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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.
Partner HUB will demo how banks can use request-to-pay and provide a next-generation EBPP service for their customers. Partner HUB will also showcase its integration with AnswerPay’s RTP solution.
Features
Build a value added service upon the instant payment infrastructure
Provide automated reconciliation for merchants for invoices, payments, and payment requests
Why it’s great
E-invoicing will add significant value to banking in the future. Request-to-pay is the first use case to demonstrate how enriched datasets can create value for banks and their customers.
Presenters
Katalin Kauzli, Co-Founder & Business Development Director Kauzli is an advocate for using invoice data in banking. She is active in several industry initiatives. LinkedIn
Peter Malaczko, Founder & CEO Malaczko has been involved in invoicing IT development projects for the last 20 years, both in the corporate and SME space.
eToro launched its SocialSentiment portfolio of stocks with high ESG and social sentiment criteria this week.
The new offering was made possible courtesy of a partnership with alternative data provider – and fellow Finovate alum – Sentifi.
Sentifi’s technology analyzes more than 500 million tweet – and two million news articles, forums, and blog – in order to create its social sentiment rating (sentScore) for positive social chatter.
eToro has unveiled a new solution for investors looking for exposure to U.S. companies with strong ESG performance. The social investing network has teamed up with alternative data provider Sentifi to launch SocialSentiment, a new portfolio offering that features the top 10 stocks in the S&P 500 that meet ESG and social sentiment criteria. Rebalanced monthly, the initial roster of stocks in the SocialSentiment portfolio are: Verisign, Teradyne, Northern Trust, Mid-America Apartment Communities, Intuitive Surgical, Fifth Third Bancorp, F5 Networks, Equity Residential, Dollar Tree, and Allstate.
‘With this portfolio, we aim to offer retail investors exposure to stocks that are being discussed in a positive light on social and digital channels, adding an extra layer of insights,” eToro Head of Investment Portfolios Dani Brinker said. “We look forward to partnering with the Sentifi team, and working together to harness the power of social networks.”
Sentifi made its Finovate debut at FinovateAsia in Hong Kong in 2016, and returned to the Finovate stage a year later for FinovateEurope in London. The company’s AI-enabled technology analyzes more than 5,000 stocks, currencies, commodities, and indices – as well as passive and active mutual funds. Sentifi combines market metrics with social sentiment (sentScore) and an ESG score to create a roster of stocks that have both high ESG credentials and positive social chatter and awareness. Sentifi builds its sentScores by analyzing more than 500 million tweets, as well as two million news articles, forums, and blogs.
“The events over the past several years relating to the meme stock rallies are evidence of how the herd can change direction, and where these changes happen, which is largely in social networks and forums,” Sentifi CEO Marina Goche said. “Social networks, news, blogs, and forums are also a valuable source of changing risk for asset classes and offer dynamic views on ESG performance appreciation and degradation for companies globally — essential for constructing portfolios that outperform a benchmark.”
Investors can buy into the SocialSentiment portfolio with as little as $500. Investors can access tools and charts to track the portfolio’s performance, as well as monitor eToro’s social feed to stay up-to-date on developments in the sector. At this time, the portfolio is not available to investors in the U.S.
eToro’s SocialSentiment portfolio is the latest addition to the company’s suite of Smart Portfolios that give investors exposure to a variety of market themes. The portfolios are for long-term investments, feature unique investment strategies, are curated by eToro analysts, and give investors a way to gain exposure to a diverse range of major market trends without having to pay portfolio management fees.
Founded in 2007, eToro has more than 30 million registered users on its social investing network. Among Finovate’s earliest alums, the company won Best of Show in its debut at FinovateEurope in 2011.
In the wake of the FTX scandal and the so-called “crypto winter,” the Canadian Securities Administration (CSA) has issued a set of new regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges. The new guidelines involve both commitments to investor protection as well as a registration mandate. The mandate requires “crypto asset trading platforms” (CTPs) operating in Canada to provide a pre-registration commitment to Canada’s security regulators within 30 days – and begin a full registration process. Announced this week, CTPs in Canada will have until late March to comply. Those institutions that do not comply will not be allowed to legally serve Canadian clients. The regulations also institute a significant crackdown on the trading of stablecoins. Defined as “securities and/or derivatives” by the CSA in 2022, these digital assets can no longer be purchased or stored on cryptocurrency exchanges without written permission from the CSA.
