Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Germany’s aixigo Forges Strategic Partnership with Synpulse.
  • The Rise of AI and the Role of the Customer in Fintech.

Around the web

  • Payment service provider Truevo to deploy front office and core banking solutions from Temenos.
  • Klarna launches global customer authentication platform for multinational businesses.
  • Fintech OS announces new Chief Revenue Officer Leon Stevens.
  • Best of Show winner Voleo takes home the 2019 Best Stock Trading App award in the Investment category of the FinTech Breakthrough Awards.
  • Trunomi unveils new website, branding.
  • Kony teams up with Okta to provide ID management and MFA.
  • FindBiometrics interviews Jeff Maynard, CEO and Founder of Biometric Signature ID.
  • Tradeshift to power supplier solutions for Axfood.

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.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Once SaleMove, Glia Raises $20 Million in Post-Rebrand Funding.
  • Doxo to Provide Electronic Billpay Solution to R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company.

Around the web

  • Low code development platform OutSystems reports record revenues for 2018.
  • NICE Robotic Process Automation (RPA) teams up with CallVU.
  • Finastra named a leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide End-to-End Corporate Banking Solution Providers 2019 Vendor Assessment report.
  • Kony named a leader for low-code development platforms by independent research firm.
  • OurCrowd announces it has raised $1 billion to date.

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.

Kony Helps Morocco’s CFG Bank Transition to Digital First Banking

Kony Helps Morocco’s CFG Bank Transition to Digital First Banking

Morocco’s CFG Bank is focusing on “digital-first banking” and is working with Kony, a U.S.-based digital banking tech specialist, on “long-term digital transformation strategy”, according to the vendor, reports Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

The strategy is “built on the pillars of simplicity, transparency and sustainable customer relationships”, Kony explains. “Central to that strategy is CFG Bank’s dynamic app built on Kony’s digital banking platform, Kony DBX, which provides a more modern digital banking experience.”

The two parties have been working together since 2016. Together, they built “a digital banking app designed so that customers could retake control of the vast majority of banking transactions, and rely on physical branches for ‘life moments’, such as plans for funding educational goals or detailed processes around investments and inheritance”, Kony says.

Driss Benchafai, general manager at CFG Bank, said that to succeed in Morocco’s banking environment, “it’s essential to be unique”.

“It’s not enough to provide the same services or similar features as other banks,” observed Benchafai. “Rather, we must craft a customer experience that is tailored, simple and that empowers customers with the ability to complete services and transactions how and when they want.”

Benchafai felt Kony “has played a significant role in helping CFG Bank stand out from other banks”.

The two firms are now exploring further capabilities, such as data analytics, behavioral analysis and artificial intelligence (AI), to improve future iterations of CFG Bank’s digital banking experience.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Kony demonstrated its Retail Banking Solution at FinovateFall 2017. The company has raised more than $115 million in funding, and includes Insight Venture Partners, SoftBank Capital, and Telstra Ventures among its investors.

Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Asia-Pacific

  • Digicro receives $300,000 in funding to help fuel its entry to the mobile microfinance market in Cambodia.
  • Monetary Authority of Singapore considers strengthening oversight of bank outsourcing.
  • Fintech News Malaysia looks at the challenges of transitioning toward a cashless society.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Quadient announces partnership with South Africa’s Beehive Online Solutions.
  • TechNext looks at the lessons Nigeria can learn from the success of Kenya’s M-Akiba investment mobile app.
  • All Africa reports on the increased use of mobile money in Tanzania.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Sberbank launches its first IT Demo Day in partnership with 500 Startups.
  • Romania’s Oney Bank partners with Wirecard to bring additional functionality to its mobile app.
  • Sberbank and its subsidiary Sberbank Technology unveil open source-based communications platform for developers, engineers, and architects.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Oman-based bank Sohar International integrates biometric authentication into its mobile banking app.
  • Emirates NBD introduces The LaunchPad to help startups connect with angel and early-stage investors.
  • Morocco-based CFG Bank chooses Kony to help drive its digital transformation.

