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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but the companies have been partners since the spring of 2022.
ThetaRay made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2015.
AI-powered financial crime detection technology company, ThetaRay, has acquired European screening company, Screena. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Screena specializes in screening individuals, companies, and other entities against sanctioned party lists. The company’s APIs support syntactic, phonetic, and semantic matching, as well as multicultural recognition services. Each of these technologies is valuable at a time when more companies and financial institutions are taking advantage of opportunities in cross-border payments and trade.
From navigating spelling differences and out-of-order components to comprehending multiple alphabets including Arabic, Cyrillic, Chinese, and Thai, Screena has a near 100% true detection rate and screens 500+ transactions per second in live conditions. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Luxembourg, Screena helps financial institutions identify bad actors who may be engaged in activities ranging from money laundering to drug trafficking to terrorist financing.
Screena CEO Cédric Iggiotti said that the integration with ThetaRay was a “game-changer” for the company. “For too long, screening was siloed from other critical financial crime detection tools,” Iggiotti said. “Our partnership with ThetaRay not only meets stringent regulatory demands but also significantly enhances our crime detection capabilities, as evidenced by our recent successes with major financial institutions.”
ThetaRay and Screena have been partners since the spring of 2022, when ThetaRay chose the startup as its screening solutions partner. In a statement on this week’s acquisition, ThetaRay CEO Peter Reynolds spoke of the company’s “mission to power the global fight against financial crime” through the use of AI-enabled technologies. He added that the acquisition “furthers our commitment to delivering an end-to-end platform that enables banks, fintechs, and regulators to effectively identify financial crime – vital capabilities to grow and operate a financial institution today.”
Israel-based ThetaRay made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2015. Today, the company has more than one billion users, enables more than 11 billion in trusted transactions a year, and monitors more than $15 trillion in transactions annually. The company’s signature offerings include its transaction monitoring and screening solution, SONAR, as well as its Customer Risk Assessment (CRA) product unveiled earlier this year.
Reynolds was named CEO of the company last summer. He succeeds Mark Gazit, who had been ThetaRay’s CEO for more than 11 years.
Texas-based Vantage Bank announced this week it has tapped financial risk control platform Cable to facilitate the bank’s compliance and risk management program.
This partnership comes as Vantage Bank seeks to grow its fintech program and partnerships in today’s tightened regulatory environment. In recent years, there have been multiple banks offering embedded banking that have faced regulatory action over their offerings.
Given this heightened oversight, Vantage Bank has enhanced its compliance program by engaging with embedded banking experts to ensure it meets current standards. The bank said that it chose Cable because it offered an all-in-one tool to help firms keep up with evolving regulatory requirements in the U.S.
“Embedded Banking is under intense scrutiny from regulators,” said Cable CEO Natasha Vernier. “Vantage Bank is incredibly smart to get ahead of that scrutiny by building a best-in-class compliance program right at the outset. We are delighted that they chose Cable as part of that program, and we are excited to work with them and learn from them over the coming years.”
U.K.-based Cable was founded in 2020 to offer a financial risk control platform with automated effectiveness testing and real-time alerts that help clients manage, track, and have full oversight of the controls. The company’s initial value proposition was to help firms manage financial crime. Since then, Cable has doubled down on helping partner banks, including Axiom Bank, Quaint Oak Bank, and Griffin, manage their fintech programs. Last November, Cable unveiled Transaction Assurance, a new tool to automate effectiveness testing and ensure that all transactions are monitored and tested for potential regulatory breaches or control failures.
“Vantage believes there is tremendous opportunity to grow and diversify our customer base by leveraging embedded banking,” said Vantage Bank President and CEO Jeff Sinnott. “This opportunity requires that we have a robust risk management program and strong controls to ensure regulatory compliance. Vantage Bank believes Cable is the best platform to help manage our risk and compliance for our embedded banking program.”
Vernier, along with Cable’s Sales Lead Julian Brophy, demoed the company’s technology at FinovateFall 2022 in New York. The company started the year by launching a new integration option with identity risk management platform Alloy. The move allows Cable to seamlessly retrieve essential data from Alloy that feeds into Cable’s effectiveness testing checks.
Core banking platform 10x Banking released its first “meta core” platform for banks.
10x Banking’s meta core will enable banks and financial services companies to accelerate their digital transformations.
10x Banking won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2023.
Cloud-native core banking platform 10x Bankinglaunched a new category of core banking technology today. The company’s new “meta core” is designed to help banks and financial services companies accelerate their digital transformations.
“From my experience, running a bank is all about managing risks, and we’ve designed our meta core to specifically remove the key risks that banks face when upgrading their core,” 10x Banking Founder and CEO Antony Jenkins said. “10x Banking is the first company in the world to offer a ‘meta core,’ which for the first time gives banks a clear roadmap to full transformation.”
10x Banking’s meta core enables banks and system integrators to focus development efforts exclusively on high-value code. By abstracting away common product elements, including the core ledger, the new platform empowers banks to create and maintain as little as 2,000 lines of code for a single customized banking product. This represents a reduction of up to 10x in code base compared to neo-code platforms. The difference is even bigger compared to legacy cores, where the reduction in code base can be as high as 10,000x.
Key to these efficiency gains is the firm’s development tool ProductKit, which is built on 10x Banking’s SuperCore technology. ProductKit features a set of pre-built modules which abstract away the complexity that comes with building deposit and lending products for retail, SME, and corporate banking customers. The platform also puts a premium on the developer experience. Developers can fully customize all of the pre-built modules at every level using any coding language. This helps teams quickly create highly customized banking solutions and experiences without excessive costs or extensive development resources.
“The ‘meta core’ provides banks with the best of all worlds,” Jenkins added, “flexibility on the one hand and unlimited scalability on the other hand. The benefits are much faster speed to market, enterprise-grade security, the ability to unlock data for AI, and a lower cost base.”
London-based 10x Banking won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2023. At the event, 10x Banking demoed its 10x SuperCore Cards solution, which enables banks to build a card proposition in minutes using its 10x Bank Manager interface. The technology empowers financial institutions to build and launch enterprise-grade, full stack functional card business solutions in as little as 12 weeks.
10x Banking began the year securing a $45 million investment in a round led by existing investors BlackRock and J.P. Morgan. The funding took the company’s total equity capital to $297 million, according to Crunchbase. Also in January, 10x Banking announced a partnership with mortgage origination platform Mast, enabling real-time connectivity between the two systems. 10x Banking includes challenger bank Chase UK, Westpac, and Old Mutual, the second largest financial services company in Africa, among its customers.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global highlights recent fintech news from Singapore.
Monetary Authority of Singapore announced plans to invest $74.36 million (100 million Singaporean dollars) to fund quantum computing and AI projects. The funding is part of the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Grant Scheme (FSTI 3.0) designed to support banks and other financial institutions as they innovate and develop capabilities in both quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
This month’s investment comes in the wake of a $110 million infusion into FSTI back in August 2023. The FSTI 3.0 was launched in 2022 as part of an effort to fortify and future-proof Singapore’s position as a major international fintech hub. MAS originally pledged 150 million Singaporean dollars to the scheme over a three-year period, and this month’s investment is an addition to that amount. The scheme is live until March 2026, but could be extended.
Given the emphasis on AI in financial services of late, MAS’s interest in quantum computing and its applications for banks and financial services companies is especially noteworthy. MAS will support eligible financial institutions with up to 50% funding for the construction of quantum computing technology centers. Companies that develop quantum computing-based cybersecurity solutions can receive up to 30% in co-funding.
With regard to AI, MAS is also supporting the development of AI innovation centers. Again, one of the main areas of emphasis is cybersecurity, which MAS identified as a use case for the first pilot project. Noting that AI tools have become “more widely accessible” and that “financial institutions have been progressively adopting AI,” MAS also observed that the degree of “AI-readiness and adoption” across financial institutions in Singapore is uneven. The AI component of FSTI 3.0 is designed in large part to remedy this.
Blockchain-based financial infrastructure company Partior has raised more than $60 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Peak XV Partners (previously known as Sequoia Capital India & SEA). Valor Capital Group and Jump Trading Group also participated as new investors along with existing shareholders J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, and Temasek.
