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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Finovate VP and host of the Finovate Podcast Greg Palmer (@GregPalmer47) recently sat down with James Robert Lay of the Banking on Digital Growth podcast. The two talked about a wide range of topics, from Finovate’s return to live, in-person fintech conferences to the challenges of building a truly people-focused fintech business in a post-COVID world.
Palmer: “What I didn’t necessarily expect was the way that the financial industry was going to respond to the pandemic by really diving in to technology and seeing a lot of these kinds of older holdouts all of a sudden saying, “wait a minute, we really have to do things differently.” This impetus, this drive to change, I think is the thing that surprised me the most.”
Lay and Palmer also talked about what it takes for a fintech company to manage the balance between creating novel, ground-breaking technology on the one hand, while remaining accessible, and easy to use for consumers on the other.
Palmer: “(Financial technology) tends to draw people in who are comfortable with numbers, who are comfortable in front of a computer screen, who want technology to do things that it hasn’t been able to do before, which is obviously really impressive and these are intelligent people. But what sometimes gets missed is the idea that, at the end of the day, you’re not building technology for yourself.”
Palmer: “The number of people, the number of interesting companies that came across our radar over 2022 was really exciting. And I think, for me, obviously getting people there is great, getting the right companies on stage is great, but the energy of the room was what was really positive for me. Hearing those conversations, watching people connect and engage with each other organically and discovering where you have common interests or places where you can help each other out, that’s really why we do what we do at Finovate.”
On the challenge of putting people first in fintech and financial services
Palmer: “Well, I think you hit the nail on the head when it comes to people. I think people forget that financial technology is ultimately about serving people … at the end of the day, you’re not building technology for yourself. You’re building technology for other people to use. And if I look back and say, what is one of fintech’s biggest failings over my time (in) fintech, I think it’s really been around people.”
On leveraging data to become a more people-focused business
Palmer: “The first step is understanding the data that you have, looking at this and really making sure that you have a good idea of how people are engaging with your technology. The other one, which is almost so simple that I can’t believe I need to say it, (is) you need to hire up. You need to hire people who have this as a skill.”
Listen to the complete interview, which includes examples of some of the fintech innovators that Greg Palmer has worked with in recent years – from Dreams to MX – who truly “get it” when it comes to creating innovative, people-first, fintech innovations. And be sure to catch up with the latest episodes of the Finovate podcast, including an interview with Ukrainian fintech founder Igor Tomych of Fintech Garden.
Fraud prevention fintech SEON has acquired anti-money laundering (AML) due diligence software company Complytron in a deal today.
SEON is leveraging Complytron’s expertise to launch a new AML API, which will help companies comply with the European Union’s Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (6AMLD).
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Two Hungary-based fintechs have combined this week. Fraud prevention company SEONacquired due diligence software company Complytron for an undisclosed amount.
Complytron was founded in 2019 after the founders received Google DNI funding for Source Code Leak, a project that used digital fingerprinting software to form connections between seemingly unrelated companies. The group found a commercial use for the software in helping firms comply with AML requirements. The company has received a total of $275k (€257k) funding from a Seed round in 2020.
SEON is leveraging the purchase to launch its new anti-money laundering (AML) API, which incorporates Complytron’s AML expertise. The new API aims to help clients comply with the European Union’s Sixth Anti Money Laundering Directive (6AMLD) by enabling them to check customer names against politically exposed persons, relatives and close associates, and crimes and sanctions lists.
“Our goal at SEON has always been to deliver the best products to our customers with maximum efficiency,” said SEON CEO Tamas Kadar. “Rather than building an AML solution from the ground up, it made perfect sense for us to integrate Complytron’s proprietary algorithms and worldwide databases – as well as the expertise of its talented team.”
The new API offers continuous monitoring that makes it easy for users find and block suspicious customers, add them to monitoring lists, and export the data for Suspicious Activity Reports. The AML API is currently available for all SEON clients, including those using the free version, which the company released last year.
In combining its flagship fraud prevention tools with the new AML API, SEON aims to help companies reduce information silos, run more thorough onboarding checks, and centralize customer data. The company is calling the integration a “crucial first step” in the process of creating a complete risk management toolkit.
Since it was founded in 2017, SEON has raised a total of $108 million. Earlier this year, the company partnered with Bulgaria-based tbi bank, which will deploy SEON’s fraud detection tools.
Neobank Oxygen has raised $20 million in Series B funding, taking its total capital to $45 million according to Crunchbase.
The funding -“led largely by return investors” – will help Oxygen further develop its product, improve the user experience, and grow its workforce.
San Francisco, California-based Oxygen won Best Digital Bank in the 2021 Finovate Awards.
San Francisco-based digital banking platform Oxygen has secured $20 million in Series B funding. The funding round was “led largely by return investors,” and will support product development and enhancements to Oxygen’s core offerings. The funding will also help Oxygen grow its team to help meet demand. The company’s total capital raised now stands at $45 million, according to Crunchbase.
Oxygen’s funding announcement comes at the same time that it is introducing a new CEO. David Rafalovsky, former Group CTO and Global Head of Operations & Technology for European digital banking ecosystem Sber, will take the helm, succeeding company founder Hussein Ahmed. Ahmed will remain with the company as Oxygen’s Chief Product Officer.
The new funding and new CEO “mark a new era” for Oxygen, Rafalovsky said in a statement. He underscored the size and importance of the small business community in the United States, and said that he believed Oxygen should play a role in helping these enterprises grow and thrive. “I look forward to charting the path forward for the company, building world class solutions for small businesses and gig economy participants,” Rafalovsky said. “Not only are small businesses driving the U.S. economy, but they also keep the American dream alive.”
A neobank designed from the start to serve both consumers and small businesses, Oxygen offers digital natives, creatives, and entrepreneurs an all-in-one digital banking platform that provides cashback rewards, early direct deposit, money transfers, and high-yield savings. Oxygen offers four tiers of membership – from the $0 annual fee “Earth” level to the $199.99 annual fee “Fire” level – which enable accountholders to choose their preferred debit card spending and payroll direct deposit limits – as well as the annual spending required in order to access these features. Banking services are provided by The Bancorp Bank, which also issues the Oxygen’s Visa debit card.
Founded in 2020, Oxygen was named Best Digital Bank in the 2021 Finovate Awards and Best Overall Mobile App in the Fintech Breakthrough Awards that same year. In December, the company launched its OTags functionality that makes it easier for Oxygen accountholders to send and request money, OGifts – which enable multiple Oxygen members to send money to a single Oxygen member – and more.
In this week’s edition of Finovate Global, we take a look at a handful of developments in Estonia’s fintech industry. With a population of more than 1.3 million, Estonia has the Baltic Sea to the west, the Gulf of Finland to its north, Latvia on its southern border, and the Russian Federation on its eastern flank. The Northern European nation achieved its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 following the “Singing Revolution” between 1988 and 1990. Estonia is considered a high-income economy per the World Bank, and has been referred to as a “Baltic Tiger” due to the country’s rapid growth.
First up is news on the regtech front. Estonian startup Salvannounced that it recently secured a $4.3 million (€4 million) seed round extension. The funding was led by New York-based ffVC and featured participation from Germany’s G+D Ventures, as well as existing investors. Salv’s signature offering, Salv Bridge, is a real-time collaborative crime-fighting platform that leverages the power of its network to reduce non-compliance and combat financial crime. The company said that the funding will help accelerate development of its technology, as well as support Salv’s expansion into other markets, starting with Poland.
“The digitalization of the financial industry has resulted in an avalanche of financial crime, and the numbers are only projected to grow,” Salv CEO Taavi Tamkivi said. “Salv Bridge is proven to be effective against money laundering, sanctions, and fraud.”
The new funding takes Salv’s total capital raised to $8.2 million. Headquartered in Estonia’s capital city of Tallinn, Salv was founded in 2018. The company wrapped up 2022 with a pair of new partnership announcements – teaming up with Estonian-based banking platform Tuum and collaborating with greentech innovator Single.Earth.
Speaking of partnerships, Estonia-based identity verification and AML services provider Veriffannounced a partnership with digital asset company Baanx. Veriff will provide identity verification services to the firm, enabling Baanx to confirm user identity during the onboarding process. Veriff’s technology can verify more than 11,200 government-issued identification documents from more than 190 countries and in 47 different languages.
“Cryptocurrencies are disrupting the world of finance, and the crypto industry has evolved dramatically over the past few years,” Veriff COO Indrek Heinloo said. “However, transactions between users are generally anonymous and instantaneous, providing more opportunities for fraudsters and criminals looking to evade conventional anti-money laundering controls. And right now, fraud rates for crypto transactions are at an all-time high.” Heinloo added, “it has never been more important for online banking platforms that offer crypto services to be several steps ahead of these bad actors.”
Veriff was founded in 2015 and is based in Tallinn. The company has raised more than $192 million in funding from investors including Tiger Global Management and Alkeon Capital, who led the company’s Series C round in January of 2022. Also this month, Veriff announced the appointment of Javier Ortega as the firm’s new Chief Revenue Officer.
In recent years, Finovate has showcased a handful of Estonian fintechs. Among the Finovate alums that call Estonia their home are: Bankish, which demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2020; Modularbank, which made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2019; and Crypterium, which demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2018. At FinovateEurope 2023 next month, we will feature our latest Finovate alum from Estonia: call center performance management software provider, Ender Turing. Learn more about our upcoming fintech conference, FinovateEurope, March 14 through 15 in London, at our FinovateEurope hub.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Asia-Pacific
Japan’s Fujitsu forged a partnership with Mizuho Bank to help clients better manage ESG and SDG data.
Tech.eu profiled Germany-based connectivity platform, Team Viewer, and its new partnership with global consumer goods company Henkel.
Lithuanian regtech firm AMLYZE teamed up with fraud prevention company Ondato.
Turkey-based fintech Papara reached 15 million users, ranking the firm among Europe’s largest neobanks.
Middle East and Northern Africa
Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan earned unicorn status after securing $400 million in funding.
MENA-based financial services enabler Paymob forged a new partnership with Egypt-based digital warehousing and fulfillment management platform Khazenly.
U.K.-based digital bank Zopa landed $92 million from existing investors IAG Silverstripe, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP and Augmentum.
The funding, which “cements and enhances” the company’s unicorn status, brings Zopa’s total raised to $880 million.
Since launching its digital bank in 2020, Zopa has attracted $3.69 billion (£3 billion) in deposits, added more than $2.46 billion (£2 billion) in loans on its balance sheet, and issued more than 400,000 credit cards.
Zopapulled in $92 million (£75 million) this week to bolster its digital banking capabilities, proving that the race is still going strong in the challenger banking arena. The funding brings the U.K.-based company’s total raised to more than $880 million.
While Zopa did not disclose an updated valuation, the company said it “cements and enhances” its unicorn status. Zopa originally became a unicorn in 2021 after its $304 million funding round.
Also undisclosed is the round’s lead investor. Interestingly, the lead investor in the company’s 2021 round, SoftBank, is not participating in today’s investment. Zopa CEO Jaidev Janardana told TechCrunch, however, that SoftBank is still an active board member. He also mentioned that today’s funding included investments from existing investors IAG Silverstripe, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, and Augmentum.
Founded in 2005, the former peer-to-peer lending platform launched its digital bank in 2020 and has since attracted $3.69 billion (£3 billion) in deposits, added more than $2.46 billion (£2 billion) in loans on its balance sheet, and issued more than 400,000 credit cards.
“We are happy to have investors who share our excitement at the opportunity to serve more customers across more product categories,” said Janardana. “This has already led to several profitable months in 2022 and will very likely convert into full-year profitability in 2023 for the first time.”
Zopa said that it will use the funding received today to pay off its debts and fuel upcoming mergers and acquisitions, which could begin this quarter.
For a second year in a row, Finovate is commemorating Black History Month by showcasing those Black and African-American founders and executives who demoed their company’s fintech innovations on the Finovate stage in 2022.
