Alumni News

Women’s Mentorship Platform Penny Finance Partners With Plaid to Offer Automated Money Insights

Women’s Mentorship Platform Penny Finance Partners With Plaid to Offer Automated Money Insights
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Plaid
  • Financial mentorship platform for women, Penny Finance, has launched a new automated account integration.
  • The new offering comes courtesy of a partnership with financial data connectivity innovator Plaid.
  • Wall Street veteran Crissi Cole founded Penny Finance in 2020.

Penny Finance has added a new feature courtesy of the company’s partnership with Plaid. The financial mentorship platform for women announced the launch of a new automated account integration that will power enhanced money insights for its members. After linking their bank accounts to the Penny Finance platform, members will receive personalized, financial wellness reminders via email. Members will also get a customized version of Penny Finance’s education and mentorship guidance. This includes everything from helping members understand the differences between their various accounts, to strategies to maximize their financial opportunities. An example of the latter could be a suggestion to transition from a standard savings account to a high yield savings account.

“Managing your finances should be easy. You shouldn’t have to dig through statements, read a finance book, or ask your dad how to manage your money,” Penny Finance CEO and founder Crissi Cole said. “We are so excited to take the guesswork out of managing your money for the most high-potential group of investors out there: women.”

Cole founded Penny Finance in 2020. The company is the first personalized, tech-powered financial mentorship platform to offer real-world advice to women who lack access to a financial advisor. Earlier this year, the company earned a spot in the 2023 Techstars Future of Longevity startup accelerator in partnership with Pivotal Ventures. Penny Finance is among ten startups participating in the program.

Penny Finance began the year with the launch of an all-in-one community feature. The offering provides a welcoming space for women to come together and share advice on a variety of financial wellness topics. The Penny Finance team moderates the new feature, which hosts questions on everything from debt management to investing.

“Women are whip-smart,” Cole said when the community feature was introduced in January. “We are more educated, live longer, and yet, we typically retire with one-third of the wealth of a man. Why? The system wasn’t built for us. The world of finance is a ‘boys club’ with its own rules. But, the good news is, it’s not as complicated as they made it out to be.”

Plaid has been a Finovate alum for nearly a decade. The company introduced itself to Finovate audiences as part of our developers conference, FinDEVr SiliconValley, in 2014. In the years since, the financial data connectivity innovator has grown into a leading fintech that powers more than 7,000 apps and services with its API-first network. The company also facilitates connections to more than 12,000 financial institutions. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Plaid was founded in 2013. Zach Perret is CEO.

Photo by Christina Morillo

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Moneyhub Partners with MX, Brings Open Data to Wealth Management Solutions Provider Voyant

Moneyhub Partners with MX, Brings Open Data to Wealth Management Solutions Provider Voyant
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Moneyhub, MX
  • Open data company Moneyhub announced a pair of partnerships at the beginning of the month.
  • The Bristol-based firm forged a referral partnership with fellow Finovate alum MX.
  • Moneyhub is also working with wealth management solutions provider Voyant, leveraging open data to accelerate the fact-finding process for financial advisors.

U.K.-based open data company Moneyhub announced a number of partnerships in recent days and weeks. At the beginning of the month, the fintech forged a strategic partnership with Utah-based open finance innovator MX. Via the partnership, Moneyhub will be able to refer customers to MX for support in North America, while MX will be able to refer customers who are looking for open finance solutions in European markets to Moneyhub.

Moneyhub provides consumers with data to enhance their financial health. The firm’s technology also helps businesses gain the kind of insights that enable them to deliver personalized solutions to their customers. In addition to Moneyhub’s Personal Finance Management platform and Open Banking APIs, the company offers decisioning tools that provide data-powered affordability checks that provide a real-time view of applicant financial information.

MX’s connectivity solutions and open finance APIs enable both consumers and businesses to leverage financial data to improve outcomes. MX provides reliable connections and data verification to help firms make insightful, actionable decisions, provide superior money experiences for customers, and grow their businesses.

