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Tales from the Crypto: Bitcoin ETFs, Circle’s IPO, and Why Jamie Dimon Still Hates the Space

Tales from the Crypto: Bitcoin ETFs, Circle’s IPO, and Why Jamie Dimon Still Hates the Space
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Cryptocurrency, David's column, List series

With apologies to Dr. Dre … the spot Bitcoin ETFs are here and everybody’s celebratin’!

This week on Tales from the Crypto we’re taking a look at the launch and reception of the long-awaited spot bitcoin ETFs. We’ll also learn a little more about stablecoin issuer Circle’s IPO plans, and the latest – and maybe last – from JPM Morgan Chase CEO and perennial crypto critic Jamie Dimon on what he hates – and likes – about crypto.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Have Arrived!

Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved eleven, count ’em eleven, spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Digital asset manager CoinShares reported new inflows of more than $870 million into the new ETFs in the first three days. According to investment research firm CFRA, investors traded $4.6 billion worth of shares in these new funds on the first day.

While bitcoin ETFs have existed before 2024, the current spot bitcoin ETF fixes at least one major problem of the earlier bitcoin ETFs. In the past, bitcoin ETFs tracked bitcoin prices by holding bitcoin derivative products. Managers of these funds bought and sold bitcoin futures in order to try and copy the asset’s changes in value. This inefficient process often meant that earlier bitcoin ETFs did not always accurately reflect the actual changes in digital asset’s price.

By contrast, the current incarnation of bitcoin ETFs actually own bitcoin. This means that the newer funds are likely provide a truer exposure to the cryptocurrency.

The new bitcoin ETFs and their ticker symbols are below. Expense ratios for these funds range broadly from a low of 0.20% for the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF to a high of 1.5% for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. Compare these to expense ratios for other popular ETFs such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust or SPY, which has a fee of 0.09%, and the Invesco QQQ ETF, which has an expense ratio of 0.20%.

  • Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB)
  • ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB)
  • Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC)
  • BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)
  • Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR)
  • Vaneck Bitcoin Trust (HODL)
  • Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC)
  • WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW)
  • Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO)
  • Hasdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI)
  • Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC)

The statement announcing the SEC’s approval of the spot bitcoin ETF (the SEC uses the term “exchange-traded product” – ETP) more than reflects the agency’s ambivalence toward the new offering. “I have often said that the Commission acts within the law and how the courts interpret the law,” SEC chair Gary Gensler writes early on in a statement that details the agency’s efforts to regulate digital assets. His overall message – with its bitcoin-only caveats and his reminder that the current filings are “similar to those we have disapproved in the past”? “The Court of Appeals made us do it.”

The statement actually concludes with a quip about how bitcoin ETFs compare unfavorably, in Chair Gensler’s opinion, with metals ETFs. After asserting that “we’re merit neutral,” Gensler observes dryly: “Bitcoin is primarily a speculative, volatile asset that’s also used for illicit activity including ransomware, money laundering, sanction evasion, and terrorist financing.”

You almost can hear the sound of the dinner plate crashing against the table as the aggrieved server finally delivers your meal and sulks away, muttering under their breath.

Circling the IPO Wagons

The arrival of the new bitcoin ETFs is not the only big news in crypto this month. Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin known colloquially as Circle, has filed a draft registration statement for a proposed initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Neither the number of shares to be offered nor the price range for the proposed offering were noted.

This week’s announcement represents Circle’s second bite at the “going public” apple. The company had planned to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transaction in 2021. That deal would have given the company a valuation of about $9 billion. Unfortunately, the transaction did not take place. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said that the company simply failed to meet the SEC’s requirements in a timely fashion.

“We are disappointed the proposed transaction timed out,” Allaire said when the deal fell through. “However, becoming a public company remains part of Circle’s core strategy to enhance trust and transparency, which has never been more important.”

Founded in 2013, Circle is the principal operator of the U.S. stablecoin USDC. The company is licensed as a Money Transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Institutions. USDC offers instant settlement compared to legacy payments, near-zero costs, open and global access, as well as ready availability on popular exchanges and protocols, and broad and growing use in the developer community. Circle also offers products such as programmable wallets and its smart contract platform, currently in beta.

Hula Hoops, Pet Rocks, and Bitcoin?

