartis, three of the largest stocks in the Swiss stock market. “In addition to many financial stocks and special stocks such as mountain railways, there are numerous highly specialized market and technology leaders—such as the hearing aid manufacturer Sonova, the dental technician Straumann or the sanitary product manufacturer Geberit.”

Scalable Capital made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2016 in London. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, and London, UK, the company was founded in 2014.

Photo by Pixabay

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

KeyBank Taps Personetics to Give Customers Insights into Spending

KeyBank Taps Personetics to Give Customers Insights into Spending
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Personetics
  • KeyBank has partnered with Personetics to integrate AI-driven financial wellness tools that offer real-time, personalized advice based on customers’ spending.
  • The bank will use Personetics’ Engage platform to deliver insights that help users make smarter financial decisions.
  • The move will help boost engagement and foster long-term customer loyalty.

KeyBank announced this morning that it has partnered with Personetics to bring financial wellness to its customers. The Ohio-based bank will leverage Personetics’ Cognitive Banking platform, which analyzes consumer transactions and delivers advice.

Specifically, KeyBank will use Personetics’ Engage, a client experience that offers customers spending insights and recommendations based on their spending and savings habits.

KeyBank will implement Personetics’ Engage solution, which uses AI to deliver real-time, personalized insights based on customers’ spending and saving patterns. By identifying trends and anticipating future needs, Engage offers timely, actionable advice to help users make smarter financial decisions and reach their goals in order to transform the banking experience from transactional to advisory.

By embedding Personetics’ cognitive banking tools into its digital offering, KeyBank will help improve customer engagement, reduce attrition, and create new revenue opportunities through better financial outcomes.

“KeyBank’s mission is to help clients and communities thrive. A large part of that mission centers in helping clients move forward on their financial journeys and reach their financial goals,” said KeyBank Head of Consumer Digital Emily Gessner. “By leveraging Personetics’ platform and experience, we will address the financial burden and stress consumers face by empowering our clients with real-time insights and guidance to help them effectively manage their financial futures.”

KeyBank was founded in 1825 and has 1,000 branches across the US. The bank has acquired AQN Strategies, HelloWallet, First Niagara Financial Group, EverTrust Financial Group, Leasetec, and most recently BaaS provider XUP. Among the company’s strategic partners are AvidXchange, BillTrust, and Bill.com.

Headquartered in New York, and with offices in London, Tel Aviv, and Singapore, Personetics counts more than 150 million bank customers across the globe. The fintech was founded in 2010 and strives to help banks create “self-driving finance” experiences for its customers. Under this concept, banks leverage AI to proactively act on behalf of their clients to help them achieve their financial goals.

“This partnership isn’t just about innovation—it’s about using intelligent technology to forge deeper human relationships between banks and the people they serve,” said Personetics CEO Udi Ziv. “Cognitive Banking redefines how banks understand and support their customers and, as a result, fosters customer loyalty.”

Photo by Magda Ehlers

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook