Alumni News

Thought Machine Taps Debt Resolution Innovator Flexys

Thought Machine Taps Debt Resolution Innovator Flexys
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Thought Machine
  • Thought Machine and Flexys announced a new partnership this week.
  • The partnership wil integrate Flexys Control+ debt management platform with Thought Machine’s core banking solution, Vault Core.
  • UK-based Thought Machine made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in London in 2018.

Core banking platform Thought Machine and debt management and collections company Flexys announced a new partnership this week. The partnership will integrate Flexys Control+ debt management platform with Thought Machine’s Vault Core.

Rising consumer debt levels and legacy technology in debt management have created processes that are labor-intensive, expensive, and inefficient. To this end, the real-time integration between platforms will enable banks to enhance their debt management capabilities and modernize their banking operations with a new core. Thought Machine’s Vault Core is a cloud-native, cloud-agnostic, API-first core banking platform. It features a Universal Product Engine that gives users a great deal of flexibility in the design of new financial products created by smart contracts. This is in addition to a sizable number of pre-built financial solutions. These range from savings accounts and credit cards to Islamic banking solutions and buy now pay later (BNPL) products.

“Banks can now benefit from a seamless cloud-native ecosystem, leaving behind the constraints of legacy systems to improve efficiency, minimize friction, and vastly improve the experience for customers in arrears,” Flexys CEO James Hill said.

For its part, Control+ automates and digitizes customer engagement. This improves efficiency. But it also makes it possible for agents to offer personalized, positive experiences for customers. Emphasizing engagement over confrontation, Control+’s “intelligent debt resolution” approach empowers collections agents while protecting businesses from reputational and regulatory risk.

“Thought Machine and Flexys are removing unnecessary burden and human error,” Flexys Global Head of Partnerships Randolph McFarlane said. “In turn, this enables banks to better serve their customers, providing a superior experience in a time when customer expectations are higher than ever.”

Bristol-based Flexys was founded in 2016. In recent months, the company has forged partnerships with TSB Bank and Virgin Money. In both instances, Flexys helped the institutions manage Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) repayments and Pay As You Grow (PAYG) options.

Thought Machine finished 2023 with a partnership with Mexico-based fintech Trafalgar. The partnership marked Thought Machine’s first collaboration in Mexico, and is designed to help Trafalgar better serve its SME customers. Additionally, the company plans to launch its new Thought Machine-powered platform in Q2 of this year. Trafalgar will also leverage Thought Machine’s technology to develop and offer additional financial services ranging from virtual cards to point-of-sale (POS) systems.

Founded in 2014, Thought Machine made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in London in 2018. The company has raised more than $562 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. Thought Machine includes Temasek Holdings and Intesa Sanpaolo among its investors. Paul Taylor is CEO.

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 Pixabay

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Alkami and Chimney Help Customers Manage the Asset Side of Homeownership

Alkami and Chimney Help Customers Manage the Asset Side of Homeownership
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alkami Technology, Alumni News, Chimney, Daily news
  • A pair of Finovate alums – Alkami and Chimney – announced a strategic partnership this week.
  • The partnership will help banks offer their customers actionable advice on their home’s value, equity, and their borrowing power.
  • Alkami is one of Finovate’s earliest alums, demoing as “iThryv” in 2009. Chimney has won Finovate Best of Show honors twice since 2021.

A newly announced strategic partnership between digital banking solutions provider Alkami and two-time Finovate Best of Show winner Chimney will help banks better serve their homeowner customers as they seek information about their home’s value, home equity, and their own borrowing power. The partnership will make it easier for financial institutions to leverage digital banking to give homeowners the financial tools, data, and insights they need to understand and manage their home as not just a home, but as a financial asset, as well.

Chimney’s tools and APIs enable users to track home value, borrowing power, and access home equity from within the bank’s app. The combination of Chimney’s property data and Alkali’s financial health data gives financial institutions the resources they need to boost user engagement, cross-sell, personalize offers, and better compete against third-party real estate websites and others.

“Alkami believes innovation unlocks new growth opportunities and enhances account holder experiences” Alkami co-founder and chief strategy and product officer Stephen Bohanon said. “Chimney’s platform exemplifies this and delivers a tool that supports homeowners’ financial journeys and deepens relationships.”