“MX and Moneyhub share the belief that consumer-permissioned data sharing is critical to the future of our industry and we have an inherent responsibility to improve the money experience for consumers,” Raymond den Hond, Chief Commercial Officer, Partners at MX, said in a statement. “It will allow our clients to use consent-driven data to improve their customers’ financial lives, on a global scale,” Moneyhub CEO Samantha Seaton said.

A seven-time Best of Show winner, MX most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage in 2021 for FinovateFall. The fintech has more than 13,000 connections with financial institutions and fintechs, giving the firm a combined reach of more than 200 million consumers. Founded in 2010 by Ryan Caldwell and Brandon Dewitt, MX is headquartered in Lehi, Utah. Jim Magats is CEO.

In addition to its strategic partnership with MX, Moneyhub also announced last week that it has teamed up with financial planning and wealth management solutions provider Voyant. The Austin, Texas-based company will put Moneyhub’s Open Banking and Open Finance APIs to work giving advisors instant access to their clients’ financial information, including assets and analysis of income and expenditures in real-time. The data-sharing technology is secure, GDPR-compliant, and accelerates the fact-finding process for financial advisors.

Voyant’s technology analyzes real-time client data from a wide variety of sources. These include bank accounts, credit cards, investments and pensions, as well as loans and mortgages. The analysis of this broad range of data ensures more accurate, automatic modeling. It also supports advisors Consumer Duty requirements that mandate that financial products be focused on client goals by providing more personalized, tailored financial solutions.

Voyant was founded in 2008. Today the company serves more than 20,000 financial professionals and more than 40,000 of their clients. The digital wealth solution provider includes Lloyds Bank, CIBC, and BMO Bank of Montreal among its wealth management partners.

“Consent-driven, comprehensive and real-time access to financial data is critical for advisors to support their clients in achieving their long-term aspirations,” Kim Jenkins, Managing Director of Moneyhub, API explained. “Only with this information can they advise on the right products and solutions, at the right time, to deliver on those goals.”

A Finovate alum since 2015, Moneyhub offers solutions for a range of companies in financial services – from banks and building societies to wealth managers, insurers, and lenders. The Bristol-based fintech offers seamless, single source connectivity to thousands of financial institutions in 37 countries to help businesses better understand and serve their customers.

In June, Moneyhub partnered with pension management firm Standard Life to power the company’s MoneyMindset solution. MoneyMindset gives Standard Life’s 1.5 million workplace pension scheme members real-time access to their spending and savings data across financial products. The previous month, Moneyhub announced that it had become the first third-party provider (TPP) to connect to Chase Bank in the U.K.

Photo by Barbara Bober

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FIS Sells Majority Stake in Worldpay to Private Equity Firm GTCR

FIS Sells Majority Stake in Worldpay to Private Equity Firm GTCR
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, FIS, Mergers & Acquisitions, WorldPay
  • Fintech giant FIS announced that it will sell a majority stake in Worldpay to private equity firm GTCR.
  • The move comes just over four years after FIS acquired Worldpay in a deal valued at $43 billion.
  • The transaction is the largest to date for GTCR and the biggest leveraged buyout of 2023.

Four years after acquiring payments company Worldpay, fintech titan FIS has announced plans to sell a majority stake in the firm. Private equity company GTCR is the purchaser, and will gain 55% of Worldpay, which is currently valued at $18.5 billion. Note that when FIS acquired the company in 2019, Worldpay was valued at $43 billion.

The sale is expected to close by the first quarter of 2023. Former Worldpay CEO Charles Drucker will be re-appointed as Chief Executive.

The transaction is the largest to date for the PE firm. The deal is also the largest leveraged buyout of the year. GTCR will finance half of the transaction with equity financing and the other half via borrowed capital. GTCR also has committed to an additional investment of as much as $1.25 billion in Worldpay to facilitate future acquisitions. According to Reuters, GTCR was able to outbid Advent International, a rival firm that was also interested in a major stake in Worldpay.

FIS will use the capital raised from the sale to retire debt and buy back shares from its current shareholders. The sale comes after months of strategic review and pressure from activist investors concerned with what they have referred to as “underinvestment,” “operational missteps,” and an overall “unsuccessful integration” of Worldpay into FIS. The acquisition will help Worldpay reduce its debt from $20 billion at the end of March to $10 billion when the deal closes next year. The strategic review, led by FIS CEO Stephanie Ferris, is designed to help the firm cut costs by $1.25 billion.

