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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
MoneyLion made a move today that will help it catch the eye of prospective customers and retain its existing ones. The digital bank acquired MALKA, a creator network and content platform, to help it better engage with consumers and connect with communities.
MALKA was founded in 2012 and works with creators to develop content across digital mediums including advertising campaigns, original branded content, e-gaming livestreams, podcast series, feature length documentaries, sports representation, and marketing. One of MALKA’s differentiating factors is that it maintains a talent base of 170 employees in-house in order to maintain relationships instead of working with different freelancers on different projects.
MALKA will help MoneyLion, which already offers MoneyLife content, in its mission to become a daily destination by bringing evergreen content to educate, inform, and support customers’ financial decisions. Ultimately, integrating MALKA’s content into MoneyLion will support the digital bank’s marketing and brand-building efforts.
“Through this acquisition, which we anticipate will be accretive and cash flow positive in 2022,” said MoneyLion Co-Founder and CEO Dee Choubey, “we will now be able to fully leverage MALKA’s capabilities so that the MoneyLion brand can truly live wherever our customers are investing their attention.” CMO Bill Davaris added, “This fundamental shift will allow us to own and not rent the relationships we are cultivating with new and existing MoneyLion customers.”
At face value, a tie-up between a digital bank and a content creation company seems a bit odd. The acquisition, however, can be seen as MoneyLion simply buying its own creative marketing and content department. No matter how you look at it, the acquisition is a hat tip to the new creator economy and speaks to how content-driven today’s consumers are.
MALKA will operate independently from MoneyLion and the company’s Founder and CEO Louis Krubich and Co-Founder and President Jeff Frommer will continue to lead daily operations. “This partnership will allow us to exponentially grow our creator network and engage with millions of more fans,” said Krubich.
MoneyLion launched in 2013 and offers a full-service platform that delivers mobile banking, lending, and investment solutions. Earlier this year the company teamed up with Zero Hash to launch the ability for users to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in September via a SPAC merger with Fusion Acquisition Corporation.
Analytics and decision management technology company FICOlaunched a loan origination tool called FICO Originations Solution that automates the entire customer journey leveraging the FICO platform.
The cloud-based tool leverages FICO’s enterprise intelligence network to streamline and personalize loan originations. The new tool helps financial services providers do two key things. First, it helps remove friction from the customer experience. Second, it empowers loan originators by helping them make more precise origination decisions and better manage risk, ultimately helping them grow more profitable portfolios.
This enhanced decision-making is thanks in part to FICO’s data library that offers lenders access to 130+ global data sources. The ever-increasing data source helps firms make faster and better customer decisions.
The FICO Originations Solution starts with a completely digital onboarding experience. The tool considers an organization’s goals, including the types of borrowers they want to attract, their ideal conversion rate, and profitability goals. FICO offers simulation capabilities to test the user experience to determine if decreased friction results in increased fraud or if changing an application question increases the conversion rate.
FICO Originations Solutions’ customers have access to FICO’s suite of tools that includes interactive messages, fraud prevention capabilities, and pricing optimization.
“Financial services providers today need data-hungry, analytics-ready, agile, extensible systems in order to compete in a digital-first economy,” said FICO VP and Head of Product Management Tim Van Tassel. “FICO Originations Solution, Powered by FICO Platform provides the digital and analytic sophistication that enables financial institutions to offer the safety, convenience, and personalization that customers look for during the account opening process through their chosen channel, while closely managing customer-level risk.”
FICO was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in California. The company is best known for the consumer FICO score that is calculated based on information in credit reports maintained by Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The company also offers fraud and compliance as well as debt collection and recovery solutions.
Alternative credit provider and digital bank Upgradeannounced a $280 million investment this week. The Series F round brings the company’s total funding to $600 million and boosts its valuation to $6 billion, which is almost double its last valuation of $3.3 billion in August.
