Alumni News

FIS Partners with Treasury Prime to Bring Embedded Finance to Small and Mid-Sized Banks

FIS Partners with Treasury Prime to Bring Embedded Finance to Small and Mid-Sized Banks
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, FIS
  • FIS has partnered with Treasury Prime to launch a new embedded finance offering.
  • The new solution will give FIS’ banking customers additional options for managing deposits, AP, and other critical bank processes.
  • The collaboration with Treasury Prime is FIS’ second big embedded finance play of the year, having acquired embedded finance solution provider Payrix in February.

FIS has launched a new embedded finance offering, built in partnership with Treasury Prime, to help community and regional banks take advantage of the most modern digital capabilities and create new distribution channels. The new API-based solution will give FIS’ banking customers and their business clients new options when it comes to managing deposits, accounts payable, and other key banking operations.

The new offering will also enable community and regional banks to potentially create new revenue streams by expanding their client base, especially among highly digitally-active consumers.

“Embedded finance is a growing trend in the market because it allows businesses to bring innovative ideas quickly to market by combining financial services with user experiences right at the point of need,” FIS Head of Payments Kelly Beatty explained.

A leading technology solutions provider for merchants, banks, and capital markets firms – and a Finovate alum since 2010 – FIS processes more than $75 billion in transaction value for than 20,000+ clients globally. Treasury Prime offers APIs that enable companies to embed a range of banking services onto their platforms to boost revenues, increase customer loyalty, and offer rewards. Writing about the partnership on the Treasury Prime blog, Vice President of Banking Jeff Nowicki noted that the collaboration will enable banks to focus on their core strengths “rather than trying to compete with fintechs.” The partnership will also create new opportunities for business lines or revenues “(in) the same way community banks have for ages added lenders or business banking teams to target specific segments.”

The technology already has been integrated by digital commercial bank Grasshopper. The firm, in partnership with Web 3 blockchain company HUMBL, will deploy FIS’ embedded finance services across both its consumer and commercial divisions.

“Our vision has been clear from the start,” Grasshopper Chief Digital Officer Chris Tremont said,. “We wanted to better serve the needs of fintechs, small and medium-sized businesses, and the venture community. This BaaS platform and sophisticated set of APIs allows us to leverage technology and provide an enhanced banking experience for our clients.”

2022 has been a year in which FIS has paid particular attention to opportunities in embedded finance. A Finovate alum since 2010, FIS began the year with an acquisition of embedded payments solution provider Payrix. The deal will bolster FIS’ e-commerce, embedded payments, and finance experiences for small and medium-sized merchants via SaaS-based platforms.

“The acquisition of Payrix is an excellent proof point of FIS’ ability to unlock the value of our broad portfolio of solutions as companies of all sizes rely on FIS as a destination for innovation to advance how the world pays, banks, and invests,” said FIS President Stephanie Ferris.

Photo by Laker

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In a Remote World, Expensify Builds In-Person Perks

In a Remote World, Expensify Builds In-Person Perks
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Expensify

Business expense management firm Expensify is in the process of beta testing a unique new feature. Though, it’s more of a perk than a feature. The Expensify Lounge is a chic new space in the entrance to Expensify’s San Francisco office located in the heart of the financial district.

The idea for the Expensify Lounge came about pre-COVID. Much of the company’s workforce was already working remotely, and the Expensify Lounge was slowly becoming a ghost town. To maintain the vibrancy of the office, the team decided to turn the office into “best co-working cafe in the city” by launching the Expensify Lounge, a cafe-like working environment that includes great coffee, great cocktails, and great company. Now that the pandemic is waning in the U.S., the Expensify Lounge is in beta testing this spring.

“We added a ridiculously over-the-top cocktail bar like you’d find tucked away in a Tokyo high rise, and put in an espresso bar even us Portland coffee snobs can respect,” described Expensify CEO David Barrett. “Then we paired it with our integrated chat Concierge to offer to-your-seat delivery, and then turned the overall furnishings of everything else up to 11.”

The newly-renovated space functions like a high-touch version of a co-working space. Expensify customers can work from the space as often as they like, as long as they like, with wifi, complimentary drinks, and snacks. During the beta test period, there’s no membership required. The company is especially encouraging early stage companies and VCs to come in and check it out and kick the tires.

