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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
How will artificial intelligence – AI – drive innovation in fintech and financial services? This year at FinovateSpring we checked in with our experts to find out how AI will impact everything from the financial services workforce to the way customers interact with their bank or credit union.
We are less than one month out from FinovateFall. In true Finovate fashion, we are hosting 52 companies to demo their technology live on stage. Most impressively, this year, 27 of the demoing companies are new to Finovate.
Because more than half of the FinovateFall demo companies are new to us, we figured they might be new to you, as well so we decided to make a formal introduction. You can check out all 27 companies below.
Agtools Agtools offers supply chain market data and analytics for farmers and agriculture workers.
Alto Solutions Alto Solutions provides an alternative asset investment platform.
Bits of Stock Bits of Stock is a consumer rewards platform that drives loyalty through Stock Rewards.
Cashy Cashy provides gamified consumer engagement for credit unions.
CD Valet CD Valet is a nationwide marketplace connecting consumers with financial institutions to shop, compare, and open certificates of deposits.
Chimney Chimney helps banks and credit unions launch modern financial tools that provide personalized answers to customers while generating more loans and deposits.
ClimateTrade ClimateTrade is a climate-tech company that leverages blockchain technology to facilitate large-scale decarbonization efforts.
DataVisor DataVisor delivers the world’s most sophisticated AI-powered solutions to keep companies and their customers safe from fraud and abuse.
Effectiv Effectiv offers a fraud and compliance automation risk management platform for fintechs and community financial institutions.
EQUE EQUE’s digital security helps banks and card issuers eliminate e-commerce fraud.
eself.ai eSelf is creating the next generation of client-financial institution interaction, enabling human-like conversations and efficient personalization.
HappyNest HappyNest is a mobile application for real estate investment.
Inscribe Inscribe helps clients leverage automated manual document reviews to reduce fraud rates and credit losses while increasing customer win rates.
Jaid Jaid is an AI-powered platform built to enable the intelligent automation of business communications getting to the right answer faster.
Kard Kard offers rewards infrastructure for card issuers.
MacroMicro MacroMicro offers macroeconomic investment information to help investors understand economic trends.
Mahalo Banking Mahalo Banking provides secure, user-driven, digital banking and analytical solutions.
Regulo Regulo offers face screening for effective compliance and fraud prevention.
SRM Key Moments SRM Key Moments help financial institutions who are motivated to build more loyal customers and own the payment moment.
SupraFin SupraFin is a pioneer in crypto investment and risk intelligence products, which help organizations assess risk and invest confidently in crypto.
Telesign Telesign provides continuous trust to leading global enterprises by connecting, protecting, and defending their digital identities.
True Digital Group True Digital Group offers products that serve as conduits in strengthening the relationships FIs have with technology, vendors, and each other.
Trustworthy Trustworthy is an operating system that secures and organizes all family tasks in one place.
Union Credit Union Credit’s marketplace for credit unions delivers firm credit approval and one-click loan activation to new members, embedded within their daily lives.
Uprise Uprise provides AI-powered financial advisory for third party platforms.
Viffy Viffy ties creator influence through to physical brick-and-mortar sales.
Zerobank Design Factory Zerobank Design Factory develops and operates digital banking systems.
Be sure to keep an eye out for demo updates leading up to the event, which takes place September 11 through 13 in New York. Don’t miss your chance to register!
How are community banks keeping pace with rising customer expectations and the demands for greater financial inclusion? What role do fintechs play in helping community banks offer their customers the latest innovative fintech solutions?
I spoke with Charles Potts, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer for the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) to discuss this and other issues, including:
Key challenges faced by community bankers today
New opportunities and customer expectations
The role of partnerships in helping community banks respond to new opportunities
Membership-based financial institutions such as credit unions play a critical role in helping promote financial engagement among those living and working in the communities they serve. This puts them in an ideal place to help promote the cause of financial inclusion, and the challenge of bringing financial services – and technological innovation – to underserved communities.
I spoke with Ben Maxim, Chief Digital Strategy & Innovation Officer at MSU Federal Credit Union at FinovateSpring earlier this year. Among the topics we discussed were:
Key business and tech trends to pay attention to
How to reach and connect with underserved communities
The role of decentralized finance in making financial services more accessible
Maxim provided insights into what underserved communities are looking for in financial services. He also discussed why financial inclusion is about more than breaking down socioeconomic barriers. Check out the full interview below.
Welcome to the latest edition of the Finovate eMagazine. As we kick off another issue full of fintech insights and profiles, I’d like to start with an old joke that’s been on my mind recently. It goes something like this: two men were hiking in the woods when they came upon a bear. One of the men immediately knelt down and began lacing up his shoes. The other one said, “it doesn’t matter how tight your shoes are, you’ll never be able to outrun that bear.” The first one replied, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you.”
For a long time, fintech innovators have been able to survive simply by beating their closest competitors, making sure that they are one step ahead of those they perceive to be running from the same basic threats that they are. For the most part, this has been true. Banks that have ignored new technologies have failed to attract new customers, and they’re dying out, leaving a greater market share for those that remain. Legacy fintech providers that haven’t updated or upgraded aggressively are losing out to those that have. And fintech startups that haven’t wisely used the capital they’ve been allotted have been forced to endure painful layoffs or, in some cases, shutter their doors altogether, leaving more room for those that have been able to operate more efficiently.
In short, falling behind your closest rivals has been costly, while staying ahead of them has been rewarding.
Our Finovate conferences showcase key insights that will help you run faster. In this eMagazine, we bring fresh content from FinovateSpring 2023 and discuss the most important trends in fintech today.
Learn about the key developments making financial services more accessible for both consumers and businesses
Watch interviews with key industry giants, including Wade Arnold, Barb MacLean, Charles Potts, and Sarah Hinkfuss
Get up to date with new developments in generative AI and metaverse use cases, embedded finance, geopolitical risks, and more
Read unpopular tech opinions from our demoers and the key issues surrounding card programs
Catch up with our fintech founders and see what they have to say about launching startups in the current landscape
At FinovateSpring last month, Moov CEO Wade Arnold talked to us about how and why he built his company, what his greatest hurdles have been, and what he is looking forward to next.
For those unfamiliar with Moov, it is a fintech that provides a payment orchestration API that allows customers to accept, store, send, and spend money. The all-in-one experience offers customers direct connection with card brands, The Clearing House, and the Federal Reserve.
And if you’re unfamiliar with Wade Arnold, you’re missing out! He’s always the smartest guy in the room, and he’s humble enough to share his knowledge with anyone who will listen. Here are the highlights of our conversation with him at FinovateSpring.
What was the impetus to build Moov?
I was inspired to build Moov because, through three different startup companies inside of the financial service space, we spent a lot of time dealing with legacy infrastructure rather than building the product that we wanted to take to market. And so, rather than building another abstraction, I decided to take on the job of building straight to the payment that works.
How many times did you pivot?
I think [we’re] pivoting daily, but for us the biggest pivot was doing payment rails linearly. I definitely wanted to go do everything all at once but thankful that we started with ACH, started with our wallets, then to card acquiring, and just building out each component as our customers needed.
What were the biggest hurdles you faced early on?
The biggest challenge for Moov was getting the Federal Reserve, the Clearing House, and four card brands to say, “yes” to a brand new startup wanting to build directly onto the backbone of their payment infrastructure. So once we were able to overcome that, we were able to start writing code and developing the platform.
If you could repeat the process and start over, what would you do differently?
I’d slow down on sales, and focus on customers. So there’s always a drive to create revenue faster and faster, and that’s an area that I think you have to wait until the company’s ready to go very fast and invest into that opportunity to grow your market.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from VCs during the funding process?
Interacting with VCs is kind of funny for me. I didn’t really do a market analysis. I just said, “This is broken, I’ve dealt with this my entire life, and want to go build something to fix it.” It was fascinating interacting with VCs, but coming from the opposite angle. As a builder, that’s kind of a bottoms up approach. And they were coming from a market dynamics [perspective]. Both of us landed in the same place.
