Alumni News

Plaid Adds Enhanced Anti-Fraud Engine to its Identity Verification Solution

Plaid Adds Enhanced Anti-Fraud Engine to its Identity Verification Solution
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Plaid
  • Plaid added a new anti-fraud engine to its Plaid Identity Verification (IDV) solution.
  • The addition leverages autofill to accelerate sign up and help reduce manual errors. The technology also assesses device behavior and the way users input their personally identifiable information (PII).
  • Plaid announcement comes in the wake of news that the company is expanding in Europe.

Open banking innovator Plaid has added a new anti-fraud engine to its identity verification solution, Plaid Identity Verification (IDV). The anti-fraud engine supports a faster verification process to boost both conversions and signups. The new addition also assesses behavioral risk to better defend against emerging threats and strategies from fraudster and financial criminals.

The new tool comes months after Plaid launched its identity verification solution, and is the product of Plaid’s work with “hundreds of digital finance companies” in industries ranging from crypto and neo-lending to proptech and banking. Not only did Plaid’s work with these firms underscore fraud as a “top challenge.” it also highlighted two chief values that companies have when it comes to improving security and anti-fraud protection: a fast and secure onboarding process and a fraud defense regime that is capable of evolving to meet new threats.

To enhance the onboarding process, Plaid’s new tool offers an autofill experience that makes sign up seamless without compromising security. Customers in the U.S. only need to enter their date of birth and phone number when signing up, and Plaid’s autofill technology auto-populates with full name, address, and social security number and other information associated with the user’s phone number and birthdate. The autofill feature accelerates the verification time for customers from 30 seconds to as little as 10 seconds. Plaid also noted that its autofill feature can improve conversion by up to 20%.

The new anti-fraud engine also assesses device behavior and the way users enter their personally identifiable information (PII) to detect a range of behaviors that are associated with fraudulent actors and bots. The tool analyzes the speed and pace with which PII is entered, the order in which data is imputed, whether the data input method is copy and paste, and more. By monitoring these behaviors during the sign up process, Plaid’s new anti-fraud enhancements will help users of Plaid Identity Verification accurately verify customer identity, reduce fraud incidents, and meet compliance obligations.

Plaid’s announcement comes in the wake of big expansion and partnership news for the company. In August, Plaid reported that it will be expanding its operations in Europe. The company now offers its open banking capabilities in both Spain and Portugal, and provides clients in Germany with data connectivity services. The move comes with the addition of a pair of new Payment Service Provider (PSP) partners: Norbr and GlobePay. Plaid anticipates launching operations in other European countries soon, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

Also in August, Plaid announced a partnership with fellow Finovate alum Wise (formerly Transferwise). The deal will enable Wise customers to access to more than 6,000 apps courtesy of Plaid’s open finance core exchange, launched earlier this year. Venmo, Chime, and Truebill are among the apps that Wise customers will be able to select and add to their digital platforms.

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FutureTech Friday: Mastercard Approves Quantum Resistant Contactless Cards

FutureTech Friday: Mastercard Approves Quantum Resistant Contactless Cards
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, MasterCard

Although not getting as much attention these days as the metaverse or Web3, the potential impact of quantum computing in financial services certainly has the attention of the industry’s biggest players. This week, Mastercard approved the first cards for issuers that meet EMVCo contactless specifications to protect cardholders from attacks from quantum computers as well as traditional computers.

“Technology has the potential to open new opportunities for both consumers and fraudsters,” President of Cyber & Intelligence at Mastercard Ajay Bhalla said. “That’s why future-proofing security is critical.”

Quantum computing involves leveraging the capacities of quantum physics to solve certain computational problems faster than traditional computers. Much of the buzz over quantum computing is related to the purported ability of quantum computing to defy even the most rigorous encryption protocols. And while some of these concerns may have been overblown, at least in the short term, the ability of quantum computers to solve certain complex problems faster than the most advanced supercomputers currently available makes them a potential source of major financial crime if adequate safeguards are not in place.