Ariam Sium – VP of Product with FinGoal
Sium not only leads Product at FinGoal, the self-described “Listener. Thinker. Doer” also led FinGoal to a Best of Show award at FinovateSpring last year. In her role at FinGoal, Sium said that she uses the tenets of focus and value to govern each product decision made in the rapidly changing world of fintech.
FinGoal most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall in September. The Boulder, Colorado-based company offers an insights platform that helps financial institutions better understand their customers.
Joseph Akintolayo – CEO and Founder of Deposits
Akintolayo is a “builder of ethical products that solve complex problems in fintech, insurtech, and social enterprise.” As CEO and founder of Deposits, Akintolayo heads a startup that offers banks, brands, and communities a plug and play solution to deliver financial services such as payments and lending, without requiring coding experience.
Deposits made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in September. The Dallas, Texas-based company was founded in 2021.
Left to right: Joseph Akintolayo and Samuel Ailemen of Deposits
Samuel Ailemen – Director of Mobile and Identity at Deposits
As Director of Mobile and Identity at Deposits, Ailemen helped lead the company’s demo at FinovateFall 2022. A fraud prevention expert who is “building cool stuff everywhere”, Ailemen leverages his talent as “a software engineer who loves research” to solve real-world problems using new technologies.
Nathan Gibbons – Chief Experience Officer at QuickFi
Gibbons oversees the customer experience at QuickFi, a company that provides “nearly instant,” self-service 24/7 term financing to business equipment buyers. Demoing the company’s technology at FinovateFall last year, Gibbons and colleague Jillian Munson earned QuickFi its first Finovate Best of Show award.
A C-suite executive with QuickFi since 2018, Gibbons previously spent more than 11 years as Project Manager and later Vice President with First American Equipment Finance. QuickFi was launched by founders of First American Equipment Finance in 2018.
Michael Duncan – CEO and Founder of Bankjoy
Founder and CEO of Bankjoy, Duncan demoed his company’s Business Banking Platform at FinovateFall 2022. The company he launched in 2015 offers a range of modern banking technology solutions, including mobile and online banking, as well as a banking API.
Before founding Bankjoy, Duncan spent more than four years as a Programmer/Analyst and later Software Development Manager at Michigan First Credit Union.
Michael Broughton – CEO and Co-founder of Altro
Broughton co-founded and is CEO of Altro, a solution that helps consumers build credit through non-traditional recurring payment processes such as rent and even monthly subscriptions to services like Netflix. Altro’s app is free-to-use, and helps increase financial literacy while boosting existing credit and helping stabilize credit histories. The company made its Finovate debut last May at FinovateSpring.
Broughton is also Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for the USC Credit Union (since 2017), and was both a Scout at Sequoia Capital and a Thiel Fellow at The Thiel Foundation.
Christen Wright – Head of Product at Spave
As Head of Product at Spave, Wright was part of the three-person demo team that won Best of Show at the company’s Finovate debut last May at FinovateSpring. Spave is a financial wholeness solution that enables users to easily save and donate as they purchase products and services. The Spave app provides purchase tracking and analysis, goal setting, group giving, and more.
Wright has a diverse background, having served in senior management roles at AT&T and Delta Air Lines. A member of 100 Black Men of Atlanta, a mentoring and empowerment organization for African American youth, Wright is a graduate of the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, where he earned an MBA.
Anthony Heckman – as Director of Sales at unitQ
Heckman was part of the founding team at unitQ, a company that turns customer insights into data-driven decisions for firms ranging from Chime to fellow Finovate alum Klarna. At FinovateSpring 2022, Heckman led the company’s live demo of its unitQ monitor, which serves as a centralized, searchable, repository for customer feedback.
Heckman founded TWC Advisors in October of last year. The firm specializes in providing go-to-market and sales support to early-stage, high-growth, VC-backed startups.
Cion Digital announced a rebrand to UPTIQ this week.
The new name is designed to reflect the company’s focus on bringing financing solutions to wealth managers and advisors.
Headquartered in Texas and founded in 2021, the company made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2022.
Financial intelligence platform provider Cion Digital, which made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring last May, has rebranded. The Austin, Texas-based company announced this week that its new name is UPTIQ. The new moniker is designed to underscore the company’s commitment to bring its lending solutions to businesses in the wealth management industry.
