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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
High-growth companies like those involved in cutting-edge technologies face a wide range of challenges. Effective cash management is one of them. From the appearance of cash flow gaps between cash collection and realizing revenues to the necessity of making significant initial capital outlays for operations, infrastructure, and talent before revenues catch up, high-growth companies often have banking needs that many financial institutions struggle to respond to.
This week, our Streamly Series interview features Christopher Hollins, Global Head of Product Sales and Design at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank. Hollins outlines some of the tactics high-growth companies can rely on in order to better manage cash and make the most of technologies like automation. Hollins also explains how solutions like SVB Go offer these businesses essential insights and streamline cash forecasting and management.
“The challenge is that innovators, entrepreneurs want to do what makes them passionate. And for most people, just like in high school and college, accounting, cash management, managing finances … not exactly the oversubscribed classes. In all seriousness, what companies need to do as they are growing very fast, they’re very focused on revenue-generation, satisfying clients, etc. But in doing that, two other things are happening: cash is moving in and out, and some of that cash could be better used in a number of different circumstances, maybe it could be invested in a different way. There is a lot of ‘lack of discipline,’ but I wouldn’t say that’s because people are purposely trying to do that. They are focused on running their businesses.”
Silicon Valley Bank brings more than 40 years of experience as a financial partner for the innovation economy. The company serves innovation economy companies and investors with business banking, liquidity management, global business solutions, and fund banking. With deep sector expertise in enterprise software, frontier tech, cleantech and sustainability, as well as fintech, SVB counts 60% of all fintechs on the 2025 Forbes fintech list and 40% of the Forbes 2025 AI list among its clients.
Head of Global Product Sales and Delivery at Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank, Christopher Hollins has played a key role in transforming the platform’s solution delivery model to ensure that SVB’s Commercial Bank Innovation economy clients have access to the best partners and solutions to solve business challenges and have optimal banking relationships along their journey. Hollins has been a part of SVB since 2021.
“You only get to that space where you are jumping from experimentation to execution if you align three major skills: one, deep knowledge of the technology … the second is knowledge of financial services, something the financial entities already have covered. But they don’t have enough experience, this is the third skill, of deploying AI. Why is this important? You might decide the right use case, but maybe you don’t have enough data, maybe the expectations that have been generated inside the organization are too high … You need the experience of someone else to help you … to define and identify if that investment is going to come in the first weeks of the project.”
VASS is an international digital transformation company that helps people, organizations, and businesses around the world provide best-in-class digital solutions to customers in banking, insurance, telecommunications, retail, media, public administration, and more. Founded in 1999, the company is based in Madrid, Spain.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping every corner of the financial services world, and auditing is no exception. As firms look for smarter ways to manage repetitive, manual processes, AI-powered tools are stepping in to reduce risk, save time, and improve accuracy.
Filmed at FinovateSpring earlier this year, this Streamly video features Aman Kaur, Sales Director at DataSnipper, discussing how DataSnipper transforms how auditors work. Kaur shares how the company is helping audit teams evolve their workflows through embedded automation. By eliminating repetitive tasks like copying data, matching documents, and performing manual verifications, DataSnipper frees up auditors to focus on higher-value analysis, which results in a smarter, faster audit process.
“We’re seeing that finance and audit professionals are spending too much of their valuable time on very repetitive, very menial tasks,” said Kaur. “So our mission at DataSnipper is to resolve that with automation, and we want to meet them where they’re spending that time, which is in Excel. So we’re working in building tools that are going to help eliminate a lot of the repetitive work and give them time back to focus on more strategic work.”
Founded in 2017, DataSnipper is a smart automation platform built directly into Excel that helps auditors, finance teams, and consultants work more efficiently. The company’s AI-powered tools automatically match and extract data from supporting documents such as invoices, contracts, and bank statements to save time and reduce human error. Today, DataSnipper is used by over 500,000 professionals in 125+ countries, including the Big Four and top-tier audit firms around the world.
Aman Kaur brings experience in enterprise SaaS sales, working across industries to introduce transformative technologies. At DataSnipper, she focuses on helping audit and finance teams embrace automation and rethink what their workflows can look like.
