This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Marqeta and Plaid have teamed up to simplify and streamline the ACH transfer process to enable faster funding of financial accounts.
The collaboration is designed to provide both seamless account funding as well as additional security during data transfer.
Both Marqeta and Plaid made their Finovate debuts as part of Finovate’s developer conference series, FinDEVr.
A partnership between a pair of Finovate alums – card-issuing platform Marqeta and financial data network Plaid – will simplify ACH transfers to make it easier for customers to authenticate and fund their accounts.
Per the agreement, Marqeta customer cardholders will be able to transfer money seamlessly between customers and external accounts, as well as verify and link to external accounts faster. The company’s customers also will be able to keep cardholders informed on the status of fund transfers via real-time notifications, and better manage issues ranging from initiations to cancellations to return. Enhanced security is another benefit of the partnership. Marqeta customers no longer will need to store sensitive information from cardholders’ external bank accounts – relying instead on tokens while Plaid and Marqeta exchange necessary bank account information in the background.
“We’re making it as simple as possible for consumers to access their bank information from one application, and reduce the time it takes to fund and begin using their account,” Marqeta Chief Operating Officer Vidya Peters explained. “Through our Plaid integration, developers building on Marqeta can authenticate users’ bank accounts without the complexity and extra time associated with traditional ACH processing, creating an overall more seamless experience.”
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Oakland, California, Marqeta is an alum of our developers conference FinDEVr Silicon Valley. The company’s card issuing platform provides businesses with the infrastructure, technology, and tools to build and manage their own payment programs. Last month, Marqeta announced that it has secured certification to operate in three countries in Southeast Asia – Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines – which means the company’s platform is now enabled in 39 countries around the world. Marqeta announced that, with its further expansion into the Asia Pacific (the company is also active in Australia and New Zealand), it will establish an Asia Pacific regional hub in Singapore later this year.
Also a veteran of our developers conference, Plaid began 2022 with the launch of its data privacy solution, Plaid Portal. The new privacy tool is designed for customers who have used Plaid to connect their financial accounts to apps and services in the U.S. Plaid Portal allows account holders to see which apps have accessed their financial data and to control where the data is shared. The company calls the new offering “one of many tools” under development to give customers both greater visibility into and control over how their data is shared. Ideally, this additional transparency will help allay data privacy concerns and provide users with greater confidence when it comes to taking advantage of increasingly open nature of the modern digital financial ecosystem.
Core banking technology innovator Thought Machine has signed a partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest bank by total assets.
As part of the partnership, the bank has invested $54 million (£40 million) in the U.K.-based fintech.
The partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo is the third bank partnership Thought Machine has secured this year.
U.K. based core banking technology company Thought Machine inked its third bank partnership of 2022 this week, teaming up with Italian Bank Intesa Sanpaolo. The collaboration will bring Thought Machine’s core banking engine, Vault, to the Italian financial institution, who will use the technology to power its new digital banking platform Isybank. The new platform will be geared initially toward the bank’s four million mass-market customers in Italy. Beyond that, Intesa Sanpaolo plans to further deploy Thought Machine’s core banking technology into its infrastructure more broadly, swapping out mainframe-based core technology in favor of the cloud.
Pointing to the digital preferences of its younger clientele, Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina said, “this new digital bank will evolve our retail business from incumbent to fintech challenger in the mass market, with the option to expand internationally.”
In addition to the technology partnership, Intesa Sanpaolo announced that it would invest $54 million (£40 million) in the U.K.-based bank technology firm. The funding takes Thought Machine’s total capital to more than $402 million.
“We chose Thought Machine as our partner due to its international standing as a fintech innovator,” Messina added. “We believe so strongly that Thought Machine is the right partners for this transformation that we are also announcing our investment in the company to be a part of its growth story.”
With 13.5 million customers in Italy and 7.1 million customers around the world, Intesa Sanpaolo and its subsidiaries are active in 12 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in Egypt. The bank is the largest in Italy by total assets and one of the 30 biggest banks in the world.
A Finovate alum since its debut at FinovateEurope in 2018, Thought Machine has sealed partnerships with three banks so far in 2022, including Intesa Sanpaolo. Thought Machine began the year announcing that Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia (ARBM) would leverage its technology to build an Islamic digital bank later this year. ARBM is a subsidiary of Al Rajhi Bank of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest Islamic bank by assets. The deployment of Thought Machine’s Vault is part of a multi-year digital transformation project begun last year by ARBM. The bank has credited Vault’s product building functionality for enabling it to create a full suite of Shariah-compliant banking products.
