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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
FinovateSpring 2024 takes place at the Marriott Marquis San Francisco on May 21 through 23, 2024.
More than 60 innovative companies will take the stage this May, with just seven minutes to show their latest tech to the audience. The rules: No slides, no canned video. There’s no better way to quickly see the most exciting fintech – and with Finovate’s signature, live-demo format, what you’re seeing on stage is already fully functional and ready to plug in.
Take a look at the first wave of demoers for FinovateSpring 2024 – this is just the beginning! We’ll continue selecting companies for the lineup from across the fintech ecosystem, including payments, asset management, core banking, CX/UX, anti-fraud, AI, ID/KYC, regtech, retail banking, rewards and loyalty, BaaS, SMB banking, and more.
Apple began offering an API called FinanceKit in its latest iOS 17.4 update.
The new update allows developers to fetch users’ transactions and balance data from users’ Apple Card, Apple Cash, and Apple Savings accounts.
Online budgeting platforms Monarch, YNAB, and Copilot are the launch partners for FinanceKit.
In its latest iOS 17.4 update, Apple is offering an API called FinanceKit that allows developers to fetch users’ transactions and balance data from users’ Apple Card, Apple Cash, and Apple Savings accounts. The company made a similar move in the U.K. in November 2023.
Launch partners in the new update are online budgeting platforms Monarch, YNAB, and Copilot. Apple’s update will help users more easily aggregate their accounts. Instead of uploading spreadsheets of their transaction data, users will be able to see data from their Apple Card, Apple Cash, and Apple Savings in real time on the third party platforms.
“This new feature means that as you spend and save with your favorite Apple products, your transactions will appear in YNAB almost instantaneously. No manual entry required,” the company said in its blog announcement. “Imagine: when you open YNAB on your device (running iOS 17.4 or higher), all of your Apple transactions are there, ready to categorize.”
Overall, the more free flow of data will help achieve a bit of what open banking is supposed to help accomplish by allowing users to access their data how and where they want. Today’s action from Apple shows that the company believes users should own their transaction data, and it is encouraging to see the tech giant granting access to third parties.
As with most account aggregation efforts, however, bringing users’ transaction and account balance data into third party platforms will not be without friction. As PFM platform Monarch Money explained on its blog post, “For those with existing Apple Card accounts in Monarch, we recommend you sync your Apple Card again as a new account, and remove or hide the old accounts. You can also merge your history from your old Apple Card account to the new one using our merge account flows on desktop, which lets you choose whether you want to move over your old transactions and/or balances.”
What might some of the impacts be from Apple’s more open approach to users’ financial data? First, it may result in consumers increasing their usage of Apple’s financial products, such as Apple Card, as they become more integrated into users’ financial management habits. The launch of FinanceKit is also a win for PFM platforms. As more platforms are able to leverage Apple’s API to fetch consumer data, they will reduce friction and minimize consumer complaints regarding manual processes. Finally, end consumers will benefit from the launch because, not only will they enjoy decreased friction, but they will also be able to make more informed financial decisions by having their transaction and account data more readily available.
U.K.-based digital bank Monzo has raised $430 million (£340 million) in a round led by Alphabet-owned CapitalG.
The funds come about a year after Monzo achieved profitability, having reached nine million customers.
Monzo’s post-money valuation is now $5 billion, up from $4.5 billion in 2022.
U.K.-based digital banking platform Monzo has raised $430 million (£340 million) in a round led by Alphabet-owned CapitalG.
Also participating in the round, which was first rumored last week, were new investors, Google Ventures and HongShan Capital, along with existing contributors Passion Capital and Tencent. The new round boosts Monzo’s post-money valuation to $5 billion (£4 billion), which is up from the $4.5 billion valuation it received in 2022. According to Crunchbase, Monzo’s total investment amount now stands at $1.5 billion.
“With backing from global investors, we have the rocket fuel to go after our ambitions harder and faster, building Monzo into the one app that sits at the centre of our customers’ financial lives,” said company CEO TS Anil. “Each milestone we’ve reached to this point has given us more strength and speed to make strides towards our mission – now we’ll scale to even greater heights and seize the huge opportunity ahead.”
Monzo plans to use the funds to fuel expansion and to help the company improve its product roadmap. The timing of the funds, combined with the company’s expansion ambitions, come at a good time. That’s because, since it was founded in 2015, Monzo has acquired nine million users– two million of which were brought on just last year. This growth, combined with higher interest rates, pushed Monzo to achieve profitability in March of last year.