How does the shifting regulatory landscape impact the ability of financial institutions to securely engage new customers and members, protect themselves and their partners from fraud, and remain compliant? What technologies and processes are available to help them ensure that they are meeting their regulatory obligations in the most efficient and comprehensive way possible?
In this Streamly Series interview conducted at FinovateSpring in San Diego, Middesk Head of Marketing and Business Development Jackie Wylie talks about the importance of sound KYB (Know Your Business) processes and the potential advantages for firms that embrace dynamic onboarding flows. Wylie also talks about Middesk’s advances in fraud prevention, its acquisition of specialized data sets, and its work in forging key partnerships.
“Middesk is a business identity platform. We create business identities by aggregating, analyzing, and then surfacing insights about a business. We do that by collecting data from a number of sources like government organizations such as Secretary of State data. We scrape a company’s online presence and gather data from their website and we obtain information about the industry they are operating in, etc. We build this really robust profile about the business and then we bring that profile to our customers—financial services institutions, banks, fintechs, payments companies … and we help them use that data to make onboarding decisions so they can bring on as many of the best customers as possible, as quickly as possible.”
San Francisco, California-based Middesk offers solutions that help businesses access financial products, hire new talent, and transact with other businesses. The company offers an identity product that provides financial institutions with the accurate data they need to efficiently onboard new customers, and an agent product that supports employer filings with state and federal agencies. Founded in 2019, Middesk includes Affirm, Plaid, and Gusto among its customers. Kyle Mack (CEO) and Kurt Ruppel (CTO) are co-founders.
Head of Marketing and Business Development for Middesk, Jackie Wylie joined the company in the spring of 2024. Wylie has 15+ years of experience in driving pipeline and revenue growth via strategic marketing initiatives with technology firms such as Textio, Amino, and Smartsheet. She is also Seattle Chapter Co-Head and Executive Member of Pavilion, a 10,000-member private community for go-to-market leaders in B2B technology.
For decades, the idea of generational wealth transfer has been more of a long-term planning theme than a present-day priority. But that priority is beginning to change. With trillions of dollars moving from Baby Boomers to Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z over the next two decades, banks and fintechs are staring down a pivotal question: how will they capture the attention and loyalty of younger, digitally native inheritors?
In a recent Streamly interview, Tapp Engine CEO Will Dolan spoke about this massive economic shift and the opportunities it presents for financial institutions. He explained that the winners in this space will be those who not only meet younger generations on the digital platforms they use every day, but also those who understand the emotional context of wealth and inheritance in modern families.
“Technology has become such an important parat of everybody’s day-to-day lives… people have a lot more information at their disposal now that they’ve every had…. How do you engage with people out there that you want to draw into the opportunities that your company possesses? If you’re not digital, if you’re not thinking AI, if you’re not thinking mobile, you really need to re-think your strategy because that’s the way that most people are looking to utilize solutions, consume information, and companies really need to respond to that.”
Founded in 2019, Tapp Engine is a digital experience platform that helps financial institutions thrive in the digital age by modernizing customer engagement through embedded tools and adaptive experiences. Instead of offering static interfaces or one-size-fits-all financial products, Tapp Engine enables banks and fintechs to build modular, white-labeled experiences tailored to users’ life stages and financial goals. With features like real-time personalization, guided decision flows, and behavioral insights, Tapp Engine helps turn generic banking apps into trusted, go-to financial companions.
As President of Tapp Engine, Dolan brings a human-centered lens to a category that often defaults to technology-first thinking. His insights reflect years of experience working at the intersection of product design, user experience, and fintech innovation.
Earlier this month, 42 companies took the stage at FinovateSpring in San Diego, showcasing their latest and greatest fintech solutions. Now, it’s your turn to experience the action. The demo videos from the event are live! So, whether you joined us in person or missed the event, you can now watch every presentation on demand, for free.
The best way to dive into the 42 videos, which total nearly five hours of content, is to watch the six Best of Show videos from the conference.
Thanks to all of the demo companies for making this a fantastic event! You won’t want to miss our next event, FinovateFall, which is taking place September 8 through 10 in New York. The earlier you register, the more you save.
