Alumni News

Aviva Partners with AutoRek for its Automated Reconciliation Solution

Aviva Partners with AutoRek for its Automated Reconciliation Solution
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, AutoRek
  • UK-based, multinational insurance company Aviva has teamed up with automated reconciliations solution provider AutoRek.
  • Aviva will deploy AutoRek’s platform to provide a fully audited, rules-based reconciliation process that reduces the risks associated with manual processing.
  • AutoRek made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2023. The company is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland.

UK-based insurer Aviva announced a collaboration with automated reconciliation solutions provider AutoRek to enhance efficiency and compliance. Aviva will deploy AutoRek’s end-to-end platform in order to provide a fully audited, rules-based reconciliation process that ensures complete transparency for Client Assets Sourcebook (CASS) auditors, as well as internal stakeholders. The platform will enable Aviva to offer an enhanced automated solution for client money and regulatory reporting. The solution also means less manual processing and its associated risks.

“We’re thrilled to onboard Aviva as a client to the AutoRek platform, empowering them to achieve greater efficiency and accuracy in their operations,” AutoRek VP of Sales Jack Niven said. “Together, we’re driving innovation and setting new benchmarks for financial excellence.”

Glasgow, Scotland-based AutoRek partners with institutions in asset management, payments, banking, and insurance to provide a scalable, automated reconciliation software that delivers both cost reduction and data confidence. Solutions such as those offered by AutoRek are expected to be in high demand as financial regulators on both sides of the Atlantic are slated to bring greater clarity to policies relating to payments, digital assets, lending, data privacy, and more.

This was underscored by AutoRek Chief Product, Technology, and Operations Officer Jim Sadler in a recent Insider UK look at Scottish sector trends to watch for in 2025. “We can expect heightened regulatory oversight to start to bleed into the supply chains of regulated firms to ensure that compliance standards are met at every level,” Sadler said. “Companies that fail to uphold their duties can lead to serious consequences such as substantial penalties.”

Founded in 1696 as the Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society, Aviva today is a multinational insurance, wealth, and retirement business headquartered in London. The firm is the leading diversified insurer across these markets, boasting more than 19 million customers in the UK, Ireland, and Canada as of August 2024. The largest general insurer in the UK, Aviva is also the second largest general insurer in Canada. Publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, Aviva is a member of the FTSE 100, and has a market capitalization of more than $16 billion (£13 billion). 

“Aviva is dedicated to investing in technology to further our own growth strategy,” Aviva Head of CASS and Middle Office, Chris Golland, said. “Following an extensive tender process, we were highly impressed with the quality of the AutoRek tool. The implementation of the AutoRek solution will streamline our processes and allow us to confidently address future scalability and volume requirements.”

Founded in 1994, AutoRek made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2023. At the conference, the Glasgow, Scotland-based company demonstrated how its reconciliation platform helps organizations manage some of the biggest pain points in the process, providing key management information (MI) to better monitor the performance of reconciliations. Last year, AutoRek announced partnerships with JP Morgan Payments, global funds network Calastone, and technology services provider Capgemini. Gordon McHarg is CEO.

Photo by Sonny Vermeer

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Premium Creator Content Platform Viffy Forges Strategic Alliance with Finfare

Premium Creator Content Platform Viffy Forges Strategic Alliance with Finfare
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Viffy
  • Premium creator content platform Viffy announced a strategic alliance with rewards and engagement company Finfare.
  • The alliance comes as Viffy goes live with its solution that enables users to support their favorite creators and influencers through their everyday shopping at participating retailers.
  • Founded in 2022, Viffy made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023.

Premium creator content platform Viffy went live this week, announcing the launch of its platform as well as a new strategic alliance with loyalty and rewards platform Finfare.

“Today is a milestone day for Viffy: We are thrilled to announce that our platform is officially live!” the company reported from its LinkedIn page. “For the first time ever, Viffy makes it possible for creators to offer Premium Channels to their audiences, for audiences to support their favorite creators via their everyday shopping, and for brick-and-mortar merchants to leverage their loyalty and sales powered by creator partnerships.”