Monzo originally launched in 2015, the early days of digital challenger banks. In the U.K., the company offers both personal and business accounts that feature current and savings accounts, unsecured personal loans, and investment funds powered by BlackRock. U.S. users are limited to personal and joint checking accounts, but have the option to aggregate data from other financial services providers in order to get a holistic picture of their overall financial standing.
According to Monzo’s public roadmap, the company is currently working on budgeting improvements, paying interest on savings balances, and a faster onboarding experience. For the future, the company plans to develop digital billpay, capabilities and the ability to send checks, and also has stretch goals to launch a check depositing feature, subscription management, and merchant spending rules.
Open data fintech Moneyhub is teaming up with fellow fintech providers, Rebcat and Navos Technologies.
Via the partnership, the three companies will work together to develop solutions to help large financial institutions offer personalized financial advice to their customers.
U.K.-based Moneyhub made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.
Open data fintech provider Moneyhub announced a new partnership this week. The U.K.-based firm has teamed up with fellow fintechs Rebcat and Navos Technologies to help financial institutions offer personalized financial advice and guidance to their customers. The companies will collaborate to launch a number of personalized plug-and-play services, focusing initially on closing the so-called “advice gap.” Additionally, the services will also include financial management, investments, and mortgages.
Moneyhub CEO Samantha Seaton pointed to regulatory changes in the U.K. as one of the trends that guided the partnership decision. “The upcoming changes to the Data Bill and the FCA’s proposals to relax the advice-guidance boundary highlight the significant role of digital advice businesses in the future,” Seaton said. “We have seen first-hand how advanced and robust Rebcat technology is and are delighted with this partnership and the opportunities it brings to unlock financial wellness for more people.”
The joint statement makes clear that Rebcat’s technology is at the core of the offering. The firm is a spin-out of OpenMoney, a digital adviser that Octopus Group acquired in 2023. With nearly 20,000 customers, Rebcat provides a range of B2B financial services. These include white-labeled, end-to-end investment and mortgage advice, as well as a bespoke personal finance and engagement app. Headquartered in Manchester, Rebcat leverages Open Data to help companies offer their customers personalized support and advice. Based in Bristol, Navos Technologies provides services ranging from building digital strategies to implementing effective cybersecurity. Founded in 2020, the company leverages its 120 years of combined experience at U.K. investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown to help companies reach their digital transformation goals.
A Finovate alum since its debut at FinovateEurope in 2015, Moneyhub supports seamless connections via a single source to thousands of financial institutions in 37 countries. This enables financial services companies to access a comprehensive view of their customers needs, habits, preferences, and aspirations. Banks, pension companies, wealth managers, lenders, retailers, and insurers all use Moneyhub’s open data platform to transform data into personalized digital experiences and insights – as well as initiate payments.
Headquartered in Bristol, Moneyhub was founded in 2011. The company began this year by earning a spot as a supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) Open Banking Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) framework for its Open Banking and Payment services. CCS is an Executive Agency of the Cabinet Office. The entity helps the public sector secure maximum commercial value when procuring goods and services.
Galileo Financial Technologies has expanded its partnership with The Bancorp Bank.
Though The Bancorp Bank, Galileo will leverage The Clearing House’s Real Time Payments network to offer real-time payments to help its retail and commercial clients transfer money in real time, 24-hours a day.
The Clearing House reported record usage of its RTP network in the third quarter of last year, when it reached 64 million transactions valued at $34 billion.
Under the scaled up agreement, Galileo and The Bancorp will leverage The Clearing House’s Real Time Payments (RTP) network to fuel real-time payments services. By offering instant money movement between bank accounts, the two will enable Galileo’s fintech clients to help their retail and commercial customers solve cash flow challenges by gaining fast access to their funds.
With the RTP network, real time money movement is available on any day of the year, 24-hours a day. This availability and speed not only solves cashflow issues, it also helps businesses deal with time sensitive transaction and ultimately enhances customer satisfaction.
“Consumers and businesses expect payments to be available instantly, and offering real-time payment capabilities ensures Galileo’s clients can deliver on that expectation,” said Galileo Financial Technologies Chief Product Officer David Feuer. “With this integration between The Bancorp and Galileo, we can offer a swift, efficient way to ensure faster money movement today.”
The Clearing House, which launched its RTP network in 2017, has seen growth in demand for real-time payments. In the third quarter of last year, the company reported that usage of its RTP network hit a record high, reaching 64 million transactions valued at $34 billion. The Clearing House competes directly with the U.S. government’s real-time money service, FedNow, which launched in July of 2023. Currently, more than 350 financial institutions enable their retail customers and 150,000+ business clients to send payments over the RTP network.