Founded in 2021, the Singapore-based company offers banks unified, ledger-based interbank rails for real-time clearing and settlement. Partior’s 24/7 blockchain network works with real-time local currency payment and RTGS systems globally and facilitates direct and indirect settlement flows with market participants. The shared ledger further supports transfers with real-time settlement finality, providing instant liquidity and transparency compared to the sequential processing typical of legacy payment systems.
“Partior is breaking down silos and rewriting the rules for cross-border clearing and settlement,” Partior Chief Executive Officer Humphrey Valenbreder said. “We see a very bright future for blockchain-based frictionless, cross-border transactions. Having some of the world’s best banks and investors back our vision validates this even further.”
The fresh capital will fuel new capabilities including intraday FX swaps, cross-currency repos, Programmable Enterprise Liquidity Management, and Just-in-Time multi-bank payments. The funding will also enable Partior to integrate a range of new currencies beyond currently supported USD, EUR, and SGD.
“As one of the founding shareholders of Partior, we’ve always believed in the transformative potential of its technology to shape global financial market infrastructure. This latest round of investment is a testament to the incredible progress Partior has made toward this endeavor,” Temasek Managing Director for Investment (Blockchain) Pradyumma Agrawal said.
DBS and Deloitte have teamed up to launch the Sustainability Accelerator Tool. The new offering will help SMEs in Singapore accurately assess their sustainability maturity levels and identify and address gaps in their efforts.
The two firms hope to empower 1,000 SMEs in Singapore over the next 12 months with the new solution, and plan to introduce the tool to other markets from the next year forward.
“The Sustainability Accelerator Tool is unique in its ability to provide SMEs with meaningful and practical guidance,” Deloitte Southeast Asia Sustainability & Climate Leader Brian Ho said. “Leveraging Deloitte’s expertise in sustainability transformation, it not only identifies strengths and gaps, but also provides actionable recommendations to enhance sustainability performance.”
Three key benefits of the new offering are industry-specific analysis, which provides insights into unique sustainability challenges; customized strategic recommendations based on the degree of progress (“emerging,” “maturing,” or “leading”) the business has achieved in its path toward greater sustainability; and regional adaptability to ensure that the solution can be used by SMEs across Asia.
SMEs using the tool also get a customized Sustainability Readiness Report which gives them an analysis of the company’s sustainability maturity, as well as provides insights on how to address any specific sustainability challenges they may have.
“The Sustainability Accelerator Tool is the latest in our ongoing efforts, where we strive to futureproof SMEs through practical and holistic solutions,” DBS Group Head of Corporate and SME Banking Koh Kar Siong said.
The introduction of the Sustainability Accelerator Tool follows the spring launch of DBS’s ESG Ready Programme to help SMEs efficiently transition to lower carbon business models. Headquartered in Singapore, and boasting a presence in 19 markets, DBS provides a full range of consumer, SME, and corporate banking services. The firm has been named “Safest Bank in Asia” by Global Finance for 15 consecutive years from 2009 to 2023.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Eastern Europe
International embedded finance platform Liberis announced its entry into the German market in partnership with Nexi.
Lithuanian identity verification company iDenfy unveiled its automated utility bill verification tool.
Germany-based private markets platform bunch secured $15.5 million in Series A funding.
India-based payments and API banking company Cashfree Payments secured a payment aggregator-cross border license from the RBI.
Latin America and the Caribbean
The Brazilian central bank announced a pause in their plan to add recurring payments to its Pix platform.
Argentine fintech Tapi secured $22 million ahead of its expansion into Mexico.
BBVA opened an international cybersecurity center in Mexico.
Asia-Pacific
Melbourne, Australia-based Airwallex secured an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) the first major payments company to do so.
Bank Indonesia and Bank of Korea inked a MoU to encourage cross-border payments between the two countries.
In a bid to become a “global fintech hub,” the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has invested $74.36 million (100 million Singaporean dollars) into quantum computing and AI projects.
Sub-Saharan Africa
South African fintech Peach Payments acquired custom software development firm Operativa.
Revolut has received its banking license from the U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority.
The license comes three years after Revolut initially applied for a license in 2021.
Revolut currently holds a E.U. banking license, as well as a banking license in Mexico.
International challenger bank Revolut has now received its official banking license in the U.K. The London-based company first applied for the banking license in 2021, and today, after three years of patiently waiting, the U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) granted the license.
