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Finovate Global Colombia: Innovations in Payments Security and the Blockchain

Finovate Global Colombia: Innovations in Payments Security and the Blockchain
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Entrust Datacard, Finovate Global, MasterCard, Ripple, VISA

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech news from Colombia.

The largest Spanish-speaking country in South America, Colombia is located in the northwest corner of the continent. With a population of more than 52 million, Colombia has the third largest economy in South America and the fourth largest in Latin America. More than 11 million people live in the country’s capital city of Bogota.

Earlier this year, the Colombian government indicated its support for open banking and open finance. Specifically, the government included the establishment of an open banking scheme as part of its National Development Plan. The fact that the current government endorsed an initiative that began with the previous administration was seen as an especially constructive sign for the future of open banking and open finance in Colombia.

One way to keep up with fintech news from Colombia is via Colombia Fintech. With information in both Spanish and English, Colombia Fintech is an association of fintech companies based in Colombia. The association provides news on Colombian fintechs, updates on relevant developments on the government and regulatory front, as well as opportunities for networking. Colombia Fintech counts more than 240 members in its community. The association was formed in 2016.

As for recent Colombian fintech news, Bogota-based payments and data security company Intexus announced a partnership with security software company Entrust this week. Intexus will use Entrust’s digital card and instant issuance technology to support its card-as-a-service solution. The partnership is designed to enable banks and credit unions in Latin America to benefit from a unified payment card program.

“We have long been in the digital era and today’s consumers are accustomed to having resources at their fingertips instantaneously,” Intexus CEO David Rojas said. “Our partnership with Entrust allows us to simplify payment enablement for our bank and credit union customers throughout Latin America so they can focus on building relationships with their cardholders and members.”

Intexus serves clients in eight Latin American countries and issues more than 100,000 cards a month. The company was founded in 1997. Entrust provides solutions to help businesses offer trusted experiences for identity, payments, and data. Founded in 1969, the company has been a Finovate alum since 2015 when it presented its technology as part of our developers conference, FinDEVr SiliconValley.

Speaking of partnerships between Finovate alums and Colombian financial interests, we also learned this week that Ripple has entered into a new collaboration with the country’s central bank. As reported in CoinDesk, Banco de la República will test the effectiveness of Ripple’s CBDC platform to enhance Colombia’s high-value payments system. The pilot is being conducted in partnership with the country’s Ministry for the Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC). Spanish blockchain company Peersyst Technology is also participating.

The goal of the project is to demonstrate the platform’s ability to improve the speed and reduce costs for large scale, wholesale payments, RTGS systems and similar operations, Joe Vollono, a director of CBDC business development at Ripple indicated. The project is scheduled to continue through the end of the year, and is being conducted in a controlled environment without compromising public resources.

As noted in The Paypers coverage of the announcement, Ripple previously partnered with Colombia last year to put land titles on the blockchain as part of a land redistribution program. Peersyst Technology was also a part of this initiative to permanently store and authenticate property titles on Ripple’s public blockchain.

Founded in 2012, Ripple made its Finovate debut as OpenCoin at FinovateSpring the following year. Rebranded as Ripple in 2015, the company has since grown into an innovative payment protocol and exchange network. Use cases of the company’s technology range from cross-border payments to crypto liquidity to CBDCs. Ripple’s customers include Novatti, Modulr, and Siam Commercial Bank. Chris Larsen is CEO.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Ripple announced a collaboration with the Central Bank of Colombia
  • Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions teamed up with Brazil-based banking and payments software company Pismo.
  • Security software company Entrust partnered with Colombia’s Intexus to enhance payments for banks in Latin America.

Asia-Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central and Eastern Europe

  • PKO Bank Polski unveiled a new system of valued-added services (VAS).
  • Austrian fintech Vipaso (Vienna Payment Solutions) teamed up with Visa to launch a new app, ViennaPay.
  • France’s Market Pay agreed to acquire Poland-based payments technology company Novelpay.

Middle East and Northern Africa

Photo by Santiago Boada

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BlackRock Takes Minority Stake in Avaloq

BlackRock Takes Minority Stake in Avaloq
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Avaloq, Daily news
  • Avaloq has received a strategic investment from BlackRock.
  • The amount of the investment is undisclosed, but it gives BlackRock a minority stake in Avaloq.
  • BlackRock will integrate Avaloq’s wealth management technology into its Aladdin Wealth product.

BlackRock announced a strategic investment in wealth management technology provider Avaloq this week. The amount of the investment was not disclosed, but BlackRock has taken a minority stake in the Switzerland-based company.

“This partnership will help us empower our clients to streamline processes, enhance risk analytics, and make more informed portfolio decisions, ultimately delivering greater value to their clients,” explained Avaloq Co-CEO Martin Greweldinger.

Their collaboration will combine Avaloq’s core banking, client relationship management, and mobile banking services with the risk analytics and portfolio management capabilities of BlackRock’s Aladdin Wealth. This combination will empower wealth managers and private banks to offer enhanced, more holistic services.

“BlackRock and Avaloq joining forces will help clients reduce the complexity and friction inherent in many of today’s digital transformations,” said Aladdin Wealth Tech’s Global Head Venu Krishnamurthy. “Our combined offering will make it extremely convenient for clients to implement and adopt Aladdin Wealth’s industry leading capabilities as it will be deeply integrated with Avaloq’s core banking solutions.”

Founded in 1991, Avaloq was acquired by Japan-based NEC in late 2020 for $2.2 billion. Prior to the acquisition, Avaloq had raised $392 million in funding.

Originally a core banking provider, Avaloq has narrowed its focus to serve private banks and wealth managers and now counts more than 150 clients across 35 countries. The company has four main product lines: Avaloq Engage increases client engagement, Avaloq Wealth supports the client journey, Avaloq Insight offers access to data, and Avaloq Banking Operations supports the back office.

Photo by Kindel Media

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Innovation, Opportunity, and Ethics: The Role of Generative AI in Financial Services

Innovation, Opportunity, and Ethics: The Role of Generative AI in Financial Services
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2023, Interview

What is the role of Generative AI in financial services? It seems as if every week another fintech or financial services company is announcing that it is integrating ChatGPT – among the most popular Generative AI applications – into its products. This week alone Avalara announced that it is launching a sales tax calculator plugin for ChatGPT, and cryptocurrency exchange Bybit reported that it is integrating ChatGPT into its trading tools.

As part of our Streamly Future of Finance Series, we asked Rocio Wu, Principal at F-Prime Capital and a recent speaker at FinovateSpring, for her thoughts on the role of Generative AI in financial services. What unique services will Generative AI make possible? Are banks ready to take advantage of what Generative AI has to offer? And what are the ethical concerns about the use of Generative AI in financial services? Wu discusses all this and more in her Streamly Future of Finance Q&A: “The three main categories of Generative AI innovation in financial services.”

Check out more insightful analysis from our Streamly Future of Finance series. And for more on Generative AI, be sure to watch Bain Capital Ventures Partner Sarah Hinkfuss on why it is important for financial services to pay attention to Generative AI.

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Canadian Wealth Management Startup OneVest Raises $17 Million in Series A

Canadian Wealth Management Startup OneVest Raises $17 Million in Series A
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Canadian wealth-as-a-service platform OneVest raised $12.8 million (CAD $17 million) in Series A funding this week.
  • The company’s technology provides financial institutions with a modular, scalable solution that enables them to launch new wealth management services in weeks.
  • The funding takes OneVest’s total capital raised to $18 million (CAD $24 million).

OneVest, a wealth-as-a-service platform for financial institutions, raised $12.8 million (CAD $17 million) in Series A funding this week. The investment takes the Calgary, Canada-based company’s total capital raised to $18 million (CAD $24 million). OneVest will use the funding to accelerate growth and expand into the U.S. market. The capital will also enable the company to add to its team in multiple areas, including enterprise sales, business operations, product, and engineering.

OMERS Ventures led the round. Existing investors Luge Capital, Panache Ventures, AAF Management, and FJ Labs participated, as well. The Series A also featured new investors Fin Capital, Pivot Investment Partners, and Deloitte Ventures.

“We’ve built OneVest as a durable, highly scalable platform that can shape the future of wealth management,” OneVest co-founder and CEO Amar Ahluwalia explained. He underscored the challenge of delivering “exceptional” financial experiences while meeting the expectations of customers, financial advisors, and regulators alike. “The ability to implement a modern service with all the required compliance requirements built in, is compelling,” Ahluwalia said.

Financial institutions can integrate and configure the different components of the platform based on the needs of their customers. The solution provides intuitive interfaces for investors and advisors, data aggregation, a reliable book of record, and a comprehensive portfolio management engine. Institutions can leverage the platform to automate and streamline administrative and middle office operations, as well. The technology is designed to enable banks and other FIs to launch customized, wealth management offerings in weeks, rather than years.