Founded in 2001, Galileo is a payment processing platform that allows third party fintechs and businesses to build and scale their own financial services offerings. The company’s client list includes DailyPay, Bluevine, Dave, MoneyLion, Monzo, and others. Galileo was acquired by SoFi in 2020 in a $1.2 billion deal.
Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, The Bancorp Bank provides fintechs with the people, processes, and technology to meet their banking needs. The bank is the third-largest bank by assets, has more than 75 million prepaid cards in distribution and processes 1.1 billion transactions each year. Damian Kozlowski is President and CEO.
Do you remember the parable about the blind men and the elephant? In some respects, trying to encapsulate the two days of FinovateEurope into a single conversation recalls their challenge.
It will come as no surprise that AI was top of mind. However, less than three years into this AI revolution, it was impressive to see calm heads and cautious strategies among the enthusiasm and anxiety. From AIs working with human agents to AI-enabled automation, putting the technology to practical use – on both the backend and frontend – is helping integrate AI more constructively into financial services than we might have imagined back in the days when we were first enthralled by ChatGPT.
That said, there is more to financial services and fintech in 2024 than AI. As more than one observer noted over the two days of FinovateEurope last week: AI may be king, but the kingdom is still the customer experience.
A View from the Keynote
That said, our Out of the Box Keynote address from author and Generative AI expert Nina Schick set the AI-powered tone early on Day One. From her presentation – Will AI Be More Profound Than The Invention Of The Internet? What Do Financial Institutions Really Need to Understand About Generative AI? – three points stood out to me.
First, popular opinion – and mass media news coverage – tends to treat AI and its innovations as either “dangerous” (New York Times, May 30, 2023: “AI Poses ‘Risk of Extinction,’ Industry Leaders Warn”) or “dumb” (The Guardian, March 16, 2023: “The stupidity of AI”). Thinking, or assuming, that AI will clearly be one or the other blinds us to the potential for the technology.
Furthermore, it is commonplace to suggest that AI will only be as “dangerous” or as “dumb” as its creators (not an entirely comforting thought, but …). Nevertheless, our relationship with AI will not be static; it will evolve as the technology evolves. In the process, we will become more attuned to, and aware of, the limitations of both AI as well as ourselves. In this, I am reminded of an observation by another AI expert who remarked that our experience with AI might actually help us understand more about what it means to be human. With each successive conversation about this technology, this viewpoint becomes more credible to me.
A second point from Schick is that many observers are focused on what is called “Artificial General Intelligence.” This refers to AI that is able to perform as well or better than humans at a variety of cognitive tasks, including the ability to self-teach. This is also the AI that the world is alternately anxious and excited about. Schick noted that before we get to artificial general intelligence (AGI), however, we will experience a period when what she called “Artificial Capable Intelligence” (ACI) will drive innovation.
ACI bridges the gap between the AI we see on display with large language models (LLMs) and Generative AI solutions on one hand and a potential future AGI on the other. Rather than what we can compel AI models to say or generate, ACI seeks to figure out what AI is “capable” of doing with its intelligence. As AI researcher Mustafa Suleyman wrote in an article for MIT Technology Review last July: “We don’t want to know whether the machine is intelligent as such; we want to know if it is capable of making a meaningful impact in the world. We want do know what it can do.”
As Schick elaborated on this concept, the ACI stage of AI’s evolution will not require machines that think or have achieved some level of sentience. Nevertheless, at this point, AI technology can perform highly specialized tasks – including emotional tasks – that would have been considered impossible for machines to conduct before. A recent Google study that showed its Articulate Medical Intelligence Explorer (AMIE) LLM outperforming human doctors, as well as, AI-assisted doctors, in a test of diagnostic reasoning and conversation. This is an example from health care, but the use cases in financial services – from debt resolution to wealth management – are clear.
Lastly, Schick emphasized that AI is a meta-technology rather than a single technology. As such we will be able to apply AI to a wide and growing variety of experiences and challenges. Moreover, as a meta-technology, AI will also have the ability to upskill a sizable range of activities – from the quantitative to the creative. This will cause no small measure of anxiety among many, but Schick believes that the benefits will be significant – and in many cases, surprising – enough to fuel continued engagement and innovation rather than retrenchment.
A View from the Money
What can we expect on the funding front for innovative startups in fintech? Where is the Smart Money looking – and investing – in 2024?