You have to wonder if all this good news for bitcoin is getting under the skin of the digital asset’s biggest bête noire, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.

Dimon was recently interviewed on CNBC when he announced that this would be the last time he would publicly offer an opinion on bitcoin. That said, Dimon left us with plenty of anti-crypto quips to keep us company for some time to come.

Crypto use cases? “AML, fraud, sex trafficking and tax avoidance,” Dimon suggested. At the same time, he said, cryptocurrency is a “pet rock” that “does nothing.” Dimon is indifferent to what others such as Fidelity and Blackrock that have shown interest in bitcoin ETFs, saying that “I don’t want to tell you what to do. My personal advice is don’t get involved.”

Then again, there are some caveats to Dimon’s disinterest in cryptocurrencies. For one, Dimon does say that there are potentially interesting innovations with regard to non-bitcoin crypto, particularly the tokenization of real-world assets. Second, while Dimon himself may not be a fan of crypto, his firm is apparently playing a significant role in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) as an authorized participant.

Photo by Miguel Acosta

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TreviPay Launches Universal Acceptance Solution in Partnership with Mastercard

TreviPay Launches Universal Acceptance Solution in Partnership with Mastercard
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, TreviPay
  • B2B payments and invoicing network TreviPay launched its Universal Acceptance solution.
  • The technology will enable suppliers to offer trade credit financing to qualified buyers.
  • TreviPay made its Finovate debut two years ago at FinovateFall.

Courtesy of a partnership with Mastercard, B2B payments and invoicing network TreviPay launched its Universal Acceptance solution this week. The new offering will enable suppliers who accept Mastercard to extend net terms, or trade credit financing, as well as provide SKU-level invoicing to business customers.

TreviPay CEO Brandon Spear called the launch of the Universal Acceptance solution “an industry milestone.” According to Spear, the solution eliminates much of the complexity of B2B purchasing by taking a “consumer-like” approach to the buying experience. Research commissioned by the company revealed inefficient processes, incorrect invoicing, and slow onboarding as three key pain points for international business buyers. This research also indicated that trade credit was a leading payment option among these same buyers.

To this end, TreviPay’s Universal Acceptance solution enables suppliers who accept credit cards to offer net-terms financing to qualified buyers. TreviPay automates onboarding, financing, and accounts receivable to enhance efficiency and streamline the process. The platform also automatically sends invoices to the merchant’s buyer. This means that suppliers don’t have to worry about the cost and time spent pursuing outstanding or late payments. TreviPay assumes all risks relating to collection and guaranteeing settlement to merchants upfront.

TreviPay’s platform can be implemented in its original API integration directly into the seller’s point of acceptance. Users can also deploy the platform without API integration, relying on Mastercard’s global acceptance network instead.

Rebecca Meeker, SVP, Global Partnerships and Segments, Mastercard, praised TreviPay and Mastercard’s “shared vision to bring consumer-grade convenience to B2B transactions.” Meeker underscored the “seamless invoice reconciliation and faster settlement” made possible via the partnership.

Founded in 1980, TreviPay is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. The company made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2022. At the conference, TreviPay’s Rissi Lovern and Max Almerico demoed TreviPay’s Small Business Supplier Payments Network (SBSN). The network enables banks to offer a wide range of products to their small business customers via access to the small business B2B trade credit market.

Last fall, TreviPay launched its Financial Partner Gateway. A new suite of APIs, the Financial Partner Gateway enables banks to deliver solutions including automated accounts receivable, underwriting, and trade credit management. The Gateway gives banks new revenue opportunities while helping TreviPay expand internationally. In August, the company introduced its support for cross-currency, B2B sales.

Photo by Luciann Photography

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Finovate Global Switzerland: Temenos Unveils Enterprise Services, Rivero Raises $7 Million

Finovate Global Switzerland: Temenos Unveils Enterprise Services, Rivero Raises $7 Million
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finastra, Finovate Global, MasterCard, nanoPay, Nubank

Swiss fintech Temenos launched its end-to-end Temenos Enterprise Services on the Temenos Banking Cloud this week. The new offering will enable banks to lower the cost, complexity, and risk of modernization, and deploy new software solutions in 24 hours.

Temenos President Product and Chief Operating Officer Prima Varadhan called the offering “a game-changing approach.” Varadhan added, “the ability to deploy fast, take advantage of a functionally-rich system from day 1, and benefit from continuous updates, help banks to attack the largest cost elements of running core banking software.”

Temenos Enterprise Services features 120+ pre-packaged banking products, predefined customer journeys, and more than 700 pre-configured APIs. The offering enables banks, regardless of size, to launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and have a build and test environment within 24 hours. Whether the goal is the launch new business lines or to modernize legacy systems, Temenos Enterprise Services enables banks to benefit from continuous updates, optimal security controls, resilience, and high-performance Service Level Agreements. Banks and FI will also get immediate access to the Temenos Exchange ecosystem with another 115+ complementary solutions.

“Speed, security, and business agility are key for banks to compete and thrive in the digital world,” Varadhan said. “With our end-to-end Temenos Enterprise Services on Temenos Banking Cloud, banks of all sizes can have a ready-to-go system in 24 hours with pre-configured banking products, turn on new features, and benefit from faster time to value.”

A Finovate alum since 2013, Temenos counts more than 700 banks and 3,000+ FIs across 150 countries as users of its technology. The Swiss fintech’s offerings support retail, business, and corporate banking, as well as wealth management and services for fund administrators. Temenos ended 2023 with a new partnership with Lesha Bank, a Qatar-based investment bank that migrated to Temenos’ core banking platform in December.

Swiss payments technology company Rivero raised $7 million in Series A funding this week. Inference Partners and 6 Degrees Capital led the round. Kraken Ventures, Seed X Liechtenstein, the venture arm of PostFinance and angel investor and former Adyen COO, Robert Kraal, also participated in the funding. The company will use the capital to fuel expansion into new markets, enhance product development, and add to its workforce.

“We’re thrilled to share the news of our Series A round,” Rivero CEO and co-founder Thomas Müller said, “especially given the current challenging market conditions. We take this as confirmation of our strong business model and clear market demand for our products.”

A specialist in payment digitization and automation, Rivero makes payments easier for financial institutions, especially issuing banks. The company has two primary SaaS offerings: Kajo, a payment scheme compliance solution, and Amiko, which provides tools for fraud recovery and dispute management. Rivero has forged partnerships with more than 20+ financial institutions including Swiss bank Cembra, which deployed Amiko, and payment card issuer Cornercard, which deployed Kajo.

“Globally, banks spend billions of dollars on scheme compliance and payment dispute management,” 6 Degrees Capital partner Thibault D’hondt noted. “Rivero is the first of its kind to offer a suite of SaaS solutions to help banks and processors address the challenge.”

Founded in 2019, Rivero is based in Zurich, Switzerland.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • German crypto custodian Fiona raised $15 million in strategic funding at a valuation of $100 million.
  • Estonian fintech Money Industries secured a $1.5 million investment led by Caucasus Ventures.
  • Omnicredit, Romania’s first micro financing, scoring and factoring company, won the “Best Digital Lending in CEE Among Fintechs” award from the SME Banking Club Association.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • MENA-based Paymob teamed up with GCC-based shopping and payments platform Tamara.
  • Ooredoo, a Qatar-based fintech, forged a partnership with Commercial Bank to launch its direct debit solution.
  • MENA-based payments solutions provider Magnati collaborated with Oxinus Holdings to enhance payments in the food and beverage business.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Indian pay tech Mylapay raised $550,000 in seed funding.
  • nanopay brought its remittance solution, Foree Remittance, to Pakistan courtesy of a partnership with the National Bank of Pakistan.
  • India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) integrated with Singapore-based PayNow to support remittance flows from Indian’s in Singapore back home.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Conta Simples, an expense management and corporate card services platform based in Brazil, secured $41.5 million in new funding.
  • Argentina-based fintech Ualá launched the country’s first no-fee credit card.
  • Brazilian fintech Nubank to expand into Colombia.

Asia-Pacific

  • Lien Viet Post Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LPBank) partnered with Finastra.
  • BitGo secured in principle approval to launch operations in Singapore.
  • Funding for fintech startups in Indonesia fell by more than 50% last year, according to a report from Tracxn Technologies.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Mastercard partnered with illicocash to launch virtual card program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
  • IT Web Africa looked at the potential for fintech development in Ethiopia.
  • Vienna Payment Solutions teamed up with Interswitch East Africa (Kenya).