Sans Worldpay, FIS will continue to operate its core processing systems business for banks and FIs, as well as its capital markets division for investment firms. FIS’ capital markets business represents just under 25% of the company’s revenues. The company’s banking technology division provides 46% of revenues and its merchants business accounts representing approximately 30%.

Founded in 1968, FIS has been a Finovate alum since 2010. Worldpay is an alum of our developers conference, presenting its technology to FinDEVr audiences in 2015 and again in 2016.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska

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State Employees Credit Union Turns to Apiture to Enhance Online, Mobile Banking

State Employees Credit Union Turns to Apiture to Enhance Online, Mobile Banking
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Apiture, Daily news
  • State Employees Credit Union (State ECU) has teamed up with digital banking solutions provider Apiture.
  • State ECU will leverage Apiture’s Digital Banking Platform to offer its members an enhanced online and mobile banking experience.
  • Wilmington, North Carolina-based Apiture made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateFall.

New Mexico-based State Employees Credit Union (State ECU) announced a partnership with digital banking solutions provider Apiture. The 65-year old financial institution will leverage the Apiture Digital Banking Platform to offer its members an enhanced online and mobile banking experience.

Headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, Apiture offers technology that helps smaller banks and credit unions compete with their larger rivals – as well as launch their own digital-only brands. State ECU will take advantage of both Apiture’s Consumer Banking and Business Banking solutions, as well as the fintech’s Data Intelligence technology. This latter solution is designed to promote digital engagement with both consumers and businesses using highly personalized offers.

“By providing a modern, fully featured consumer and business banking experience, State ECU is poised to deepen member engagement and drive significant growth,” Apiture CEO Chris Babcock said.

Apiture made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2022. At the event, the company demoed an embedded finance solution that enabled users to conduct basic banking tasks from within third-party software. Whether the goal is to open an account, view balances, or transfer funds, Apiture’s embedded finance technology empowers customers without requiring them to visit their bank’s website. The technology gives financial institutions a new revenue stream, and provides customers with greater convenience and an enhanced user experience.

Apiture has more than 300 community and regional financial institution clients. The firm also has partnered with 200+ fintechs. Formed as a joint venture between First Data Corporation and Live Oak Bank in 2017, Apiture has earned recognition from Celent, Javelin, and Juniper for its small business and consumer banking solutions. The company’s API-first strategy gives smaller financial institutions extensive control over the UI, as well as the ability to create unique customer experiences via Apiture’s developer portal.

With more than $1 billion in assets, State ECU is New Mexico’s fifth largest credit union. Founded in 1958, State ECU boasts more than 52,000 members.

Photo by Michael Herren

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New AI.X Technology from Daon Bolsters the Fight Against Deepfakes

New AI.X Technology from Daon Bolsters the Fight Against Deepfakes
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Daon
  • Daon is launching a new technology, AI.X, to combat new threats posed by generative AI.
  • AI.X will be added to Daon’s IdentityX identity management platform and its TrustX identity continuity platform.
  • In a recent survey of IT leaders in the U.S., 56% of respondents said that they recognize AI as a potential security threat.

Biometrics solutions company Daon unveiled its newest technology last week. The company’s new release of AI.X expands on its existing identity management platform IdentityX and identity continuity platform TrustX.

Currently, IdentityX and TrustX leverage a set of algorithms and techniques to detect fake and altered documents. Daon is adding AI.X to these products to help combat new threats posed by generative AI. Specifically, the new technology protects against deepfakes that mimic voice, face, and documents.

“These newly patented technologies deliver more sophisticated verification for businesses worldwide by improving their ability to proof, verify, authenticate, and secure customer identities across all trust points including the contact center environments,” said Daon CEO Tom Grissen. “The Artificial Intelligence revolution is in full swing, driven by the widespread availability of data, powerful GPU computing, popular Machine Learning software, and deep neural networks (DNNs).”