Founded in 2020, Chimney is headquartered in New York. The company won Best of Show last September at FinovateFall with a demo of its Chimney Home solution. Chimney Home gives homeowners actionable advice on their home value, equity, and buying power from within their banking app. The solution offers convenience for homeowners and helps FIs better engage them with relevant, personalized offers.

As Signal Intent, the company won its first Best of Show award in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2021. The firm rebranded as Chimney two years ago.

One of Finovate’s earliest alums, Alkami first demoed on the Finovate stage in 2009 as “iThryv.” Since then, the Plano, Texas-based fintech has become a major digital banking solutions provider for regional banks and credit unions. Last month alone, Alkami announced new partnerships with Credit Union of Texas and New York-based Quontic Bank. In November, Alkami teamed up with fellow Finovate alum Plaid.

Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

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Trust & Will Closes Earned Equity Investment Deal with Comcast’s Forecast Labs

Trust & Will Closes Earned Equity Investment Deal with Comcast’s Forecast Labs
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Trust & Will
  • Trust & Will has landed an earned equity investment with Comcast’s venture arm, Forecast Labs.
  • Under the agreement, Forecast Labs will promote Trust & Will nationally via TV advertisements to reach new audiences.
  • Trust & Will was founded in 2017 and has raised $48 million.

Digital estate planning and settlement platform Trust & Will is adding to its resources this week. The California-based company has inked an earned equity investment deal with Comcast’s venture arm Forecast Labs.

Unlike a traditional equity investment, the earned equity investment is not a cash investment. Instead, under today’s agreement, Trust & Will will benefit from non-monetary resources from Forecast Labs. For example, Forecast Labs may contribute expertise, services, or assets, in exchange for equity ownership in Trust & Will. In other words, instead of providing cash upfront, Forecast Labs will earn its equity stake by delivering a specified value to the business.

Specifically in this case, Forecast Labs will promote Trust & Will nationally via TV advertisements to gain brand awareness in fresh market segments of consumers who may be less likely to have a will. As Forecast Labs Managing Director Arjun Kapur explained, “With this investment, we will play a pivotal role in introducing Trust & Will to people who have otherwise been priced out of estate planning or have had to deal with outdated ways of managing their wills and trusts.”

Trust & Will, which won Best of Show accolades at FinvoateFall last year and has raised $48 million across eight rounds of funding, was founded in 2017 as a digital-first way for users to create wills and trusts inexpensively online. Since launch, the company has helped 700,000+ families plan their own future and settle the estates of loved ones. There is plenty of room for growth in the U.S. market, however. More than 60% of Americans do not have a will.

“As we look ahead at our goals for growth in 2024,” said Trust & Will CEO and Founder Cody Barbo, “I am excited to start working with Forecast Labs to put our business in front of more Americans who have otherwise been left out. Estate planning is too important of a topic for so many people to neglect until it’s arguably too late.”

Trust & Will’s marriage of fintech and legaltech isn’t unique to the fintech world, but it is not all that common. While the fintech sphere often focuses on financial transactions and management, the incorporation of legaltech solutions like those of Trust & Will is a promising convergence of sectors. This year, we will likely see growth of fintechs in the regtech and legaltech arenas, as startups seek green pastures for innovation.

Photo by Melinda Gimpel on Unsplash

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Best of Show Winner 10x Banking Teams Up with Mortgage Origination Platform Mast

Best of Show Winner 10x Banking Teams Up with Mortgage Origination Platform Mast
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: 10x Banking, Alumni News, Alumni profile, Daily news

The partnership between core banking platform, 10x Banking, and mortgage origination platform, Mast, will enable real-time connectivity between the two systems. This connectivity will be a boon for lenders, who will benefit from streamlined data exchange. It will also deliver the kind of real-time mortgage servicing that eliminates the need for – and potential complications of – manual data entry between multiple systems.

“This partnership represents a key milestone in how we support the transformation of the UK mortgage and building societies market,” 10x VP and Global Head of GTM and Partnerships Frederico Venturer said. “This integration will enable customer-facing innovation that rethinks the mortgage lifecycle using cloud-native tools, unlocking new growth opportunities for our clients.”