Also this year, Thought Machine announced that U.S. mutual savings bank Mascoma Bank will deploy Vault and migrate its customers to the new technology. A certified B corporation serving customers in the New England states of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, Mascoma Bank will use Vault to both innovate and add new solutions to its product line, as well as provide the institution with a single source of record by housing all of its data in a single location to more easily understand and serve its customers.
“We believe that modern technology is the key to unlocking superior customer service,” Mascoma Bank president and CEO Clay Adams said. “We are proud at Mascoma Bank to be different by design – we are adopting Thought Machine’s modern technology to deliver on our mission of better serving our customers and communities, to offer new products and be a leader in community banking.”
This is a sponsored post, by Michael Hom, Head of Financial Services Solutions, InterSystems. InterSystems areGold Sponsors of the upcoming FinovateEurope in London, March 22-23.
Last year was a record breaking for the global fintech sector, with investment reaching $102 billion – an annual increase of 183%. This growth was in large part spurred on by the pandemic which brought about major changes in consumer banking and spending habits, with eight in 10 people in the U.K. alone now using fintech products for banking and payments. At the same time, demand for fintech is also growing due to increased digitization among incumbent banks as these institutions try to keep pace with evolving customer demand for digital services and applications.
However, despite this growth, fintechs, much like more traditional financial services institutions, face a range of technical challenges which if not addressed could stall their progress. This was evidenced in recent research from InterSystems, which found that a staggering 81% of fintechs globally see data issues as their biggest technical challenge. Therefore, with data vital to everything from making informed decisions to delivering personalized services, addressing these challenges needs to be a priority for fintechs if they are to sustain the momentum of 2021.
The implications of fintechs’ data struggles
The data challenges being faced by fintechs fall under two distinct issues. Firstly, 41% of fintechs globally say they are unable to leverage data for analytics, machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI), while 40% of fintechs experience difficulties in connecting to customers’ applications and data systems. This indicates that not only are fintechs often unable to use their data effectively, but also they are struggling with data silos and integration.
These issues can have implications for fintechs such as hindering their ability to make informed decisions about the types of products and services they should be offering customers, and how they can continue to innovate to meet evolving customer needs. Additionally, for B2B fintechs in particular, integration challenges will make it more difficult to sell their applications to enterprise customers who need solutions that fit seamlessly within their existing infrastructure and that allow them to obtain the much-needed flow of bidirectional data.
On top of this, the data challenges cited by fintechs could hinder their ability to comply with financial regulations. Not only is this a concern from a regulatory standpoint, but it also may put the 93% of fintechs that hope to unlock the opportunities of partnering with incumbent banks at a disadvantage. After all, security and regulatory compliance are essential for banks and are key considerations when making decisions about which fintechs and firms to work with.
Time for a change of data architecture
Consequently, to build on the growth they have experienced over the last year and to be in the best position to capitalize on lucrative relationships with incumbent banks, fintechs globally must begin to address the problems with their data management. The starting point must be to find a way to bridge data silos and make integration easier.
Within the wider financial services sector, traditional firms, such as JPMorgan, Citi, and Goldman Sachs, are turning to data fabrics to solve these data challenges and provide a consistent, accurate, real-time view of data assets. A new architectural approach, data fabrics access, transform, and harmonize data from multiple sources on demand. By weaving together different data sets, from both within and outside the organization, and providing easy and uniform access to data, a smart data fabric can help fintechs to generate insights that can be used to get to know their customers better and gain complete visibility to accelerate business innovation.
This type of data architecture will also allow fintechs to create a bidirectional gateway between their applications and their enterprise customers’ production applications, legacy systems, and data silos. This approach will help those fintechs to ensure that their solutions can be quickly and easily integrated within their customers’ existing environments, which is particularly beneficial for fintechs looking to collaborate with banks.
‘Smart’ or enterprise data fabrics elevate this approach further by embedding a wide range of analytics capabilities, including data exploration, business intelligence, natural language processing, and ML directly within the fabric. This makes it faster and easier for organizations to gain new insights and power intelligent predictive and prescriptive services and applications.