Over the three days of FinovateSpring earlier this month, Finovate analysts and their partners hosted a number of off-stage interviews with CEOs of demoing companies, keynote speakers, event sponsors, and more. Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll begin rolling out these conversations here on the Finovate blog as part of our Streamly Speaker Series interviews.
For now, here’s a quick preview of what we’ve got in store for you:
Senior Research Analyst Julie Muhn in conversation with:
FinovateSpring showcased credit unions and the fintechs that innovate for them in its Credit Union Spotlight last week. The closed-door session—”a safe space for credit unions” in the words of CURQL’s Nick Evens—was exclusively to provide credit union executives with a unique opportunity to discuss their challenges directly with fintech providers. The forum also gave these executives an opportunity to meet and network with each other to discuss common issues and new solutions.
Below is a sample of some of the most common concerns raised by credit union executives during the session, and a sense of what they need fintechs to offer in return.
“We want to do more with less”
The desire to maximize resources to accomplish more for customers and members is not unique to the credit union industry. The promise of enabling technologies like AI and the persistent competition for human talent make companies in virtually every industry today pursue efficiency as a way not only to keep costs low, but to offer more products and services faster and more seamlessly.
For credit unions, this challenge is all the more acute. These member-driven organizations face competition from larger rivals in the banking industry, as well as new entrants from technology and retail who are leveraging embedded finance to offer a widening range of financial services, including payments and lending. Further, these institutions often face pressure from their own members, whose lives are becoming more digitally oriented and who want more digital solutions when it comes to managing their finances and investing for the future.
Through technologies like AI, innovations like embedded finance, and strategic, third-party relationships, credit unions can do more faster, offering new products and services, and growing their membership communities.
“More automation”
There are few better examples of technology enabling companies to do “more with less” than automation. Whether driven by machine learning or agentic AI, automation is a key driver in technological modernization—and it is no different in financial services.
For credit unions, automation offers the ability to convert labor-intensive, manual, and relatively more error-prone human tasks into processes that are completed with technical tools. As these technical tools evolve—from apps and APIs to agents and AI bots—so does their capacity to operate increasingly complex workflows and customer lifecycles.
Many businesses stand to gain from automating many internal processes. But institutions like credit unions could disproportionately benefit from the ability of automation to “liberate” human workers from mundane tasks and enable them to participate in more higher-order activities. These include delivering better, more personalized engagement to members.
“Better authentication for diverse memberships”
How do the authentication needs differ for a credit union with a sizable number of members over the age of 70+? What about a credit union with a large number of Spanish-speaking members? How about a credit union with a special commitment to serving members with disabilities?
Unlike many other financial institutions, credit unions are often as unique as the members who make them. In case after case, we can draw a straight line from the communities of farmers, teachers, and small business owners who first launched their financial cooperatives decades ago directly to the present-day communities benefiting from the growth and success of those institutions right now.
Fintechs that help credit unions carry out their unique missions are the kind of partners that credit unions are looking for. Beyond avoiding one-size-fits-all approaches to providing solutions, fintechs should strive to understand not only what their credit union partner does, but what it values most. One fintech’s niche offering could be a decisive ingredient in helping a credit union fulfill its mission to its members.
“Better support for third-party integrations”
The opportunities—and challenges— of third-party integrations have become all too clear for most in fintech and financial services. While the rewards of getting it right have almost become table stakes, the penalties for getting it wrong remain powerful—and painful. The prospect of a less aggressive regulatory environment for financial services companies in the US only adds another level of uncertainty.
Along with empowering technologies like AI and AI-powered automation, third-party partnerships and integrations are a key way for credit unions to leverage creativity, hard work, and good decision-making to “punch above their weight” and compete with larger rivals. Additionally, providing better support for third-party integrations helps ensure that credit unions stay on the right side of regulatory scrutiny, and remain their community’s trusted financial partner.
“Better technology / credit union culture compatibility”
Underscoring the diversity of credit unions, one industry representative highlighted the fact that not every credit union wants every new fintech product or service. This credit union executive was referring specifically to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) products, and his concern that offering the products could be considered a more general endorsement of BNPL by the credit union.