“As our business model evolves, we want our name to reflect who we are and what we do,” company Chief Marketing Officer Katie Robinson said. “UPTIQ reflects the results we expect our solutions to bring to advisors and their clients – the upward movement we want for all our stakeholders. We want to inspire and establish our trustworthiness as a partner to financial advisors.”
UPTIQ offers a platform that enables wealth advisors to grow their AUM by providing loans to help finance purchases, liquidity, and working capital. The company’s Financial Intelligence Platform leverages data analytics and AI to ensure clients are offered financing solutions that match their goals and preferences. The company has secured partnerships with a number of lenders such as Credibility Capital, Bank 34, and Celtic Bank that have made their lending solutions available on the platform.
“With the UPTIQ Financial Intelligence Platform, wealth advisors can collaborate with lenders and their clients throughout the loan origination process and feel confident they’ve identified the best loan product to meet their clients’ needs,” UPTIQ founder and CEO Snehal Fulzele said. “Our new name reflects the value we offer to all stakeholders.”
UPTIQ will also offer wealth managers and advisors other services in addition to financing. These offerings include access to deposits, alternative investments, and insurance. The goal is to enable wealth managers to grow their businesses by offering more holistic services that encompass more than traditional wealth management.
Founded in 2021, the company demoed its Crypto Dealership Platform at FinovateSpring 2022. The technology, a blockchain orchestration platform, enables auto dealers and other retailers of “big ticket” items to accept cryptocurrency as payment. The company ended last year with a new partnership, teaming up with fellow Finovate alum upSWOT to bring embedded finance solutions to wealth managers and commercial loan brokers to help them serve their SME customers. UPTIQ raised $12 million in seed funding a little over a year ago in a round led by Green Visor Capital and 645 Ventures.
It’s the first day of Black History Month, and this year’s theme is Resistance. We’ll be serving up related coverage all month, and today’s piece sets the scene.
In an effort to highlight Black founders in our industry, we gathered a list of 70 fintechs with Black founders. This is far from an exhaustive list of fintechs with African American founders, but it is a good representation of diverse, relevant* companies.
Helps reduce delinquencies and increase revenue while helping people pay off debt sooner and with fewer penalties Founders: Diana Frappier, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
Empowers general partners and limited partners to focus on building enduring relationships and investment opportunities Founders: Adam Ginsburg, Alex Robinson, Yonas Fisseha
Enables secure and seamless data transmission using the ultrasonic data technology Founders: Chris Ostoich, Chris Ridenour, Josh Glick, Nikki Ridenour, Rodney Williams
Provides a financial advice platform that powers SmartAdvisor, a marketplace connecting consumers to financial advisors Founders: Michael Carvin, Philip Camilleri
Offers a social investing platform where you can talk about investments with friends and make trades on the market. Founders: Darian Bhathena, Jack Phifer, Michael Liu, Roger Cawdette
An all-in-one platform that offers financial tools to help creators grow their business Founders: Arabian Prince, Chris Mendez, Chris Schwartz, James Jones Jr.
Provides a community finance platform where members request and fund emergency needs Founders: Jarrel Carter, Rodney Williams, Taylor Bruno, Travis Holoway
Offers a lending platform that provides short-term financing to qualified TV and Film productions Founders: Janelle Alexander, Jon Gosier, Josh Harris, Mickey Vetter
Helps essential professionals buy homes and build financial security near the communities they serve Founded: Alex Lofton, Jesse Vaughan, Jonathan Asmis
Offers a relationship-based lending application that simplifies and automates loans between friends, family, and trusted relationships. Founders: Dennis Cail, Michael Seay
Provides a rewards and loyalty infrastructure for banks and businesses in Africa Founders: Harshal Gandole, Madonna Ononobi, Simeon Ononobi, Suraj Supekar
Offers an Automated Mortgage Advisor that simulates buying a home with multiple lenders to determine mortgage approval odds and affordability impact based on lifestyle Founders: Bryan Young, Steven Better, Tim Roberson
Provides an operating system for active investment management, powering investment products, and experiences for retail investors Founders: Clayton Gardner, Joe Percoco, Max Bernardy
Offers a global split payment platform built for co-creators on any project, anywhere Founders: Adam Clabaugh, Mangesh Bhamkar, Marcus Cobb, Rachel Knepp
Enables lenders to open more accounts by showing users the actions necessary to meet eligibility for their financial goals Founders: Abb Kapoor, David Potter
Provides an AI-powered 401K alternative stock investing platform helping everyday investors retire early Founders: Ben Malena, Johnathon Albercrombie, Lakeisha Turner, Ronnie Green
Partners with mortgage lenders to offer a seamless digital homebuying experience for their clients Founders: Frederick Townes, Marcos Carvalho, Mauro Repacci
Risk management and compliance software company Ncontracts unveiled its new risk management suite, Ncontracts RPM, this week.