The demand for solutions that combat nefarious uses of AI is likely to skyrocket. Daon reported that, in a survey of IT leaders in the U.S., 56% of respondents recognized AI as a potential security threat due to recently raised concerns over the issue. In the same survey, 69% of IT leaders said their companies are getting questions or concerns about AI from enterprise customers.

“In the battle to determine what is real, we have leveraged these advances to radically improve the accuracy of proofing and authentication solutions and create new groundbreaking algorithms that ensure the security and integrity of online transactions involving individuals and documents,” added Grissen.

Daon’s identity authentication technology uses a range of biometrics, including fingerprint, face, voice, iris, keystroke, palm, or a combination. In addition to its IdentityX and TrustX products, the company also offers xAuth multifactor authentication, xFace facial authentication, xProof identity proofing, xVoice voice authentication, and VeriFLY travel document validation. Founded in 2002, Daon is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. 

Photo by Elizaveta Dushechkina

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Revolut Unveils Roboadvisor in the U.S.

Revolut Unveils Roboadvisor in the U.S.
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Revolut
  • Revolut is launching a roboadvisor in the U.S.
  • The new capability will complement Revolut’s other wealth management options, including savings and stock trading.
  • The automated investing tool will charge a 0.25% annual fee with a monthly minimum of $0.25.

Global financial services innovator Revolut has launched a roboadvisor in the U.S. The new automated investing tool manages users’ investment portfolios, and is therefore able to charge lower fees than traditional wealth management firms.

Revolut users can invest in one of five diversified portfolios based on their risk tolerance. After the client deposits funds into their portfolio, Revolut’s roboadvisor will automatically invest the money and then monitor and manage the portfolio. When necessary, the roboadvisor will automatically rebalance the portfolio to stay in-tune with the user’s risk tolerance. Revolut roboadvisor will charge a 0.25% annual fee with a monthly minimum of $0.25.

“We are excited to add a Robo-advisor to our superapp’s suite of wealth and investment products and services,” said Revolut U.S. Head of Wealth and Trading Jack Callahan. “We know that many of our customers do not have the time to manage a portfolio or invest in individual securities. Built to make investing more accessible, we want to give our customers the ability to make their money work for them in what we believe will be a tailored and stress-free way.”

Originally founded as a mobile banking and international card payments company, Revolut has recently set its sights on becoming a super app. Since it launched in 2015, Revolut has added business cards and spend mangement tools, as well as a range of solutions to fit its users’ personal financial needs.

Today’s roboadvisor launch will push Revolut further towards super app status. Additionally, the new capability will complement the company’s other wealth management tools, including its savings account, savings goals, and stock trading.

While the launch of Revolut’s roboadvisor will be a value-added product, the company may be a bit late to the game. The roboadvisor boom in fintech took place about eight years ago and it is unlikely Revolut’s roboadvisor will be the determining factor for a user to make the jump to Revolut. The new product will, however, be attractive to existing Revolut clients and may help draw in Gen Z users as they look to begin their investing journeys.

Revolut has raised around $2 billion. While the company was once considered one of Europe’s most valuable fintechs, Revolut took a hit earlier this spring when company shareholder Schroders Capital Global Innovation Trust disclosed a $5.8 million (£4.7 million) writedown, shaking the value of its stake from $12.6 million (£10.1 million) in 2021 to $6.7 million (£5.4 million) in 2022.

Photo by Digital Buggu

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Visa Acquires Pismo to Become Core Banking Provider

Visa Acquires Pismo to Become Core Banking Provider
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions, VISA
  • Visa is acquiring Brazil-based Pismo for $1 billion in an all-cash deal.
  • The purchase will help Visa add core banking capabilities and support banks in connecting to emerging payment rails.
  • Pismo has raised $118 million.

Visa is doubling down on financial infrastructure with its latest acquisition. The company announced today it has purchased payments infrastructure platform Pismo for $1 billion. The all-cash deal is expected to close by the end of this year.

