FinovateSpring 2022: Top Takeaways from Fintech’s Favorite Spring Fling

FinovateSpring 2022: Top Takeaways from Fintech’s Favorite Spring Fling

For the first time since 2019, FinovateSpring was held before a live audience of more than 1,000 fintech professionals, analysts, entrepreneurs, and observers. The energy at the San Francisco Hilton in Union Square was palpable. Attendees arrived early and stayed late – even on a sunny Friday afternoon with the delights of the City by the Bay beckoning.

With the event concluded, what did we see, what did we learn, and what do we know now about the state of fintech that we did not know a week ago? Here are a few thoughts on where we are as an industry and where we might be going.

Embeddable You (Me and Everything Else)

If there was one theme that dominated an event as diverse in ideas as FinovateSpring it was: “embeddedness”. Companies are looking to leverage embedded finance to make banking and investing more streamlined and accessible. Futurists are predicting the rise of smart technologies – including intelligent toilets (!) – that would use embedded technology to help users better manage their physical wellness. The ability to bring both intelligence and connectedness to an ever-growing range of products and services is a trend that looks likely to dominate both technology in general and fintech in specific for years to come.

As more than one main stage presenter noted, the embedded finance revolution brings new heat to a handful of fintech trends that arguably were in danger of cooling down. On the demo side, FinovateSpring featured companies committed to helping banks and businesses alike maximize the embedded opportunity with solutions that will enable them to pursue new customers, launch new lines of business, and grow revenues in new ways.

Among our presentations were deep dives into who was likely to benefit the most from embracing embedded finance (Daniel Haisley of Apiture’s Embedded Banking – Debunking the Myths), as well as strategies that banks can follow in order to make money from the embedded finance phenomenon rather than be disrupted by it (Sam Kilmer of Cornerstone Advisors’ How Embedded Finance Can Generate Over $100 Billion in Revenue for Banks).

What We Know from Best of Show

Our FinovateSpring attendees awarded Best of Show trophies to six companies at this year’s event. Is there anything in their selections that we can use to learn more about what fintech enthusiasts are enthusiastic about when it comes to the latest in fintech innovation?

Every one of the six companies that won Best of Show honors last week was innovating in a different aspect of fintech. Embedded finance and data management (Array and FinGoal). Financial wellness and alternative financing (Spave and QuickFi). Innovations in employee training, education, and retention (Horizn and Keep Financial Technology). This year’s FinovateSpring Best of Show winners paint a picture of fintech innovation that is, in some ways, a little different from and more diverse than what we tend to see everyday in the fintech headlines.

Who’s right: the fintech “buzz” or the Finovate Best of Show winners? On one hand, continued carnage in the crypto space may help moderate the voices of digital asset partisans and steer their efforts toward more in-demand solutions. After all, as one clever fintech observer noted, no one believes that the president of El Salvador had planned to risk his country’s economy on a cryptocurrency that has behaved like an overvalued tech stock. On the other hand, the top picks from our attendees demonstrate a combination of perennial challenges – safe, affordable financing, data access and cleanliness, improving workplace conditions via training and incentives – as well as novel, innovative responses that have always been the hallmark of fintech in general and of Finovate in specific.

Crypto and the Metaverse: The Dogs That Didn’t Bark

Fintech analyst Glenn Sarvady of 154 Advisors made an insightful observation last week when he noted an absence of demoes looking to leverage the current buzz surrounding the metaverse. There was a keynote address from an actual Metaversean – namely, Deepanjan De, Head of Industry, Financial Services, with Meta (formerly Facebook). De discussed how financial services companies can leverage the “creator renaissance” to future-ready their businesses on the final day of FinovateSpring. But that presentation aside, there was precious little to be said about the metaverse even, as Sarvady pointed out, from companies that looked pretty obviously like they were based on the metaverse.