Our panel – Investor All Stars: Where Is The Smart Money Investing in Fintech? – is always one of the most well-attended sessions at FinovateEurope. These are the conversations that put technological innovation in the context of what’s actually possible. After a full day of watching live fintech demos, our All-Star Panel often arrives the following afternoon as a bracing tonic: what did you see? what did you like? what would you buy?
Claire Mongeau
This year, our investor panel at FinovateEurope featured Robin Scher, Head of Fintech Investment, Lloyds Banking Group; Sophie Winwood, Operating Partner, Foxe Capital; and Dallin Bills, Principal, Battery Ventures. Founders Factory Investor Claire Mongeau moderated the conversation.
If AI is the big driver for technological innovation in fintech and financial services, then the cost of money – namely, interest rate policy in the U.S. and Europe – are likely to give us the clearest indication of what to expect when it comes to investment in our industry this year.
While the panel in general was optimistic about funding in 2024, especially in the second half, they also agreed that interest rates will help determine the appetite for investment in fintech and that appetite will, in turn, help drive valuations.
Dallin Bills
There was also robust discussion of the M&A front. Capital One’s acquisition of Discover Financial in February was an early sign that 2024 might feature some welcome consolidation in the financial services space. And while the panel was united on the likelihood that M&A could be surprisingly active this year, there was debate on whether strategic transactions or private equity-fueled moves would dominate.
Bills noted, in favor of private equity, that there is $2.5 trillion in “dry powder on the sidelines”, a record amount, he said. Bills added that there are potential opportunities not only in AI and AI-powered automation, but also in niche areas like tax and accounting. Scher added that strategic M&A was “very much still in play” for 2024. “There are too many fintechs doing the same thing,” Scher observed, “and they don’t seem to realize it.”
Sophie Winwood
What do our panelists like? Winwood echoed Bills interest in the tax and accounting space. She also highlighted a “new wave of insurtechs” as worth keeping an eye on, as well as continued innovations in the wealthtech/wealth management space. With Millennials well into family formation mode, and both homebuying and saving for college becoming top agenda items for them, companies who are able to help these young families navigate these major financial challenges could be in high demand.
That, however, does not necessarily mean good times for lenders – digital or otherwise – as Bills noted. Many of these companies are still reeling from the interest rate hikes of 2023, and the prospect of interest rates remaining relatively high in the near-term is likely to encourage investors to take a hands-off, or at least wait-and-see, approach to the space.
Robin Scher
Perhaps most inspiring was Winwood’s observation that often some of the best companies are started during times of crisis and uncertainty. Further, she added, it’s never been easier to launch a new fintech. Maybe, if the previous fintech boom was characterized by a YOLO, ZIRP-fueled, free money mania, then perhaps the next boom will be characterized by greater sense and sobriety.
After all, she concluded wryly, if you’re starting a fintech today “you’re either mad or really love the problem and want to solve it.”
We’ve entered the first full week of March. Layoff activity has cooled slightly (but has not stopped), and fintech news is heating up. Here’s your weekly news rundown. Check back for real-time updates on how the fintech landscape evolves this week.
Indian payments and API banking company Cashfree Paymentslaunches embedded payments for software platforms.
TrueNorthselectsBrim to help it bring small business and commercial credit card-as-a-service technology to banks, fintechs, and others in its professional services organization.
Xero to embed a billpay solution from BILL into the Xero platform.
This webinar explores the cutting-edge partnership between Central Bank and Personetics, aimed at revolutionizing the way community banks deliver meaningful value by proactively helping customers better manage their finances. Hear directly from experts Daniel Westhues, Executive Vice President and CMO at Central Bank, and Jody Bhagat, President of Americas at Personetics.
Why watch?
Future-Forward Banking: Get a glimpse of the future of community banking, where customer engagement leads the way.
Proactive Customer Support: Discover how Central Bank leverages Personetics’ capabilities to offer proactive assistance, helping customers navigate their banking needs with ease.
Hyper-Personalized Insights: Learn about the scalable, personalized insights provided by Central Bank, ensuring every customer feels understood and valued.
Dive into the innovative approaches Central Bank is adopting to enhance financial wellness and customer satisfaction. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from industry leaders about shaping the future of banking through personalized, proactive customer engagement.
Microsoft has launched a public preview of Copilot for Finance, an AI-powered, role-based workflow automation tool.
Copilot for Finance can help finance professionals automate time-consuming aspects of their jobs, such as data entry and review.