The round was led by Coatue Management and DST Global with participation from Dragoneer Investment Group, Gopher Asset Management, G-Squared, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Old Well Partners, Ribbit Capital, Sands Capital, Ventura Capital, and Vy Capital.
Upgrade was founded in 2016 and offers a variety of low-cost personal loans and credit cards that come with rewards ranging from Bitcoin cashback to 3% cashback. Earlier this year the company debuted a checking account with a debit card that pays 2% cashback for common expenses.
The company differentiates its card, which is issued by Sutton Bank, from traditional credit cards by combining monthly charges into installment plans that the borrower repays over 24 to 60 months. Upgrade structures the repayment this way to get its users into the habit of paying down their balance every month and avoid getting trapped in a continuous cycle of debt.
The funding news comes four months after Upgrade closed its $105 million Series E round. Company CEO Renaud Laplanche said that the round “demonstrates Upgrade’s rapid growth and commitment to delivering innovative financial products that benefit consumers.”
The “rapid growth” Laplanche references has been seen in recent acclamations. Earlier this year the Financial Times selected Upgrade as the fastest growing company in the Americas and the Nilson Report recognized the Upgrade Card as the fastest growing credit card in America, placing Upgrade among the top 50 U.S. credit card issuers.
Since launching its credit card in 2017, Upgrade has delivered $10 billion in total credit to customers via the company’s credit cards and loan products. The majority of this credit has been issued this year alone; the company is on track to deliver $8 billion in credit in 2021.
Upgrade is headquartered in California with an operations center in Arizona and a technology center in Canada. The company is partnered with Cross River Bank and Blue Ridge Bank for credit lines and banking services, NYDIG for Bitcoin rewards, and Sutton Bank for card issuance.
Bank software innovator ebankIT and worldwide money transfer platform Wise (formerly Transferwise) announced today that Wise’s international money transfer service will be the first solution of its kind to be made available on the ebankIT platform marketplace. Relied upon by financial institutions to build up their digital banking service options, the marketplace will enable these firms to add the money transfer service to their offerings without having to integrate it separately on their own.
“We believe in a better future for banking with true omnichannel capabilities – and international transfers are an essential part of this,” ebankIT CEO Renato Oliveira said. “By bringing together Wise, ebankIT, and our clients, we are changing international transfers for everyday people across the world. We’re delighted to offer Wise platform to our clients, so they can instantly tap into Wise’s world-leading infrastructure.”
Wise Platform has 12 distribution partners and 18 banks in 11 countries using the technology, along with seven enterprises. The company notes that 40% of its transfers are delivered in less than 20 seconds, and Wise charges no hidden fees by way of exchange rate mark-ups or other calculations. On average, Wise’s international money transfers are as much as eight times less expensive than those offered by traditional money service firms and other providers.
“For too long, international transfers have been slow, inconvenient, and blighted by traditional providers charging high, hidden fees,” Wise Head of Product Steve Naudé said. “It’s time for change. We aim to set a new global standard for international transfers across the industry. We’re thrilled to be working with ebankIT, a company that shares our vision. Together, along with ebankIT’s network of banks and financial institutions, we can help drag international transfers into the twenty-first century.”
Rebranding as Wise in February, the company formerly known as Transferwise has been a Finovate alum since its appearance on stage at FinovateEurope in 2013. In the years since, the London-based company has reached more than eight million customers worldwide and transfers more than $7.5 billion in customer funds every month. Wise’s technology currently comes pre-integrated in a number of core banking platforms including those from Temenos, Mambu, and Thought Machine.
The company went public on the London Stock Exchange this summer, earning a market valuation of $11 billion. Last month, Wise announced an integration with The Orchard, a subsidiary of Sony Music that specializes in music distribution and artist services. The partnership offers the company a more streamlined way for music labels to make royalty payments to musicians in multiple countries and currencies.
