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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, BBVA, Daily news, DriveWealth, Finastra, Fintech Rundown, Glia, MasterCard, nCino, Signicat

A holiday-filled week that began with Father’s Day, continues through Juneteenth, and brings us the first official day of summer.

Don’t be surprised if this week yields a lower than usual fintech news flow as the temperatures rise and the days stretch long. We’ll keep you posted if you decide to step outside and enjoy the season.

Payments

Uruguayan cross-border payment platform dLocal forged a partnership with Lithuanian gaming marketplace Eneba.

eBay adds Venmo as a new payment option.

Qatar-based Doha Bank and Mastercard enter a long-term strategic partnership.

Digital payments platform CleverCards raises $8.5 million (€8 million).

Shift4 acquires a majority stake in Vectron Systems, one of the largest European suppliers of point-of-sale (POS) systems to the restaurant and hospitality verticals.

Cryptocurrency and DeFi

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit unveils support for Apple Pay on its Bybit Card.

Dennis Winter becomes Chief Technology Officer of Boerse Stuttgart Digital.

Velmie and Bitlocus partner to bridge the gap between traditional finance and DeFi.

E-commerce

E-commerce accounting platform Finaloop raises $35 million in Series A funding.

Digital banking

Spring Labs launched its AI copilot for fintechs, Raia.

Glia brings unified interaction capabilities to the mobile version of NCR Yoyix’s mobile banking app.

nCino unveils its new AI banking tool, Banking Advisor.

BBVA plans to launch a consumer digital bank in Germany according to a report in Bloomberg.

Personetics recognized by Celent as a Global Leader in Personal Financial Engagement (PFE) for Retail Banking.

3Rivers Federal Credit Union taps MeridianLink to enhance the member experience by offering digital lending and account opening.

Apiture launches Data Portal to enable community financial institutions to provide a personalized banking experience.

Lending

Real-time lending and payments solution provider Momnt introduces new CEO Chris Bracken.

Taktile and Ocrolus partner to unlock real-time underwriting for small business lenders.

Nova Credit partners with Royal Bank of Canada to help newcomers to Canada leverage their international credit history in Canada. 

Gynger secures $20 million in Series A funding to revolutionize corporate technology purchasing.

Investing

Brokerage-as-a-Service platform DriveWealth introduces additions to its senior leadership team.

Investment data management firm Finbourne raised $69.8 million (£55 million) in Series B funding.

French wealth management and financial advisory firm Ramify secures $11.8 million (€11 million) in Series A funding.

Identity and fraud management

Digital identity and identity fraud prevention solutions provider Signicat launches Face Authentication on its flagship MobileID product.

Fideo launches to fight fraud using real-time intelligence.

Capital.com partners with Trulioo to deliver customer onboarding.

Compliance

Sumsub and Finastra partner to strengthen banking industry compliance.

Photo by Jonathan Petersson

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BBVA to Use Prosper’s Tech to Power Digital HELOC Application

BBVA to Use Prosper’s Tech to Power Digital HELOC Application
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, BBVA, Daily news, Prosper

BBVA USA announced a new digital HELOC offering today for customers in select states. The tool, which is available through BBVA’s website, is powered by P2P lender Prosper.

The digital HELOC tool aims to simplify the application process for users to obtain a HELOC, and early results of the new product indicate its effectiveness. BBVA is already seeing HELOCs close an average of 14 days faster when compared to its own turnaround times on applications submitted in other channels.

“Customers’ expectations are continuously being shaped by faster delivery and more convenience like they experience in other industries, so naturally they demand the same from financial services,” said BBVA USA Head of Mortgage Banking Murat Kalkan. “This partnership is well aligned with the core of our strategy, which aims to meet rapidly evolving customer expectations. Now, more than ever, customers can quickly and efficiently tap into the equity they have in their homes, which can provide much needed peace-of-mind, knowing they have access to the money they may need for home improvements, debt consolidation, or other major financial needs.”

Prosper and BBVA have been working together for over a year, enabling customers in Alabama, Texas, Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona to use the digital application through Prosper’s website. With today’s arrangement, BBVA becomes the first bank partner to integrate Prosper’s technology into its own website.

Differentiating factors of Prosper’s fully digital HELOC platform include a fast application that instantly returns offers and information about rate and prequalification status, access to a dedicated client services team, and electronic documentation uploads and delivery.

“Since our Prosper powered HELOC application launched in early September, we’ve seen a significant improvement in the number of customers who complete the online application, underscoring the power of technology to improve the customer experience,” Kalkan said. “And in a time where banks are increasingly pulling back on their HELOC offerings, for us to come together and make it available more broadly, more conveniently and more efficiently says something about our commitment to customers and their needs.”