As such, smart data fabrics address both the data integration challenges facing fintechs and their currently inability to use data with more advanced technologies such as AI and ML to extract valuable insights. As smart data fabrics allow existing legacy applications and data to remain in place, thereby removing the need to “rip-and-replace” any of their existing technology, this approach also enables fintechs to maximize their previous technology investments.
With so much potential within the global fintech sector, implementing a smart data fabric will allow fintechs to address their most pressing data challenges. They will have the ability to make more informed decisions based on accurate information and insights, deliver the products and services their customers need, and collaborate with other institutions. Ultimately, this will ensure fintechs are in the best possible position to make 2022 an even more successful year than the last.
IRA company Alto Solutions is partnering with P2P marketplace Prosper.
Under the agreement, Alto’s clients can now invest IRA funds in Prosper’s consumer loans.
Prosper has facilitated more than $20 billion in P2P loans to nearly 1.2 million people across America.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) investment marketplace Prosper may likely see a new slough of investors in the coming months. That’s because the California-based company just inked a partnership with self-directed IRA platform Alto Solutions.
Alto users can now invest their IRA funds in loans originated through Prosper’s online marketplace lending platform. Prosper’s alternative investment platform connects people who want to borrow money with individuals and institutions that want to invest in consumer credit. As a result, borrowers are able to secure credit outside of a traditional financial institution and investors can gain diversification along with attractive returns.
“We are extremely proud to partner with Prosper,” said Alto Chief Revenue Officer Tara Fung. “Prosper was the first peer-to-peer consumer lending marketplace in the U.S. and has given everyday Americans a first-of-its-kind investment opportunity to better diversify their portfolios. Thanks to our partnership, Alto investors can now deploy IRA funds to invest in consumer loans.”
Prosper was founded in 2006 and has since facilitated more than $20 billion in P2P loans to nearly 1.2 million people across America. In 2019, the company launched a HELOC tool that BBVA integrated into its website.
Tennessee-based Alto was founded in 2018. The company helps users access alternative investments such as real estate, crypto, startups, and more. Alto’s current investment partners include AngelList, DiversyFund, Eaglebrook Advisors, Fundr, Grayscale, Masterworks, Republic, Vint, and others.
Tonik, a digital neobank based in the Philippines, has secured $131 million in a Series B round that will help the institution expand in the Philippines, as well as throughout Asia. The investment was led by Mizuho Bank of Japan, and gives the company $175 million in total funding.
Also participating in this week’s Series B funding round were Prosus Ventures, Sixteenth Street Capital, Nuri Group, and individual investor Rahul Mehta, co-founder of DST Partners. Valuation estimates were not immediately available.
Launched in the Philippines in the spring of 2021, Tonik has been one of of the fastest growing new banks, topping $100 million in consumer deposits in its first eight months of operation. The neobank has partnered with Finovate alums Finastrafor its cloud-based core banking proposition, NICE Actimizefor its AML technology, and Daonfor its biometric authentication solutions. In the Philippines, where more than 70% of the population is unbanked, Tonik sees a $140 billion retail deposit market and an unsecured lending opportunity of $100 billion.
“The partnership with Mizuho will provide Tonik with enhanced access to the international wholesale funding markets and world-class managerial talent, as well as serve as a fantastic platform for our future international expansion,” Krasnov said.
Tonik offers a variety of retail financial products, including deposits, loans, current accounts, payments, and cards. The first licensed, digital-only bank in Southeast Asia, Tonik began this year with a partnership with Google Cloud. The neobank will leverage Google Cloud’s platform as part of its strategic to boost financial inclusion and open banking in the Philippines.
EBANX Emerges from its First Decade
Last month we highlighted Latin American payments company EBANX and its expanded operations in Mexico. This month, we congratulate the Brazil-based fintech on its 10-year anniversary.
“In these 10 years, we have been able to witness important transformations in the digital market, in the payments industry, and in innovation ecosystems around the world,” EBANX co-founder and CEO João Del Valle said in a statement. “We are pleased to have actively participated in these movements in Brazil and Latin America, using cutting-edge technology and local knowledge.”
With nearly a billion total payments processed and offices in ten countries, EBANX notched more than 110 percent in processed volume last year. Also in 2021, EBANX launched its EBANX One payments platform that unites all of its payment solutions via a single integration, acquired a pair of Brazilian fintechs Juno and Remessa Online, and raised $430 million in Series B funding. Already in 2022, EBANX has opened new offices in Mexico City and appointed former Google VP Paula Bellizia as its new president of Global Payments.