Ahluwalia, Jakob Pizzera (COO), and Nathan Di Lucca (CTO) founded OneVest in 2021. The company provides solutions for fintechs, banks and credit unions, wealth managers, insurance companies, dealers and custodians, and asset managers.

Photo by Juman Salem

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Sumsub Unveils Full-Cycle Verification Platform

Sumsub Unveils Full-Cycle Verification Platform
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Sumsub
  • Identity verification innovator Sumsub introduced a new full-cycle identity verification solution this week.
  • The new offering addresses new trends in identity verification – including the rise of deepfakes and synthetic fraud.
  • Headquartered in London, Sumsub made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin, Germany.

Identity verification specialist Sumsub launched a new full-cycle identity verification solution this week. The new offering, according to company co-founder and CEO, Andrew Sever, is designed to address accelerating fraud threats. This includes what Sever indicated was “an alarming 70% of fraud activity” taking place after the KYC stage.

Broadly speaking, the new platform is a response to four trends in identity verification: the increase in global fraud, the trend toward non-document verification and digital IDs, tightening regulations in a number of industries, and the democratization of AI technology and innovation. This latter development has created a new challenge in the form of deepfakes and synthetic fraud.

Sumsub’s new offering combines user and business verification, transaction monitoring, fraud prevention, and case management solutions into a single, unified dashboard. The technology enables users to orchestrate identity verification flows and offers unlimited customization. The AI-enabled platform monitors and analyzes data at every stage to identify potentially suspicious behavior.

“The new platform is the unique solution to an equation with three variables, conversion, anti-fraud, and compliance, many leaders in the verification industry struggled to solve until today,” Sumsub co-founder and CTO Vyacheslav Zholudev explained. Zholudev noted that Sumsub provides the highest pass rates across emerging and developed countries, and is among the few providers to openly share conversion rates. “It’s crucial that Sumsub breaks down borders for businesses by bringing top-notch customer experiences customized to different jurisdictions.”

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in London, SumSub stands for “Sum & Substance.” The company made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2020 in Berlin, Germany. At the conference, the company demoed its KYC/AML checks and risk management toolkit. The toolkit helps business convert more customers, verify more customers faster, lower costs, and identify fraud.

SumSub prevents more than 50,000 fraud attempts every month, covering 220+ countries and territories. The company raised $30 million in Series B funding in December of last year. The round was led by Flint Capital.

Photo by Pixabay

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Navan Launches Business Expense Management Tool

Navan Launches Business Expense Management Tool
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • Navan is launching Navan Connect, a card-linked, automated expense management tool.
  • Navan Connect is an upgraded version of the company’s expense management product, Navan Expense, which it launched in 2020.
  • With Navan Connect, businesses can link their existing corporate Visa and Mastercard cards to Navan Expense.

Corporate travel and expense management company Navan (formerly TripActions) is giving its Navan Expense product an upgrade this week. The San Francisco-based company is launching Navan Connect, a card-linked, automated expense management tool.

Navan first debuted Navan Expense tool in 2020 and has since seen 80x growth in spend volume. The expense tool’s features, such as smart policy controls and auto-itemization, help reduce out-of-policy spend.

Similar to Navan Expense, the Navan Connect program offers a business’ finance team access and control over corporate cards by ensuring the spending lines up with company policy. It also offers visibility into both pending and cleared transactions in real time. Unlike with Navan Expense, however, Navan Connect, allows the company’s business clients to be keep their existing corporate card programs, along with the loyalty rewards, rebates, and banking relationships that come with the program.

“This is a game-changer when it comes to managing expenses,” said Navan Expense EVP and General Manager Michael Sindicich. “It’s a big step forward for finance leaders, who want to keep their employees happy with a modern solution but without the disruption caused by changing corporate card programs. We’re excited about this groundbreaking solution, which helps organizations streamline their processes and focus on what really counts.”

To take advantage of Navan Connect, businesses can link their existing Mastercard or Visa corporate cards to benefit from the Navan Expense corporate card control features. “With Navan Connect, we’re expanding this convenience and efficiency to the corporate cards that our customers prefer, harmonizing personal choice with corporate needs,” said Navan Co-Founder and CEO Ariel Cohen. “It’s not just a product; it’s our pledge to simplify expense management while enhancing flexibility and control for businesses.”