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Prosper has originated over $17 billion in loans via its peer-to-peer lending marketplace. The company launched its HELOC product in 2019.

Photo by Aubrey Odom on Unsplash

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Six More Banks to Launch Digital Bank Accounts with Google

Six More Banks to Launch Digital Bank Accounts with Google
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, BBVA, Daily news, Google

Step aside, challenger banks. Google and a band of eight traditional FIs are coming for you.

News broke this morning that six financial institutions have joined Citi and Stanford Federal Credit Union in offering checking and savings accounts through Google Pay. The new banks include BankMobile, BBVA USA, BMO Harris, The Coastal Community Bank, First Independence Bank, and SEFCU.

These new accounts will leverage Google Pay’s existing infrastructure, which will serve as the front end of a fully digital banking experience.

BBVA announced today that its accounts will launch in 2021 as co-branded, FDIC-insured accounts. The bank will provide the account, while Google will provide the front-end, user experience, and financial insights. The collaboration will be facilitated by the BBVA Open Platform, the bank’s open banking initiative.

“BBVA has focused for decades on how it could use digital to advance the financial industry and, in so doing, create more and better opportunities for customers to manage their financial health,” BBVA USA President and CEO Javier Rodríguez Soler said. “Collaborations with companies like Google represent the future of banking. Consumers end up the true winners when finance and big tech work together for their benefit.”

Aside from the list of bank partners, there are not many details available about the new, hybrid accounts. Tech rumor site 9 to 5 Google speculates, however, that Google with leverage the partnerships to issue its own branded debit card.

Photo by David Armstrong on Unsplash

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BBVA and Anthemis Back the Gig Economy with Seed Round for Wollit

BBVA and Anthemis Back the Gig Economy with Seed Round for Wollit
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BBVA, Daily news

Banking giant BBVA and VC firm Anthemis have backed U.K.-based Wollit in a $1.3 million (£1 million) Seed round.

Founded last year, Wollit aims to support the 43% of U.K. residents who lack a stable income by helping gig economy workers and independent contractors smooth out their cashflow.

Wollit will use the funds to fuel its flagship product, the Wollit Income Promise. According to Wollit CEO Liad Shababo, the new tool “offers a financial safety net for the 14 million U.K. workers whose income fluctuates from month to month.”

The Wollit Income Promise is different from credit cards and loans because it personalizes financing to each user’s individual financial situation. When workers earn less than usual, Wollit provides interest-free top-ups that the user repays once they start earning more.

“With this, we set to end [gig workers’] monthly gamble of feast or famine and provide a safer, more sustainable option than the short-term, risky alternatives,” said Shababo. “Wollit is here to establish a new status quo in financial services. We want to make sure everyone has access to financial wellbeing.”

The investment is one of the first from the BBVA & Anthemis Venture Creation Partnership, which was formed in 2018. “The BBVA & Anthemis Venture Creation Partnership identifies early-stage fintech companies who are looking for both financial and strategic support to accelerate the growth of their business,” said Farhan Lalji, Principal at Anthemis. “This means Wollit now has access to mentors and resources inside the Anthemis and BBVA ecosystems beyond pure capital – including product development, data science, business development, and talent resources – as they grow their business.”

Startups such as Wollit underscore society’s need for financial services geared toward the gig economy. Banks have historically failed to serve consumers with unpredictable income. As Ron Shevlin points out in his piece Gig Economy Banking Is Booming (And Banks Are Missing The Boat), fintechs and challenger banks have been the first to take a chance on this growing consumer segment by serving them with unique products and services that cater to their fluctuating income.

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How Facebook’s Libra Looks from Latin America; Indian Neobank Raises $30 Million

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Arival Bank, BBVA, Finovate Global, Jumio, Temenos, Token

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Capetown, South Africa-based digital lender Lulalend raises $6.5 million in Series A.
  • Techpoint Africa looks at how fintechs are “democratizing investment opportunities” for Nigerians across the income spectrum.
  • The Catalyst Fund announces that three Africa-based fintechs – Turaco, Chipper Cash, and Salutat – will join its accelerator program.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Estonia’s Tallinn Business Bank (TBB) partners with Icefire and Token to deliver PSD2 compliance.
  • Cointelegraph profiles Warsaw, Poland’s Alior Bank leverages Ethereum blockchain to authenticate client documents.
  • Polish Netflix subscribers will soon be able to pay for their viewing via the country’s Blik payment system.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Bahrain’s Bank ABC partners with Jumio, making it the first bank in the MENA region to offer biometric-based, digital KYC.
  • Egypt’s Banque du Caire to deploy omni-channel banking technology from Temenos.
  • Wamda interviews Elie Nasr founder of Lebanese fintech startup FOO.