“Today is the day to celebrate all the achievements so far,” Del Valle said, “but, above all, to outline the new challenges ahead, always with the clear mission of creating more access between people and companies from all over the world.”
FinovateEurope 2022 is just one month away. If you are an innovative fintech company with new technology to show, then there’s no better time than now and no better forum than FinovateEurope. To learn more about how to demo your latest innovation at FinovateEurope 2022 in London, March 22-23, visit our FinovateEurope hub today!
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Passwords are as frustrating as they are essential, especially in financial services. We chatted with LastPass VP of Product Management DanDeMichele to get an idea of how banks and fintechs can protect themselves, what the future of passwords looks like, and how digital identity is dictating changes.
In his role at LastPass, a password manager that offers secure password storage for millions of users, DeMichele is responsible for leading LastPass’ overall product and strategy teams. We caught up with him to get some insight on the intersection of banking, cybersecurity, passwords, and digital identity.
How are cyber threats impacting the banking industry? Is the situation improving or worsening?
Dan DeMichele: Cyber threats are decisively impacting the banking industry as attackers are constantly eyeing sensitive information. It’s a heavily targeted industry given the volume of highly sensitive data being produced and stored within it and the insider vulnerabilities that plague it. Made worse by the growing population accessing banking networks, the industry is seeing an increase in touchpoints that give hackers more opportunities to attack.
Knowing attacks have been made easier by the digitization of the sector, which was fast-tracked by the pandemic, it’s clear the situation is worsening. A recent LastPass report revealed that while 68% of individuals would create stronger passwords for financial accounts, 8% believe a password shouldn’t have ties to personal information. This means most users are creating passwords with ties to potentially public details, making it easier for hackers to access their information. To take it a step further, these credentials are being leaked on other websites through which bad actors then attempt credential stuffing, particularly into financial networks.
What are easy steps banks can take to mitigate these threats?
DeMichele: It’s critical that private banks, wealth managers, and clients themselves protect online banking sign-on and practice proper password hygiene to minimize attacks that are on the rise. The industry can work to combat threats in a number of ways, including requiring multi-factor authentication (MFA) during the login process, setting up dark web monitoring alerts, addressing general password hygiene needs and implementing password management tools, installing solutions such as anti-phishing web browsing software, and implementing policies for location and devices staff can log in from and the type of access allowed.
Beyond these basic protection measures, what should banks do to fully protect themselves?
DeMichele: The private banking and finance sectors need to focus on how they store and share sensitive data and information. By identifying weak spots and knowing how to reduce risks, banks can make attacks more difficult to accomplish and essentially less attractive to potential hackers in the first place. Cybersecurity also needs to be a concern beyond the IT department. Staff with network access need to be properly informed and trained in their role in keeping the organization secure against attacks. Organizations should also weigh the option of implementing automated solutions. With the rise of the digitization of the sector, tools that automate cybersecurity and compliance are now available to help mitigate risk.
Do you envision we’ll ever see a world without passwords as we know them today? What would that look like?
DeMichele: Over the next year, I anticipate a simplification of the tool set for administrators and the end user experience that enables efficient password hygiene. Today’s password solutions were built for the more tech-savvy crowd, but looking ahead, password management will become more intuitive for end users. In addition, within the next five years or so, VPNs will likely be obsolete and replaced by zero trust. It offers a different perspective on how devices are connecting to networks, which is critical as organizations remain remote or shift to a hybrid workforce. There will likely be one vendor that comes to market and makes it simple to implement, which is when every company will look to adopt it. I also see passwordless authentication with strong security standards such as FIDO 2.0 being adopted and triggering a slow phasing out of traditional passwords. It will be a long journey to get to that point, and password management solutions that are tackling both challenges will help users keep secure profiles.
What role does digital identity play in all of this?
DeMichele: We’re in the midst of a revolution of how individuals interact online as a result of digital identities. Unfortunately, the more we digitize ourselves without the proper protections in place, the easier it becomes for cyber criminals to learn about us and use our digital identities to their advantage. With the rise of digital wallets, vaccine codes, digital driver’s licenses, biometrics and credentials, connected homes, smart airports and much more, we’re likely going to experience more calls for supervision of these digital ID systems along with more global ID initiatives in the future. With more access to the internet via mobile, a pandemic-induced accelerated shift to all things digital-first, and an increase in demand for security, digital identity is definitely a feature of modernization processes to come.