The collaboration comes with an API integration guide on 10x Docs. The guide gives mortgage lenders in the UK a fast and straightforward integration path. The guide includes a number of different integration scenarios that are particularly germane to UK’s mortgage market. These scenarios include product creation and account onboarding.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with 10x and provide seamless integration for UK mortgage institutions,” Mast CEO Joy Abisaab said. “Together, we empower UK lenders to unlock new levels of operational efficiency and enable the delivery of exceptional customer experiences.”

London-based Mast offers cloud-native mortgage technology infrastructure that enables lenders to boost capacity, lower costs, and enhance operational controls. The company has helped clients reach more than 20% increases in conversion from Decision in Principal (DIP) to completion. Mast’s technology has also facilitated a more than 70% increase in lending for its customers – without adding operational capacity.

Founded in 2016, 10x Banking won Best of Show in its Finovate debut last year at FinovateEurope. In its live demo, the company demonstrated its 10x SuperCore Cards solution. This innovation enables banks to leverage the 10x Bank Manager interface to build a card proposition in minutes.

10x Banking’s partnership news comes shortly after the company announced a collaboration with B2B lend tech company Trade Ledger. A real-time API connection between Trade Ledger’s data platform and 10x Banking’s SuperCore platform will allow banks and alternative lenders bring complex working capital solutions to market quickly. These solutions include invoice, receivables, and supply chain finance products.

10x Banking also teamed up with compliant open banking API technology provider Ozone API late last year. The integration will enable banks to combine real-time banking capabilities with a solution that helps them take advantage of open banking. Ozone API co-founder and CEO Huw Davies praised the way the partnership will “make it easier for banks to reduce complexity in their tech stack, allowing banks to comply with any global open banking standards, so they can focus on accelerating growth and value creation.”

10x Banking has raised more than $252 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. The company’s investors include BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase.

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 Alexander Isreb

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SaveAway Launches “24 in 24” to Help Consumers to SaveAway Now, Buy Soon

SaveAway Launches “24 in 24” to Help Consumers to SaveAway Now, Buy Soon
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, inSpirAVE

SaveAway is celebrating the season with its “$24 to Ring in ’24 program. The new offering, timed for the New Year, will put $12 in the SaveAway wallet of new sign ups and another $12 for any referral who signs up and completes a SaveAway plan. That’s $24 for new users who bring along a referral now through January 2024.

In an email, CEO and founder Om Kundu explained the thinking behind the “$24 to Ring in ’24” plan. “The $24 to ring in 2024 initiative is a recognition for those joining the remarkable company of our pioneering users and partners who have seen the merits of SaveAway first-hand,” Kundu said.

“SaveAway is social by design, as well as its proprietary engineering – $24 to Ring in ’24 is the celebratory spirit to recognize, and make the opportunity for our users to refer other SaveAway users that much more rewarding.”

The company’s “SaveAway Now, Buy Soon” approach offers a departure from the world of Buy Now, Pay Later. The social saving and retail e-commerce platform enables consumers to buy important purchases responsibly, without having to rely on credit.

In this way, the solution combines intelligent financial planning with a sustainable path-to-purchase. The platform’s social gifting functionality enables members of the user’s trusted social network of friends and family to both support sensible spending as well as help users make purchases that they cannot afford on their own.

Users have praised the ease with which they can invite friends and family to participate in the spending process – voting on options and gifting toward the eventual purchase. The SaveAway platform also lets users see the progress they are making toward their purchase goal based on their personalized savings plan.

SaveAway made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2016. Earlier this year, Kundu facilitated the Fintech and E-Commerce Meetup at the SXSW conference, and the Retail Transformation+Evolution at the NRF Big Show Table Talk. Also this year, NYCEDC tapped SaveAway as a recipient of its Founder Fellowship. The fellowship offers resources for technology entrepreneurs from historically underrepresented backgrounds.

SaveAway will begin 2024 as a presenter at VentureCrushFGX having been selected to the 14th cohort of the VentureCrushFG Pod. Run by the Tech Group at legal firm Lowenstein Sandler, VentureCrush offers programs and events for startup founders and investors. The Wall Street Journal ranked Lowenstein Sandler as one of the top five most active law firms in the U.S. in terms of the number of VC/PE deals completed.

