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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Yesterday we shared the announcement that FinovateFall 2022 is on track to be our biggest event to date. Today we have great news from the other side of the Finovate stage: fully 50% of the speakers at FinovateFall in New York next month will be women.
“This definitely contributes to our DEI initiatives and effort to inject diversity into our events and portfolio as a whole,” Finovate Brand Strategy Director Adela Knox said.
Here are just a few of the women who will share their insights into fintech and the future of financial services at FinovateFall, September 12 through 14.
Remember that early-bird savings for FinovateFall 2022 end soon! Be sure to stop by the FinovateFall registration hub today to take advantage of special discounted ticket prices through Friday, September 2nd.
SC Moatti
SC Moatti will deliver a keynote address titled: Winter Is Coming: Now’s the Time to Hire That Chief Product Officer. Moatti is the founding Managing Partner of Mighty Capital; and the founding CEO of product acceleration platform, Products That Count.
In her address, Moatti will explain the consequences of not heeding the “product call” and why, if there’s one role companies should keep on their list of new hires this season, then it should be a Chief Product Officer.
As part of FinovateFall’s Payments stream, Wells Fargo Head of Enterprise Payments Ulrike Guigui will give a keynote address, Has the Pandemic Changed Payments Forever? 90% of Bank’s Useful Customer Data Comes from Payments – How Can They Ensure They Stay in the Game?
Alyson Clarke
Also in our Payments stream, Bernadette Ksepka, AVP and Deputy Head of Product Development, FedNowSM Service, Federal Reserve System, will sit down with PayGen co-founder and Chief Product Officer Robin LoGiudice to discuss The Continued Evolution of Faster, Cheaper, and Better Payments – Where Next with Instant Payments.
Alyson Clarke, Principal Analyst with Forrester, will deliver a keynote address titled Hybrid Banking – Why the Future is a Blend of Physical and Digital, as part of our Customer Experience stream.
Also in our Customer Experience stream, Symend co-founder and Chief Impact Officer Tiffany Kaminsky will share her insights in an address titled Upping the Ante: Using the Science of Decision-Making for Effective Customer Engagement.
Fintech-as-a-service innovator Solid raised $63 million in Series B funding this week.
Solid offers a platform that enables businesses to build and scale embedded fintech products into their own solutions.
The company, which made its Finovate debut in 2019 as “Wise,” will use the investment to accelerate its expansion into “fintech-ready” verticals such as travel, health care, and the gig economy.
Fintech-as-a-service company Solid has raised $63 million in Series B funding. The company offers infrastructure to enable companies to launch and bring to scale embedded fintech solutions. The round was led by FTV Capital. Existing investor Headline also participated.
“We built the most comprehensive fintech infrastructure from the ground up, so others don’t have to,” Solid co-founder and CEO Arjun Thyagarajan said. “Now, any company can quickly spin up bank accounts, crypto wallets, send payments, and issue cards to their end users, right into their product experience, while Solid does the heavy lifting of building and maintaining compliant fintech infrastructure.”
Solid made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2019 as “Wise.” At the conference, the company demonstrated its small business banking-in-a-box offering that included a checking account, payments, invoicing, cards, and point-of-sale solutions. The company rebranded as Solid last year as part of a pivot to highlight the modern banking platform they had used to launch their Wise business banking solution.
“We went from powering the Wise app to powering other products and ecosystems,” Thyagarajan and company co-founder and President Raghav Lal wrote at the Solid website last spring. “Along the way, we realized our brand and our positioning needed to change, too. And today, we are making the change and excited to share that Wise is now Solid.”
Solid will use the new capital to help fuel the company’s accelerated expansion into what it calls “fintech-ready” verticals like travel, construction, healthcare, and the gig economy. The company’s fully abstracted fintech-as-a-service platform gives developers the tools they need to easily embed fintech products into their offerings. Solid reports that fintech programs that build and launch on its platform own the experience and have little or no regulatory overhead. Solid’s technology also leverages modern APIs and a minimal-code approach to make integration easier. Companies that have used Solid’s platform include fellow Finovate alums like Paystand, as well as SaaS companies such as Everflow and emerging startups like Starlight.
Founded in 2018, Solid is headquartered in San Mateo, California. This week’s investment brings the company’s total funding to more than $80 million according to Crunchbase. Solid reported a 10x growth in revenues, customer base, and transactions processed last year. More than 100 fintech programs and $2 billion in transactions have been processed on the company’s infrastructure year to date.
FinovateFall 2022 in New York next month is on pace to be the biggest Finovate conference to date.
The Finovate team got the word early Tuesday morning: 1600+ registered attendees for FinovateFall. And counting …
“That’s huge!!” said Finovate VP, podcast host, and conference Master of Ceremonies Greg Palmer. “Biggest show in a long time!”
And with less than two weeks to go before the curtain goes up on our fall fintech conference, there’s every chance that the biggest Finovate in a long time is going to get even bigger.
Early-bird discounts end this week, so today is a great time to swing by our FinovateFall registration page and save your spot as Finovate’s return to live events continues. From September 12 though September 14, FinovateFall 2022 will feature three days of live fintech demoes, insightful main stage keynotes on critical fintech topics, as well as fan favorites like our Analyst All Stars Panel, Fintech Fight Club, all-day networking opportunities, and more.
Darlington Building Society has partnered with LexisNexis Risk Solutions to enhance its financial crime prevention strategy.
The U.K.-based financial institution will deploy LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ RiskNarrative platform which features integrations with more than 50 third party data sources.
Darlington Building Society was named Building Society of the Year in 2021 for its work with Finovate alum ieDigital.
U.K.-based Darlington Building Society has partnered with LexisNexis Risk Solutions to upgrade its financial crime prevention capabilities. The Society, founded more than 160 years ago, will deploy the company’s RiskNarrative platform, which will also enhance the Society’s online member portal and customer onboarding experiences.
Using a single API and integrations with more than 50 third party data sources, RiskNarrative gives companies the ability to better identify risk and detect fraudulent activity. The platform will enable Darlington Building Society to orchestrate document verification, PEP and sanctions monitoring, identity and address verification, and risk ratings of applications, as well as creating and managing internal watch lists.
“The partnership with LexisNexis Risk Solutions demonstrates the Society’s commitment to improving application processes for our members,” Darlington Building Society Chief Operating Officer Chris Hunter said. “The rollout of Digital ID&V, as part of the RiskNarrative implementation, is a step forward in simplifying customer account opening and reducing paper usage.”
Darlington Building Society will use technology from LexisNexis to digitize and streamline its onboarding journeys for both mortgage and savings applicants, Darling Building Society Chief Risk Officer David Bews added. Bews said the platform will also enable the Society to “future-proof” its financial crime prevention strategy, by helping the Society adjust its criteria to mitigate future risk as well as react to current threats.
Founded in 1856, Darlington Building Society supports nine branches across the North East, County Durham, and North Yorkshire. The Society offers savings accounts and mortgages, as well as service via its online banking resource, Darlingtononline. As a membership-owned and run mutual financial institution, Darlington Building Society turns its profits into lower mortgage rates, higher savings rates, and support for local charities. The company was namedBuilding Society of the Year in 2021 for its work with U.K.-based digital experience platform provider – and Finovate alum – ieDigital.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions is an international data and analytics company dedicated primarily yo predictive insights and fraud prevention. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, the company serves customers in a wide range of industries including financial services and insurance, healthcare, government, and public safety.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions includes multiple Finovate alums among its recent acquisitions. The company purchased BehavioSec earlier this year, TruNarrative in 2021, Emailage in 2020 and ThreatMetrix in 2018.
These nine fintechs wowed our FinovateFall audiences last year with their innovations in embedded finance, payments, wealth management, and more. To whet your appetite for FinovateFall next month, September 12 through 14, here’s a look at what our FinovateFall 2021 Best of Show companies have been up to since taking home Finovate’s top prize last fall.