Viffy’s premium creator content platform empowers users to drive creator subscriptions by shopping with participating merchants throughout the United States. Viffy sets itself apart from other premium creator content platforms that rely on monthly payments for access by giving users the ability to drive subscriptions through their everyday spending. Dollars spent at participating merchants earn participants credits that fuel their subscriptions to their favorite creators. Viffy notes that $50 spent enables a month’s worth of access to a creator’s page on the Viffy platform. This approach, the company says, makes premium content more accessible and enables merchants to build loyalty and engagement.

Courtesy of the alliance, Finfare will give Viffy and its users access to deals at hundreds of popular brands. Finfare will also provide the underlying payment linking technology to power the program by way of its Finfare Connect offering. Finfare Connect is Finfare’s rewards platform that enables businesses to engage customers through highly personalized offers and rewards.

“This collaboration provides a meaningful revenue stream to Viffy, as well as its content creators, through our payment-linked offers, and offers exclusive deals from well-known brands that are valued by their followers,” Sadman Shakib, Director of Loyalty Solutions and Partnerships at Finfare Connect, said.

Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Irvine, California, Finfare helps businesses better manage expenses, use credit, boost revenue, and effectively engage their customers. The company’s flagship products also include Finfare Money, which provides business charge cards and expense management. Finfare’s strategic alliance with Viffy comes in the wake of Finfare’s new branding, announced in November.

“We are thrilled to partner with Finfare and leverage the tremendous capabilities of their Connect platform,” Viffy CEO and Co-founder Sam Winslow said. “At Viffy, we are creating a meaningful connection between online creator influence and real-world consumer spending. Together, we see a bright future ahead, redefining how loyalty and engagement are fostered.”

Viffy made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023, demonstrating a mobile app for its premium creator content platform. Founded in 2022, the company is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

Photo by Kelly

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Musk’s X Partners with Visa for In-App Payments

Musk’s X Partners with Visa for In-App Payments
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, VISA
  • X (formerly Twitter) has selected Visa as its first payments partner to launch the XMoney Account.
  • X’s new payments feature will be powered by Visa Direct, which will enable instant P2P payments, transfers to bank accounts, and creator monetization within the social media app.
  • X CEO Linda Yaccarino expects that X’s in-app payments will debut later this year.

Visa and X (formerly Twitter) have partnered to facilitate payments on X, or what the company owner Elon Musk refers to as the “everything app.” According to a tweet from X CEO Linda Yaccarino, the XMoney Account, which will facilitate in-app payments, will debut later this year.

X will leverage Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time payment platform that enables businesses and individuals to instantly send and receive money directly to an eligible debit card or X Wallet. Once users connect their debit card to allow for P2P payments, they will have the option to transfer the funds to their bank account.

A payment partnership has been in the works for a long time. Musk purchased X (which was then called Twitter) in 2022 for $44 million. That same year, the company filed with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and began obtaining necessary state licenses, as well. The move was one of the first steps Musk took to create an “everything app” that he envisions will help users manage their entire financial lives. Today, X Payments is licensed in 41 states.

According to CNBC, which spoke to someone familiar with the matter, “The X Money service is expected to launch in the first quarter, and deals with more financial partners are likely. One of the first use cases for X Money is to allow creators on the site to accept payments and store funds without external institutions.”

Once launched, XMoney will compete with formidable players such as Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Zelle. XMoney may be able to differentiate itself in this competitive space by integrating social media, content creation, and financial tools. This would position it as more than just a payments platform, but rather as a central hub for digital interactions, creator monetization, and financial management. Its success, however, will depend on its ability to gain user trust, ensure security, and offer functionality that rivals established players.

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KYC Portal Forges Strategic Collaboration with PwC

KYC Portal Forges Strategic Collaboration with PwC
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, KYC Portal

In a newly announced strategic collaboration, KYC Portal has teamed up with PwC UK and PwC Channel Islands. PwC UK and PwC Channel Islands will deploy KYC Portal CLM, the company’s client lifecycle management platform that features AML technology, including risk assessment tools and advanced due diligence (CDD) capabilities. For its part, PwC — with its international expertise in financial crime prevention, process management, and regulatory landscapes — will offer its services to KYC Portal customers.