Check out our extended Q&A with Om Kundu on making sense of spending, saving, and financial wellness.

Photo by Pixabay

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Ping Payments Partners with Open Banking Innovator Neonomics

Ping Payments Partners with Open Banking Innovator Neonomics
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Neonomics
  • Payment provider Ping Payments has forged a partnership with open banking technology company Neonomics.
  • Via the partnership, Neonomics will manage end-user consents and account-to-account payments for Ping Payments.
  • Neonomics made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin. The company is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.

Ping Payments has announced a partnership with open banking technology company Neonomics. The Swedish payment provider will leverage its new relationship with Neonomics to enhance its account-to-account payment capabilities, identity verification, and compliance operations.

“Reach, market insight, and technical viability were paramount in our selection of a partner for expanding our services,” Ping Payments CEO Petter Sehlin said. “Neonomics has consistently demonstrated high quality throughout our relationship, and we are excited to expand our offering outside of Sweden across the Nordics with Neonomics.”

Courtesy of the partnership, Neonomics will manage end-user consents and account-to-account (A2A) payments for Ping Payments. Additionally, the partnership will feature open banking powered identity verification, a significant value-add when combined with account-to-account payment functionality. A specialist in providing payment solutions for platforms, SaaS companies, and marketplaces, Ping Payments will gain from Neonomics connections to Nordic-area banks, leveraging the company’s open banking API platform to reach FIs in Norway, Denmark, and Finland.

Neonomics founder and CEO Christoffer Andvig spoke to this aspect of the partnership in his comments. Andvig said, “With our advanced account verification solutions designed to mitigate risks and safeguard transactions, we will together strengthen payment and compliance processes across all customer touchpoints – bringing a future where transactions are inherently secure and seamless for all participants in the Nordic markets.”

Neonomics made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin, Germany. At the conference, the company demoed its technology that enables users to trigger instant payments and transfers from their bank, directly from an app or website.

Neonomics’ partnership news with Ping Payments comes just weeks after the company announced another collaboration, this time with Carbon Centrum. The goal of this partnership is to leverage open banking to help reduce carbon emissions. Also this year, Neononics announced that it was working with BetterNow to use open banking to enhance digital fundraising.

Both Ping Payments and Neonomics were founded in 2017. Ping Payments is based in Örebro, Sweden. Neonomics is based in Oslo, Norway.

Looking to demo your latest fintech innovation? Apply now to demo at FinovateEurope in London, February 27 and 28, 2024. Visit our FinovateEurope hub for more information.

Photo by pichet wong

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Liquidnet Integrates bondIT’s Scorable Credit Analytics to Help Traders Anticipate Trends

Liquidnet Integrates bondIT’s Scorable Credit Analytics to Help Traders Anticipate Trends
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, BondIT, Daily news

Agency execution specialist Liquidnet has turned to investment technology company bondIT to give new tools to traders on its Fixed Income electronic trading platform. Liquidnet will leverage bondIT’s Scorable Credit Analytics to help traders better anticipate market trends. The technology will also help them mitigate credit risk and make more informed decisions quicker.

“With this integration, our goal is to give access to crucial information to investment firms of all sizes,” Liquidnet Global Head of Fixed Income Product and Partnership Programs Nicholas Stephan explained. “Our members will have seamless access to a wide range of credit data giving them an extra edge ahead of making their trading decisions.”

Scorable Credit Analytics leverages data science, Explainable AI, and machine learning to help fixed income investors anticipate changes in credit ratings and spreads. The solution predicts downgrade and upgrade probability for 3,000+ rated corporate and financial issuers worldwide. Using insights such as these, traders can spot investment opportunities earlier and outperform peers. Courtesy of explainable AI, Scorable ensures transparency and allows users to understand the reasons behind the predictions. The integration will benefit Liquidnet’s 700+ member firms that access the platform’s primary and secondary market trading protocols for corporate bonds.

“Bonds are back, but so is risk,” bondIT Head of Global Client Business Dr. David Curtis said. “Technology becomes an ever more important ally in this dynamic financial landscape. The synergy between bondIT’s AI-driven Scorable Credit Analytics and Liquidnet’s platform empowers traders with actionable insights, enabling them to stay ahead in today’s volatile markets.”