Spreedly announced an integration that will expand the number of local payment methods available via Stripe.
Among the supported payment methods are IDEAL, Bancontact, Giropay, EPS, Alipay, Afterpay / Clearpay, Sofort, and Przelewy24, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Spreedly’s announcement comes in the wake of strong transaction volume growth from its operations in Latin America.
Payments orchestration platform Spreedly and payments processor Stripe have expanded their partnership to enable access to more local payment options. As part of the announcement, Spreedly underscored that its customers will have access to Stripe’s fraud fighting solution, Radar, as well.
“This latest integration allows joint Stripe and Spreedly customers to offer their customers a variety of payment methods and provides access to Radar, helping to manage the fraud risks associated with accepting payments online,” Spreedly Senior Director of Product Andy McHale explained.
By offering customers a broader range of local payment alternatives, merchants are able to reach more customers, bring down transaction costs, and boost conversion rates. Payment orchestration, such as that available from Spreedly, helps provide this flexibility, giving merchants and merchant aggregators the option of not only transacting with a wider variety of gateways and payment services, but also enabling them to test and experiment to find out which services work best for their customers.
First announced in November, access to Stripe’s Radar feature gives Spreedly customers the ability to bring machine learning to bear to detect and block fraud. Radar leverages data across millions of international companies processing billions of payments a year to assign risk scores and block high-risk payments. McHale noted that while many merchants and platforms do integrate fraud fighting solutions, working with companies like Spreedly can provide significant advantages.
“(Integrating) fraud tools and payment gateways via a Payment Orchestration Platform simplifies system complexity by reducing the number of direct vendor integrations and orchestrating them to work together,” McHale said.
Australia BNPL player Zip is partnering with Singapore telecommunications firm Singtel.
Singtel is integrating Zip’s Pay Later into its mobile wallet, Dash.
Over the next six months, Zip will launch new payment schemes and onboard more than 2,000 new merchants to its existing network of 51,000.
Australian buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Zip is partnering with Singapore’s largest telecommunications firm Singtel this week. Through their collaboration, Zip’s Pay Later service will be available to Singaporeans on Singtel’s Dash app.
The integration provides Dash customers with the option to pay for a purchase in full or to pay over time with Zip. Zip’s Pay Later tool enables users to pay for everyday purchases between $350 and $1,000 in interest-free installments on a flexible schedule.
“Many of our customers want greater choice and control over managing their finances and our partnership with Zip provides just that with an alternative payment method that is transparent and flexible,” said Singtel Head of Financial and Lifestyle Services Gilbert Chuah. “This collaboration adds to Dash’s rapidly growing financial services business and we are working on expanding our suite of financial products and services to meet our customers’ diverse needs.”
Dash is a Singapore-centric mobile wallet that offers users remittance services, insurance and investment products, in-person and online contactless payments, rewards, and deals. By partnering with Dash, which counts one million registered users, Zip will have a running start in Singapore, a new geography for the BNPL company. Zip initiated operations in the South East Asia region after investing in Philippine-based TendoPay, a fellow BNPL player, in May of last year.
Over the next six months, Zip will be rolling out new payment schemes and onboarding more than 2,000 new merchants to its network of 51,000– including Target, North Face, and Wrangler– that have already integrated Zip’s BNPL technology into their checkout flows.
There has been a consistent pulse of news coming from BNPL providers over the past 12 months. Just today, Bloomberg reported that Sweden-based Klarna is looking to raise new funds, while France-based Alma closed $130 million in Series C funding and $109 million in debt financing. Last fall, Marqeta announced it would help banks get in on the action. The firm partnered with Amount to offer a BNPL-as-a-service offering.
Trulioo has acquired HelloFlow, a digital onboarding startup. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
HelloFlow’s no-code, drag-and-drop tools “vastly simplify” the onboarding process and will offer efficiencies to Trulioo’s GlobalGateway customers.
Trulioo will leverage Denmark-based HelloFlow to help expand its global footprint, specifically in Europe. The company plans to double the size of its team by the end of the year.
