Safe Spaces: The Best of the Authenticators, Verifiers, and Fraud Fighters

Safe Spaces: The Best of the Authenticators, Verifiers, and Fraud Fighters

Left to right: A representative from Alipay joins Tinna Hung, Director of Marketing for EyeVerify during a demonstration of Eyeprint ID at FinovateAsia 2016.

This month we’re highlighting the issue of security in fintech. Our first installment was our interview with ENVEIL CEO Ellison Anne Williams.

Today we use the lens of our Best of Show awards to take a look at companies innovating in the security space for financial services companies and institutions. Three security companies have won Best of Show awards in more than one conference. Biometric specialists EyeVerify and BehavioSec have both earned Best of Show trophies on three separate occasions. Interestingly, both companies won one of their Best of Show awards at FinovateAsia; BehavioSec in Singapore, EyeVerify in Hong Kong. (Speaking of FinovateAsia, remember that Finovate returns to the Far East November 7 & 8.)

Earning two Best of Show awards was Silver Tail Systems (now a part of RSA, the security division of EMC, which acquired the company in 2012). Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Menlo Park, company was a pioneer in leveraging real-time behavior analysis to spot and stop business logic abuse on financial institution websites.

BehavioSec CEO Neil Costigan demonstrating BehavioWeb and BehavioMobile at FinovateEurope 2014.

EyeVerify, which was acquired by Ant Financial last fall, announced in August that it was rebranding as Zoloz. In a blog post at the company’s website, CEO Toby Rush said the new company would be focused on providing a hosted identity platform geared toward the Asian market. “Underserved and underbanked consumers in this region are moving to mobile so quickly that they have leapfrogged biometrics adoption and identity services in other geographies,” Rush wrote. “The platform is centered around the idea that I am me, my phone should just know me, and my apps and services should know me – automatically, conveniently, and securely,” he explained.

Zoloz is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and was founded in 2012. The company most recently demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2017.

BehavioSec, the behavioral biometric innovator, forged a partnership with Gemalto earlier this summer, to provide end-user verification and identity solutions as FIs increasingly embrace digital technologies. “Removing bottlenecks to achieve full digitization of a business goes hand-in-hand with conquering online fraud, through a layered an collaborative approach,” Costigan said. In May, BehavioSec teamed up with fellow Finovate alum Kount, integrating its behavioral biometric technology with Kount’s fraud management platform. A partnership with Appdome this spring produced AppFusion for BehavioSec, a solution that makes it easier for app developers to add behavior-based biometric authentication to their mobile apps.

Based in Stockholm, Sweden, BehavioSec was founded in 2009. The three-time Best of Show winner most recently demonstrated its technology at FinovateFall 2015.

Making it on the Finovate stage as a security solutions provider is one challenge. Taking home a Best of Show trophy as a company dedicated to helping stop fraudulent transactions, prevent unauthorized access, and create truly “safe spaces” in a connected world is quite another. Here is the full list of security companies that have won Best of Show awards at Finovate conferences.

FinovateFall 2017

FinovateSpring 2017

FinovateAsia 2016

FinovateFall 2016

FinovateEurope 2016

FinovateEurope 2015

FinovateFall 2014

FinovateSpring 2014

FinovateEurope 2014

FinovateAsia 2013

FinovateFall 2012

FinovateSpring 2012

FinovateFall 2011

FinovateFall 2010

Finovate 2009

FinovateStartup 2009

  • Silver Tail Systems (demo)

All News is Good News from 2016 FinovateEurope Best of Show Winners

All News is Good News from 2016 FinovateEurope Best of Show Winners

24574279633_e555c5a08d_k

At FinovateEurope 2016, six companies took home Best of Show trophies after an audience vote favored their seven minute demos on the Finovate stage in London. FinovateEurope returns to London in less than two weeks, on February 7 and 8, where we’ll see 55 companies debut their newest technology and vie for a chance to win the audience’s vote for Best of Show. Tickets are still available. Register to save your spot today.

