This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
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.
ebankIT enables banks and credit unions to future-proof their digital strategy and to offer a proactive, interactive, and consistent experience through every banking channel.
Features
Includes a new tool to anticipate clients’ needs
Provides back-office ratings of each user experience
Uses data so banks know the best way to address each customer
Alerts clients when a bug is solved and why it happened
Why it’s great
A tool that assesses the banking app performance of each client and uses that data to give customers an experience tailored to their unique needs and past experiences. That’s what ebankIT does.
Presenters
Pete Atkinson, VP of Global Sales Atkinson has spent much of his career working at the convergent point of technology, business, and consumers. He is VP of Sales at ebankIT and for the last 15 years has helped FIs to digitally transform. LinkedIn
Joana Lucas, Sales Development Representative Lucas is a financial industry enthusiast, experienced in Financial Markets, Banking, and Fintech space. Her current mission: Help FIs humanize their digital banking worldwide via ebankIT´s omnichannel capabilities. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.
Storied Data’s platform creates and distributes smart digital documents. Get rid of PDFs and transform all digital communications with in-document UI/UX, data interactivity, and analytics.
Features
Replaces PDFs and static documents with smart digital documents
Create a transformational user experience with Hybrid DocuApps
Improves cost, time, and ESG efficiency by 90%
Why it’s great
Documents are companies’ most frequent stakeholder touchpoints. UX should be similar to mobile and web apps and remain portable and accessible – online and off.
Presenters
Rado Kotorov, Founder & CEO Kotorov is a business leader and innovator with many patents, articles and books. He is passionate about data and digital technologies that create new business models and revenue streams. LinkedIn
Antoine Chausson, CRO EMEA Chausson is a senior banking executive with over 30 years of international banking management. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.
Finshape delivers ready-to-use, customisable digital banking solutions for retail, corporate, and SME clients in Europe, Africa, and MENA regions.
Features
Includes a mobile banking app with data-driven business insights
Creates informative and swipeable stories about the SME’s finances
Delivers relevant and actionable notifications to provide more sales opportunities
Why it’s great
Finshape is a digital banking solution provider that boosts digital engagement, loyalty, and sales among companies’ customers with actionable insights through mobile banking platforms.
Presenters
Tamás Braun, Head of International Sales Braun is a stakeholder and the head of the international sales team at Finshape. Braun has more than 20 years of experience in the digital banking field. LinkedIn
Christian Hanke, Regional Sales Director Hanke is a regional sales director at Finshape. He has more than 10 years of experience in the digital banking field. LinkedIn
Experian announced a partnership with Envestnet | Yodlee to help lenders in Australia take advantage of open data.
The collaboration will help Experian manifest its open data strategy in the country following its application to be an Accredited Data Recipient.
Both Experian and Envestnet | Yodlee have been Finovate alums since 2012 and 2016, respectively.
Information services company Experian has picked a partner as its official Open Data API provider in Australia. The company is teaming up with data aggregation and analytics platform Envestnet | Yodlee in an alliance that will allow Experian to access data under the Consumer Data Right (CDR) from data holders including Australia’s Big Four banks and more than 70 Australian FIs.
“Open Data solutions have the capability to solve two of the biggest challenges for Australian lenders: the accuracy of data to support responsible lending and streamlining the customer experience to get a faster decision,” General Manager of Experian Digital Simone Jemmett explained. “The more consumers that opt in to share data through Open Banking, the faster it will deliver the value it has in more mature data markets spurring innovation and greater competition among lenders,” Jemmett said.
The partnership news comes in the wake of Experian’s application to the Australian Competition ad Consumer Commission (ACCC) to become an Accredited Data Recipient under the CDR back in December. This is key step in becoming a part of Australia’s open banking ecosystem, and enabling Experian to focus on delivering fast and accurate affordability assessments. By leveraging Envestnet | Yodlee’s APIs, Experian will be able to help lenders shift to an emphasis on using Open Data sources rather than the traditional credit application process that requires manual uploads and data entry, as well as other inefficient practices.
“Lending is a valuable use case for Open Data with tangible benefits for lenders and borrowers,” Envestnet | Yodlee A/NZ Country Manager Tim Poskitt said. “With Experian coming into the CDR ecosystem, Australian Open Banking is reaching a tipping point and we’re ready for adoption to accelerate in 2023.”
