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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
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.
BlendIntegrates with Mortgage Credit Specialist Avantus.
Around the web
Recognise Financial Services to deploynCino’sBank Operating System.
NCR announces plans to acquire Midwest POS Solutions.
Courtesy of a new partnership with Personetics, Metro Bank launches its Business Insights solution for business customers.
Revolutteams up with Bottomline, enabling real-time payment services to its retail and business customers in the U.K.
As part of a new initiative, open banking specialist NDGIT to bring its PSD2 Compliance APIs to Switzerland.
3E Software’s Teslar Softwareadds Pendleton Community Bank to list of clients.
Overbond, FI.SPAN, and Finn.AI among 12 Canadian fintech startups chosen for U.K. trade mission.
CardFlight’sSwipeSimple terminal available on PAX A80.
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.
Scalable Capitalteams up with Raisin to offer its customers the ability to invest in fixed-term deposits at partner Baader Bank.
Standard and Premium customers of Revolut in 26 markets now have access to stock trading via the platform.
Financial Times highlights Meniga as a fintech to watch. Come see Meniga’s live demo at FinovateFall next week in New York!
NYMBUSappoints Dr. Joerg Richter as its new Chief Operating Officer, Platforms. NYMBUS will showcase its newest technology at FinovateFall next week in New York!
Tradeshift to help Spendency app users leverage their transaction data.
iProovreleases HTML v.2 Beta on GitHub to help users secure user identity in HTML5.
Onfidoearns the top spot in FinTechCity’s 2019 Fintech 50 roster.
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.
FICO and risk investigation solutions provider Arachnys partner to help FIs improve their client onboarding and record management processes.
Bill.comcelebrates grand opening of new Houston office.
Finicityships new Verification of Income and Employment (VOIE) solution using TXVerify technology.
SecureKeycollaborates with Digital Bazaar to streamline organizational identity proofing.
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.
Revolut has withdrawn its application for an e-banking license in the grand duchy in a shift towards Ireland, according to The Telegraph on Sunday, reports Sharon Kimathi of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).
The news outlet notes that Revolut stopped its Luxembourg application after questions about its compliance systems were raised in the Chamber of Deputies by the MP Laurent Mosar (CSV) in April, which Revolut has refuted.
Without citing any company names, Moser stated in a parliamentary question to the finance minister, Pierre Gramegna (DP), that: “Fintech companies are subject to a host of national and international rules. However, it would seem that these rules are not always respected by fintech companies, so that some of them get their approval, even though they do not meet financial and banking regulatory requirements. According to my information, at least one major company that has recently applied for approval, would be flagged in its country of origin for non-compliance with existing regulations as well as for non-transparency.”
Mosar asked Gramegna what the finance ministry was doing to ensure compliance with fintech rules. Gramegna responded that the Financial Sector Supervisory Commission (CSSF) and not the finance ministry oversaw regulating financial institutions.
The Telegraph reported that the CSSF began conducting spot checks on financial technology firms headquartered in the country earlier this year to verify that board and staff members were truly located in the grand duchy.
The neobank needs regulatory approval from one of the EU27 in order to maintain its access to the single European market after Brexit.
Revolut told news outlets that it did not withdrawal its application due to questions about its compliance technology. Rather it took a “strategic decision” to focus on its license application in Ireland. A spokesman said the firm “had a very positive and open dialogue” with the CSSF, as well as the promotion body Luxembourg for Finance.
Founded in 2013, Revolut demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2015. Nikolay Storonsky is CEO.
Merck Sharp & Dohme FCU deploys trio of biometric authentication solutions from Fiserv.
New partnership bringsnCino’sBank Operating System to Allied Irish Banks.
Entrust Datacardpartners with JPMorgan Chase to pilot email security project.
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.
Tax Compliance Innovator AvalaraPartners with Billing Automation Platform Ordway
Finovate Global: Indian Fintech Get Funding; Finastra, Avaloq Bring New Leadership to APAC
Around the web
Plaidbecomes a Nacha Preferred Partner for account validation.
Finastrataps Wissam Khoury as its new head of its Asia Pacific (APAC) team.
Revolutteams up with the WWF and The Rainforest Alliance to raise support for the Amazon rainforest.
Frost & Sullivan namesOnfido the winner of its 2019 European Technology Innovation award for its AI-based hybrid identity 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.
ProfitStarsReaches 500 Bank and Credit Union Customers for Commercial Lending Solution.
Around the web
PYMNTS interviewsBento for Business Co-Founder and CEO Farhan Ahmad.
OnPay partners with Xero to bring back-office services to the agricultural industry.
Innov8tif selectsID R&D’sPassive Facial Liveness for remote customer onboarding.
LoanScorecard to power new QuickQual loan solution from Angel Oak.
ACI Worldwide to help Massachusetts-based Nichols College enhance its payment processes.
Revolutbolsters executive ranks with appointment of new treasurer, deputy Chief Financial Officer, and director of financial crime risk.
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.
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.
If your company has a cumbersome expense management process, then you will welcome the news that Revolut for Business has introduced a new solution to make those issues a problem of the past. Courtesy of a new partnership with fellow Finovate alum Xero, the expense management tool provides real-time expense monitoring, and the ability to approve or reject team expenses.
