Eight Alums Raised More Than $293 Million in Q3 2023

Eight Alums Raised More Than $293 Million in Q3 2023

A few months ago we opined here on the Finovate blog that the funding woes that had plagued fintech in the first half of 2023 might abate in the second half.

If Q3 is any indication, then it will have to be the fourth quarter of the year when that happens.

Eight Finovate alums raised more than $293 million in Q3 of 2023. The number of alums raising funding was consistent with last year’s total. But the overall level of funding for Finovate alums was down from previous third quarters. In fact, the last time Q3 alum funding was less than $1 billion was in 2018, when 19 alums raised $400 million.

Admittedly, two of the eight alums to report funding in the third quarter of 2023 did not disclose funding amounts. This means that the total investment for Finovate alums in Q3 could be significantly higher than what is known today. And it was interesting to note how many fintechs that did secure investment over the summer months were headquartered in developing markets. But that aside, for markets in the U.S., the U.K., and Europe, in particular, the fintech funding drought continues to define the terrain.

Previous Quarterly Comparisons

  • Q3 2022: More than $1 billion raised by eight alums
  • Q3 2021: More than $1.1 billion raised by 14 alums
  • Q3 2020: More than $1.2 billion raised by 14 alums
  • Q3 2019: More than $1 billion raised by 21 alums

Top Equity Investments for Q3 2023

The top equity investment of the quarter among Finovate alums was clearly the $110 million raised by SpyCloud. The company, which won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2017, specializes in helping businesses fight account takeover fraud, as well as other types of cybercrime.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, and founded in 2016, SpyCloud gives organizations visibility into exposed credentials actively traded on the dark web. In response, SpyCloud’s platform not only uncovers these stolen credentials, but also leads to the capture of 40 million exposed assets every week. The company’s Q3 investment takes its total equity funding to more than $168 million.

Also noteworthy in the third quarter were the investments secured by Tradeshift ($70 million), ThetaRay ($57 million), and Splitit ($50 million).

Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q3 2023.

July 2023: More than $4.5 million raised by three alums

August 2023: More than $232 million raised by four alums

September 2023: $57 million raised by one alum

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the third quarter of 2023 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.


Photo by Karolina Grabowska

Flywheel Sells to Omnicom for $835 Million

Flywheel Sells to Omnicom for $835 Million
  • Digital commerce solutions provider Flywheel is being acquired by marketing and advertising company Omnicom.
  • The deal is expected to close for $835 million in the first quarter of next year.
  • Omnicom plans to integrate Flywheel’s Commerce Cloud product and transaction data into its audience and behavioral data.

Digital commerce solutions provider Flywheel has agreed to be acquired by marketing and advertising company Omnicom for $835 million. The deal is set to close in the first quarter of next year.

Owned by data and e-commerce optimization company Ascential, Flywheel was founded in 2014 and offers a suite of tools to help companies grow their digital commerce operations by selling more efficiently on marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart, and Alibaba. Among the tools in the Flywheel Commerce Cloud are AI-powered content recommendations, automated fee recovery, retail performance analytics, and more.

Switzerland-based Omnicom offers services for advertising, strategic media planning and buying, precision marketing, commerce and branding, customer relationship marketing, public relations, healthcare marketing, and other sectors. The company has more than 5,000 clients spread across 70+ countries.

“The acquisition of Flywheel significantly broadens our reach and influence in the rapidly expanding digital commerce and retail media sectors, two of the fastest-growing parts of the industry,” said Omnicom Chairman and CEO John Wren. “Together, we will seamlessly integrate our offerings across retail and brand media, digital and in-store commerce, and CRM, ultimately delivering superior results for our clients.”

With 4,500 brands as customers, Flywheel and its Commerce Cloud manage “tens of billions”of dollars in product sales and “billions” of dollars in advertising spend on an annual basis across digital marketplaces. Once the acquisition is complete, Flywheel Commerce Cloud’s product and transaction data will be connected to Omnicom’s audience and behavioral data. Logistically, Flywheel will serve as what Omnicom is calling a “Practice Area.” Ascential CEO Duncan Painter will lead the newly created division.

Today’s deal is an example of how data-driven decision making has infiltrated the world of retail and ecommerce. Banks and fintechs can take note: leveraging data-driven insights is becoming tablestakes across multiple sectors, and is something consumers are growing to expect.