Whether it is alternative lending solutions, innovative payout services, digital assets, or other new fintech products, providers should be mindful of the culture of the credit union they are seeking to partner with. Even when the potential feature or service appears uncontroversial—such as a new, gamified interface designed to engage younger users—there is the possibility of a poor fit if the culture and current goals of the credit union are not just taken into consideration, but put front and center.
As I write this, Finovate’s first fintech conference in San Diego has one more day of content left. But if the first two days of FinovateSpring 2025 are any indication, it’s already a good bet that we will be back.
From the California-based fintechs that made the short trip south to innovative startups that traveled from as far away as New Zealand, FinovateSpring 2025 featured a diverse and exciting range of fintech innovations designed to solve pain points for banks, credit unions, and financial services providers, as well as for their customers and members.
Whether leveraging AI to create efficiencies and automate workflows or putting embedded finance to work improving lending for small businesses, our demoing companies continue to represent the cutting edge of what’s new, what’s novel, and what works.
With this in mind, here are the winners of Best of Show for FinovateSpring 2025.
Bits of Stock for its solution that gathers deposits and drives non-interest income by helping financial institutions stay top of mind and top of wallet with the next generation of investors.
Finalytics.ai for its technology that enables financial institutions to instantly unleash the power of AI by offering digital experiences informed by behavioral, transactional, and third-party data.
Herd Security for its technology that gives financial organizations visibility and protection from voice fraud.
Illuma for its innovations in deepfake detection that enable community financial institutions to keep their members and customers connected with their funds in a convenient and secure manner.
Penny Finance for its solution that connects the dots between an FI’s products and services and a member’s needs, all while creating efficiency for their marketing organizations.
Solda.ai for its technology that enables businesses to better engage their customers with instant scalability.
Thanks to our demoing companies, our sponsors, speakers, and delegates for making our first fintech conference in San Diego such a success.
Next up on the Finovate tour is FinovateFall 2025, September 8-10, at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, New York. Find out more about the conference at our FinovateFall hub and we look forward to seeing you in “The City That Never Sleeps”.
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 2025 conferences are below:
This year, FinovateSpring will feature a trio of Executive Briefings offering insights into key topics in fintech and financial services.
Featuring panels of industry professionals and moderated by veteran analysts and entrepreneurs, FinovateSpring’s Executive Briefings are an excellent opportunity for attendees to participate in deep-dives and extended discussions on specific issues—and take away significant insights and strategies for action.
Tickets for FinovateSpring are still available. Visit our registration hub today and save your seat!
Wednesday morning, FinovateSpring will host its Women in Fintech Executive Briefing. Titled “How we can solve fintech’s gender diversity problem,” this session will look at the current state of gender diversity in fintech and offer insights into strategies to ensure greater participation by women in financial services and foster female leadership in the industry.
Moderated by Liang Zhao, CEO and Founder of Vansary, this session will feature:
This session will examine the challenges faced by the unbanked and review ways that banks and other financial institutions can help more individuals and small businesses improve their financial wellness by establishing a positive banking relationship.
Moderated by Jim Perry, Senior Strategist, Market Insights, this session will feature:
Priscilla O-lyari, Regional Marketing and Communications Outreach Officer, FACE Coalition
In this briefing, panelists will discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by community banks in America today, and where these key financial institutions should turn in terms of growing their customer bases, introducing new technologies, and competing with larger rivals in finance and even Big Tech.
Moderated by Jason Henricks, CEO, Alloy Labs, this panel will feature:
Pam Kaur, Head of Bank Technology, BankTech Ventures
Adam Turmakhan, CEO and Chief Operating Officer, TurmaFinTech
Steve Bishop, President and Co-Founder, amBaaSsador
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateSpring in San Diego on May 7 – 9. Register today using this link and save 20%.
Auditive
Auditive allows financial institutions to onboard third parties or vendors 4x faster while monitoring risk confidently and continuously.
Features
Measures third-party risk
Monitors risk continuously
Showcases vendor risk posture
Processes RFPs faster
Who’s it for?
Financial institutions, banks, and credit unions.