The relative absence of cryptocurrency-related conversations and live demonstrations was also noteworthy. Certainly recent events in the cryptocurrency world have dampened much of the enthusiasm for digital assets that has characterized the fintech conversation for the past few years. But with the exception of Cion Digital, Coinme, and Polymesh, the demoing companies of FinovateSpring 2022 were more focused on solutions to problems that, in some respects, have been long-standing ones. These include access to credit, access to data, access to wellness and financial self-improvement. If cryptocurrencies – and the metaverse for that matter- are able to respond to these core financial concerns, we yet may see a lasting, more enduring place for these technologies on the agendas of fintechs and financial services companies.

The Palmer Report: “Worry Cripples Activity”

Finovate VP (and host of the Finovate Podcast) Greg Palmer set the tone on the very first day of FinovateSpring with an inspiring address on worrying. Mindful of the difficult times we have been going through in recent years – from political polarization and the pandemic to the war in Ukraine and economic uncertainty around the globe – Palmer also urged us to be mindful of the dangers of living life in what amounts to a defensive crouch.

“The innovators and thought leaders you’re about to hear from aren’t worrying,” Palmer announced from the stage on the morning of Day One of FinovateSpring. “Well, they’re not just worrying. They’re building. They’re looking forward. They’re focused on what’s possible now that wasn’t possible before. And we all need to join them.”


Photo by Brett Sayles

FinovateSpring Best of Show Winner Array Teams Up with Jack Henry

FinovateSpring Best of Show Winner Array Teams Up with Jack Henry
  • Financial enablement platform Array announced a partnership with Jack Henry Associates to embed its credit management and identity protection solutions into Jack Henry’s Banno Digital Platform.
  • Among the institutions to adopt the technology is Washington-based Timberland Bank.
  • Array is a two-time Finovate Best of Show winner, earning its most recent award at FinovateSpring 2022 last week.

Array, a financial enablement platform that specializes in embeddable solutions for financial institutions, announced a partnership with fellow Finovate alum Jack Henry. The partnership will integrate Array’s credit management services, identity protection tools, and offer engine into Jack Henry’s Banno Digital Platform. The combination of technologies will give customers personalized credit and financial insights via their preferred financial institution partners.

“The financial services ecosystem exists to enable consumers to improve their financial health,” Array Director of Strategic Partnerships Jacob Bouer said. “This movement is both necessary and urgent. If financial institutions do not offer credit monitoring and identity protection products, consumers will find them elsewhere.”

By leveraging the Banno Digital Toolkit, Array has been able to help financial institutions better serve their customers and members by enabling them to securely access and monitor their credit directly from their bank or credit union. Not only does the integration give better service to customers, it also helps banks boost digital engagement, grow revenues, and expand opportunities for both new lending and credit. Among the institutions to take early advantage of Array’s technology is Timberland Bank, headquartered in Washington. The bank’s EVP and COO, Jonathan Fischer, praised the partnership for providing “the tools necessary to engage and educate customers on their credit health, which strengthens relationships and ultimately improves our community’s well-being.”

Among the solutions available to bank customers via the collaboration are customized credit score simulators, score factors, debt analysis, alerts, and more. The technology helps educate bank customers by giving them greater awareness of their credit information and history, and enables them to make better decisions on how to improve their financial lives.

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in New York, Array demoed its technology last week at FinovateSpring in San Francisco. At the conference, the company earned its second Best of Show award for its platform that democratizes data accessibility while simultaneously protecting privacy and ensuring consent. Martin Toha is founder and CEO.


Photo by DS stories

BlockFi Taps Cardlytics for New Rewards Offering

BlockFi Taps Cardlytics for New Rewards Offering
  • Blockchain-driven financial platform BlockFi has partnered with purchase-based intelligence firm Cardlytics to launch BlockFi Offers.
  • The new rewards program will enable BlockFi cardholders to earn up to 10% crypto back on select purchases.
  • BlockFi Offers rewards can be accrued on top of BlockFi’s existing 1.5% crypto back on all purchases.

Earning crypto is about to get easier for users of BlockFi, a blockchain-driven financial platform. That’s because the New Jersey-based company is partnering with purchase-based intelligence firm Cardlytics to launch a new rewards program called BlockFi Offers.

The BlockFi Offers rewards program will allow BlockFi’s Rewards Visa cardholders to earn up to 10% crypto back when they use their card to make purchases at select brands and restaurants. Participating retailers include Shake Shack, H&M, Finish Line, Costco, Meta Quest, Jared, and more.

“Partnering with BlockFI to bridge the gap between crypto and traditional financial institutions to deliver a flexible solution for their customers to shop, pay and be rewarded is very exciting,” said Cardlytics FI EVP Farrell Hudzik. “As blockchain and digital currencies become more accepted, it is imperative that we facilitate universal redemption opportunities.”

The crypto rewards launching today can be earned on top of BlockFi’s 1.5% crypto back on every purchase. Cardlytics automatically adds the offers to each cardholder’s BlockFi account at the end of every month.

Founded in 2017, BlockFi seeks to bridge the gap between cryptocurrencies and traditional financial and wealth management products. Since launching its Rewards Visa credit card, BlockFi has added more than 85,000 cardholders and distributed more than $26 million in crypto rewards to those users.

BlockFi Offers will be available to all BlockFi Rewards cardholders before the end of this month.

Cardlytics, which has been facilitating rewards and offers since launching in 2008, also helps marketers gain insight into consumer behavior by analyzing where and when consumers spend their money. The company went public on the NASDAQ under the ticker CDLX in 2018 and has a current market capitalization of $986 million.


Photo by Kalia Chan

Unit Raises $100 Million for Banking-as-a-Service

Unit Raises $100 Million for Banking-as-a-Service
  • Unit received $100 million in Series C funding this week.
  • The funding boosts the company’s total investment to $170 million and brings its valuation to $1.2 billion.
  • The company, which will unveil its business credit card in the next few months, will use the investment to accelerate its product development and expand into credit offerings.

Banking-as-a-Service company Unit has reached unicorn status this week after a $100 million Series C round. The investment brings the California-based company’s valuation to $1.2 billion and boosts its total funding to $170 million.

Insight Partners led today’s round and existing investors Accel, Better Tomorrow Ventures, and Flourish Ventures also contributed, along with new investors Moving Capital and Stepstone.

“Unit has established itself as the leader in the banking-as-a-service space, backed by the overwhelming positive customer feedback and traction they have shown over the last year,” said Insight Partners Co-Founder and Managing Director Jeff Horing. “The company has been able to onboard high-growth tech companies of all sizes, from startups to publicly listed enterprises, with their superior technology, speed, and reliability. We are bullish on the future of embedded finance and see Unit as the platform of choice for companies big and small.”

Unit was founded in 2019 to help companies build banking products such as bank accounts, cards, payment products, and lending tools into their existing offering. The company will use today’s funding to accelerate product development and expand into credit offerings. Unit will launch its first business credit card product in the next few months and aims to add more credit products in the future.

“Credit is the clear next step of growth and we believe it will be the most important wave in financial services in the coming years,” said Unit CEO and Co-Founder Itai Damti. “With this new round of funding, Unit will be able to empower the companies best suited to offer credit with the technology and infrastructure to make that a reality.”

Unit has experienced impressive growth over the past year, riding the banking-as-a-service wave that has been sweeping fintech. The company added more than 140 customers over the past year and, over the last six months, Unit’s transaction value has grown 7x to $2.6 billion. Among the company’s clients are AngelList, HoneyBook, Homebase, Veryable, Roofstock, Hearth, and Benepass.


Photo by Ryan Quintal on Unsplash

FinovateSpring 2022 Best of Show Winners Announced

FinovateSpring 2022 Best of Show Winners Announced

The votes have been cast and counted! Meet the winners of Best of Show for FinovateSpring 2022:

Array for its financial enablement platform, specializing in embeddable tools and white label solutions, used by leading financial institutions. Demo.

FinGoal for its insights platform that cleans, enriches, and analyzes personal financial data to better understand users and provide actionable insights. Demo.