Photo by Jeremy Perkins

Payments Platform Paysend Partners with Western Union

Payments Platform Paysend Partners with Western Union
  • Payments platform Paysend announced a partnership with Western Union this week.
  • The partnership will enable consumers to send money via Western Union directly to Visa and Mastercard debit cards.
  • Paysend made its Finovate debut in 2016 at FinovateEurope.

International payments platform Paysend inked an agreement with Western Union today. The partnership will enable consumers to send money via Western Union’s branded digital solution directly to both Visa and Mastercard debit cards. Paysend will provide a single API that ensures seamless processing of these Western Union customer payments at live FX rates, 24/7, 365 days a year.

“Paysend’s mission is to make money transfer easier for everyone,” Paysend Executive Chairman and co-founder Abdul Abdulkerimov said. “We are thrilled to join forces with Western Union, a company known for its global reach and commitment to financial inclusion. Together, we will empower millions with accessible cross-border money transfer services.”

The remittance market continues to be a major source of economic growth for communities around the world. The World Bank estimated that remittances grew 5% to more than $800 billion last year. This week’s partnership comes in the wake of a pilot program recently launched by the two companies. The program will help customers send money from the U.S. and U.K. to Pakistan, the U.K., and Spain easier -with additional locations coming soon. The news also follows strategic collaborations between Paysend and Visa and between Paysend and Mastercard that were announced last month. These partnerships are part of the company’s effort to expand its ability to improve cross-border payments for SMEs and individuals. “Our mission at Paysend is simple,” Abdulkerimov said, “to deliver the world’s simplest money transfer service.”

Founded in 1851, Western Union today serves as one of the largest money transfer businesses in the world. The company is active in more than 200 countries and territories, and facilitates fund transfers in nearly 130 currencies. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Western Union offers wire transfer, mobile money transfer, and other fund transfer services. These offerings include Western Union Connect, which facilitates fund transfers between the U.S. and China. Last week, Western Union reported Q3 results that, according to company President and Chief Executive Officer Devin McGranahan, “exceeded our expectations and demonstrate a continued positive trajectory against our ‘Evolve 2025’ goals.”

Paysend made its Finovate debut in 2016 at FinovateEurope, and returned to the Finovate stage two years later for FinovateSpring. Headquartered in London, the company this year has forged partnerships with global onboarding and payroll platform RemotePass, payroll platform Ontop, and Spanish-language content and media company, TelevisaUnivision.

Paysend has raised more than $272 million in funding. Global PayTech Ventures and InfraVia Capital Partners are among the company’s investors.


Photo by Pixabay

Twinco Capital Raises $53 Million for Supply Chain Financing

Twinco Capital Raises $53 Million for Supply Chain Financing
  • Supply chain financing company Twinco Capital has received $53 million in debt financing from BBVA Spark.
  • The funds boost Twinco Capital’s total combined debt and equity to $71.3 million.
  • Twinco Capital works with more than 150 suppliers and has grown 3x in the past four years.

Supply chain finance company Twinco Capital announced it has landed $53 million (€50 million) in debt financing. The funds come from BBVA’s BBVA Spark. The funds boost Twinco Capital’s total combined debt and equity funding to $71.3 million.

The Spain-based company offers financing to suppliers of large corporations working in retail and apparel. To help free up working capital, Twinco advances up to 60% of the order value within 48 hours after the retailer places the order. Twinco then pays the remaining percentage after the goods have been delivered. The company leverages business performance and ESG data combined with machine learning to assess and mitigate risk, therefore minimizing losses.

“The value added Twinco is providing to customers stems from the combination of its unique funding solution with business intelligence that provides a holistic overview of supply chain risk,” said Twinco COO Carmen Marin. “Technology and machine learning provide invaluable data insights on commercial, financial and ESG suppliers’ performance, giving our customers a state-of-the-art supply chain risk management tool.”

BBVA Spark was launched in 2022 as an investment arm to provide venture debt and growth loans to what it calls “high-impact” companies. The firm currently has more than 800 clients and has facilitated $265 million (€250 million) in financing.

Launched in 2019, Twinco has received equity funds from Quona Capital, Working Capital Fund, Mundi Ventures, and Finch Capital. The company works with more than 150 suppliers located across 13 different countries. Twinco has grown 3x in the past four years.

