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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Embedded finance player Railsr closed a $46 million Series C round comprised of $26 million in equity and $20 million in debt.
Company CEO and Co-founder Nigel Verdon is calling the investment “a significant step” in the company’s route to profitability.
The new capital brings Railsr’s total funding to $187 million.
Four months after rebranding from Railsbank, embedded finance platform Railsrclosed $46 million in funding today. Company CEO and Co-founder Nigel Verdon is calling the investment “a significant step” in the company’s route to profitability.
The Series C round consists of $26 million of equity, which was led by Anthos Capita and included existing investors Ventura, Outrun Ventures, CreditEase, and Moneta. The rest of the round was comprised of $20 million in debt, which was led by Mars Capital.
Railsr said that the new capital, which brings its total funding to $187 million, will empower the company to continue to invest in its platform and help it enable its customers to offer embedded finance experiences to their end users.
“We set out to challenge old finance and this is what we will continue to do. Our strategy and success to date has come from the way we prioritize customers, invest in technology, empower teams and execute relentlessly to continue our journey,” said Verdon.
With more than 300 customers– including HelloCash, Sodexo, and Payine– Railsr offers a range of embedded finance offerings. The company believes that customers want to focus on frictionless and fun experiences, not finance. Railsr offers banking-as-a-service, along with embedded payment cards, mobile wallets, credit tools, and rewards tools.
Railsr has been keeping busy as of late. Along with its rebrand, the company recently appointed Rick Haythornthwaite as its first Chairman, promoted Chief Product Officer Stuart Gregory to Chief Operating Officer, and promoted Jane Thorburn to serve as Chief of Staff.
Headquartered in the U.K. and founded in 2016, Railsr declined to disclose its current valuation but referred to it as a “fair value.”
U.S. Bank introduced a new tool to give small business owners the ability to see a 90-day forecast of their cash flow.
The new offering is the latest innovation from U.S. Bank’s Business Essential suite of banking and payments solutions.
U.S. Bank made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateFall 2021. At the conference, the bank demoed its Cards-as-a-Service (CaaS) technology.
U.S. Bank unveiled a new solution to enable small business owners to see a 90-day forecast of their cash flow. The tool allows users to leverage external data from their clients along with their own U.S. Bank accounts to provide more comprehensive insights. The offering is designed to address what U.S. Bank Chief Digital Officer Irv Henderson called “a top concern for today’s business owners.”
“Giving our clients the ability to forecast their cash flow outlook, including, in the future, the capability to consider various scenarios, will provide them with vital information to make smart decisions for today and the future,” Henderson said.
U.S. Bank’s new cash flow tool gives users a 90-day historical view along with its forecast of account balances up to 90 days ahead. The bank plans to introduce additional functionality to enable users to build “what if” scenarios and observe the impact of those scenarios on future cash flow.
The tool is currently available to clients of U.S. Bank from their online dashboard. Part of U.S. Bank’s Business Essentials suite of banking and payments solutions, the cash flow tool is the bank’s latest effort to “bring together digital capabilities and the power of data” to provide small businesses with actionable insights, according to Henderson.
U.S. Bank made its Finovate debut a year ago at our all-digital FinovateFall 2021 conference. At the event, the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based bank demonstrated its Card-as-a-Service (CaaS) technology that enables companies to extend corporate credit digitally. With the touch of a button, virtual cards -with precise spend limits, tokenization, and encryption – can be pushed to users’ mobile wallets in real time. The Card-as-a-Service solution also gives businesses the ability, via API integration, to build custom virtual payment experiences in their ecosystem.
The parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, U.S. Bancorp serves millions of customers through a range of businesses including consumer and business banking, payment services, corporate and commercial banking, wealth management, and investment services. The institution has $591 billion in assets as of June 2022.
Dutch bank ABN AMRO has partnered with bicycle rental company Swapfiets to offer Swapfiet clients access to ID & pay.
With ID & pay, customers can sign up and pay for a service in seconds while securely storing their ID in a single app.
ID & pay works across multiple merchants and service providers. ABN AMRO likens it to “to having a Google login combined with PayPal.”
ABN AMRO is flexing its payment innovation muscle this week in a new partnership. The Dutch bank is teaming up with bicycle-as-a-service company Swapfiets to launch a new functionality that combines payment and identity authentication.
Swapfiets is leveraging ABN AMRO’s ID & pay, a tool that allows customers to sign up and pay for their Swapfiets membership using an electronic ID. When new and existing Swapfiets clients want to pay for their monthly bicycle rental membership, ID & pay allows customers to sign up and pay in seconds and enables users to securely store their e-ID in a single app.
“ID & pay originated from a need we identified among our business clients. A need to offer their customers a much simpler onboarding and payment process,” said ABN AMRO Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer Edwin van Bommel. “This app beats every other onboarding process in the market as an easy-to-use way for customers to provide ID and pay for products and services.”
What’s unique about ID & pay is that, once users sign up initially, they can use their verified identity and payment credentials to pay at other merchants and services that also use ID & pay. ABN AMRO likens the functionality to having a Google login combined with PayPal, but with credentials held within ABN AMRO’s secure, in-app environment.
“We hope this collaboration will make even more people enthusiastic about cycle memberships and our underlying idea of owning less and using more,” said Swapfiets CEO Marc de Vries.
This isn’t ABN AMRO’s first foray into the subscription management space. In 2020, the bank partnered with Subaio to integrate Subaio’s white label subscription management feature into Grip, ABN AMRO’s PFM app that enables users to see all of their recurring payments in one place.
ABN AMRO demoed alongside Fincite at FinovateEurope 2019, where the pair showcased how Fincite’s Automated Advice Engine offers clients and advisors investment recommendations based on ABN AMRO investment strategies.
Today’s global expansion marks Lemonade’s fourth European country. In addition to the U.S. and U.K., Lemonade is also available in France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Lemonade entered the insurance sector with its flagship renters insurance offering in 2015 and now has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion.
U.S. insurtech Lemonade already has notoriety among mainstream consumers in the U.S., and today, the New York-based company is once again expanding its geographic reach by launching in the U.K.
“Insurance as we know it hails from the U.K., as do I. So both professionally and personally bringing Lemonade to the U.K. is a homecoming of sorts,” said Lemonade Co-CEO and Co-founder Daniel Schreiber. “We believe the millions of local renters will appreciate what Lemonade has to offer. After all, who doesn’t want instant, transparent, personalized, and mission-driven insurance?”
Starting today, U.K. residents can sign up for Lemonade’s personal property coverage, Lemonade Contents insurance. Coverage plans start at $4.52 (£4) a month. The Contents insurance covers individual personal items of up to $2,260 (£2,000) each, and offers total coverage up to $113,000 (£100,000). Lemonade also offers add-on coverage for theft and loss-related incidents, accidental damage to mobile devices, and expert help through legal protection.
This isn’t Lemonade’s first international expansion. The company has also launched in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. For this move, however, Lemonade is relying on the U.K.’s largest insurance carrier, Aviva, which counts 18.5 million customers across the globe.
“By joining forces we can ensure compelling propositions reach a broader range of customers, including renters, an under-served yet growing segment of the U.K. insurance market,” said CEO of Aviva U.K. & Ireland General Insurance Adam Winslow. “In our 325 year history we have adapted and thrived in a changing world and our partnership with Lemonade is a marker of our intent to continue just this.”
Lemonade entered the insurance sector with its flagship renters insurance offering in 2015, when AI-driven, digital first insurance offerings were hardly commonplace. Today, the company has expanded to offer homeowners, auto, pet, and life insurance products. Lemonade went public in 2020 and now trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker LMND with a market capitalization of $1.54 billion.
A financial institution serving area creatives, Nashville, Tennessee-based Studio Bank has partnered with Corserv.
The credit card issuing program provider will enable Studio Bank to launch a comprehensive credit card program featuring virtual cards, automated credit decisioning, and more.
Founded in 2018, Studio Bank is the first newly chartered de novo bank to launch in Nashville in more than a decade.
“We are excited to launch this next level of innovation,” Studio Bank Chief Experience Officer April Britt said. “Our clients have a unique set of credit card and payment needs as business owners, leaders, and creatives. We have been able to partner with Corserv to create a program to provide an enhanced credit card user experience with all the conveniences of the modern economy.”