If you’re in the area and interested in visiting the Expensify Lounge during the beta period, go to https://use.expensify.com/lounges and use the password “Finovate” when you arrive. If you’re attending FinovateSpring on May 18 through May 20, you’re in luck. The Expensify Lounge is just a 10 minute walk from the event venue, the Hilton San Francisco Union Square.

The lounge is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5p.m. and is located at:

88 Kearny St., 16th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94108

After the beta period, Expensify clients can enjoy lounge access as part of their $9 per month Expensify membership. ” I guarantee it’s better than your office, or any office, and it’s designed to be a better place to work than any cafe in the city, too,” Barrett added.

A public company as of last November, Expensify is part of the fast-growing business financial management segment. The company’s flagship service is expense reporting, but it has since grown to add billpay, a travel concierge, and a corporate payment card.

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Minna Technologies Launches Merchant Solution for Fight Subscription Cancellations

Minna Technologies Launches Merchant Solution for Fight Subscription Cancellations
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Minna Technologies
  • Minna Technologies has launched a new solution to help merchants recover revenue and re-engage customers who recently canceled subscriptions.
  • The new offering, Merchant Solutions, helps solve a pain point in which bank cards are often blocked during a subscription cancellation.
  • Merchant Solutions tackles the new reality of subscription management in which customers are more proactive toward both signing up for and cancelling subscription-based services.

Sweden-based subscription management infrastructure company Minna Technologies unveiled its new Merchant Solutions late last week. The solution will enable subscription-based businesses to recover revenue from customers who have recently canceled their service and who manage their subscriptions via their retail bank app.

“We are thrilled to allow the 20% of consumers who cancel with Minna to more easily return to the subscription service when it suits them; and to enable subscription businesses to more personally retarget these consumers with suitable offers,” Minna Technologies Chief Product Officer Tiama Hanson-Drury said. “Not every cancellation is a desire to sever ties with the merchant – often it is a call for increased flexibility or personalization. By keeping the channel open, merchants have the chance to evolve the customer relationship and reacquire the consumer.”

Minna Technologies’ new solution also helps merchants deal with an unintended consequence of consumer protection efforts that require banks to support subscription payment management, especially with regard to unidentified or unintended payments. Sometimes, the subscription cancellation process results in the customer’s bank card being blocked to prevent future wrongful payments. Minna Technologies cited a study by Experian Insights that indicated that almost 80% of those who try to re-establish their subscriptions within three months after canceling have found that their bank cards have been blocked. This friction can be enough to cause the customer to abandon the attempt to resubscribe to the service.

To this end, Minna will offer a new “unblock” feature that facilitates communication between banks and subscription businesses to unblock bank cards in instances when banks have confidence that no wrongful payments will be reattempted by the business. This block removal service will help alleviate operational issues and the potential for poor customer service when payments are automatically blocked during subscription cancellation. Minna noted that the Unblock feature is one example of the kind of assistance the company is developing for subscription-based merchants with other solutions, including a way to prevent cancellations in the first place, to be offered in the near future.

Minna Technologies’ new offering also responds to the challenge of what Minna Technologies’ VP of Sales, Partnerships and Solutions Erica Katsambis referred to as the “rise of new subscription personas”. These personas reflect a growing assertiveness on the part of consumers who are more likely to be proactive in expressing their digital preferences than consumers of even a few years ago.

“From the ‘lost, confused, and angry’ who are disengaged and canceling via their bank, to the ‘savvy’ consumers switching subscriptions regularly or those consumers happy to try out many new subscriptions, they all demand more from their subscriptions,” Katsambis explained. “It is more important than ever to diversify and bolster digital channels and functionality to retain users, grow your customer base, and prevent unwanted churn.”

Minna Technologies made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2019. In the time since then, the company has forged partnerships with ING Belgium, Lloyds Bank, and Danske Bank; earned recognition as an Inclusive Fintech 50 member; and raised more than $23 million in funding. Late last year, Minna launched its “1-click” subscription management solution. Early this year, the company announced the appointment of new board chairwoman, Amanda Mesler.

Photo by Pixabay

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Worldline Taps Alogen to Offer Lenders Credit Assessment Tool

Worldline Taps Alogen to Offer Lenders Credit Assessment Tool
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Worldline
  • Payment and transaction services company Worldline and credit decisioning firm Algoan are joining forces.
  • The two are developing a credit assessment tool that will help lenders make better, faster, and more efficient lending decisions.
  • The credit assessment solution will leverage Worldline’s open banking experience as well as Algoan’s credit decisioning expertise.

