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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 13-15, 2021. Register today and save your spot.
Ocrolus is a human-in-the-loop intelligent automation company that transforms documents into data analytics, helping financial services companies make high-quality decisions with accurate, trusted data.
Features
Verify key borrower data including cash flow, income, address, employment, identity, assets and liabilities
Eliminate data entry
Accelerate underwriting decisions
Why it’s great Ocrolus works as a transparent API call, ingesting documents, identifying potential fraud, and providing actionable insights directly into your loan origination system.
Presenter
David Snitkof, VP Analytics Snitkof is a technology entrepreneur and data and analytics leader with a successful track record of developing analytical systems, teams, and businesses from the ground. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 13-15, 2021. Register today and save your spot.
Posh is a conversational AI company that deploys chatbots and phone bots for banks, credit unions, and insurance companies, so they can save and make money while providing the best banking experience.
Features
Saves contact center reps time and money
Makes financial institutions money through bots’ marketing and sales capabilities
Creates the most enjoyable banking experience for customers
Why it’s great Posh has recruited a 40+ person team comprised of many PhD graduates from MIT and Harvard who come from Google, Amazon, Nuance, and other top conversational AI companies.
Presenter
Karan Kashyap, CEO & Co-Founder Kashyap and his co-founder created Posh while they were masters students at MIT’s AI Lab because they wanted to create cutting-edge conversational AI for all financial institutions. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 13-15, 2021. Register today and save your spot.
UNest is a fintech app that helps parents build a better future for their kids by providing guidance and access to cost-effective financial solutions with a paperless approach that take 5 minutes!
Features
Set up a UNest Investment account in under 5 minutes
Earn investments in your child’s account through our 100+ partners with UNest Rewards
Easily have friends and family contribute a gift
Why it’s great UNest is the fastest-growing fintech targeting millennial parents and now partnering with banks, credit unions, and employers to offer our solution.
Presenters
Garrett Gilbertson, Executive Gilbertson is an Air Force veteran turned entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder of Startup Mavericks, Chairman of the Band of Angels Los Angeles and a Board Member at UNest. LinkedIn
Peter Mansfield, CMO Mansfield is an accomplished marketing professional with an impressive track record helping startups, growth stage, and corporate clients in fintech like Marqeta, Wallaby Financial, and Property Bridge. LinkedIn
Ramp’s 5-in-1 approach to enterprise spending management offers zero-fee corporate cards, accounting automation, billpay (including invoices, approvals, and payments), as well as expense management and real-time reporting that delivers insights that can be key to uncovering further savings opportunities. The platform offers automated expense reporting that includes collection and verification of more than 90% of receipts, and smart-rule powered automated reconciliation which, along with multi-entity and custom field support, enables accounting teams to close books up to 86% faster. Ramp integrates out-of-the-box with more than 100 different accounting, productivity, and security software packages from QuickBooks and Xero, to Slack and 1Password, to Google Suite and Okta.
According to company co-founder and CEO Eric Glyman, Ramp customers are saving 3.3% on average after switching to Ramp. This comes courtesy of a combination of savings insights, real-time spend reporting, and a 1.5% cashback policy. “This is tangible money saved that customers are reinvesting into activities that actually grow their business,” he said.
In addition to its funding announcement, Ramp also announced an acquisition. The company purchased “negotiation-as-a-service” platform Buyer which helps facilitate big-dollar business costs such as annual software contracts. The acquisition was the first for Ramp, which was founded in the spring of 2019; terms of the transaction were not immediately disclosed.
In a blog post at the Ramp website, Glyman noted that the funding raised, as important as it is, was not “the main news.” Instead, Glyman underscored the value of the financing automation platform Ramp is building, a platform that will help business save “even more time and money that we’ve done to date.” Glyman added that this will enable the company to move from providing savings insights based on the past to instead being “able to proactively save you money before you spend.” Everything from helping companies save money on travel expenses to enabling them to keep software costs low are on Ramp’s radar.
There were many lessons drawn from the economic response to the COVID pandemic in 2020. Among them was the role that digital technology can play in helping facilitate financial assistance to small businesses coping with lockdowns, quarantines, and a workforce wary of exposure to a deadly virus.
As many of our worst concerns about COVID-19 have begun to subside and economies have started to return to something approximating normalcy, the drive to make financing easier for individuals and small business remains an important part of a financial inclusion conversation that predates the pandemic. This is one of the reasons why we should expect to see more partnerships like the one announced today between Texas-based Cooperative Teachers Credit Union and AI-powered credit decisioning platform provider Scienaptic.
Courtesy of the new partnership, Cooperative Teachers Credit Union (CTCU) will be able to make faster, more accurate credit decisions for its members, as well as offer a range of additional financial options to them. Founded in 1953 “by teachers and for teachers,” CTCU currently serves more than 7,000 members and their families in East Texas and has more than $124 million in assets.
“Through the years, CTCU has grown in assets, in members, and in offerings,” the credit union’s president and CEO Tim Miller said. “We are excited to partner with Scienaptic and build upon this growth by tapping its AI-powered credit decisioning platform. Scienaptic’s AI will enable us to offer enhanced credit access to our members and improve their financial well-being.”