With its new banking license, Revolut can now take and hold deposits for its 9 million U.K. customers. It can also sell financial products such as loans, credit cards, overdraft protection, and savings accounts to U.K. consumers. The PRA has set initial restrictions on the license, however. Revolut is currently in what the regulator calls a mobilization period. During this period, the fintech cannot hold more than £50,000 in customer deposits. This limit will allow Revolut to test its systems and flag any issues before it begins to scale.
“Today’s announcement is a significant step forward for Revolut and for our customers. It is a tremendous responsibility to be a bank in the UK and we will work relentlessly to offer products and services that improve the financial lives of everyone who uses Revolut,” Revolut’s UK CEO Francesca Carlesi said in a statement.
Revolut’s end consumers will not see much will change. They will, however, benefit from having $109,500 (£85,000) in deposit insurance if the bank fails.
Revolut initially launched in 2014 and has since been operating as an e-money payments company in the U.K. The company received its E.U. banking license in Lithuania in December 2018 and since then has begun expanding its banking services across Central Europe. The company also has a banking license in Mexico. In other regions where Revolut operates, it relies on partner banks to hold customer deposits.
According to CNBC, one reason why it has taken Revolt three years to obtain the license is that Revolut’s share structure did not align with the PRA’s rules. Revolut had six classes of shares and ended up having to leverage SoftBank last October to restructure its ownership into ordinary shares. Another source, Banking Dive, said that faulty IT controls were to blame for the delay.
From a competitive standpoint, this is a big deal for Revolut. With its 45 million customers across the globe, the company joins fellow London-based competitors Monzo, N26, and Starling, which all have U.K. banking licenses. Other competitors Wise and Monese still do not have their banking licenses.
“We are incredibly proud to reach this important milestone in the journey of the company and we will ensure we deliver on making Revolut the bank of choice for UK customers,” said Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky.
Online investing and savings service Wealthify introduces its new Chief Executive Officer Richard Ambrose.
Ambrose will succeed Andy Russell, who has served as CEO of the company for the past four years.
Wealthify made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in London in 2017.
U.K.-based online investing and saving platform Wealthify has appointed Richard Ambrose as its new Chief Executive Officer. Ambrose replaces Andy Russell, who had served as CEO of the company since the summer of 2020.
“It’s been a privilege to lead Wealthify over the last four years,” outgoing CEO Andy Russell said. “I am very proud of our purpose-driven strategy, our culture of accessibility and quality, and the resulting growth we’ve achieved during this time.”
Most recently General Manager (GM) of Payments at Papaya Global, Richard Ambrose worked as CEO of Azimo for more than three years from 2019 to 2023. Before his appointment as Azimo CEO, Ambrose had been the company’s Chief Operating Officer for two years. He also held numerous roles during his nearly six-year tenure at PayPal, joining the company as Marketing Director for the U.K. in 2011 and eventually becoming Senior Director, Chief of Staff, EMEA.
“I am thrilled to join Wealthify as CEO,” Ambrose said in a statement. “Its mission to make investing more affordable and accessible for everyone is in the best traditions of fintech. Wealthify has built some great technology, and I’m proud to be joining its brilliant team.”
Wealthify is dedicated to using technology to democratize investing. The company offers a range of investment and savings solutions, from ISAs, GIAs, and SIPPs to an instant access savings account. Customers can open investing accounts for as little as £1 (£50 for pensions), and manage their funds via the Wealthify app or website. Wealthify uses passive investment vehicles such as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to build different investment plans based on the investor’s risk tolerance. Ranging from “Cautious” to “Ambitious,” Wealthify also offers “Ethical” versions of each plan that use negative screening to exclude companies from industries such as tobacco, weapons, and gambling, as well as positive screening to include businesses that have demonstrated a commitment to corporate ethics, social justice, and/or sustainability.
Founded in 2014, Wealthify made its Finovate debut in 2017 at FinovateEurope in London. Wealthify began this year partnering with ClearBank, which now serves as the embedded banking partner for the company’s savings product.
U.S. Bank launched its Accounts Receivables platform, U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables, in partnership with Billtrust.
U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables will help businesses keep costs low and benefit from real-time visibility into cash flow and financial position.
U.S. Bank most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2021 in New York.