Ncontracts RPM integrates four of the company’s solutions — Nrisk, Nvendor, Ncomply, and Nfndings – into a combined offering that will help FIs leverage data to enhance risk and compliance management.
Headquartered in Tennessee, Ncontracts made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2022 in September.
Integrated risk management and compliance software provider Ncontractslaunched its risk management suite this week. The Ncontracts RPM Suite blends risk, vendor, compliance, and finding management solutions to help boost efficiency and drive better-decision making. Known separately as Nrisk, Nvendor, Ncomply, and Nfindings, the combined elements of Ncontracts’ RPM Suite help financial institutions turn data into the kind of relevant, actionable insights to reduce the burden of risk and compliance management.
“Financial institutions need better, more comprehensive risk management tools to successfully respond to digital disruption, economic uncertainty, regulatory change, staffing shortages, and other challenges,” Ncontracts CEO Michael Berman said. “Our RPM suite brings knowledge and insights to our clients to create a high-performing system that helps financial institutions efficiently leverage data to drive success.”
Headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, and founded in 2009, Ncontracts made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2022. With a customer base of more than 4,200 financial institutions, mortgage companies, and fintechs in the U.S., Ncontracts offers a cloud-based technology solution that encompasses vendor, organizational, audit, and compliance risk management.
In the months since the company’s Finovate appearance in September, Ncontracts added C-suite talent in the form of new Chief Customer Officer Melissa Outlaw, new Chief Sales Officer Michelle Amato, and new Chief Human Resource Officer Cathy Guthrie. Named to the Inc. 5000 roster of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. for the fourth year in a row in 2022, Ncontracts raised $1.1 million in funding prior to being acquired by Gryphon Investors in 2020 for an undisclosed sum.
“The risks facing financial institutions are multiplying and becoming more complex, and no bank, regardless of size, can justify using spreadsheets today to manage the process when the stakes are so high,” Gryphon Investors Software Principal Jon Cheek said when the acquisition was announced. “Ncontracts’ software has made it easy for financial institutions of all sizes to manage the spectrum of complex risks and regulations facing them today.”
American Express is launching American Express Business Blueprint, a set of digital cash flow management tools for small businesses.
Small businesses can access the MyInsights cash flow solution within Business Blueprint at no charge.
Business Blueprint evolved out of Kabbage, an alternative lending startup that the company acquired in 2020. With the launch of Business Blueprint, the Kabbage brand is now retired.
Cash flow management tools are not new to fintech, but the industry gets excited when card giant American Express launches new tools. That’s the case today– the company unveiledAmerican Express Business Blueprint, a set of digital cash flow management tools for small businesses.
Business Blueprint offers small business users digital financial products, payment card management tools, and cash flow insights via its MyInsights tool. The platform offers to lighten the load of small business owners by helping them manage cash flow, take out a loan, pay bills and vendors, check their account balances, deposit checks, accept card payments, and more. Additionally, the tool projects cash balances out to 30 days and sends spending alerts, as well as enables users to view and redeem their membership rewards points.
“Business Blueprint marks a critical next step in American Express’s vision of becoming a digital one-stop shop for small businesses’ financial needs, whether to manage their cash flow, make payments, get paid, or access working capital,” said company Group President of Global Commercial Services and Credit & Fraud Risk Anna Marrs.