“Recent insolvencies involving several crypto asset trading platforms highlight the tremendous risks associated with trading crypto assets, particularly when conducted on unregistered platforms based outside of Canada,” CSA Chair and Chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission Stan Magidson said.
The new rules will undoubtedly make life tougher for cryptocurrency exchanges in the near-term. Nevertheless, the new regulations may provide more room for these businesses to operate than it may seem at first glance. From the multi-part registration process to the ability to secure permission to offer stablecoins, it seems clear that Canadian regulators are taking a relatively cautious approach to correcting the course of cryptocurrencies in the Great White North.
Ding and Western Union Bring Mobile Top-Up to Canadian Customers
The international mobile top-up platform Ding has teamed up with one of the leaders in the money transfer business. Ding has reached an agreement with Western Union that will enable customers in Canada to send international top-up payments to the mobile phones of more than five billion prepaid customers worldwide.
“We are thrilled to be teaming with one of the largest money transfer operations in the world,” Ding Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Rockett said. “The launch of Ding Checkout with Western Union will give consumers access to a complimentary service which they can use to support their friends and families around the globe. We are excited to unveil our capabilities as a digital value transfer platform and drive growth in both new and existing customers for Western Union.”
The partnership between Ding and Western Union will launch in Canada first. The partnership will give Western Union customers access to Ding’s network of more than 600 mobile operators across 140+ countries, covering 95% of the world’s population. The collaboration also gives Western Union customers a new way to add minutes and data quickly to their mobile plans.
Nuvei Completes $1.3 Billion Acquisition of Paya
At the beginning of the year, Canadian paytech Nuvei announced that it had agreed to acquire U.S. integrated payments and commerce solutions provider Paya for $1.3 billion. This week, Nuvei reported that the transaction has been completed.
“This is an important milestone for Nuvei as we continue to build a preeminent payment technology provider with strong positions in global eCommerce, Integrated Payments, and B2B,” Nuvei Chair and CEO Philip Fayer said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to officially welcome our new colleagues form Paya to the Nuvei family. We have been working diligently on our integration planning, and we are ready to begin the next step on this exciting journey as a single, unified team.”
Paya processed $50 billion in annual payment volume in 2022, with much of that amount coming from companies in verticals such as healthcare, non-profit, government, utilities, and other B2B end markets. Nuvei paid $9.75 per share for the NASDAQ-listed company, which went public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) FinTech Acquisition Corp III in 2020.
Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Nuvei was founded in 2003. The company also made headlines this year in forging new partnerships with enterprise digital commerce platform VTEX, Colombian payment processor Redeban, and online business marketplace platform Le Panier Bleu.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Eastern Europe
Swiss software firm Netcetera acquired Slovenian mobile app and digital identity development company Kamino.
Germany-based business financial management (BFM) company finway secured $10 million (€9.2 million) in Series A funding.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Remittance processor Remitly went live with its outbound remittance solution in the UAE.
Morocco-based fintech Gwala raised pre-seed funding to support its on-demand payment solution for employees and employers. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
Pakistani digital lending platform AdalFi announced a $7.5 million investment led by UAE-based COTU Ventures, Chimera Ventures, Pakistan-based Fatima Gobi Ventures, and Zayn Capital.
Indian payments solution provider PayU launched its 3D Secure 2.0 SDK.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Mexican mobile banking app Tudi selectedThetaRay as its AML/transaction monitoring partner.
Western Union and Beforepay announced a partnership that will enable Australians to pay for money transfers in installments after the money has been sent.
Called Send Now, Pay Later, the tool enables users to borrow around $1,400 (AUD $2,000) and repay in installments over a short period of time.
44% of Australia’s consumers said they would like an option to Send Now, Pay Later.
