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
Apple launched its newest iPhone, iPhone 12, earlier this month. While many of the new features were expected, such as 5G and a refreshed design, there was one aspect on the iPhone 12 Pro that caught my eye– LiDAR.
LiDAR stands for light detection and ranging and has been around since 1961. So while the technology in and of itself isn’t new, many of the applications it’s used for are cutting edge. Take self-driving cars, for example. Self-driving cars rely on LiDAR to map the surrounding area by measuring distances of nearby objects using light rays.
So with such a powerful technology now placed into the hands of everyday consumers, how can fintechs put their developers to work to leverage the technology? Here are a handful of applications the fintech sector might be able to use iPhone 12 Pro’s LiDAR for.
Mortgagetech
With COVID keeping us socially distant, many lenders are waiving home appraisals for real estate transactions. While this may benefit the homeowner by saving them $500 or more on the appraisal, the lender, which must rely on third party data from Zillow or Trulia, may be at a disadvantage when it comes to estimating collateral values.
The LiDAR on the iPhone 12 Pro may be able to bridge the gap with its room-mapping technology. Combined with AI and machine learning technologies, computers may be able to estimate a home value more efficiently based on a home’s 3D mock-up created by LiDAR.
San Francisco-based Cape Analytics already offers a service like this. The company provides intelligence on the risk of a property for remote buyers and lenders. However, the service is limited to property exteriors.
Insurtech
When it comes to underwriting home insurance policies, the process relies heavily on input from the homeowner. This honor system offers plenty of room for error. Not only may the homeowner incorrectly enter the square footage, they also may not know the difference between flooring types and other important details.
Once again, this is an opportunity for iPhone 12 Pro’s LiDAR room-scanning capabilities. The map may not only help insurers underwrite the home itself, but may also be able to help renters determine the appropriate amount of insurance on their belongings.
Canvas app by Occipital already offers this technology for LiDAR-enabled iPads (11-inch iPad Pro 2nd Generation and 12.9-inch iPad Pro 4th Generation). The company plans to launch room-scanning for iPhone 12 Pro soon.
Security
Using facial recognition for authentication is so commonplace these days that most consumers– even those of older generations– are familiar with how it works. Unfortunately, some consumers who have tried to use facial recognition to log into their account may also be familiar with the technology’s shortcomings. For example, I was originally excited to enroll in my bank’s facial recognition login process when it came out a few years ago, but became frustrated when the technology stopped recognizing my face just weeks later.
With the LiDAR in iPhone 12 Pro promising enhanced photos, false negative issues like this could be less common. This is especially true in low-light photos, where the LiDAR captures more detail. Per Apple’s website, “Night mode comes to both the wide and ultra wide cameras, and it’s better than ever at capturing incredible low-light shots. LiDAR makes night mode portraits possible. And the wide camera lets in 27 percent more light, for greater detail and sharper focus day or night.”
The enhanced facial detail in selfie photos can not only reduce consumer frustration with false negatives, but also has the potential to augment security by reducing false positives, as well.
Across sectors
One of the most versatile capabilities the addition of LiDAR brings is upgraded augmented reality (AR). LiDAR technology allows for better object occlusion, meaning that virtual objects can now appear more real by disappearing behind real objects.
While versatile, however, AR brings little value to banks and fintechs beyond entertainment and novelty. The best use cases for AR seem to be for gaming and interior design. While the fintech sector showed a bit of hype around AR and mixed reality in 2015, there still hasn’t been much value-added development in the area.
However, augmented reality is still worth keeping on the fintech radar. This is especially true as social distancing measures remain in place and people try to find entertainment online and in the virtual realm.
ESG investing index funds topped $1,258 billion at the end of September, cementing ESG stock selection into more than just a passing fad.
Taking note, digital banking and wealth management Avaloqlaunched a new offering today to help banks build ESG portfolios for their clients. The tool also facilitates compliance with the EU’s upcoming MiFID II amendment.
Avaloq’s ESG investment solution includes third party data streams and extra functionality to help wealth managers build portfolios tailored to their individual clients. Some of the tools integrated into the new solution include standardized scorecards, green benchmarks, exclusions, norms-based screening such as the UN Global Compact or the OECD Guidelines, and thematic investments.