Founded in 1999, Liquidnet is an institutional trading network headquartered in New York. More than 1,000 institutional investors in 49 markets across six continents use Liquidnet’s technology. Interdealer broker TP ICAP acquired the company in 2021 for $700 million.

Note that Liquidnet is not the first company this year to deploy bondIT’s Scorable solution. Wealth management solution provider First Rate announced a strategic partnership with bondIT in June. The Arlington, Texas-based firm integrated Scorable Credit Analytics into its own AI-driven reporting tool.

bondIT made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2016. In the years since, the Israel-based fintech has grown into a 50+ person team, and partnered with some of the world’s leading asset managers, banks, and technology firms. In addition to Scorable Credit Analytics, bondIT offers two other solutions: Frontier and Embedded. Frontier provides data-driven, personalized, fixed income portfolio management. Embedded is bondIT’s end-to-end, integrated portfolio construction, research, and trading solution.

The company began the year with news that Fundamentum Investment Management had begun using bondIT’s portfolio optimization and credit research solution. This partnership came in the wake of bondIT securing $14 million in funding in a round led by BNY Mellon. The investment gave bondIT total equity capital of more than $32 million, according to Crunchbase. Within months, the company’s relationship with BNY Mellon paid off. In September, BNY Mellon Pershings launched its fixed income research, management, and trading tool, BondWise, powered by bondIT.

bondIT was founded in 2012. Etai Ravid is founder and CEO.

Photo by Pixabay

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Finovate Alums Raised More Than $307 Million in Q4; $1.2 Billion in 2023

Finovate Alums Raised More Than $307 Million in Q4; $1.2 Billion in 2023
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, Fundings, Quarterly Funding

Finovate alums raised more than $1.2 billion in equity funding in 2023. The total funding for the year reflects the continued slowdown in fintech funding that began in 2022.

Previous Annual Comparisons

In the fourth quarter of 2023, eleven Finovate alums raised more than $307 million in equity funding. Note, however, that this sum does not include the equity portion of the investment secured by SumUp, for example. The quarterly total also does not include the investment received by Icon Solutions, the amount of which was undisclosed.

Previous Quarterly Comparisons

  • Q4 2022: More than $380 million raised by 15 alums
  • Q4 2021: More than $1.2 billion raised by seven alums
  • Q4 2020: More than $472 million raised by 17 alums
  • Q4 2019: More than $876 million raised by 21 alums
  • Q4 2018: More than $800 million raised by 19 alums

Nevertheless, the fourth quarter alumni fundraising total approximates that of both last year’s Q4 and the final quarter of 2020.

Top Quarterly Equity Investments

  • Adlumin: $70 million
  • Paysend: $65 million
  • Scalable Capital: $64.7 million

Three investments in the fourth quarter of 2023 stood out among the others: Adlumin, Paysend, and Scalable Capital all announced fundraisings of more than $60 million in Q4. Also noteworthy was the $40 million raised by Stash in October.

Combined, the top three quarterly equity investments from our alums represent more than 65% of the total alum funding haul for Q4 2023.

Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q4 2023.

October 2023: $68 million raised by three alums

November 2023: $145 million raised by three alums

December 2023: More than $94 million raised by five alums

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the fourth quarter of 2023, and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.

Photo by Dom J

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Digital Conversations Platform Eltropy Teams Up with Magnifi Financial

Digital Conversations Platform Eltropy Teams Up with Magnifi Financial
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Eltropy
  • Digital conversations platform Eltropy announced a partnership with Magnifi Financial.
  • The two companies will work to build and launch Generative AI-based solutions for employees, customers, and members of community financial institutions.
  • Eltropy most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2022 in New York.

Digital conversations platform Eltropy and Magnifi Financial are working together to launch Generative AI solutions to enhance employee training and improve the customer/member experience. Eltropy’s Generative AI tools are powered by large language models (LLMs) that are specifically designed for community financial institutions (CFIs). These tools have enabled CFIs to bring new efficiency to their operations and greater personalization to the products and services they offer. Speaking about the partnership in a statement, Magnifi Financial SVP for IT and Digital Brad Shafton highlighted the fact that Eltropy’s technology is especially geared toward the needs of community financial institutions.