Central and Southern Asia

  • The Bank of Mongolia will implement Intellect Design Arena’s Quantum Central Banking Solution as part of its digital transformation.
  • Indian SME-based neobank Open raises $30 million in Series B funding.
  • India’s Wizely introduces a new mobile savings account.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Contxto looks at the current fintech landscape of Mexico.
  • How will Facebook’s Libra project impact Latin America?
  • BBVA announces major changes to mortgage portfolio, including a rate reduction.

Asia-Pacific

  • U.K. regtech firm ClauseMatch teams up with Singapore-based consultancy Ingenia, the company’s first client in the country.
  • Axinan to work with PT Sompo Insurance to provide on-demand insurance options to Indonesian millennials.
  • The Monetary Authority of Singapore to issue as many as five new digital bank licenses.

Top image designed by Freepik

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Avaloq, Baker Hill, BBVA, Braintri, CardFlight, Finastra, IDology, NetGuardians, Strands

On Finovate

  • UK-based GBG Acquires IDology in $300 Million All-Cash Deal.
  • NetGuardians Teams Up with Swiss Wealthtech Pictet to Fight Fraud.
  • Finastra Brings its Core Banking Technology to Saudi Arabia.

Around the web

  • BBVA unveils first blockchain-supported structured green bond.
  • Strands introduces Engager 2.0, the newest edition of its AI and machine learning powered financial insights generator.
  • Avaloq’s banking suite goes live with the Austrian division of international private banking and asset management group, LGT.
  • IKO, the mobile app co-developed by Braintri for PKO Bank Polski, wins first place in worldwide ranking of mobile apps published by British Retail Banker International for second consecutive year.
  • Baker Hill earns nomination for The Best Tech in Indiana in TechPoint’s 20th annual Mira Awards.
  • CardFlight’s SwipeSimple now enables more than 50,000 merchants across all 50 states of the U.S.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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DataSine Scores $5 Million Investment in Round Led by BBVA

DataSine Scores $5 Million Investment in Round Led by BBVA
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BBVA, DataSine, Funding

In a conscious move, BBVA’s Propel Venture Partners has invested into psychology and machine learning (ML) tie-up business DataSine, reports Antony Peyton of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

The bank says it has co-led the latest funding round of $5.2 million (£4 million). BBVA and DataSine do not reveal the other names and have been contacted for more details.

The funding will be used to help DataSine launch a new content personalization platform called Pomegranate.

This is described as a collaborative artificial intelligence (AI) powered campaign platform that “tailors content to personality specific to the customer”.

DataSine founder and CEO Igor Volzhanin said: “I launched DataSine after moving to London to do a PhD in Psychology because I believed that personality can help companies understand their customers as a whole, which empowers them to truly connect with customers through every interaction, and move beyond traditional focus of click optimization.”

The platform works by applying ML to behavioral data that companies already collect to build customer profiles, and provides an AI-powered content editing platform to guide marketers in tailoring a range of content elements, including words and images.

DataSine is entering the SME market through the launch of Pomegranate in March. Pomegranate already integrates with HubSpot and MailChimp, and the company is looking to launch further integrations throughout the year.

DataSine launched in 2015 and has worked with various companies from across Europe, including BNP Paribas and Tinkoff Bank.

For BBVA, it likes to invest in a wide range of firms. Call it hedging your bets or diversification – the choice is yours.

Just last month, it was one of the big names in India-based investment app Groww’s $6.2 million funding round.

Headquartered in London, DataSine demonstrated its Pomegranate personality profile platform at FinovateEurope 2018.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BBVA, BBVA Compass, DataSine, iProov, Ping Identity, Tink

On Finovate.com

  • Tink Raises $63 Million, Goes Live in Five New European Markets.
  • DataSine Scores $5 Million Investment in Round Led by BBVA.