A Finovate Best of Show winner in 2019, ebankIT was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Porto, Portugal. The company’s core-agnostic Omnichannel Digital Banking platform was recognized last year in both Gartner’s Market Guide for Multichannel Digital Banking Solutions and its Market Guide for Digital Banking Platforms. In partnership with Celero, a Canada-based solutions integrator for credit unions and other financial institutions, ebankIT’s technology this year has powered digital transformations at institutions such as Swan Valley Credit Union, 1st Choice Savings and Credit Union, and Entegra Credit Union.
Can we stop naming AI as a trend in fintech? Probably not yet, but we should. That’s because trends ebb and flow, but AI isn’t going anywhere. Banks and fintechs aren’t going to let up on leveraging AI within the decade. In fact, the number of times we’ve seen the adjective “AI-powered” has only increased.
Depending on how you define it, fintech has been in existence for around 20 years. That’s a long time for themes to rise and fall. Below is a look at transitory trends, lasting trends, and AI’s place in the mix.
Fleeting trends
As regulation, technology, and consumer habits and tastes have changed throughout the years, so have fintech trends. However, many ideas in fintech never took off. While some were overhyped, others were simply a solution looking for a problem or were an idea before their time, offered to the market too soon.
A recent example of a transitory trend is card-linked offers (CLO) Also called merchant-funded rewards, these customer loyalty and rewards tools reached their peak in 2012. Similar to the buy now, pay later craze that is happening right now, there were multiple launches of new CLO companies each month. Even large banks were getting on board. In fact, in 2012 Bank of America debuted a CLO product, BankAmeriDeals, powered by Cardlytics.
It’s worth noting that card-linked offers are still around. It is only the growth rate and hype around CLOs that have decreased. In fact, Cardlytics, Cartera Commerce, Cachet Financial Solutions, and others still exist and serve customers today.
Lasting trends
The list of lasting trends in fintech is short. In fact, there are only a handful of trends that have been introduced over the last two decades that have become table stakes for every bank and fintech across all sub-sectors. Not surprisingly, because these lasting trends are now standard throughout the industry, they all seem quite obvious.
Three solid examples of these stronghold trends include having a digital presence, providing a mobile app, and offering digital payment/money transfer capabilities. The evolution began, at the dawn of fintech, with banks just starting to establish their online presence. The next adaptation of that was SMS banking, which evolved into to mobile apps and digital money movement.
Today, the application of AI is becoming so standard across the fintech industry that it can be added to the fintech trend hall of fame.
The current state of AI
In case you haven’t been paying attention, AI is being used across the entire fintech industry. Its applications are almost limitless, but here are a handful of current examples.
Lending– Underwriters can use AI to enhance the decisioning process to reduce risk, as well as to monitor for unseen biases in the lending process.
Payments– AI can enable biometrics-activated payments and can also create smooth payment processes by analyzing past transactions before approving or declining transactions on an issuer’s behalf.
Wealth management– Wealthtech companies can empower users with self-driving money, a concept that describes moving funds into and out of different accounts and investments based on fund performance, cash flow, and bill due dates.
Insurtech– AI can enhance predictive data modeling to create better pricing models around policies.
Security– Fraud detection in financial activity relies heavily on AI, as do both identity detection and verification.
Funding for AI fintechs has been on the rise since 2016. According to CB Insights, the total amount of funding in 2021 for AI startups in fintech is at the same level as last year’s year-end total, with $3.1 billion raised across 161 deals. This year, the average investment size clocked in at $25 million. There has also been an increase in M&A activity for fintech AI startups. So far this year there have been 12 mergers and acquisitions in the space, compared to eight last year and two in 2016.
Float, a Canada-based startup that offers a corporate card and spend management solution, landed $30 million (C$37 million) in funding this week. The Series A round was led by Tiger Global and brings the company’s total funding to $34 million (C$42 million).
The funding will help Float with its mission to deliver an end-to-end spend management platform for SMBs. “We want this platform to enable businesses and teams to focus on investing in their growth and eliminate the need to use different banking and software tools to make day-to-day payments… Float’s mission is to simplify spending for companies and teams,” the company explained in a blog post.
Float was founded in 2019 to offer Canadian SMBs a high-limit, no personal guarantee corporate card that is available in three business days or less. This turnaround is impressive when compared to the average four+ week wait time most businesses face to receive their corporate spending cards. Businesses can set custom spending limits, assign cards to employees, and review and approve transactions in real time.
In addition to the card capabilities, Float also offers spend management software that natively integrates with accounting software such as QuickBooks and Xero. The dashboard helps employers track real-time spending and provides an overview of individual, departmental, and categorical spending.
The investment comes at a good time for Float, which has seen significant growth since launching to the public in March of this year. The company now has hundreds of small business clients and continues to experience increased engagement. Float’s total payment volume has increased ~20x since June and its average monthly customer spend has increased more than 6x since March.
Float offers a freemium pricing model with varying features. All tiers come with 1% cashback, 0% FX fees, unlimited users, automatic top-ups, and a $100,000 spending limit. The paid tiers provide custom integrations, team management, and more.
BM Technologies (formerly known as Bank Mobile) has agreed to merge with Seattle-based community lender First Sound Bank for $23 million. The combined entity will be called BMTX Bank and will serve customers across the country digitally while maintaining a community banking division that will continue serving customers in the greater Seattle market.
“This is a thrilling milestone for BM Technologies and is a major step forward in executing our vision to create a disruptive FinTech bank that combines the best of financial technology with a strong and compliant FDIC-insured institution,” BM Technologies, Chair, Founder, and CEO Luvleen Sidhu said.
BMTX will pay up to $7.22 in cash for each share of First Sound Bank common stock, which amounts to approximately $23 million. Subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, the strategic merger is slated to close in the second half of 2022. The deal is expected to add significantly to the combined company’s revenue, EBITDA, and earnings trajectory over the next one to three years. Sidhu said that the strategic merger will enable BMTX Bank to offer a variety of new services including direct to consumer and small business operations, marketplace lending, robo-advisory, and blockchain-based payment systems.
“As one of the largest digital banking platforms in the country with approximately 2 million accounts, this merger allows BMTX to lead a new wave of financial innovation by enhancing its focus on technology, inclusion, easy-to-use products, and customer education with the mission of creating ‘customers for life,'” Sidhu explained.
Sidhu will serve as Chair and CEO of BMTX Bank, and will be directly responsible for digital banking initiatives. First Sound Bank President and CEO Marty Steele will serve as COO of BMTX Bank and will lead the company’s community banking division.
“As a local bank, we remain committed to our community and are excited about the opportunity to leverage BMTX’s innovative digital banking technology, Banking-as-a-Service business model, low-cost deposit funding, and better access to the capital markets in order to scale our SBA, commercial and private banking, mortgage, and other business lines,” Steele said.
Founded in 2004 with the largest initial capital base of any de novo bank in the Pacific Northwest at the time, First Sound Bank provides commercial banking services for SMEs, not-for-profit organizations, entrepreneurs, and professional service firms in the Puget Sound region. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, First Sound Bank has approximately $150 million in assets.
Formerly known as Bank Mobile, BM Technologies was launched in 2015 with a goal of providing a simple, affordable, and financially empowering, digital-first banking experience. The company went public via SPAC at the beginning of the year, listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BMTX. BM Technologies currently has a market capitalization of $145 million.
The company’s strategic merger announcement comes on the heels of BM Technologies’ Q3 results. Among the quarter’s highlights, BM Technologies reported that serviced deposits topped $2 billion for the first time. The company also earned recognition in the 2021 Finovate Awards in September, winning Best Fintech Partnership courtesy of its collaboration with T-Mobile.
To learn more about BM Technologies, check out our Fireside Chat with Luvleen Sidhu from FinovateFall 2021 in New York.
Mexico-based Storilanded $200 million this week in combined debt and equity. The investment, which bring the company’s total funding to almost $250 million, will help the fintech provide financial services to its region’s underserved customers.
The $125 million in equity was co-led by GGV Capital and GIC with contributions from General Catalyst, Goodwater Capital, Tresalia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vision Plus Capital, BAI Capital, and Source Code Capital. The $75 million in debt financing comes from Community Investment Management.
The investment echoes Stori’s success in the region. The company has become one of Mexico’s top issuer of new credit cards since February of this year. In fact, more than 2 million Mexicans have applied for a Stori credit card, and that number has grown by more than 10 times in the last twelve months.
And there is still plenty of room for growth. The broader Latin American region has 400 million underserved consumers. “Our mission – empowering financial inclusion for millions of hard-working people – is amazingly meaningful and challenging at the same time,” said Stori CEO and co-founder, Bin Chen. “We are progressing at an unprecedented pace by combining technology, machine learning, data-driven underwriting and an intuitive mobile-based user experience. A lot more will come in our journey to become a top consumer financial franchise in Latin America.”
Stori plans to use today’s funds to triple in size and broaden its product offerings to better suit customer needs, ultimately providing much-needed financial services to Mexico’s underserved citizens. The fresh capital will also help Stori grow its team and double down on training and development opportunities.
While Stori is focused on the Mexico region, the company boasts a global team with offices in Washington D.C., Mexico, and Asia. “Our success since launch is a direct result of having a team who is passionate about our mission to empower upward financial mobility for the underserved population,” said company Co-founder Marlene Garayzar.
Veterans Day in the U.S. is a day to remember and honor the sacrifices our military veterans have made to preserve the freedom we enjoy on a daily basis. How can banks and fintechs give back by connecting and serving this niche clientele in return?
We interviewed Dennis Cail, co-founder and CEO of Zirtue, who shared his experience as a U.S. Navy veteran-turned-fintech entrepreneur. Cail told us how his military experience impacts his work at Zirtue and what banks and fintechs can do to give back.
Tell us the basic idea of Zirtue.
Dennis Cail: Zirtue is the world’s first relationship-based lending application, simplifying loans between friends, family, and trusted relationships by turning informal promises into structured agreements and automating the repayment process. Zirtue’s mission is to drive financial inclusion and freedom, one relationship at a time.
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Zirtue sits at the nexus between two major pain points: a person needing a financial lifeline to pay their bills and a company struggling with bad debt. Corporate partners use Zirtue as an alternative payment solution, allowing individuals with past-due accounts to request loans from friends or family members in order to pay their bills. Zirtue has raised $6 million of VC funding and more than $10 million in loans have been processed on the platform to help users keep their lights on, pay their rent, and get access to critical healthcare.
How did you come up with the idea of Zirtue? What was the impetus?
Cail: Growing up in Louisiana, I lived in public housing and neighborhoods often surrounded by payday lenders and check cashing services; the same was true of the areas surrounding the naval bases I lived on. It wasn’t until college when I saw how different communities attract different types of neighborhood businesses such as banks, and that many neighborhoods didn’t have traditional banks.
Looking back, I saw how clearly and deliberately predatory lenders target those with few financial options and no access to traditional banking services, like my neighborhoods in Monroe and the Navy. These experiences led me to creating a loan option for these unbanked and underbanked folks that provided them with necessary loans and empowered them through the process. We all need a little help sometimes, and that is what Zirtue is all about. I also have experienced the challenges of loaning friends and family money myself. Even though I wanted to help my loved ones out, it made things awkward. I saw the impact that these friendly loans could have on my loved ones in terms of helping them achieve their dreams or simply make ends meet, without having to pay the high fees of predatory payday lenders who are the only available option for many.
As someone who has always wanted to found a company and had a background in finance, I knew I could create a solution for this problem that formalized these friendly loans, while simultaneously driving financial inclusion. Ultimately, this solution became Zirtue, and we’ve now processed more than $10 million in loans to-date and plan to continue until Zirtue is a payment option at every retailer you visit in-person and online.