Global money transfer company Western Union is teaming up with payment innovator Beforepay to offer its Australia-based customers a short-term loan option. Dubbed Send Now, Pay Later, the tool leverages Beforepay’s wage-advance product to enable users to borrow up to around $1,400 (AUD $2,000) via Western Union’s digital channels.
Registration for the new service takes “minutes” and users can repay the amount in multiple installments. Western Union is hoping the new capability will enable Australia users to increase the amount of their money transfers. The company reports that 44% of Australia’s consumers said they would like an option to Send Now, Pay Later.
“We are committed to supporting our customers and their communities by offering financial services that are accessible, ethical, and reliable,” said Western Union Regional Vice President of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands Gregory Laurent. “Western Union’s mission is to make financial services accessible to people everywhere. Our collaboration with Beforepay is another step towards achieving this mission – giving customers the opportunity to access additional funds as they send money to families and communities. We are excited about the positive impact it can have for consumers, as they proactively look for convenient options to meet their financial needs.”
Western Union was founded in 1851 and is one of the oldest cross-border money transfer pioneers. The company enables users to send international money transfers in more than 130 currencies to over 200 countries and territories. Last August, Western Union expanded its partnership with Visa to bring Visa Direct to its U.S. clients.
With 750,000 registered users, Beforepay offers a wage advance product that extends small dollar loans over a short period of time. The company charges a 5% fee for its flagship product, but does not charge interest, late fees, or penalty fees. The average Beforepay advance totals $275 (AUD $400), and is repaid in an average of three to four weeks.
“We’re excited to collaborate with Western Union to support their customers with access to safe, affordable short-term lending,” said Beforepay CEO Jamie Twiss. “Beforepay and Western Union share a vision of providing inclusive financial services to aspiring consumers around the world.”
The U.S. is still in the early stages of implementing open banking, but the conversation is well underway. Kurt Lin, CEO and co-founder of Pinwheel, is an industry expert who has spent his career building infrastructure to enable innovators to build the future of the financial system. In a recent interview, he discussed how the role of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has evolved and how recent regulations may bring open banking to the U.S.
How has the role of the CFPB evolved and how will these changes impact consumers?
Kurt Lin: As the fintech space continues to evolve, so does the CFPB. Amid the industry’s boom in recent years, the CFPB has taken the stage as the primary regulator of the sector, supervising and creating regulation at pace with innovation. The CFPB remains dialed into consumer abuses and works to uproot long-accepted but malignant practices such as overdraft fees and depositor fees, along with creating new regulations for emerging technologies.
Much as we are working to create a fairer financial system at Pinwheel, the CFPB is working to do the same, as is further signaled by recent remarks given by Director Chopra. The latest guidelines indicate that the CFPB is pushing for a world where consumers have more control over their data, leading to increased agency and choice over their primary financial institutions.
What major regulatory changes are coming that will impact banks and fintechs?
Lin: The CFPB is further codifying Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act to promote open finance. A few examples of initiatives we can expect to see this year:
Increasing consumers’ ownership over their financial data. Income and employment data is arguably the most important part of someone’s financial life, but the amount of regulation around portability, security, and ownership, doesn’t match up to the significance of this type of information. Under new regulation, we expect things like Direct Deposit Switching (DDS) to become the norm. DDS is at the core of open banking. Income starts at the direct deposit, and having more control over that information and the flow of funds is critical for consumers to remove the immense friction that prevents them from quickly setting up or moving their direct deposits.
Subsequently, as consumers will have more control over their data, we expect an improvement in how we evaluate creditworthiness and underwrite loans. As it stands, income still isn’t a key factor in a traditional credit score. However, a recent study we just conducted found that over 80% of consumers are comfortable sharing their income and payroll data. That’s a pretty clear signal that the general population is aware that it will be advantageous for them to control and share this information to access better financial products.
After last year’s FTX scandal, it is very apparent that crypto regulations are coming. What do you envision new crypto regulations will look like?
Lin: Crypto is not my main domain, however, I have a few thoughts:
There’s a lot of talk about things like regulations to require crypto exchanges to have proof of reserves, etc. to create more transparency and trust in the ecosystem.