To this end, Mastercard introduced new, quantum-resistant Enhanced Contactless specifications in January 2021. Referred to as “Ecos” the new specifications are designed to provide greater convenience for merchants and financial institutions, enhanced trust thanks for next-generation algorithms and cryptographic key strengths, and enhanced privacy to deliver protection when account information in shared between the card or digital wallet and checkout.

“As the ecosystem continues to evolve, more connected devices and the Internet of Things are going to create more user demand, and an even greater need for constant innovation to build next-generation capability, helping to ensure that technology never outpaces trust,” Bhalla said when the Ecos specifications were unveiled. In the months since then, Mastercard has teamed up with EMVCo to continue to develop the Ecos-compliant technology with the goal of making it an industry standard for contactless acceptance. In a statement, Mastercard cited a Juniper report that indicated that contactless payment devices will top 12.5 billion by 2027. The value of contactless transactions is similarly expected to grow, reaching $10 trillion worldwide by 2027.

“By bringing quantum-era technology to contactless payments, we are taking steps to future-proof security and privacy protection as much as possible,” Bhalla said this week. “These new cards will deliver that greater peace of mind, while also providing consumers and merchants a seamless transition from today’s contactless experience.”

Mastercard’s embrace of quantum computing has been marked in 2022. In July, the company announced a multi-year strategic alliance with D-Wave Systems, the world’s first commercial supplier of quantum computers. In February, Mastercard’s Foundry Live Series presented The Quantum Advantage, a look at the potential impact of quantum computing in financial services.

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Digital Lending Platform Lendsmart Goes Live at First Community Bank and Trust

Digital Lending Platform Lendsmart Goes Live at First Community Bank and Trust
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Lendsmart
  • Lendsmart announced that First Community Bank and Trust will go live with its digital lending platform.
  • Lendsmart won Best of Show at FinovateFall Digital in 2020.
  • More than 100 years old, First Community Bank and Trust serves communities in Illinois and has assets of more than $205 million.

One of the brightest stars from FinovateFall Digital shared partnership news this week. Lendsmart, which won Best of Show at FinovateFall Digital in 2020, has brought its AI-driven digital lending platform and home buying marketplace to First Community Bank and Trust. The Illinois-based institution will leverage Lendsmart’s technology to streamline its mortgage lending operations, bringing automation and digitization to 70% of the process.

Courtesy of the partnership, First Community Bank and Trust will be able to offer its customers and end-to-end digital lending experience including a digital application, a 10 minute process to get pre-approved, funds availability in a week, and a digital closing option.

“We’re committed to providing our customers with the latest in convenient technological financial solutions,” First Community Bank and Trust President and CEO Greg Ohlendorf said. “(By) partnering with Lendsmart, we are fulfilling this commitment by offering our customers a seamless digital experience from start to finish in just a few minutes.”

First Community Bank and Trust is a privately owned bank that serves communities in Beecher and Peotone, Illinois, and throughout the state. The institution’s roots extend back to 1916, when a group of fourteen businessmen with $25,000 in capital launched what was then called Farmers State Bank of Beecher. A hundred years later, First Community Bank and Trust celebrated the success of its EMV Chip Debit MasterCard – and assets of more than $205 million.

Headquartered in New York, Lendsmart made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall Digital in 2020. At the event, the company won Best of Show for its centralized platform that streamlines and optimizes the customer onboarding and engagement process, and automates manual processes to minimize risk and underwrite borrowers faster.

Other recent partnerships with Lendsmart include collaborations with Sutton Bank of Ohio, Midwest Bank and Legence Bank of Illinois, and Wisconsin-based Citizens State Bank. Lendsmart was founded in 2018 by CEO A.K. Patel.

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Deutsche Bank Taps Fiserv to Launch New Payments Company in Germany

Deutsche Bank Taps Fiserv to Launch New Payments Company in Germany
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Fiserv
  • Deutsche Bank and Fiserv are teaming up to launch Vert, a payment acceptance and processing company aimed to serve small businesses.
  • Unlike other tools on the market, Vert will also offer traditional banking services.
  • Deutsche Bank has a built-in client base of around 800,000 small-to-medium-sized businesses who will be able to access the new solutions.