Navan was founded in 2015. The company leveraged AI to create an enhanced user experience around booking corporate travel. Since then, Navan has made four acquisitions and now counts 2,900+ employees across 40 markets. The company expanded into India in April of this year after acquiring Tripeur.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

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Alloy and Astra Team Up to Streamline Onboarding and Enable Faster Payments

Alloy and Astra Team Up to Streamline Onboarding and Enable Faster Payments
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alloy, Alumni News, Daily news
  • Payments infrastructure company Astra and identity risk management innovator Alloy announced a new partnership this week.
  • The partnership will combine Astra’s advanced payment transfer technology with Alloy’s identity decisioning platform.
  • New York-based Alloy introduced itself to Finovate audiences at FinDEVr Silicon Valley in 2016.

A newly announced partnership combines identity risk management and advanced payment transfer technology to both streamline onboarding and give businesses new ways to send money to their customers.

Faster payments infrastructure company Astra and identity risk management innovator Alloy shared news of their collaboration today. The two companies will work together to streamline the onboarding process and give customers the ability to deploy Astra’s advanced payment transfer technology in their products.

“With Alloy’s identity risk solutions, businesses can confidently onboard verified customers,” Astra co-founder and CEO Gil Akos said. “Paired with Astra’s best-in-class payment technology, more product owners and consumers can leverage accelerated settlement of funds.”

Astra’s platform helps businesses create and offer debit transfers and Visa Direct payments. Partnering with Alloy will make it easier for businesses to quickly and securely onboard new customers and begin offering debit transfer services, Alloy VP of Strategic Alliances Brian Bender explained, “without taking on additional risk.”

Founded in 2015, Alloy introduced itself to Finovate audiences a year later at FinDEVr SiliconValley. The company’s automated identity decisioning platform provides access to 120+ data sources to enable companies to create automated workflows that verify customer information. The platform monitors transactions among accounts and flags suspicious behavior for further review. The technology also enhances the credit underwriting process, helping businesses make better credit decisions as well as accurate identity and customer information assessments.

Today, Alloy’s platform processes nearly one million identity decisions every day. The company also counts nearly 500 banks and fintechs as its customers. This spring, Alloy teamed up with fellow Finovate alum Kyckr to streamline KYB checks for companies operating outside the United States. In February, the company announced a partnership with loan origination solution provider Baker Hill – also a Finovate alum.

Alloy has raised more than $207 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. The New York-based firm includes Lightspeed Venture Partners and Avenir Growth Capital among its most recent investors.

Photo by Helena Lopes

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Belguim’s First Online Bank Partners with Infosys Finacle for Core Banking

Belguim’s First Online Bank Partners with Infosys Finacle for Core Banking
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Daily news, Infosys

Keytrade Bank, the first online bank in Belgium, has turned to Infosys Finacle to modernize its core banking system. Courtesy of the partnership, Keytrade Bank will swap out its legacy platform in favor of the Infosys Finacle suite. This will help the financial institution boost efficiency, accelerate time-to-market for products, and provide a superior experience for customers.

Keytrade Bank CEO Thierry Ternier noted in a statement that the new technology would “future-proof” the institution, and enable Keytrade Bank to “tackle the challenges of a fast-moving environment.” Keytrade Bank will subscribe to Infosys Finacle suite in a SaaS mode on the Microsoft Azure public cloud. This will facilitate the bank’s ability to leverage Finacle’s open API repository on the cloud, enabling easy and seamless integration with ecosystem partners.

Keytrade Bank is part of Credit Mutuel Arkea, one of the largest banking groups in France. The institution offers both banking and investment services to its retail customers, stemming from its origins as an online brokerage. The bank offers a current account with a €0.05 bonus for every transaction, as well as a savings account and a trading account. Keytrade also provides investment plans for as little as €25 euros per month, online portfolio management, and an open architecture funds supermarket with more than 660 funds.

The deployment of core banking technology from Infosys Finacle will help further Keytrade Bank’s development into a full-fledged bank. Founded in 1998 as VMS-Keytrade, the institution secured its banking status in 2002 when it acquired RealBank. Keytrade Bank maintains an impressive array of trading tools, including its professional day-trading and trend trading platform, Keytrade Pro. The company’s partnership with Infosys Finacle gives it the opportunity to bring its banking business up to a comparable level of innovation and service.