Horizn for its platform that helps banks globally accelerate digital banking knowledge, fluency, and adoption with both customers and employees. Demo.

Keep Financial Technology for its innovation that solves the hiring and retention challenges of companies by introducing a new form of employee compensation called Cash Vesting Plans. Demo.

QuickFi for its 100% digital, self-service, mobile equipment financing platform that enables business equipment financing in minutes. Demo.

Spave for its all-in-one financial wholeness app that allows users to effortlessly save and give as they spend. Demo.

Our thanks to all of our demoing companies, our sponsors, our partners, and – of course – our attendees – for continuing to make FinovateSpring such a success. Thank you for being a part of our annual spring fintech conference. We’ll see you again next year!


Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The six companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from our 2015 through 2022 conferences are below:
FinovateEurope 2015
FinovateSpring 2015
FinovateFall 2015
FinovateEurope 2016
FinovateSpring 2016
FinovateFall 2016
FinovateAsia 2016
FinovateEurope 2017
FinovateSpring 2017
FinovateFall 2017
FinovateAsia 2017
FinovateMiddleEast 2018
FinovateEurope 2018
FinovateSpring 2018
FinovateFall 2018
FinovateAsia 2018
FinovateAfrica 2018
FinovateEurope 2019
FinovateSpring 2019
FinovateFall 2019
FinovateAsia 2019
FinovateMiddleEast 2019
FinovateEurope 2020
FinovateFall 2020
FinovateWest 2020
FinovateEurope 2021
FinovateSpring 2021
FinovateFall 2021
FinovateEurope 2022

Thought Machine Doubles Valuation to $2.7 Billion After Series D Funding Round

Thought Machine Doubles Valuation to $2.7 Billion After Series D Funding Round
  • Core banking expert Thought Machine raised $160 million in Series D funding.
  • The investment was led by Temasek and saw participation from Intesa Sanpaolo, Morgan Stanley, Eurazeo, ING, JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds Banking Group, and SEB.
  • Thought Machine’s valuation now totals $2.7 million, double the valuation it held last fall.

Core banking innovator Thought Machine landed $160 million in a Series D funding round which values the company at $2.7 billion. This number is two times than the valuation the company received at the close of its Series C round in November of last year.

Today’s investment was led by Temasek and saw participation from Intesa Sanpaolo and Morgan Stanley, as well as existing investors Eurazeo, ING, JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds Banking Group, and SEB. As part of today’s agreement, Lloyds Banking Group has extended its license agreement with Thought Machine until 2029.

“This new round of funding bringing Temasek, Morgan Stanley, and Intesa Sanpaolo into the business is our statement of intent: we intend to become the leader in core banking technology, and are being deployed by the biggest, most successful banks around the world,” said Thought Machine Founder and CEO Paul Taylor.

Thought Machine already operates in New York, Singapore, and Australia, and will soon be available in Latin America. The company will use the funding to fuel further global expansion into the Asia Pacific region, as well. Specifically, Thought Machine is scoping out Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

The company will also use a portion of today’s investment to expand on the capabilities of its existing core banking offering and explore new product lines. “We will use this new capital to accelerate our expansion plans, serve more clients around the world, and continuously refine the capabilities of our core banking platform and other products,” explained Taylor.

With 500 employees and $563 million in funding, U.K.-based Thought Machine has been working to transform the core banking space since 2014. Among the company’s clients are Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered, Atom bank, Monese, SEB, and JP Morgan Chase.


Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA

Greenlight Unveils Credit Card

Greenlight Unveils Credit Card
  • Challenger bank Greenlight launched a credit card, the Family Cash Card.
  • The card offers up to 3% cash back and allows users to automatically invest the rewards into a mutual funds or ETFs.
  • This is Greenlight’s first credit card and first product marketed to parents.

Family-focused fintech Greenlight revealed plans this week to launch a credit card called the Family Cash Card. This is the Georgia-based company’s first credit card as well as its first card marketed at parents.