New York-based Scienaptic helps banks and credit unions move beyond outdated credit decisioning tools such as credit algorithms and traditional underwriting technologies that provide financial institutions with high credit loss rates and a subpar experience for potential borrowers. In contrast, Scienaptic drives traditional and alternative data through a powerful, preconfigured predictor library and explainable AI models to deliver more informed “yes/no” credit decisions, more accurate credit scoring and pricing, as well as more appropriate credit line levels for consumers. A boon for both credit underwriting and SME lending, Scienaptic’s platform is available as a hosted SaaS offering to keep capex costs low for its clients.
“By leveraging Scienaptic’s AI enhanced decision-making capabilities,” Scienaptic President Pankaj Jain said, “CTCU is positioned to create more approvals faster and strengthen member relationships, all while delivering an exceptional customer experience without increasing risk.”
The collaboration with CTCU is only the latest partnership Scienaptic has forged in recent weeks. In the month of August alone, the credit decisioning platform provider announced teaming up with automobile financing specialist Right Decision Financial Services, Oregon’s InRoads Credit Union, and the 140,000+ member Credit Union of Colorado.
After recently receiving $450 million in funding, digital trading and brokerage company DriveWealth is now worth $2.85 billion. The investment brings the company’s total funding to $551 million.
The Series D round was co-led by Insight Partners and Accel and included a follow-on investment from Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, Base 10, FTX, and FlightDeck. Greyhound Capital, Softbank Vision Fund, and Point72 Ventures also participated.
The New Jersey-based company will use the new funds to become the forefront of embedded investing technology for global digital wallets and brokerages. Specifically, the investment will help DriveWealth hire new employees, make acquisitions, and form partnerships. The funds will also be crucial for the company as it seeks to expand its products and services, including launching a self-clearing product.
“We are in the early innings of a worldwide retail investing revolution,” said company Founder and CEO Bob Cortright. “Our goal is for DriveWealth to be the partner of choice to deliver the embedded investing experience of the future. This new capital and investor engagement will accelerate our global expansion plans in order to become the world-class, exchange-like technology company that powers tomorrow’s investing products.”
Julie Coin and Robert Cortright founded DriveWealth in 2012 with the goal to democratize investing across the globe. Via its API, the fintech helps companies make investing friendly for inexperienced investors with fractional trading, enabling users to begin investing with as little as $1. DriveWealth’s API also allows clients to provide non-U.S. citizens with access to U.S. markets.
DriveWealth’s clients include Revolut, Hatch, MoneyLion, and Sharesies. Through partnerships like these, the company’s technology reaches investors in 153 countries.
For many, the economic inequality and low financial literacy that plague a country like South Africa are reasons to look elsewhere for fintech opportunities. But for New York-based Wahed, these same features are reason for not only optimism, but for investment and expansion.
The company, parent firm of a leading halal financial investment platform, announced this week that it has been granted a new regulatory license from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), South Africa’s financial markets regulator. The license will enable Wahed to launch its investment app in the sub-Saharan nation, making it easier for South Africans to grow their finances in a manner consistent with their cultural preferences and values.
“We are looking forward to making an impact in South Africa,” Wahed CEO Junaid Wahedna said. “We know we can help bridge the wealth divide in South Africa through our products. We combine fintech and values to create simple, accessible, and halal products – we are honored to be trusted and to launch in South Africa.”
With more than 200,000 customers in the nine different jurisdictions around the world, Wahed brings affordable and accessible investing to populations that are often overlooked and unable to use traditional investment solutions. The company enables individuals and families to invest in stocks and sukuks (Islamic bonds) – as well as in real estate and gold. Wahed offers free portfolio recommendations and the ability to invest in multiple accounts that may represent different investment goals – from saving for higher education to buying a first home. And with low, $100 account minimums, Wahed’s portfolios offer diversification among asset classes; efficiency and low cost; and optimization using modern portfolio theory to maximize returns based on the customer’s risk profile
Founded in 2015 and going live in the U.S. and the U.K. two and three years later, respectively, Wahed launched the first ever Halal equity ETF in 2019. By 2020, the company had topped more than 100,000 customers around the world. With its arrival in South Africa, Wahed looks forward to being able to serve the more than 446 million Muslims and others on the continent who need investment opportunities that are consistent with their faith and values.
“We are delighted to provide financial products that put the customer first,” General Manager for Wahed in South Africa Rashaad Kalla said. “South Africa has a thriving fintech ecosystem, an established banking sector, and a population that is hungry to reap the benefits of a new and better way to invest.”
Wahed has raised $40 million in funding from investors including Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures, Rasameel Investment Company, Dubai Cultiv8, BECO Capital, and Cue Ball. In June, the company announced new U.K. General Manager Umer Suleman.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Also participating in the Series B were Obvious Ventures, Foundation Capital, and Core Innovation Capital.