Today, we’re taking a look at the successes from the six Best of Show-winning companies from last year.


25107877391_5fb99d5838_kCapitali.se
Offers natural language trade automation for automatically managed investment portfolios
Demo video

What’s new:

  • Recognized by PYMNTS.com as representing fintech innovation in Israel
  • Cited as a top B2B wealth tech player
  • Listed by The Next Web as 1 of 6 fintech startups to help you make the most of your money

DriveWealth25201110835_5b8991a5e9_k
Enables real-time fractional share investing and trading in U.S. equities for mass retail investors
Demo video

What’s new:

  • Brought Roboadvisory to Latin America in new partnership with Alkanza
  • Added a new real-time margin feature
  • Expanded APIs for wealth managers
  • Brought robo advisory to China in new partnership with CreditEase
  • Inked new partnership with Stoxs

25174331736_4f20b80c80_kEyeVerify
Offers a scalable biometric authentication solution
Demo video

What’s new:

  • Acquired by Ant Financial
  • Partnered with Bioconnect to boost payment security
  • Selected by Wells Fargo for its biometric authentication technology

24905480290_e037cec5e7_kIDScan Biometrics
Offers a digital onboarding suite with facial recognition technology
Demo video

What’s new:

  • Acquired by GBG Group
  • Included in Mercator Advisory Group’s biometric authentication report

 


SwipeStox
Offers a mobile, social trading 25082834042_60b88fc576_kapp that enables users to copy single trades of other users
Demo video

What’s new:

  • Won Digital Top 50 Award
  • Won Wolves Summit 2016
  • Launched WebTrader to expand beyond mobile
  • Launched Live Trading on its app

The sixth Best of Show winner, Valuto, shut down in August of 2016. Its parent company Currency One cited “an unsatisfactory pace of development” as the reason for the closure.

GBG Group Agrees to Acquire IDScan Biometrics

GBG Group Agrees to Acquire IDScan Biometrics

Screen Shot 2016-06-29 at 6.00.07 AM

It was a fast turnaround for FinovateEurope 2016 Best of Show winner IDScan Biometrics, a document authentication and facial recognition company. The London-based company today announced it is being acquired by identity intelligence company GB Group.

The companies anticipate the deal will close for $50 million (£37 million), with another $10.7 million (£8 million) contingent on reaching revenue and EBITDA targets 18 months after close. The deal is expected to add to GBG Group’s earnings per share in the first 12 months after the acquisition.

24570175424_b52dadc87a_kCEO Tamlyn Thompson and Dr. Zaher Zaidan, CFO, demoed IDScan Biometrics’ facial recognition algorithm.

IDScan offers a digital onboarding suite that reduces manual data entry and offers KYC and facial recognition tools for automation, speed, and efficiency. The company’s document-scan offering uses artificial intelligence and a digital library containing thousands of documents. At FinovateEurope 2016, the company demonstrated how its facial recognition algorithm tests a user’s face against the image on their ID.

IDScan brings more than 1,000 global clients to the table, including American Express, Barclays, and Gatwick Airport. GBG CEO Richard Law said, “GBG has followed IDscan Biometrics over the years and we have seen this business grow strongly, winning significant enterprise customers.”

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • GBG Group Agrees to Acquire IDScan Biometrics
  • Check out this week’s FinDEVr APIntelligence.
  • Kreditech Launches Online POS Financing Solution
  • Fenergo Adds Enhanced Rules, Remediation to its CRS Compliance Solution
  • From CEO to Deputy Mayor, Xendpay’s Rajesh Agrawal Heads to City Hall

Around the web

  • The Paypers interviews ACI Worldwide’s Craig Saks, group president of strategic products.
  • The Media Line’s column on CyberWeek 2016 at Tel Aviv University features ThetaRay.
  • PYMNTS.com chats with Jeff Hampton, TSYS director of product marketing.
  • Greg Smith, Blooom president; Aaron David Bauer, Envestnet Executive MD; and Andy Swan of LikeFolio earn spots on Investment News’ 40 Under 40 list.
  • Matt Fellowes resigns as chief innovation officer at Morningstar—which bought HelloWallet in 2014—to build retirement software.
  • ID Analytics secures patent for systematic detection of fraud rings.
  • Fenergo enhances CRS compliance solution with enhanced rules and remediation.