You are one of a handful of military veteran fintech founders. First off, thank you for your service. Can you tell us about your military experience?
Cail: As a Systems Engineer in the US Navy working with hardware and software to ensure we had ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communications, my military experience gave me the technical foundation I needed to start a successful career in technology. The military is also a place that either makes or breaks you. At the very least it reveals who you are at your core and I learned a lot about myself during my military experience.
Funny, but true story… I didn’t know how to swim when I joined the Navy and when I shared this information with my civilian friends after I left the Navy, they would naturally ask me, “why did you join the Navy if you couldn’t swim?!” The answer is that I joined the Navy to learn how to swim and to serve my country. This may sound a bit extreme. However, entrepreneurs have to be extreme on some level if they are going to achieve what most people would consider impossible or too risky. Long before I became an entrepreneur and a fintech founder, I had the spirit of an entrepreneur with a high tolerance for calculated risk. My military experience only amplified that entrepreneurial spirit.
How does your military experience impact your work at Zirtue?
Cail: The military has absolutely influenced my career and led me to found Zirtue. First of all, the military taught me how to be a strong leader and how to navigate stressful situations – which are both imperative to founding a company and handling the complexities of entrepreneurship. Further, the military taught me to always look out for your partner, or in my case shipmate, and that we either win together or lose together. This concept has shaped the way I interact with my team, our customers, partners, and other entrepreneurs – we have to take care of each other.
Finally, being in the military taught me about the importance of structured, detailed plans, which has helped me integrate further structure into entrepreneurship and supported business growth for Zirtue. Looking back, I am incredibly thankful for my military experience for shaping me into the man I am today and forming a solid foundation as an entrepreneur and CEO.
What advice do you have for banks and fintechs looking to connect with and serve military veterans as clients?
Cail: It’s extremely important that banks and fintechs alike do all they can to help military veterans transition back into civilian life so that we can put them in the best possible position to be successful with skills that are highly transferable. Given the sacrifices made by these men and women, my advice is simply to be intentional about their DEI efforts to connect with military veterans with formal programs that include military veterans.
At Zirtue we actively recruit from this amazing source of talent and encourage military veterans to apply for any open jobs we may have. I would also like to call out that banks like USAA and Navy Federal Credit Union are very active in their efforts to support veterans and their families with financial products and customized lending options. Their efforts should be applauded and replicated.
Three headlines in the cryptocurrency space this week show how seriously Big Tech, Big Fintech, and the world’s largest financial services companies are taking the rise of digital assets. And while each of the three companies listed below varies in the degree to which it is embracing our increasingly crypto-friendly future, their continued interest in the space suggests that the pace of adoption of digital assets – and the proliferation of use cases – is only likely to grow in the months and years to come.
The report is based largely on an interview that Apple CEO Tim Cook had with Aaron Ross Sorkin as part of the DealBook Online Summit sponsored by The New York Times. That said, those looking for a firm commitment from Apple in Cook’s conversation with Sorkin will be disappointed; while Cook expressed interest in cryptocurrencies from a “personal point of view … for awhile” and admitted that he believed that it was “reasonable to own (cryptocurrencies) as part of a diversified portfolio,” the idea of Apple accepting cryptocurrencies as payment for Apple products and services remains just that – an idea. Cook also expressed skepticism toward the notion of Apple investing in cryptocurrencies as part of a corporate investment strategy.
Apple’s relationship with cryptocurrencies has been cautious, to say the least. Back in 2014, Apple removed a number of Bitcoin wallets from its App Store, including one trading and storage app with 120,000 users, and another wallet app from Coinbase. More recently, there has been some softening of Apple’s stance, with Apple Pay VP Jennifer Bailey conceding the the company is “watching” the space and sees “interesting long-term potential” in digital currencies just a few years ago.