Trulioo is making an acquisition today that will boost the digital onboarding aspect of its global identity platform. The company announced it has acquired HelloFlow, a startup that enables businesses to build client onboarding, monitoring, and digital workflow solutions using a no-code, drag-and-drop interface. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
HelloFlow was founded in 2020 by Mikkel Skarnager and Ciprian Florescu who set out to disrupt the onboarding process by creating a digital solution with low barriers to digitalization. They came up with a no-code solution that minimizes coding and developer costs. The Denmark-based company has raised $3.3 million.
“We set out to build a platform that businesses could leverage for digital onboarding regardless of company size, resources, market, or jurisdiction,” said Skarnager. “We’re thrilled to be joining Trulioo and continue the journey of digital innovation and inclusion.”
The purchase combines Trulioo’s GlobalGateway data and identity services network built to verify the identity of both business and individuals with HelloFlow’s suite of orchestration, onboarding workflow, and risk management capabilities. By integrating HelloFlow’s technology, Trulioo will offer a single platform that combines Trulioo’s eIDV, KYB and DocV capabilities with the orchestration solution from HelloFlow. According to the press release, HelloFlow will “vastly simplify” the onboarding process, which will offer efficiencies for Trulioo customers.
“Establishing and securing trust online is a foundational step for all digital activity,” said Trulioo President and CEO Steve Munford. “Our ability to verify both businesses and individuals globally combined with HelloFlow’s advanced orchestration delivers unmatched capabilities and helps us accelerate an end-to-end identity platform that meets the evolving needs of our customers.”
Throughout 2022, the company plans to expand its global footprint. As part of this strategy, Trulioo will leverage HelloFlow’s current locations and operations to support its European expansion. By the end of this year, Trulioo anticipates it will have doubled the size of its team.
This purchase is Trulioo’s second acquisition since it was founded in 2011. Last June, the company raised $394 million in funding, boosting its total funding to almost $475 million and increasing its valuation to $1.75 billion.
For a look at the newest technology coming out of Trulioo, check out the company’s live demo at FinovateEurope next month. Trulioo is a Platinum sponsor of the event, which is taking place in person this year on March 22 and 23 at the Intercontinental O2 in London. Book your ticket today to save.
Charitable giving app Daffy has received $17.1 million in funding.
Daffy was co-founded by CEO Adam Nash, former president and CEO of Wealthfront.
In the U.S., individuals gave more than $324 billion to charitable organizations in 2020.
Aside, the company behind charitable giving app Daffy, has secured $17.1 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Ribbit Capital and featured participation from XYZ Capital and Coinbase Ventures, along with more than 50 angel investors including Amy Chang and John Lilly. The company will use the funds to help scale Daffy and bring additional product innovations to market to help encourage more people to participate in charitable giving.
“People want to be generous and help those less fortunate than themselves, but we are all busy and life gets in the way,” explained Daffy CEO and co-founder Adam Nash. “My co-founder Alejandro and I believe that all of the innovations that have helped us shop, save, and plan, Daffy can also use to help people make giving a habit.”
Americans are often credited for being among the most generous charitable givers in the world. One study by Giving USA revealed that individuals in the U.S. gave more than $324 billion to charities in 2020. That said, Nash believes there remains a “Generosity Gap” between what Americans give to charities and what they would give if the process were easier. The company cites a study by the Stockholm School of Economics that suggested that something as simple as pre-commitment – agreeing in advance to make a charitable contribution – can boost an individual’s contribution amount by as much as 32%.
To this point, Daffy works by encouraging users to provide a charitable giving goal for the year and asking them to take the “Daffy Pledge” to set aside money on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis to reach that goal. As the funds accumulate, Daffy invests the money in one of nine portfolios – rather than having the money sit in low-to-zero interest-bearing cash accounts. When the goal is reached, user can access the funds to make their tax-deductible donation to one of more than 1.5 million U.S. charities available via the Daffy platform. The company said that 40% of its users take advantage of the “Daffy Pledge” option for regular contributions.
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Daffy takes its name from the acronym DAF, which stands for donor-advised fund. These funds are tax-deductible accounts specifically designed for charitable giving. Assets from cash to stock to cryptocurrencies can be placed in a DAF and donors can take immediate tax deductions on those contributions.