A digital financial institution, Studio Bank is designed to bring banking services to Nashville area creatives. And by “creatives,” Studio Bank looks to serve a variety of creative communities: from musicians and code writers to entrepreneurs, social activists, and even parents working to build better lives for their families. Founded in 2018, Studio Bank was the first newly chartered de novo bank to launch in Nashville in more than 10 years. Reaching profitability in its second year of operation, Studio Bank has assets of more than $750 million as of the end of Q2 2022.
Studio Bank’s partnership with Corserv comes less than a month after the bank announced raising $38 million in new funding. The fresh capital includes $18 million in equity issued this spring as well as $20 million in unsecured notes issued from Studio Financial Holdings, a new holding company also announced last month. “As I have always said from the founding of Studio Bank, we offer the sophistication and capability of a large, regional bank coupled with the customer service of the very best community bank we could create,” Studio Bank CEO and President Aaron Dorn said when the funding was announced. “Our growth and expansion into key communities in Middle Tennessee show we are fulfilling that promise.”
Atlanta, Georgia-based Corserv offers a turnkey credit card issuing program that gives financial institutions the ability to offer branded credit cards to consumers, businesses, and commercial customers. The company’s program includes features such as virtual card support for ePayables, automated credit-decisioning, sales and servicing portals, transparent reporting, and hosted and secure PCI compliant software.
“Our program is designed to enable banks, like Studio Bank, to own their credit card financials without the need to add expertise, infrastructure, or staff,” Corserv CEO Jerry Craft said. “We look forward to providing Studio Bank with the tools to serve their unique customer base with innovative payment solutions for their evolving needs.”
This year, Corserv has partnered with regional financial institutions such as Massachusetts-based BayCoast Bank, Madison-based correspondent bank Bankers’ Bank, and The Bank of Missouri (TBOM). In August, the company received Visa Ready Certification for its Payment Cards as a Service APIs (PCaaSA) issuer processor program.
Societe Generale will become a majority stakeholder in U.K.-based payment processor PayXpert.
The acquisition will help Societe Generale adapt to new consumer behavior stemming from the use of new technologies such as Buy Now, Pay Later.
In turn, PayXpert’s merchant clients will benefit from additional payments, financing, and insurance solutions.
France-based investment bank Societe Generaleannounced today it will become a majority stakeholder in U.K.-based payment processor PayXpert.
The acquisition aims to help Societe Generale adapt to new consumer behaviors stemming from new technologies and tools such as Buy Now, Pay Later and integrated insurance services. “Societe Generale constantly adapts its offering and innovates to address new customer journeys,” the company said in a blog post announcement.
Specifically, PayXpert’s technologies will help Societe Generale broaden its offering for retail and online merchants and continue in its quest to be a leading player in payment acceptance in Europe. As a result of the acquisition, PayXpert’s merchant clients will benefit from additional payments, financing, and insurance solutions.
“The acquisition of PayXpert would enhance our payment solutions offering by providing increasingly comprehensive and innovative services to our retail and online merchants,” said Aurore Gaspar Colson, Deputy Head of Societe Generale Retail Banking in France. “It reflects our determination to maintain an integrated approach to payments and is consistent with Societe Generale’s long-standing and innovative policy of cooperation with fintechs.”
Founded in 2008, PayXpert offers point-of-sale technologies for both online and in-person transactions, as well as solutions for subscription and recurring payments, data management, business intelligence, and more. Among the company’s clients are Uber, Santander, and Gucci. PayXpert was a finalist in the for the Best Mobile Payments Solution category in the 2020 Finovate Awards.
Private Equity Firm EQT has agreed to acquire B2B accounts receivable and payments company Billtrust.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year for $1.7 billion.
This move will take Billtrust back to a privately-held company, following its public debut on the NASDAQ in 2020 after closing a SPAC merger.
B2B accounts receivable and payments company Billtrustannounced today it has agreed to be acquired by EQT Private Equity for $1.7 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.
Once finalized, the deal will take Billtrust from the public markets. The company went public in 2020 in a SPAC merger valued at approximately $1.3 billion. Billtrust is currently listed on the NASDAQ and has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion.