“KYC Portal CLM is revolutionizing the way organizations manage compliance, risk, and client lifecycle processes,” KYC Portal Founder and CEO Kristoff Zammit Ciantar said. “Through this collaboration with PwC, we are empowering companies with an unparalleled combination of technical excellence and strategic insight. We are extremely proud to have been selected by PwC for such a collaboration and are very excited to start presenting our combined service playbook to both existing and new customers.”

An advanced collation CLM platform for CDD and AML data collection, KYC Portal CLM centralizes and simplifies the customer due diligence process. KYC Portal CLM lowers costs, customer touch points, and overall duration, boosting efficiencies by over 60% across the board. The no-code, real-time solution features dynamic configuration capabilities enabling users to change processes, requirements, outreach, risk, workflow, and more with a click of a button. KYC Portal CLM also features real-time counterparty risk assessment (CRA) via an automated risk engine with user-defined parameters, weights, combined risks, categories, and more.

“With KYC Portal CLM, we are well-positioned to help organizations navigate the complexities of compliance with confidence,” said Mark Loring, Partner, Financial Crime Managed Services Lead, London PwC UK. “Our collaboration allows us to offer a seamless blend of strategic consulting and technical capability to support organizations in achieving their compliance and operational goals.”

Founded in 2008, KYC Portal made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2019 in London. At the event, the company demoed its KYCP — Know Your Customer Portal — solution, which allows organizations to quickly collate all data relating to all kinds of subjects being assessed in a single, centralized, secure repository. This repository features fully customizable parameters, fields, rules, user permissions, and collaborative practices.

KYC Portal is headquartered in Malta, with offices in Spain. The company includes RBS International, Loomis, and Arie Finance among its customers. Last fall, KYC Portal launched a SaaS model of its on-premises CLM solution.

Photo by Polina from Pexels

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Abrigo Acquires Integrated Financial Solutions

Abrigo Acquires Integrated Financial Solutions
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Abrigo, Alumni News, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Austin, Texas-based regtech Abrigo has acquired Integrated Financial Solutions (IFS). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
  • The acquisition will make IFS’s end-to-end lease and loan origination and management automation platform, IFSLeaseWorks, available to more organizations and institutions.
  • Abrigo made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateFall 2024 in New York.

Abrigo, a compliance, credit risk, and lending solutions provider for financial institutions, has acquired Integrated Financial Solutions (IFS). Terms were not disclosed.

Integrated Financial Solutions is the provider of IFSLeaseWorks, an end-to-end lease and loan origination and management automation platform. Abrigo’s acquisition will enable the firm to help financial institutions become more efficient via front- and back-office automation.

“Financial institutions are eager to grow while keeping an eye on profitability. That’s why the automation provided by the IFS solution is a great complement to the lending automation that Abrigo provides to our 2,400 financial institutions today,” said Jay Blandford, Abrigo Chief Executive Officer.

IFSLeaseWorks brings segments of equipment and vehicular financing to Abrigo’s existing loan origination and management platform. The solution also adds to Abrigo’s set of automation tools and boosts its asset management capabilities. This will help financial institutions both diversify their portfolios and potentially earn additional interest income. IFSLeaseWorks enhances efficiency and digitalization throughout the entire lease and loan transaction lifecycle. This includes transaction structuring and pricing through application processing, credit decisioning, documentation, billing, collection, and remarketing.

The acquisition comes at a time when the market for equipment leasing and software in the U.S. is growing. Based on research from the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, the market grew at an annualized rate of 7% in the second quarter of 2024. The IFS/Abrigo combination will help meet this demand with solutions that bring digitalization and greater efficiency.

“The IFS team has built a powerful application for leasing companies,” IFS founder and CEO Mitch Kaufman said. “By joining with Abrigo, we see a bigger opportunity to share these capabilities with the market and continue innovating for our clients.”

Founded in 2000, Abrigo made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2024 in New York. At the conference, the Austin, Texas-based company demonstrated its fraud detection technology that combines AI/ML check image analysis, a nationwide fraud data consortium, and a configurable rules engine to spot altered items, forgeries, and fraudulent checks. Abrigo’s “targeted efficiency” approach reduces fraud losses and protects customers while saving time for financial institution personnel.