Launched docuseries, Behind the Robo. Named a major player in the robo-advisory market by The Business Research Company. Worked with Standard Chartered Bank Kenya to help them launch their new money market fund offering.
Dreams
Won Best of Show for its engagement banking platform that offers a unique way to engage customers and responsibly expand revenues. Awarded Best of Show at FinovateSpring 2021. Founded in 2014. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.
Partnered with fellow Finovate alum ebankIT to support financial institutions undergoing digital transformation. Powered the new digital learning platform launched by Pacific Western Bank. Awarded Best of Show at FinovateSpring 2022.
Infocorp
Won Best of Show for its Mobile Native app that brings hyper-personalized experiences for every user in one single bank app. Founded in 1994. Headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Partnered with TESOBE to help banks in Latin America leverage open banking to build better, more customer-centric apps and services.
Long Game
Won Best of Show for its gamified finance app that helps banks acquire new customers and increase engagement with their Millennial and Gen Z customers. Headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 2015.
Won Best of Show for its intelligent automation technology that transforms documents into data analytics, helping lenders make timely, high quality credit decisions. Founded in 2014. Headquartered in New York City.
Raised $80 million at a valuation of $500 million. Partnered with fellow Finovate alum Blend to bring automation to the mortgage process.
PwC
Won Best of Show for its Customer Link solution that turns customer data into smarter action and provides a 360 degree view of your customers. Founded in 1845. Headquartered in New York City.
Who will take home the trophies this year at FinovateFall 2022? Join us in New York next month as we showcase upwards of 60 innovative fintech companies – all vying for the title of Best of Show.
Truist Wealth unveiled a pair of new investment solutions this week: a roboadvisor Truist Invest and a hybrid investment platform Truist Invest Pro.
Truist Invest provides a personalized investment portfolio based on the user’s goals, risk tolerance, and current investments. Truist Invest Pro adds access to a team of financial advisors.
Truist Wealth is a division of Truist Financial Corporation, a top ten U.S. with $545 billion in total assets.
Truist Wealth, a division of Truist Financial Corporation, announced the launch of two new investment solutions this week: roboadvisor Truist Invest and hybrid investment platform Truist Invest Pro, which blends automated investing with access to human financial advisors.
Both solutions were developed by a cross-functional team of designers, engineers, innovators, and product managers who co-created the new offerings in client journey rooms at the Truist Innovation and Technology Center. A combination of agile work strategies, direct client feedback, and iterative product design enabled the team to optimize both solutions ahead of their launch this year.
“Investors want digital solutions that are secure, intuitive to use, and able to help meet their needs whether they are a new or experienced investor,” Truist Wealth SVP of Digital Investing Kacy Howard said. “Truist Invest and Truist Invest Pro can help give clients control and confidence in their portfolio whether they choose a fully digital or hybrid solution to invest in their future.”
Truist Invest gives customers a tailored portfolio recommendation based on their goals, risk tolerance, and current investments. Truist Invest provides a daily portfolio analysis and supports both automated rebalancing and tax loss harvesting. A hybrid investment solution, Truist Invest Pro provides both the digital capabilities of Truist Invest as well as access to a team of financial advisors who can help customers build a personalized investment portfolio and provide ongoing investment advice. Accounts for both offerings can be opened with as little as $5,000. Truist Invest charges an annual fee of 0.50%, with Truist Invest Pro costing users 0.85%. Both fees are based on the assets under management, with a $90 per account annual minimum,
Truist Chief Wealth Officer Joseph M. Thompson put the new offerings in a broader context of the company’s goal of providing its customers with personalized service that maximizes the opportunity of digital technology in the investing space. “Digital investing solutions are an example of Truist’s T3 strategy which combines the client’s preferred level of personalized touch and innovative technology to create trust,” Thompson said. “Truist Invest and Truist Invest Pro provide simple and secure access to a portfolio that is purpose-built to help an investor achieve their goals and is backed by our investment expertise that can help individuals and families build better lives.”
A division of Truist Financial Corporation, Truist Wealth serves affluent, high, and ultra-high net worth individuals, families, and business owners in the U.S. and around the world. The firm’s services range from investing and retirement, trust and estate planning, and lending, to banking and risk management. Parent company Truist is a top 10 U.S. commercial bank with $545 billion in total assets, and 15 million clients across the U.S.. The bank recently announced the acquisition of Zaloni’s Arena platform, which will help Truist enhance its data governance, metadata management, advanced analytics, and AI/ML programs.
We spoke with Truist Financial’s Chief Retail & Small Business Banking Officer Dontá Wilson earlier this year at FinovateSpring about the pace of digital transformation in financial services and the importance of building a culture of innovation.
It’s been nearly five years since Hong Kong-based Chekk made its Finovate debut at FinovateAsia. The company, co-founded by CEO Pascal Nizri, is a B2B2C digital identity ecosystem that shifts ownership of personal data from businesses to individuals as part of its strategy to provide better, more seamless identity verification services.
“We all know how reluctant Internet users have become to share personal data online,” Chekk co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Benjamin Petit said from the Finovate stage during his company’s demo. “On the other side regulators are forcing banks and financial service providers to collect an increasing amount of data for compliance reasons. And this done during lengthy and painful KYCs that are costly for banks.”
Via a mobile app, Chekk empowers individuals to own their own personal data and control how much of their data they share. At the same time, businesses get access to a secure online or API-based platform that enables them to make data requests and conduct other customer interactions – from onboarding due diligence and ID verification to secure messaging for chats and statements – seamlessly.
Chekk’s SaaS solutions help the company’s retail, private, and corporate customers manage a range of digital identity and data portability challenges and operations. These include multi-language AML checks, including Arabic, Russian, and Chinese, as well as identity verification for more than 200 countries, biometric digital signatures, tools to create and maintain digital forms, a secure encrypted data wallet, and global connectivity to more than 400 million business data sources.
Bain Capital is the latest financial institution to choose Chekk as its partner when it comes to digital identity verification. With $155 billion in assets, the Boston-based alternative investment firm announced in July that it will leverage Chekk’s technology to provide KYB verification for businesses, merchants, and third parties, as well as KYC for individual customers.
The Bain partnership news comes in the wake of Chekk’s announcement of a significant investment (described as “multi-million dollar”) in a round led by HSBC Alternatives, a wing of HSBC Asset Management. The funding builds on previous funding from investors such as SOSV and LeFonds, a pair of venture capital firms, as well as individual investor David Gurle, founder of Symphony Communications Services.
“Thanks to its founders’ hands-on experience, Chekk is building a suite of services that extends well beyond compliance-driven KYC/KYB and puts commercial relationships at the core of its value proposition,” HSBC Asset Management Head of Venture and Growth Investments Remi Bourrette said. “This resonates with our fintech fund’s themes of improving access to financial services while managing the risks arising from criminal activities.
Have we arrived at a reckoning for Hong Kong-based fintech? While the clamp down on Big Tech in China has gotten most of the attention from international technology analysts and observers, the impact on fintech developments in Hong Kong have been relatively overlooked. A recent survey conducted by Google and financial consultancy Quinlan & Associates suggests that the fintech industry in Hong Kong could be in for challenging times.
Specifically, the survey revealed that 60% of the 120+ C-suite executives from early- and late-stage private fintechs contacted felt that Hong Kong was “relatively uncompetitive compared to other fintech hubs.” Among the reasons cited were the city’s regulatory environment, which was viewed as “costly, complex, and time-consuming,” as well as a “talent gap” that had been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. This talent gap extends beyond technical and product innovation roles to include sales and marketing talent, as well.
Hong Kong has been responsive to these challenges, according to a report from South China Morning Post. The city’s central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, unveiled a four-year plan in June – the Greater Bay Fintech Talent Initiative – that included a pledge to “groom all-round fintech talent” and to provide greater funding assistance for fintech projects. The initiative will feature the support of 20 financial institutions including HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Hong Kong’s stock exchange. Tech giant Ant Group will also participate in the initiative — the only tech-based company to take part.