Around the web

  • iProov announces meeting the NIST standards for genuine presence assurance by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).
  • BBVA Compass hires new chief information security officer, Brian Fricke.
  • Ping Identity announces updates to its PingFederate, PingAccess, and PingDirectory.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BBVA, Finovate Global, IBM, Moven, Twisto, UNPay

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Central and South Asia

  • India-based investment app Groww picks up $6.2 million in BBVA-led Series A funding.
  • Uzbekistan’s Digital Trust Fund inks deal with tokenization and securitization service provider BANKEX to bring blockchain technology to government agencies.
  • Entrepreneur.com India interviews Razorpay CTO and co-founder Shashank Kumar.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Jamaica Stock Exchange announces successful digital asset trading pilot with Canadian fintech Blockstation.
  • Bolsa de Valores de Panamá goes live with new trading system from Nasdaq.
  • Private equity firm Advent buys $1.42 billion majority stake in Prisma Medios de Pago, an Argentina-based payments firm.
  • Mexican challenger bank Albo raises $7.4 million Series A.

Asia-Pacific

  • IBM announces $250 million partnership with the Bank of the Philippine Islands.
  • UNPay founder Zhang Zhenghua named as 2018 Golden Shell Award’s inaugural “Payment Industry Pioneer.”
  • Hong Kong’s Atom cryptocurrency exchange, AAX, prepares for Hong Kong launch in the first half of this year.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Absa to deploy AI to help customers in South Africa switch bank accounts.
  • Nigeria’s Nairametrics lists its Fintech companies to watch out for in 2019.
  • The first online insurance distribution solution in Mozambique, Askari Fintech, opens for business.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Bankart wins final approval from Slovenian Central Bank to go live with Net’s instant payment solution.
  • CryptoNews looks at the rise in interest in fintech and blockchain technology in Lithuania.
  • Czech fintech Twisto to launch operations in Romania.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • New partnership helps Moven grow in MENA.
  • Iraq’s Al Mustashar Islamic Bank goes live with ICS Financial Systems’ core banking system, ICS Banks Islamic.
  • Entrepreneur.com talks with Padmini Gupta, co-founder and CEO of UAE-based fintech Rise about democratizing access to financial services.

Top image designed by Freepik

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Akamai, BBVA, Braintri, Cardlytics, FICO, Ondot, Plaid, Quovo, Salt Edge

On Finovate.com

  • Braintri Drives Insurtech Innovation in Europe.
  • Plaid Acquires Quovo in $200 Million Deal.

Around the web

  • Salt Edge joins Temenos Marketplace as the community’s first data aggregator.
  • BBVA leads $12 million Series A round for payments startup Grabango.
  • Cardlytics CEO Scott Grimes appointed board chair of FinTech Atlanta.
  • FICO awarded five new patents for fraud, AI, and advanced analytics technologies.
  • PYMNTS.com interviews Ondot CEO Bharghavan Vaduvur.
  • Akamai Technologies reveals plans to acquire customer identity access management firm, Janrain.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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BBVA Brings on Onur Genç as New CEO

BBVA Brings on Onur Genç as New CEO
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BBVA

BBVA appointed a new CEO this week, hiring Onur Genç (pictured below) to take the place of Carlos Torres Vila who served as BBVA Group CEO since May of 2015. Torres Vila’s tenure at BBVA extends back 10 years, beginning in 2008 when he first worked as the Group’s head of strategy and corporate development. He will transition as BBVA’s Chairman after stepping down from his role as CEO.

Genç will be coming to the company from Birmingham, Alabama-based BBVA Compass where he was CEO and U.S. country manager. He will begin his new role on December 31, 2018.

“Onur has had an extremely positive impact in our operations in the U.S. and in Turkey, and now that contribution will be extended to the whole Group,” Torres Vila said. “The Board has selected Onur as he is the ideal CEO to continue pushing forward our strategy and boosting our transformation throughout all our franchises, generating value for all our stakeholders: shareholders, employees, customers and the overall society.”

Previous to his role at BBVA Compass, Genç worked for Garanti Payment Systems for six years– first as EVP of retail banking and then as deputy CEO.

BBVA demoed its market sentiment analysis tool at Finovate Europe 2013 in London and presented its initial APIs to an audience of developers at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016. Earlier this month, the bank launched a new venture called Upturn that aims to simplify the credit report error dispute process.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BBVA, Check Point, Ellie Mae, Envestnet, Mambu, Payfone, Revolut

On Finovate.com

  • BlackRock to Acquire Equity Stake in Envestnet.
  • BBVA Brings on Onur Genç as New CEO.

Around the web

  • Check Point Software integrates with New Amazon Web Services Security Hub.
  • Revolut to launch in Singapore and Japan.
  • Payfone to extend Anti-SIM Swap fraud technology to 35 markets in 2019.
  • Mambu now powering Lendico Switzerland.
  • Dan Madden to join Ellie Mae as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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