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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
The votes have been cast and counted! Meet the winners of Best of Show for FinovateSpring 2022:
Array for its financial enablement platform, specializing in embeddable tools and white label solutions, used by leading financial institutions. Demo.
FinGoal for its insights platform that cleans, enriches, and analyzes personal financial data to better understand users and provide actionable insights. Demo.
Horizn for its platform that helps banks globally accelerate digital banking knowledge, fluency, and adoption with both customers and employees. Demo.
Keep Financial Technology for its innovation that solves the hiring and retention challenges of companies by introducing a new form of employee compensation called Cash Vesting Plans. Demo.
QuickFi for its 100% digital, self-service, mobile equipment financing platform that enables business equipment financing in minutes. Demo.
Spave for its all-in-one financial wholeness app that allows users to effortlessly save and give as they spend. Demo.
Our thanks to all of our demoing companies, our sponsors, our partners, and – of course – our attendees – for continuing to make FinovateSpring such a success. Thank you for being a part of our annual spring fintech conference. We’ll see you again next year!
Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The six companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from our 2015 through 2022 conferences are below:
Zilvinas Bareisis is Head of Retail Banking at Celent. Based in London, Bareisis specializes in consumer and card-based payments, as well as identity and authentication. He is especially interested in payments innovation, and what he calls “the perfect storm” of competitive, regulatory, and technology developments that are shaping the present and future of consumer payments.
Embracing the open ecosystem is a really big topic right now – from open banking to embedded finance. How do you innovate around products and how do you differentiate yourself? Banks are starting to talk about their purpose, how they embrace different communities they may be serving, and how they tailor their products to those communities. Even things like crypto (are important). Twelve months ago I didn’t think retail banks should be interested in crypto, and here we are talking about that now.
On the role of enabling technologies in financial services
You really need to have the right set of technology tools – and those tools are diversifying. It’s easier now to have composable building blocks that might be coming from different parties, platforms like low code and no code that do not require much IT capability so that business users can start developing applications and, of course, the cloud. A lot of our clients are looking into how to migrate to the cloud and how fast.
On the promise and potential of embedded finance
At the heart of embedded finance is the idea that customers are out there, doing their own things and, as they do those things, they realize that there might be a need for a financial services product, which is something they can acquire right there and then. The idea itself is not new; you and I have probably bought car insurance at the same time we bought our car at the dealership. What’s changing is that there are nice, big, sophisticated digital experiences, first of all, and it’s easier now for financial services to plug into those experiences because now the technology is catching up.
Check out the rest of our conversation with Zilvinas Bareisis from FinovateEurope 2022 on what’s next in the “new normal” in fintech and financial services.
FinovateEurope 2022 is a wrap. Our first European fintech conference in what we all hope is truly the post-pandemic era was an excellent opportunity for Finovate veterans and newcomers alike to meet and share insights on the most critical issues in fintech today.
In many ways, the two keynotes that began each day of our two-day event served as reminders of both the accomplishments of fintech to date, as well as the challenges that innovators in fintech and financial services will face going forward.
From commodity products to intelligent services
In his keynote address on how fintech trends in 2022 will drive transformation in financial services, David Brear contextualized his remarks by describing the journey financial services has traveled from analog through digitization en route to becoming truly digital. CEO and co-founder of fintech consultancy 11:FS, Brear underscored the notion that this journey was defined by the evolution of financial services from “commodity products to intelligent services.” He suggested that many companies in financial services were still essentially bringing digital tools to enhance analog solutions – not unlike attaching a carriage to a Clydesdale. As such, he sees the transition toward truly digital banking as “only 1% finished” with plenty of room to go.
For Brear, the current moment is one of execution rather than ideas. Entrepreneurs and companies in financial services have a better idea than ever of what their customers want, and now is the time for firms in this space to ambitiously act to meet those needs. Interestingly, and foreshadowing the themes of the next day’s keynote from AI scientist Inma Martinez, Brear observed that fulfilling these needs will help banks and financial services companies gain or regain the kind of intimate, personalized relationships that are more reminiscent of the kind of connections that smaller, more community-based versions of these institutions historically have enjoyed with their customers and members.