Photo by Mitchell Kmetz on Unsplash

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DriveWealth and Moment Team Up to Lower Barriers to Fixed-Income Investing

DriveWealth and Moment Team Up to Lower Barriers to Fixed-Income Investing
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, DriveWealth
  • Brokerage-as-a-Service innovator DriveWealth has forged a partnership with fixed-income specialist Moment Technology.
  • The partnership will make fixed-income more accessible to investors by reducing minimum investment requirements that can be as much as $200,000.
  • New Jersey-based DriveWealth won Best of Show at FinovateEurope 2016 in London.

Brokerage-as-a-Service innovator DriveWealth has teamed up with Moment Technology to make fixed-income investing more accessible to a broader range of investors. Together, the two companies seek to redefine fixed-income investing, reducing the minimum investment threshold of $200,000 on many international fixed income products.

“At DriveWealth, we’re committed to empowering our partners with innovative, seamless solutions that make investing simpler and more accessible,” DriveWealth CEO Michael Blaugrund said. “Our partnership with Moment is a major milestone in expanding access to fixed-income markets, enabling us to offer a consolidated API that integrates equities, bonds, and other asset classes. DriveWealth has pioneered eliminating investment barriers from day one — like with fractional equities in 2015 — and this partnership is a natural extension of that legacy.”

Investing in fixed income products like bonds traditionally has been very difficult for retail investors due to high minimum investment requirements and fragmented liquidity. Most U.S. bonds, for example, have a $10,000 or even $100,000 minimum investment requirement, even as most of these instruments carry a $1,000 par value. Bonds sold under Regulation S — which enables companies to raise capital from non-U.S. investors — typically feature investment minimums of $200,000 or more.

Given this challenge, DriveWealth consolidates bond liquidity sources to make bond investing more accessible and offers an API suite that simplifies and accelerates the onboarding process for its partners. This enables them to add new bond investment capabilities quickly and seamlessly to their offering. Along with DriveWealth’s strong relationships with bond dealers, liquidity providers, and liquidity marketplaces, Moment Technology’s platform serves as a streamlined, cost-effective solution that enables users to access these resources efficiently and transparently.

“Moment’s platform simplifies bond liquidity access, operating collaboratively to support DriveWealth’s efforts to break down traditional barriers and help investors to engage more easily with this previously underserved market,” Moment Technology CEO Dylan Parker said.

New York-based Moment Technology provides fixed income trading technology, market data, and portfolio management to wealth platforms. Moment’s partners benefit from a sophisticated Order & Execution Management System (OEMS), Risk Management System (RMS), Portfolio Management System (PMS), and Data & Analytics platform. Founded in 2022, the company includes Andreessen Horowitz among its investors; the firm led a $17 million Series A round for Moment back in 2023.

Founded in 2012, DriveWealth won Best of Show at FinovateEurope 2016 in London. In the years since, the New Jersey-based company has brought its Brokerage-as-a-Service technology to banks, broker dealers, asset managers, digital wallet providers, and consumer brands throughout the U.S., Latin America, EMEA, and APAC. The company’s platform supports trading and investing in U.S. equities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, options, and fixed income products. A pioneer of fractional share investing, DriveWealth leverages its platform, APIs, and innovative pricing to provide significant flexibility for investors regardless of their net worth.

Photo by Pixabay

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Neonomics Acquires Ordo to Expand Open Banking Expertise in the UK

Neonomics Acquires Ordo to Expand Open Banking Expertise in the UK
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions, Neonomics
  • Neonomics has acquired UK-based payments and data provider Ordo to expand its services in the UK and beyond.
  • Specifically, Neonomics will leverage Ordo’s expertise in Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) and pay-by-bank tools.
  • The acquisition has been approved by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway.

Norway-based open banking innovator Neonomics has offered its payments and financial data solutions since 2017. This week, the company purchased Ordo, a UK-based open banking payments and data service provider.