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

FinovateEurope 2016 Best of Show Winners Announced

FinovateEurope 2016 Best of Show Winners Announced

IMG_1153

With winter winds whipping up white caps on the typically mild-mannered Thames, another FinovateEurope is officially in the books.

We could not be more grateful to all those who demonstrated their latest fintech innovations live on stage in front of our record-setting audience here at Old Billingsgate Market Hall. After two days of demos, our attendees have weighed in on which technologies will earn the coveted title of Best of Show.

So with no further ado, let’s take a look at what our 1,500+ fintech fans feel are the innovations that are getting us that much closer to a world of better engagement, friction-free and secure payments and e-commerce, and broader financial opportunities for all.

Here are the Best of Show winners of FinovateEurope 2016 (in alphabetic order):


Capitalise-(capitali Capitali.se 
for its technology that uses natural language to enable trade automation, turning investment ideas into auto-managed investment portfolios.

 

drivewealth-logo DriveWealth for its cloud-based/API technologies that enable real-time, fractional share investing and trading in U.S. equities for mass retail investors around the world.

 

Eyeverify---Hi-Res EyeVerify for its biometric authentication, Eyeprint ID technology that turns an ordinary selfie into a key that protects your digital life.

 

IDscan---Hi-Res IDscan Biometrics for its market-leading, digital, onboarding suite with a powerful, state-of-the-art facial  recognition algorithm.

 

SwipeStox---Hi-Res SwipeStox for its mobile social trading app that allows anyone to trade forex, market indicies, and CFDs by copying single trades.

 

Valuto---Hi-Res Valuto for its multi-currency account powered by an open API that enables seamless integration with SaaS accounting, e-invoicing, B2B marketplace, and e-commerce platforms.

FinovateEurope 2016 was a blast, and we hope you enjoyed the conference as much as we enjoyed hosting it. As always, a thousand thanks to everyone who attended, sponsored, partnered with, and demonstrated their latest fintech innovations at FinovateEurope 2016. We’ll see you 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 ballot were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from FinovateEurope 2015 are here. Best of Show winners from FinovateSpring 2015 are here. Best of Show winners from FinovateFall 2015 are here.

 

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: IDscan Biometrics

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: IDscan Biometrics

idscanbiometrics_homepage_Jan2016

FEULogowithDateA look at the companies demoing live to 1,500 fintech professionals. Register today.

IDscan Biometrics Limited is a U.K.-incorporated company headquartered in London, with sales and support offices in Johannesburg and Melbourne, and R&D offices in Turkey and Lithuania.

Features include:

  • Customer onboarding
  • Identification and authentication
  • Customer ID management

Why it’s great
The future is now. Identity theft is becoming too common … let’s make the world a safer place.

Presenters

Tamlyn Thompson, CEO
LinkedIn

Zaher Zaiden, CFO

 

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Mitek Partners with Harland Clarke to Improve RDC Security”
  • Pindrop Raises $75 Million for Phone-printing Authentication”

Around the web

  • Gate City Bank ($1.9 billion in assets) chooses DNA core account processing platform from Fiserv.
  • Powered by FIS, the Venture Center is now accepting applications for its VC Fintech accelerator.
  • Venmo adds in-app merchant payments.
  • Algomi wins Risk Magazine’s “Trading Technology Product of the Year for the Buy-Side” for a second year in a row.
  • Experian enhances Small Business Credit Share program.
  • Credit Karma surpasses milestone: serves 50 million users who use Credit Karma to manage $3 trillion in debt.
  • Check Point releases new hardware to address cyber security and protection.

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