Deutsche Bank and Fiserv announced a partnership this week that will change the landscape of payments competition in Germany. The two have teamed up to launch Vert, a payment acceptance and processing company that also offers traditional banking solutions.

Aimed to serve small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs), Vert provides a single, integrated offering that streamlines access to banking products. The new service differentiates itself by providing next-banking-day pay-outs, which enables merchants to improve their cashflow with faster access to their funds. Vert also offers acceptance of common payment types and comes with an online dashboard that helps companies analyze transaction data and view a variety of business reports.

“By combining the strength of Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank, with Fiserv, the world’s largest merchant acquirer, we can provide our Vert members with a secure, fast and technologically advanced payment acceptance solution,” said Vert Managing Director of Sales & Product Thorsten Woelfel.

Vert is launching with three products:

  • Clover Flex is a portable payment acceptance device that offers a tip function and business management apps.
  • A Go by Vert app that enables merchants to accept payments on their own Android device using secure PIN entry that allows the merchant to accept payments above contactless-only limits.
  • The PAX A50 is a small card reader device that enables merchants to accept card payments without having to carry around a heavy device.

“With a unique combination of payment and banking capabilities, Vert is already helping small and mid-sized enterprises in Germany do business more easily, with less complexity,” said Fiserv Head of EMEA John Gibbons. “We look forward to helping thousands of merchants streamline their operations and continue to delight their customers.”

Deutsche Bank comes with a merchant client base of its own. Between the bank’s retail banking division Postbank and entrepreneur-focused digital bank Fyrst, Deutsche Bank counts around 800,000 SMBs who will be able to access the new solutions. In fact, some of these merchants are already live with Vert. The bank also expects to attract business customers from outside of its own client base.

Photo by Maheshkumar Painam on Unsplash

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BNP Paribas to Acquire Currency Management Automation Company Kantox

BNP Paribas to Acquire Currency Management Automation Company Kantox
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Kantox, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Currency management automation innovator Kantox has agreed to be acquired by BNP Paribas.
  • BNP Paribas will pay $133 million (€120 million) for the London-based company, which made its Finovate debut in 2013 at FinovateEurope.
  • BNP Paribas said the acquisition represents its commitment to building, long-lasting relationships with fintechs.

London-based, currency management automation company Kantox has agreed to be acquired by BNP Paribas for $133 million (€120 million).

The company, which made its Finovate debut in 2011, said that the acquisition will help make its technology available to an even wider range of corporate customers worldwide. The deal is the latest evolution of a relationship between Kantox and BNP Paribas that extends back more than three years.

“We have been serving clients together since 2019 when our technology partnership started,” Kantox CEO and co-founder Philippe Gelis said. “During those three years, we spent a lot of time together in the field, getting the opportunity to understand that together we were stronger and able to bring more value to clients.” Gelis called the union “the best of both worlds, the leading software company in the currency management automation category and the leading bank in Europe.”

Kantox offers a single, API-driven, plug-and-play solution that helps companies optimize their FX workflow. Kantox’s technology gives businesses the ability to automate their currency risk management, build better hedging strategies, and lower costs. With its Currency Management Automation, Kantox enables corporate treasurers to deal effectively with challenges ranging from an over-reliance on manual processes to a fragmented FX workflow due to the absence of end-to-end solutions.

Kantox’s technology will be put to work for the Global Markets business of BNP Paribas’ CIB division, and the business centers of the Commercial, Personal, and Banking Services (CPBS) division. Both small businesses and large corporates will be the target markets for Kantox’s currency automation risk management offering.

Among the premier banks in the European Union, BNP Paribas is active in 65 countries and has almost 190,000 employees. The company’s Chief Operating Officer, Head of BNP Paribas CIB, Yann Gérardin called the acquisition another example of the institution’s readiness to “establish long-term partnerships with fintechs in ever-increasing range of areas.”

Kantox made its Finovate debut in 2013 at FinovateEurope. Within ten years, the company surpassed $15 billion in total corporate foreign exchange transactions. Kantox began this year with news that it was partnering with virtual IBAN and corporate account provider Monneo. This spring, Kantox teamed up with London-based fintech Revving to launch an integrated and embedded finance and working capital solution. Kantox raised more than $43 million in funding prior to the this week’s acquisition according to Crunchbase.