“We are very pleased to support Sandra and Carmen, two entrepreneurs who, with Twinco, have reinvented the way supply chains are financed on a global scale and who have also incorporated innovative environmental and social criteria into their supplier financing model,” said BBVA Spark Head Roberto Albaladejo.


Photo by Felix Haumann

Finovate Global Singapore: Multi-Currency Wallets, MAS on Scams, and the OCBC OKs AI

Finovate Global Singapore: Multi-Currency Wallets, MAS on Scams, and the OCBC OKs AI

Arguably the premier fintech hub in Asia, Singapore has benefitted from its own strong growth, the emerging economies of its neighbors, and a robust regulatory regime in the form of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

According to the 2022 FinTech State of Play report from the Singapore Fintech Association, Singapore has more than 1,000 fintech firms in its jurisdiction. The majority of fintechs in Singapore are involved in payments, financial services infrastructure, regtech, lending, and money management. Payments is considered the most mature sector within the industry. At the same time, observers have highlighted regtech as an area of potential opportunity for growth.

This week in Finovate Global we take a look at handful of recent developments in Singapore’s fintech industry. These items include a new investment, positive signs for AI adoption in financial services, and new regulatory guidance from the MAS.


Singapore-based multi-currency mobile wallet company YouTrip has secured $50 million in funding. The Series B round was led by venture capital firm Lightspeed. The investment takes YouTrip’s total capital raised to more than $105 million. The company plans to use the funding to launch new products and features, invest in technology, and expand into new markets. YouTrip also expects to offer GooglePay later this year.

“YouTrip launched in 2018 with the bold vision to empower everyone with a smarter and more convenient way to pay in foreign currency,” YouTrip CEO Caecilia Chu said. “The latest funding round is a testament to our strong potential in the B2C and B2B payment spaces.”

YouTrip is a mobile financial platform that offers a multi-currency mobile wallet and a contactless Mastercard. Users can make fee-free payments in more than 150 currencies. YouTrip also features 10 selected currencies that are available for in-app exchange. This enables users to lock in favorable exchange rates when they become available.

In a blog post at the company’s website, YouTrip thanked its customers for not abandoning the company during the pandemic. “You stuck with us through thick and thin – supporting us when we expanded to e-commerce to help you continue saving on FX transactions as you stayed safe indoors,” the company noted.

YouTrip achieved profitability in April. The company processes $10 billion in payments annually. These payments come largely from the consumer side of YouTrip’s business. This includes facilitating payments for users traveling overseas, transactions on international websites, and corporate spending by SMEs that use YouTrip’s YouBiz service.


How eagerly are financial services companies embracing AI? OCBC Bank Singapore announced this week that it is making a new AI-powered chatbot available to its 30,000-member staff across 19 countries. The bot, OCBC ChatGPT, was developed in partnership with Microsoft Azure, and operates similarly to Open AI’s ChatGPT.

The solution will be used to help bank employees with writing, research, and ideation, and comes to OCBC Bank after a six-trial. Approximately 1,000 OCBC employees participated in the trial, and reported completing their tasks twice as fast with the bot – including fact-checking – compared to without.

OCBC Bank is currently working with four specific generative AI functions. These roles are: Wingman, which helps coders write code; Whisper, which transcribes and summarizes voice calls; Buddy, which retrieves data from company documents and records staff meetings; and Document AI, which provides summaries of documents like financial reports.

“We are excited to be one of the first banks in the world to deploy generative AI tools at scale,” OCBC Head of Group Data Donald MacDonald said. “We believe that these tools have the potential to transform the way our employees work by automating a wide range of time-consuming tasks, freeing up their time to focus on more strategic and value-added work.”


Looking for someone to blame when it comes to phishing scams? The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) have weighed in with a new paper proposing a Shared Responsibility Framework (SRF) for phishing scams. The framework points to specific actions both financial institutions and telecommunications companies need to take in order to mitigate the damage from phishing scams. The SRF also requires these entities to pay affected scam victims when these actions are not carried out.

“This incentivizes vigilance by all parties in the ecosystem to uphold safety in e-payments,” MAS Deputy Managing Director Ho Hern Shin said. Additionally, the two entities proposed heightened standards in the E-payments User Protection Guidelines (EUPG) to strengthen anti-scam efforts. IMDA Deputy Chief Executive Aileen Chia praised the involvement of telecommunications companies in the effort to fight phishing. “The inclusion of Telcos in the Shared Responsibility Framework as supporting infrastructure providers serves to strengthen the ecosystem against scams,” Chia explained.


Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Saudi Arabia-based fintech Hala introduced new Chief Technology Officer Saleem Arshad.
  • UAE-based digital payments provider Hubpay launched its cross-border “Collect & Remit” solution.
  • Egyptian bank Banque Misr partnered with telecommunications company Etisalat Misr to launch e-payment technology company, SuperPay.

Central and Southern Asia

  • India’s first digital escrow platform Escrowpay raised $6 million in funding.
  • Mint reported that India ranked third among countries with the most fintech unicorns.
  • The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an investigation of Kazakhstan fintech Freedom Holding over compliance issues.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Uruguay-based cross-border payments processor dLocal forged a partnership with ACE Money Transfer.
  • Open Finance platform Belvo teamed up with Colombia’s MOVii to help fight digital payments fraud.
  • Plata, a Mexico-based fintech platform, turned to South Africa’s Entersekt to boost security for its Plata credit card.

Asia-Pacific

  • Triple-A, a Singapore-based digital currency payment institution, raised $10 million in Series A funding.
  • GoTo Financial partnered with Indonesia’s Bank Jago to launch new bank account for everyday transactions, GoPay Tabungan by Jago.
  • International B2B payment infrastructure platform Thunes has teamed up with China Construction Bank to enhance cross-border payments.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Disrupt Africa profiled Ghana-based payments infrastructure startup PAL.
  • Cameroon-based fintech Koree won the 2023 Ecobank Fintech Challenge
  • Rest of World featured Nigerian money transfer app OPay.

Photo by Stijn Dijkstra

NerdWallet Launches its First Consumer Product

NerdWallet Launches its First Consumer Product
  • NerdWallet is launching its first consumer-facing credit card called NerdUp.
  • Launched in partnership with Evolve Bank & Trust and Bond, NerdUp aims to help consumers build credit responsibly.
  • The NerdUp card comes with benefits consumers expect from traditional credit scores, such as 1% cashback and free credit scores.

NerdWallet is expanding from financial content production into consumer products this week. The California-based company announced today it is launching a credit card called NerdUp, its first consumer-facing financial product.

Banking-as-a-service offers the opportunity for any company to become a fintech company, and NerdWallet is a prime example of this. Through partnerships with Evolve Bank & Trust and FISBond, NerdWallet’s NerdUp aims to help users build and improve their credit responsibly.

NerdWallet is focused on helping consumers and small businesses make smarter financial decisions, and the company’s new card has a handful of features that help cardholders build credit responsibly. First, the card does not charge a monthly fee; it is free to use. Second, NerdUp does not conduct a hard credit check, which means that nearly all U.S. adults can qualify. Third, the card only requires a minimum deposit of $100.

But just because it is meant for credit novices doesn’t mean that the NerdUp card is void of typical credit card benefits. NerdUp cardholders earn 1% cashback on purchases. Each month, the cashback earned is automatically added to user’s deposit account to boost their credit limit. NerdUp also offers users a free credit score, along with insights and tips to improve their financial situation. Additionally, since NerdUp requires users to pay off their balance every month, the NerdWallet’s credit card offers a 0% interest rate. This may seem like semantics, but it is a key feature for users trying to build their credit.

However, according to NerdWallet CEO and Co-Founder Tim Chen, the company may not add more financial products to its lineup. “We don’t strive to offer our own financial products, but in this case we saw an opportunity to address a gap in the market,” said Chen. A recent survey NerdWallet conducted with The Harris Poll found that 23% of Americans indicate that a lack of credit or bad credit prevents them from reaching their financial goals. In another study, 43% said their credit score has negatively impacted them in the past.

“With NerdUp, we believe we can create a win-win-win for consumers, traditional card issuers, and NerdWallet,” Chen added. “By leveraging our existing distribution channels to reduce costs, we are uniquely positioned to design and offer a product that passes lower costs on to consumers, with a secured card that requires a low minimum deposit, no annual fees, and no credit check while also offering cash back rewards, helping consumers build good credit behavior and unlock new credit opportunities.”