The ESG market is expected to grow even more rapidly as investors begin to focus on addressing climate change, environmental damage, social inequality, and discrimination. Also promoting growth is the update to MiFID II which will require wealth managers to account for a client’s ESG preferences when deciding suitable investments.
While Avaloq’s tool will help with MiFID II compliance, it will also assist banks and wealth managers in addressing the lack of standards when it comes to ESG preferences. “One challenge for providers is that there are no rules defined by regulators or standard setters for how the ESG preferences should be collected – it is considered an area of competition between investment companies,” explained Martin Greweldinger, Avaloq Group Chief Product Officer. “As such, we believe that banks and wealth managers that can offer the most comprehensive ESG service will be the ones that see stronger market growth.”
Today’s launch is the latest aspect of Avaloq’s green agenda, which also includes sourcing 100% of its energy from renewable sources, reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 9% in 2019 compared to 2018, and receiving a Climate Neutral Company label.
The new ESG investment solution will be available “starting next year.”
Founded in 1991, Switzerland-based Avaloq agreed to be acquired by NEC Corporation last month. The transaction, which is valued at more than $2.2 billion, is anticipated to close in April of 2021.
Embedded finance and payments platform Hydrogen announced a strategic investment today. FINLAB, a new incubator launched by EML Payments, completed what Hydrogen called an “initial investment” that will include a cross-platform integration that will make it easier for firms to offer smart apps linked to both physical and virtual payment cards.
“We are thrilled to be working with EML and have it as a strategic investor in Hydrogen,” company co-founder and CEO Mike Kane said. “Together, we’ll be able to bring innovative card offerings to the masses, making it easy for any organization to offer card capabilities. It’s embedded card services made easy.”
The terms of the investment were not disclosed. Hydrogen currently includes both SixThirty and Route 66 Ventures among its investors.
Hydrogen’s no-code platform enables financial and non-financial companies to offer fintech products and modules without needing to have any development experience. Those organizations with development teams can take advantage of Hydrogen’s low-code API option, which enables developers to build custom apps on top of REST-based APIs. Featuring orchestration, business logic, and data cleansing, the platform enables businesses to leverage a standardized data model that can help keep costs of integration low and the development time short.
“We love cementing deals and investing in payments trailblazers,” EML Managing Director and Group CEO Tom Cregan said. “Hydrogen, with the intensity of energy it has already infused into the industry, is no different. Our commitment is to assist this fast-growing entity in soaring within fintech via EML’s capabilities and FINLAB. It’s heartening to know Hydrogen feel in safe and trusted hands with the might of EML’s global reach.
Making its debut at FinovateEurope two years ago, Hydrogen announced in September that it was one of 20 companies selected to participate in Plug and Play’s 2020 Winter Fintech batch. Also that month, the company unveiled a partnership with fellow Finovate alum Dwolla and teamed up with market data and technology service provider Barchart.
Among its accolades, Hydrogen has been named FinTech Startup of the Year by KPMG Luxembourg and as a World Changing Technology by Fast Company. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in New York City.
PayPal, one of the fintech originals, has had its fair share of news headlines in the past year. The fintech has been busy with its acquisition of rewards platform Honey, bringing QR code payment technology back into style, launching a buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) offering, and helping its users embrace cryptocurrency.
So where will PayPal run with these in 2021?
The company recently made its intentions a bit more clear during its third quarter earnings call this week, and TechCrunch tuned in to dig up some analysis about the company’s plans for next year. Here are some of the takeaways.
Digital wallet redesign
PayPal has always been an alternative banking solution, but has lacked some of the tools to help it effectively compete with its traditional FI counterparts. The company plans to redesign its digital wallet by enhancing the direct deposit experience, offering billpay tools, providing check cashing capabilities, and integrating budgeting tools.
Combined, these elements will help PayPal offer a challenger banking experience. All the while, PayPal will benefit from having an established user base. As of the second quarter of this year, the company counted 346 million active accounts. Chime, one of the most popular challenger banks in the U.S., blanches in comparison with eight million active accounts.
The digital wallet redesign is expected to roll out in the first quarter of next year.
Honey integration
Last November, PayPal purchased online shopping rewards platform Honey for $4 billion. Since then, PayPal has left Honey relatively untouched.
This week, however, PayPal has made it clear it plans to integrate Honey into its existing apps to create a more holistic shopping experience. Users can use Honey’s Wish List tool to create a shopping list, sign up for price tracking notifications, and receive deals and rewards that are built into the PayPal checkout experience.
Merchants will receive shopper data based on their interaction with Honey and its tools. The data, which can help merchants drive sales, will be anonymized.
Cryptocurrency plans
PayPal teased its plans to offer support for cryptocurrencies earlier this year and announced a partnership late last month that will help users buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
Starting in the first half of next year, PayPal users in the U.S. will be able to transact using Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum at PayPal’s 28 million merchant clients. The company also plans to roll out the capabilities within its Venmo app and to international markets in that same time frame.
BNPL
In August, PayPal announced its own BNPL competitive service. Dubbed Pay in 4, the short-term payments installment product allows U.S. customers to pay for their purchase over the course of a six week period. The company has also launched a similar offering in the U.K. and France.
Starting next year, PayPal plans to integrate Pay in 4 into its apps.
Venmo expansion
PayPal-owned Venmo is expanding in a variety of areas. As mentioned above, the P2P payments app is adding support for cryptocurrencies next year.
Additionally, the company is building its business profiles, which it originally launched in July of this year; adding more financial tools; providing better shopping capabilities; and overhauling its checkout experience.
Putting artificial intelligence to work to help boost customer engagement in financial wellness, Personetics has announced a new partnership with Santander UK. Together, the two companies are offering a new digital solution, My Money Manager, integrated into Santander UK’s mobile banking app.
My Money Manager is designed to give users ready access to a variety of personalized, data-driven insights into their finances. The intelligent app learns as it is used, incorporating customer behavior, preferences, and feedback to provide alerts and tips to help keep users on track. Among the features of My Money Manager are expected deposit dates for recurring payments, push notifications for changes in scheduled payments, purchase analysis – including insight into category spending – as well as notification of expiring subscriptions and cards.
“We’re proud to be working with Santander to provide the technology to deliver personalized, proactive insights that significantly impact a customer’s financial confidence and ability to make lasting improvements to their financial situation,” Personetics CEO and co-founder David Sosna said. “Santander’s continued investment in customer-centric technologies demonstrates their innovative approach to customer engagement and digital innovation to better service their customers in a very tumultuous time.”
A Finovate alum since 2016, Personetics provides a customer engagement platform for financial services companies that enhances the financial customer journey with personalized insights, recommendations, and guidance. The platform leverages AI-driven chatbots to deliver contextual, financial advice and recommendations to help users reach their financial goals. Personetics notes that it’s technology has boosted digital engagement by 35% and saved new customers an average of $2,400 a year.
“My Money Manager is the result of a new kind of partnership between Santander and Personetics,” Santander UK Head of Customer Journey Design Andy Warren said. “Working collaboratively, the Personetics team is an extension of our internal teams, generating new use cases and co-creating beyond off-the-shelf solutions. Building long-lasting and meaningful relationships with our strategic partners is key to accelerate Santander’s digital transformation. We’re proud to bring innovation to our customers.”
Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, and New York, Personetics announced an extension of its partnership with Discount Bank in August. The new agreement helped the bank launch Smart Save, an auto-savings solution. In April, the company teamed up with Hyundai Card to add personalized insights as part of a new service called “Spending Care by Personetics.” Also this spring, Personetics joined the Avaloq.one ecosystem.
Drentlaw is a fourth generational banker, who is committed to serving her community and keeping the bank within the family. She is passionate about the uniqueness of community banks and their importance in the financial industry – especially given the role of community banks in the recent disbursement of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Drentlaw continues to build on and add to the bank’s family-like culture, developing leaders, and helping her team achieve strategic plans. She’s also involved in her local chamber of commerce, mentorship organizations, and non-profits.
What got you interested in finance and banking, and what do you enjoy most in your role?
AnitaDrentlaw: Banking has been a family business for five generations, and I’m proud to carry on our family traditions and legacies. I’ve found community banking to be a perfect fit with my personality, lifestyle, and values.
What I like most about the role is the variety; it all starts with how we’re able to help and give back to the community. Community banking is about finding ways to work together to make something great. On any given day, I’m working with four generations of my family, including my daughter who worked with us over the summer.
I’ve also enjoyed being able to create a culture that makes everyone feel like they’re part of this family; they want to be here and are as proud of the New Market Bank as we are.
Are there family legacies you hope to pass onto future generations as it relates to the bank and its culture?
Drentlaw: Each generation builds upon our family’s culture to create something stronger. We have a great leadership development program focused on developing our team as well as the next generation of bankers. Our family is committed to staying a family-owned bank; our community has an appreciation for our commitment to staying a family-owned institution and giving back. That is a big part of our legacy.
I want to pass on the idea that not everything is black and white. I came from an accounting background where I believed everything always had to be perfect. But my dad changed this for me. He told me to accept that 80% is sometimes good enough and sometimes there’s gray in the world. This challenged me to think beyond my idea of perfection and do the same for others at our bank.
What is the difference between managing and leading? And how does it impact the bank’s culture?
Drentlaw: In the leadership development program that we have attended, our instructor, Erik Therwanger of ThinkGREAT, always says, “manage the work, but lead the people.” I think that statement is so true. We’re a bank that likes to lead; we empower our team to be leaders and provide them with the tools necessary to be successful. Being a leader requires having a stake in the game. We want our team to feel like they’re part of a larger vision and mission – one that they’ve helped create, have ownership in, and feel strongly about accomplishing. We’re not in the business of managing our employees, but want them to feel like the bank is just as much a part of their family as it ours.
Why is it important to strike a balance between in-person and digital interactions these days?
Drentlaw: There’s a place for both in-person banking and digital interactions, and the pandemic has certainly proved this concept. The need to move to a largely digital environment, for our team as well as customers, was possible thanks to the modern technologies we’ve added from partners like Jack Henry.
Moving forward, we must be available to customers whenever, wherever, and however we can be. While digital has expanded our customer touchpoints, it’s not – and shouldn’t be – the only way we communicate and build relationships. People bank at community banks like ours for the relationship; we’re the people who care – the ones at the football games, church events, restaurants. People might not think brick and mortar is important, yet branches aren’t completely obsolete, and customers still visit them. We want to be there for our customers for things they’d prefer to do in-person, as well as those that they choose to do online. For us, it’s about offering choices to our customers to meet their lifestyles and banking needs.
Why is advocating for women – and yourself – important in the industry?
Drentlaw: As women in the fintech industry, we have a duty to inspire and show other women what success can be. Advocating for yourself means standing up for what you believe in and never settling for anything less than you deserve. It’s about being brave enough to have the tough conversations and challenging the status quo. For younger women, it’s about finding their voice and tapping into the wisdom needed to reach the next level. We’re building the next generation of leaders in the industry, and that must include strong female leadership and influence.
Where do you think the future of fintech is heading over the next 12 months?
Drentlaw: This past year has shown the importance of community. We were able to help 360 small businesses in the South Metro tap into the Paycheck Protection Program – many of which were not existing customers. These loans infused more than $25 million into small businesses and our communities.
Next, fintech can help community bankers continue to revive our economies with greater customer insights that allow us to be more consultative and develop even deeper relationships. I have a feeling we’re going to see strong use cases launched to strengthen the relationships that consumers and businesses have with their bankers.
The kids section of the fintech universe is making headlines as Strive – a U.K.-based challenger bank that helps parents preach financial literacy and practice smart financial behavior with their kids – made good on its acquisition of digital piggy bank GoSave. The company went live with the new functionality today in London.
“We’ve been working with GoSave for a period of time now with some of our clients, and the idea of a youth focused challenger bank kept coming up,” Strive CSO Ivan Muck said. “We see a real gap in the market to build a solution for parents that grows with the child, so it’s not just a debit card, it’s a whole 0-18 proposition that parents can start at any age.”
Strive is presently accepting “expressions of interest” of ahead of a Seedrs crowdfunding campaign “in a few months.” The company has pledged to donate a portion of sales of its digital piggy bank to help support financial literacy through youth charity MyBnk.
California-based GoSave was launched on KickStarter in 2018, and went on to earn recognition as part of VISA’s Everywhere Initiative later that year. The company is also an alum of Techstars Berlin (2019). Check out a profile of GoSave from February from our sister publication, Fintech Futures.
Courtesy of a partnership with Mastercard, Jassby’s virtual debt card gives kids a contactless and cashless way to spend money raised from chores, allowances, or gifts. The card can be used anywhere contactless payments are accepted via mobile device, and Jassby is offering the card with no fee for the first six months and no fee afterwards as long as the card is used once a month.
As with Strive, Jassby is also taking names for early registration for its “virtual debit card for families.”
“The Virtual Debit Card is another example of putting our customers first and delivering a product that meets a growing need in the market,” Jassby founder and CEO Benny Nachman said. “I started Jassby to prepare my kids for life in the real world and thousands of families have joined us for the same reasons. With continued support, we’re able to empower kids with the hands-on financial experience necessary for today’s new normal.”
Founded in 2018, Jassby scored $5 million in funding in March. The company includes Blumberg Capital and Correlation Ventures among its investors.
There were many themes that fintech analysts expected to dominate this year. But there were few among them who had “Buy Now Pay Later” (BNPL) on their 2020 bingo cards.
From big recent M&A in the BNPL space to the rash of installment payment offerings recently launched by both fintechs and incumbent financial services companies alike, it is clear that Buy Now Pay Later is one of the hottest trends in fintech and e-commerce right now.
We thought this would be a good time to catch up with one of the leaders in the BNPL movement. QuadPay co-CEO and co-founder Brad Lindenberg shared with us his insights into what’s driving interest and excitement in the Buy Now Pay Later space, and what we can expect to see in the months and years to come.
Finovate: The Buy Now Pay Later phenomenon is one of the more unexpected developments in e-commerce this year. From the perspective of a company that’s been active in this space for years, what made the difference in 2020?
Brad Lindenberg: There are a number of factors in play that have led to the rapid ascent of buy now, pay later (BNPL) globally in 2020. First, consumers – particularly millennials – are wary of high interest credit cards and accruing additional debt. This concern was prevalent before 2020, as many millennials are saddled with student loan debt, but now has been heightened by the economic impact from COVID-19. The BNPL industry has been a major disruptor to credit cards and companies like QuadPay represent the new world of interest-free, transparent digital payment products.
Secondly, BNPL empowers retailers to provide their customers with flexibility to pay over time, which ultimately fosters customer loyalty, increases conversions, and a better customer experience. In the case of QuadPay, merchants that have implemented our BNPL product for e-commerce have seen a 20 percent increase in conversions and 60 percent increased average checkout value.
I would also point out that for QuadPay the BNPL phenomenon is not solely within e-commerce. With QuadPay, consumers can use BNPL to shop everywhere for everything – whether it’s online or in the-physical retail locations of the thousands of merchants on the QuadPay app. QuadPay has direct partnerships with 7,200 world-class retailers that are promoted within the QuadPay app to our four million and growing customer base in the U.S.
Finovate: We can’t talk about 2020 without talking about COVID. How has the pandemic affected both your company, and your company’s relationship with its customers?
Lindenberg: In many ways, QuadPay is the right company at the right time. Almost overnight the industry witnessed a drastic shift in consumer spending to focus almost exclusively online with retailers responding in kind to support that demand and QuadPay was able to facilitate those needs on both sides. We have built a digitally-forward payment product that fits the mobile-first lifestyle of today’s budget conscious consumers that can also be quickly and efficiently implemented by merchants across industries and of all sizes trying to adapt. We have experienced an uptick in interest in BNPL overall, but particularly from small and medium businesses – this has by far been our fastest growing vertical since the pandemic.
Finovate: In this increasingly competitive space, what does QuadPay offer that its competitors don’t?
Lindenberg: Competition is inevitable in a fast-growing and successful category like BNPL and serves as validation that the credit card industry is badly broken. The entry of new players has not changed our strategy or lessened our opportunity. We remain laser-focused on providing our users the best possible products fueled by our drive to innovate. Our recent merger with Aussie payments pioneer Zip Co. (ASX: Z1P) forged a $1 billion global fintech alliance and has us solidly positioned to continue our leadership position in this category.