While it’s productive to see this dialogue, there is still a lot of work to be done around establishing clear guidance. For example, what are the right standards, how should this be audited, how do you get visibility into what the true liabilities are, etc.
I don’t expect clear or immediate action, but I expect increased scrutiny of the ecosystem, particularly around centralized exchanges. This increased scrutiny will also include market participants taking an even more active role in building new tools to better monitor behavior on-chain and using those tools to inform future regulations.
Are there any areas in fintech and/or banking that you see lacking regulation or oversight?
Lin: Speaking broadly about this topic as a whole, it can be extremely slow to enact new policies such as these. In the meantime, we’re excited about helping to cultivate an open banking-like structure by furthering our partnerships with payroll providers. This is something we’re hyper-focused on this year, which will help more broadly unlock consumer-permissioned income data. This has two benefits: it will give consumers more control over their financial info and enable banks and fintechs to use this data to build more robust offerings.
Business financial management (BFM) company finway received $10 million in Series A funding.
The investment, which was led by Capital 49, brings the Germany-based company’s total funds to $12.6 million.
finway’s BFM tools target the 80% of SMBs in the European Union that have not fully digitized their financial processes.
German fintech finwayclosed a $10 million (€9.2 million) Series A round this week. The funds bring the company’s total funding to $12.6 million since it was founded in 2019.
Leading today’s investment is early-stage investor Capital 49. New investor Force Over Mass also contributed, as well as existing investors btov Partners and 10x Group.
finway will use today’s funds to advance the development of its business financial management (BFM) platform. The company offers the 23 million SMBs in the European Union a BFM tool that replaces manual tasks with digital workflows. Eighty percent of these SMBs have not digitized their financial processes. finway’s platform– which offers invoicing, accounting, spend, and travel expense management tools all in a single place– seeks to change that.
“We are thrilled by the support of ambitious, successful investors who see the potential of fintech in B2B,” said finway Co-founder and Co-CEO Jennifer Dussileck. “The need for efficient and automated spend management has never been greater, as cost control becomes more of a priority due to ongoing economic challenges. This is the time for finway to continue growing and proceed with our vision of productive, smooth, and hassle-free finance processes in every SMB.”
Over the past five years, the number of SaaS-based BFM tools on the market has grown, and the tools themselves have developed rapidly. The advent of technologies such as cloud computing and machine learning offer businesses access to a wide range of tools to help them manage their finances more effectively. In addition to providing businesses with greater visibility into their finances, these tools also offer real-time insights, allowing organizations to make data-driven decisions quickly. Many, including Brex and Ramp, go a step further by offering businesses corporate credit cards and business bank accounts.
“It’s no secret that technology is reshaping the future of money and banking, and finway is rising to the challenge by building a solution that automates financial processes and increases efficiency for SMBs,” said Airwallex and Capital 49 Co-founder Jack Zhang. “We are so excited to be leading the investment round, and strengthen the ecosystem that is aligned with our vision to reshape the future of financial services for modern businesses.”
BMO has partnered with digital customer engagement solutions company Agent IQ.
The bank will deploy Agent IQ’s Lynq secure chat platform to enable customers to easily access both AI chatbots and human bankers.
Agent IQ most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall in New York last September.
BMO announced a partnership with digital customer engagement solutions provider Agent IQ this week. Courtesy of the collaboration, BMO will deploy Agent IQ’s secure chat platform Lynq, which enables customers to engage bankers in real-time, blending human-centered customer service with the efficiency of computer intelligence. The technology gives customers the ability to query a chatbot to answer basic account and banking-related questions, while maintaining the option to readily access a banker for a one-on-one conversation.
“With Agent IQ’s Lynq, BMO customers can engage a banker for all their financial needs across any digital channel, making digital banking easier and quicker than ever before,” Agent IQ co-founder and CEO Slaven Bilac said.
Lynq offers 24/7 chatbot support as well as direct video communication with a banker, including screen sharing. Answers to frequently asked questions are available instantly, and customers can connect to human bankers both during and outside of office hours. BMO Head of U.S. Digital Channels Brianna Elsass said that the partnership was an “example of BMO’s Digital First strategy” to provide future-ready solutions that deliver “loyalty, growth, and efficiency” for customers.
Left to right: Agent IQ COO Soren Bested and CMO Matt Phipps demoing Lynq at FinovateFall 2022.
With total assets of $1.14 trillion as of October 2022, BMO is the eighth largest bank by assets in North America. Operating via three primary groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital markets, the financial services provider offers a range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and investment products and solutions to its 12 million customers.
Agent IQ made its Finovate debut in 2019 at FinovateSpring and most recently demoed its technology live at FinovateFall in New York last fall. At the conference, the San Francisco, California-based company demoed its Lynq platform, which leverages augmented intelligence to help bankers better connect with, engage, and support banking customers. “Put simply, Aqent IQ makes personal digital engagement simple,” company CMO Matt Phipps explained from the Finovate stage back in September. “We make it easy for you, and easy for your customers.”
Agent IQ has raised $18.5 million in funding from investors including Acronym Venture Capital and Mendon Venture Partners. The company was founded in 2015.
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.
FinTech Insights by Scientia is a competitive analysis tool for banks and fintechs that provides all the data a company needs to outsmart their competition in one powerful, user-friendly platform.
Features
Reveals gaps in a company’s market faster
Eliminates the risk of releasing an obsolete feature or user journey
Imports a product roadmap and benchmarks the projected self against any competitors
Why it’s great
Most digital banking teams develop with limited view of the market, and FinTech Insights allows them to quickly identify unmet customer needs and market opportunities.
Presenters
Nickolas Belesis, VP of Growth Belesis is a fintech growth and digital banking specialist, assisting c-suite executives in utilizing FinTech Insights to skyrocket their digital banking and maximize their NPS scores. LinkedIn
Konstantine Pappas, Account Executive Pappas is an experienced fintech executive who is empowering digital banking teams to improve their UX and product offerings. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.
TAZI AI is a machine learning (ML) platform, enabling business experts and data scientists to build and deploy ML models with patented continuous learning and explainable AI.
Features
Easy to use: can be used by business users who don’t have data science training
Time to value: deploy models in less than two weeks
Adaptive: adapts to changes in data
Why it’s great
A no-code ML platform for business experts (and data scientists) to create, update and deploy ML models, allowing them to make smart decisions in dynamic business environments.
Presenter
Zehra Cataltepe, CEO & Co-Founder Cataltepe is a computer science expert with a Ph.D from CALTECH, democratizing AI across industries. She has 100+ publications in the field of AI and 14 patents. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.
Trulioo is the identity platform global businesses turn to for growth, innovation and compliance. Trulioo is the end-to-end identity verification platform.
Features
Quickly build, launch and optimize onboarding workflows through Workflow Studio or connect to specific verification services through API Direct.
Why it’s great
No matter a company’s needs and requirements, Trulioo enables a company to smoothly connect their system with Trulioo’s solutions.
Presenters
Michael Ramsbacker, Chief Product Officer Ramsbacker has more than 20 years of experience in the strategic execution of product strategies, particularly for the business-to-business technology industry. LinkedIn
Ben Penning, Director, Product Management Penning is the Director of Product Managment at Trulioo. Prior to working at Trulioo, Penning was a Senior Product Manager at ServiceNow. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.
10x Banking empowers banks to move from monolithic to next-generation core banking solutions delivered through their comprehensive and powerful cloud native SaaS core banking platform SuperCore®.
Features
Create innovative banking experiences across cards, savings and lending on one platform
Enable users to make smarter decisions based on real-time data to hyper-personalize
Launch new propositions in minutes
Why it’s great
10x SuperCore Cards help banks slash time to market from months to minutes with significantly reduced overheads in managing the ecosystem.