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Finastra Partners with Contour for Trade Finance; Collaborates with Kotak Mahindra Bank for Corporate Banking

Finastra Partners with Contour for Trade Finance; Collaborates with Kotak Mahindra Bank for Corporate Banking
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Finastra
  • Financial solutions provider Finastra announced a strategic collaboration with digital trade finance network Contour.
  • Finastra also announced a partnership with India’s Kotak Mahindra Bank, bringing its Unified Corporate Portal solution to support the institution’s corporate banking portal Kotak FYN.
  • Formed via a merger between Misys and D+H in 2017, Finastra also recently announced the appointment of Chief People Officer Helen Cook.

Financial solutions company Finastra recently announced a pair of partnerships. The U.K.-based firm, which launched its open platform for innovation FusionFabric.cloud in 2017, has entered a strategic collaboration with digital trade finance network Contour. The collaboration will integrate Finastra’s Fusion Trade Innovation technology with Contour’s platform, boosting access to trade finance and streamlining back-office workflow.

The collaboration helps financial institutions take advantage of the multi-trillion dollar global trade business that both corporate customers and consumer depend upon every day. The partnership between Finastra and Contour will give financial institutions a network that supports collaborative workflows between trading parties. The new integration facilitates digital adoption, lowers costs and reliance on paper, and reduces risk.

“Our partnership with Finastra is an important step forward in breaking down barriers to adoption and increasing access to trade finance,” Contour CEO Carl Wegner said. “By integrating Finastra’s Fusion Trade Innovation, financial institutions and corporates will have access to an end-to-end ecosystem of services that will enable them to transact seamlessly and securely.”

Finastra also announced a partnership with India’s Kotak Mahindra Bank, specifically supporting the firm’s new integrated corporate banking portal, Kotak FYN. The bank will rely on Finastra’s Unified Corporate Portal solution, expanding a partnership with Finastra that extends back to October of 2021. The new enterprise portal will enable bank customers to conduct trade services. By the final quarter of the year, the portal will also offer account services, payments, and collections.

“Working together with Finastra, the Unified Corporate Portal will allow us to make the Kotak FYN portal even more revolutionary,” Kotak Mahindra Bank President for Global Transaction Banking Shekhar Bhandari said. “We can provide intuitive, easy-to-use access to many products and user journeys through a single platform, reducing complexity and friction for our customers and providing a truly differentiated user experience.”

The Bank’s Unified Corporate Portal will leverage Finastra’s Corporate Channels framework. This will empower banks to offer their corporate clients a seamless experience for account services, payments, trade, supply chain finance, and lending. The portal will enable banks to unify data across portals and back office systems to give users a single view of transactions, positions, and balances. Finastra noted that the integration will support self-service operation and boost efficiency.

Finastra’s partnership news comes in the wake of a new C-suite hire: the appointment of Helen Cook as the company’s Chief People Officer. Announced late last week, Cook comes to Finastra from Natwest Group, where she worked as Chief Human Resources Officer. At Finastra, Cook will be tasked with helping the company fulfill its goal to be “the most inclusive and diverse employer in the fintech industry,” according to a statement.

“Finastra’s vision is built on collaboration, and its commitment to become a truly inclusive workplace and enhance the skills of its workforce,” Cook said. “I’m thrilled to support in growing and developing the company’s global talent.”

Finastra was formed in 2017 as a merger between Finovate alum Misys and D+H. The company’s technology is used by more than 8,600 institutions, including 90 of the top 100 banks in the world. Simon Paris is CEO.

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Citi Dips Toe into Crypto Waters, Leading $6 Million Round in xalts

Citi Dips Toe into Crypto Waters, Leading $6 Million Round in xalts
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Citi, Daily news, Funding
  • Hong Kong-based digital asset investment startup xalts received $6 million in funding.
  • The round was co-led by Citi Ventures and Accel.
  • The investment marks a first for Citi; it is the first digital asset manager in which the bank-owned venture firm has invested.

Digital asset investing company xalts landed $6 million in funding in a Seed round co-led by Citi Ventures and Accel.