Payment and transaction services company Worldline announced a partnership with credit decisioning firm Algoan. As part of the agreement, the two firms will work together to develop a credit assessment solution to help lenders and services providers make better credit decisions.

Specifically, the partnership will leverage Worldline’s open banking experience. “At Worldline we look for innovative partners who share our vision and enable us to enrich and expand our open banking services,” said Worldline Managing Director Financial Services Michael Steinbach. “As a lead and one of the largest Open Banking providers in Europe, we are committed to unlocking the full potential of Open Banking. With Algoan, we will be able to offer our customers an end-to-end and cost-efficient white-label solution to assess credit worthiness.”

According to Alogan CEO Michael Diguet, it is an ideal time to launch this solution. “Open Banking credit scoring is experiencing momentum that big players should embrace,” said Diguet.

Another key resource behind the credit assessment solution is Alogen’s four years of credit scoring expertise. Financial institutions can use the new tool to receive more accurate credit scoring and increased processing efficiency. Underwriting use cases include personal finance, consumer lending, auto finance and leasing, retail lending, BNPL, insurance, and utility providers.

The credit assessment solution will also bring benefits to borrowers. The enhanced data means that more borrowers may be approved and will receive their approval faster.

Having won its first contract to facilitate card transactions in 1973, Worldline currently has 20,000 employees in more than 50 countries and counts annual revenue of almost $4 billion. Gilles Grapinet is CEO.

Photo by RODNAE Productions

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LexisNexus Acquires Behavioral Biometrics Pioneer BehavioSec

LexisNexus Acquires Behavioral Biometrics Pioneer BehavioSec
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, BehavioSec, Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • LexisNexis announced its acquisition of behavioral biometrics innovator BehavioSec. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
  • The acquisition adds to LexisNexis’ fraud and identity risk management capability following its 2018 acquisition of ThreatMetrix.
  • Sweden-based BehavioSec won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring in 2012.

Yesterday we shared the news that Finovate newcomer – and recent Best of Show winner – Long Game had been acquired by Truist. Today, we see that the M&A train continues to chug down the tracks with word that another Finovate alum that also won Best of Show in its Finovate debut – has been acquired.

BehavioSec, which won top honors in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2012, has agreed to be acquired by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a part of RELX. Among the pioneers in advanced behavioral biometrics, Sweden-based BehavioSec leverages behavioral analysis to provide continuous authentication to establish identity and prevent fraud. The company’s technology gives firms a passive method and frictionless approach to identity management, analyzing the complex mobile signals from touchscreens and sensors to seamlessly prevent fraud before it strikes.

“Behavioral biometrics is a valuable component in fraud prevention strategies that layer defenses to tighten the net that stops fraudsters,” LexisNexis Business Services CEO Rick Trainor explained. Complimenting BehavioSec as a “forerunner” in the behavioral biometrics industry that “continues to evolve and innovate,” Trainor added that “our combined customer base will benefit significantly from a blended behavioral biometrics solution within ThreatMetrix that offers more defense for customers without adding friction across the customer journey.”

Terms of the acquisition have not been made available. BehavioSec CEO Dr. Neil Costigan said that he is looking forward to “discovering the next phase in the evolution for behavioral biometrics alongside a successful, innovative company looking to further evolve our advanced capabilities.”

BehavioSec’s acquisition by LexisNexis Risk Solutions comes after a year of major activity for the company. Last summer, BehavioSec unveiled a new compliant, hosted version and a new cloud-native, SaaS version of its platform. The offering made it easier for more organizations to take advantage of BehavioSec’s anti-fraud technology, satisfying compliance requirements and embracing frictionless, multi-factor authentication. In May, the company launched new authentication and fraud detection capabilities via its BehavioSense platform. The platform features accelerated profile training, doppelgänger detection, enhanced mobile fraud detection, and predictive modeling.

“Our newest features respond to customer feedback and, frankly, market demands,” VP of Products at BehavioSec Jordan Blake said when the solution was introduced. “These features add to our platform’s existing anti-fraud capabilities and are designed to solve the COVID-19 era challenge of accelerated digital transformation, online security, and privacy regulation compliance.”