“Daffy takes many of the amazing innovations we’ve seen in fintech to a large new space, charitable giving,” Ribbit Capital Managing Partner Micky Malka said. “Within seconds, you can donate to your favorite causes and charities from anywhere. By building a seamless and habit–forming giving experience, Daffy is not only creating a better way to give, but a better way to live.”
As part of Finovate’s continued commemoration of Black History Month, we’re showcasing some of the African American fintech and financial services influencers and leaders who are driving innovation and inclusion in our industry.
If you’ve ever lamented the lack of African Americans in the typical fintech influencer lists issued year after year, then hopefully this sampler of African American fintech entrepreneurs, technologists, and founders will help bring a little more color to the face of fintech.
Harry Alford III
Alford (LinkedIn) is Head of Institutional Sales at Coinbase Cloud where he is focused on sales and business development via partnerships and collaborations with financial institutions, businesses, and fintech startups. He is also co-founder of Humble Ventures, a Washington, D.C.-based venture development firm that supports and invests in founders and organizations that build solutions for diverse communities.
Jacqueline M. Baker
Baker (LinkedIn) is Vice President of Startup Programming at the AARP Innovation Labs where she leads a team dedicated to identifying promising startups via pitch competitions and accelerators. An expert in modern etiquette, leadership, and disruptive innovation, Baker is also founder and principal consultant at Scarlet Communications, an Upper Marlboro, Maryland-based firm that offers modern leadership guidance, professional training and coaching.
Marla Blow
Blow (LinkedIn) is President and Chief Operating Officer of the Skoll Foundation, an organization that invests in, networks, and champions social entrepreneurs and social innovators. In her role at Skoll, Blow leads the firm’s program, grants, investments, and financial management, including its operations, endowments and portfolio partnerships. She is also a member of the board of directors for Square Financial Services.
Asya Bradley
Bradley (LinkedIn) is co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at First Boulevard, a neobank and fully inclusive financial services company dedicated to helping Black Americans build generational wealth. Also the founder of #HowSheWorks, an inclusive grassroots community of founders and allies from underrepresented communities, Bradley has previously worked as SVP of Revenue at banking-as-a-service innovator SilaMoney, and as VP of Partnerships at identity verification specialist – and Finovate alum – Socure.
Chris Brummer
Brummer (LinkedIn) is a professor and faculty director at the Institute of International Economic Law at Georgetown University Law Center. He has lectured frequently on topics ranging from financial inclusion and equity to financial regulation and global governance. A member of the board of directors of Fannie Mae and the co-founder of the Fintech Beat Podcast, Brummer is author of a number of books including Fintech Law in a Nutshell and Cryptoassets: Legal, Regulatory, and Monetary Perspectives.
Thasunda Brown Duckett
Duckett (LinkedIn) is President and CEO of TIAA, a Fortune 100 financial services company that provides investing, retirement, and banking advice to academic, medical, non-profit and public sector professionals. Duckett has an extensive background in financial services, including executive tenures at JP Morgan Chase and Fannie Mae. She is a member of the board of directors at a number of organizations including NIKE, and the Economic Club of New York, as well as being part of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the Baylor University Hankamer School of Business.
Roger W. Ferguson, Jr.
Ferguson J. (LinkedIn) is the former President and CEO of retirement services company TIAA. He was previously Head of Financial Services at Swiss Re and a member of the company’s Executive Committee. He also served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors with the Federal Reserve from 1999 to 2006. A Harvard University graduate, earning a B.A. in Economics, a J.D., and a PhD in Economics from the institution, Ferguson Jr. also spent 13 years as an associate and partner with McKinsey & Company.
Jon Fortt
Fortt (LinkedIn) is Co-Anchor of CNBC’s TechCheck (previously Squawk Alley) where he specializes in the intersection of technology, finance, and innovation. Formerly a senior writer with Fortune, Fortt is an author, designer, and publisher of an educational course called The Black Experience in America that draws on diverse sources ranging from Shakespeare to Toni Morrison.
Donald Hawkins
Hawkins (LinkedIn) is co-founder and CEO of First Boulevard, the “unapologetically Black, digitally native bank” designed to help African Americans build generational wealth. An ICBA Bankers’ Choice 2020 recipient, Hawkins is a serial entrepreneur who, before launching First Boulevard, founded Griffin Technologies, a Kansas City, Missouri-based firm that helps community banks and credit unions improve customer engagement, boost sales, and compete with larger financial institutions.