The investment, which is xalts’ first round of capital, also marks a first for Citi Ventures. xalts is the first digital asset manager in which the bank-owned venture firm has invested. “xalts is our first investment in a digital asset manager, and we support its vision of creating innovative products to meet the growing appetite of institutional investors for more efficient and robust crypto-access investments,” said Citi Ventures Managing Director Luis Valdich.

While the investment is a first for Citi, however, the move into crypto is not uncommon for traditional financial firms. In fact, just a few weeks ago, Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, and Fidelity Investments announced the launch of a new cryptocurrency exchange, EDX markets, to serve both individual and institutional investors.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, xalts is a global digital investment firm that helps financial institutions across the globe access digital assets while remaining compliant. The company was founded earlier this year by Goel Ashutosh and Supreet Kaur.

“With xalts, we are building innovative, institutional-grade investment products and solutions which focus on high compliance and control standards – things institutional investors care about,” said Goel, xalts’ Chief Investment Officer. “The next leg of growth in digital assets will be driven by institutional participation in the asset class. We are starting to see the early signs of that with a lot of new initiatives coming from banks and asset managers.”

Photo by Tom Fisk

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AML Surveillance Technology Innovator Hawk AI Forges Strategic Partnership with Know Your Customer

AML Surveillance Technology Innovator Hawk AI Forges Strategic Partnership with Know Your Customer
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Hawk:AI
  • AML surveillance technology specialist Hawk AI forged a strategic partnership with digital onboarding and business KYC solutions provider Know Your Customer.
  • The partnership will give businesses an integrated anti-fraud solution that will help them avoid the problem of siloed compliance technologies.
  • Munich, Germany-based Hawk AI made its Finovate debut in May, demoing its technology at FinovateSpring in San Francisco, California.

Hawk AI, an anti-money laundering surveillance technology company for banks and fintechs, announced a strategic partnership with Know Your Customer this week. The alliance will combine Know Your Customer’s digital onboarding and business KYC solutions with Hawk AI’s transaction monitoring technology. The new offering will give businesses an integrated anti-fraud solution to enhance their defense against financial crime.

“There is a wave of technological innovation taking place in RegTech,” Hawk AI CTO and co-founder Wolfgang Berner said, “from cloud native infrastructure enabling scalability, real-time native processing in a performant, safe and secure way, to fully explained AI and machine learning that augment traditional AML approaches and ensure efficient and effective crimefighting.”

Berner also underscored the challenge of fraud prevention solutions that are not well integrated. “Cutting-edge technology is not enough if information remains siloed,” he said. Berner noted that Know Your Customer shared Hawk AI’s “vision of modular solutions that foster a more holistic approach to fighting financial crime.”

Hawk AI’s Steve Liú, General Manager North America

Processing billions of transactions in more than 60 countries every year, Hawk AI’s technology leverages explainable AI and cloud technology to detect financial crime while keeping false positives low. The company reported that reducing false positives can help AML compliance officers save up to 70% of their workday, enabling them to focus on more complex compliance challenges.

Hawk AI made its Finovate debut earlier this year at FinovateSpring 2022 in San Francisco. Headquartered in Germany, and founded in 2018, the company demoed its AML Surveillance Suite. The technology blends AI with traditional, rule-based strategies to monitor financial transactions in real-time and help financial institutions and fintechs better detect suspected cases of fraud, financial crime, and money laundering. This method helps identify minor, easily missed anomalies that can be overlooked by traditional rule-based approaches alone.

Hawk AI includes financial services consultancy Capco, and KYC and customer onboarding specialist Ondato – as well as fellow Finovate alums like Visa, Mambu, and Diebold Nixdorf – among its partners. A member of the RegTech 100, Hawk AI has raised $10 million in funding from investors including BlackFin Capital Partners and Picus Capital. Co-founder Tobias Schweiger is CEO.

Photo by Frans van Heerden

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U.S. Bank Brings Cash Flow Projection Technology to Small Business Owners

U.S. Bank Brings Cash Flow Projection Technology to Small Business Owners
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, US Bank
  • U.S. Bank introduced a new tool to give small business owners the ability to see a 90-day forecast of their cash flow.
  • The new offering is the latest innovation from U.S. Bank’s Business Essential suite of banking and payments solutions.
  • U.S. Bank made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateFall 2021. At the conference, the bank demoed its Cards-as-a-Service (CaaS) technology.