Photo by Markus Spiske

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Truist Acquires Finovate Best of Show Winner Long Game

Truist Acquires Finovate Best of Show Winner Long Game
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Long Game, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Truist has acquired mobile savings gamification app, Long Game.
  • Long Game uses strategies from the prize-linked savings and mobile gamification worlds to drive customer engagement and increase brand loyalty for banks.
  • Long Game won Best of Show in its Finovate debut last September at FinovateFall 2021 in New York.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But U.S.-based financial services company Truist announced today that it has acquired bank engagement and savings gamification app, Long Game.

“Truist’s commitment to help people build financial wellness is exactly what we are about at Long Game,” company co-founder and CEO Lindsay Holden said. “We’ve revolutionized bank engagement and are eager to apply ourselves to creating disruptive technologies that help Truist deliver a human touch in new ways.”

Long Game won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in New York last year. The company offers a bank-branded mobile app that leverages the best practices from prize-linked savings and mobile gaming to help banks acquire new customers, boost customer engagement, and promote financial literacy – with a particular focus on Millennial and Gen Z customers.

Courtesy of the acquisition, Long Game’s team of engineers, designers, and business leaders will join Truist’s innovation team. Holden will lead a San Francisco, California-based crew of engineers, product managers, and designers as they develop new client-centric solutions.

“At Truist we are laser-focused on shaping the future of finance with innovative people and products – and democratizing entrepreneurial opportunity while we do it,” Vanessa Indriolo Vreeland of Truist Ventures said. “Long Game is a female-led business with a diverse team of incredibly talented innovators creating unique solutions to help people achieve financial confidence.”

The acquisition is designed to help Truist reach a younger demographic. Truist also sees Long Game’s technology as complementary to its workplace financial wellness program, Truist Momentum, that helps employees better manage their finances based on their goals and values. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist was formed in 2019 as a result of the merger between BB&T and SunTrust Banks. Truist is a publicly traded company on the NYSE under the ticker symbol TFC. The firm has a market capitalization of $66 billion.

Learn more about Long Game! Check out our interview with company co-founder and CEO Lindsay Holden on the Finovate Podcast with Greg Palmer.

Photo by Pixabay

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Fiserv Taps The Clearing House to Expand Access to Real-Time Payments

Fiserv Taps The Clearing House to Expand Access to Real-Time Payments
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Fiserv
  • Fiserv is leveraging a partnership with The Clearing House to help its bank clients offer real time payments.
  • Banks that integrate into Fiserv’s NOW Gateway will benefit from real time payments in peer-to-peer payments, interbank account transfers, billpay, and more.
  • The partnership comes as the U.S. Federal Reserve announced pilot participants of its own real time payments system, FedNow.

Fintech solutions provider Fiserv is in the fintech headlines today for its move to help its bank clients provide real time payments to their end users. The Wisconsin-based company is partnering with The Clearing House (TCH), which is allowing Fiserv’s bank customers to access its Real Time Payments (RTP) network via Fiserv’s NOW Gateway.

Banks can integrate into the NOW Gateway, which leverages the RTP network, to offer their clients a range of real time payments services, including peer-to-peer payments with Zelle, payouts for gig economy work and insurance claims, interbank account transfers, and real time bill payments. Ultimately, the move will allow financial institutions to send and receive real time payments on behalf of their customers over the RTP network, which connects to over 60% of bank accounts in the U.S.

“To remain competitive, financial institutions must offer real-time payment capabilities. That’s why we are committed to making real-time implementation easier for any financial institution, from regional bank to community bank, to credit union,” said Fiserv’s President of Digital Payments and Data Aggregation Matt Wilcox. “Our work with The Clearing House to integrate the RTP network with our NOW Gateway is the latest advancement towards this goal.”

Founded in 1853, TCH clears and settles more than $2 trillion a day through wire, ACH, check image, and real-time payments. The company’s RTP network facilitates real time payments by immediately clearing and settling payments. In the first quarter of this year, the network cleared almost 37 million transactions totaling almost $16 billion.

Today’s news comes as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s real time payments tool, FedNow, began onboarding pilot participants. Fiserv is among the first 120 pilot organizations, a list which also includes Finastra, Green Dot, Q2, Square, Temenos, and Visa. The purpose of the pilot is to establish connectivity and perform technical and operational tasks that will lay the groundwork for full-scale, end-to-end testing later this year.

Fiserv most recently demoed at FinovateWest 2020 where it showcased its Virtual Banking Assistant, a tool that helps banks deliver intelligent, AI-driven conversational experiences. With nearly 10,000 financial institution clients, the company facilitates 12,000 transactions each second. Frank Bisignano is president and CEO.