Solving complexity to better serve humanity
Creating an appropriate role for artificial intelligence (AI) was the topic of our Day Two keynote address – How To Use Data Analytics & AI To Create Human Centric Financial Products – from AI scientist Inma Martinez. As someone with decades of experience with artificial intelligence, Martinez has a healthy respect for the capacity of AI to do things that human beings cannot. At the same time, however, Martinez insists that these capacities need to be harnessed in a way that enables AI’s complexity-solving abilities to respond to human needs for “safety, enjoyment, and purpose.” Reminding her audience that the world is not merely “computational,” Martinez said that AI needs to be imbued with EQ, or emotional intelligence, that prioritizes rather than simply includes the role of human cognition. This would support an evolution in design thinking from the basic objectives of “usability, functionality, and convenience” to the more satisfying, emotional, and human-centered goals of being “memorable, assuring, and wholesome.”
Martinez also emphasized the importance of a modern approach to data and data management called the data mesh. This concept calls for leveraging distributed architecture to give end users the ability to readily access and query data where it lives rather than having to deal with a singular, centralized location such as a data lake. Improving the ability to access data is critical, Martinez explained, in a world in which data is both the key to a deeper, more meaningful understanding of customer behavior and the primary source of insights that can streamline the process of creating and innovating new products and services.
Day One of FinovateEurope is in the books. The demos are done and, now that the votes of our attendees have been counted, we are happy to introduce the winners of Best of Show for FinovateEurope 2022.
Dreams for its engagement banking platform, rooted in cognitive and behavioral science, that offers a unique way to engage your customers. Demo.
Finshape for its technology that helps banks win the race for digital customers through ready-made digital products and custom delivery services. Demo.
mmob for its technology that makes embedded finance easy and empowers consumer-facing fintechs to supercharge their growth through embedded finance partnerships. Demo.
SESAMm for its technology that leverages big data and artificial intelligence to provide investment signals to investors. Demo.
Trulioo for its global identity verification technology that helps organizations mitigate risk, reduce fraud, and scale compliance programs globally. Demo.
Thanks to all of our demoing companies, our speakers and presenters, our sponsors and partners, and our outstanding audience of both in-person and digital attendees. Be sure to stay connected to the Finovate blog and social media @Finovate to keep up with the latest from our FinovateEurope companies and presenters.
Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The five companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from our 2015 through 2021 conferences are below:
In September, we celebrated Finovate’s triumphant return to live events with FinovateFall in New York. Six months later, it’s time to cheer once again as Finovate returns to London for our first live event in Europe since 2020.
FinovateEurope 2022 begins today, March 22, in London, and continues through March 23. This week’s conference will feature two days of live demonstrations, inspiring keynotes, and rousing discussions and debates on the latest innovations in financial technology.
Day One also will feature our European Women Payments Network (EWPN) event from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. This special afternoon session will feature a panel of experts discussing the role of ESG in fintech and financial services, followed by a dynamic hackathon, and a networking opportunity for attendees.
Here is what we have in store for today on Day One of FinovateEurope 2022. All times GMT.
8:15am – 9:00am | Registration & Networking
9:00am – 9:05am | Welcome from Finovate
9:05am – 9:20am | Keynote Address: The Biggest Trends in Fintech and How They Will Drive Transformation in Financial Services
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope on March 15 digitally and live in London on March 22 and 23, 2022. Register today and save your spot.
FISPAN’s contextual business banking platform makes it simple for banks to offer commercial banking services embedded within ERP and business applications.
Features
Integrates banking applications within the standard menus of the user’s ERP
Embeds transaction data in the ERP domain to automate the bank reconciliation process
ACH, Wire, IR, Positive Pay, Check
Why it’s great
FISPAN embeds banking capabilities into ERP and accounting software, successfully enabling bi-directional connectivity between the bank and ERP for a streamlined treasury management experience.
Presenters
Robert Fillmore, VP, Europe Fillmore’s career spans over 25 years in the telecoms and fintech arenas, where he has led the adoption of innovative technologies by diverse companies such as BT, Vodafone, NatWest, HSBC, and BBVA. LinkedIn
Nigel Bateman, Pre-Sales & Account Manager Bateman’s current focus is expanding FISPAN’s footprint to include European tier 1 banks having relocated to Ireland from Vancouver during the pandemic to support this EU growth. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope on March 15 digitally and in London on March 22 and 23, 2022. Register today and save your spot.
InvestGlass is introducing the most powerful automation suite built for banking and insurance.
Features
Increase private banking productivity under MIFID and LSFIn regulations
Reduces KYC remediation overhead
Swiss Digital Sovereign and proprietary CRM and PMS. No surrender to Cloud Act.
Why it’s great
InvestGlass offers an all-in-one CRM-PMS-Automation solution to create a uniquely creative experience.
Presenter
Alexandre Gaillard, CEO Gaillard is InvestGlass CEO, and President of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He co-founded Swiss Fintech Association, and has participated in +10 Finovates which he considers the #1 fintech show. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope on March 15 digitally and live in London on March 22 and 23, 2022. Register today and save your spot.
MoEngage is an insights-led customer engagement platform that enables brands to personalize experiences across relevant channels and helps marketers build strong relationships throughout the customer experience.
Features
Unified Customer View
Enhanced customer profile and real-time insight into preferences and behavior
Predictions and RFM – Customer Segmentation with the RFM Model and Predictive AI
Why it’s great
Enterprise-grade platform with scalability, security, and compliance. It processes 1 trillion data points per month, sends 80 billion messages, 1 billion emails, and engages 900 million MAUs.
Presenters
Saket Toshniwal, Senior Director Growth, Europe Toshniwal is a MarTech leader who has worked across CRM, Growth, and Product Management in consumer tech companies in Europe. LinkedIn
Ed Balcomb, Senior Solutions Manager, Europe Balcomb is dedicated to providing enterprise SaaS solutions that make sense to both business and technical teams. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope on March 15 digitally and live in London on March 22 and 23, 2022. Register today and save your spot.
Meniga is a global leader in helping banks create value from digital channels such as customer engagement, loyalty, new customers, and revenue.
Features
Create a trusted, lasting relationship with customers
Drive revenue growth by positioning the right products for them
Achieve return on spent investments in banking services
Why it’s great
Meniga augments the everyday personal banking experience by giving the right information to the right customers, at the right time.
Presenters
Hamza Behzad, Senior Manager of Product Strategy Behzad leads Meniga’s Product Strategy and advises clients on how to bring the best product ecosystem to bear for maximum business impact. LinkedIn
Isabel Moratiel, Director of Sales Operations Moratiel leads Sales Operations at Meniga where she focuses on the overall productivity and effectiveness of the sales organization. LinkedIn
Both an appetizer for the in-person, two-day FinovateEurope conference in London, March 22 and 23, as well as a satisfying main course in its own right, our FinovateEurope Digital Day Kick Off will feature a little bit of everything that makes our Finovate events special.
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope on March 15 digitally and in London on March 22 and 23, 2022. Register today and save your spot.
SmartStream’sSmartStream Air is cloud native, behaves like a consumer app, requires no training or IT skillset to use, and is the fastest AI and machine learning data quality application available today.
Features
Web based, ready to go, no installation
AI delivers immediate results
Cloud native, fully SaaS compliant
Why it’s great
The first and fastest AI data quality application that outperforms matching rates of anything available on the market today.
Presenter
Jethro MacDonald, Product Manager MacDonald brings over 10 years of experience in the financial services industry and has worked across multiple trading platforms and regulatory reporting systems, with a focus on credit/equity derivatives. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope on March 15 digitally and in London on March 22 and 23, 2022. Register today and save your spot.
Persistent Systems and Mambu will demo an intuitive solution that gives customers the ability to manage multiple financial accounts and enables seamless transfers to and from accounts using different currencies.
Features
Consolidated account balances from multiple accounts and currencies
Transfer of funds from one currency account to another
Transfer to third party accounts
Why it’s great
Customers are seeking digital wallets to hold and spend in different currencies. The Persistent solution and Mambu integration enables multi-currency wallets, quickly and globally.
Presenters
Rowhit Bhosale, Digital Banking Specialist at Persistent Systems Bhosale is a digital banking specialist with over 10 years experience working in the financial services sector, evangelizing and supporting transformative initiatives for the global enterprises. LinkedIn
Harjit Kang, Account Executive at Mambu Focusing on supporting financial organisations to break away from monolithic managed services and move towards a best of breed composable ecosystem. Having been an early joiner at Mambu, Kang has real life use cases of such journeys. LinkedIn