Brazil-based Pismo was founded in 2016 and offers its core banking, payments, and lending solutions across Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Europe. The company has seen an impressive amount of growth since 2020. In total, the company services almost 80 million accounts and 40+ million payment cards for its end customers. Annually, Pismo processes around 50 billion API calls for transactions totaling $40 billion. Among its clients are Citi, Itaú, Revolut, N26, Nubank, and Cora. Prior to today’s acquisition, Pismo had raised $118 million.

Visa anticipates Pismo will help it in providing core banking and issuer processing capabilities across debit, prepaid, credit and commercial cards via cloud native APIs. Visa will also be able to leverage Pismo’s platform to provide banks support and connectivity to emerging payment rails.

“Through the acquisition of Pismo, Visa can better serve our financial institution and fintech clients with more differentiated core banking and issuer solutions they can offer their customers,” said Visa Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell.

The Pismo deal marks Visa’s first acquisition in two years. Prior to today’s announcement, Pismo’s most recent acquisitions took place in 2021, when the company bought Currencycloud for $883 million (£700 million) and Tink for $2.15 billion (£1.8 billion).

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Socure Makes $70 Million Acquisition

Socure Makes $70 Million Acquisition
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions, Socure
  • Socure is acquiring automated identity verification solution provider Berbix for $70 million.
  • Socure has used Berbix’s technology to launch its Predictive Document Verification (DocV) 3.0 solution.
  • The new acquisition will also help Socure accelerate its international expansion.

Digital identity verification company Socure has acquired automated identity verification solution Berbix for $70 million. The deal marks the first-ever acquisition for Nevada-based Socure.

Founded in 2018, Berbix launched a document verification solution with a forensics engine that detects spoofed IDs – including AI-generated fake IDs. Socure will leverage this technology to accelerate its international expansion by providing global coverage of ICAO-compliant travel documents, passports, and national ID cards. 

“I’m extremely proud of what we built at Berbix to advance state-of-the-art document verification,” said Berbix CEO and co-founder Eric Levine. “Moving forward with Socure, we are able to multiply our impact on day one by leveraging our technology with Socure’s substantial customer base, reach, and reputation. Combining our independent investments in document verification is yielding stunning results – and we’re just getting started.”

Socure has already integrated Berbix’s technology into its own to launch its Predictive Document Verification (DocV) 3.0 solution. The new tool combines Berbix’s forensics engine and data extraction with Socure’s image capture app. The company has found that DocV 3.0 has been able to increase first-attempt auto approvals of good consumers by 26% and increase fraudulent document capture by 27%.

While DocV 3.0 is used within Socure’s integrated identity platform, it is also available as a standalone solution.

“DocV 3.0 represents a significant departure from legacy providers whose document verification models rely on simple template checks and rules to determine if a document is legitimate,” said Socure Founder and CEO Johnny Ayers. “Without running sophisticated fraud models on related personally identifiable information (PII), or pairing the documentary check with rich device, phone ownership, geolocation, and behavioral data, customers see far less accurate decisions, resulting in higher fraud and lower customer acceptance. This prohibits companies from using document verification solutions for high-risk onboarding, authentication, or transactions. It’s a real gap in how ID document verification can be used.”

Socure has more than 1,800+ customers across a range of industries. The company serves four of the top five banks, 13 of the top 15 card issuers, over 400 of the largest fintechs, and more. Among Socure’s customers are Chime, SoFi, Robinhood, Gusto, Poshmark, and the State of California. Since it was founded in 2012, the company has raised $742 million from the likes of Citi Ventures, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, Capital One Ventures, Synchrony, and others.

Photo by Jeswin Thomas

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Novobanco Taps Feedzai for Risk-Ops platform

Novobanco Taps Feedzai for Risk-Ops platform
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Feedzai
Novobanco Taps Feedzai for Risk-Ops platform
  • Feedzai has partnered with Novobanco to offer the bank’s clients protection from financial crime.
  • Novobanco wil leverage the Digital Trust (DT) and Transaction Fraud for Banking (TFB) solutions within Feedzai’s Risk-Ops.
  • Novobanco anticipates the new technology will enhance trust, optimize customer engagement, and ultimately boost customer satisfaction.