Photo by Monstera

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American Express Teams Up with Billtrust to Streamline Virtual Card Acceptance

American Express Teams Up with Billtrust to Streamline Virtual Card Acceptance
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, American Express, Daily news
  • American Express and Billtrust announced a partnership that will leverage automation to enhance acceptance of AMEX virtual cards.
  • The collaboration is designed to meet the accounts receivable (AR) needs of suppliers who are experiencing faster payments and increased cash flow.
  • A Finovate alum since 2015, American Express recently partnered with i2c to help fintechs and financial institutions develop solutions on its payments network.

A partnership between American Express and B2B accounts receivable (AR) automation and integrated payments innovator Billtrust will make it easier for suppliers to accept payments via AMEX’s virtual cards.

The integration, announced late last week, will enable suppliers to automate and accelerate virtual card payments and to benefit from real-time insight into their outstanding invoices and current cash flow. The partnership, according to AMEX President of U.S. Global Merchant Services Colleen Taylor, is designed to help suppliers keep pace with both an increased demand for products and services, as well as a need for faster, more efficient payment processes. This is due, Taylor suggested, in large part to the trend of businesses “moving away from paper-based payments to electronic payments for the greater visibility and speed they provide.”

Unfortunately, this trend of faster payments and larger cash flows also means that many companies have existing AR systems that are often inadequate. The partnership between American Express and Billtrust responds to this challenge by giving suppliers a complete solution that covers all aspects of the AR process, including credit decisioning, ordering, invoicing, payments, cash application, and collections. The partnership also will give suppliers access to Billtrust’s Business Payments Network (BPM), which boosts invoice and digital payment efficiency by connecting them with hundreds of buyers and buyer portals.

“Both Billtrust and American Express recognize the need to support merchants and suppliers in responding to buyer demands for digital payment options,” Billtrust CEO Flint Lane said. “This collaboration brings automation to American Express merchants and suppliers, helping create better outcomes and increased customer satisfaction.”

American Express has been a Finovate alum since 2015, when the company presented The role of B2B payments in the evolving commerce ecosystem at our developers conference, FinDEVr Silicon Valley. The company’s partnership news with Billtrust comes in the wake of a collaboration with digital payment and banking technology company i2c that will make it easier for fintechs and financial institutions to develop and scale products on AMEX’s global payments network. American Express trades on the NYSE under the ticker AXP, and has a market capitalization of $127 billion.

Photo by Taras Makarenko

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Personetics Teams Up with Ecolytiq to Launch New Sustainability Insights Offering

Personetics Teams Up with Ecolytiq to Launch New Sustainability Insights Offering
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Daily news, Personetics
  • Personetics launched its Sustainability Insights solution this week, giving consumers visibility into the carbon emissions of their spending and investments.
  • The new offering is made possible thanks to a partnership with sustainability-as-a-service company ecolytiq.
  • The launch of Sustainability Insights comes less than a month after the company introduced new proactive cash flow management functionality on its platform.

Financial data-driven personalization innovator Personetics announced the launch of a new offering, Sustainability Insights, to help financial institutions respond to consumer demand – and increasing expectations from regulators — for sustainable, environmentally-responsible, climate-aware finance. The new solution has been made possible courtesy of Personetics’ partnership with sustainability-as-a-service company ecolytiq, and will enable customers to see their own carbon footprint, as well as suggest ways they can reduce the impact of their transactions on the climate by pursuing greener spending options and financial objectives that are support climate sustainability.

“Personetics Sustainability Insights are the next evolution in sustainable finance,” Personetics CEO David Sosna said. “Beyond just showing back customers their carbon footprint, we offer them specific actions that they can take today to reduce their carbon impact, choose climate-friendly savings goals, and push the industry in a greener direction.”

Sustainability Insights offers consumers a personalized, holistic “financial map” that graphically shows the carbon emissions of customer spending and/or investments. The solution also offers personalized insights and advice, tailored to the customer’s financial profile, to help them reduce those carbon emissions. The recommendations range from the more modest, for example, transacting with a different, more eco-conscious merchant, to the more comprehensive, such as setting up a savings plan to pay for the installation of solar panels on a home. Sustainability Insights also leverages quizzes and feedback insights to enhance the accuracy of its recommendations. In a statement, Personetics noted that the solution is based on the company’s “four pillars of sustainable finance” strategy; namely, that the technology be integrated, relatable, interactive, and actionable.