QuadPay’s true differentiator remains innovation – we are the only installment platform that gives consumers the power to shop anywhere – at any retail location, on any website and with QuadPay’s integrated merchants on the app – and that’s a substantial advantage. We believe our recent partnerships with Fiserv, MasterCard Vyze and GameStop are key indicators of our continued mission to forge the future of BNPL.
Finovate: How easy is it for consumers to qualify for BNPL compared to traditional consumer financing options? Who is left “holding the bag” if the consumer does not hold up their end of the bargain?
Lindenberg: The BNPL qualification process is drastically modern compared to that of traditional consumer financing options. We leverage proprietary technology and algorithms to assess the eligibility of each applicant across a variety of variables and approval can happen within minutes. There is no hard inquiry to the consumer’s credit history. It is in our own interest to approve consumers for an amount commensurate with eligibility. Our platform caters to purchases between $35 – $1,000 so the risk is relatively small. Less than 2 percent of our customers are late to make repayments in any given month – far below the national average for delinquent credit card payment. And in the event they are unable to pay, they can no longer make purchases on the QuadPay platform.
Finovate: Some critics of BNPL say that, unlike old-fashioned layaway programs, Buy Now Pay Later encourages consumption at the expense of saving. How do you think we should understand BNPL in the overall context of individual financial wellness?
Lindenberg: Financial responsibility is built into our model. Our mission is to provide consumers a transparent, financially responsible way to expand their spending power without the debt-spiral of credit cards. Installment payments are set to be charged automatically on the due date, so customers can just sit back and relax without worrying about missing a payment. QuadPay sends SMS and email reminders before installments are due so customers can make sure they have enough funds available to cover an upcoming installment.
In the event a customer can’t make a payment, we can adjust their payment schedule at their request. And if they stop making payments all together, they can no longer use the platform for purchases until the balance is paid. It’s really that simple and easy. There’s no impact on the consumer’s credit score and no interest accrues which is the real driver of most debt. We are here to help, not hurt, consumers. In fact, we have seen many consumers leverage QuadPay to expand their spending power for things like groceries, personal care, and other essentials particularly during COVID-19.
We very much see QuadPay as a critical first step for many consumers to learn and implement overall healthier budgeting habits which could ultimately improve savings.
Finovate: You recently announced a partnership with Gamestop. What is the significance of this relationship?
Lindenberg: The GameStop partnership was rolled out just ahead of the highly-anticipated release and pre-order availability of the new Sony PlayStation 5. It serves as a great example of how retailers can really leverage flexible payment solutions like BNPL to get the latest and greatest products into the hands of an enthusiastic customer-base ahead of the 2020 holiday shopping season.
We are thrilled to be partnered with GameStop, the world’s largest video game retailer, as they look to provide their customers with a simple and flexible way to pay over time both online and at the point of sale inside their more than 3,300 U.S. retail locations.
Finovate: QuadPay has also received significant backing from Goldman Sachs and Oaktree recently. What does this relationship do for QuadPay going forward?
Lindenberg: QuadPay has secured a committed revolving line of credit of up to $200 million from Goldman Sachs, with mezzanine financing provided by Oaktree Capital. The support of two strong institutions like Goldman Sachs and Oaktree is a testament to QuadPay’s leadership position within the BNPL industry.
Finovate: What is the future of Buy Now Pay Later? As a consumer financing option, what innovations have yet to be brought to this space that we might see in the next few years?
Lindenberg: The future for BNPL is very bright. We are only in the nascent stages of adoption in the U.S. market and expect installment payments to become as ubiquitous as “Visa accepted here” logos at checkout or at the register in-store. Consumers will begin to expect merchants to offer interest-free, installment payments as an alternative to high interest credit cards. We also believe that as contactless payments become more widely accepted, BNPL will continue to flourish.
On our part, we will continue to introduce new features and capabilities that make it easier to search and find particular types of items across retailers so shoppers can find the best deals on the items they want. We recently acquired Urge, a retail search engine providing shoppers access to all the world’s leading brands, stores and online retailers in one place which will change the game for BNPL globally.