Courtesy of a partnership with Billtrust, U.S. Bank has launched its new comprehensive accounts receivable (AR) platform. U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables will help suppliers accelerate cash flow, lower costs via automation, and provide better payment experiences.
“Suppliers face many challenges from the time they receive an order until the cash is in their account. This includes numerous manual and paper-based steps, a cumbersome credit process, billing errors, and payment delays,” U.S. Bank Global Treasury Management Head of Product Alberto Casas explained. “With U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables, businesses can transform their entire receivables process to drive down costs and gain real-time visibility into their financial position and cash flow.”
U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables combines U.S. Bank’s payment and risk management capabilities with Billtrust’s AR technology. The new offering is comprised of five core solutions – invoicing, payments, cash application, collections, and credit – each of which enhances the B2B receivables process. U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables builds on the bank’s complementary digital payment solutions, such as U.S. Bank AP Optimizer, which automates accounts payable operations from invoice receipt to payment disbursement. Together the two offerings enable companies to digitize and automate their end-to-end payment processes.
With $680 billion in assets, U.S. Bancorp is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the firm serves millions of customers locally, nationally, and around the world with services including consumer banking, business banking, commercial banking, institutional banking, payments, and wealth management. Billtrust, which partnered with U.S. Bank to launch the bank’s new AR offering, is an integrated AR solutions provider whose technology is used by more than 2,400 companies worldwide. These clients range from Coca-Cola and FedEx to Staples and United Rentals.
Earlier this month, Billtrust announced that it had extended its collaboration with Visa to support its Business Payments Network (BPN). Introduced in partnership with Visa in 2018, BPN links suppliers to buyers via connectivity to their preferred bank and payables providers. Headquartered in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, and founded in 2001, Billtrust was acquired by EQT Private Equity for $1.7 billion in 2022.
U.S. Bank most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall in 2021. At the conference, the bank demoed its U.S. Bank Card as a Service (CaaS) solution. The technology enables fintechs and other businesses to extend corporate credit digitally, and to create a custom virtual payment experience for customers via API integration.
Financial services company Rabobank has turned to Zafin to optimize its pricing, billing, and invoicing capabilities.
The partnership will help Rabobank fulfill its mandate of becoming a 100% digital institution.
Zafin made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2017. The company was acquired by Nordic Capital earlier this year.
Multi-national banking and financial services company Rabobank has tapped SaaS core modernization solutions provider Zafin to optimize its pricing, billing, and invoicing capabilities.
“Innovation lies at the heart of Rabobank’s digital transformation journey,” Rabobank Manager (Payments) Paul Wolda said. “It supports our mission of ‘growing a better world together’ and our goal to improve the everyday life of our customers.” Wolda praised Zafin’s reputation around the world and said that the partnership “reinforces our commitment to invest in innovative technologies that modernize our legacy applications, drive operational efficiencies, lower costs, and offer our clients a more personalized and sophisticated banking experience.”
The partnership comes as Rabobank pursues its mandate to become 100% digital. The firm will deploy Zafin’s platform, replacing its current pricing tools, and lowering the cost of creating, changing, and launching customized product propositions and pricing to its clients. Rabobank will leverage the platform to access a consistent view of product, billing, and invoicing data across channels. This will reduce revenue leakage and deliver real-time insights into preferences and needs of Rabobank’s diverse retail and corporate customer base.
“Our partnership with Rabobank is a significant milestone in our mission to deliver core modernization solutions for the banking industry,” Zafin SVP of EMEA Sales Hali Khan said. “For decades, Rabobank has maintained leadership in sustainability-oriented banking, and we are excited to help transform its pricing and billing capabilities in the Netherlands.”
Active in 37 countries, Rabobank is an international financial services provider offering retail banking, wholesale banking, private banking, leasing, and real estate services. Headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands, Rabobank was first established in 1895 as a local credit cooperative for farmers and even today maintains a market share of more than 85% in the country’s agrarian sector. Rabobank launched its first internet only savings bank, Rabobank.be, in 2002.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based Zafin demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2017. The company was acquired by Nordic Capital in February of this year. In May, Zafin co-founder Al Karim Somji announced that he would step down from the role of CEO after more than two decades in leadership.
SavvyMoney unveiled Get My Rate, a personalized credit offer automation tool for financial institutions.