Sustainability Insights is also designed to have benefits for banks and financial institutions, as well as for their customers. For one, Sosna highlighted the ability of the solution to improve customer engagement, and open up new opportunities for cross-selling. “This will create deeper relationships with banking customers and ultimately support banks’ ESG reporting,” Sosna explained. “Every financial institution can be a leader in green banking with Sustainability Insights.”

A Finovate alum since 2016, Personetics serves more than 80 financial institutions in 30 global markets, and reaches 120 million customers. An innovator in the field of financial data-driven personalization, customer engagement, and advanced money management capabilities for financial services, Personetics is dedicated to what it calls “the future of self-driving finance” in which banks are able to serve their customers’ financial wellness needs proactively.

Speaking of which, earlier this month Personetics introduced new “proactive cash flow management” capabilities on its platform. The offering is geared toward helping mitigate liquidity issues that customers face that often lead to overdrafts. Proactive cash flow management predicts 70% of overdraft situations, reduces the frequency of low balance incidents, provides personalized recommendations to help fix overdrafts, and helps enhance customer relationships with their financial institution, leading to higher customer lifetime value (CLV).

“Progressive banks all over the world are seeking new ways to help customers with their money management,” Jody Bhagat, President of Americas at Personetics, said when the cash flow management capabilities were launched. “By adopting a data-driven, personalized approach, banks can unleash their creativity in delivering tailored solutions and treatments that put customers’ financial wellness at the center of the experience.”

Photo by Lerkrat Tangsri

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Entersekt and Bonifii Team Up to Bring Context-Aware Authentication Solutions to Credit Unions

Entersekt and Bonifii Team Up to Bring Context-Aware Authentication Solutions to Credit Unions
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Entersekt
  • South African identity authentication specialist Entersket has teamed up with U.S. FX network Bonifii.
  • The partnership will give credit unions access to passwordless, context-based authentication technology.
  • The new solution, MemberPass Express, will provide multi-channel authentication in less than ten seconds.

Identity authentication provider Entersekt has announced a collaboration with U.S.-based foreign currency network Bonifii that will enable more credit unions to take advantage of new passwordless, context-aware authentication technology.

The new offering, MemberPass Express, will be made available via MemberPass, the first KYC-compliant, member-controlled digital identity issued by credit union cooperatives. MemberPass Express will enable credit union members to authenticate their identity during e-commerce, online, or mobile banking transactions, as well as while visiting a branch or contacting a call center. The new seamless authentication process, which provides multi-channel authentication in less than 10 seconds, is currently being piloted with a pair of credit unions.

“The joint new solution leverages artificial intelligence to protect members from fraud by analyzing the context (such as identity, behavior, location, device, and channel) of each user journey in real-time,” Entersekt CEO Schalk Nolte said. “This informs the most appropriate member authentication method that will be used, and means that members will now benefit from industry-leading authentication, while enjoying a fast and smooth user experience.”

A Finovate alum since its appearance at FinDEVr Silicon Valley in 2014, Entersekt in recent years has forged partnerships with edtech Mindjoy and the MiDO Foundation to support financial literacy in high schools, teamed up with Netcetera to bring new authentication options to Germany’s Hanseatic Bank, and announced a collaboration with open banking platform company ndgit that added Entersekt’s customer authentication and smart messaging solutions available via ndgit’s marketplace.

South Africa-based Entersekt ended 2021 with a major investment from technology-based private equity firm Accel-KKR. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Joe Porten, Principal at Accel-KKR, praised the company for its “deep vertical expertise” and its record of success in the financial services industry. “As a partner, Accel-KKR is committed to helping the Entersekt team accelerate growth and continually deliver innovation in their category.”

Photo by Eren Li

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Apex Fintech Solutions and Zogo Finance Partner on DIY Investor Education

Apex Fintech Solutions and Zogo Finance Partner on DIY Investor Education
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Zogo Finance
  • Zogo Finance announced a partnership with Apex Fintech Solutions to help promote financial literacy.
  • Clients of the two companies will be able to access more than 450 financial literacy-related educational modules.
  • Zogo Finance won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2019 in New York for its Teen Financial Literacy App.

Zogo Finance, which won Best of Show in its 2019 FinovateFall debut, announced a partnership with Apex Fintech Solutions that will help investors educate themselves on the fundamentals of sound money management. The collaboration will enable clients of both companies to access more than 450 learning modules on investing and financial literacy.