Microsoft’s Copilot for Finance is part of the company’s Copilot Studio, which also includes a sales tool as well as a tool for contact centers.
This week, Microsoftlaunched a public preview of Copilot for Finance, a new offering that extends Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 to help finance teams work more efficiently.
Copilot for Finance offers an AI-powered, role-based workflow automation that offers recommendations and guided actions. The new tool streamlines financial tasks, automates previously manual workflows, and offers insights into the flow of work.
The launch comes after a 2023 Microsoft study revealed that 80% of finance leaders and teams face challenges to take on more strategic work outside the scope of their roles. And another study found that 62% of finance professionals say they are stuck in data entry and review cycles. Offering an AI-powered workflow, Copilot for Finance can save finance professionals time and allow them to focus more on strategy.
Here are some of the specific tasks the new tool can help finance professionals accomplish:
Helps financial analysts conduct a variance analysis in Excel using natural language prompts, allowing themto quickly review data sets for anomalies, risks, and unmatched values.
Simplifies the reconciliation process in Excel with automated data structure comparisons. The tool also offers guided troubleshooting to help users know where to take action.
Helps expedite the collections process by summarizing relevant customer account details in Outlook, such as balance statements and invoices.
Enables customers to turn raw data in Excel into visuals and reports that they can share across Outlook and Teams.
Copilot for Finance is part of Microsoft’s Copilot Studio, a suite of services that also includes Copilot for Service (for contact centers) and Copilot for Sales, which already counts more than 30,000 clients, including Northern Trust, Schneider Electric, and Visa.
Microsoft has been testing Copilot for Finance inside its own organization. “Our finance organization is just like any other – looking for technology to help us do our work in a more efficient and impactful way – and we’re excited to track our journey as customer zero of Microsoft Copilot for Finance” said Microsoft Modern Finance Lead Cory Hrncirik.
Here’s an interesting way to celebrate the last day of Black History Month. Let’s talk about what banks and fintechs can learn from Beyoncé.
Affectionately known as Queen Bey, the black music and entertainment icon released a single this month called Texas Hold ‘Em, the pop singer’s first ever country music song.
The song, which you can listen to on Spotify (beware of the NSFW album cover image), has sparked a flurry of debate among die-hard country music lovers and pop music fans. Some country music enthusiasts perceive the lyrics of the song as inauthentic and the beat too poppy to be considered country. Others really enjoy the song and are offended that some country radio stations have refused to play the song. The new beat has even caused some pop music fans to start listening to country music. On both sides, however, Beyoncé’s new hit has divided people. Listeners either love it or hate it.
I’m far from a music critic, but I like Beyoncé and because I live in rural Montana, I listen to a lot of country music. However, I can’t stand the lyrics of the new song. I love the beat, but I feel like she used ChatGPT to gather a handful of “country” words– dive bar, tornado, liquor, slow dance, hoedown, whiskey– and poured them all into the song. Has Beyoncé really ever been to a true dive bar? I digress.
While everyone is entitled to their own opinion about the hit single, there are a few hidden lessons in the controversy and conversation surrounding Texas Hold ‘Em. So what can it teach banks and fintechs?
Embrace change
Beyoncé showcased an impressive ability to convert serious pop music fans into country music enthusiasts. Listeners who would have previously never even considered playing a country music song on purpose have gained a new appreciation for the genre. This power to open consumers’ minds highlights the importance of embracing change and adapting to new trends. Despite the challenge of staying on top of trends, fintechs and banks should be open to evolving technologies and customer preferences.
Authenticity matters
Just like how listeners of all music genres value the authentic beat and genuine lyrics of their favorite type of music, so do customers appreciate a genuine experience from their financial services provider. It is easy for consumers to tell when a brand is trying to be something that they are not. Fintechs and banks should strive to be transparent and true to their brand values.
Don’t limit your audience
The song’s polarizing effect shows the power of how music (or products) resonate differently with various audiences. Financial services companies should occasionally revisit their offerings to see how they can expand and fulfill needs of a wider audience range. As long as it is authentic to the brand, banks and fintechs should consider offering a more diverse range of products and services that cater to more audiences, serving their varied needs.
Pay by bank expert Trustly and digital identity solutions provider Socure have teamed up this week.
Together, the companies will offer streamlined onboarding through Trustly’s Pay By Bank services.
Pay-by-bank is expected to see growth this year because of its potential to offer merchants enhanced security, increased speed of payments, and cost savings.