With its launch of NerdUp, NerdWallet is in good company with other credit-building credit cards. Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, Chime, Petal, and Experian all offer credit building programs that require the user to pre-fund their account. And another fintech, Neu, launched today with its credit card aimed to help college students build their credit.

With its seasoned brand and well-earned consumer trust, NerdWallet should do well with its new credit card. Founded in 2009, NerdWallet is a public company listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker NRDS. The company has a current market capitalization of $511 million.


Photo by Redowan Dhrubo on Unsplash

Payoneer Partners with Etsy to Streamline Payments to Sellers in Emerging Markets

Payoneer Partners with Etsy to Streamline Payments to Sellers in Emerging Markets
  • Payments platform Payoneer has collaborated with Etsy’s seller offering, Etsy Payments.
  • The partnership will enable Etsy to streamline payments to sellers, empowering entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
  • Payoneer made its Finovate debut ten years ago at FinovateAsia 2013.

Etsy Payments has a brand new partner. The company, the bespoke seller offering from global online marketplace Etsy, has announced a collaboration with payments platform Payoneer. The partnership will help Etsy streamline payments to sellers. It will also give entrepreneurs in emerging markets better opportunities to grow their businesses. This includes the ability to offer a broader range of services and to make payouts to sellers in their preferred currency.

The collaboration will launch in the Ukraine and Thailand initially. By the end of the year, the service will be live in India, Japan, Argentina, Chile, and Peru, as well.

“Through this partnership, we are able to leverage Payoneer’s global reach and world-class payment technology to bring efficiencies at scale and provide seamless payouts to sellers in their local markets and the currency of their preference,” Etsy VP & GM Payments and Risk, Chirag Patel said.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, Etsy launched its Etsy Payments service in 2017. The option was previously called Direct Checkout and payments were processed by PayPal rather than Etsy. Etsy Payments enables sellers on the marketplace to offer buyers a wide range of payment options. These choices include Visa, PayPal, and Mastercard, as well as ApplePay, GooglePay, and Klarna, and buyers can transact in local currencies.

“This collaboration will help create opportunities for the often-underserved sellers in emerging markets, giving them better access to global demand,” Payoneer SVP Americas Ya Wen explained.

New York-based Payoneer made its Finovate debut in 2013 at FinovateAsia. The company returned to the Finovate stage two years later to present its technology at our developers conference FinDEVrNewYork. In the years since, Payoneer has grown into an international business payments platform with millions of customers, support for 70 currencies and 22+ languages, and coverage of more than 190 countries.

Payoneer began 2023 with a new Chief Financial Officer, Bea Ordonez. A few months later, the company introduced a new Chief Executive Officer, John Caplan, as well. So far this year, Payoneer has forged partnerships with software company Zoho, remote work outsourcing platform INSIDEA, Egyptian marketing firm Stllr, and cryptocurrency startup belo. The company acquired Israel-based data platform Spott in August and, in September, expanded its long-term relationship with Airbnb.

Payoneer is a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker PAYO. It has a market capitalization of $2 billion.


Photo by Oleksandr P

Conversations on Core Banking, Automation in Lending, Innovations in Fraud Prevention

Conversations on Core Banking, Automation in Lending, Innovations in Fraud Prevention

When it comes to Finovate conferences, our Streamly Video Series might be the next best thing to being there.

Today we’re featuring a trio of conversations from our FinovateFall conference in September, captured by our Streamly Video Team.

How is bank modernization enhancing the customer experience? How are the best lenders in financial services leveraging enabling technologies like AI? How is automation revolutionizing the fight against financial crime? Check out our Streamly interviews with:

Emily Steele, President and COO at Savana


David Snitkof, SVP of Growth at Ocrolus


Devon Anderson, Account Executive, Mid-Market at Quavo


Photo by Donald Tong

Remembering Fintech Ghosts: Four Companies That Haunt Our Memories

Remembering Fintech Ghosts: Four Companies That Haunt Our Memories

Halloween is less than a week away, and with the scariest night of the year on the horizon, we wanted to settle in and tell some fintech ghost stories. These ghosts won’t be too spooky– they are more like a walk down memory lane than a visit to a haunted house.

Here’s a look at four fintech ghosts that have come and gone, but still haunt our memories:

Coin

Coin was founded in 2012, offering consumers a single, electronic payment card where they could store their multiple debit, credit, gift, loyalty, and membership card numbers. For $50, users could sign up for the waitlist, but many who paid upfront never received their card.