“While nurturing local fintech talent has been one of Ant Group’s key missions for years,” Ant Group EVP for strategy development and government affairs Jennifer Tan said, “it’s the group’s honor to join partners from various aspects in cultivating tech talent through the Greater Bay Fintech Talent Initiative.”
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Sub-Saharan Africa
QED Investors invests more than $50 million in Nigerian fintech TeamApt that specializes in business payments and banking platforms.
Finastra is partnering with FormFree, a SaaS company that helps lenders assess consumers’ ability to pay.
Finastra will integrate FormFree’s AccountChek into its Mortgagebot solution to help lenders make faster underwriting decisions.
Mortgagebot was among the first companies to demo at a Finovate event, having won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2007.
With unpredictable housing markets and interest rates, banking software company Finastra is stepping in to remove a bit of the sting from the process of purchasing a new home. The company is partnering with FormFree, a SaaS company that helps banks assess consumers’ ability to pay (ATP).
Under the partnership, Finastra will leverage FormFree’s AccountChek, a data verification service that bundles asset, income, and employment verification to help lenders make better-informed decisions. Finastra will integrate AccountChek into its Mortgagebot solution to help lenders make faster loan decisions while mitigating risk.
“FormFree provided us with the perfect solution to help further streamline what is traditionally a very manual and labor-intensive task,” said Finastra VP of Mortgage and Origination Steve Hoke. “For both lenders and borrowers, this added verification capability to our lending solution will have a significant impact on the loan cycle, creating a more efficient, secure and inclusive process.”
AccountChek uses borrower-permissioned data from applicants’ assets, income, and employment information. AccountChek retrieves and formats the data into underwriter-friendly reports that offer transparency for better, faster credit decisioning with reduced fraud risk.
FormFree Founder and CEO Brent Chandler said that the partnership has the potential to help lenders increase access to homeownership. “Notably, the integration makes it easier for lenders to support the government sponsored enterprises’ verification initiatives that help expand access to homeownership and streamline processes without incurring additional risk,” said Chandler. “Combined, Finastra and FormFree’s technologies and shared vision for fair and inclusive access to home financing will help lenders deliver an elevated borrower experience.”
Finastra launched in 2017 as a merger between Misys and D+H. The latter acquired Mortgagebot in 2011 for $232 million. Mortgagebot was among the first companies to demo at a Finovate event, having won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2007.
Meniga has appointed Simon Shorthose as its new CEO.
Shorthose will be replacing Meniga Co-founder Georg Ludviksson, who served as CEO for 14 years.
Shorthose has previously worked at fintech SaaS companies Kyriba and Mambu.
Digital banking company Meniga announced a change in leadership today. The Iceland-based company has appointed Simon Shorthose as its new CEO.
Shorthose comes to Meniga having previously worked at fintech SaaS companies Kyriba and Mambu, where he served as Executive Leader and Head of Global Sales, respectively. He has also been on the management team of two unicorn tech companies.
“It is a huge privilege to lead Meniga, and I am very excited about taking on the challenge of helping major banks build greater digital engagement and insights and financial coaching with their customers and helping drive enhanced targeted marketing,” said Shorthose. “Looking forward to the future, I remain focused on delivering the best service to our customers and taking Meniga through the next stage of growth. I’d also like to thank Georg for trusting me with this responsibility and for his remarkable leadership from the start.”
Shorthose said that Meniga is in a “prime position for growth” with the recent shift toward the cloud and modernization in banking technology. He also cited demand for improved mobile channels, deeper customer engagement, and enhanced loyalty.
Meniga Co-founder Georg Ludviksson, who served as the company’s CEO for 14 years, is stepping down but will remain a shareholder of the company. “After a most exciting and fulfilling 14 years, I am now passing the baton over to Simon. I’ve seen first-hand his strengths and feel confident that Meniga will thrive under his leadership,” said Ludviksson. “With his 20-year track record of proven results in tech on a global scale, I put my complete trust in Simon to continue our mission to help banks create an unrivaled digital banking experience and bring Meniga to new heights.”