Get My Rate automatically presents the end consumer with ongoing, pre-qualified loan options that align with their credit profile.
The tool also provides prospective borrowers with continuous credit monitoring and financial wellness tools to help improve their financial standing.
Credit score solutions company SavvyMoneyannounced its latest launch this week. The California-based company is introducing Get My Rate, a personalized credit offer automation tool for banks and financial institutions.
The new tool aims to help banks interact with clients and prospective clients by offering a convenient, tailored experience while enhancing market reach. Get My Rate brings consumers into a bank’s marketing efforts to present them with ongoing offers. If a prospective borrower’s credit improves or if the rate on a loan is lower, the technology automatically presents the end consumer with pre-qualified loan options that align with their credit profile.
Get My Rate allows users to become pre-qualified for multiple offers at the same time and will send the consumer alerts when rates change in their favor. Further enhancing the user experience, borrowers and prospective borrowers receive continuous credit monitoring and financial wellness tools to help improve their financial standing.
“SavvyMoney is thrilled to introduce Get My Rate — the first tool of its kind — marking a new era of convenience, empowerment, and expansion,” said SavvyMoney President and CEO JB Orecchia. “Given credit criteria and rates change all [the] time. This solution provides a personalized solution that alerts consumers when the product or rate meets their needs. In an industry that’s rapidly evolving with digital transformation and increasing consumer expectations, it truly exemplifies our commitment to reshaping the lending landscape, putting the power of personalization in the hands of consumers while driving continued growth for financial institutions.”
Because Get My Rate maintains a connection with the consumers via alerts and ongoing credit monitoring, it can serve as a useful tool to help financial institutions build longer term relationships with both current and prospective customers.
“In today’s fast-paced financial landscape, consumers expect personalized, convenient experiences. Our new offer automation tool meets this demand head-on, revolutionizing how financial institutions connect with both members and potential customers,” said SavvyMoney Chief Product Officer David Dowhan. “By providing tailored loan options based on real-time credit profiles, we’re not just streamlining the lending process – we’re creating a more transparent, empowering financial journey for consumers while driving growth for our partners.”
SavvyMoney was founded in 2008 as DebtGoal, when it operated as a direct-to-consumer subscription service to help consumers get out of debt faster. Today, as a credit score solutions company, SavvyMoney serves over 1,300 banks, credit unions, and fintechs nationwide. The company’s solutions integrate with over 40 U.S. online banking platforms, combining real-time data with digital personalization tools.
“OrboGraph’s expertise in check fraud detection perfectly complements our expertise and, together, we can offer a powerful tool that seamlessly integrates check image display functionality and common check risk data sources,” Featurespace President of Americas Carolyn Homberger said.
Many consumers, especially younger consumers, have abandoned paper checks. In fact, some analysis suggests that paper checks represent less than 5% of transactions in the U.S. as of 2022 (compared to 17% for cash and more than 31% for credit and charge cards). At the same time, that relatively modest amount of paper check writing still amounts to $27 trillion in value. It is also worth noting that while paper checks have become less common in consumer transactions, paper checks are still used in nearly half of all B2B payments according to Paystand.
This means that there is an ample opportunity for fraudsters. In fact, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has reported that check fraud is becoming increasingly prevalent and, as of 2023, represents more than a third of all fraud at depository institutions.
To this end, the integration of Featurespace’s financial crime prevention technology with OrboGraph’s check processing automation and fraud detection software and services will enhance detection of fraudulent checks and reduce the number of false positives for banks and financial institutions in the U.K.
“Check fraud is a growing and concerning area of financial crime – we know banks and financial institutions are experiencing a rise in reports and are in need of more advanced tools that can tackle the issue,” OrboGraph CEO Barry Cohen said. “Combining our expertise with Featurespace will enable us to deliver a more robust and comprehensive fraud detection solution, helping financial institutions to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated check fraud schemes.”
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Cambridge, U.K., Featurespace made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2016. The company returned to the Finovate stage later that year to demo its technology at FinovateFall in New York. Today, the company processes more than 50 billion events a year, and protects 500 million customers in 180+ countries from fraud risk. Featurespace’s signature solution, its ARIC Risk Hub, leverages Adaptive Behavioral Analytics and Automated Deep Behavioral Networks to model and predict individual behavior in real-time to enhance fraud prevention and anti-money laundering efforts.