Financial terms of the agreement, which was approved by both the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, were not disclosed.

Ordo was founded by former members of the UK Faster Payments scheme in 2014, becoming an FCA authorized open banking payments provider. The company’s payments and data services include variable recurring payments as well as pay-by-bank tools.

“We are proud to join forces with one of the most well positioned independent open banking providers in Europe, to jointly scale our offering to both existing and new customers across the UK and Europe,” said Ordo CoFounder and Managing Director Fliss Berridge. “The two teams bring a wealth of experience in developing tailored solutions in a complex and highly regulated environment at what we believe will be among the industry’s most competitive commercial terms.”

Neonomics delivers payment initiation and account information services to a wide range of businesses, as well as a pay-by-bank app directed at consumers. The company also offers a newly launched AI tool, Nello AI, to serve as a personal finance manager app to motivate consumers with a monthly financial review, daily spending meter, a chatbot, and more.

“The team at Ordo represents some of the most experienced payments experts in the UK, having a leading voice across many of the most important forums that span the UK and EU in shaping how open banking will evolve,” said Neonomics Founder and CEO Christoffer Andvig. “This acquisition strengthens our commercialization strategy and time to market while expanding our product offering.”

Neonomics will leverage Ordo to help it accelerate its growth by offering services in the UK and other regions. With Ordo’s UK-centric payment tools, including its Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) capability, Neonomics plans to build a more open and connected economy.

The agreement comes as new payments regulations, including the Payments Services Regulation (PSR) and the third Payment Services Directive (PSD3), sit on the horizon. These regulations are expected to standardize open banking practices, enhance consumer protection, and drive further adoption of open banking solutions across Europe.

Acquiring Ordo positions Neonomics to benefit from these changes. The company’s payment suite and data tools are suited to offer more connected and seamless payments that are tailored to the continuously evolving regulatory landscape.

Photo by sl wong

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Method Financial Raises $41.5 Million to Compete with Plaid, MX, and Finicity

Method Financial Raises $41.5 Million to Compete with Plaid, MX, and Finicity
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, Method Financial
  • Method Financial has raised $41.5 million in Series B funding.
  • The funding round, led by Emergence Capital and joined by investors like avra and Samsung Next, brings Method’s total funding to $60 million.
  • The company plans to use the funds to enhance loan refinance automation, expand card network integrations, and deepen banking relationships.

Financial connectivity API provider Method Financial has raised $41.5 million. The Series B round was led by Emergence Capital. New investors avra and Samsung Next also participated, along with existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Y-Combinator, and Ardent Venture Partners.

Today’s round more than doubles Method Financial’s previous funding total, bringing the company’s total funding to $60 million. The company will use today’s round to accelerate delivery of its loan refinance automation and expand into other use cases that leverage card network integrations. It will also deepen its banking relationships to deliver more competitive products and expand credit card network integrations to streamline checkout.

“Our latest round of funding will help us build on Method’s already strong growth trajectory. Our team takes immense pride in supporting millions of Americans on their financial journeys while helping lenders and fintechs increase conversion with better user experience and engagement,” said Method CoFounder and CEO Jose Bethancourt. “As we serve new markets with our growing data and payment capabilities, we are thrilled to collaborate with Emergence and avra, as well as our existing investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, YC, and other leading stakeholders in fintech.”

Method was founded in 2021 to provide real-time, permissioned read/write access at 15,000 financial institutions, without requiring a consumer’s username and password. The company’s APIs power end-to-end refinance experiences, real-time account data access, and one-click checkout for over 60 fintechs, lenders, and FIs including Aven, Upgrade, SoFi, and PenFed. Since launch, Method has enabled 30 million passwordless account connections for 4 million consumers and has facilitated over $500 million in liability repayments.

“Method’s strength lies in the broad usability of its data and payment products across a wide range of industries and verticals,” said avra Managing Partner Anu Hariharan. “Initially, Method enabled lenders to offer competitive financial products by providing real-time visibility into consumer debts. Now, they are increasingly expanding their reach, supporting new use cases like card linking and new verticals like retail and travel.”