One is designed to help middle class families and individuals better manage their finances – without spending money on fees or requiring minimum balances. The company offers a high-yield savings account with a 1.00% APY, free ACH bank transfers, access to 55,000 no-fee Allpoint ATMs, and early access to earned wages when enrolled in direct deposit. One’s Pockets feature helps middle class families better organize their finances and pay bills by managing their money in Spend, Save, and Auto-Save categories. The latter Auto-Save category enables One accountholders to earn 3.00% APY on up to 10% of their direct deposit amount up to $1,000 per month.
“Stretched middle-income households and working families deal with financial stress on a daily basis and are largely unsupported by current offerings,” One CEO Brian Hamilton explained. “Every day we are marching towards changing this landscape to better serve customers and challenge the antiquated practices and uncompetitive pricing of traditional banking products. One offers features that can make a lasting financial impact for hard working people.”
In addition to helping accountholders better manage the money they make and save, One also offers tools such as its Credit Builder solution to enable them to improve their ability to secure affordable financing. Credit Builder allows accountholders to automatically build (or rebuild) their credit scores every time they use their One card. After linking their card to their Credit Builder Pocket, accountholders will automatically have money subtracted from their Credit Builder Pocket’s available balance and have those funds held back in order to make a complete, on-time and in-full payment to cover the cost of the transaction. As these payments are reported to primary credit bureaus, the account holder benefits from the positive impact the consistent, on-time payments have on their credit score.
Accountholders who are not eligible for Credit Builder can take advantage of One’s Credit Line offering. The Credit Line offering gives accountholders a low-cost, flexible financing option with a monthly grace period before interest (1% per month or 12% APR) is owed.
One was founded by Hamilton and former Intuit and PayPal CEO Bill Harris, who was also the founding CEO of Personal Capital. The company’s banking services are provided courtesy of Coastal Community Bank, an FDIC institution. One claims that its accountholders have saved more than $2 million via its auto-saving feature since the company’s launch.
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 13-15, 2021. Register today and save your spot.
Partner HUB‘s Invoice2RTP provides a customizable technology for banks to easily connect their corporate customers into bill pay and changes the face of B2C and B2B payments with faster payments and request-to-pay.
Features
New opportunity for banks to change the face of transaction banking
New overlay services
New value created for businesses and consumers
Why it’s great FIS Global has chosen Partner HUB and invoice2RTP as a partner for providing the user interface and API layer for electronic bill payment and presentment and real time payments integrated with their payment solutions, in particular Open Payment Framework (OPF).
Presenters
Katalin Kauzli, Co-Founder Kauzli is a co-founder of Partner HUB and is responsible for business development. Her mission is to make interoperable e-invoicing accessible to all enterprises. LinkedIn
Peter Malaczko, CEO & Founder Malaczko has been involved in invoicing IT development projects for the last 20 years both in the corporate and SME space.
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 13-15, 2021. Register today and save your spot.
Atomic’s payroll connectivity provides the infrastructure for consumers to permission access to financial data and automate setting up and updating direct deposit payments.
Features
Streamline setting up and linking accounts, cards, and mobile wallets with a source of funds from payroll with either a full or fractional direct deposit switch
Source of alternative data for VOI/VOE
Enable consumer-permissioned access to financial data
Why it’s great Atomic is the market leading provider of payroll APIs, trusted by 11 of the largest fintech firms, including digital-first neobanks, alternative lenders, and digital brokerages.
Presenters
Jeff Hendren, CRO Hendren has held C-suite titles at global financial services and enterprise software businesses including CCO at Quovo and CEO at Kurtosys, among others. LinkedIn
Lindsay Davis, Head of Markets Davis is the Head of Markets at Atomic and Forbes contributor. Prior, she was the Senior Fintech Intelligence Analyst at CB Insights and her research is cited in the FT, WSJ, and NYT, among others. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 13-15, 2021. Register today and save your spot.
ASA is a robust integration platform providing an unlimited number of certified fintech partners to help drive your ROI in a secure and compliant way. Welcome to the fintech app store for banking!
Features
FIs can offer any fintech to their customers
Fintechs promote their products and services, sending FIs new leads and customers
Customers never leave the ecosystem for the tech they want
Why it’s great Fintechs are competing for FI’s loans, accounts, and customers – ASA allows FIs to turn those fintechs into partners to future proof their tech stack and help them grow.
Presenters
Landon Glenn, CEO Glenn is a fintech entrepreneur with a successful exit, Best of Show winner at Finovate Fall 2018, and former owner of Banzai. LinkedIn
Tamio Stehrenberger, Head of Product Stehrenberger has been Head of Product of several consumer-facing tech startups and is excited to bring his knowledge into the banking sector. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 13-15, 2021. Register today and save your spot.
Facteus‘ Mimic unlocks the value of data by delivering actionable insights from hard-to-access financial transaction data while ensuring privacy is protected.
Features
Regulation compliance: manage privacy and data obligations
Product Innovation: use AI/ML tools to enable data-driven innovation
Safe and secure data monetization
Why it’s great Synthetic data is the “breakthrough” data set for maximizing your data potential, while minimizing your risk; it is the future of data and you should be using it now.
Presenter
Steve Shaw, SVP Marketing Shaw is responsible for the overall marketing, branding, and communications strategy for the company. Shaw has over 20 years of marketing experience at startups and Fortune 500 companies. LinkedIn