What happened

Coin had a very long waitlist, and while there was much initial excitement about the card, the enthusiasm faded for many after realizing they may never receive their card. The real death knell for Coin was that it only worked 80% to 90% of the time. As Finovate Founder Jim Bruene pointed out in his post about the card, “… no one wants to be that guy holding up the checkout line with his fancy black card.” Coin closed in 2016.

BillGuard

BillGuard suffered a slower death than most fintech ghosts. Founded in 2010, the company offered consumers a mobile app to access spending analytics, credit scores, payment details, transaction maps, and data breach alerts.

What happened

The functionality BillGuard offered was perfectly suited for fintech’s personal financial management (PFM) era. The company had kept up with evolving consumer expectations of the time, adding fraud alerts and personalized offers. When peer-to-peer lending company Prosper acquired BillGuard for $30 million in 2015, the fintech community had high hopes for the tie-up, thinking Prosper would add PFM capabilities and become a Credit Karma competitor. Two years later, however, after rebranding the BillGuard app to Prosper Daily, Prosper shut down the financial wellness app, shuttering all of its potential and erasing users’ history.

iQuantifi

iQuantifi was founded in 2009 to enable financial institutions to offer a virtual financial advisor, adding wealth management to their offerings. In 2014, the company launched a consumer-facing virtual financial advisor tool to help users identify, prioritize, and achieve their financial goals with a personalized plan. The company had raised $3.7 million.

What happened

iQuantifi showed plenty of promise. The company had formed an aggregation partnership with MX to offer millennial users a lower-cost option to managing their finances. iQuantifi even earned a spot to participate in the Plug-and-Play fintech accelerator. In 2019, however, the company was charged with selling unregistered securities to investors that were ineligible to purchase shares in the offering. Between 2013 and 2019, iQuantifi raised $3.5 million from over 50 unaccredited investors. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered iQuantifi and its founder to cease and desist from committing violations and pay a $25,000 civil penalty. The company closed in 2019.

ZELF

ZELF was launched in 2019, right as the digital banking craze was taking off. The fintech was geared toward serving millennial and Gen Z users in the E.U. and U.S. ZELF billed itself as the “Bank of the Metaverse” where users could bank their gaming coins, NFTs, and fiat– all anonymously with no social security, ID, or selfie required.

What happened

ZELF is a good cautionary tale of what happens when you combine crypto, fiat, the metaverse, and anonymity. Because of blatant KYC and Patriot Act violations, the company’s partner bank, Evolve Bank & Trust, pulled the plug on ZELF a day-and-a-half after its official launch day. ZELF closed down in December 2022.


Photo by Daisy Anderson

Praxent Partners with WealthBlock to Build Digital Experiences for Capital Raises

Praxent Partners with WealthBlock to Build Digital Experiences for Capital Raises
  • Digital design, engineering, and implementation specialist Praxent has teamed up with WealthBlock.
  • Via the partnership, the two companies will build digital experiences to facilitate capital raises for venture fund and crowdfunding managers.
  • Praxent demonstrated its technology at our developers conference, FinDEVr 2021.

A partnership between Praxent and WealthBlock will bring custom digital experiences to venture fund and crowdfunding managers to help facilitate the capital raising process.

WealthBlock offers a white label platform for private asset management firms and crowdfunding portals. The company’s technology streamlines investment presentation, investor onboarding and document e-sign, as well as investor reporting. The partnership will empower clients to build and launch customized digital journeys that will engage investors and boost conversions.

Praxent CEO and founder Tim Hamilton praised WealthBlock as an industry leader in the investor management technology space. “WealthBlock is powering the future of funding deals,” Hamilton said. “Together, we are creating and integrating bespoke, secure user experiences that drive revenue and growth for companies looking to raise capital.”

WealthBlock CEO Trilliam Jeong underscored the importance of self-service in the capital raising space, calling it critical to success. Additionally, Jeong credited Praxent’s experience in financial services – and with the company’s platform – for making Praxent “the ideal partner.” He added, “By joining forces, we enable clients to accelerate the secure launch of custom experiences that allow them to more effectively onboard and serve investors.”

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Praxent helps financial services companies develop differentiated fintech solutions that yield quantifiable results. The company has assisted more than 400 organizations as they enhanced their customer relationships via a combination of human-centered design, front-end engineering, and product integration.