It’s worth noting that Apple’s reputation in technology is less as a first-mover and more that of a technology enhancer that often comes along and does a better job at innovations initiated by others. So the idea that Apple’s approach to embracing cryptocurrencies would be similarly slow-rolling is consistent with how the company has long operated. Nevertheless, Apple Pay’s fintech rivals – such as PayPal, Square, and Stripe – have been far more eager to pursue opportunities in crypto. Add to this the fact that Google Pay has teamed up with digital asset marketplace Bakkt in a deal that will enable users to spend Bakkt Card crypto funds directly from their Google Pay accounts. Together, it seems much more likely that a closer relationship between cryptocurrencies and Apple Pay is a question of “when” rather than “if.” As interest in digital currencies accelerate, and the solutions and services from these crypto-friendly fintechs become more widespread and even mainstream, it is hard to imagine Apple Pay remaining on the sidelines.
Revolut Takes Steps Toward Building a Cryptocurrency Exchange – The rumor that aspiring super app Revolut is looking to build a cryptocurrency exchange hinges largely on a job posting at LinkedIn. According to reports, Revolut wants to hire an individual with at least seven years experience in technology and in building order matching engines to lead a technical team to “architect and built Revolut Crypto Exchange.”
The crypto exchange would further establish Revolut as a leading player in the cryptocurrency space and potentially enable the company to diversify its services and create new cash flow, which could help Revolut establish another reliable revenue source going forward. The exchange news also follows reports that Revolut was looking into launching its own crypto token. And while Revolut has not commented on what it has referred to as a “mere rumor”, the report, first shared by Coindesk earlier this fall, does bolster the notion that Revolut is deepening its commitment to digital assets – a space the company has enjoined aggressively since introducing in-app cryptocurrency trading functionality in 2018.
In April of this year, Revolut added 11 new crypto tokens to its platform. The following month, the company launched its public beta for Bitcoin withdrawals. “I said before that 2021 would be the year of crypto and Revolut is here to deliver on that promise,” company Head of Crypto Edward Cooper announced in June when the company revealed that it would add Dogecoin to its current cryptocurrencies offerings for traders. “One of the most popular user requests over the past couple of months has been to add Dogecoin and we have answered the call!”
Revolut has more than 16 million customers around the world, and conducts more than 150 million transactions a month on its platform.
Mastercard Introduces Crypto-Linked Cards for the APAC Region – Also this week, Mastercard announced that it has secured partnerships with a trio of cryptocurrency companies – Amber, Bitkum, and Coinjar – who will issue crypto-funded Mastercard payment cards. The collaboration represents the first APAC-based cryptocurrency service providers (Amber and Bitkum are based in Thailand, Coinjar is headquartered in Australia) to join Mastercard’s Crypto Card Program, an initiative designed to enable companies to offer secure payment cards that meet regulatory requirements with regards to cryptocurrencies.
“Cryptocurrencies are many things to people – an investment, a disruptive technology, or a unique financial tool,” Mastercard EVP for Digital and Emerging Partnerships and New Payment Flows in the Asia Pacific region Rama Sridhar said. “As interest and attention surges from all quarters, their real-world applications are now emerging beyond the speculative. In collaboration with these partners that adhere to the same core principles that Mastercard does – that any digital currency must offer stability, regulatory compliance, and consumer protection – Mastercard is expanding what’s possible with cryptocurrencies to give people even greater choice and flexibility in how they pay.”
Mastercard’s APAC announcement comes on the heels of news that the company will enable the banks and merchants on its payment network to integrate cryptocurrency offerings into their products. The new arrangement comes courtesy of a partnership with Bakkt and will empower bitcoin wallet providers as well as issuers of credit and debit cards that offer rewards in crypto and enable digital assets to be spent. Also benefitting from Mastercard’s plan are those companies that offer loyalty programs that allow points from travel or hotel stays to be converted in to cryptocurrencies.