Photo by H. Emre

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Danske Bank Taps Backbase to Enhance Digital CX

Danske Bank Taps Backbase to Enhance Digital CX
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Backbase, Daily news
  • Danske Bank has signed a deal with engagement banking solutions provider Backbase.
  • Danske Bank will tap Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform to help tailor its digital experience to suit its users’ needs and preferences.
  • Among Backbase’s most recent partnerships are FrankieOne and SavvyMoney.

Engagement banking solutions provider Backbase inked a deal with Denmark-based Danske Bank this week.

“This engagement is a testament to our customer focus and our commitment to ensuring the best digital banking experience for the future,” said Danske Bank Chief Operating Officer Frans Woelders. “A new platform that works across the web, mobile apps, and our adviser tools is one of the ambitions in Danske Bank’s Forward ’28 strategy, and the agreement with Backbase is the next step towards achieving that ambition.”

Under today’s deal, Danske Bank will leverage to Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform, allowing the bank to enhance the customer experience by tailoring the digital experience to suit the user’s needs and preferences.

Specifically, Backbase cites four aspects of digital banking that its Engagement Banking Platform can enhance, including:

  1. A mobile-first model that guides customers between automated and expert advice.
  2. A modernized and simplified IT landscape that reduces the number of siloed applications.
  3. A unified platform that consolidates data, business logic, and workflows into a single platform for customers and bank employees.
  4. More agility, thanks to enhanced flexibility that allows for swift implementation of business capabilities.

Expounding on the last point, Danske Bank Head of Personal Customers and Financial Crime Risk and Prevention Christian Bornfeld said, “This platform will allow us to take our interaction with customers through our digital solutions to the next level and to introduce enhancements at greater speed than ever before. It will thus enable us to provide market-leading convenience and personalization for our customers with great insights, increased proactivity, and easy access to assistance and advice.”

Backbase, which is on a self-described mission “to re-architect banking around the customer,” was an early entrant to the fintech space. Founded in 2003, the Amsterdam-based company offers a range of digital banking solutions, including onboarding, lending, investing, and customer support. Among Backbase’s existing partnerships are FrankieOne, which signed with the fintech last September, and SavvyMoney, which initiated its partnership last August.

Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA

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The Finovate Podcast: Fintech Funding in 2024; Neurodiversity in Banking

The Finovate Podcast: Fintech Funding in 2024; Neurodiversity in Banking
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Mahalo Banking, Podcasting

Start your year with a pair of brand new conversations from the Finovate Podcast!

First, join podcast host and Finovate VP Greg Palmer as he sits down with Tamara Steffens, Managing Director, TR Ventures.

An early stage venture investor with more than 20 years of experience, Steffens shares her insights and perspective on what’s in store for fintech and the funding ecosystem in 2024. Episode 198.

Next, catch up with Greg Palmer as he talks with Denny Howell, Chief Operating Officer with Mahalo Banking.

Mahalo Banking won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall last September. In this conversation, Howell explains why Mahalo emphasized neurodiversity as part of its goal of building inclusive technologies. Episode 199.

Photo by Blaz Erzetic

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Open Banking Firm Link Money Teams Up with Payments Platform Optty

Open Banking Firm Link Money Teams Up with Payments Platform Optty
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • Open banking platform Link Money announced a strategic partnership with payments platform Optty.
  • The partnership will enable Optty’s merchant clients and partners to access Link Money’s Pay by Bank solution.
  • Optty’s platform integrates with 115+ of the most popular alternative payment methods in the world.

Pay by bank is one of the biggest trends in fintech. And a new partnership between open banking platform Link Money and payments platform Optty will help more merchants and customers take advantage of it.

“Through this partnership, we will enable merchants to shift volume away from the most expensive rails and dramatically reduce costs while also reducing fraud and churn,” Link Money VP of Strategy Shaun Vanderkaap said.

The strategic partnership will enable Optty’s U.S. merchant clients and partners to use Link Money’s Pay by Bank solution. The payment option gives merchants a way to keep processing fees low, mitigate credit card fraud, and limit customer churn. Between the convenience of account-to-account (A2A) payments and concerns over credit card fees and the threat of fraud, being able to make payments directly from bank accounts has become an increasingly popular option for consumers, merchants, and financial institutions alike.