Launching in partnership with Mastercard and issued by First National Bank of Omaha, the credit card offers up to 3% cash back when users spend more than $4,000 per month. While parents can opt to have the rewards deposited into their bank account, they can also automatically invest their rewards into a set of recommended mutual funds and ETFs. If they want more options, users can invest the rewards via the Greenlight app.

“Families today have an increasing amount of expenses, making it difficult for many to save for the long-term,” said Greenlight Co-founder and CEO Tim Sheehan. “At Greenlight, we’re focused on helping families build healthy financial futures. With the new Family Cash Card, parents can get the most out of everyday spending and invest towards big life events like their children’s college education.”

Sheehan told TechCrunch that, while Greenlight liked the idea of the rewards accruing into a 529 plan that would help parents pay for their childrens’ education, the company decided that more users would appreciate traditional investment vehicles. “We looked at the 529, and we just decided, after talking to really a lot of parents, that they basically valued flexibility over the small tax benefit of the 529. Essentially, they said, I would rather have the flexibility and not be penalized to use the money for anything my family needs,” said Sheehan.

Founded in 2014, Greenlight offers a money management platform for families that helps five million parents and kids gain skills to manage their earnings, savings, spending, giving, and learn to invest via a debit card, companion app, and educational resources. Last April, the company raised $260 million in a round that valued the company at $2.3 billion.


Photo by Neenu Vimalkumar on Unsplash

Has Fintech Failed?

Has Fintech Failed?

If you measure the beginning of fintech as 1886, the industry has had a very long time to get things right. Even if you consider 2007 as the birth of fintech, we have still had 15 years to deliver on the promises of improving and automating banking and finance.

In a panel at FinovateEurope titled, “Power Panel: What Do We All Need To Go Away & Think About?” the Financial Data and Technology Association’s Head of Europe Ghela Boskovich (pictured on the right in the photo below) declared that fintech has failed, citing the millions of underbanked citizens across the globe.

There are, of course, two sides to the coin. Below, we take a look at how fintech has failed, along with the wins the industry has accomplished over the years.

Fail

  • Underbanked populations are still left in the dark
    There have been hundreds of solutions created specifically to help underbanked populations. Some are very specific, like the ones that help people build up their credit score by reporting on-time rent payments. Others, such as niche challenger banks, offer a host of tools under one solution.
    Despite these efforts, 22% of American adults are either unbanked or underbanked. The industry is either not creating effective solutions or not reaching the right people.
  • Integrations are broken
    Even though many U.S. consumers do not know what the term “open finance” means, they are well aware of its implications. With very few exceptions, banks and fintechs don’t share customer data effectively. Users either need to manually input their financial data or they are continuously asked to re-authenticate to make data aggregation possible.
  • Open banking regulation is non-existent in the U.S.
    While Europe has been enjoying the benefits of open banking since its mandates went into effect in September 2018, the U.S. is still behind. However, President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy last July. The order urges the CFPB to implement rules supporting open banking.
  • Fraud is rampant
    Consumers have been struggling to safeguard not only their digital identity but also their personally identifiable information and payment credentials since before the dawn of the internet. Fraud incidents have increased dramatically in the past few years, further proving that the industry has a lot to do to stay ahead in this subsector.
  • Digital identity is flawed
    Having users prove they are who they say they are has always been a headache in the fintech industry. Keeping track of login credentials has consistently irked users, and fraudulent account takeovers has proven that a username and a password aren’t enough. While many biometric authentication methods would have seemed futuristic to us two decades ago, many still cause too much friction in the user experience and aren’t enough to keep bad actors away.
  • Real-time is still a dream
    While the blockchain has helped bring some transactions, authentications, and approvals into near-real time, the concept of instant banking activity is still far from reality. Consumers are still waiting three days for bank payments to clear. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s FedNow service has been working on a fix for this for years and is now piloting the solution. However, the target launch date isn’t until 2023.

It’s easy to identify these shortcomings, especially when there’s so much promising innovation to look forward to. However, let’s take a look at some of the ways the fintech industry has fulfilled its promises to make users’ financial lives easier, simplified, and more informed.