“This transaction marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Billtrust, our customers and employees while providing shareholders an immediate and substantial cash value with a compelling premium,” said Billtrust Founder and CEO Flint Lane. “We believe B2B payments and accounts receivable continue to be ripe for massive disruption and innovation, and our partnership with EQT will provide us with greater resources and flexibility to build on our leadership position.”
Billtrust was founded in 2001 to offer a suite of solutions that simplify and automate B2B commerce through cloud-based software and payment processing solutions. In 2018, the company launched its Business Payments Network (BPN) that connects buyers, suppliers, and financial institutions to simplify and streamline electronic payment acceptance. The company also offers tools for credit risk managers, ecommerce solutions for wholesale distributors and manufacturing businesses, payments acceptance tools, and more.
For EQT, a Sweden-based private equity firm with $100 billion in assets under management, this marks its third fintech deal. Others in the firm’s fintech portfolio include SaaS cloud banking provider Mambu and payment acceptance company Mollie.
“The Billtrust platform features modern solutions, a compelling value proposition, and, like EQT, a commitment to innovation and transformation in the digital era,” said Arvindh Kumar, Partner and Co-Head of EQT’s Global Technology Sector Team. “Additionally, the Company operates at the intersection of software, fintech, and payments—sectors in which EQT has deep familiarity and a track record of success. With proprietary end-to-end solutions that generate value for all stakeholders and across economic cycles, Billtrust is poised to advance its leading offering in the underpenetrated accounts receivable automation space.”
This is a sponsored post by Tim FitzGerald, EMEA Financial Services Sales Manager, InterSystems, Gold Sponsors of FinovateFall 2022.
In today’s fast-moving landscape, financial services firms are under increasing pressure to remain competitive and generate more revenue by developing new products and services faster, while still leveraging their existing resources.
In recent years, this has seen many financial services organisations turn to external fintech solutions to help accelerate innovation and quickly obtain new digital capabilities. And so, fintech partnerships have become critical components of financial institutions’ growth strategies, rather than the technology experiments they started out as.
To ensure innovation success, it’s vital that financial services organizations can easily leverage and provision new fintech services and applications by seamlessly integrating with their existing production applications and data sources. But the true value and potential of fintech solutions can’t be unleashed until integration is quick and easy.
As many firms will attest, arduous and costly integration can see the value of such initiatives dwindle before their very eyes – sometimes to be lost altogether. Common challenges can range from unforeseen issues tying up precious IT resources, to costs spiraling out of control and timescales sliding drastically from what was planned or what is desirable. Ultimately, these delays can result in the loss of any competitive edge as rivals launch similar solutions much faster.
Ensuring successful integration
Fintechs have become increasingly attractive as they incorporate the latest technologies, modern application methodologies, and deployment platforms. However, for banks to make effective use of these opportunities, those technologies need to be woven into its existing infrastructure, much of which is likely to be based on legacy technology.
Consequently, successful integration requires an understanding of the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of those legacy systems. It also demands knowledge of the underlying data architecture and how to connect the new technology to systems that weren’t built to be connected to in such a way. While this isn’t an unsurmountable problem, getting it right will take resources, budget, and time.
Careful consideration is also needed when undertaking the integration to ensure that the resulting architecture doesn’t become overly complex. After all, if it comprises multiple technology layers from different vendors, all with differing versions and releases, any future change could impede the bank’s ability to take advantage of the benefits they set out to achieve.
Next will be to determine how data from existing systems will be fed into the new system and in what format. To get around this, it’s all too easy to layer extraction tools upon a myriad of other tools, including transformation tools, data lineage, master data management, databases, and data lake technologies. However, what firms are then left with is a multi-headed monster that no one person truly understands. This approach to data integration is also complex and costly to design, deploy, manage, and maintain. Fortunately, adopting a smart data fabric approach, a next generation architecture, can provide a way for financial services organizations to overcome these challenges.
Achieving bidirectional connectivity
By leveraging a smart data fabric, it is possible for institutions to connect and collect real-time event data and obtain unmatched integration capabilities using just one holistic platform. This approach eliminates the complexity and inefficiencies of manual integrations and other legacy approaches to integration and enables firms to integrate applications faster and more efficiently. It does this by essentially creating a dynamic real-time, bidirectional gateway between cloud-based fintech applications and their own production applications and data assets.