Bolder Money
Bolder Money helps banks become leaders in the relationship banking revolution with an easy-to-implement, all-in-one platform that meets customer needs.
Features
Provides personalized, step by step financial guidance
Offers real-time insights on balances and spending
Delivers product recommendations in the moment of need
Who’s it for?
Community banks and credit unions.
Contour
Contour delivers remarkably human AI voice and chat assistants to handle complex customer inquiries 24/7, reducing support costs while improving customer satisfaction.
Features
Provides human-sounding voice interactions 24/7, eliminating IVR menus and hold times
Takes real actions to auto-resolve customer issues
Securely integrates with existing systems for easy deployment
Who’s it for?
Banks, credit unions, and consumer fintechs.
OnestPay
OnestPay™ is a next-gen payment system replacing gift cards with flexible merchant credits—buy at a discount, earn bonuses, and use, gift, trade or pool credits online or in-store.
Features
Customers save with discounts and flexible use of credits
Merchants boost revenue, cut fees, and control loyalty
Both gain a smarter, more rewarding payment experience
Who’s it for?
SMBs, retail chains, banks, fintechs, consumers, nonprofits, and loyalty providers.
Stack AI
Stack AI is an enterprise platform allowing organizations to build and deploy autonomous AI agents for customer support, data analysis, workflow automation, and other tasks.
Features
Build AI agents quickly with no-code tools
Automate workflows across departments
Secure deployment with enterprise-grade compliance
FinovateSpring 2025 launches next week, May 7 through 9, at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina in San Diego, California. The event will be Finovate’s first conference in Southern California and we can’t wait to share what we have in store.
Registration is still open. If you have not picked up your ticket yet, then be sure to stop by our FinovateSpring 2025 registration hub and save your spot.
There’s so much going on in fintech right now, from the rise of AI-powered banking solutions to the challenge of managing a dramatically shifting regulatory environment. Here are some last-minute details to help you make the most of your visit to this year’s FinovateSpring.
Get Connected
Our ConnectMe app is a great way to track the conference agenda, set up your schedule, and network with your fellow attendees. Download the ConnectMe app and build your profile today.
What, Where and When
Each day of FinovateSpring begins at 8am with registration, breakfast, and networking. A light breakfast will be served in the exhibition hall, and sponsor booths will be open for networking.
The general sessions for all three days begin at 9am with remarks from Finovate Vice President Greg Palmer.
Demos will be presented on Wednesday, May 7 (Day One) and Thursday, May 8 (Day Two) of FinovateSpring. The Best of Show winners will be announced at 5pm on Day Two.
Special highlights
FinovateSpring will hold its special, invitation-only, Leaders+ event on Tuesday, May 6th. This session, curated for senior executives from banks, credit unions, insurers, and asset management offices, will feature keynotes, fireside chats, special addresses, and a networking opportunity at the end of the evening. To learn more about the program, including eligibility requirements and opportunities to apply, contact our event VIP Relationship Manager at [email protected].
Interested in learning more about deploying AI in financial services? FinovateSpring is hosting an exclusive, closed door AI Business Briefing for banks and financial institutions Wednesday afternoon, May 7th. Featuring experts from VASS Intelygenz, VASS FSI, Banco Popular, and McKinsey & Company, this session will discuss how banks and fintechs are leveraging AI-powered solutions to unlock new revenue streams and cut costs. Contact [email protected] for eligibility and invitation information.
Also on Wednesday afternoon, FinovateSpring will feature its Credit Union Spotlight. This special event is a unique opportunity for our credit union attendees to meet with fintechs who are building solutions specifically designed for credit unions and their members. Credit union attendees will also have an opportunity to meet, learn, and network with each other at the end of the session.
Interested? Reach out to [email protected] for details on eligibility.
Last-minute reminders
Bring your badge / Wear your badge. Make sure you’ve got your badge on when at the conference. It’s your key to entry and the easiest way to be recognized by your fellow attendees!
Business casual to business formal is the dress code for the event. Save the shorts, sandals, and sunglasses for poolside.
We look forward to seeing you next week in San Diego for FinovateSpring! Travel safe—and don’t forget your sunscreen!