Founded in 2000, Praxent made its Finovate debut at our developers conference, FinDEVr, in 2021. In August of this year, the company announced partnerships with Insurance Systems Inc. and small business lender NEWITY. In September, Praxent introduced new Chief Revenue Officer Robin Smith. Smith previously served as Vice President of North America for Finovate alum Mambu.


Photo by Scott Webb

U.S. Bank Launches Avvance, a Point-of-Sale Lending Tool

U.S. Bank Launches Avvance, a Point-of-Sale Lending Tool
  • U.S. Bank launched Avvance, a point-of-sale lending tool for merchants.
  • Avvance allows merchants to offer installment loans on purchases ranging from $300 to $25,000.
  • U.S. Bank also offers a consumer-facing BNPL tool, ExtendPay, which it launched in 2021.

U.S. Bank launched an embedded point-of-sale lending solution this week. The new buy now, pay later (BNPL) tool, Avvance, helps businesses give shoppers options to finance their purchase during checkout after filling out a quick application.

Avvance is embedded into the checkout process and shows the buyer multiple personalized loan options, offering them the ability to pay over time. U.S. Bank backs the loans and doesn’t require the merchant to manage the payments after the sale is complete.

“Our point-of-sale lending product allows business owners the ability to offer affordable financing while they receive full payment at the time of sale,” said Executive Vice President of Buy Now, Pay Later and Point-of-Sale Lending at U.S. Bank and Elavon Mia Huntington. “U.S. Bank, the primary source of the consumer loans, manages all aspects from application to servicing, so business owners can focus on what they do best — running their business.”

Customers can use Avvance installment loans to finance purchases between $300 to $25,000. The financing terms range from 0% to 24.99% APR with repayment plans that range from three to 60 months. When a customer uses the tool to finance a purchase, U.S. Bank offers the merchant the full payment within 48 hours. While Avvance is free for merchants to offer, U.S. Bank charges a merchant discount rate fee for each Avvance loan that it processes. 

Avvance’s benefits are similar to those of other BNPL tools on the market. It can encourage the customer to make a purchase they otherwise would not, increase their purchase amount, and help reduce cart abandonment. “With Avvance, business owners have the ability to attract new customers while increasing their buying power, resulting in increased sales,” Huntington explained.

Interestingly, U.S. Bank is marketing Avvance as a point-of-sale financing tool, rather than a BNPL tool. This may be because it wants to target an older generation than BNPL typically reaches. Avvance also differentiates itself from typical BNPL tools when it comes to the base purchase amount required. While customers must spend at least $300 with Avvance, many BNPL tools have no minimum purchase requirement.

Avvance isn’t U.S. Bank’s first BNPL tool. The bank launched ExtendPay in 2021– the height of fintech’s BNPL craze– to offer its credit card holders a way to split purchases over $100 into a series of fixed payments ranging from three to 24 months. U.S. Bank doesn’t charge interest on ExtendPay purchases, but it does charge a fixed monthly fee.


Photo by Mikael Blomkvist

Finovate eMagazine: The Bright Future of Fintech

Finovate eMagazine: The Bright Future of Fintech

Insights from FinovateFall 2023

It’s no secret that we’re facing many challenges right now. Declining VC investment, rising interest rates, and the looming threat of a recession are all obviously significant obstacles that must be overcome, but we’re also seeing a surge of innovators tackling real-world challenges head on.

At FinovateFall, we’ve seen exciting automation and AI use cases, including generative AI! We also heard financial institutions talk about their digital transformation journey and how they’ve applied technology to improve their processes and enable their businesses to grow. Plus, we met with industry agnostic experts who inspired us to be better leaders and innovators and who helped us think about a future with AI and a future in the metaverse.

Fill in this form to read this eMagazine and find insights from:

  • The Finovate audience – we share the polling results from FinovateFall 2023, and find out what trends the industry is excited about
  • Azriel Chelst at FIS, who shares his fintech survival kit for the current challenging economic environment
  • Our partners and demoers, who talk about applications of AI and automation, and innovations in customer experience and business strategy
  • Fintech founders, who share their funding experience
  • Financial institutions (SVB, Truist Financial Corporation, OMB Bank), and find out about their digital transformation journeys