Optty founder and CEO Natasha Zurnamer said that the collaboration supports the company’s emphasis on “payment inclusivity and choice.” Zurnamer explained, “By integrating diverse payment options into our platform, (we are) empowering merchants to offer tailored checkout experiences in minutes.”

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Singapore, Optty supports nine different dynamic payment architectures. Buy Now Pay Later, digital wallets, credit and debit cards, gift cards, cryptocurrencies, loyalty and rewards, bank transfers, and payouts are all available from Optty via a single API integration. Optty also offers services ranging from carbon calculators and fraud protection to transaction review/optimization and network tokenization. The platform supports 120 currencies, is available in 75+ markets around the world, and has 400+ individual integrations to date. The technology is available as both a white-label product as well as a directly integrated solution.

Link Money specializes in making it easy for consumers to pay directly from their bank. The company leverages open banking to give merchants an alternative payment solution that lowers costs and increases convenience. To use the service, customers securely connect to their bank, select the account from which the payment will be made, and then initiate the payment. Link Money guarantees the payment to merchants, which typically takes two-to-three days to appear in the merchant’s account. The company has connections to more than 3,400 U.S. banks, and does not store bank login information or user credentials.

Founded in 2021, Link Money is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Eric Shoykhet is CEO.

Photo by Adrien Olichon

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Mastercard Taps 4thWave’s Supply Chain Finance Platform

Mastercard Taps 4thWave’s Supply Chain Finance Platform
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, MasterCard
  • Mastercard is partnering with 4thWave to leverage its supply chain financing and collections platform for its commercial clients based in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA).
  • Mastercard will integrate 4thWave’s technology into Mastercard’s InControl for Commercial Payments solution that uses virtual account numbers to make supplier payments more flexible and secure.
  • The payments technology aims to help the 72% of organizations that experience strained vendor relationships.

Payments technology giant Mastercard is partnering with BaaS digital platform provider 4thWave to leverage its supply chain financing and collections platform. Mastercard will use 4thWave’s technology for managing B2B payments to facilitate cashflow for corporate buyers and suppliers in the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) region.

More specifically, the technology will be integrated into Mastercard’s InControl for Commercial Payments (ICCP), a B2B payments solution that streamlines payments using virtual account numbers to make supplier payments more flexible and secure. Further increasing virtual card account acceptance, Mastercard’s straight through processing (STP) will help deliver funds for approved transactions to suppliers’ bank accounts.

“In line with our commitment to helping businesses worldwide transform the way they pay and get paid, we are investing in enhanced capabilities in the commercial B2B payments space,” said Mastercard Senior Vice President of Commercial Solutions, EEMEA Clyde Rosanowski. “Our partnership with 4thWave, a result of our continued focus on solving for B2B accounts payable and receivables, will allow us to jointly provide enhanced value to all participants in the supply chain.”

Mastercard is pouring its efforts into the supply chain finance sector because of the difficulties that often arise over vendor-supplier relationships. In fact, IBM found that around 72% of organizations experience strained vendor relationships due to inefficient invoice and payment processing, leading to sub-optimal supplier relationships. Offering a supply chain financing and collections tool to its commercial clients may smooth some of these issues and allow companies to focus on their core business.

“The B2B businesses, especially in the SME & MSME segment, have been severely impacted by the slowness in collections of receivables,” explained 4thWave Chairman Dan Mishra. “This has led to severe liquidity crunch that has negative consequences for the survival of these businesses. Our combined solution with Mastercard addresses this need by providing an easy and innovative financing platform that will rekindle and spur the much-needed growth in the economies.”

Photo by Pixabay

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Fintech Funding Surges This Week: 10 Deals in 3 Days

Fintech Funding Surges This Week: 10 Deals in 3 Days
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Allied Payment Network, Funding, List series, Thought Leadership

We are only three days into this week, and we’ve already seen a huge wave of fintech funding announcements come in. In fact, there have been not one, not three, not five, but 10 fintech companies that have secured substantial funding rounds this week.

This surge signals a promising comeback, hinting at a possible resurgence of venture funding in the fintech sector for 2024. Here’s a look at the funding announcements so far this week.