Where do you see Moov in 10 years?
The vision for the business in 10 years is to really just keep on focusing on customers. You know, a delighted customer is the best reference possible. So we’ll keep on doing that. My long-term aspirations are that we’re a legacy incumbent someday, which just means that, for a period of time, we were the best thing that people could build on top of and that would be an incredible privilege.
What is the role of Generative AI in financial services? It seems as if every week another fintech or financial services company is announcing that it is integrating ChatGPT – among the most popular Generative AI applications – into its products. This week alone Avalara announced that it is launching a sales tax calculator plugin for ChatGPT, and cryptocurrency exchange Bybit reported that it is integrating ChatGPT into its trading tools.
As part of our Streamly Future of Finance Series, we asked Rocio Wu, Principal at F-Prime Capital and a recent speaker at FinovateSpring, for her thoughts on the role of Generative AI in financial services. What unique services will Generative AI make possible? Are banks ready to take advantage of what Generative AI has to offer? And what are the ethical concerns about the use of Generative AI in financial services? Wu discusses all this and more in her Streamly Future of Finance Q&A: “The three main categories of Generative AI innovation in financial services.”
Great news for those who missed out on FinovateSpring last month– the demo videos from the event are now available!
You can now watch all 44 demo videos that graced the Finovate stage. Don’t know where to start? Take a peek at the six Best of Show-winning demos, linked below.
Want to know their secrets to earning the Best of Show title? This year’s Best of Show-winning companies offer their tips on winning Best of Show in the video highlight below:
Thanks to our demo companies, presenters, panelists, partners, sponsors, and to our audience for participating in this year’s event. We’ll see you at FinovateFall!
FinovateSpring 2023 is in the books! Congratulations to the winners of Best of Show, and thanks to the hundreds of fintech and financial services professionals whose passion and enthusiasm continue to make our conferences such unique and rewarding experiences.
Do you have a favorite moment from FinovateSpring 2023? Was it Dan Latimore of Celent and his creative deployment of generative AI during the Analyst All-Stars presentations? Maybe it was Peggy Mangot of JP Morgan who led a Power Panel full of diverse insights on where the smart money is investing in fintech. How about the first-ever company to begin its Finovate demo with a song performed live on stage?
Whatever moment of FinovateSpring was your favorite, there were plenty of good times and great networking opportunities to go around. Check out this review from Finovate Senior Research Analyst Julie Muhn who compiled her top seven takeaways from the event.
And stay tuned to the Finovate blog where we’ll soon share demo videos from the conference, as well as one-one-one video interviews, testimonials, our event e-magazine, and more!
I just returned from FinovateSpring, where I spent three days watching live product demos, listening to panels and keynote discussions, and shaking hands with new and old connections alike. As with all events, this one showcased new ideas. Unlike other events, however, this year’s FinovateSpring event signified a shift in the fintech landscape.
I’ve summarized this shift, along with other key themes presented, in seven key takeaways below.
Regulations are here
Pending regulations was a prominent topic at the event, extending beyond the crypto sector to include traditional finance. Despite many instances of regulatory oversight in the crypto sector over the years, last years’ FTX scandal was big enough to raise the red flag for regulators. Since then, traditional banks including Silicon Valley Bank and Cross River Bank have raised concerns about lack of oversight, and banking-as-a-service, respectively. Regulators are being held accountable, and their response to oversight issues is becoming increasingly important.
Fintechs and banks have shifted to consider regulation more heavily when and how they build products. Not only this, banks have also learned that they need to step up their due diligence before partnering with third party players.
AI is becoming table stakes
The integration of AI has moved beyond mere discussion and has become crucial for fintech firms. They now recognize the need to leverage AI across various aspects– including customer service, personalization, business intelligence, underwriting, and more– to stay competitive and meet customer expectations.
However, the good news is that it’s easier now than ever for firms to get involved with AI. We saw a few live demos at FinovateSpring that showcased accessible, no-code methods for firms to engage with AI. No developers? No problem.