Win

  • Helped underbanked populations
    Though the number of unbanked consumers is still shockingly high, fintech has done a lot to help populations with no access to a bank account. The war on payday lending may be one of the brightest examples of this. Fintech has not only helped to highlight the hazards of payday lenders, the industry also has created tools such as earned wage access to help employees smooth out their cashflow and meet their financial obligations on time.
  • Supported digital-first customers
    The fintech industry has come a long way since the implementation of SMS banking in 2007. Even though it was such as simple innovation, only a handful of banks offered banking via text.
    Compare this to where the industry is today. Even the smallest financial institutions offer rich digital banking tools that can pack an entire bank branch’s worth of activity into a client’s smartphone.
  • Made banking available any time (even if transactions still don’t clear after hours)
    By supporting digital-first and digital-only customers, the fintech industry has also helped consumers who prefer to bank in-branch. That’s because users can still accomplish many banking activities, such as a loan application, even after branches have closed.
  • Provided plenty of employment opportunities for all of the recovering bankers out there
    This one is self-explanatory. How many times have you heard someone in the fintech space describe themselves as a “recovering banker”?

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Payroll, Benefits, and HR Management Innovator Gusto Secures Series E Round Extension

Payroll, Benefits, and HR Management Innovator Gusto Secures Series E Round Extension
  • TechCrunch and Pitchbook are reporting that HR innovator Gusto has raised an extension on its Series E round.
  • The company’s Series E round, launched in 2021, was led by T. Rowe Price Associates, and totaled $175 million.
  • The amount of the extension was not disclosed, but it is believed to be in the neighborhood of $55 million.

TechCrunch is reporting that HR technology company – and Finovate alum – Gusto has secured an extension of its 2021 Series E funding round. That round featured an investment of $175 million and was led by T. Rowe Price Associates. The amount of capital in the extension announced this week has not been disclosed, but TechCrunch suggests that the sum “appears to be around the $55 million mark.” Ahead of this week’s extension announcement, Gusto had a valuation of nearly $10 billion, and now has more than $746 in total funding.

Gusto offers an all-in-one platform to enable businesses to successfully automate and manage their HR operations. This includes a full-service payroll capability, as well as employee benefits management, hiring and onboarding, talent management, and timecards and attendance. The platform also provides insights and reporting that support anonymous team surveys, customizable reports, automatic compliance alerts, and more.

The company, launched in 2012, made its Finovate debut as ZenPayroll in 2014. Rebranding one year later as Gusto, the company has since grown into a fintech unicorn with more than 200,000 business customers nationwide. Gusto processes tens of billions of dollars in payroll every year while providing employee benefits – including health insurance and 401(k) accounts – that help companies provide an optimal environment for their workers.

Gusto began the year with an announcement that Whiz Consulting, based in Dallas Texas, launched its Gusto Payroll Services offering. Also in January, Gusto announced the appointment of former GitHub and Tesla executive Mike Taylor as its new Chief Financial Officer. This spring, Gusto reported that performance management software provider Engagedly would offer a seamless integration with its platform.

“We are excited to partner with Gusto, a leader in the people management platform,” Engagedly President and co-founder Sri Chellappa said. “As a partner, Gusto will help our joint clients leverage the vast power of Engagedly for employee engagement, people development, learning and performance management, and providing a seamless and holistic employee experience.”

Gusto is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Co-founder Joshua Reeves is CEO.


Photo by Henry & Co.

Token Raises $40 Million for Open Banking

Token Raises $40 Million for Open Banking
  • Open banking expert Token landed a $40 million Series C investment.
  • The round, which was co-led by Cota Capital and TempoCap, boosted the company’s total funding to $90 million.
  • Among Token’s clients are BNP Paribas, HSBC, Mastercard, Nuvei, Paysafe, Ecommpay, Rewire, Coingate, Sonae Universo, Volt, and Vyne.

Open banking innovator Token.io closed a $40 million Series C funding round this week. The investment was co-led by Cota Capital and TempoCap and boosted Token’s total funding to $90 million.