A Finovate alum for more than a decade, Experian made its most recent appearance on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall in 2018. More recently, the company has partnered with fellow Finovate alum Zopa, which integrated Experian Boost into its credit-decisioning process. Experian began the year teaming up with decentralized and secured lending portfolio provider Credefi, and launching a new solution called CreditLock. This new feature enables customers to lock their Experian Credit Report to defend themselves against fraud and identity theft. “Our goal is to create products that help improve people’s financial wellbeing and give them more control over their finances,” Experian Head of Product Management Jayne Sankoh-Beacom said. “With this new feature we can now give our customers that extra layer of protection against identity fraud.”
Making its most recent Finovate appearance at FinovateFall 2021, Envestnet | Yodlee finished 2022 with news of a “deeper integration” between its Redi2 BillFin client billing solution and Schwab Advisor Services. This deeper integration gives advisors on Schwab’s platform who are using BillFin to access capabilities such as flexible billing setup and standardized templates, as well as reminders and alerts. “This deeper level of integration will allow even more data to seamlessly flow back and forth between the BillFin and Schwab platforms,” Envestnet Head of Billing Technology Fermin Garcia explained.
PhonePe raised $100 million in funding from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and TVS Capital Funds, bringing its total funding to $2.2 billion.
The investment values the company at $12 billion.
PhonePe will use the funds to scale its existing payments and insurance businesses and to enter new financial services sub-sectors.
Digital money app PhonePe just raised $100 million in funding from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and TVS Capital Funds. The investment follows a $350 million round PhonePe received last month and brings the India-based company’s total funding to $2.2 billion.
Today’s round, which values PhonePe at $12 billion, contributes to the company’s $1 billion capital raise target. Within six weeks of benchmarking the $1 billion goal, PhonePe is almost halfway there. The company has already raised $450 million and “expects further investments from leading global, as well as prominent high net worth Indian investors in due course.”
The mobile payments innovator will use the investment to scale its existing payments and insurance businesses. The funds will also fuel PhonePe’s entry into new businesses like lending, stockbroking, ecommerce, and account aggregators, which it plans to begin pursuing in the next few years.
“Our investment in PhonePe reinforces our conviction on backing best in class Founders while betting on the financial digitization of the next 450 million Indians,” said TCF Chairman and Managing Director Gopal Srinivasan. “We view this more as an opportunity in a population scale business for New India, driven by an outstanding management team with razor sharp focus, as driven by execution.”
PhonePe was founded in 2015 and now facilitates payments for its 440+ million registered users. The company’s end-to-end payments solution offers businesses a no-code payment gateway platform and provides consumers with a payment app where they can pay bills, send money, buy gold, invest, and shop online and in-person.
The company, which was acquired by Walmart-owned Flipkart in 2016, distanced itself from the Flipkart brand in 2020 via a financing round that dropped Flipkart’s ownership of PhonePe from 100% down to 87%. Earlier this month, the company began facilitating international transactions through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), enabling Indian travelers to make UPI transactions to foreign merchants using PhonePe platform.
The decision by digital asset platform Bakkt to pivot toward B2B technology solutions and away from consumer-based crypto products appears to be part of the greater re-evaluation that many fintechs are doing in the wake of the crypto crash of 2022. The company, which made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall last September, announced this week that it was turning the page on its consumer-facing app, launched in March 2021. Instead, the Alpharetta, Georgia-based fintech will focus on helping businesses provide crypto and loyalty experiences to its customers via SaaS and API solutions.
“As we continue to gain traction with our B2B2C strategy, we are laser focused on providing our partners and clients with seamless solutions that best serve their needs,” Bakkt President and CEP Gavin Michael said. “The discontinuation of the app ensures we are supporting the relationship our partners and clients have with their customers. With this move, we are focusing our investment on our core solutions that have product-market fit and are positioned to scale quickly.”
Bakkt’s decision to shutter its consumer-based crypto app comes in the wake of the company’s agreement to acquire crypto trading platform Apex Crypto from Apex Fintech Solutions back in November 2022. With more than 30 fintech partners and more than five million customers, Apex Crypto is expected to help support Bakkt’s B2B2C strategy of bringing more crypto-based solutions to clients in a range of verticals.
Bakkt’s consumer crypto app is set to sunset just over one month from now, on March 16. Current users of the app will continue to be able to access their crypto and cash on the platform courtesy of a new online, device-agnostic solution. The new experience will enable users to check crypto balances, as well as access transaction reports for tax purposes.
Founded in 2018, Bakkt demoed its Crypto Connect technology at FinovateFall last year. The solution helped consumers use their current financial services institution’s mobile app to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies in a secure, trusted environment. In December, Bakkt laid off 15% of its exempt employee base in a bid to better control costs as the cryptocurrency downturn and FTX scandal soured the much of the public – as well as investors – on the space.
A publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange since the fall of 2021, Bakkt is listed under the ticker “BKKT.” The firm has a market capitalization of $433 million.
FIS is letting go of its Merchant Solutions business, along with the Worldpay brand, which it originally acquired for $34 billion in 2019.
The company states that Worldpay needs a different capital allocation strategy to enable the brand “to pursue more aggressive investment opportunities, including M&A.”
The spin-off is expected to take 12 months.
FISacquiredWorldpay for $34 billion in 2019, and after rumors of a break-up swirled last week, the Florida-based firm announced plans to let go of and restore the Worldpay brand. Specifically, FIS is spinning out the Merchant Solutions business it created from the Worldpay acquisition.
Jeffrey A. Goldstein, FIS Chairman of the Board, said that “… the spin-off of Worldpay will unlock shareholder value by improving both companies’ performance, enhancing client services, and simplifying operational management. We are confident that this is the right time for the separation of Worldpay.” Goldstein added that the Merchant Solutions business requires “increased investment in growth and a different capital allocation strategy” than FIS.
In its press release announcing the change, FIS explained that this different capital allocation strategy will enable Worldpay “to pursue more aggressive investment opportunities, including M&A.” The long-term goal of the spin-off is for Worldpay to expand geographic coverage of its eCommerce tools, strengthen its enterprise offerings, and shift toward software-led payments.
After the split, which is expected to be completed in the next 12 months, FIS and Worldpay will retain strong ties. As a result, FIS’ Merchant Solutions business will take on the Worldpay brand, which will be restored. Originally founded in 1971, Worldpay conducted $2 trillion in payments volume in 2022. Charles Drucker, who was Worldpay CEO from 2004 until the acquisition in 2019, will oversee the spin-off and will once again serve as the company’s CEO when the separation is finalized.
Founded in 1968, banking technology company FIS has acquired a total of 17 companies, two of which were purchased after the Worldpay acquisition in 2019. The company offers 450+ solutions and processes more than 110 million transactions each day. FIS is publicly listed on the NYSE and has a current market capitalization of almost $40 billion.
Paytech HUMBL unveiled its new mobile wallet this week.
The new offering enables users to buy, sell, and hold digital assets, and includes a search engine and a social media platform.
Currently available for Apple users, an Android version of the wallet is expected “soon.”
California-based paytech HUMBL is the latest company to launch a mobile wallet with more than just money in mind. The company’s HUMBL Wallet offering not only enables users to buy, sell, and hold digital assets; it also serves as a search engine and a social media platform with independently verified user profiles and brands.
“The HUMBL Wallet allows global customers to quickly search, verify, and transact with each other in new ways in the digital economy,” HUMBL CEO Brian Foote explained. “As consumers move from Web 2 onto Web 3 via HUMBL, we believe that digital wallets, as well as verified people and products, will start to become a fundamental expectation of future customers.”
The iOS version of the wallet is now available in the Apple App store in more than 140 countries. For Android users, the Wallet and the company’s social media platform HUMBL Social are currently available as separate applications in the Google Play Store and will be merged together “soon.” The company noted that it will continue to bring new capabilities to the wallet, including the ability to accept SMB/merchant payments.
The addition of a search engine in the wallet makes it easy for users to find news, images, and videos online without having to leave the platform. But the technology also provides a blockchain-based search capacity to find verified NFTs across Ethereum, Polygon, BLOCKS, and more. The wallet can be used to store NFTs as well as connect to Web 3 social media platforms like Collab.Land. HUMBL Social, accessible via the wallet, offers a social media alternative that enables verified users to connect with other verified accounts.
The addition of HUMBL Social is designed to help users avoid the “fake profiles, ratings, reviews, and merchandise” of Web 2, according to Foote. Adding the problem of fake bots accounts and ad click fraud to the mix, Foote said that the HUMBL platform is designed to give online users an alternative. “The HUMBL platform is being built to help solve for those issues on Web3, using blockchain and other new technology solutions, such as KYC/KYB profile verification and decentralized blockchain registries for faster payments, goods, and services authentication,” Foote said.
Founded in 2019, HUMBL ended 2022 by raising $20 million in an equity financing agreement with GHS Investments. Also last year, the company entered into a strategic technology partnership with food delivery company Great Foods2Go, and acquired digital wallet BizSecure for an undisclosed sum.
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.
Ender Turing has created the fastest-to-value AI-based speech analytics for financial services companies. The platform improves the quality of service, customer experience, and front-end employee experience.