Method recently launched a new credit card connectivity solution called Card Connect, which offers transaction-level data. Since launching Card Connect, Bilt Rewards saw two million users connect 10 million cards to earn points on their eligible purchases.

Method recently demoed at FinovateSpring 2024, where it showcased its Connect, Data, and Pay APIs. During the demo, Method explained how the tools essentially serve as a single sign on (SSO) for all of a user’s liabilities without exposing their personal information.

Method Financial fits into the growing ecosystem of financial connectivity providers like Plaid, MX, and Finicity. However, Method differentiates itself with its unique focus on liabilities and its write capabilities that enable integration and real-time updates. Overall, Method is suited to feed the increasing demand for open banking APIs as consumers, banks, and fintechs continue to seek real-time data aggregation.

Photo by Brett Sayles

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Conversational AI Innovator eSelf Secures $4.5 Million in Seed Funding

Conversational AI Innovator eSelf Secures $4.5 Million in Seed Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, eSelf.AI, Funding
  • Face-to-face conversational AI innovator eSelf has raised $4.5 million in seed funding.
  • The round was led by Explorer Investments, and featured participation from Ridge Ventures, as well as strategic angel investors.
  • Based in Israel, eSelf won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023 in New York.

Here’s some alumni funding news that slipped beneath our radar: eSelf, which offers a platform that enables businesses to build face-to-face conversational AI agents, has secured $4.5 million in seed funding. eSelf won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023. The company announced its successful seed round in December.

The funding was led by Explorer Investments with participation from Ridge Ventures and strategic angel investors, including Eyal Manor, former VP of Engineering at YouTube and current Chief Product & Engineering Officer at Twilio.

Along with its funding announcement, eSelf unveiled its platform for building conversational AI agents. These customized AI agents can have face-to-face video conversations with customers, and seamlessly integrate with existing business systems and processes. eSelf provides a self-service studio in which businesses can configure their virtual agents’ personality, knowledge base, and capabilities — without needing any specialized skills or technical expertise.

“We’ve developed a unified engine that processes speech, understanding, and visual elements simultaneously, allowing us to achieve response times of under one second which is crucial for natural conversation,” eSelf Co-Founder and CEO Alan Bekker explained. “Unlike other solutions that simply animate faces for voice responses, our platform is a complete visual comprehension engine. This means (that) our AI agents can actively engage with visuals in real-time — showcasing property tours, educational content, or presentation slides during conversations. By enabling businesses to create sophisticated, customized agents through our self-service studio, we aim to transform how they engage with customers at scale.”

Use cases for eSelf’s virtual agents have been diverse. Christie’s uses the agents as a first point of contact for potential buyers at its real estate brokerage firm in Portugal. Brazilian digital bank, AGI Bank, deploys the agents to help its 10 million customers access the institution’s digital banking services. Hong Kong-based financial services company DL Holdings leverages eSelf’s technology to provide financial advice to its customers in both English and Mandarin. eSelf reports that its technology currently powers “millions of real-time conversations.”

eSelf made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023. At the conference, the company won Best of Show for a demonstration of its virtual agent technology that serves as an additional workforce for sales and customer success teams. eSelf’s virtual agents bring face-to-face communications to large language models, providing a human-like experience and a positive user journey that enhances the sales process and minimizes human involvement.

eSelf recently announced that its face-to-face conversational engine produces responses faster than ChatGPT Voice as well as other conversational AI technologies. “Shorter latency means smoother, more natural interactions — no awkward pauses, just real-time conversations that feel human,” Bekker wrote on the eSelf LinkedIn page last month. “This is just the beginning. We’re building toward instant replies with immersive, visually rich outputs that redefine human-machine interaction.”

Headquartered in Israel, eSelf was founded in 2022.

Photo by Angela García

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Sikoia and Tandem Bank Forge Strategic Partnership to Enhance Income Verification

Sikoia and Tandem Bank Forge Strategic Partnership to Enhance Income Verification
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Sikoia
  • Customer verification specialist Sikoia announced a strategic partnership with Tandem Bank.
  • The partnership will enable the digital bank to automate key parts of its income verification and document handling processes for mortgage brokers.
  • Founded in 2021, Sikoia made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateEurope 2024.