Meniga was founded in 2009 and powers banking apps used by more than 100 million people in more than 30 countries. The company offers tools such as data management, PFM, and cashflow analysis; as well as cashback rewards, carbon footprint tracking, and market insights.
The company presented at FinovateEurope earlier this year. The demo showcased how Meniga leverages information on users’ carbon footprint to help banks provide customers with contextual recommendations on sustainable products and investments.
Earlier this year, we unveiled our Sustainability Scholarship Program for demoing companies. Our new initiative supports startups that are embracing environmental sustainability, social equity, and responsible governance (ESG).
With FinovateFall just weeks away, we are excited to share the names of the six demoing companies to win Sustainability Scholarships for our upcoming autumn event, September 12 through 14, in New York.
Remember that early-bird savings for FinovateFall end after September 2nd. Register today and save your seat!
Headquartered in the U.K and founded in 2019, Daizy helps users become more conscious investors with an AI that gives them the data-driven stories behind America’s biggest companies.
Deborah Yang is co-founder and CEO. Follow Daizy on Twitter. Connect on LinkedIn.
Debbie – Winner of the Female Founded/Owned category
Based in Miami, Florida and founded in 2021, Debbie is the Noom for debt loss. The company leverages behavioral psychology and rewards to help users pay off 3x more debt and help lenders recession-proof members.
Co-founder Frida Leibowitz is CEO. Follow Debbie on Twitter. Connect on LinkedIn.
Deposits – Winner of the Person of Color Founded/Owned category
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Deposits is a cloud-based fintech platform that gives banks and brands an easy-to-use turnkey solution to build best-in-class financial experiences from payments to lending.
Joseph Akintolayo is CEO. Follow Deposits on Twitter. Connect on LinkedIn.
Energy Shares – Winner of the Environmental category
Headquartered in Pasadena, California and founded in 2020, Energy Shares is a FINRA registered broker-dealer and equity crowdfunding platform for utility scale renewable energy projects in the U.S.
Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and founded in 2020, Investii is an actionable, wealth-building app empowering healthy savings habits, financial confidence, and alternative credit data.
Nishant Deshpande is co-founder and CEO. Connect with Investii on LinkedIn.
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, MinervaAI is an AI-driven platform that provides simple and effective sanctions, KYC, KYB, IDV, and enhanced due diligence to help businesses grow.
Co-founder Jennifer Arnold is CEO. Follow MinervaAI on Twitter. Connect on LinkedIn
Australia’s Heritage Bank teamed up with Convera to launch its new online international payments solution.
Convera was formerly known as Western Union Business Solutions (WUBS) and was acquired for $910 million in 2021 and subsequently established as a standalone company.
Hello Clever raised $3.1 million (A$4.5 million) in seed funding in a round led by Vectr Fintech Partners. The company enables shoppers to get real-time cash back from participating merchants.
A pair of fintech headlines out of Australia have caught our eye at mid-week. First up, Heritage Bank, a financial institution based in Queensland and serving customers across the country, announced the launch of its new online international payments offering, courtesy of a partnership with Convera. The new service will enable Heritage Bank customers to send and receive money to locations around the world directly from their online and mobile bank accounts. The service will be available 24 hours a day, regardless of where the banking customer lives, and operates in near real-time.
“With the explosion of online purchases now taking place across international marketplaces, our new international payments service provides a seamless facility for our members,” Heritage Bank CEO Peter Lock said. “This fantastic new service allows our members to send and receive money internationally, direct from our online and mobile banking system, in close to real time and around the clock no matter where they are.”
The new service is made possible thanks to a partnership with Convera, a payments technology solution provider known up until recently as Western Union Business Solutions (WUBS). Western Union sold WUBS to Goldfinch Partners and The Baupost Group for $910 million last year, and the company subsequently was set up as a standalone entity – Convera. Processing more than $110 billion in total payments volume in 2020 and more than $170 billion in 2021, WUBS represented 7% of Western Union’s revenues in 2021.