Features
Includes AI analysis of calls, chats, and e-mails in near real-time in 24 languages
Delivers automatic alerts on every possible situation in communication with clients
Provides rich analytics on QM, CX, and EX
Why it’s great
Ender Turing’s platform brings financial services companies’ contact centers from cost to profit via AI-analysis of customer communication and front-end employee AI-based coaching.
Presenter
Olena Losifova, CEO Losifova has been bringing new technologies to the financial services industry for over 17 years. In 2020, she co-founded Ender Turing with two AI researchers and was happy to continue delivering innovation. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.
NF Innova is dedicated to the digital transformation of banks by helping them provide state-of-the-art digital banking services to their customers.
Features
Delivers personal finance management in augmented reality
Includes buy now – pay later shopping in augmented reality
Provides a futuristic way to bank digitally
Why it’s great
NF Innova’s Fintense is a ready-made digital banking platform that supports banks looking for a quick transformation into a digital leader.
Presenters
Gregor Bierent, CEO Bierent is an experienced c-level executive with a demonstrated history of growing and improving business in an international information technology and services company. LinkedIn
Slavko Milojevic, Product Director Milojevic is a product leader who specializes in driving vision and roadmaps for digital transformation for financial businesses. LinkedIn
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.
BehaviorQuant brings behavioral science and machine learning to investment decisions. Their automated survey technology provides detailed data about financial professionals, clients, and investment teams.
Features
Improves performance for asset managers and teams
Allows investors to select the best fund managers for their needs
Allows advisors to tailor advice to their clients
Why it’s great
BehaviorQuant turns people making investment decisions into detailed profiles and predicts their future behavior and outcomes.
Presenters
Thomas Oberlechner, CEO & Founder Oberlechner is BehaviorQuant’s CEO and an expert in investor psychology. As a university professor, his research included many of the world’s leading financial institutions. LinkedIn
Gerlinde Berghofer, COO & Co-Founder Berghofer is an expert on behavioral assessments. Before co-founding BehaviorQuant, she lived in San Francisco where she developed decision support systems for investors. LinkedIn
Fintech in Africa has experienced a growth spurt in recent years. Last month, investment banking firm FT Partners took a deeper look into the state of fintech in Africa in a report titled Fintech In Africa: Momentum is Building and the World is Taking Notice. The report examines underlying drivers of recent growth, offers details of the fintech investment scene, and provides an update on the state of important trends such as challenger banking and open finance.
Below are a handful of highlights from the 207-page report, which you can check out in its entirety on FT Partners’ website.
Underlying drivers of growth
The report highlights the multiple factors currently creating the perfect storm for fintech growth in Africa at the moment. The continent’s young, underbanked, tech-savvy population has long-favored cash, but is showing increasing favor for mobile-first technologies as mobile adoption rises and governments seek to further financial inclusion.
Some of the supporting statistics include:
Almost half of the world’s mobile money customers reside in Africa
More than half of Africans are unbanked or underbanked
65% of those in Sub-Saharan Africa are unbanked or underbanked
90% of payments are still made using cash
Mobile penetration is 80%
47% have access to internet
The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement went into effect in 2019, opening up cross-border payments and creating the potential for a single currency.
State of Open Banking
It is well known that open banking and open finance create a wealth of benefits to end consumers– including increased control over use of their data. In addition to this, Africa is poised to benefit from open banking, which is expected to extend banks’ reach to rural populations and lower costs and barriers to entry of banking services by facilitating innovation in the space.
Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa have each made inroads into creating formal regulation surrounding open banking:
Nigeria’s Central Bank issued its regulatory framework for open banking in 2021 and is currently working on operational, technical, and security guidelines
Kenya’s Central Bank emphasized open infrastructure as a strategic pillar for the financial services industry as part of its four-year-strategy announced in 2020
South Africa is home to six banks currently offering customers open banking services.
Challenger banking scene
Many fintechs have risen to serve the underbanked or unbanked populations in Africa, a group that makes up more than half of the country’s total population. FT Partners reports that many challenger banks are finding initial success in serving as alternative lenders to customers that lack access to traditional banking channels, and then building out a more robust set of services on top of their lending offering. Key to this, the report notes, is an efficient and reliable underwriting model.
Fintech investment scene
In 2022, African fintechs garnered $1.5 billion in funding across 135 deals. This is up significantly from 2019, when the continent’s fintechs brought in $340 million across 27 transactions.
In such a cash-heavy, underbanked society, it is no surprise to see that payments and banking technology was the most popular sub-sector for investors in 2022, having received more than $2 billion in funding volume. The report also notes that the payments and banking technology is responsible for more than half of the fintech financing deals over the course of the past six years.
New investors in the African fintech space over the past two years include:
