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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
We’re starting off the week with a major acquisition in the U.K. lending space, as well as fintech funding news in payments, wealth management, and financial education.
Digital banking
Missouri-based Central Bank leveragesPersonetics’ AI-driven engagement platform to enhance financial wellness.
SaaS core modernization and transformation solution provider for banks Zafinunveils new tools – Dynamic Cohorts and Signals – to enhance customer personalization and engagement.
Digital banking experience platform Plumeryannounces availability on Google Cloud Marketplace.
Emporia State Federal Credit Union launches new app courtesy of a partnership with digital banking solution provider Bankjoy.
Bank integration provider AccessPaysecures $24 million in equity and debt financing.
Integrated payments company Bluefinadds 23 new devices, 6 new applications, and three new key injection facilities (KIFs) to its Encryption Management Services P2PE Component listing.
Germany payment management platform NX Technologiesraises $23.8 million (EUR 22 million) in Series B funding.
Stripeteams up with Amazon to power payments for Just Walk Out technology in Australia and Canada.
Desjardins partners with cloud banking firm nCino to leverage its Automated Spreading Solution to enhance lending.
Open banking
Dwollaexpands its partnership with MX to power account aggregation and verification.
Open banking platform Link Moneyforges partnership with Silicon Valley Bank to enhance ACH processing and money movement for merchants.
Wealth management
Online trading and investing platform Robinhoodlaunches rewards credit card for its Robinhood Gold subscribers.
Wealth-building platform Belongsecures $3.7 million (£2.95 million) in pre-seed funding.
Multi-asset class investment accounting platform FundGuardraises $100 million in Series C funding.
Financial education
Wealth building and financial education platform Goalsetterclosed a $9.6 million Series A extension round.
Cash management
Cash-flow management platform SettlelaunchesAutomatic 3-Way Matching for Purchase Orders.
Fraud prevention
Plaidforges partnerships with Sandbox Banking and RealPage to help fight fraud in the customer experience.
AI-powered fraud and risk platform DataVisorlaunches its end-to-end anti-money laundering (AML) solution.
Financial crime compliance company Napier AI reports that its customer Banco do Brasil has won the Celent Model Risk Manager 2024 Award for combatting financial crime.
Visaadds three new AI-powered risk and fraud prevention solutions.
Cryptocurrencies / Blockchain
Revolut and Layer 1 blockchain Sui team up to boost blockchain education and adoption.
Trading and investing platform eToroadds 12 new altcoins to its cryptocurrency offerings.
Identity management / verification
ID verification company AU10TIXunveils expanded Digital ID solution.
Insurtech
Rewards credit card company Yonder to offer its members a new travel insurance experience courtesy of a partnership with embedded insurance orchestration firm Qover.
New Jersey’s largest credit union, Affinity Federal Credit Union, partners with Insuritas to launch Affinity Insurance Agency.
PayPal Ventures and MassMutual Ventures lead $47 million Series C funding round for Indonesian insurtech Qoala.
Mortgagetech
Equifax UKteams up with Homely to help first-time homebuyers become “mortgage-ready.”
Nordic Capital has agreed to acquire Canadian banking technology company Zafin.
The acquisition will help Zafin become a “global leader in banking technology solutions.”
Zafin made its Finvoate debut at FinovateFall in 2017.
Nordic Capital agreed this week to acquire a majority share in Canadian SaaS core modernization solution provider for FIs, Zafin. In a statement, Nordic Capital noted that the investment was made “in close partnership with Zafin’s founders and management, who will reinvest in the company alongside Nordic Capital.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to be completed during the first quarter of this year, subject to standard closing conditions.
Zafin CEO Al Karim Somji called the transaction an “absolute game-changer” for his team and its customers. “We have been powering the modernization and transformation of banks and future-proofing their banking technology investments for years,” Somji said. “With Nordic Capital’s scale, technology expertise, and deep market understanding, this partnership enables us to become a global leader in banking technology solutions.”
Nordic Capital Advisors Partner Mohit Agnihotri said the deal will help Zafin “emerge as a gold standard in bank IT modernization efforts.” He added, “Nordic Capital has been highly impressed with Zafin’s innovative approach to helping its customers react to a constantly changing business landscape.” Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Nordic Capital invests in companies headquartered in both Northern Europe and North America. The firm has made 24 technology and payments platform investments since 2001, deploying $6.5 billion (€5.8 billion) in equity capital. Nordic Capital includes Finovate alums boost.ai, Signicat, and Trustly among its portfolio companies.
Zafin’s customers include FIs such as Wells Fargo, US Bank, HSBC, Truist, and PNC. The company’s core SaaS platform enables users to collaborate in the design and management of pricing, products, and packages. The platform also gives users the ability to respond dynamically to changing customer preferences and market opportunities. This means faster time to market, greater potential revenues, lower operating costs, and fewer operational risks – all while maintaining compliance and transparency.
Banks using Zafin’s technology have experienced 129% increase in deposits, 50% improvement in time to market, and 70% reduction in annual fee change processing costs. Five of the top seven banks in the U.S. run on Zafin’s platform. The company processes more than 500 million accounts every day.
Zafin made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2017. At the conference, the company demoed its enterprise banking platform that enables FIs to manage dynamic multi-product offerings, real-time pricing and billing, loyalty and rewards, analytics, and cash management.
Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Zafin was founded in 2002. A few months ago, we caught up with Zafin President of Modernization and Transformation Charbel Safadi. In a wide-ranging conversation, we discussed the challenges faced by banks when it comes to digital transformation. Safadi also shared his thoughts on what FIs can do to future-proof their businesses.
We’re already well into the second month of 2024, and while funding has slowed down a bit, news in the decentralized finance world has picked up. Take a look at some of the top headlines in fintech and banking this week.
Digital Banking
Israel-based digital bank oneZerounveils its new GenAI-powered assistant, Ella.
What are the biggest challenges facing banks when it comes to modernization and digital transformation? We checked in with Charbel Safadi, President, Modernization and Transformation, with Zafin, to hear his thoughts on what banks and other financial institutions are doing to future-proof their businesses and better serve their customers.
Zafin made its Finovate debut in 2017 at FinovateFall. The company offers a cloud-based product and pricing platform that simplifies core modernization for the world’s biggest banks. Zafin’s platform enables business teams to collaborate in the design and management of pricing, products, and packages. At the same time, the platform empowers technology teams to streamline core banking systems.
Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and founded in 2002, Zafin includes Wells Fargo, HSBC, and CIBC among its customers.
When you look at the current landscape for banks, what is their biggest technological challenge right now?
Charbel Safadi: The predominant technological challenge facing banks in the current landscape is the accumulation of legacy technology platforms that impede adaptability and innovation. These platforms, built over several decades, create a significant tech debt, hindering banks from promptly responding to changing market demands. This stands in contrast to agile fintech startups, unburdened by such legacy systems.
For banks, the challenge lies in modernizing these deeply entrenched platforms to enable transformative experiences and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving financial landscape. Despite significant time and financial investments, the traditional “rip and replace” approach has proven unsuccessful. This tech debt, rather than a lack of inherent competitiveness, is the primary obstacle for banks in delivering compelling value propositions, necessitating a forward-looking, progressive modernization strategy.
You just recently joined Zafin and are part of the company’s new transformation and modernization division. Tell us about why you joined the company and what this new division is all about.
Safadi: Zafin’s mission is to empower banks in reshaping their business models and updating technology platforms. As a leader in our organization, my role is to align our vision with clients’ business goals, fostering a cohesive team that mirrors banks’ transformation strategies. With a background in financial services consulting and experience with global banks, I recognize the market’s strong focus for the next decade and Zafin’s potential impact.
Being part of Zafin’s journey excites me, given its pivotal role in contributing to clients’ transformation agendas. Zafin’s strategic position emphasizes technology and business platforms, distinguishing it in the market. This allows us to provide significant value, aiding clients in kickstarting technology modernization while transforming their business models.
I am confident in our ability to guide clients through this journey, making a substantial impact and offering the necessary tools for success. Zafin’s forward-thinking strategy, coupled with our cohesive team and inclusive culture, solidified my decision to be part of this transformative organization.
Tell us about the launch of Zafin Studio. What challenge will it help Zafin customers resolve?
Safadi:Zafin Studio represents a significant advancement in the modernization of technology platforms, specifically addressing the challenge of crafting forward-looking propositions tailored to each client’s unique values and needs. Unlike existing solutions in the market, Zafin Studio adopts a comprehensive approach to banking propositions. Leveraging the Product and Pricing Index (PPI) tool, it rapidly gathers, filters, and segments data and insights for analysis from leading global banks, bridging a crucial market gap. This empowers various stakeholders within a bank, from business users to product managers and department heads.
Our goal is to equip them with the tools to comprehend market dynamics, enabling swift research on top banks worldwide and insights into their product designs and rate structures. The collected information is entirely external and does not involve customer data. Through Product Explorer, Zafin Studio unravels the intricacies of product offerings, merging external market research with an internal product explorer. The drag-and-drop feature of Proposition Canvas in turn empowers banks to seamlessly design and implement cutting-edge functionalities. Essentially, Zafin Studio acts as a governing methodology and framework, revolutionizing banks’ transformation approaches. We eagerly anticipate our clients utilizing Zafin Studio to elevate co-created value propositions to new heights.
Zafin is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. What are some of the top concerns for Canadian banks that might differ from those of banks in the U.S., the U.K., or Europe?
Safadi: In Canada, the banking landscape differs significantly from the U.S., U.K. and Europe due to population size and the number of institutions. Canadian banks are primarily concerned with population dynamics, competition, and the regulatory framework. The evolving regulatory landscape indicates that open banking is on the horizon in Canada. This, combined with the rise of innovative fintech firms free from legacy technology constraints, compels banks to prepare for the coming years.
While fintech companies lack the technological burdens of traditional institutions, they also lack the established customer base of incumbents. To capitalize on this, banks must pivot towards a more horizontally aligned approach to product development and proposition modeling. This involves adopting a holistic view of the Canadian customer, encompassing their entire financial journey and value chain. By consolidating data from diverse systems, including mortgages, lending, and deposits, banks can craft compelling value propositions that genuinely resonate with consumers. Prioritizing strong relationships over sheer customer volume is crucial. This means tailoring pricing, offers, and incentives to match the customer’s entire banking journey. This forward-thinking approach ensures sustained delivery of substantial value and the preservation of loyalty within the existing client base, thereby upholding a competitive edge rooted in customer trust.
Speaking of international activity, Zafin recently announced a new operational center in Dubai and the upcoming release of various AI-based solutions for the Middle Eastern market. Tell us about some of the top trends in fintech in the Middle East?
Safadi: Zafin is making significant investments in Generative AI, with Zafin Copilot serving as a central component in our technology portfolio. This tool is pivotal for both external client interactions and internal team processes. We’ve dedicated significant efforts to explore how AI can enhance product and pricing modeling, effectively harnessing continuously generated data, including customer details, transactions, and relationship data. We’ve made it a priority to equip our clients with the technological capabilities needed for full access to the rich data set within our platform.
Globally, AI forms a fundamental part of our strategy, with a notable emphasis on the Middle Eastern marketplace. This region’s substantial investments in AI makes it an ideal ground to explore dynamic pricing, especially in comparison to markets with stricter pricing regulations.
Our core principles of trust, transparency, and fairness in banking guide all AI development initiatives. We ensure strict adherence to regulatory frameworks across global markets. AI is viewed as an intrinsic element of our entire platform, offering benefits to our customers, end consumers, and internal teams while aligning with our commitment to ethical and regulatory standards.
What trends in fintech and financial services are currently being underestimated in terms of their potential impact in the next few years?
Safadi: Many organizations are considering the adoption of Generative AI technologies. The central question revolves around how AI can effectively be utilized to reassess and improve product design, customizing offerings for each individual. This transition not only poses a challenge but also presents an opportunity. AI has the potential to centralize and grant access to the everyday data encountered by most organizations. The focus should now pivot towards creating dynamic product offerings that align with the unique value of each individual, taking into account the customer’s current life stage, priorities, and preferences.
In addition to well-explored areas like AI, another crucial emphasis lies in the design of the next-generation product architecture. Through global discussions and collaborations with banking clients, trailblazing organizations such as Zafin are actively shaping a horizontal model for the next generation of product architecture in financial institutions. This architecture should span the entire spectrum of banking, delivering a tailored and dynamic experience precisely meeting the customer’s needs at any given moment. Banks should persist in prioritizing depth and loyalty in customer relationships, recognizing their significance in the forthcoming years.
What can we expect from Zafin over the balance of 2023 and into 2024?
Safadi: Zafin is firmly dedicated to executing its strategy, aiming to provide substantial value to our clients. This dedication empowers them to not only modernize their technology platforms but also to transform their business models. Our intense focus revolves around delivering the essential technology, capabilities, and skills required for both these endeavors. Through robust partnerships within our deep ecosystem, our goal is to offer comprehensive customer modernization journeys.
We strive to spare our clients from spending excessive time — potentially three to four years or even longer — struggling to overhaul their technology landscape without having the capacity to contemplate new product architectures and business models. Everything we undertake is geared towards facilitating a low-risk approach to modernize their technology platforms, unlocking the potential to construct next-generation product architectures promptly.
Simultaneously, we remain committed to upholding trust, transparency, and fairness in how our clients deliver products and services to their client base.
Banking technology innovator Backbase and customer service solutions provider Zafinannounced a partnership today.
The two Finovate alums teamed up to offer Backbase clients access to Zafin’s technology. Specifically, Backbase clients can use Zafin to send their end customers highly personalized products and offers with pricing models that are tailored to each recipient.
The personalization element is a key differentiator. In today’s digital-first banking economy, personalization is a crucial element to customer retention and loyalty.
“This new partnership with Zafin offers our clients yet another way to build hyper-personalized experiences for customers while helping to break away from the legacy systems that have historically slowed the pace of innovation, and we’re excited to see our customers benefit,” said Backbase CEO Jouk Pleiter.
Backbase was founded in 2003 and offers solutions for banks to better engage with their customers. Today’s move is a win-win; it not only enhances Backbase’s offerings, but also provides Zafin access to a host of new bank clients.
The Zafin partnership comes after a heavy month of news from Amsterdam-based Backbase. The company began February with an announcement that it was selected by TechCU to overhaul its members’ banking experience, followed by partnership announcements from Banesco Panamá, Basis Bank, an National Bank of Bahrain.
The following is a guest post from John Mason, Senior Director at Zafin.
Open Banking in Australia kicked-off in earnest in July when it became mandatory for the country’s big four banks to share product reference data (including interest rates, fees and charges, and product eligibility criteria) with accredited data recipients, typically fintech companies who provide alternative products and comparison shopping services to consumers. Also, in July, the same big four started sharing their consumer customers’ data—specifically data associated with deposit, credit, debit and transaction accounts—with alternative providers as requested by the customer.
In an effort to anticipate what lies ahead for Australian banks and consumers as the country joins the worldwide movement to give consumers greater access to products and services that can improve their financial lives via Open Banking, we decided to take a look at an island nation more than 9,000 miles away, boasting 2.5x Australia’s population but just 3% of its land mass—the U.K.
The United Kingdom embarked on its own Open Banking journey almost exactly four years back. In August 2016, the United KingdomCompetition and Markets Authority (CMA) directed its nine largest banks to provide accredited fintechs with access to previously proprietary customer data (pending customer approval, of course) down to the transaction level for current accounts.
Here is what’s happened in the U.K. that may be instructive for Australia:
Consumer up-take for Open Banking capabilities is sizable. As of January 2020, according to the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), there are one million users of Open Banking services in the U.K., representing a two-fold increase in just six months’ time. Further, the ecosystem of regulated open banking service providers is expanding rapidly. As of May 2020, it stands at 249, up from 100 at year end 2018.
Open Banking’s impact on the payments arena is particularly notable, with 50,000 consumers turning to third party applications to make payments from their current accounts in the month of December 2019 alone.
Investment is strong and widespread. Tink, the open banking platform, surveyed almost 300 senior financial services executives about their Open Banking investments. Almost ¾ indicated that spend had risen year-over-year, while a third stated that their financial institution was spending €100 million or more on Open Banking initiatives, and half projected positive payback on capital invested in Open Banking in four years or less.
Despite strong adoption and investment, consumer awareness of Open Banking is low—perhaps pitifully so. In a 2019 study by Crealogix, two thirds of respondents had no idea what Open Banking was, much less its potential benefits.
Some banks see opportunity in the transition to Open Banking, whereas others view Open Banking as just another compliance obligation. One example of a visionary is Barclays, who empowered its U.K. customers to better manage their finances with the ability to attach non-Barclays accounts to its mobile app—taking a big and bold step forward to participate in the industry’s emerging platform economy.
Interest in the capabilities Open Banking enables varies substantially by different generational cohorts. For example, according to Crealogix research in the U.K., GenZs and millennials are twice as likely to adopt new open-banking capabilities and applications relative to baby boomers.
Many positives and much innovation notwithstanding, for the most part, Open Banking’s promise to drive positive changes for financial inclusion have not yet been realized.
Based on what we’ve observed in the U.K., here are three predictions for how we expect Open Banking to play out in Australia.
Some banks will respond with vision and vigor, delivering new experiences that resonate with their customers and create advantage in the marketplace.
Other banks will view a more open financial ecosystem as a threat and put their heads in the sand, leading to short term investment savings and long-term competitive disadvantages.
Investors—inside banks and outside in the broader fintech ecosystem—will bet on advancing technologies and evolving customer expectations by placing smart bets on future possibilities in the Open Banking arena.
While consumers may never know what Open Banking is, their desire to benefit from new and compelling digital banking services will ultimately lead the overall banking industry to a brighter future—in Australia and the rest of the world. As in the U.K., the advent of Open Banking in Australia will hasten progress, create opportunity and change an industry.
A global product and pricing solution provider for banks, Zafin finished 2019 with a new Salesforce integration and began this year with a major change at the top: adding financial services veteran Venkataraman Balasubramanian (known informally as “Bala”) as the company’s new Chief Technology Officer.
Balasubramanian arrived at the Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based company at a time of major innovation in the financial services industry – as well as a time of significant disruption in the everyday lives of people all over the world due to the coronavirus pandemic. How is Zafin helping banks and other financial institutions cope with the current environment? How do some of the most compelling technology innovations of our time – from advanced machine learning and AI to the blockchain and Big Data – give innovators the tools they need to find new solutions to old – and new – problems? We talk with “Bala” about all this and more in our latest Finovate Alumni profile.
Finovate: You have only been at Zafin for a month or two. How are you finding your new position? Any surprises?
Venkataraman Balasubramanian: It has been an incredible first few months for me here at Zafin. First and foremost, I find myself in the midst of a very talented group of people: engineers, business and technical analysts, a robust management team, and a very dedicated client success team. The depth of these teams is a testament to the value our clients see in our products.
Counter-intuitive yet brilliant has been the approach our management team has taken during these very trying times: to continue to bring in strong talent that will put us in a strong position coming out of this period of economic uncertainty.
Zafin was among the first to move to protect our employees by requiring all to work remotely. Our employees have access to extra “care days” for this year as a benefit. Recognition that the safety and well-being of our team is paramount to our client success is unusual to see in a business our size and one we continue to focus on.
Finovate: You have more than 35 years of experience in financial services and information technology. What attracted you to Zafin?
Balasubramanian: Digital was here to stay even before our current crisis. It is now even more so cemented in our everyday lives. This aspect of digital, however, goes far beyond the creation of experiences into the digitization of entire workflows — propositions that resonate in this context with a cloud-first service architecture, enabled by artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The implementation of such a system typically requires truly digital fintech partners (such as Zafin) and services integration (SI) partners. Having spent considerable time with SI partners in my prior roles, I felt that the timing is appropriate to work with a specific digital enabler. Zafin provided that opportunity in that its solution truly enables a digital transformation of the customer experience across the entire customer relationship and banks’ business lines.
Finovate: What are some of the things you are most eager to accomplish in your first year as CTO?
Balasubramanian: We are a cloud-based solution today, and I would like for us to be a multi-cloud solution in a manner that is unique. We are currently defining that framework, and I hope to get it to completion during the year.
In the era of digital transformation, core systems transformation will progress considerably. To that end, I expect to work with both existing core providers and transformational core providers to enable a “Bank-in-a-Box,” with a modernized core and externalized cross-product layers that enable product, pricing, and billing functionalities. Further, we will look to incorporate AI/ML capabilities into our solution to create proactive end-user interfaces.
Finovate: What are some of the most significant changes in the banking industry going on right now and what role is Zafin playing to help banks and other financial institutions successfully navigate these changes?
Balasubramanian: COVID-19 has redefined life as we know it, and financial services are no exception. Whether it is social distancing, phased restarts of the economy, or just the uncertainty that this virus has created, it has made us all think about the experiences we want in our everyday lives. Naturally, this means digitizing many facets of those experiences.
We want payments to be contactless and frictionless. We want highly relevant products and offers that seek to simplify our lives. From a banking perspective, Zafin works with banks to digitize the product lifecycle and its applicability to pricing and billing by injecting the customer and relationship context. We also enable banks with a cross-product layer that allows the centralization of product variants across the various systems. These are fundamental building blocks as a bank strives to digitize customer journeys.
Finovate: There are a number of enabling technologies that are helping drive innovation in fintech right now: AI, Big Data, blockchain, machine learning, and so on. Which technologies do you believe are being leveraged most effectively in the industry and how?
Balasubramanian: Each of these enabling technologies is at various stages of maturity, depending on the use case. Blockchain has great applicability not merely as a decentralized ledger, but also in immutability. Yet, that set of applications has some adoption in capital markets and not quite yet in other facets of the industry. Community creation has been a major impediment to its success.
Big Data, AI and ML have a slightly more nuanced twist: These require a considerable upfront investment in terms of data and infrastructure, hypothesis creation, testing and validation to produce a result. This will likely only be valuable if it is integrated into the delivery system — otherwise, it may turn out to be nothing more than an interesting experiment.
As these technologies and usage mature, they will prove more valuable. The discontinuity that the current situation creates allows for value systems to be re-arranged, and, in so doing, I believe many more interesting use cases will be discovered.
Finovate: Tell us more about how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting Zafin and the work it does? How is it impacting you and your work, having just arrived at the company?
Balasubramanian: If there was one major surprise for me that I didn’t answer in the very first question, it is this. We were among the first companies to transition our entire workforce to a remote setup. We rapidly implemented technologies to enhance internal collaboration and client communication. Working remotely may have impeded my own ability to get to know my team personally (as I would have typically done), but given the circumstances, our transition has been about as seamless as it could have been.
In some cases, COVID-19 has accelerated banks’ plans for digital transformation. Based on the volume and nature of conversations we’re having with banks and partners, if anything, the interest in and demand for what we offer has only increased over the past few months.
As much as we hope for the return to what we knew as “normal”, we are also certain that a new normal will emerge. And we think we are well prepared for that.
DXC Technology and Zafin have announced a partnership that will bring a standard connector between the former’s, Hogan core system and Celeriti’s digital banking front-end, and the latter’s product and pricing control solutions, reports Martin Whybrow of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).
The tie-up would enable the Hogan and Celeriti user base to externalize product and pricing control, thereby accelerating speed-to-market for new solutions, with additional capabilities such as relationship pricing and better control and governance.
The Hogan and Celeriti systems were derived from the CSC part of the merger with the Enterprise Services business of Hewlett-Packard that created DXC Technology in April 2017. They now reside within a DXC subsidiary, DXC Celeriti (CeleritiFinTech until recently). The Hogan system is one of the oldest on the market, launched as a mid- to high-end retail offering at the end of the 1970s. There is now a fairly small, largely US-centric user base.
Phil Walton, vice-president and general manager, DXC Celeriti, said: “We’re always looking for ways to help our clients meet the ever-increasing expectations for personalized banking services. Zafin enhances the relevance, precision and agility of their pricing strategies.”
Toronto-based, Zafin, was set up in 2002 and earlier this year raised $17.2 million in private growth financing led by Vistara Capital Partners, Beedie Capital and Accenture Ventures. It claims 30+ retail and commercial banks as clients.
Zafin demonstrated its enterprise banking platform at FinovateFall 2017.
Mambu and Salt EdgeTeam Up to Boost PSD2 Compliance.
RightCapitalPartners with Wealth Manager CircleBlack.
MastercardWorks with P27 to Launch Real Time Payments in the Nordics.
Around the web
Product and pricing control solution provider Zafinannounces alliance with end-to-end IT services firm DXC Technology.
Trade finance and supply chain expert David Hennah joinsIGTB.
LoanScorecard to powerACORN, the new automated underwriting system from Sprout Mortgage.
FinovateFall Best of Show winner SpyCloudtakes home top honors at SourceMedia’s 2019 Digital Banking conference.
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.
Financial services software provider Zafinpicked up $17.2 million in funding this week. The Series B round, led by Accenture Ventures, Beedie Capital, and Vistara Capital Partners, takes the company’s total financing to more than $47 million, and follows Zafin’s partial acquisition and strategic alliance between the company and Accenture announced in December.
In a statement, the company said the funding will help it “fully execute” its business plans, including expanding market share worldwide. Zafin founder and Group CEO Al Karim highlighted four areas – open banking, core transformation, AI, and machine learning – where he believed the company and its investment partners can deliver value.
Zafin’s technology powers strategic pricing, product, and customer strategies to help FIs increase profitability, deliver more personalized services and solutions, and compete more effectively. Alan McIntyre, head of Accenture’s global banking practice, praised Zafin’s offerings, noting how the company helped “financial institutions to improve pricing, personalization, and product make-up without having to replace their legacy systems.” McIntyre said this was especially important “for many of those not among the top ten players in the market.”
Vistara Capital Partners founder and managing partner Randy Garg was impressed by the company’s traction. “Zafin’s innovative solutions have become increasingly known amongst global banks as the sector continues to go through its technologically driven evolution,” Garg said. “Over the past several years of our involvement, it has been very satisfying to see the levels of adoption taking place with many of the world’s most discerning bank customers.”
Zafin demonstrated its miRevenue Enterprise Banking platform at FinovateFall 2017. The company was recognized by Deloitte as one of the fastest growing companies in Canada in 2016, and today has more than 40 global banking customers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. Zafin was founded in 2002, and is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
London-based anti-fraud platform Fortytwo Datarebrands as Napier.
Fenergolaunches new low to no-code administration suite, Fenergo Digital Configuration Studio.
Lighter Capitalprovides $700,000 in growth capital to FitSmallBusiness.com.
Forrester namesCREALOGIX a leader in the Now Tech: Digital Banking Engagment Platforms, Q4 2018, category.
Artivestannounces expansion of its platform to include product structuring and fund distribution solutions.
TransUnionunveils its Auto Payment Shopper solution to improve the car buying process for consumers, lenders, and dealers.
ieDigitalnamed “market challenger” in latest Ovum Decision Matrix.
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.
Digital banking platform provider Zafin and global professional services company Accenturehave forged a new relationship that is both a strategic alliance and an acquisition. The companies have announced a “joint go-to-market strategy” that will make Accenture the preferred integrator of Zafin’s financial platform. And by bringing on “select employees” from Zafin’s professional services business, Accenture also gains the technical integration and development capabilities it needs to enhance its own financial services offerings.
For Zafin, the alliance and acquisition gives the company the opportunity to “focus squarely on product innovation and technology” said CEO and founder Al Karim Somji. He added that the partnership also provides the Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based firm with “rapid scalability.”
“We are particularly proud of the work we’ve done with our clients globally,” Somji said, “and expect our expanded relationship with Accenture to enable us to accelerate our momentum in the market.”
Zafin offers financial institutions around the world technology that drives relationship pricing, bundling, and rates management strategies. The company’s platform enables financial institutions to boost revenue and efficiency by upgrading legacy infrastructure which, among other benefits, helps them improve client engagement via solutions and services that deliver greater customization for consumers and greater profitability for banks.
Head of Accenture’s global banking practice Alan McIntyre blamed legacy IT systems for the inability of many FIs to modernize the customer experience, and pointed to Zafin’s technology as a solution. “Zafin’s software enables financial institutions to improve their pricing, personalization and product configuration without having to replace their legacy systems,” the senior managing director said.
Zafin demonstrated its miRevenue enterprise banking platform at FinovateFall 2017. In May of this year, the company announced a partnership with Celero, an IT solution provider for credit unions. In April, Zafin inked a strategic partnership with the Empire Startups, a global community of fintech entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators.
Named one of Canada’s 50 fastest growing companies in 2016 by Deloitte, Zafin has more than 40 global banking customers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, and India. The company was founded in 2002, and raised $30 million in funding previous to the alliance and acquisition by Accenture.
With clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture offers a wide variety of strategy, consulting, technology, and operations services and solutions. The company partnered with mBank at FinovateFall 2013 to demonstrate the Polish bank’s next generation online banking platform. Accenture was founded in 1989, and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. With a market capitalization of $106 billion, Accenture trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “ACN.”