  • Financial software and technology provider Computer Services, Inc. (CSI) landed a strategic investment from private equity firm TA. The amount of this week’s round was undisclosed.
  • Asset and wealth management software specialist Zilo raised $31.8 million (£25 million) in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Fidelity International Strategic Ventures and Portage.
  • Unbox, a value exchange network, closed $13.2 million (€12 million) in a funding round led by HSBC. Unbox will use the majority of the funds to fuel talent recruitment.
  • Investment portfolio company Allied Payment Network received additional strategic investment from growth capital firm RF Investment Partners. The amount of this week’s round was undisclosed.
  • B2B subscription commerce platform AppDirect secured an additional $100 million investment from global investment group CDPQ. The funds will be used to support financing options for technology advisors through the company’s AppDirect Capital Invest program. 
  • Maalexi, a risk management platform assuring payment and performance for small agri-businesses in cross border trade, raised $3 million in a round led by Global Ventures.
  • Singapore-based BNPL firm Atome raised $31 million from parent company Advance Intelligence Group.
  • Digital asset custodian Finoa brought in a $15 million investment led by Maven 11 Capital and Balderton Capital. The company’s valuation remains flat at $100 million.
  • Brazil-based Conta Simples brought in $41.5 million (R$200,000,000) for its expense management technology. The company will use the funds to grow its team and expand its client base.
  • Africa-based fintech Cleva raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding for its technology that enables African users to receive USD payments.

Overall, the 10 rounds add up to more than $237 million. This might not seem like a lot when compared to 2021 funding levels. However, it is impressive when juxtaposed against last year’s first quarter funding numbers. When looking at the funding raised by Finovate alumni, we found that 13 companies raised a total of $453 million in the first quarter of 2023. Considering this benchmark, fintechs are off to a good start in 2024.

But don’t get too excited. This week’s brisk pace of fintech funding may not be completely indicative of a comeback. The ten rounds in three days can likely be attributed to the buildup of deals that were almost complete in the fourth quarter of last year, but were put off after the holidays.

Regardless of the reason, let’s hope that 2024 is a happy and healthy year for fintech funding.

Photo by César Couto on Unsplash

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Thought Machine Taps Debt Resolution Innovator Flexys

Thought Machine Taps Debt Resolution Innovator Flexys
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Thought Machine
  • Thought Machine and Flexys announced a new partnership this week.
  • The partnership wil integrate Flexys Control+ debt management platform with Thought Machine’s core banking solution, Vault Core.
  • UK-based Thought Machine made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in London in 2018.

Core banking platform Thought Machine and debt management and collections company Flexys announced a new partnership this week. The partnership will integrate Flexys Control+ debt management platform with Thought Machine’s Vault Core.

Rising consumer debt levels and legacy technology in debt management have created processes that are labor-intensive, expensive, and inefficient. To this end, the real-time integration between platforms will enable banks to enhance their debt management capabilities and modernize their banking operations with a new core. Thought Machine’s Vault Core is a cloud-native, cloud-agnostic, API-first core banking platform. It features a Universal Product Engine that gives users a great deal of flexibility in the design of new financial products created by smart contracts. This is in addition to a sizable number of pre-built financial solutions. These range from savings accounts and credit cards to Islamic banking solutions and buy now pay later (BNPL) products.

“Banks can now benefit from a seamless cloud-native ecosystem, leaving behind the constraints of legacy systems to improve efficiency, minimize friction, and vastly improve the experience for customers in arrears,” Flexys CEO James Hill said.

For its part, Control+ automates and digitizes customer engagement. This improves efficiency. But it also makes it possible for agents to offer personalized, positive experiences for customers. Emphasizing engagement over confrontation, Control+’s “intelligent debt resolution” approach empowers collections agents while protecting businesses from reputational and regulatory risk.

“Thought Machine and Flexys are removing unnecessary burden and human error,” Flexys Global Head of Partnerships Randolph McFarlane said. “In turn, this enables banks to better serve their customers, providing a superior experience in a time when customer expectations are higher than ever.”

Bristol-based Flexys was founded in 2016. In recent months, the company has forged partnerships with TSB Bank and Virgin Money. In both instances, Flexys helped the institutions manage Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) repayments and Pay As You Grow (PAYG) options.