“With Finacle, Keytrade Bank has a core banking solution that has proven itself around the world for accelerating innovation, driving automation and operational excellence, and helping deepen customer engagements,” Infosys Finacle Chief Business Officer and Global Head Sanat Rao said. “This collaboration marks yet another milestone in our expanding presence in Europe and underlines our commitment to helping European banks stay ahead in the digital age.”

Headquartered in Bangalore, India, Infosys Finacle has been a Finovate alum since 2009. In the years since, the company has grown into a major digital banking solution provider, and is now a part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys. The company offers solutions for a variety of banking needs including core banking, lending, digital engagement, payments, cash management, wealth management, treasury operations, the blockchain, and more. Banks in more than 100 countries use Finacle’s technology to help a billion people and millions of businesses improve the way they save, invest, borrow, and make payments.

Photo by lil artsy

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Experian’s New Launch Helps Prevent Money Mule Account Fraud

Experian’s New Launch Helps Prevent Money Mule Account Fraud
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Experian
  • Experian is launching its Mule Score, a new service to help banks identify and close down money mule accounts.
  • Money mule accounts are used by criminals to launder money and facilitate fraud.
  • According to Experian, 42% of first-party checking account fraud is mule-related.

Information services company Experian has unveiled the Experian Mule Score, a new service that will help U.K. banks identify and shutter so-called money mule accounts, or accounts that criminals use to launder money and facilitate fraud.

The “mules” are people that allow criminals to use their legitimately obtained accounts in exchange for cash. Banks can’t see where the money is coming from or being sent to. This lack of visibility makes it difficult to identify and investigate accounts being used by money mules. The issue is widespread– according to Experian, 42% of first-party checking account fraud is mule-related.

“Mule Score is the first solution of its kind, giving financial companies a comprehensive view of account activity, helping prevent them from onboarding potential mule accounts and detect already opened accounts which are suspicious,” said Experian UK&I Managing Director, Identity and Fraud Eduardo Castro.

Experian anticipates the new solution will help banks avoid onboarding suspicious accounts before they are opened, reduce fraud losses and operational costs, support at-risk consumers, and prevent fraudulent funds entering the financial system. 

Experian is leveraging its bureau data, combined with account opening history and turnover activity to create the Mule Score that flags potential money mule activity. The score, which was developed by Experian DataLabs, also uses machine learning to model characteristics of more than 200,000 historical mule cases. As a result, banks can assess their accounts to easily spot suspicious activity.

“The level of fraud and financial crime in the U.K. represents a threat to financial institutions and their customers,” said Castro. “Experian, thanks to our data, analytics and technology, is uniquely placed to help. We are committed to helping eliminate financial crime and ensuring safe financial access for all.”

Originally known for its consumer credit reporting, Experian has leveraged its extensive access to data and has honed its expertise in fraud prevention technology. In 2021 alone, the Ireland-based company prevented more than $2.25 billion (£1.8 billion) in fraudulent transactions. In addition to consumer credit reporting and fraud prevention tools, the company also offers identity theft protection, credit building tools, and a loan comparison marketplace. And on the commercial side, Experian provides a range of services for small businesses, including business credit reporting, marketing products and services, debt collection tools, and more.

Photo by Donald Tong

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FIS Acquires Bond in Bid to Boost Embedded Finance Offerings

FIS Acquires Bond in Bid to Boost Embedded Finance Offerings
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, FIS
  • A number of sources are reporting that FIS has acquired Bond Financial Technologies for an undisclosed sum.
  • The acquisition was first reported by Fintech Business Weekly’s Jason Mikula, who subsequently shared an internal note from FIS describing the acquisition.
  • Neither company has commented publicly about the acquisition reports.

Both FIS and Bond Financial Technologies are being discreet about the news. But a growing number of sources – from TechCrunch to Twitter – are reporting that FIS has acquired the embedded finance company for an undisclosed sum. The news broke on June 1 via a tweet from Fintech Business Weekly’s Jason Mikula. TechCrunch confirmed the story days later, citing unnamed sources. But neither FIS nor Bond has issued an official statement on the news. Mikula followed up his initial tweet with a tweet on Friday sharing an internal communication from FIS president of platform and enterprise products, Tarun Bhatnagar, that provided additional details.