This spring, Featurespace forged a partnership with The Knoble, an alliance of financial services professionals, regulators, and law enforcement that focuses on crimes such as human trafficking and elder financial exploitation. In May, the company announced the results of a pilot project with Pay.UK designed to defend consumers from Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud. Featurespace’s proof of concept detected more than $178 million (£138 million) in fraud with a 5:1 false positive ratio. Applying its Generative AI solution TalllierLTM enabled Featurespace to boost its fraud detection rates to 56%, identifying an additional $51 million (£40 million) in fraud.
“Fraud is the single largest crime in the U.K. It accounts for 40% of all crime and contributes to £2.3 billion in losses annually,” Featurespace CEO Martina King said. “But the UK is leading the charge to tackle this issue and the game-changing pilot with Pay.UK is one that the world has been watching. It shows the immense power of collaboration and technology, and the scale of positive change that is possible when the payments industry works together to tackle fraudulent activity.”
Featurespace has raised more than $108 million in funding according to Crunchbase. The company’s investors include Chrysalis Investments, MissionOG, and Insight Partners.
A nearly ten-year old acquisition may turn out to be Klarna’s secret weapon to improve security during the checkout process.
The Swedish payments company announced this week that it has integrated a new payment service into its Klarna PayNow product suite. The integration is designed to improve checkout security and has been made possible thanks in large part to Klarna’s acquisition of Germany-based Sofort in 2014.
“We are integrating Sofortüberweisung into the Klarna environment to offer consumers and merchants the best of both worlds: the familiar Sofort payment process combined with the smoother, more secure payment experience and global reach of Klarna,” Klarna Chief Commercial Officer David Sykes said. “The combined product is better for merchants and consumers, and (is) also a platform for Klarna to expand the functionality of Sofortüberweisung globally.”
Sofortüberweisung is a bank-to-bank payment service that Klarna gained access to by acquiring Sofort GmbH in 2014. Klarna has been incorporating Sofort’s technology into its solutions since 2017, and has launched the service in some of its other markets around the world, including the U.K. With this week’s integration, consumers will be able to track their Sofortüberweisung payments from within the Klarna app, as well as make payments without having to re-enter their payment information. This, combined with Klarna’s two-factor authentication, facilitates both greater convenience and increased security.
To that point, customers will need a Klarna account in order to take advantage of the Sofortüberweisung integration, and the company notes 95% of Sofort customers already have one. Klarna also reports that the “improved user-friendliness” of the integration has produced a 5% increase in conversion rates for consumers who use it.
Founded in 2005, Klarna made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2012. In the decade-plus since then, the company has grown into a major e-commerce and payments business with 150 million total active customers in its network – including 34 million in the U.S. With more than 500,000 total merchants using its technology, Klarna facilitates two million transactions per day.
The company also recently made headlines with word that it is preparing for an initial public offering in the U.S. as early as the first half of 2025. Also this month, Klarna announced that it had partnered with Adobe Commerce to make it easier for merchants on the platform to implement Klarna’s Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services.
“Consumers are embracing the flexibility that Buy Now Pay Later services can provide, with Adobe Analytics data showing over 11 percent growth this year,” Jason Knell, Adobe Sr. Director, Content & Commerce Partners, said. “Klarna’s global footprint enables Adobe Commerce merchants to meet the changing needs of their customers and stay competitive in today’s digital economy.”
Klarna is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Sebastian Siemiakowski is Klarna’s CEO.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech developments in Brazil.
Brazilian fintech Materaraised $100 million in funding from U.S. investor Warburg Pincus. The investment gives Warburg Pincus a majority stake in the firm, and is designed to help fuel Matera’s expansion into North America.
A key part of Brazil’s PIX instant payments ecosystem, Matera offers core banking, instant payments, and QR code payment technology to more than 250 banks, credit unions, and financial institutions globally. The company includes two of the top three banks in the world and more than one-third of all banks in Brazil as its customers.
This week’s investment arrives as the company reports 2023 revenues of $77 million and 4x growth since 2020. Within a real-time payments system that accounts for more than 40% of all electronic transactions in Brazil, Matera alone processes more than five billion transactions a year.
“PIX set the standard for the digital finance revolution,” Matera CEO Carlos Netto said. “At Matera, we know first-hand the pressure for banks to modernize their infrastructure to keep up with innovative new payment methods such as instant payments and pay-by-bank. We’re honored to leverage our PIX expertise with proven solutions to help financial institutions across North America keep pace with their customers’ digital demands.”
Matera’s flagship solution for the North American market is Digital Twin, a high-performance ledger that sits on top of a bank’s existing core platform. Digital Twin responds to two particular issues: core banking modernization and the ability to create real-time digital user experiences. Additionally, Matera is introducing its QR code payments solution. The technology enables both billers and merchants to offer consumers QR codes to make payments via mobile phone. Matera’s QR code payments offering also enables consumers to generate QR codes from a mobile app in order to make payments.
Matera was founded in 1987 in Sao Paulo. The company also maintains offices in Rio de Janeiro, Maringá, and Campinas in Brazil; as well as in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
One of Finovate’s few Brazilian alums, Nubank, is also one of the biggest fintechs in the country. And while the company has received a great deal of acclaim for its efforts to promote financial inclusion, Nubank is also making inroads when it comes to integrating AI technology into its operations.
To this end, the company has acquired U.S.-based data intelligence start-up Hyperplane. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Nubank said that it will use Hyperplane’s AI technology in multiple ways, generating insights, improving decision-making, and enhancing the customer experience.
“Nubank’s mission since its founding is to fight complexity and empower fanatical customers,” David Vélez, founder and CEO of Nubank, said. “Our early investments in AI, coupled with the impressive infrastructure and talent that (the) Hyperplan team has been able to put together, will accelerate our mission. Consumers globally will access not only the very best financial products but also receive truly customized financial advice that empowers them to live a better life.”
Founded in 2013, Nubank made its Finovate debut at FinDEVrNewYork 2016. The digital banking platform serves more than 100 million customers in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia with solutions for credit and lending, investment, payments, and insurance. Last month, the company launched direct cryptocurrency transfers, and forged partnerships with Lightspark and fellow Finovate alum, Wise.
Helping fund the education of the country’s future medical professionals is Alume’s specialty. The company offers student loans to medical students in Brazil, as well as to newly graduated doctors. To date, the company has more than 4,000 clients and has disbursed $29 million in financing.
“Alume differentiates itself by combining technology with a deep understanding of the medical sector,” Alume Co-founder and CEO Pedro Silveira said. “Our medical-specialized accountants deliver a superior experience and tax savings for professionals.”
Alume offers three different kinds of student loans. The company provides financing of up to 80% of the student’s monthly tuition fees starting with the ninth semester of attendance onwards. Alume also offers an allowance of up to R$1,600 per month (approximately $287) to help pay for housing, food, and transportation expenses. Third, Alume provides financing for medical residency preparatory courses. Monthly interest rates start at 1.99%.
In addition to financing, the company is adding an accounting service to its offering. The service will be designed to assist doctors who serve as legal entities and will help them manage both their accounting and tax reporting.
Headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Alume was founded in 2019.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Accelerex, a digital payment services provider based in Nigeria, introduced its “Payment with Fingerprint” system.
Stanbic Bank Kenya upgraded its Temenos core in partnership with Temenos regional implementation partner Orion Innovation.
Nigerian fintech Fintava unveiled its banking-as-a-service technology.
Central and Eastern Europe
Estonia-based fintech Mifundo is awarded a $2.7 million (€2.5 million) grant from European Innovation Council.
Latvian multi-asset investment platform Mintos announced its entry into the Czech market this week.
Egyptian fintech unicorn MNT-Halan raised $157.5 million to support expansion outside the country.
Jordan Kuwait Bank teamed up with Mastercard and UAE-based fintech FOO to launch new prepaid digital wallet, eliWallet.
The Central Bank of Bahrain will require all licensed financial and banking institutions to adhere to the country’s Open Banking regulations by the first of September.
Central and Southern Asia
Indian startup TechFini secured approval from NPCI to facilitate UPI-based payment solutions to banks, financial institutions, and fintechs.
Paytech Paysys Labs and Raqami Islamic Digital Bank Pakistan partnered to enhance digital payments in the country.