“Mastercard is committed to offering a wide range of payment solutions that deliver more choice, value, and impact every day,” Mastercard EVP for Digital Partnerships Sherri Haymond said. “Together with Bakkt and grounded by our principled approach to innovation, we’ll not only empower our partners to offer a dynamic mix of digital assets options, but also deliver differentiated and relevant consumer experiences.”
Flexible rent payment platform Xspacedlaunched its digital bank accounts for tenants today. The bank accounts enable Xspaced’s FlexRent product, a tool that helps tenants split their rent payment into two to three installments over the course of a month.
Today’s launch offers Xspaced an important distinction in the online rental payments space– it doesn’t require landlords to register. Instead, tenants can use the virtual bank account independently and landlords can continue using their preferred online rent collection platform.
“Since launching FlexRent last year, we’ve continuously heard from tenants that they would like to have more flexibility when it comes to paying rent and from landlords that they want to keep their current rent collection system,” said Xspaced Cofounder Alex Pelin. “Tenants can save money towards their next rent payment via smaller payments over the month, landlords can keep collecting rent on their preferred payment portal – it’s a win / win for everyone!”
Aimed at gig workers and others with inconsistent income, FlexRent connects to users’ existing bank accounts. Xspaced sends tenants automated payment reminders to help them save money for their upcoming rent payment two to three times each month. At the beginning of the following month they can used the money they saved to pay their landlord using their landlord’s online rental collection platform.
Modern payments platform Dwolla is powering the money movement piece of FlexRent. “Making expense management simpler for anyone on a variable income has been a challenge for a long time,” said Dwolla CEO Brady Harris. “With Virtual Account Numbers, Xspaced is helping make rent easier by helping tenants align their rent payments with their income schedule. We’re proud to power part of their solution.”
The utility of Xspaced’s new virtual bank account offering seems inflated. FlexRent simply sends a reminder to users to send their rent payment and serves as an account to hold the payment. It is the renter’s responsibility to transfer the funds to the Xspaced account and to pay their landlord using the funds held in the Xspaced account.
This is not much value in exchange for the cost, which ranges from $2.99 per month for two payment installments to $5.99 per month for three or four payment installments. The FlexRent account requires users to have a bank account already, so renters may as well open a savings account at their bank to which they can set up multiple automatic transfers.
That said, Xspaced must offer at least some value, because the California-based company boasts that, “thousands of renters love Xspaced.”
San Mateo, California-based txtsmarter, an intelligent communications surveillance service for text and social channel communications, has forged a partnership with GuideCX, a client onboarding software company. GuideCX will streamline the onboarding process for txtsmarter customers as the company expands across the country.
“Txtsmarter is growing at such a high rate that transparency and accountability during the onboarding process are a must for their customers,” GuideCX founder and CEO Peter Ord said. “Their one-day onbording has set a new level for GuideCX as we continue to perfect our process and show people everywhere why our technology can make all the difference for their businesses moving forward.”
txtsmarter made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateWest and returned to the Finovate stage this fall for FinovateFall in New York. The company offers a SaaS platform that enables employees and customers in regulated industries to use native communications apps such as iMessage, WhatsApp, Android, and WeChat/WeCom. txtsmarter’s platform provides effective capture, encryption, and archiving of text and social media messages, immediately identifying any inappropriate communication or potentially fraudulent activity.
Founded in 2014, txtsmarter includes one of the largest financial institutions in the world and a major U.S. sports league among its customers. The company began the year with the announcement that it had entered a strategic partnership with compliance technology and data analytics firm, Steeleye. The collaboration will combine txtsmarter’s message capture and archiving service with Steeleye’s advanced communications surveillance solution.
“Via our partnership with SteelEye, we offer our clients a 360-degree archiving and surveillance service, supplying real-time access to previously inaccessible data,” txtsmarter President and CEO Nuri Otus said. “Only txtsmarter can capture native iMessage and Android SMS/MMS messages providing a full view of all communications – which is necessary for full compliance and to avoid huge sanctions. We all know the real conversations happen via text.”