Presenters
George Broom, Product Owner Broom is the Product Owner for financial products and subscriptions at 10x. His job is to remove all the barriers to building innovative products that customers love. LinkedIn
Nicole Sanders, Product Marketing Manager With 15 years of product and marketing experience in FS and leading GTM’s in nine countries, Sanders champions actioned customer insight to transform business’ bottom line. LinkedIn
There are plenty of reasons why FinovateEurope 2023 next month will be one of the year’s biggest fintech events. With just over a week left to take advantage of early-bird savings on your FinovateEurope ticket, we thought we’d share a handful of our favorite reasons why we hope to see you in London, March 14 and 15.
New Keynote Speakers!
FinovateEurope 2023 will feature the return of many of our favorite keynote speakers. But this year’s event will also showcase a number of newcomers. At the top of the list is Leda Glyptis, veteran banking professional and author of the book Bankers Like Us. With a mainstage keynote on Day One of FinovateEurope titled “The Problem with Digital Transformation Is You,” Glyptis will examine the key role that financial services professionals play in helping – or hindering – the process of digital transformation in their own businesses and institutions.
Also making their Finovate debuts as keynote speakers at FinovateEurope are John C. Hulsman, President and Managing Partner, John C. Hulsman Enterprises, who will speak on the global economy; and Adam Lowe, Chief Product & Innovation Officer, Arculus by CompoSecure, who will discuss securing digital platforms and optimizing the customer experience.
FinovateEurope will also present a series of Quick Fire Keynotes. Leading these 10-minute presentations are Matt Bullivant, Director of ESG Strategy, OakNorth, who will speak about climate change, ESG, and financial services; Martin Hyde, EMEA Payment Partnerships Lead, J.P. Morgan Payments, who will talk about the power of embedded payments in financial services; and Dhaksha Vivekanandan, founder of Daylight Robbery, who will discuss bitcoin and the relationship between traditional and decentralized finance.
New Demoing Companies!
Of the 30 fintech innovators demoing their latest solutions live on stage next month, nearly half will be making their Finovate debuts. Representing countries as diverse as Scotland, Austria, Estonia, India, Switzerland, Israel, Sweden, and Bulgaria – as well as the U.S. and U.K. – these newcomers include:
The official name of the session is “Pre-Event Briefing for Financial Institutions.” But we know a pre-funk when we see one! On March 13 – “FinovateEurope Eve” if you will – we are hosting a special, invite-only occasion featuring expert insights into top fintech trends, a special address, and a fireside chat with keynote speaker, Steven Van Belleghem. We’ll top off the evening with drinks and networking to allow attendees to spend quality time with fellow professionals from banks and other financial institutions.
Alumni Alley: How the Best Have Won
Alumni Alley is our opportunity to showcase some of the biggest brands in fintech that have demoed their innovations live on the Finovate stage. For our upcoming conference next month, the focus will be on FinovateEurope alums. Check out our coverage of some of FinovateEurope’s most storied alums.
If you’re working with a bank, an established fintech innovator, or a bold, new startup, Alumni Alley is a unique chance to gain insights and ideas that can help you grow your organization, improve partner relationships, and take your business to the next level.
“If You Start Me Up”: Finovate’s Startup Booster Program
Our Startup Booster program is designed to enable early-stage startups to take advantage of the full Finovate experience – at a price point appropriate for their early-stage status. Held on March 15, participants in our Startup Booster Program will hear from successful founders about partnership strategies, insights into the investment process, tips on how to land your first bank customer, and more.
Following the presentations, startups will have two hours of networking time with investors from across the U.K. and Europe.
What’s Hot? What’s Not? The GameShow!
Think you know what’s hot and what’s not among fintech’s competing trends and passions? Join us for our special event – What’s Hot? What’s Not? The Gameshow! – where we’ll pit veteran fintech analysts and insiders against the wisdom of the crowd to find out who really knows where fintech is headed!
Our unique gameshow format – in which you the audience get to play judge and jury – will bring a little lighthearted fun to the discussion of fintech trends, and add a little healthy competition to the endless debate: HOT? Or NOT!
Early-bird savings for FinovateEurope end on March 3rd. Visit our FinovateEurope hub today and save your spot!