Netta Jenkins
Jenkins (LinkedIn) is Vice President of Global Inclusion at Unqork, a no-code application platform that helps businesses build complex, customized software solutions faster while keeping costs low. Recognized by Forbes as one of the top seven anti-racism educators in the world, Jenkins is also co-founder of Dipper, a digital safe-space and community for professionals of color to share their experiences in the workplace.
Rodney Williams
Williams (LinkedIn) is co-founder and Chairman of SoLo Funds, a fintech that serves underrepresented communities in the U.S. by providing an alternative lending option that emphasizes equity and empowerment. Williams also co-founded ultrasonic data platform LISNR, a technology company that provides secure person-present authentication. A Henry Crown Fellow at The Aspen Institute and a Techstars Mentor, Williams received his MBA in Finance and Supply Chain Management from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Find out more about Williams and SoLo Funds in our interview from earlier this month.
Teri Williams
Williams (LinkedIn) is President and Chief Operating Officer at OneUnited Bank, the largest Black-owned bank in the U.S. She is responsible for both implementing the bank’s strategic initiatives as well as managing the day-to-day operations of the institution. She has led OneUnited Bank in its consolidation of four local banks into a cohesive, national brand that provides affordable financial services for all while supporting economic development and wealth building in urban communities. An executive with OneUnited Bank for more than 26 years, Williams was previously a Vice President at American Express.
Dana L. Wilson
Wilson (LinkedIn) is a professional speaker and consultant who helps financial services firms create inclusive workspaces. She is also founder and CEO of CHIP (Changing How Individuals Prosper), a B2B2C marketplace for companies seeking Black and Latino financial professionals. A Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award Winner and self-described “FinServ Techie”, Wilson is also the host of The Included Series Podcast, a program that features people of color sharing their personal financial journeys.
Apple launched its Tap to Pay capability enabling merchants to accept payments via iPhone
Stripe will be the first payment platform to offer the new Tap to Pay functionality.
The new solution will compete with Block’s Square, PayPal’s contactless QR code payment offering, and others
Rumors circulated about the launch of a contactless payment acceptance tool for iPhone a few weeks ago. Today, the news is no longer a rumor; Appleconfirmed the details.
The tech giant announced plans to launch Tap to Pay on iPhone, a new capability that lets merchants use their iPhone to accept Apple Pay, contactless payment cards, and other digital wallets by tapping it to their iPhone. The new payment tool will be available as a service. Apple will allow payment platforms and app developers to integrate the new contactless payment capability into their iOS apps for business customers.
“As more and more consumers are tapping to pay with digital wallets and credit cards, Tap to Pay on iPhone will provide businesses with a secure, private, and easy way to accept contactless payments and unlock new checkout experiences using the power, security, and convenience of iPhone,” said Apple’s Vice President of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet Jennifer Bailey. “In collaboration with payment platforms, app developers, and payment networks, we’re making it easier than ever for businesses of all sizes — from solopreneurs to large retailers — to seamlessly accept contactless payments and continue to grow their business.”
Tap to Pay leverages NFC technology to enable customers to pay by holding their iPhone, Apple Watch, contactless credit or debit card, or other digital wallet near the merchant’s iPhone, to complete a purchase in person. Once the technology becomes available, merchants simply need to unlock the capability on their iPhone; no additional hardware is necessary.
Stripe will be the first payment platform to offer Tap to Pay. The fintech will offer the payment technology to its merchant customers via its new Shopify app. Additional payment platforms will be added later this year. “Whether you’re a salesperson at an internet-first retailer or an individual entrepreneur, you can soon accept contactless payments on a device that’s already in your pocket: your iPhone,” said Stripe Chief Business Officer Billy Alvarado. “With Tap to Pay on iPhone, millions of businesses using Stripe can enhance their in-person commerce experience by offering their customers a fast and secure checkout.”
The new payment acceptance tool is a direct competitor to the multiple merchant acceptance solutions that launched over a decade ago, including Block’s Square, which launched its card reading dongle in May of 2010, and PayPal, which launched its contactless QR code payment technology in 2020.
Despite this well-established competition, Apple still has more than a fighting chance to gain traction with Tap to Pay. That’s because not only is it hardware-free, it is also virtually friction-free for customers, and doesn’t require shoppers to download a new app or change their existing habits. Additionally, because it is an Apple product, we can count on it to build a customer-first user interface.