Thought Machine finished 2023 with a partnership with Mexico-based fintech Trafalgar. The partnership marked Thought Machine’s first collaboration in Mexico, and is designed to help Trafalgar better serve its SME customers. Additionally, the company plans to launch its new Thought Machine-powered platform in Q2 of this year. Trafalgar will also leverage Thought Machine’s technology to develop and offer additional financial services ranging from virtual cards to point-of-sale (POS) systems.

Founded in 2014, Thought Machine made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in London in 2018. The company has raised more than $562 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. Thought Machine includes Temasek Holdings and Intesa Sanpaolo among its investors. Paul Taylor is CEO.

Interested in demoing at FinovateEurope in London next month? Applications are still being accepted from innovative companies with new solutions that are ready to show. Visit our FinovateEurope hub today to learn more.

Photo by Pixabay

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Alkami and Chimney Help Customers Manage the Asset Side of Homeownership

Alkami and Chimney Help Customers Manage the Asset Side of Homeownership
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alkami Technology, Alumni News, Chimney, Daily news
  • A pair of Finovate alums – Alkami and Chimney – announced a strategic partnership this week.
  • The partnership will help banks offer their customers actionable advice on their home’s value, equity, and their borrowing power.
  • Alkami is one of Finovate’s earliest alums, demoing as “iThryv” in 2009. Chimney has won Finovate Best of Show honors twice since 2021.

A newly announced strategic partnership between digital banking solutions provider Alkami and two-time Finovate Best of Show winner Chimney will help banks better serve their homeowner customers as they seek information about their home’s value, home equity, and their own borrowing power. The partnership will make it easier for financial institutions to leverage digital banking to give homeowners the financial tools, data, and insights they need to understand and manage their home as not just a home, but as a financial asset, as well.

Chimney’s tools and APIs enable users to track home value, borrowing power, and access home equity from within the bank’s app. The combination of Chimney’s property data and Alkali’s financial health data gives financial institutions the resources they need to boost user engagement, cross-sell, personalize offers, and better compete against third-party real estate websites and others.

“Alkami believes innovation unlocks new growth opportunities and enhances account holder experiences” Alkami co-founder and chief strategy and product officer Stephen Bohanon said. “Chimney’s platform exemplifies this and delivers a tool that supports homeowners’ financial journeys and deepens relationships.”

Founded in 2020, Chimney is headquartered in New York. The company won Best of Show last September at FinovateFall with a demo of its Chimney Home solution. Chimney Home gives homeowners actionable advice on their home value, equity, and buying power from within their banking app. The solution offers convenience for homeowners and helps FIs better engage them with relevant, personalized offers.

As Signal Intent, the company won its first Best of Show award in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2021. The firm rebranded as Chimney two years ago.

One of Finovate’s earliest alums, Alkami first demoed on the Finovate stage in 2009 as “iThryv.” Since then, the Plano, Texas-based fintech has become a major digital banking solutions provider for regional banks and credit unions. Last month alone, Alkami announced new partnerships with Credit Union of Texas and New York-based Quontic Bank. In November, Alkami teamed up with fellow Finovate alum Plaid.

Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

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Trust & Will Closes Earned Equity Investment Deal with Comcast’s Forecast Labs

Trust & Will Closes Earned Equity Investment Deal with Comcast’s Forecast Labs
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Trust & Will
  • Trust & Will has landed an earned equity investment with Comcast’s venture arm, Forecast Labs.
  • Under the agreement, Forecast Labs will promote Trust & Will nationally via TV advertisements to reach new audiences.
  • Trust & Will was founded in 2017 and has raised $48 million.

Digital estate planning and settlement platform Trust & Will is adding to its resources this week. The California-based company has inked an earned equity investment deal with Comcast’s venture arm Forecast Labs.

Unlike a traditional equity investment, the earned equity investment is not a cash investment. Instead, under today’s agreement, Trust & Will will benefit from non-monetary resources from Forecast Labs. For example, Forecast Labs may contribute expertise, services, or assets, in exchange for equity ownership in Trust & Will. In other words, instead of providing cash upfront, Forecast Labs will earn its equity stake by delivering a specified value to the business.