What do we know? In his tweet, Bhatnagar said that FIS was “welcoming 30 Bond colleagues to the FIS team” and that Bond co-founder and CEO Roy Ng will stay on, reporting to Bhatnagar. Bhatnagar noted that the acquisition makes sense for FIS insofar as it brings both banking-as-a-service and embedded finance talent and experience to the company. Bhatnagar added that the acquisition will “close a gap” when it comes to FIS’ embedded finance capabilities, and accelerate time-to-market for the company’s new embedded finance projects.

Founded in 2019, Bond has raised $49 million in funding according to Crunchbase. The company’s embedded finance platform enables program management teams to build, launch, and operate their own financial products. Account verification solutions, deposit accounts, virtual and physical cards, and money movement tools are among the products that Bond’s technology helps companies create. With modern APIs and a robust integration layer, Bond simplifies the process of building and launching new products without having to partner with multiple institutions and vendors. Bond also manages the programs so that companies do not need to worry about securing banking licenses or staffing their own compliance teams.

Earlier this year, Bond announced a partnership with College Ave Student Loans. The collaboration will enable the private student loan provider, one of the top three in the U.S., to develop financial solutions for students and their families. Ng praised the company for its refinancing program and loan products for undergraduates, graduates, and parents, alike. “We look forward to partnering with College Ave to help millions of young adults build a strong financial future,” Ng said.

CardRates published an extensive profile of Bond and its founders at the beginning of the year.

Photo by Leeloo Thefirst

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Finovate Global Germany: Sustainable Investing for Families and Embedded Lending for SMEs

Finovate Global Germany: Sustainable Investing for Families and Embedded Lending for SMEs
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, Klarna, Nubank, Token, Wise

This week’s edition of Finovate Global takes a look at recent fintech developments in Germany.

German fintech Bling launched its SavingsTrees solution this week. The new offering helps German families invest sustainably starting with as little as €1 a month. The solution is offered in partnership with wealthtech Evergreen, and represents an evolution in Bling’s product line, expanding from its origins as a family money management educational app and prepaid card.

“Simplicity and sustainability were paramount in the development of our investment offering,” Bling CEO and co-founder Nils Feigenwinter explained. “We prioritize families in our product development to offer a tailored solution that meets their needs. Everyone underestimates the market potential of families, which is why banks have neglected this area for decades. With Bling, we are addressing this.”

Cost savings was one of the reasons why Bling reached out to Evergreen. Cost is also one of the main reasons why more than 80% of German parents do not invest in the country’s capital markets, according to Bling. The complexity of investing and a lack of knowledge about investment products also have contributed to this lack of participation. To this end, Bling leverages visualizations and explanations from finance experts to make the investment process easier to understand.

Funds invested in SavingsTrees are globally diversified and are allocated specifically to sustainable investments. Direct investments in sustainable projects and companies, are available, as are investments in funds that support sustainability initiatives.

Read more about Bling in this TechCrunch profile from December.

Banxware, an embedded lending technology provider headquartered in Germany, has teamed up with Netherlands-based Rabobank to help SMEs secure the financing they need in order to grow. Rabobank will take advantage of Banxware’s embedded lending solution, which enables businesses to apply for short-term financing in as little as 15 minutes. After approval, funds can be available in the borrower’s account within 24 hours.

“This partnership brings Embedded Financing products tailored to the need of SMEs to popular business platforms,” Banxware CEO Miriam Wohlfarth said. “Together with Rabobank we now provide the full financing supply chain, including funds and end-to-end loan management to bridge cash flow shortfalls before they become an issue.”

The deployment will let business founders and owners apply for financing in familiar, everyday digital environments such as e-commerce platforms and booking software. Each firm will focus initially on marketing the solution in their home markets of Germany and the Netherlands, respectively.

Banxware’s partnership announcement follows news that the Berlin-based fintech had teamed up with liquidity management and financial planning company Agicap. Based in France, Agicap helps businesses automate, manage, and forecast their cash flows. Via its strategic partnership with Banxware, Agicap will add access to quick and tailored growth capital to its liquidity management offering.

“From now on, (SMEs) can not only see and manage their cash flows in a centered way, but they can also get new money when there are opportunities for growth,” Agicap Country Manager DE Stephan Krehl said.

Founded in 2020, Banxware is headquartered in Berlin. The company has raised $15 million (€14 million) in funding from investors including Varengold Bank and Element Ventures.

Finovate is proud to showcase fintech innovations from companies headquartered in Germany. This includes hosting our annual European fintech conference in Berlin in 2020.