Central and South Asia

  • India’s Federal Bank goes live with its open banking platform.
  • Finca Impact Finance Tajikistan launches search for a new core banking system.
  • Inc.42 features 5 Trends in Fintech You Will See in 2019 in India.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Brazil’s largest bank, Itau Unibanco, leverages AI-powered cameras to suspicious behaviors in branches.
  • Scotiabank and The Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudious Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) unveil new accelerator, Factory A, in Mexico City.
  • Argentina’s Banco Columbia implements Visa Loyalty Solutions en route to its digital transformation.

Top image designed by Freepik

Finovate Alumni News

Around the web

  • U.K. based financial services company Smith & Williamson to deploy Avaloq’s SaaS technology.
  • Quadient announces partnership with South Africa’s Beehive Online Solutions.
  • Sberbank and its subsidiary Sberbank Technology unveil open source-based communications platform for developers, engineers, and architects.
  • Roostify adds financial services consultant Marshall Lux to its advisory board.
  • Morocco-based CFG Bank chooses Kony to help drive its digital transformation.

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.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Accenture Acquires Select Assets from Banking Software Provider Zafin.
  • Equifax Launches Ignite Solution in the U.K.

Around the web

  • Enveil brings data in use security to the Azure Marketplace.
  • City of Charlotte and Charlotte Douglas International Airport upgrade to Passport’s real-time, connected platform.
  • Australia’s largest credit union, CUA, launches new chat app powered by Kony’s DBX.
  • Equifax unveils its integrated portfolio of data, analytics, and visualization tools, Equifax Ignite, in the U.K.
  • Temenos announces partnership with Tunisia’s Banque de l’Habitat.
  • GreatHorn meets SOC 2 standards for security, availability, and confidentiality after completion of attestation report.
  • Gitlab’s Kathy Wang and James Ritchey talk with HackerOne about why they decided to launch a bug bounty program.
  • Digital gifting solution provider Swych brings blockchain technology to its platform.
  • Fenergo wins Fintech Exporter of the Year award from Asia Matters.

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.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

Around the web

  • Finicity CEO Steve Smith honored as a 2018 HousingWire Vanguard.
  • Ohpen launches the Ohpen API Portal (OAP) in beta.
  • PYMNTS talks with Entersekt SVP of Product Niel Bester about consumer trust.
  • Kony teams with PSECU to deliver digital banking technology.
  • Hudson River Financial FCU selects Digital Onboarding to enhance new member experience with updated onboarding

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.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Roostify Powers TD Bank’s Digital Mortgage Experience.

Around the web

  • iQuantifi launches RoboPlanner roboadvisory tool for millennials.
  • Nummo selects MX to power user account aggregation.
  • Signicat digitizes in-store signing of credit agreements for Resurs Bank retail partners.
  • Kony helps PSECU deliver an updated digital banking application to enhance the digital user experience.
  • InComm partners with Japanese pharmacy chain Welcia to launch four mobile barcode payment solutions in its stores.
  • Sezzle adds ShipStation as client.
  • Ocurrency interviews Radoslav Albrecht, Founder & CEO of Bitbond.
  • Insuritas partners with Sound Community Bank to launch bank-owned digital insurance agency platform.
  • Bill.com partners with First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) to offer enhanced digital business payments solutions.
  • Lighter Capital’s investment in Springboard Retail reaches $1.1 million.
  • Provident Bank chooses Gro Solutions to boost mobile-first user-experience and drive account growth.

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.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Tradeshift Makes Bid to Buy Basware.

Around the web

  • Atlanta Business Chronicle features Pindrop co-founder Vijay Balasubramaniyan on its list of 40 Under Forty.
  • Blackhawk CEO Talbott Roche listed among 2018 Bay Area Most Admired CEOs.
  • Verizon now offers Pindrop’s anti-fraud services to cloud contact center customers.
  • Kony DBX customer growth rises to 75% globally.

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.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Finablr Takes Majority Stake in Digital Gifting Innovator Swych.
  • Simple Appoints Former Amazon Exec as CEO.