“The potential for expense management to turn into one big ugly mess is high,” Revolut Marketing Manager Aaron Larsson wrote on the company’s blog. “That’s why we’re proud to introduce our new Expense Management tool to Revolut for Business.”
Revolut’s new tool makes the expense management process easier for team members, finance teams, and accountants. Available within the Revolut for Business app, the tool enables users to record expenses with a simple push notification and a photograph of the receipt, and helps finance teams track expenses more accurately.
Revolut customers that are not Xero users can also take advantage of the expense management tool by creating their own categories and exporting expenses as a CSV file. Revolut noted that it plans to feature additional integrations to offer more accounting resources.
Making its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2015, Revolut has grown into an alternative digital bank offering a mobile current account that can be used to hold, exchange, and transfer funds in 29 different currencies. without fees. The account includes a variety of financial management tools including budgeting, instant spending notifications, and a spare change “stash-away” feature to support incidental saving. More recently, Revolut has added stock trading functionality to its app.
The company launched Revolut for Business in 2017 to extend the benefits of digital, API-powered banking services and streamlined, affordable international payments to small businesses and freelancers. The initiative signed up 16,000 business accounts in three months and, in its first year, helped companies save more than $14 million in fees. Last month, the company announced that Revolut for Business would add two new business account plans with no monthly subscription fees. Revolut also made price structure changes to include a customizable model that gives businesses more control and a better value.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in London, U.K., Revolut has raised more than $336 million in funding from investors including DST Global, Future Fifty, and Lakestar. Nikolay Storonsky is founder and CEO.
Transferwisegoes live with new debit cad for customers in Australia and New Zealand.
Finastrainks cloud banking deal with U.K. neo bank Gravity.
Argentina’s largest national private bank Banco Galicia integrates PFM technology from Strands.
Overbond to open three AI analytics labs in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to support R&D in bond pricing.
Vymohires Rajesh Sabhlok as its new Chief Customer Officer, with an emphasis on Japan and APAC.
BlueRushannounces strategic partnership with InfoSlips.
Artivestnames Martin Bealieu, formerly executive chairman, as new CEO.
Lendio’s marketplace lending franchise program tops $50 million in loans facilitated via its platform.
Ignite Salesunveils the latest version of its customer engagement platform, Ignite Neuro 2.0.
Salt Edgeincreases the total number of connected banks in the E.U. to more than 300.
Experianunveils new configurations of its Ascend Analytical Sandbox.
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.
Alternative banking provider Revolutannounced the roll out of commission-free stock trading on its app today. Starting today Revolut Metal customers in the U.K. and Europe can buy and hold shares of 300+ stocks listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ directly from the Revolut app.
The feature is powered by DriveWealth, which is registered as a full-carrying and clearing broker-dealer and will help Revolut navigate the complexities of brokerage. New Jersey-based DriveWealth offers a suite of APIs that allow companies across the globe to help their users invest in the U.S. stock market. The firm provides digital investment products for brokerages to offer clients as well as a brokerage service offering dollar-based, real-time investing.
Overall, Revolut is making stock market investing more inclusive. Trades are free, the annual custodian fee totals 0.01% (when others in the industry charge 0.25% to 1.5%), and there are no account minimums. At launch, all fees are waived for eligible customers during the beta period. The company did not specify when it plans to implement fees but said, “These will come into effect later, and we will communicate with you in advance about when that will be.”
Revolut said it is most proud of integrating the ability to buy partial shares of stock. Fractional share investing, one of DriveWealth’s flagship features, allows users to purchase a small portion of a stock. This democratizes investing by making a stock like Amazon, which trades at almost $1,900 per share, more accessible to investors with lower capital.
Another badge of honor is that trades can be made instantly, meaning users will pay the asking price of a stock when their order hits the market. And, specific to Revolut, users can fund their trading account in multiple currencies and benefit from the interbank exchange rate.
The trading feature not only helps Revolut compete with banks, but also helps the company build its user base for its Metal account. Launched last August, the Metal account offers users 100 free trades per month, along with a host of other features, for $14.99 per month.
In the future, Revolut plans to open trading to users outside of Europe, offer ETFs and other new products, and introduce European stocks. Additionally, the company will open up free trades to Premium and Standard customers, who will be able to make 8 free trades per month and three free trades per month, respectively. This variance is representative of Revolut’s tiered pricing model, which offers free Standard accounts while charging $9.99 per month for a Premium account.
Revolut debuted at FinovateEurope 2015 in London. The company’s CEO and founder Nikolay Storonsky showed off the app’s money transfer capabilities that help users avoid banking fees without actually using a bank.
Adding Revolut as a client is another notch in the belt for DriveWealth, which last month partnered with Sigma Securities and Trove Technologies to offer digital U.S. equities trading in Nigeria. Last August, DriveWealth collaborated with fellow Finovate alum Bambu to launch a white-label roboadvisory platform for U.S. wealth managers. Other DriveWealth clients include MoneyLion, Vested Finance, and INVSTR.
At FinovateAsia 2016, DriveWealth released a new API to enable partners to offer a robo advisory product suite and a self-directed equity investing platform. Robert Cortright is CEO.