The froth of 2019 is not coming back
The fintech industry has entered a new phase, and the environment of low interest rates and excessive fundraising we experienced from 2012 to 2019 is not sustainable. Firms must adapt to this new normal by focusing on unit economics and operational efficiency to ensure their survival, as down rounds and exits become more prevalent.
Things can only improve. Or will the slide continue?
On our Investor All Stars panel, the venture capitalists on stage expressed differing views on the market trajectory. Three out of four said that in their view, we are “bouncing around the bottom” of the downturn, and that things can only go up from here.
However, many folks I spoke with on the networking floor disagreed with the positive sentiment, and said they thought that the economy would see a downturn before things improve. Consumers are feeling the pain in their wallets, and the looming debt ceiling–as well as a spike in consumer debt– aren’t helping.
Beyond customer acquisition
Merely acquiring a large user base or having a unique product is no longer sufficient for fintech success. VCs and banks now require a clear monetization strategy and a focus on unit economics. Fintechs must demonstrate how their customer base supports their bottom line in order to attract investment and partnership opportunities.
Consolidation will continue
In both the banking and fintech sectors, we’ve seen an uptick in M&A activity. Some of these deals have been unexpected, like the case of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, for example. At the conference, there was much discussion about a potential shakeout in the fintech sector. Startups who are running out of funds and can’t renew a new round will either have to fold or be acquired. The neobank sector will also see a reckoning. Niche neobanks that have launched in the past four years will either have to find a way to mine value from an expanded user group or merge with like-minded fintechs.
Regulatory challenges with DeFi and crypto
Notably absent from the event’s discussions were decentralized finance (DeFi) and cryptocurrencies. In contrast to two years ago, when every session included a discussion about crypto, only a few presenters brought up the topic at last week’s event. The reason? Regulatory challenges.
Regulatory concerns have spiked due to the fallout from last year’s FTX scandal and other crypto collapses. Regulators fear loss of control with decentralized finance and lack understanding of the underlying mechanics behind crypto.
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateSpring in San Francisco on May 23 and 24. Register today and save your spot.
Ionatedeploys a cloud-modernization journey from any legacy to cloud-native microservices in under 18 months with SOTERIA (Discovery & Assessment) and APPDATE (Complete App Modernization).
Features
Discovery assessment tool showing business rules and logic
AI/ML to modernize and migrate legacy systems to high-performing cloud-native infrastructures
Ability to work with any legacy application
Why it’s great
Using both SOTERIA and APPDATE, Ionate ensures and employs the most efficient and productive end-to-end journey from discovery & assessment to complete app modernization execution.
Presenters
Ajanta Adhikari, CEO & Founder As a leader and visionary at Akamai for over ten years and IBM, Adhikari took his technical innovation to start Ionate, Inc. in 2016. He saw a market need that he could solve successfully. LinkedIn
Amol Dharmadhikari, CTO With over 15 years experience at Oracle, Dharmadhikari has been with Ionate, Inc. since the beginning. As the CTO, he paved the way to disrupting digital transformation for enterprises with AI/ML. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateSpring in San Francisco on May 23 and 24. Register today and save your spot.
Bankable Fintechstreamlines how financial institutions, vendors, and fintechs find, partner, and buy from each other. Navigate through the noise of 120,000+ solutions and 1,500 financial institutions with unbiased, prescriptive AI.
Features
Prescriptive AI-enabled matching of banks, CUs, vendors, consultants, and fintechs
Comprehensive, personalized, and unbiased
Compliant, efficient, effective, and profitable
Why it’s great
Prescriptive AI enables smart sourcing and procurement, benefitting any sized financial institution, fintech, vendor, or consultant by removing bias and inefficiency and optimizing compatibility.
Presenter
Kim Fraser, CEO & Founder Fraser founded and built Bankable Fintech. Previously, she led BD, Sales and Product teams at F100 financial institutions, global technology and data management firms, and startup fintechs, in all geos.