Around the web

  • Analyst Ian McKenna highlights six Finovate alums – Access Softek, Bucket Technologies, Systelos, BlueRush, Tinkoff, and Golden – in his roundup of “fintech innovators making waves.”
  • Marketing Technology Insights interviews CallVU CEO Ori Faran.
  • Hydrogen, iProov, Ocrolus, and James Finance are among 20 startups competing for top honors at the India FinTech Awards 2018.
  • The Constant Investor’s Crypto Watch interviews Identitii CEO Nick Armstrong on the role of blockchain technology in fighting cybercrime.
  • Tinkoff Mobile extends service to seven additional areas of Russia including Smolensk and the Republic of Mordovia.
  • Kofax pays $400 million in cash to buy Nuance’s imaging division.
  • Walmart’s in-store Direct2Cash service gives PayActiv users instant cash access to earned wages.
  • Kony enhances Kony AppPlatform to support progressive web apps.
  • CEO Review magazine features AdviceRobo CEO Diederick Van Thiel.
  • BehavioSec launches new features for version 5 of its behavioral biometrics platform.

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.

Kony Bucks Status Quo by Acquiring Tech from Bank

Kony Bucks Status Quo by Acquiring Tech from Bank

In a fintech-techfin world, it is usually banks that acquire technology from fintech companies, and not the other way around. However, this week, enterprise application company Kony is changing that narrative. The Texas-based company announced it is acquiring the assets of Pivotus, the innovation subsidiary of Umpqua Bank parent company, Umpqua Holdings. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Umpqua launched Pivotus in 2015 to serve as an environment where it could quickly develop, test, and deploy new banking solutions for Umpqua. Cort O’Haver, Umpqua Holdings president and CEO, said, “As the speed of technological change continues to accelerate, it’s important that we’re able to make the most of our strategy and size by developing a network of partnerships that can accelerate our pace of differentiation. Finding a smart home for Pivotus—with the capital, technical expertise, and customer focus —is important for Umpqua moving forward, and Kony is a terrific partner.”

Kony anticipates the acquisition will augment its Kony DBX digital banking applications. The company launched Kony DBX earlier this summer to help banks with their digital strategies. The new digital banking platform and application suite offers pre-built apps and a digital banking platform to help banks and credit unions deliver digital experiences across all customer channels with less friction.

As a part of the deal, Umpqua will help Kony to continue developing the Pivotus Engage platform. Launched earlier this year, Engage helps banks offer a consistent user experience that maintains a human touch across multiple channels. After the acquisition is finalized, Kony will rename the tool Kony DBX Engage.

“Our partnership with Umpqua, combined with the talented Pivotus employees and the innovative technologies they’ve developed, is a landmark combination that will deliver high impact solutions for financial institutions around the globe,” said Thomas Hogan, chairman and CEO of Kony. “Umpqua is widely recognized for their innovative approach to leveraging digital to enhance and deepen the customer experience. The Pivotus team and assets will extend and accelerate Kony’s market leading portfolio for digital banking. We couldn’t be more proud or thrilled to join forces.”

Kony’s CTO, Bill Bodin and Product Marketing Manager, Antonio Sanchez, showcased the company’s digital banking platform at FinovateFall 2017. Earlier this fall, Kony integrated with Payveris’ cloud-based money movement technology. In October of last year, the company launched a new digital banking solution that leverages Daon’s biometric tools. Founded in 2007, Kony has raised more than $115 million.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Open Bank Project Collaborates with Open Source Software Company Red Hat.
  • Ondot Lands Strategic Investment from Citi Ventures.
  • Experian, FICO, and Finicity Launch the UltraFICO Score.

Around the web

  • Bloomberg TV features Best of Show winner Bumped.
  • Envestnet | Yodlee launches new suite of developer tools.
  • ThreatMetrix partners with SAS, bringing digital identity intelligence to machine learning to help creditors fight identity fraud.
  • Finastra introduces its cloud-based instant payments offering for SMEs.
  • Sberbank inks Memorandum of Understanding with SWIFT.
  • Artivest appoints new Chief Compliance Officer, Kamal Jafarnia.
  • Featurespace unveils its ARIC White Label solution for advanced fraud and risk prevention.
  • Finextra: Fidor and GFT extend partnership to the Americas markets.
  • Kony acquires innovation subsidiary of Umpqua Bank.
  • Finextra: NTT Data plans pan-Asian federated trade information platform based on blockchain.
  • SuperMoney surpasses $1 billion in financing requests
  • Bluefin and TokenEx partner to strengthen payment security with PCI-validated P2PE and omni-channel tokenization.
  • ID.me launches KYC / AML identity verification solution and ID document verification solution.

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.