“What sets Eltropy apart is not just their technology but also their dedication to understanding the credit union industry and their commitment to community financial institutions like ours,” Shafton said. “They continue to evolve, and that’s why we consider them a long-term partner, including for AI.”

Magnifi will deploy Eltropy’s technology in a number of ways, including enhancing the firm’s mortgage and lending operations. Additionally, Eltropy’s ChatGRT-style Employee Assistants enable customer-facing financial services workers – from contact center agents to tellers – to access vetted, verified customer data. The technology also automates tasks like e-mail response generation, using natural conversational language.

To this end, Eltropy co-founder and CEO Ashish Garg said that solutions based on Generative AI have the potential to provide credit unions and community banks with new “innovative ways to thrive.” Garg added, “Eltrophy’s generative AI tools are empowering forward-thinking CFIs to achieve this by accelerating and enhancing employee knowledge training, improving the member experience and ultimately fueling growth.”

Eltropy made its most recent Finovate appearance last year at FinovateFall 2022. The company’s partnership with Magnifi Financial follows news of a collaboration with fellow Finovate alum Jack Henry from earlier this month, and an integration with Fiserv’s full-service account processing platform Portico in November. In August, Eltropy teamed up with yet another Finovate alum, Alkami, to enhance digital conversations for financial institutions.

Headquartered in Milpitas, California, Eltropy has raised $25 million in funding. The company includes K1 Investment Management and Curql among its investors.

Photo by Shane Aldendorff

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Meniga Lands $16.5 Million to Drive New Strategy

Meniga Lands $16.5 Million to Drive New Strategy
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, Meniga
  • Meniga has raised $16.5 million (€15 million) in Series D funding, bringing its total raised to $60.5 million (€55 million).
  • The round will be used to fuel the company’s new strategy that focuses on creating hyper-personalized insights and enabling payments capabilities that leverage open finance ecosystems for financial services companies.
  • Meniga is pursuing the new strategy after appointing Raj Soni as new CEO earlier this year.

Personal finance solutions fintech Meniga has landed $16.5 million (€15 million) in Series D funding.

Today’s round boosts the U.K.-based company’s total funding to $60.5 million (€55 million). Contributors include major European banks, Groupe BPCE and Crédito Agrícola, Omega ehf, and several existing shareholders.

Just as notable as the investment is what the funds will be used for. Meniga plans to use the round to fuel the company’s new strategy that focuses on creating data enrichment and hyper-personalized insights for financial services companies. Meniga will also shift to emphasize enabling payments capabilities that leverage open banking and open finance ecosystems for financial services firms.

The new strategy hatched after the company appointed Raj Soni as the new CEO earlier this year. Soni’s aim to simplify Meniga’s product portfolio, diversify into verticals beyond banks, target new customers in emerging markets, and create new operational hubs to drive growth and offer customer support.

“We are looking forward to seeing [Meniga’s] continued focus on enrichment as well as personalized insights,” said Groupe BPCE Chief Digital Officer Emmanuel Puga Pereira. “These capabilities are critical for all BPCE banks to effectively engage with their end users and we have seen firsthand how Meniga’s solution is a key component for banks to succeed.”

Meniga notes that part of today’s funding will also be used for clearing the company’s debt, which will make Meniga almost debt-free.

Founded in 2009, Meniga empowers digital banking experiences for 10 million end users and serves more than 100 million banking customers across 30 countries in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia. Among the company’s clients are UOB, UniCredit, Groupe BPCE, Crédito Agrícola, Swedbank, and Commercial Bank of Dubai.

Meniga is among many fintechs and financial services firms that are shifting their focus to operate in the new open finance economy, where accessibility, data-driven insights, and personalized experiences reign supreme. Meniga’s strategic pivot underscores the industry-wide recognition that open banking and open finance will transform financial services for the better. It also sets a precedent for customer-centric developments going forward into 2024.

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Allied Payment Network Partners with MY CREDIT UNION

Allied Payment Network Partners with MY CREDIT UNION
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Allied Payment Network, Alumni News, Daily news
  • Payments solutions company Allied Payment Network has partnered with MY CREDIT UNION of Bloomington, Minnesota.
  • The partnership will integrate Allied’s payment technology with the credit union’s Ultracs digital banking platform.
  • Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Allied Payment Network made its Finovate debut in 2013.