The smart data fabric integrates real-time event and transactional data, along with historical and other data from the large number of different back-end systems in use by financial services organizations. It transforms the data into a common, harmonized format to feed cloud fintech applications on demand, thus providing seamless, real-time, bidirectional connectivity and integration with the bank’s existing legacy enterprise data, production applications, and data sources.
Not only does this help firms to realize faster time to value and achieve simpler implementation that is easier to maintain, but it also gives financial services institutions the agility needed to innovate faster and keep critical initiatives on track. Additionally, it helps to futureproof their architecture by making it easier to incorporate any fintech applications and technologies available in the marketplace, thereby empowering them to react to new opportunities and changes in their environments.
Ultimately, there is immense value to be unlocked from fintech solutions and applications. However, that is only possible through swift and simple integration. By implementing a smart data fabric-enabled data gateway, financial services organizations can quickly and easily integrate new solutions within their existing infrastructure to ensure they are able to keep pace in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Traditionally, we’ve talked about Amazon, Google, Apple, and Meta (formerly known as Facebook) as big tech companies with the potential to rise up as competitors in the banking and fintech space. However, there is one giant that is worth adding to this list– Walmart.
Walmart is not a fintech company, or even a tech company, it’s a retail firm. Or at least that’s what it was when Sam Walton founded it in 1962. But what does Walmart’s future look like? The company has made it clear that it will not only begin offering financial services, but will also evolve into a super app. On examining the company’s ambitions, it appears that Walmart may have what it takes to ascend as a competitor in the fintech space.
Below are five aspects of Walmart to consider when evaluating it as a potential competitor.
User base
As one of the most recognizable brands across the globe, Walmart comes with a large, built-in user base. The company sees 265 million customers worldwide each week, and many of those shoppers seek out Walmart as their primary retailer. Walmart+, the company’s $99 annual subscription service, counts 32 million members.
Once Walmart begins its formal foray into financial services in earnest, it will certainly not count all 32 million members as users right away. However, having a built-in, captive audience will help jump-start its user base and will lower customer acquisition costs.
In-app rewards
In both retail and financial services sectors, rewards create stickiness. As one of the oldest retail companies, Walmart has figured this out. Leveraging a partnership with Ibotta Performance Network, Walmart recently launched Walmart Rewards, a way for Walmart+ members to earn additional savings toward their future purchases at Walmart.
Checking account
Earlier this month, Bloomberg unveiled that Walmart plans to launch a digital bank account to serve its shoppers and 1.6 million employees. While no specific details have been released, it is clear that the digital bank will stem from One, which Walmart acquired in early 2022. One is a neobank that offers a debit card and boasts non-traditional products and services such as earned wage access, fee-free overdraft protection, and digital wallet integration.
Currently, One relies on Coastal Community Bank to provide banking services. It is not clear whether Walmart will continue to use that model, or if it will seek its own banking license. Walmart initially pursued a banking license in 2005. After two years, the company withdrew its application after receiving opposition from bankers and other credit institutions. Given hurdles involved in earning a banking license, my guess is that Walmart will rely on its relationship with a traditional bank like Coastal Community Bank.
For more clues into Walmart’s banking ambitions, I checked out job advertisements on LinkedIn. Walmart is currently hiring for a range of positions within its financial services arm. “We are starting some exciting ventures as we expand our financial services in various ways to engage and provide capabilities to our customers,” one of the job descriptions states.
Physical presence
Walmart has 11,501 physical retail stores across the globe. The largest U.S. bank, JP Morgan Chase, has fewer than half that number at around 5,080 physical bank branches. And for customers who are not into doing business IRL, Walmart has them covered, as well. The company just launched Walmart Land, a new immersive experience in Roblox.
If Walmart truly wants to become a large competitor in the financial services world, it already has more than enough physical infrastructure to do so.
Part of why this matters isn’t the sheer number of physical locations or square footage. Having these physical stores will impact who Walmart is able to serve, just as much as it will impact how many people it is able to serve. That’s because Walmart stores are typically located in rural and suburban areas– in other words, Walmart stores are close to non-urban customers who may not rely on their mobile devices as much as city dwellers, and therefore may not be comfortable maintaining an account at a digital-only bank. No smartphone? No problem, just drive down to Walmart and open up an account.