Feedzai inked a partnership with Portuguese bank Novobanco this week. The risk management and fraud prevention company has agreed to protect the bank’s clients from financial crimes while not detracting from the customer experience.

Specifically, Novobanco will leverage the Digital Trust (DT) and Transaction Fraud for Banking (TFB) solutions within Feedzai’s Risk-Ops, a platform that helps firms protect users from financial crime. The tool is embedded into firms’ existing workflows to help uncover hidden criminal activity while not disrupting the customer experience.

“The Digital Trust and Transaction Fraud for Banking solutions which are part of our RiskOps platform will empower Novobanco to further enhance its fantastic service whilst providing the highest level of financial security for its customers,” said Feedzai Global Head of Sales Nuno Pires.

With 1.5 million clients and $47.8 billion (€43.8 billion) in assets, Novobank is the 4th largest bank in its domestic market. The bank maintains a customer-centric culture by offering an omnichannel customer experience and transparent, simple products.

Novobanco anticipates that DT and TFB will enhance trust, optimize customer engagement, and ultimately boost customer satisfaction. Combined, the two solutions will help Novobank analyze and understand customer behavior, flag security threats, and block fraud attempts in real time.

Also based in Portugal, Feedzai was founded in 2011. The company’s solutions help fight fraud in more than 190 countries. In 2021, Feedzai was valued at more than one billion dollars after receiving a $200 million funding round that boosted its total funding to $277 million. There is no word on an updated valuation.

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

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StockRepublic Raises $2.81 Million for Social Trading Platform

StockRepublic Raises $2.81 Million for Social Trading Platform
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, StockRepublic
  • StockRepublic has raised $2.81 million (SEK 30 million).
  • The round was led by Avanza subsidiary Placera Media, which contributed $1.4 million (SEK 15 million).
  • The relationship between Placera Media and StockRepublic began at the start of this year when StockRepublic helped Placera Media operate and modernize its stock forum.

B2B social trading platform StockRepublic has raised $2.81 million (SEK 30 million) this week. The new investment is more than double the company’s existing funding and brings its total to $5.2 million (SEK 55.6 million).

Leading the round is Avanza’s subsidiary Placera Media, which contributed $1.4 million (SEK 15 million). The remaining $1.4 million (SEK 15 million) comes from existing investors and business angels.

Founded in 1999, Avanza is one of Sweden’s largest financial websites. The firm’s media subsidiary, Placera Media, covers news and updates on equities, funds, and savings. The company publishes articles, produces podcasts, and launches several TV segments each week.

StockRepublic’s partnership with Placera Media began earlier this year. The social trading company operated and modernized Placera Media’s stock forum. Today’s strategic partnership between the two will help StockRepublic ramp up hiring, further develop its service offering, and continue its expansion.

“We are very proud to have Sweden’s leading savings platform on board, both as customers and investors,” said StockRepublic CEO Fabian Grapengiesser. “StockRepublic has previously raised capital from customers, so it is a proven and successful model for us. This collaboration brings Avanza closer to us in a very positive way and allows us to continue to develop Avanza’s platform with exciting new services.”

Sweden-based StockRepublic was founded in 2018 and demoed its technology at FinovateEurope earlier this year.. The company’s platform offers customized apps and APIs to help banks and financial services providers increase customer engagement. Specifically, StockRepublic’s technology allows investors to leverage the experience and knowledge of other investors and, in turn, share their success. The company’s platform is currently available in six markets. Commerzbank is among its clients.

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Tyfone Inks Strategic Partnership with Star One Credit Union to Boost Instant Payments

Tyfone Inks Strategic Partnership with Star One Credit Union to Boost Instant Payments
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Tyfone
  • Digital banking solutions provider Tyfone has inked a strategic partnership with Star One Credit Union.
  • Tyfone will help Star One CU implement its instant payments solution.
  • Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Tyfone made its Finovate debut in 2008.

Digital banking solutions provider Tyfone has forged a strategic partnership with Silicon Valley-based Star One Credit Union. Tyfone, a Finovate alum since 2008, will help the FedNow certified-credit union implement its new, instant payments solution.