New investors Element Ventures, MissionOG, and PostFinance also pitched in, along with existing contributors Octopus Ventures, Opera Tech Ventures, and SBI Investments. 

Token will use the capital to shift consumer habits from traditional payment methods like cards and wallets to open banking-enabled account-to-account (A2A) payments. Specifically, the company aims to enhance its APIs for Variable Recurring Payments and open finance functionality.

“With this investment, we will continue to expand open banking connectivity and push the boundaries of functionality beyond regulatory requirements to make A2A payments a mainstream payment method,” said Token CEO Todd Clyde.

Founded in 2016, Token is focused on driving the shift from traditional payment methods– such as cash and credit cards– towards bank payments. The company’s platform works towards this mission by enhancing open banking connectivity across Europe and supporting existing payment providers.

“Token’s A2A payments offering delivers faster and more secure payments than traditional methods while at a lower cost,” said TempoCap Investment Partner Adam Shepherd. “Token’s technology is enabling an impressive set of payment providers to offer seamless experiences for their merchant customers and, in turn, end users.”

Token’s client list includes BNP Paribas, HSBC, Mastercard, Nuvei, Paysafe, Ecommpay, Rewire, Coingate, Sonae Universo, Volt, and Vyne.


Photo by Tim Douglas

Experian Acquires Majority Stake in Brazil’s MOVA

Experian Acquires Majority Stake in Brazil’s MOVA
  • Experian has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Brazil-based MOVA Sociedade de Empréstimo entre Pessoas S.A. (MOVA) for $7.89 million (R$40 million).
  • Experian will take a 51% stake in MOVA today, with the option to acquire the remainder of the company between 2026 and 2028.
  • Experian is interested in P2P lender MOVA because it has the potential to enable Experian to help Brazilian companies assess the creditworthiness of their SME clients.

Information services company Experian will acquire a 51% stake in Brazil-based MOVA Sociedade de Empréstimo entre Pessoas S.A. (MOVA) for $7.89 million (R$40 million).

Headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, MOVA is a peer-to-peer lending platform that seeks to offer borrowers an alternative to traditional bank loans. The company also offers a range B2B tools, including a credit-assessment-as-a-service product to offer automate credit decisioning, a service to help companies register a credit request, anti-fraud tools, and more.

Experian’s interest in MOVA stems from this ability to help Brazilian companies assess the creditworthiness of their SME clients. “SMEs are underserved by affordable credit in Brazil and MOVA is tackling this issue,” Experian said in an announcement.

A full acquisition is still on the table. Experian has a call option to acquire the remaining 49% stake in MOVA between 2026 and 2028. In 2029, the deal reverts to a put option for MOVA.

Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Ireland, Experian offers a range of services for small businesses, including business credit reporting, marketing products and services, debt collection tools, and more. On the consumer-facing side, Experian offers credit reports and scores, identity theft protection, and a marketplace to compare credit card, loan, and insurance offers.


Photo by Rafaela Biazi on Unsplash

FinovateSpring 2022 Sneak Peek: Kognitos

FinovateSpring 2022 Sneak Peek: Kognitos

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateSpring in San Francisco on May 18 and 19. Register today and save your spot.

Kognitos business automation solution allows business people to build automations through English phrases, not learning and writing code.

Features

  • Natural Language Processing (NLP)
  • Most advanced business language engine
  • Human-in-the-loop exception handling
  • No bots! Bot-less infrastructure

Why it’s great

Business automation in plain English.

Presenters

Binny Gill, CEO
An industry veteran, prior to founding Kognitos, Gill was the CTO at Nutanix where he drove growth from 20 employees to over 6000 employees, while reaching a market cap of $7 billion and $1.5 billion in revenue.
LinkedIn

Jason Langone, VP of Growth
An experienced sales and marketing leader, Langone believes in building a championship culture through effort, execution, and pace. He spent eight years at Nutanix building elite performing teams globally.
LinkedIn