Super app
The term “super app” is used quite lightly in the fintech sector these days. However, Walmart is one of the few firms in the U.S. with the potential to evolve into a true super app. In a piece published earlier this year, Chief Research Officer at Cornerstone Advisors Ron Shevlin summarized Walmart’s potential as a super app. “Walmart’s DNA is efficiency and cost control—and that’s the ultimate promise of a super app for the supercenter,” said Shevlin.
Currently, the company’s app offers Walmart+ subscribers online grocery and retail shopping with free shipping; access to Scan & Go, a tool that enables shoppers to scan barcodes as they shop, pay with their phone using their card on file, and scan a QR code at the cash register before they exit the store. Subscribers also benefit from discounts of up to 10 cents off per gallon of fuel at 14,000 gas stations; and free access to stream movies and shows at Paramount+.
As it stands, Walmart’s app with the above services does not constitute a super app. In a blog post last year, I detailed a list of ten elements required for a super app. Here is what Walmart has and where it needs improvement:
Ecommerce: currently offers
Health services: currently offers vaccination services and provides medical care at locations in four U.S. states.
Food delivery: currently offers grocery delivery, but not prepared food delivery
Transportation services: currently offers fuel discounts and in-app fuel payments
Personal finance: does not offer, but is actively working on plans to do so
Travel services: does not offer
Billpay: does not offer
Insurance: does not offer
Government and public services: does not offer
Social: does not offer
Using that summary, Walmart receives a score of 4.5 out of ten on the super app scale, and it will likely progress in the next few years. Walmart has made it clear that it plans to create a super app. As Omer Ismail, CEO of Walmart’s One, told the Wall Street Journal, the company’s strategy “is to build a financial services super app, a single place for consumers to manage their money.”
Blend and PNC Bank announced a strategic partnership to help the bank digitally optimize its online mortgage process.
The partnership between Blend and PNC Bank comes in the wake of Blend’s Instant Home Equity product, launched in August.
Blend made its Finovate debut in 2016 and is also an alum of Finovate’s developer conference, FinDEVr.
A strategic partnership between PNC Bank and cloud banking software company Blend will help the financial institution digitally optimize its online mortgage application process. With its new mortgage application platform, PNC will enable its customers to digitally apply for a mortgage and import information such as bank and payroll data directly into the application simply by providing their credentials. Customers further will benefit from a single portal for tracking the status of their mortgage application, completing any additional tasks, as well as reviewing and electronically signing loan documentation. The portal also allows PNC’s mortgage loan officers to collaborate in real time with customers.
PNC EVP and Head of Mortgage Peter McCarthy called the partnership “an ideal combination of digital self-service technology and support for our customers as they navigate one of the biggest and most important purchases in their lifetimes.”
The strategic partnership announcement comes just over a month after Blend announced the launch of its automated instant home equity product. Integrating a range of recent enhancements to its mortgage suite, the solution provides income and identity verification, title, decisioning, property appraisal, and notarization. Lenders can use Blend Instant Home Equity to provide borrowers with a personalized offer that can be approved instantly and closed within a few days.
“Leveraging all that we’ve built on the Blend platform – for both Mortgage and Consumer Banking solutions – we’re able to deliver an instant home equity experience to help our customers ensure a seamless experience for applicants, grow their home equity businesses, and reduce costs to originate in a challenging marketplace,” Head of Blend Nima Ghamsari said.
Blend demonstrated its Data-Driven Mortgage solution at FinovateSpring 2016 and returned later that year to present its technology at our developers conference FinDEVr Silicon Valley. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Blend enables financial services companies to process an average of more than $5 billion in transactions a day. The company leverages low-code, drag-and-drop design tools to enable developers to build new products quickly. Its platform is integrated with trusted services ranging from eSign to identity verification to help financial institutions deliver seamless customer experiences.
PNC Bank is a part of the PNC Financial Services Group, one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the U.S. Offering retail banking to more than 12 million consumers and small businesses across the mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southeast, and Southwest, PNC Bank also provides asset management services to affluent and ultra-affluent individuals and families, as well as corporate and institutional banking. As of June of this year, PNC Bank had $320 billion in assets under administration.