It’s hard to plan ahead right now. We don’t know when we’ll be gathering in large numbers again, what work will look like next year, or when everything will reopen. But we do know that work still must be done: relationships maintained, customers satisfied, and new business brought in the door.
FinovateEurope is here to help. We’ve structured our digital offering to provide meaningful networking opportunities; insightful, thought-provoking content; and exposure to new, innovative technology. All with the goal of helping you navigate these changing circumstances strategically and intelligently.
Here’s how to get involved:
Demo: We’ve retooled the demo experience for digital events. Greg Palmer, VP of Finovate, joins each digital demo to create engaging interactions. Moderated Q&A sessions follow the demos to help companies build relationships. And demoers walk away with 200+ leads on average. Learn more.
Sponsor: We have a whole host of new and exciting sponsorship opportunities on our virtual event platform. Lead capture, gamification, virtual networking, branded booths, and chatrooms, and more. Download the prospectus.
Startup Booster: These special tickets for startups cost just £199 for all three event days. Plus, we’re pulling together special content geared towards these early-stage companies. See if you qualify now.
Attend: Tickets are at their lowest price, £399. And there are deals for governments, fintech leaders, and 3+ attendees. Check it out.
Find your path forward at FinovateEurope Digital 2021 with any of these options and plan ahead with confidence.
How have the major secular trends in fintech been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis?
In his afternoon presentation at FinovateWest Digital, November 23 through 25, Jacob Jegher, President of Javelin Strategy and Research, will take a close look at which innovations in fintech are moving the needle in terms of boosting customer engagement, creating efficiencies, and helping financial institutions and financial service providers grow revenues.
Formerly Vice President of Global Solution Marketing and Head of Analyst Relations at FIS and, before that, serving for more than a decade as Research Director for Celent, Jegher brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the banking technology industry. In addition to being widely cited in both mainstream and financial media – including The Wall Street Journal, The Globe and Mail, Bloomberg, and The New York Times – Jegher is a judge and coach at the Innotribe Startup Challenge.
“There are so many different pieces that (fintechs and financial institutions) have to watch out for in changing times,” Jegher told Finovate VP Greg Palmer during the Finovate Podcast earlier this year. “Pitfalls today include: how do you manage your budget and your cash flow associated with investment? What are you going to decide to keep pushing the envelope on and what’s going to get cut back? It’s just a realistic point of view given what’s taking place with company budgets – whether they are fintechs or financial institutions.”
To catch Jegher’s presentation at FinovateWest Digital – as well as the rest of our three-day, all-digital fintech event – visit our FinovateWest Digital hub and save your spot today. Take advantage of Early Bird discounts when you buy your ticket by November 13.
Small business banking solution provider BlueVine announced late last week that its BlueVine Business Banking offering is now generally available for small businesses looking for an integrated banking, payments, and lending solution. BlueVine Business Banking gives SMEs online services and tools to help them manage their finances, deposit checks, transfer funds, and make bill and vendor payments. The solution includes BlueVine’s Business Checking product, which the company said had seen “rapid adoption” by its customers during the recently-concluded beta testing period.
“Now more than ever, small businesses need simple, easy-to-use financial solutions, services, and guidance that support – not nickel-and-dime – them on their path to recovery amid the pandemic,” BlueVine CEO and co-founder Eyal Lifshitz said. “Over the last year, we have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to innovate and iterate on our BlueVine Business Checking product based on tremendous beta customer reception and feedback. We are thrilled to provide all small business owners with access to sign up for an account today, to help them achieve a better financial tomorrow.”
BlueVine Business Checking offers 1.0% interest on balances of $1,000 or more. Beginning this month, the company will offer 1.0% interest with no minimum balances – up to $100,000. The accounts include two free checkbooks, and no monthly ATM, NSF, or incoming wire fees. SMEs get unlimited transactions with no minimum balance requirements, and business owners can apply for the accounts in as little as 60 seconds.