On its own, Convera is the largest non-bank fintech in the international B2B payments industry with capabilities in more than 140 currencies across 200+ countries and territories, and more than 60 international banking partners. The company also has more than 30,000 SMBs, financial and educational institutions, law firms, and NGOs among its customers.
“Our research forecasts that one-third of post-COVID economic recovery in Australia will come from modern, digital, deliverable services which is why we’re committed to supporting and implementing the digital transformation of financial institutions and providing the tools and solutions to do so,” Convera Regional Vice President and Head of APAC Sam Fitzpatrick said.
Second up: Hello Clever, an Australia-based fintech that gives consumer’s real-time cash back, has raised $3.1 million (A$4.5 million) in seed funding. The round was led by Vectr Fintech Partners and featured participation from CrossFund, Yolo Investments, Magnivia Ventures, Son Tech Ventures, Boston Ventures, and others.
“2022 has been an exciting year,” Hello Clever co-founder and CEO Caroline Tran wrote on the company’s blog this week. “We have been working diligently to launch our full suite of products and now we have achieved a significant milestone – being the first company to pioneer ‘Buy to Earn’ or a new category in payments that democratizes rewards in a different way.”
Hello Clever’s “buy-to-earn” ecosystem connects shoppers and businesses to make shopping and payments an easier, more seamless process for all involved. Offering itself as an alternative to Buy Now, Pay Later platforms, Hello Clever leverages open banking, fast payments, and AI to help consumers locate the best merchants for their shopping preferences and then provides cash back in real time when consumers shop at participating retailers. Hello Clever also gives consumers the ability to track their spending in real-time across bank accounts. The company’s real-time payment API is powered by the New Payments Platform (NPP), PayTo, and PayID.
“We want to introduce a new ecosystem that allows consumers to be financially healthier and our merchant partners to increase sales (and) reduce operating costs,” Tran wrote. “That’s why we are not a single product – it’s a ‘Clever way’ of executing payment strategies to achieve better business outcomes. From Hello Clever as a consumer facing app, we know have evolved into building Hello Clever Business, Hello Clever Business API, and Hello Clever Yield – which is our path into financial investing for Gen Zs.”
Founded in 2021, Hello Clever is headquartered in Surry Hills, New South Wales.
Square is launching its first integration with ClearPay this week.
Square merchants in the U.K. can now leverage Clearpay (known as Afterpay outside of the U.K.) to offer a BNPL payment option to their customers making purchases both online and in-person.
The integration is the result of an acquisition between Square parent Block and Afterpay in January of this year for $29 billion.
Block’s Square is launching its first integration with ClearPay (also known as Afterpay) in the U.K. this week.
The move will make ClearPay’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) technology available clients making purchases at both in-person and online Square merchants. End customers will have the option to pay in four interest-free installments over the course of six weeks, while merchants will receive payment right away.
There is record demand for BNPL among U.K. consumers. The BNPL model is the region’s fastest growing online payment method. Last year, consumers spent $15 billion using BNPL on e-commerce purchases. This figure is expected to double by 2025.
“The integration across platforms furthers our goal to give sellers of all sizes omnichannel tools that help them to grow by meeting consumer shopping habits, whatever and wherever they are,” said Head of Square Alyssa Henry. “Clearpay provides our ecosystem with a new tool beyond an alternative payment method; it enables an omnichannel commerce solution that can offer true value to our sellers.”
Today’s news comes after Square’s parent company Block acquired Afterpay for $29 billion in January of this year. Outside of the U.K., Square has already seen positive results from its integration with Afterpay. The company reported that in the U.S. and Australia, the average transaction size among customers using Afterpay is three times greater than non-BNPL purchases. Across the globe, Square noted a 180% increase in new customers using Afterpay offered by Square sellers between February and March of this year.
Founded in 2009, Square is a fintech pioneer. The company was among the first to offer mobile point-of-sale payments. Today, Square offers a holistic merchant services platform and competes with some of the largest traditional players in the space, as well as newcomers including Stripe and PayPal. Earlier this year, Square teamed up with Apple to launch Tap to Pay on iPhone. The new service will offer sellers a solution to accept contactless payments with no additional hardware.