“Millennials and Gen Z are reinventing investing, which requires companies to adapt to their evolving interests, financial aspirations, and educational needs,” Zogo founder and CEO Bolun Li explained. “Apex shares our vision of harnessing technology to create customized, flexible, and accessible learning opportunities to support investors of all types.”

With more than 500,000 users and 180+ financial institution partners, Zogo leverages behavioral economic research – much of it developed at Duke University – to help improve youth financial literacy. The company’s app uses easy-to-comprehend lessons to educate users on complicated financial concepts, and offers rewards and incentives to encourage users to complete the coursework. Users can also earn rewards by taking positive financial actions such as logging into their mobile banking app, visiting a bank branch, or even using their debit or credit cards. Since inception, users of the Austin, Texas-based company’s technology have completed more than 16 million lessons, with the average Zogo users finishing 38 financial literacy courses.

“Our mission is all about democratizing finance through access – and education is a vital part of that,” Apex Fintech Solutions CEO Bill Capuzzi said. “Partnering with Zogo helps us empower our clients and their millions of customers.”

Founded in 2018, Zogo Finance forged 31 new partnerships with financial institutions in the first quarter of 2022. The company has raised $295,000 in funding from investors including MassChallenge and TechStars.

Photo by Pixabay

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Best of Show Winner Arkose Labs Launches New Fraud Detection Solution, Arkose Detect

Best of Show Winner Arkose Labs Launches New Fraud Detection Solution, Arkose Detect
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Arkose Labs, Daily news
  • Arkose Labs launched its new fraud detection solution, Arkose Detect.
  • The new offering was formerly an embedded component of the company’s Arkose Protect technology.
  • Arkose Labs won Best of Show at its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2019.

A new fraud detection solution from Arkose Labs called Arkose Detect will help prevent fraud attacks on consumer accounts as well as help businesses boost revenue by providing legitimate users with a seamless customer experience.

“Every company today is operating in the ‘decision economy,’ which is stimulated and fueled by data,” Arkose Labs Chief Product Officer Ashish Jain said. “We designed Arkose Detect to leverage the collective data from the world’s biggest companies so that those hard-to-suss-out fraud attacks can be easily detected. As fraud is constantly evolving, we have an ambitious product roadmap and will continue to innovate to stay ahead of threats.”

Arkose Detect was previously an embedded component of the company’s dynamic attack response solution, Arkose Protect. Now, in the wake of testing with major international businesses, Arkose Detect is being rolled out as its own product. Arkose Detect leverages AI to force fraudsters and cybercriminals to become increasingly sophisticated in their attacks. This raises the cost of their attacks against businesses defended with Arkose Detect, incentivizing fraudsters to go elsewhere.

Additionally, the new solution gives customers a risk score that allows them to adjust their own fraud models to better detect both automated, malicious bots as well as human-driven fraud attacks. Arkose Labs will also share the fraud data collected and analyzed by Arkose Detect with its customers in order to enable them to enhance their internal fraud prevention processes. Arkose Detect features more than 70 raw risk signals and more than 150 pre-built insights culled from Arkose Labs’ global network.

“In just six years, Arkose Labs has grown to boast a portfolio of category-leading customers across financial services, gaming, travel, ecommerce/retail, social media, and technology industries,” Arkose CEO and founder Kevin Gosschalk said. “And this is just an early chapter in our growth story. Our forecasted trajectory is exciting and attracting attention due to the efficiency of our core technology, on which Arkose Detect is built.”

A Finovate alum since its Best of Show-winning demo at FinovateSpring in 2019, Arkose Labs has since partnered with Bugcrowd to launch a private bug bounty program, introduced the industry’s first warranty against credential stuffing attacks, and unveiled a range of “significant updates” to its fraud detection platform including the development of Arkose Enforce, Arkose Insights, and Arkose Detect.

“The latest product enhancements include detection capabilities which are adapted to a world where attackers are spoofing devices and other identifying information,” Jain said when the updates were announced in October. “Customers also have easier access to the multi-layered risk insights that we use in our machine learning-powered decision engine.”

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Arkose Labs was founded in 2015. The company has raised more than $106 million in funding from investors including the SoftBank Vision Fund 2, M12 – Microsoft’s Venture Fund, and the Sony Innovation Fund, among others.

Photo by Rodolfo Clix

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