HSBC has tapped Nova Credit to integrate the company’s Credit Passport, a cross-border credit data product.
As part of the partnership, Nova Credit received a $10 million investment, bringing its total funding to more than $79 million.
HSBC deployed Nova Credit’s Credit Passport at HSBC Singapore in May and plans to expand its use of the solution later this year to cover more country bureaus.
Consumer-permissioned credit bureau Nova Creditreceived $10 million in funding this week. The investment, which boosts the California-based company’s total funds to over $79 million, came from HSBC Ventures.
Under the strategic partnership, Nova Credit will provide HSBC with access to Credit Passport, its cross-border credit data product. Credit Passport essentially translates consumer credit across geographical borders, providing residents who are new to a country with access to financial products that require credit, such as loans or mortgages.
By leveraging Credit Passport, HSBC will have access to a customer’s translated credit history, after receiving permission from the customer. This not only increases HSBC’s potential client base, but it also increases the speed of the bank’s decisions.
“Accessing credit in a new market can be a challenge and is something we’ve been helping customers with for years,” said HSBC Group Head of Retail Banking and Strategy, Wealth and Personal Banking Taylan Turan. “We’re excited to be partnering with Nova Credit, to improve our ability to do this even more, with its innovative digital Credit Passport. We’re proud to be the first organization to offer this to customers in Singapore.”
HSBC Singapore integrated Credit Passport in May, enabling its applicants to offer the bank permission to access their global credit record and credit score. HSBC Singapore’s implementation of the tool also marked the first use of Credit Passport outside of the U.S.
HSBC elected to launch the use of the product in Singapore because thousands of its Singapore-based clients have recently moved to the country from India, where they have credit history. The bank plans to expand its use of the solution later this year to include customers with a credit history in Australia, the U.K., and the Philippines, and plans to cover more country bureaus in 2023.
Nova Credit launched in 2016 and has since built relationships with credit bureaus in more than 20 countries. Partnering with the credit bureaus has given the company consumer-permissioned access to over one billion credit profiles. Nova Credit also has partnerships with lenders including American Express, SoFi, Yardi, and Verizon.
Payroll data company Pinwheel launched a tool called the Pinwheel Earnings Stream.
The new product offers data on past, current, and projected income.
According to Pinwheel, the data is most useful for earned wage access (EWA) offerings, but can also be used for financial wellness tools, underwriting, and more.
Income and employment data innovator Pinwheelannounced its newest launch today. The company unveiled the Pinwheel Earnings Stream, a tool that offers up-to-date historical, current, and projected income data.
Pinwheel leverages machine learning and pay stub data to determine net earned wages for any work completed to create an accurate view of accrued and projected earnings. Earnings Stream uses analytics and intelligence to help make sense of this data.
Earnings Stream offers organizations three main benefits: accrued earnings, which shows wages a customer has earned so far in the current pay period; projected earnings, which estimates the earnings a customer will have by the end of the current pay period; and pay dates, a list of a customer’s projected pay dates.
By leveraging the projected earnings information from Earnings Stream, organizations can efficiently deploy an earned wage access (EWA) strategy. According to Pinwheel, Earnings Stream has other use cases, as well, including “financial wellness tools, educational services, cash flow underwriting, and so much more.”
“We developed Earnings Stream to support our customers’ strategies to answer the consumer demand for EWA services, while they have long wanted to offer these products, it’s been nearly impossible to execute at scale throughout the fintech industry at large,” said Pinwheel Co-Founder and CEO Kurtis Lin. “EWA is a unique product because it benefits all parties. Consumers are excited about meaningful liquidity, financial institutions are happy to acquire customers, and employers are pleased to see their workers have less financial stress. I’m proud of our team for developing what we believe will be one of the fintech industry’s keys to building truly impactful EWA products.
Founded in 2018, Pinwheel aims to create a fairer financial system with its API that connects to more than 1,600 payroll platforms and more than 40 time and attendance platforms. In all, the system covers 80% of U.S. workers and more than 1.5 million employers.
The New York-based company aims to offer fintechs the data needed to create financial tools for underserved populations, without taking on additional risk. “Many of our customers are working on exciting use cases that we’re excited to see hit the market soon,” said Lin.