American Express is onboarding small businesses onto Business Blueprint for free, and offering its MyInsights cash flow solution to them at no charge. That’s because the company is looking to sell businesses on its small business lending products, including:
American Express Business Line of Credit for a commercial line of credit ranging from $2,000 to $250,000 with interest rates ranging from 2% to 27%, depending on the term
American Express Business Checking for a digital business checking account that earns 1.30% APY on balances up to $500,000, and the ability to earn Membership Rewards points
American Express Payment Acceptfor accepting all major card payments from customers online
The new offering is rising out of the ashes of Kabbage, an alternative lending company launched in 2009 that American Express acquired in 2020. As Kabbage Co-Founder Rob Frohwein explained in a post on LinkedIn, “The end of era – for me and my Kabbage from American Express colleagues. Our company is fully integrated with Amex (and I’ve been gone for over a year).”
Frohwein went on to reminisce about how the day his team named the company “Kabbage.” One of the company’s early investors, Nicholas Steele, wanted to go with the name Cabbage. However, the “C” was changed to a “K” when the team discovered the cost of the Kabbage domain name was $73,800 cheaper. “Congrats to all Kabbagers – old and current. You may now refer to our business as Business Blueprint, but you’ll always bleed green and think twice when you enjoy actual cabbage in your salad or soup,” Frohwein added.
Getting that signature on the contract is a great feeling reflecting weeks, months, or, sometimes, years of effort. However, this moment is only the beginning of the process of earning the confidence and realizing the mutual benefits for both parties. During the client onboarding process, you lay the foundation of trust with your customer, a crucial factor in client retention.
With a 77% customer retention rate*, optimizing the customer onboarding process is crucial. Improving your onboarding process without comprehensive data and insights is like navigating with no map. Establishing and keeping track of the right onboarding metrics is the key to accomplishing this.
In this webinar, our group of talented onboarding expert panelists will discuss the best metrics to put in place to help deliver the optimal customer onboarding experience for your organization. We’ll start with a review of the most popular metrics. Panelists will share the best practices for introducing these metrics into your company and helping make the process tracking a sustainable operating practice. We’ll also share some helpful tips and resources to help you get started.
B2B payments and invoice networking operator TreviPay announced a partnership with B2B cashflow specialist Cloudfloat.
The goal of the partnership is to help stimulate business opportunities for both companies. TreviPay serves the enterprise market. Cloudfloat specializes in serving small and medium-sized businesses.
TreviPay made its Finovate debut last September at FinovateFall in New York.
B2B payments and invoice networking innovator TreviPay has partnered with B2B cashflow specialist Cloudfloat. The collaboration is designed to bring new business opportunities to both parties: TreviPay – with $7 billion in transaction volume across 34 countries – serves mostly the enterprise market while Cloudfloat specializes in serving small and medium-sized businesses. Via the partnership, the companies expect to serve as valuable references for each other’s respective customer type.
“TreviPay is delighted to be a referral partner with Cloudfloat,” TreviPay Managing Director, APAC, Piers Gorman said. “As the B2B payments landscape matures, there is a significant runway to support all areas of the B2B economy. With opportunities for merchants of all sizes, our referral relationship with Cloudfloat will help bring best-in-class payment options to businesses of all sizes.”
Cloudfloat, founded in 2020 and headquartered in Australia, provides small and medium-sized businesses with time-of-purchase financing, enabling them to make full, timely purchases without immediately impacting cashflow. The financing comes with terms up to 90 days, with no interest charged. The company has realized month-on-month growth of 10% since inception, serving businesses in verticals ranging from hospitality and construction to retail and digital services. “This partnership presents a tremendous opportunity for our business because it unlocks business opportunities which have the potential to help us grow exponentially,” Cloudfloat founder and CEO Aleem Habibullah said.
TreviPay made its Finovate debut last September at FinovateFall in New York. At the conference, the Overland, Kansas-based fintech demoed its Small Business Supplier Payments Network (SBSN). The network provides a way for banks to grow their small business product suite via a solution that enables them to tap into the small business, B2B trade credit market.