U.S. Bank unveiled a new solution to enable small business owners to see a 90-day forecast of their cash flow. The tool allows users to leverage external data from their clients along with their own U.S. Bank accounts to provide more comprehensive insights. The offering is designed to address what U.S. Bank Chief Digital Officer Irv Henderson called “a top concern for today’s business owners.”

“Giving our clients the ability to forecast their cash flow outlook, including, in the future, the capability to consider various scenarios, will provide them with vital information to make smart decisions for today and the future,” Henderson said.

U.S. Bank’s new cash flow tool gives users a 90-day historical view along with its forecast of account balances up to 90 days ahead. The bank plans to introduce additional functionality to enable users to build “what if” scenarios and observe the impact of those scenarios on future cash flow.

The tool is currently available to clients of U.S. Bank from their online dashboard. Part of U.S. Bank’s Business Essentials suite of banking and payments solutions, the cash flow tool is the bank’s latest effort to “bring together digital capabilities and the power of data” to provide small businesses with actionable insights, according to Henderson.

U.S. Bank made its Finovate debut a year ago at our all-digital FinovateFall 2021 conference. At the event, the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based bank demonstrated its Card-as-a-Service (CaaS) technology that enables companies to extend corporate credit digitally. With the touch of a button, virtual cards -with precise spend limits, tokenization, and encryption – can be pushed to users’ mobile wallets in real time. The Card-as-a-Service solution also gives businesses the ability, via API integration, to build custom virtual payment experiences in their ecosystem.

The parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, U.S. Bancorp serves millions of customers through a range of businesses including consumer and business banking, payment services, corporate and commercial banking, wealth management, and investment services. The institution has $591 billion in assets as of June 2022.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska

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ABN AMRO Pilots e-ID with Payment Capability

ABN AMRO Pilots e-ID with Payment Capability
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: ABN AMRO, Alumni News, Alumni profile
  • Dutch bank ABN AMRO has partnered with bicycle rental company Swapfiets to offer Swapfiet clients access to ID & pay.
  • With ID & pay, customers can sign up and pay for a service in seconds while securely storing their ID in a single app.
  • ID & pay works across multiple merchants and service providers. ABN AMRO likens it to “to having a Google login combined with PayPal.”

ABN AMRO is flexing its payment innovation muscle this week in a new partnership. The Dutch bank is teaming up with bicycle-as-a-service company Swapfiets to launch a new functionality that combines payment and identity authentication.

Swapfiets is leveraging ABN AMRO’s ID & pay, a tool that allows customers to sign up and pay for their Swapfiets membership using an electronic ID. When new and existing Swapfiets clients want to pay for their monthly bicycle rental membership, ID & pay allows customers to sign up and pay in seconds and enables users to securely store their e-ID in a single app.

“ID & pay originated from a need we identified among our business clients. A need to offer their customers a much simpler onboarding and payment process,” said ABN AMRO Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer Edwin van Bommel. “This app beats every other onboarding process in the market as an easy-to-use way for customers to provide ID and pay for products and services.”

What’s unique about ID & pay is that, once users sign up initially, they can use their verified identity and payment credentials to pay at other merchants and services that also use ID & pay. ABN AMRO likens the functionality to having a Google login combined with PayPal, but with credentials held within ABN AMRO’s secure, in-app environment.

“We hope this collaboration will make even more people enthusiastic about cycle memberships and our underlying idea of owning less and using more,” said Swapfiets CEO Marc de Vries.

This isn’t ABN AMRO’s first foray into the subscription management space. In 2020, the bank partnered with Subaio to integrate Subaio’s white label subscription management feature into Grip, ABN AMRO’s PFM app that enables users to see all of their recurring payments in one place.

ABN AMRO demoed alongside Fincite at FinovateEurope 2019, where the pair showcased how Fincite’s Automated Advice Engine offers clients and advisors investment recommendations based on ABN AMRO investment strategies. 