London-based customer verification specialist Sikoia has sealed a strategic partnership deal with Tandem Bank. The partnership will enable the financial institution to automate specific parts of its income verification and document handling processes to boost efficiency for mortgage brokers.

“Our partnership with Tandem Bank marks a key milestone in transforming income verification and document processing for the mortgage industry,” Sikoia Founder and CEO Alexis Rog said. “This collaboration aims to eliminate administrative burdens, ensure consistent and auditable decision-making, and ultimately enhance the customer experience.”

Sikoia’s AI-powered Income and Employer Verification solution helps financial institutions avoid a typically manual, error-prone process that takes lenders an average of 30 minutes per application. Instead, Sikoia’s automated technology offers rigorous document integrity checks in seconds which enable companies like Tandem to provide mortgage brokers with faster, more accurate responses. Sikoia’s solution combines AI, traditional data extraction methods, and advanced business logic and categorization to automate key aspects of the verification process — such as income, affordability assessments, and application completeness. The solution provides 100% coverage; works seamlessly with broker-submitted documents such as payslips, bank statements, and tax returns; and delivers enhanced accuracy and auditability. A user-friendly portal and an API ensure easy and scalable integration into institutions’ current systems.

“Tandem is starting the new year on a strong note, and our partnership with Sikoia underscores this commitment,” Tandem Bank Director of Second Charge Sales and Distribution – Mortgage Division, Nigel Brookes, said. “By harnessing their AI-driven technology, we’re transforming a traditionally time-consuming process into a streamlined, efficient workflow — enabling faster and more accurate service for our customers. This partnership reflects our dedication to driving innovation and setting new benchmarks for efficiency and customer satisfaction for second charges.”

Among the U.K.’s oldest digital challenger banks, Tandem Bank was launched in 2014. The bank established itself by providing fair mortgages and savings products, and by acquiring Harrods Bank in 2018. Tandem Bank’s mission to build “the U.K.’s greener digital bank” became evident in its 2020 acquisition of green home improvement loan specialist Allium Lending Group and, further, with its 2022 merger with Oplo. Today, Tandem Bank offers savings accounts, mortgages, home and automobile financing, home improvement loans, and green home funding. Since inception, the institution has provided more than $644 million (£523 million) in green home improvement lending.

Headquartered in London and founded in 2021, Sikoia made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope last year. At the conference, the fintech demonstrated its AI-powered application document processing technology that provides instant customer feedback; automated verification for income, employment, affordability, and more; and a reduction in document handling costs and time of 75%.

Sikoia’s partnership with Tandem Bank comes days after the company announced that it was working with U.K.-based specialist loan brokerage Y3S. Sikoia will help the firm streamline its customer verification processes for brokers and borrowers.

“At Y3S, safeguarding our brokers and their clients is a top priority,” Y3S CEO Barney Drake said. “Our partnership with Sikoia demonstrates our dedication to staying ahead of the curve in fraud prevention and compliance, giving brokers greater confidence in the solutions we offer.”

Interested in demoing at FinovateEurope in London next month? Applications are still being accepted from innovative companies with new solutions that are ready to show. Visit our FinovateEurope hub today to learn more.

Photo by Caio

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LeapXpert Secures $20 Million in Round Led by Portage

LeapXpert Secures $20 Million in Round Led by Portage
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Funding, LeapXpert

Business communications innovator LeapXpert has raised $20 million in new funding this week. The Series B round was led by Portage, and featured participation from existing investors, including Rockefeller Asset Management, Uncorrelated Ventures, and the Partnership Fund for New York City.

“At LeapXpert, we’re seeing greater and greater demand for our platform, driven in part by the three-year crackdown by global regulators on off-channel communications,” LeapXpert Founder and CEO Dima Gutzeit said. “This is now expanding beyond regulated enterprises into non-regulated sectors, as the DOJ in the U.S. enforces stringent requirements for preserving and governing business-related communications taking place on digital channels.”