Payments solutions provider Allied Payment Network will integrate its technology with MY CREDIT UNION’s Ultracs digital banking platform courtesy of a new partnership.

“Financial institutions like MY CREDIT UNION serve a critical role in their communities,” Allied Payment Network CEO Geoff Knapp said. “Their members aren’t just numbers; they’re neighbors and friends. They are allies for their community and we’re proud to be an ally for them.”

Headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota, MY CREDIT UNION specializes in providing its members with financial wellness and banking solutions that “educate, empower, and engage.” Founded in 1957, MY CREDIT UNION has $380 million in assets, and serves its members via four branches as well as online.

MY CREDIT UNION President Greg Worthen credited Allied Payment Network for being a “community-focused organization.” He noted that this factor, among others, is what helped seal the deal. “With the combination of two, state-of-the-art platforms like Ultracs and Allied,” he said, “we’re confident we’ll be able to give our members the superior mobile-first experience they expect.”

Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Allied Payment Network made its Finovate debut in 2013 at FinovateSpring. Since then, the company has grown into a major paytech leader with 500 bank and credit union customers. Allied Payment Network offers a real-time, open-network payments model, and features a broad range of online and mobile solutions. These products and services include online billpay, P2P fund transfer, PicturePay, BizPay, PortalPay, A2A fund transfer, and Vault, a digital document storage solution.

In 2022, the company processed $3.6 billion in payment volume. This year, Allied Payment Network has forged partnerships with fellow Finovate alum Q2 in May, First Farmers Bank & Trust and Central Payments in June, Washington-based Commencement Bank and South Carolina-based United Community in September, and marketing firm Murphy & Company in October. The company also made a pair of C-suite hires in 2023. Allied began the year adding Kathi Klawitter as Chief Operating Officer. In July, the company introduced new Chief Information Security Officer James Dixon.

Allied Payment Network has raised more than $8 million in funding. The company includes Plymouth Growth among its investors.

Photo by Steven Van Elk

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Ncontracts Acquires Quantivate for Undisclosed Amount

Ncontracts Acquires Quantivate for Undisclosed Amount
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Mergers & Acquisitions, Ncontracts

Risk management and compliance solutions provider Ncontracts has acquired Quantivate this week. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Quantivate, which provides governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions for banks and credit unions, was founded in 2005. Quantivate’s flagship offering is its Business Continuity Software. Today, the company has a suite of governance, risk, and compliance management solutions, including ERM Intelligence, Compliance, Operational Resilience, IT Risk, Procurement, Audit, and more.

“Quantivate has always believed in the power of innovative technology and exceptional people to help banks and credit unions thrive,” said Quantivate Founder and CEO Andy Vanderhoff. “Ncontracts shares this mission, and I’m excited to watch as the strength and experience of our united teams take risk management solutions to the next level.”

With today’s acquisition, Ncontracts aims to position it as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) and knowledge-as-a-service (KaaS) leader. Quantivate’s GRC solutions and broader suite covering areas like ERM Intelligence, Compliance, IT Risk, and more, strengthen Ncontracts’ portfolio by enhancing its capabilities in addressing the complex needs of financial institutions.

This acquisition not only expands Ncontracts’ workforce to 350 employees and customer base to 4,000 financial services companies, but it also emphasizes the industry’s increasing reliance on sophisticated risk management solutions.

Ncontracts was founded in 2009 and specializes in risk, vendor, and compliance management software for financial services companies. The company currently serves more than 4,000 financial services organizations, including Tinker Federal Credit Union, Columbia Bank, Security Bank of Kansas City, and more. Earlier this fall, Ncontracts teamed up with fellow Finovate alum True Digital to enhance banks’ vendor data.

Ncontracts most recently demoed at FinovateFall 2022 where the company debuted Nrisk, an online risk management solution that strengthens compliance controls in real time. Tools like these are especially imperative to financial services firms in today’s regulatory environment in which regulators have increased their scrutiny of enterprise risk management practices.

“We are thrilled to join forces with Quantivate,” said Ncontracts founder and CEO Michael Berman. “We are both mutually committed to helping financial institutions reduce risk, improve compliance, and control costs, so combining our resources empowers us to be an even better provider of software and services for our customers and the financial industry.”

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