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PNC Bank Turns to Blend to Digitally Optimize its Mortgage Application Process

PNC Bank Turns to Blend to Digitally Optimize its Mortgage Application Process
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Blend, Daily news
  • Blend and PNC Bank announced a strategic partnership to help the bank digitally optimize its online mortgage process.
  • The partnership between Blend and PNC Bank comes in the wake of Blend’s Instant Home Equity product, launched in August.
  • Blend made its Finovate debut in 2016 and is also an alum of Finovate’s developer conference, FinDEVr.

A strategic partnership between PNC Bank and cloud banking software company Blend will help the financial institution digitally optimize its online mortgage application process. With its new mortgage application platform, PNC will enable its customers to digitally apply for a mortgage and import information such as bank and payroll data directly into the application simply by providing their credentials. Customers further will benefit from a single portal for tracking the status of their mortgage application, completing any additional tasks, as well as reviewing and electronically signing loan documentation. The portal also allows PNC’s mortgage loan officers to collaborate in real time with customers.

PNC EVP and Head of Mortgage Peter McCarthy called the partnership “an ideal combination of digital self-service technology and support for our customers as they navigate one of the biggest and most important purchases in their lifetimes.”

The strategic partnership announcement comes just over a month after Blend announced the launch of its automated instant home equity product. Integrating a range of recent enhancements to its mortgage suite, the solution provides income and identity verification, title, decisioning, property appraisal, and notarization. Lenders can use Blend Instant Home Equity to provide borrowers with a personalized offer that can be approved instantly and closed within a few days.

“Leveraging all that we’ve built on the Blend platform – for both Mortgage and Consumer Banking solutions – we’re able to deliver an instant home equity experience to help our customers ensure a seamless experience for applicants, grow their home equity businesses, and reduce costs to originate in a challenging marketplace,” Head of Blend Nima Ghamsari said.

Blend demonstrated its Data-Driven Mortgage solution at FinovateSpring 2016 and returned later that year to present its technology at our developers conference FinDEVr Silicon Valley. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Blend enables financial services companies to process an average of more than $5 billion in transactions a day. The company leverages low-code, drag-and-drop design tools to enable developers to build new products quickly. Its platform is integrated with trusted services ranging from eSign to identity verification to help financial institutions deliver seamless customer experiences.

PNC Bank is a part of the PNC Financial Services Group, one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the U.S. Offering retail banking to more than 12 million consumers and small businesses across the mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southeast, and Southwest, PNC Bank also provides asset management services to affluent and ultra-affluent individuals and families, as well as corporate and institutional banking. As of June of this year, PNC Bank had $320 billion in assets under administration.

Photo by Pixabay

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Square Taps Visa for Instant Transfers in Canada

Square Taps Visa for Instant Transfers in Canada
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, VISA
  • Visa is expanding its integration with Square’s instant transfer feature into Canada.
  • Square’s Canadian merchant clients can access their funds in real time, instead of waiting for the next business day.
  • Instant transfers are enabled by Visa Direct, a VisaNet processing capability that facilitates real-time delivery of funds.

One of the themes at FinovateFall earlier this month was how organizations can leverage real time data. When it comes to the movement of money, timing is everything. So it’s no surprise to see Visa’s announcement this week that it will expand its integration with Square’s instant transfer feature into Canada.

Under the new integration, Square’s Canadian merchant clients can now access their funds faster than the next business day. When they link an eligible debit card, Square’s Canada-based merchant clients can transfer funds instantly to an external bank account.

Used for rapid merchant settlement, Square’s instant transfers are enabled by Visa Direct, a VisaNet processing capability that facilitates real-time funds delivery directly to bank accounts. As a result, businesses experience increased cash flow, which can be a major pain point, especially for small businesses.

“Cash flow management and more immediate access to funds is critical for small businesses to survive and thrive in a rapidly evolving payments ecosystem,” said Visa Canada’s VP and Head of New Payments Jim Filice. “Together with Square, we’re committed to supporting Canadian small businesses and helping to identify solutions that can benefit them by delivering fast, reliable and secure access to funds.”

Photo by Laura Tancredi

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