The funding will enable the company to scale its footprint to address essential governance needs in the financial sector as well as in other industries. The proliferation and popularity of modern communications technology has put a new strain on companies that need to balance engagement and relationship-building on the one hand, and governance, compliance, and security on the other. LeapXpert’s cloud-based solution supports seamless and governed communications across modern communications channels, maintaining enterprise control while meeting the organization’s data retention, security, and regulatory needs. LeapXpert integrates with popular messaging solutions including iMessage, WhatsApp, SMS, Telegram, and WeChat on the customer side, and with enterprise platforms including Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Salesforce.

“Looking ahead, customers are also excited about the unfolding potential of communication intelligence and its contribution to workforce productivity,” Gutzeit added. “By unlocking actionable insights from governed conversations, our platform is set to drive new levels of efficiency and innovation in the way teams collaborate and operate.”

LeapXpert’s funding news comes in the wake of its recognition as a Visionary in Gartner’s new Magic Quadrant for Digital Communications Governance and Archiving (DCGA). A member of Deloitte Fast 500 list of America’s fastest-growing tech companies for 2024, LeapXpert recently announced partnerships with financial markets compliant communications solutions provider IPC and with Hong Kong-based media and telecommunications firm HKT. Last fall, the company unveiled its messaging security suite which is equipped with AI-powered impersonation detection — an industry first. Part of LeapXpert’s new Messaging Security Package, the additional functionality leverages AI to spot impersonation attempts over channels such as WhatsApp, WeChat, iMessage, and SMS in real-time.

“As organizations increasingly rely on platforms like WhatsApp, iMessage, and other messaging applications to conduct critical business communications, safeguarding these channels from threats becomes essential,” Gutzeit said. “With our AI-driven Messaging Impersonation Detection, antivirus, anti-malware, and CDR solutions, enterprises now have a comprehensive toolkit to ensure data governance and security across these channels.”

Founded in 2017, LeapXpert most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2022 in New York. At the conference, the company demonstrated its new app for Microsoft Teams that provides a comprehensive digital record of company conversations.

Photo by Temo Berishvili

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Trading and Investment Network eToro Files for IPO

Trading and Investment Network eToro Files for IPO
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, eToro
  • Social trading platform eToro has confidentially filed to go public in the U.S. later this year.
  • The IPO potentially values eToro at over $5 billion, marking its second attempt at a public debut after a failed SPAC deal in 2022.
  • eToro’s IPO aligns with a renewed optimism in fintech, dubbed “fintech spring,” as companies like Klarna also signal plans to go public, signaling a resurgence in confidence and investment.

Social trading and investment network eToro is taking its multi-asset trading platform to the public markets. According to a report from The Financial Times, eToro confidentially filed a U.S. IPO later this year.

The IPO, which could value eToro at over $5 billion, won’t count as the company’s first attempt at going public. In 2021, eToro announced plans to merge with FinTech Acquisition Corp. V, a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a deal worth $10 billion. The deal would have listed eToro on the NASDAQ, but the two parties agreed to end the deal after eToro’s valuation was cut by 15% in 2022, and the company failed to go public by the deadline specified in the SPAC arrangement.

By March 2023, eToro raised $250 million at a $3 million valuation. “Our 2023 to 2025 strategy focuses on scaling our brokerage business in our key markets and increasing profitability via revenue growth and cost management,” said company Founder and CEO Yoni Assia at the time of the fundraising. “eToro will continue to focus on profitable growth while helping to drive progress towards a world where everyone can invest in a simple and transparent way.”

Since that time, eToro launched $Cashtags on what was then Twitter, announced it would pay interest on users’ idle cash, and began publishing educational content on X.

eToro was founded in 2007 and has since raised $693 million in funding. With more than 35 million registered users and investors on its trading and investing platform, the company offers trading and investing tools more accessible and collaborative. eToro launched in the U.S. market in 2019, entering a space where Robinhood had already established a six-year presence.

The IPO filing announcement comes as fintech is entering what analysts are calling “fintech spring,” a hopeful time during which investors are more willing to invest and organizations are more willing to take risks. Many predicted that 2025 would see a lot of fintech IPOs. Klarna kicked things off, announcing last November that it is planning a 2025 IPO.

Photo by George Morina

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