Here’s a quick list of some of the Germany-based companies that have demoed their fintech innovations on the Finovate stage over the years.

  • aixigo
  • ayondo
  • Bitbond
  • BörseGo 
  • Cash Payment Solutions
  • Coconet
  • collectAI
  • Device Ident
  • Ecolytiq
  • figo
  • Fincite
  • FinTecSystems
  • Fintura
  • HAWK:AI
  • iBrokr
  • IND Group
  • Kreditech
  • Mambu
  • Modifi
  • NDGIT
  • Nextmarkets
  • Open Bank Project (OBP)
  • payever
  • Payworks
  • Pockets United
  • Risk Ident
  • Scalable Capital
  • Smartify.it
  • SOFORT
  • SwipeStox
  • TeamViewer
  • TESOBE
  • Vaamo
  • YUKKA Lab

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Egypt-based fintech Axis launched its new digital payments platform, AxisPay
  • Dubai Islamic Bank launched its DIB ‘alt’ product, a new digital umbrella brand for the bank’s digital offerings.
  • UAE-based B2B fintech solutions provider FOO introduced its prepaid travel card and white label digital wallet.

Central and Southern Asia

  • India-based digital lender Lentra raised $27 million in a Series B extension round.
  • BNE Intellinews profiled Uzbekistani SME lender, Oasis.
  • India’s PayU partnered with Visa and Yes Bank to launch its Business Payment Solution Provider program.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Argentina-based mobile banking company Uala launched a new saving account offering in Mexico.
  • Brazil’s Nubank reached one million accounts in Mexico milestone in one month.
  • Lanistar introduced crypto trading on its app for users in Brazil.

Asia-Pacific

  • Singapore-based B2B payment infrastructure platform Thunes raised $60 million in Series C funding.
  • International payments software provider OpenWay launched a second hub in Vietnam.
  • Wise platform inked its first Japanese partnership, teaming up with GMO Aozora Net Bank.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Nigerian fintech Flutterwave forged a partnership with account-to-account (A2A) payments company Token.io.
  • International payment solutions company Unlimit secured license to operate in Kenya two months after expanding to Nigeria.
  • Harvard Business Review asked and answered the question “What African Fintech Startups Can Teach Silicon Valley About Longevity?”

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Klarna brought its Pay in 3 offering to Romania this week.
  • German identity verification company IDnow added automated document liveness capabilities, financial risk checks, and more to its platform.
  • International development agency USAID partnered with Albanian business solutions provider CBS to launch, Lores Plus, a platform to help Albanian SMEs get access to financing.

Photo by javier gonzalez

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SoFi at Work Launches Student Loan Verification Service 

SoFi at Work Launches Student Loan Verification Service 
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, SoFi
  • SoFi’s SoFi at Work is launching a Student Loan Verification service this week that will help employers match their workforce’s student loan repayments with retirement contributions.
  • The tool comes in response to Congress’ SECURE 2.0 Act that allows employers to match their employees’ student loan repayments with retirement contributions.
  • In addition to Student Loan Verification, SoFi at Work also helps employers offer student loan refinancing, repayment options, a debt navigator tool, financial education resources, and more.

SoFi’s SoFi at Work program is launching a new Student Loan Verification (SLV) service this week. The new tool will help companies match their employee’s student loan repayments with retirement contributions.

SLV will be added to SoFi at Work’s portfolio of employer financial wellness benefit solutions. The launch comes in response to Congress’ Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SECURE 2.0), which allows employers to match their employees’ student loan payments with contributions toward retirement plans.

“At SoFi, we’re dedicated to helping people get their money right, and SECURE 2.0 and the provision that makes it easier for companies to support all employees’ financial well-being is a great example of that,” said SoFi at Work Vice President, Business Lead Barrett Scruggs. “Our Student Loan Verification service makes it easy for companies to put this emerging, yet highly impactful benefit into action for a more inclusive future.”

According to a 2019 study from MIT, 84% of adults with student loan debt say it has impacted the amount they’re able to save for retirement. With SLV and SECURE 2.0, companies can enable their workers to contribute to their 401(k) or 403(b) plan while paying down their student debt.

Launched in 2016, SoFi at Work aims to help employers offer their workforce student loan refinancing, repayment options, a debt navigator tool, financial education resources, and more. Seven out of 10 Fortune 500 tech firms currently offer the perk to their employees.

Photo by RDNE Stock project

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