Gen AI, Geopolitics, and the Blue Dot Customer: 3 Conversations from FinovateEurope

Gen AI, Geopolitics, and the Blue Dot Customer: 3 Conversations from FinovateEurope

Today we’re sharing our final set of conversations from our European fintech conference, FinovateEurope. This round of interviews expands beyond our recent look at embedded finance, open banking, and the customer experience in financial services to cover broader themes like AI, the intersection of geopolitics and finance, and the customer of tomorrow.


The truth about generative AI: What financial institutions really need to know about adoption

Author, Generative AI expert, and founder at Tamang Ventures, Nina Schick discusses the realities facing financial services companies when they adopt generative AI. Schick talks about lessons financial services companies can learn from early adopters of the technology in other industries, and why partnerships are the way forward for most companies in banking and finance to best take advantage of AI.

The geopolitical super cycle and what that means for financial services

CEO at London Politica, Manas Chawla talks about the geopolitical risks facing the financial services sector in 2024 – from Ukraine to Gaza to the upcoming Presidential election in the United States. Chawla also discusses the geopolitical supercycle and the challenge of “grey rhino” threats that leaders in both business and politics need to be aware of.

The blue dot consumer: What can financial services learn from Taylor Swift, Red Bull, and United Airlines

A consumer behaviouralist at The King of Customer Experience Ken Hughes introduces the concept of the blue dot consumer in his discussion of what he calls “the customer of tomorrow.” Hughes talks about the relationship between technology and the human experience, how successful brands build loyalty, and what banks and financial institutions can do to foster true loyalty.


Photo by CoWomen

The Best Things in Life are Free: Watch All 35 Demo Videos from FinovateEurope

The Best Things in Life are Free: Watch All 35 Demo Videos from FinovateEurope

Regardless of whether or not you were in attendance at FinovateEurope in London last month, you can now watch videos of all 35 demos from the show for free.

Each of the 35 videos are around seven minutes long, which means we have more than four hours of fresh fintech content available. To offer you an easy place to start, we’ve highlighted the demo videos of the three companies that won Best of Show. Enjoy!

Corsound AI

See Corsound AI’s profile page on Finovate.com.

Tuum

See Tuum’s profile page on Finovate.com.

Zeed

See Zeed’s profile page on Finovate.com


Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash

Personalization, Customer Centricity, and the Future of Fintech and Financial Services

Personalization, Customer Centricity, and the Future of Fintech and Financial Services

En route to FinovateEurope in London last month, a cab driver asked me what I did for a living. After giving it a few moments of thought (“fintech research analyst” doesn’t always cut it), I told him, “I get to meet interesting people and ask them interesting questions.”

This year at FinovateEurope, I had the opportunity to sit down with more than a baker’s dozen of fintech entrepreneurs, analysts, and authors to talk about some of the top trends in fintech and financial services. Here, as part of our Finovate Speaker Series, I’m looking forward to sharing these conversations with you over the next few weeks.

First up, in commemoration of International Women’s History Month, my interviews with Samantha Seaton, CEO of Moneyhub, and Anette Broløs, founder of Finthropology.

Samantha Seaton is CEO of open banking, open finance, and open data platform Moneyhub. The company’s technology helps transform data into personalized digital experiences and initiate payments. Seaton is also a Non-Executive Director at the Charities Aid Foundation Bank and at The Investing and Savings Alliance (TISA).

In our conversation, Seaton discusses the contemporary “obsession with personalization.” We also talk about the latest trends in financial services, the impact of AI, and what financial services can learn from other sectors when it comes to best leveraging new technologies.


How can the study of human cultures benefit banks? We posed this question to Dr. Anette Broløs, co-founder and Director of Finthropology.

For all the discussion of the power of data in financial services in recent years, Broløs believes that companies in this space have not yet done all they can do in order to take advantage of qualitative research that can help them become more customer-centric. As the co-author of the soon-to-be-released book, Customer-Centric Innovation in Finance, Broløs explains how methods common in anthropology can be effectively applied to financial services, potentially revealing insights that banks have been missing for years.

FinovateEurope 2024: AI and the Smart Money Back Innovations in Wealthtech and Automation

FinovateEurope 2024: AI and the Smart Money Back Innovations in Wealthtech and Automation

Do you remember the parable about the blind men and the elephant? In some respects, trying to encapsulate the two days of FinovateEurope into a single conversation recalls their challenge.

It will come as no surprise that AI was top of mind. However, less than three years into this AI revolution, it was impressive to see calm heads and cautious strategies among the enthusiasm and anxiety. From AIs working with human agents to AI-enabled automation, putting the technology to practical use – on both the backend and frontend – is helping integrate AI more constructively into financial services than we might have imagined back in the days when we were first enthralled by ChatGPT.

That said, there is more to financial services and fintech in 2024 than AI. As more than one observer noted over the two days of FinovateEurope last week: AI may be king, but the kingdom is still the customer experience.

A View from the Keynote

That said, our Out of the Box Keynote address from author and Generative AI expert Nina Schick set the AI-powered tone early on Day One. From her presentation – Will AI Be More Profound Than The Invention Of The Internet? What Do Financial Institutions Really Need to Understand About Generative AI? – three points stood out to me.

First, popular opinion – and mass media news coverage – tends to treat AI and its innovations as either “dangerous” (New York Times, May 30, 2023: “AI Poses ‘Risk of Extinction,’ Industry Leaders Warn”) or “dumb” (The Guardian, March 16, 2023: “The stupidity of AI”). Thinking, or assuming, that AI will clearly be one or the other blinds us to the potential for the technology.

Furthermore, it is commonplace to suggest that AI will only be as “dangerous” or as “dumb” as its creators (not an entirely comforting thought, but …). Nevertheless, our relationship with AI will not be static; it will evolve as the technology evolves. In the process, we will become more attuned to, and aware of, the limitations of both AI as well as ourselves. In this, I am reminded of an observation by another AI expert who remarked that our experience with AI might actually help us understand more about what it means to be human. With each successive conversation about this technology, this viewpoint becomes more credible to me.

A second point from Schick is that many observers are focused on what is called “Artificial General Intelligence.” This refers to AI that is able to perform as well or better than humans at a variety of cognitive tasks, including the ability to self-teach. This is also the AI that the world is alternately anxious and excited about. Schick noted that before we get to artificial general intelligence (AGI), however, we will experience a period when what she called “Artificial Capable Intelligence” (ACI) will drive innovation.

ACI bridges the gap between the AI we see on display with large language models (LLMs) and Generative AI solutions on one hand and a potential future AGI on the other. Rather than what we can compel AI models to say or generate, ACI seeks to figure out what AI is “capable” of doing with its intelligence. As AI researcher Mustafa Suleyman wrote in an article for MIT Technology Review last July: “We don’t want to know whether the machine is intelligent as such; we want to know if it is capable of making a meaningful impact in the world. We want do know what it can do.”

As Schick elaborated on this concept, the ACI stage of AI’s evolution will not require machines that think or have achieved some level of sentience. Nevertheless, at this point, AI technology can perform highly specialized tasks – including emotional tasks – that would have been considered impossible for machines to conduct before. A recent Google study that showed its Articulate Medical Intelligence Explorer (AMIE) LLM outperforming human doctors, as well as, AI-assisted doctors, in a test of diagnostic reasoning and conversation. This is an example from health care, but the use cases in financial services – from debt resolution to wealth management – are clear.

Lastly, Schick emphasized that AI is a meta-technology rather than a single technology. As such we will be able to apply AI to a wide and growing variety of experiences and challenges. Moreover, as a meta-technology, AI will also have the ability to upskill a sizable range of activities – from the quantitative to the creative. This will cause no small measure of anxiety among many, but Schick believes that the benefits will be significant – and in many cases, surprising – enough to fuel continued engagement and innovation rather than retrenchment.

A View from the Money

What can we expect on the funding front for innovative startups in fintech? Where is the Smart Money looking – and investing – in 2024?

Our panel – Investor All Stars: Where Is The Smart Money Investing in Fintech? – is always one of the most well-attended sessions at FinovateEurope. These are the conversations that put technological innovation in the context of what’s actually possible. After a full day of watching live fintech demos, our All-Star Panel often arrives the following afternoon as a bracing tonic: what did you see? what did you like? what would you buy?

Claire Mongeau

This year, our investor panel at FinovateEurope featured Robin Scher, Head of Fintech Investment, Lloyds Banking Group; Sophie Winwood, Operating Partner, Foxe Capital; and Dallin Bills, Principal, Battery Ventures. Founders Factory Investor Claire Mongeau moderated the conversation.

If AI is the big driver for technological innovation in fintech and financial services, then the cost of money – namely, interest rate policy in the U.S. and Europe – are likely to give us the clearest indication of what to expect when it comes to investment in our industry this year.

While the panel in general was optimistic about funding in 2024, especially in the second half, they also agreed that interest rates will help determine the appetite for investment in fintech and that appetite will, in turn, help drive valuations.

Dallin Bills

There was also robust discussion of the M&A front. Capital One’s acquisition of Discover Financial in February was an early sign that 2024 might feature some welcome consolidation in the financial services space. And while the panel was united on the likelihood that M&A could be surprisingly active this year, there was debate on whether strategic transactions or private equity-fueled moves would dominate.

Bills noted, in favor of private equity, that there is $2.5 trillion in “dry powder on the sidelines”, a record amount, he said. Bills added that there are potential opportunities not only in AI and AI-powered automation, but also in niche areas like tax and accounting. Scher added that strategic M&A was “very much still in play” for 2024. “There are too many fintechs doing the same thing,” Scher observed, “and they don’t seem to realize it.”

Sophie Winwood

What do our panelists like? Winwood echoed Bills interest in the tax and accounting space. She also highlighted a “new wave of insurtechs” as worth keeping an eye on, as well as continued innovations in the wealthtech/wealth management space. With Millennials well into family formation mode, and both homebuying and saving for college becoming top agenda items for them, companies who are able to help these young families navigate these major financial challenges could be in high demand.

That, however, does not necessarily mean good times for lenders – digital or otherwise – as Bills noted. Many of these companies are still reeling from the interest rate hikes of 2023, and the prospect of interest rates remaining relatively high in the near-term is likely to encourage investors to take a hands-off, or at least wait-and-see, approach to the space.

Robin Scher

Perhaps most inspiring was Winwood’s observation that often some of the best companies are started during times of crisis and uncertainty. Further, she added, it’s never been easier to launch a new fintech. Maybe, if the previous fintech boom was characterized by a YOLO, ZIRP-fueled, free money mania, then perhaps the next boom will be characterized by greater sense and sobriety.

After all, she concluded wryly, if you’re starting a fintech today “you’re either mad or really love the problem and want to solve it.”

FinovateEurope 2024 Best of Show Winners Announced

FinovateEurope 2024 Best of Show Winners Announced

Day One of FinovateEurope 2024 is in the books! That means it’s time to find out which demoing companies made the greatest impressions on our Finovate audience – earning our coveted Best of Show award.


Corsound AI for its technology that helps businesses fortify their security measures against voice-related fraud. Video.

Tuum for its solution that allows banks to orchestrate new businesses and business models, unlocking new revenue streams. Video.

Zeed for its platform that enables public companies and asset managers to reach and engage retail investors by leveraging video content. Video.

Thanks to all of the companies that demonstrated their latest technologies live on the Finovate stage on Tuesday. The diverse array of fintech innovations – from new ways to combat fraud to solutions that help banks attract new customers and boost revenues – was a great sign of where our industry is today, and where it appears to be headed.

Be sure to check out our FinovateEurope 2024 recap next Monday as we look back at some of the key themes and issues raised in this week’s conference.


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 three 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 2023 conferences are below:
FinovateEurope 2015
FinovateSpring 2015
FinovateFall 2015
FinovateEurope 2016
FinovateSpring 2016
FinovateFall 2016
FinovateAsia 2016
FinovateEurope 2017
FinovateSpring 2017
FinovateFall 2017
FinovateAsia 2017
FinovateMiddleEast 2018
FinovateEurope 2018
FinovateSpring 2018
FinovateFall 2018
FinovateAsia 2018
FinovateAfrica 2018
FinovateEurope 2019
FinovateSpring 2019
FinovateFall 2019
FinovateAsia 2019
FinovateMiddleEast 2019
FinovateEurope 2020
FinovateFall 2020
FinovateWest 2020
FinovateEurope 2021
FinovateSpring 2021
FinovateFall 2021
FinovateEurope 2022
FinovateSpring 2022
FinovateFall 2022
FinovateEurope 2023
FinovateSpring 2023
FinovateFall 2023

A Preview of FinovateEurope: Trends and What to Expect

A Preview of FinovateEurope: Trends and What to Expect

The first Finovate event of the year, FinovateEurope, is set to begin tomorrow. Taking place at the O2 Intercontinental in London, FinovateEurope is a great way to hear discussion on the latest trends and see the newest fintech tools and solutions.

I had the opportunity this month to sit down with podcast host and Finovate VP Greg Palmer to discuss some of the trends we expect to see unfold on stage at FinovateEurope. You can tune into the podcast to hear our conversation, or take a look at some of the sessions and metrics I highlighted during our chat.

What I’m excited about

I’m eager to listen to sessions on generative AI that filter out the hype of what’s really going on and what is actually possible. I’m also curious to listen in on the buy vs. build conversation and to hear from Jillian Godsil, Author and Broadcaster at CoinTelegraph, about the potential of a crypto spring.

Spotlighted sessions

The new Finovate Hot or Not Gameshow takes the idea of what’s hot and what’s not in fintech to gauge what the industry has its sights on. As in years past, we’ll also host the Analyst All Stars and Investors All Stars panels.

Demo company highlights

FinovateEurope 2024 will host 36 demo companies, coming from 15 different countries, on stage this year. Of the 36 demoing, 90% are demoing on the Finovate stage for the first time and 75% are either debuting a new technology or are a new company.

Demo themes

  • Security/ Fraud/ Risk/Authentication/ Compliance: 7 companies
  • Wealth management/ Investing: 6 companies
  • Payments: 4 companies
  • Digital banking: 4 companies

Other demo themes– including lending, sustainability, customer experience, life insurance, pure play generative AI solution, mortgagetech, and financial education– have three companies or fewer.

Tune in to Finovate podcast episode 203 to hear more.

Live from London: Finovate TV Returns to FinovateEurope!

Live from London: Finovate TV Returns to FinovateEurope!

Finovate TV is back!

This year at FinovateEurope (27-28 February) I will be interviewing 15 fintech entrepreneurs, CEOs, analysts, authors, and thought leaders on what they believe are the most important topics and trends in fintech and financial services. Here’s a preview of the people I’ll be speaking with, a note on what they will be presenting at FinovateEurope, and a sense of the questions I’ll be asking them next week.

Be sure to stay tuned immediately after the event as we begin to roll out our Finovate TV interviews from FinovateEurope.


Anette Broløs – Director and Founder, Finthropology

Anette will be a part of our Wednesday afternoon Power Panel: From Open Banking To Open Finance & Beyond – How Can Banks Seize The Opportunity To Generate Returns?

I will ask Anette about the challenges that financial institutions face when trying to become more customer-centric. We’ll also discuss her new book, Customer-Centric Innovation in Finance, which explains how to turn human insights into product innovation.

Nina Schick, Author, Generative AI Expert, Founder, Tamang Ventures

Nina will deliver our Out of the Box Keynote Address Tuesday morning titled Will AI Be More Profound Than The Invention Of The Internet? What Do Financial Institutions Really Need To Understand About Generative AI?

I’m looking forward to learning more about what financial services need to know about de-risking the adoption of enabling technologies like AI. I’m also curious what other enabling technologies Nina thinks should be on our radar.

Indrek Vainu, Head of Conversational AI, Zurich Insurance Company

Indrek will be a part of our Wednesday afternoon Power Panel: AI In Action & Real User Cases: How Smart Players Are Using AI To Solve Pain Points For Their Customers & Their Business. He will also deliver a keynote address – How Financial Institutions Can Harness The Era of Generative AI – as part of our invitation-only session Monday evening for financial institutions.

In our conversation at FinovateEurope, I want to hear about the challenges Indrek and his team have faced as they implemented generative AI applications at their firm. What lessons and insights can he share with other financial services as they embark on their AI journeys?

Ville Sointu, Chief Strategist, Digital Currencies, Nordea

Ville will be a part of our Wednesday afternoon Power Panel: Digital Payments Are Eating The World – How Will New Competitors & New Business Models Shape The Future?

I’m curious to learn from Ville about how embedded payments are spreading throughout Europe. I’m also interested in learning about his interest in super apps, which he mentioned last year. How might the rise of super apps impact the payments landscape?

Janine Hirt, CEO, Innovate Finance

Janine will be a panelist on our Tuesday evening Executive Briefing: What Embedded Finance & Banking As A Service Mean For Banks – Can You Afford to Hold Back?

I will ask Janine about the future of Banking-as-a-Service and embedded finance in Europe. I’m looking forward to hearing her take on how the competitive landscape for service providers – beyond retailers and Big Tech – will evolve in this context.

Ken Hughes, Consumer Behaviouralist, The King of Customer Experience

Ken will deliver an Out of the Box Keynote Address Wednesday morning titled, Financing the Future: Preparing For The Customer Of Tomorrow.

I want to ask Ken about the Customer of Tomorrow. In what key ways will the customer of tomorrow differ from the customer of today?

I’m also looking forward to hearing his thoughts on customer-centric innovation and how traditional brands are adapting to new challenges and opportunties.

Valentina Kristensen, Director of Growth & Communications, OakNorth

Valentina will be part of our special panel titled, Women in Fintech: How Can We All Make Sure We Are Moving The Needle?

I would like to hear from Valentina on the evolution of DE&I initiatives in recent years. How effective have these efforts been in terms of attracting and retaining female talent, in particular?

I also want to learn from Valentina about how financial institutions can be more responsive to their female professionals as they move through various stages of their careers.

Manas Chawla, CEO, London Politica

Manas will provide a Keynote Address Wednesday morning titled, The Global Economic & Geo-Political Outlook – What Are The Five Things You Need To Know?

He will also deliver a special Fireside Chat: The Escalation of Geopolitical Risk – What Does It Mean for Banks And Their Customers? as part of our invitation-only session for financial institutions Monday evening.

Always an engaging interview, Manas is likely to have a lot to say about the myriad geopolitical issues that are dominating headlines in 2024. How will these various crises – from Europe to Asia to the Middle East to the American border – impact banks, fintechs, and financial services companies? I’m eager to hear what Manas has to say about all of it at FinovateEurope next week.

Jurgen Vandenbroucke, Managing Director, everyoneINVESTED

Jurgen will be a part of our Wednesday afternoon Power Panel titled, Tales From The Frontline – How Can Financial Institutions Deliver Excellent CX By Blending The Human & The Digital?

I want to talk with Jurgen about the impact of enabling technologies in the wealth management space. I’m curious how everyoneINVESTED is innovating in this area and what innovations in the investing experience are most compelling for customers in wealth management.

Nadia Edwards-Dashti, Co-Founder & Chief Customer Officer, Harrington Star Group

Nadia will moderate our Wednesday morning panel titled, Women in Fintech: How Can We All Make Sure We Are Moving The Needle?

In our Finovate TV conversation, I want to talk with Nadia about how many of the people she talks with in her podcast, Women of Fintech, are driving positive change in fintech and financial services.

I would also like her opinion on what it takes for companies to create more inclusive workplaces for their employees.

Samantha Seaton, CEO, Moneyhub Enterprise

Samantha will deliver a Special Address Wednesday morning titled, Your Product Isn’t The Hero – Your Customer Is.

I’m eager to hear from Samantha about how companies in financial services can pivot from an emphasis on the product to a more customer-centric approach.

I’m also curious how she sees the impact of technologies like AI and the role they may play in helping financial services companies make this pivot. I also will ask Samantha about her overall sense of the state of fintech right now.

Stephen Hutchinson, Head of Operations, IFX Payments

A few years ago a venture capitalist reminded us from the Finovate stage that “payments are the gift that keeps giving.”

With that in mind, I’m looking forward to talking with someone who walks the payment talk in Stephen Hutchinson, Head of Operations at IFX Payments.

I will ask Stephen what payment trends he finds most exciting and how he believes those trends will impact IFX Payments. We will also talk about some of the key targets and goals for IFX Payments in 2024.

Jose Luis Navarro, Head of Open Banking Strategy, BBVA

Jose will be a panelist on our Wednesday afternoon Power Panel titled, From Open Banking to Open Finance & Beyond – How Can Banks Seize The Opportunity To Generate Returns?

Given the success of open banking and open finance in Europe compared to many other parts of the world (I’m looking at you, US of A!), I’m eager to learn from Jose about what’s working in Europe and how BBVA has managed to capitalize on current trends in open banking and open finance.

I also will ask about the regulatory risks of open banking and open finance, and what institutions need to know in order to navigate these issues.

Edwin van Bommel, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, ABN AMRO Bank

Edwin will be part of our Wednesday morning Power Panel: Finding New Opportunities Through Digital Transformation – Success Stories & Insights To Help Financial Institutions Find Growth, Drive Revenue & Future Proof Their Business.

In my conversation with Edwin, I’m looking forward to learning more about AMRO Bank’s product roadmap, and the degree to which he sees AI becoming a greater part of financial services overall. I also want to talk with Edwin about the challenge traditional banks have when it comes to overcoming legacy systems.

Katharina Lueth, Chief Client Officer and Managing Director, Raisin

Katharina will be part of our Wednesday morning Power Panel: Why Fintech Will Revolutionize Customer Experience & How Financial Services Providers Can Compete In A Hyper Personalized World. What Are They Key Lessons To Learn From Other Industry Verticals & From How Big Tech Companies Build Customer Trust?

How can a financial services company that operates in multiple geographies successfully provide personalized services in these different regions? What are some of the key trends in fintech that are impacting what Raisin’s customers want and how is Raisin adapting to meet these trends?

These are a few of the questions I’m looking forward to asking Katharina next week at FinovateEurope.


There’s still time to pick up your ticket and join us for one of the most loaded FinovateEurope conferences to date! Visit our FinovateEurope page and register today!


Photo by Donald Tong

FinovateEurope 2024 Sneak Peek Series: Part 6

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on February 27. Register today using this link and save 20%.

InvestGlass

InvestGlass is the #1 Swiss sales automation solution for banks, which features digital onboarding, CRM, marketing, portfolio management, and integrates on-premise AI GPT with legacy regulations. It is a Swiss sovereign solution.

Features

  • Eliminates client idle time and churn
  • Streamlines account openings
  • Offers hyper-targeted investment solutions to meet client needs efficiently
  • Compatible on premise/cloud

Who’s it for?

Banks, payment providers, brokers, wealth management companies, and governments.

Kodex AI

Kodex AI’s generative AI solution enables financial professionals to complete analyses in minutes rather than days: find information, analyze data, or instantly draft reports.

Features

  • Offers precision-tailored LLM specializing in financial data
  • Delivers transparent data sourcing with detailed audit trails
  • Provides advanced data security measures, mitigating breaches and compliance violations

Who’s it for?

Client-focused teams in private banks (wealth managers) and banks for corporate and institutional clients (client solutions team).

Taktikal

Taktikal is a regtech cloud solution that allows fintech companies to set up regulated workflows faster than ever before in a no-code self-service environment.

Features

  • Automates KYC and KYB due diligence
  • Streamlines approval and risk assessment workflows
  • Delivers visual workspace for designing customer onboarding experiences

Who’s it for?

Payment providers, financial service providers, insurance companies, professional services, and banks.

Six Special Sessions at FinovateEurope You Won’t Want to Miss

Six Special Sessions at FinovateEurope You Won’t Want to Miss

Amid the panel discussions, fireside chats, and keynote speeches, FinovateEurope 2024 will also offer a half dozen special addresses on topics ranging from tokenization to customer onboarding to open finance. With less than two weeks to go before the lights go up on the Finovate stage – 27 February to 28 February – here’s a brief introduction to some of the fintech experts and entrepreneurs who will be sharing their insights on major trends in fintech this year and beyond.

Visit our FinovateEurope hub today and save your seat. Register by 16 February and take advantage of big, early-bird savings!


The first special address of FinovateEurope will be part of an invitation-only session the day before the conference begins. Part of Finovate’s New Leaders+ experience, our pre-event briefing and networking opportunity for financial institutions will feature expert insights, fireside chats, and a special address: How Today’s Leading Financial Institutions Can Gain Critical Insight and Stay Competitive.

On Day One of FinovateEurope, we’ll feature four special addresses. In the first, Mateusz Grys, Product Manager, LiveBank by Ailleron; and Łukasz Parzyk, Expert Lead, ING Bank; will talk about the power of bank/fintech partnerships in a presentation titled Click, Connect, Mortgage. Success Story of ING & LiveBank by Ailleron.

Later that day, Nick Kerigan, Managing Director and Head of Innovation at Swift, will share his insights on Tokens & Machines: A Vision of the Future of Financial Innovation. Kerigan has more than 20 years experience in payments and banking. Before joining Swift in 2020, he was Managing Director for Future Payments at Barclays. In his current position, he helps lead Swift’s response to emerging technologies from digital currencies to tokenized assets.

Also on Day One, Santosh Reyes, founder and Managing Director for DLT Apps, will provide a Special Address. Founded in 2018, London-based DLT Apps is an engineering company that leverages its expertise in blockchain technology and artificial intelligence to transform financial services. Reyes has more than 20 years of experience in the financial industry and a track record of identifying and nurturing innovative ideas that can disrupt the traditional financial landscape.

With a title that leaves little to the imagination, Liam Chennells, CEO and Co-Founder of Detected, will provide the final Special Address of Day One. In his presentation – You Are Slowly Dying, But You Don’t Realize It Yet, Every Day Your Competition is Onboarding Customers Better than You – Chennells takes on what he calls “the silent killer of businesses.” His company, Detected, is re-inventing the traditional approach to onboarding for businesses, customers, and merchants. Welcome to the world of Onboarding Intelligence!

Day Two of FinovateEurope will feature one Special Address among our keynotes, fireside chats, and breakout streams on banking, customer experience, lending, open banking, payments, and more. Samantha Seaton, CEO of Moneyhub will deliver a Special Address titled, Your Product Isn’t the Hero – Your Customer Is. In her presentation, Seaton will answer questions such as how Open Finance can help firms become more customer-centric and how companies can leverage emerging technologies like AI to derive data insights and take advantage of the power of personalization.


Photo by SevenStorm JUHASZIMRUS

FinovateEurope 2024 Sneak Peek Series: Part 5

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on February 27. Register today using this link and save 20%.

Citrusx

Citrusx is a trusted end-to-end platform for AI validation and governance, enabling accurate, safe, and compliant AI in organizations.

Features

  • Provides 100% transparency into models
  • Delivers 82% faster time to production
  • Reduces risk by 75%

Who’s it for?

Banks, payment providers, credit unions, insurtech companies, and lending providers.

Darksquare

Darksquare is an investment platform for individuals that focuses on alternative, private market investment opportunities currently out of reach.

Features

  • Improves investment portfolio diversification
  • Potentially generates high-risk adjusted returns (target 12-15% pa)
  • Offers curated dealflow and bespoke research

Who’s it for?

Individuals, small-and-medium-sized asset managers, and family offices.

Doshi App

Doshi helps banks, credit unions, and lenders offer financial education to their communities and empower users with everyday money confidence.

Features

  • Boosts money confidence through engaging lessons and rewards
  • Delivers tailored user insights through embedded surveys and AI-based learning
  • Drives conversions to banking products and services

Who’s it for?

Banks, building societies, credit unions, responsible lenders, and lending and investment platforms.

FRNZX

FRNZX streamlines crypto AML compliance for banks and VASPs, from onboarding through ongoing surveillance, EDD, and suspicious activity reporting.

Features

  • Simplifies crypto AML integration; eases onboarding and EDD
  • Aggregates fragmented data for unified insights
  • Tailors policy enforcement to institutions’ risk appetite, enhancing compliance

Who’s it for?

Banks, financial institutions, virtual assets service providers, law and accounting firms, and AML compliance firms.

Intrepid Fox

Intrepid Fox is a unique SaaS solution that improves the KYB process and makes it 10x faster for banks and fintechs.

Features

  • Reads and understands most difficult free-form documents
  • Collects missing information directly from customers
  • Prepares information-rich summaries for compliance specialists

Who’s it for?

Fintechs, banks, neobanks, and payment providers.

Finovate Global: Fintechs Representing More than 15 Countries to Demo at FinovateEurope 2024

Finovate Global: Fintechs Representing More than 15 Countries to Demo at FinovateEurope 2024

FinovateEurope 2024 will have its fair share of local talent demoing live on the Finovate stage on 27 February in London. And while we’re looking forward to the return of FinovateEurope 2023 Best of Show winner NayaOne, we’re also excited to meet a whole bunch of U.K.-based fintechs that are making their Finovate debuts:

FinovateEurope 2024 will also feature one of our most geographically diverse lineups to date. Companies from 15 different countries plus the U.K. will be on hand in just a few weeks to demo their latest fintech innovations at our annual European fintech conference.

See for yourself! Here’s a look at the range of countries our demoing companies are coming from:

Visit our FinovateEurope hub today and save your seat. Register by 16 February and take advantage of big, early-bird savings!


Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Segura Bank International (SBI), a financial institution based in Puerto Rico, tapped Temenos to power its new digital bank.
  • Contxto showcased the Chilean Fintech Law, Ley Fintec, that went into effect last weekend.
  • TechRound profiled 10 Bolivian startups including POS management software provider Vendis, paytech Pagame, and inclusive finance platform Koban,

Asia-Pacific

  • Singapore-based cryptocurrency payments app Oobit secured $25 million in Series A funding.
  • Salmon, a consumer credit and debit product provider, has become a licenced bank in the Philippines.
  • Doxa Holdings, a Singaporean digital procurement platform for the supply chain industry, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Cento Ventures.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • 10x Banking announced plans to extend its expansion into Africa.
  • Semafor looked at the challenges Nigerian fintechs will face as the country’s central bank tightens regulations to fight fraud.
  • The Kenyan High Court enabled Nigerian fintech Flutterwave to access $3 million in funds frozen since July 2022.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Hungarian fraud prevention platform SEON joined the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Accelerate Programme.
  • Germany’s Commerzbank partnered with trade finance solutions provider Surecomp.
  • Estonia-based checkout solutions provider Montonio to offer BNPL services courtesy of a partnership with Inbank.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Commercial Bank of Kuwait teamed up with Network International to upgrade its payment systems.
  • U.S. and Israeli-based fintech Pagaya locked in a five-year, $280 million credit facility with BlackRock, JP Morgan Chase, and other lenders.
  • Emirates NBD turned to anti-crime platform Silent Eight to enhance its compliance operations.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Indian payment services firm PayU teamed up with Thought Machine to power its LazyPay credit service.
  • Nepal Clearing House partnered with ACI Worldwide to support its National Payment Switch (NPS) initiative.
  • India-based fintech CRED agreed to acquire mutual fund and stock investment platform Kuvera.

Photo by Pixabay

FinovateEurope 2024 Sneak Peek Series: Part 4

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on February 27. Register today using this link and save 20%.

Corsound AI

Corsound AI utilizes innovative technology to verify customers’ identities for financial institutions, leveraging over 200 patents to detect AI scams and voice fraud.

Features

  • Provides an innovative method to detect deepfakes in call centers, with or without DB
  • Delivers a revolutionary way to prevent identity theft
  • Offers a unique voice-face matching technology

Who’s it for?

Banks, credit unions, payment providers, and small-and-medium-sized businesses.

Dotfile

Dotfile is an end-to-end business verification platform that automates KYB and AML procedures, reduces fraud, and streamlines compliance operations.

Features

  • Verifies businesses and UBOs and maps corporate structures
  • Automates onboarding, from data collection to risk scoring and periodic monitoring
  • Creates flexible risk-scoring models with custom rules

Who’s it for?

Payment service providers, banks, fintechs, forex platforms, private equity firms, crypto brokers, and asset managers.

Eleos

Eleos partners with consumer brands to embed income protection and life insurance into their online journeys.

Features

  • Bridges access and awareness gap that has kept penetration of these products down
  • Adds additional revenue stream for distributors
  • Improves customer retention rate for brands

Who’s it for?

Direct to consumer fintechs.

Finerative

Finerative is a Gen-AI native startup bringing generative technology to the financial space.

Features

  • Improves productivity and operational efficiency while driving revenues
  • Increases client satisfaction
  • Delivers innovation

Who’s it for?

Universal banks, private banks, asset management entities, wealth management institutions, and independent financial advisors.

SkenarioLabs

SkenarioLabs’ predictive data analytics solution integrates an advanced suite of risk assessment and reporting tools to guide sustainable investment and lending decisions in real estate.

Features

  • Minimal data requirements: delivers accurate insights from address-only data
  • Single-platform integration: provides value, risk, & ESG assessments for all asset classes
  • Streamlined compliance: offers flexible analytics

Who’s it for?

Banks and building societies, real estate investment and advisory firms, and insurance providers.

Tuum

Tuum’s next generation core banking software platform removes legacy constraints, transforms existing business models, builds new business models, and unlocks new revenue streams. Core Banking. Without Limits .

Features

  • Delivers a cloud native, modular, API first software – unlimited scalability and flexibility
  • Features Beyond Core – accounts, lending, cards, & payments from a single platform
  • Offers a highly configurable platform – launch new products in minutes

Who’s it for?

Retail and corporate banks, EMIs, fintechs, and financial institutions.

Zeed

Zeed offers a platform for public companies and asset managers to reach, educate, and engage retail investors using AI and video content.

Features

  • Reaches and educates investors where they already are
  • Utilizes AI-generated financial video content
  • Tracks attribution to share price liquidity and AUM

Who’s it for?

Public companies, asset managers, retail investors, and brokerage platforms.