“Today’s consumers and businesses not only want quick, simple, and instant ways to facilitate payments, but they expect a unified, consistent user experience,” Tyfone CEO Dr. Siva Narendra said. “Our partnership with Star One Credit Union allows us to build a solution that aligns with financial institutions’ unique needs and ensures greater accessibility. Our goal is to help scale this service and unlock the tremendous potential instant payments offers financial institutions and account holders.”

Tyfone’s technology helps financial institutions regardless of size connect directly to the FedNow Service for credit transfer send and receive message sets. The new solution developed by Star One Credit Union, in partnership with Tyfone, will integrate the core processing systems of FIs and leverage Tyfone’s open APIs to enable connectivity to payment originators and digital banking providers. The solution, combined with participation in the FedNow Service, will empower account holders to send and receive payments any time, any where, and have full and immediate access to transferred funds.

“Together with Tyfone, we are advancing instant payments adoption in the United States and helping to fulfill the end-to-end instant payment ecosystem,” Star One Credit Union VP of Remote Services Minai Gupta said. “We look forward to working with Tyfone’s team to create a solution for financial institutions of all sizes, regardless of what payment providers or digital banking platform they use.”

To date, more than 100 community financial institutions in the U.S. have adopted Tyfone’s platform and technology. For its part, Star One Credit Union is one of the largest FIs in Silicon Valley with more than 123,000 members. Launched more than 60 years ago, Star One CU today has assets of more than $10.2 billion. The financial institution offers membership to employees of some of Silicon Valley’s most notable companies such as Lockheed Martin and Juniper Networks.

Founded in 2004, Tyfone made its Finovate debut in 2008. This April, the company announced a “significant investment” from Demopolis Equity Partners and a merger with digital banking provider Cubus Solutions. In a statement, Tyfone’s Narendra discussed the transaction in the context of enabling financial institutions of different sizes to provide their customers with equally compelling digital experiences.

“Today success in digital banking – in fact, success in any financial technology – is all about engaged digital experiences and the ability to scale,” Narendra said. “That means scaling up to power digital growth for larger institutions and scaling down to facilitate the smaller one stay relevant.”

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood

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Baker Hill Acquired by Private Equity Firm

Baker Hill Acquired by Private Equity Firm
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Baker Hill, Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Baker Hill is being acquired by private equity firm Flexpoint Ford.
  • Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
  • Company President and CEO John M. Deignan will continue to lead the business.

Lending-as-a-Service provider Baker Hill has agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Flexpoint Ford. Riverside-owned Baker Hill has not released financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close upon the receipt of regulatory approvals.

Baker Hill will tap into the Flexpoint team’s experience and fintech knowledge and will be able to leverage the private equity firm’s capital to fund product developments and acquisitions. The Indiana-based company will also be able to benefit from Flexpoint’s insight into the needs of bank and credit union clients. As Vilas Nair, Flexpoint Principal explained, the firm can “support Baker Hill’s mission of helping banks and credit unions foster more profitable relationships with their customers and drive economic development in their communities.”

“Baker Hill has a long-standing reputation for being a trusted provider of differentiated loan origination and risk management software, which has helped fuel our consistent growth each year. This ongoing market validation is a source of inspiration for our team and by partnering with Flexpoint we can continue to elevate the lending experience for our bank and credit union clients,” said Baker Hill President and CEO John M. Deignan. “Our team is confident this partnership will provide new opportunities to deliver more value for our clients and the communities they serve.”

Deignan, along with the company’s existing leadership team, will continue to lead the business and remain shareholders.

With $7.5 billion of regulatory assets under management, Flexpoint Ford’s portfolio is comprised of companies in the financial services and healthcare industries. The firm has invested in more than 40 companies since 2005.

Founded in 1983, Baker Hill offers banks and credit unions a SaaS solution for commercial, small business, and consumer loan origination, as well as risk management tools. The company, which most recently demoed at FinovateFall 2021, has received numerous awards in recent years. The IndyStar selected it as a top workplace in Central Indiana, Aite-Novarica recognized Baker Hill NextGen as best in class product, and, most recently, the company received a Product Innovation of the Year Mira Award nomination.

Photo by Sora Shimazaki

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