Online payments expert Trustly and digital identity verification and fraud solutions provider Socure are combining their expertis, to launch a pay-by-bank solution with enhanced onboarding, leveraging the power of open banking.
The new tool will offer businesses in a range of sectors– including investing, gaming, trading, and financial services– streamlined onboarding capabilities combined with pay-by-bank functionality. Specifically, Socure’s ID+ platform, leveraging AI-driven predictive analytics, will be integrated with Trustly’s direct banking integration Pay By Bank offering, enabling merchants to seamlessly onboard users and process payments in a single unified process.
“Combining open banking with KYC and screening greatly enhances the robustness of user onboarding and incorporates a seamless payment solution, providing consumers the ultimate onboarding experience,” said Trustly Chief Business Development Officer Craig McDonald.
On the fraud side, the augmented pay-by-bank solution enhances not only KYC compliance, but also fraud detection and ID verification capabilities, which are crucial in today’s era of advanced deepfakes and synthetic identities. Additionally, the tool helps merchants benefit from the power of open banking, which offers instant and guaranteed payments because they are authorized directly by the bank. This provides a higher level of security compared to other payment methods.
“We are very excited about our partnership with Trustly and its pay-by-bank business model. We think this diversity in payment types brought about by open banking is representative of a new era for consumer choice,” said Evan Rabinowitz, Vice President of Business Development at Socure. “We have a shared belief that trusted identity is essential to the transformation of open and connected banking.”
Trustly was founded in 2008 and today connects its 8,300 merchant clients with 650 million consumers and 12,000 banks in more than 30 countries. The company’s pay-by-bank network currently processes over $42 billion in transaction volume each year. In 2018, Nordic Capital bought Trustly for an undisclosed amount, and since then, Trustly has acquired three companies of its own, including SlimPay, Ecospend, and PayWithMyBank.
Trustly is positioned for growth in 2024, especially in the U.S., which offer significant potential. According to Financial Brand contributor Steve Cocheo, “Pay-by-bank services will accelerate in 2024 in the U.S., driven by a combination of at least five converging trends: the growing availability of real-time payment rails; increased interest from businesses seeking to avoid card processing fees and gain faster access to funds; increasing democratization of payments; a move away from subscriptions to micropayments, and even a potentially big push courtesy of Elon Musk’s banking ambitions.”
Nevada-based Socure was founded in 2012, focusing on its digital identity verification solution. As many services have moved online and ecommerce has accelerated, the company has grown, helping 2,000 customers– including SoFi, Chime, and Capital One– in verifying the identities of their end consumers to help prevent fraud. Socure has raised more than $744 million. Johnny Ayers is Founder and CEO.
NayaOne has received $4.7 million in funding in a round led by EJF Capital.
The company will use the funds to accelerate its product roadmap and meet demand.
NayaOne offers a sandbox-as-a-service, where banks can test new technologies, as well as a fintech marketplace, which serves as a network of vetted fintech solutions.
NayaOne, which just stepped off the FinovateEurope stage this week, has received $4.7 million in funding for its sandbox-as-a-service platform and fintech marketplace. The amount of the company’s total funds is undisclosed.
This investment round saw contributions from EJF Capital, which led the round, as well as from Valley Ventures and existing investor Carthona Capital. NayaOne will use the funds to accelerate its product roadmap and meet market demand by optimizing bank-fintech relationships.
When asked about the significance of today’s funding round, NayaOne CEO Karan Jain said, “It’s about more than just growth; it’s about setting the pace in a sector that’s fundamentally rethinking how it evolves.”
NayaOne was founded in 2019, just before the digital transformation wave that hit the industry in 2020. The company’s sandbox-as-a-service platform serves as a single place for banks to access hundreds of fintechs and datasets with which they can innovate, build, and test digital solutions quickly and securely. Banks also have access to NayaOne’s network of vetted fintech solutions that have been evaluated for quality, security, and compliance.
Providing banks with a single place where they can access fintechs and datasets helps them reduce the time it takes to adopt new technologies and solutions. It also reduces the risks associated with potential compliance, quality, and security issues.
“We’re still in the early stage of a tech revolution in banking and capital markets, and NayaOne stands out as the critical infrastructure enabling the next big leap forward,” said EJF Ventures’ Michael Cherepnin.
There’s a story behind the U.K.-based company’s name. The words Naya and One were derived from ancient wisdom. Naya signifies transformation and financial innovation, while One represents the company’s foundational principle, which is: unparalleled connectivity with a single gateway to financial technology.
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