Specifically in this case, Forecast Labs will promote Trust & Will nationally via TV advertisements to gain brand awareness in fresh market segments of consumers who may be less likely to have a will. As Forecast Labs Managing Director Arjun Kapur explained, “With this investment, we will play a pivotal role in introducing Trust & Will to people who have otherwise been priced out of estate planning or have had to deal with outdated ways of managing their wills and trusts.”

Trust & Will, which won Best of Show accolades at FinvoateFall last year and has raised $48 million across eight rounds of funding, was founded in 2017 as a digital-first way for users to create wills and trusts inexpensively online. Since launch, the company has helped 700,000+ families plan their own future and settle the estates of loved ones. There is plenty of room for growth in the U.S. market, however. More than 60% of Americans do not have a will.

“As we look ahead at our goals for growth in 2024,” said Trust & Will CEO and Founder Cody Barbo, “I am excited to start working with Forecast Labs to put our business in front of more Americans who have otherwise been left out. Estate planning is too important of a topic for so many people to neglect until it’s arguably too late.”

Trust & Will’s marriage of fintech and legaltech isn’t unique to the fintech world, but it is not all that common. While the fintech sphere often focuses on financial transactions and management, the incorporation of legaltech solutions like those of Trust & Will is a promising convergence of sectors. This year, we will likely see growth of fintechs in the regtech and legaltech arenas, as startups seek green pastures for innovation.

Photo by Melinda Gimpel on Unsplash

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Best of Show Winner 10x Banking Teams Up with Mortgage Origination Platform Mast

Best of Show Winner 10x Banking Teams Up with Mortgage Origination Platform Mast
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: 10x Banking, Alumni News, Alumni profile, Daily news

The partnership between core banking platform, 10x Banking, and mortgage origination platform, Mast, will enable real-time connectivity between the two systems. This connectivity will be a boon for lenders, who will benefit from streamlined data exchange. It will also deliver the kind of real-time mortgage servicing that eliminates the need for – and potential complications of – manual data entry between multiple systems.

“This partnership represents a key milestone in how we support the transformation of the UK mortgage and building societies market,” 10x VP and Global Head of GTM and Partnerships Frederico Venturer said. “This integration will enable customer-facing innovation that rethinks the mortgage lifecycle using cloud-native tools, unlocking new growth opportunities for our clients.”

The collaboration comes with an API integration guide on 10x Docs. The guide gives mortgage lenders in the UK a fast and straightforward integration path. The guide includes a number of different integration scenarios that are particularly germane to UK’s mortgage market. These scenarios include product creation and account onboarding.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with 10x and provide seamless integration for UK mortgage institutions,” Mast CEO Joy Abisaab said. “Together, we empower UK lenders to unlock new levels of operational efficiency and enable the delivery of exceptional customer experiences.”

London-based Mast offers cloud-native mortgage technology infrastructure that enables lenders to boost capacity, lower costs, and enhance operational controls. The company has helped clients reach more than 20% increases in conversion from Decision in Principal (DIP) to completion. Mast’s technology has also facilitated a more than 70% increase in lending for its customers – without adding operational capacity.

Founded in 2016, 10x Banking won Best of Show in its Finovate debut last year at FinovateEurope. In its live demo, the company demonstrated its 10x SuperCore Cards solution. This innovation enables banks to leverage the 10x Bank Manager interface to build a card proposition in minutes.

10x Banking’s partnership news comes shortly after the company announced a collaboration with B2B lend tech company Trade Ledger. A real-time API connection between Trade Ledger’s data platform and 10x Banking’s SuperCore platform will allow banks and alternative lenders bring complex working capital solutions to market quickly. These solutions include invoice, receivables, and supply chain finance products.

10x Banking also teamed up with compliant open banking API technology provider Ozone API late last year. The integration will enable banks to combine real-time banking capabilities with a solution that helps them take advantage of open banking. Ozone API co-founder and CEO Huw Davies praised the way the partnership will “make it easier for banks to reduce complexity in their tech stack, allowing banks to comply with any global open banking standards, so they can focus on accelerating growth and value creation.”

10x Banking has raised more than $252 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. The company’s investors include BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase.

Interested in demoing at FinovateEurope in London next month? Applications are still being accepted from innovative companies with new solutions that are ready to show. Visit our FinovateEurope hub today to learn more.

Photo by Alexander Isreb

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