BlueVine notes that more than 20,000 small businesses have signed up for the company’s Business Banking Accounts, which will also now feature BlueVine Payments. This enhanced billpay functionality enables businesses to pay vendors and bills from a directory of more than 40,000 common billers and registered payees – as well as setup their own payee. Businesses can pay by bank account or debit card, and the company’s payment is then sent to vendors by ACH, wire, or check. BlueVine added that payment by credit card is currently in beta testing.
The new product launch was also an occasion to announce a new partnership. BlueVine said that it has teamed up with fellow Finovate alum – and Visa acquisition target – Plaid to enable its small business banking customers to access external accounts when making payments or other transactions via the BlueVine dashboard. The partnership will also add BlueVine as a supported bank account on the Plaid Exchange Network.
Founded in 2013 and making its Finovate debut one year later at FinovateFall, BlueVine has raised more than $767 million in equity funding, most recently announcing a $102.5 million investment in November 2019. The company picked up a debt financing with Atalaya Capital Management that enabled them to secure a $75 million revolving credit facility in September. In August, BlueVine teamed up with DoorDash to help restaurant owners apply for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
BlueVine’s participation in the PPP this year has been notable. The company said that it processed more than 155,000 emergency government loans for SMEs, valued at more than $4.5 billion, as part of the relief effort.
The biggest news in international fintech was the $34.5 billion pricing of Ant Group’s upcoming initial public offering. We covered the news earlier this week. The company will be making a dual IPO, offering half of its shares on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and the other half on Shanghai’s Star Market. The date for the Hong Kong IPO has been set for next week, November 5th. No date has been determined for Ant Group’s IPO on the Shanghai-based exchange.
The $34.5 billion target would represent a new record, topping the $29.4 billion raised by Saudi Aramco earlier this year in its IPO. Ant Group anticipates earning a valuation of more than $313 billion. This amount would rival that of most of the biggest banks in the U.S., with the only exception being JP Morgan Chase with its market cap of $434 billion.
On the European fintech front, a handful of Finovate alums have made headlines this week. Account takeover prevention specialist SpyCloudannounced a partnership with Southern European-based information security solutions value-added distributor, DotForce. U.K.-based Icon Solutions, a payments technology provider, picked up a strategic investment from JPMorgan. In the Americas, FISteamed up with Brazilian financial services firm Afinz to help the company enhance its private-label credit card processing capabilities. Meanwhile to the north, Toronto, Ontario, Canada’s Finn AIinked a deal with Michigan-based United Federal Credit Union to bring conversational chat to the firm’s 200,000 members.
Here is our look at fintech around the world.
Central and Eastern Europe
German business banking platform Penta partners with savings marketplace Raisin.
Lithuanian government authorizes new Centre of Excellence in Anti-Money Laundering.
German sharia-compliant banking app, insha, raises €2.5 million en route to planned U.K. launch.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Bahrain-based open banking platform Tarabut Gateway launches in the UAE.
Oman Banks Association urges lenders in the country to embrace fintech and open banking.
Turkish fintech Payguru introduces new pay by text message service.
Central and Southern Asia
Indian fintech GetVantage raises $5 million in seed funding.
Smart Engines partners with Alfa Bank Kazakhstan to power digital onboarding and online payments.
PhonePe, an online payments company based in India, announces availability as a payment option at more than two million locations in Maharashtra.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Risk analytics software company Provenir partners with Mexico’s Estudia Mas to automate and digitize risk decisioning for education loans.
Visa to acquire YellowPepper, a company that supports Latin American and Caribbean financial institutions and startups.
Real-time financial data aggregator Afterbanks begins operations in Mexico.
Asia-Pacific
Rapyd launches its “all-in-one” payment capabilities in South Korea courtesy of a partnership with local PSPs.
Hong Kong-based virtual bank Mox onboards 35,000 customers in its first month of operation.
TechinAsia looks at the “brutal” competition in the Vietnamese e-wallet market.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Evolve Credit, a Nigerian loan and financial product marketplace, raises $25,000 in funding from Nigerian VC firm Microtraction.
Fintech infrastructure platform Nium announces expansion into Africa.
Two South African fintechs, B2B digital lender Lulalend and biometric digital identity company Paycode, earn recognition by the 2020 Inclusive Fintech Awards.
