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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
The future of finance is being ushered in. And the pioneers of the new era lead the change from the FinovateFall stage this year.
We can’t tell you how exciting it was to welcome so many people back to Manhattan. It was made even sweeter by the fact that we were able to engage so many digital attendees at the same time. It felt good to be able to bring our community together again!
Following the long-anticipated meeting of minds and ideas, we looked back on the themes that emerged and will steer the industry forward into unchartered territory. It’s impossible, of course, to distill so many conversations down to a few high-level takeaways. However, within these pages are snippets and insights from on-and-off-stage to give you a taste of the action and a spark of the knowledge shared.
After two days of live demos from innovative fintechs and financial services companies, today is a day dedicated to discussing the key themes and critical issues facing our industry today.
From our Investor All-Stars presentations to our special focus tracks on Future Tech, Future Payments, SME and Consumer Lending, and Digital Transformation, Day Three of FinovateFall gives us the opportunity to put two day’s worth of fintech innovation into context – and to turn that context into action: to grow and evolve, to improve ROI, and to change the customer experience for the better.
Thank you for spending the week with us here at FinovateFall. Here is the agenda for today. All times Eastern.
8:15am – 9:00am | Registration, Breakfast, and Networking
9:00am – 9:05am | Welcome from Finovate
9:05am – 9:35am | Investor All-Stars
9:35am – 9:50am | Mastermind Keynote featuring Jon Curtis of Samsung Electronics America
9:50am – 10:40am | Seven in Seven: 7 Expert Speakers Tackle Top Issues in Fintech
10:40am – 11:10am | Networking Break
11:10am – 11:25am | Special Address: The Growth of In-Car Intelligent Assistants
11:25am – 11:40am | Mastermind Keynote: The Future of Digital Identity is NOW
11:40am – 12:05pm | Five in Five: 5 Expert Speakers Tackle Top Issues in Fintech
12:05pm – 1:05pm | Lunch and Networking Break
1:05pm – 2:25pm | Finovate Focus Tracks
Future Tech
Fireside Chat: Digital Currencies, Diem, Central Bank Digital Currencies & Blockchain – Are Digital Currencies & Blockchain Finally Gaining Traction with FIs?
Mastermind Keynote featuring Nick Mates of Lendr
Keynote Address: Harnessing AI to Improve Efficiencies, Increase Margins, and Prevent Fraud
Power Panel: The Conversational AI Market is Expected to Reach a $14 Billion Valuation by 2025 – How Can You Leverage It to Deliver ROI-Driving CX?
Future Payments
Mastermind Keynote: Creating a Winning Cardholder Experience
Fireside Chat: The Need for Speed – Where Next with Faster Payments?
Keynote Address: eCommerce and Post-Pandemic Priorities
Power Panel: How Will New Technologies, New Competitors, and New Business Models Shape the Future of Payments? Is Payments Orchestration About to Have its Moment?
2:25pm – 4:00pm | Finovate Focus Tracks
Digital Transformation
Keynote Address: Customer Insights – Sharing Real Life Examples of Best Practices in CX and How to Blend Human and Digital CX
Keynote Address: Financial Services Digital Transformation: Embracing the Next Generation of Technology
Power Panel: How Open Innovation & Strategic Partnerships Can Help You On Your Digital Transformation Journey
SME & Consumer Lending
Keynote Address: PPP Loans – How Community Banks Rose to the Occasion & What Lessons Can We Learn from Their Success?
Mastermind Keynote: Onboard at the Speed of Digital – Flatten Silos, Fuel Lending, and Regain Control
Power Panel: Lending 2.0 – What Are the Problems that Need to Be Solved for Consumers & SMEs in the New COVID-19 World?
“Wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome …” to Day Two of FinovateFall 2021!
From the smiles on the faces of the hundreds who joined us yesterday at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square to the thunderous applause that greeted virtually every demoing company and keynote speaker, yesterday was a wonderful reminder of both how much we missed hosting live events and how much so many of you have enjoyed attending them.
Today on Day Two we plan to keep the momentum going with another full day of fintech demos, insightful keynotes, and fireside chats. And to finish off the day – in addition to our Best of Show Awards Ceremony – we’re hosting a quartet of free-wheeling, no-holds-barred, Champagne Executive Boardroom sessions held under Chatham House Rules. With topics ranging from New Technology and Fighting Financial Crime to Open Banking and how to take advantage of “the Single Biggest Wealth Transfer in History,” these cocktail-hour sessions are not to be missed.
Here’s the schedule for today. All times Eastern Standard.
8:00am – 8:50am | Registration, Breakfast, and Networking
The day we’ve been waiting for is here. After more than a year and a half of all-digital events, Finovate is LIVE!
With more than 75 innovative fintechs scheduled to demo their latest technologies and 1,100+ registered attendees (900+ in person), we could not be more excited for the start of FinovateFall this year.
Our return to the live stage begins bright and early Monday morning and continues through Wednesday afternoon with live demos, dynamic panel discussions, and keynote addresses from some of fintech’s most insightful and accomplished analysts and entrepreneurs.
For those who are joining us in New York at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, we look forward to seeing you in person this week. We also want to assure you that we take the challenges of COVID-19 seriously, and have taken a number of steps to comply with local guidelines and requirements to provide the safest possible environment for this week’s event.
To this end, please review our FinovateFall 2021 At-Event Safety FAQ, which provides information on vaccination requirements, masking policy, and other additional measures we are following.
And if you can’t make it here, you can still enjoy Finovate anywhere you’ve got an internet connection via our Digital Pass offering.
However you plan to join us, here are the essentials for Day One of FinovateFall 2021 that all attendees – in-person and virtual – need to know. All times Eastern Standard.
8:00am – 8:50am | Registration, Breakfast, and Networking
FinovateFall 2021 is right around the corner (Monday, September 13th through Wednesday, September 15th). That means there’s no better time than the present to pick up your ticket and save your spot as Finovate returns to New York City for its first live fintech conference in more than a year.
We’ve already shared a ton of Sneak Peeks into the innovative technologies our demoing companies will have on display next week. To further whet your appetite, here’s a quick look at some of the keynote speakers and fireside chatters who will share their insights on the hottest topics in fintech.
The Transformative Role of AI in Financial Services – Tuesday, 9.14.21, 10:20am
Jeremy K. Balkin – Managing Director, Global Head of FinTech and Innovation, J.P. Morgan. LinkedIn. With Maria Gotsch – President and CEO, Partnership Fund for New York City. LinkedIn.
The Platform Economy is Coming – How Much of a Threat are the Tech Giants to Incumbents? – Tuesday, 9.14.21, 10:35am
This is a guest blog post by Steve Boms, President of Allon Advocacy. Boms, a featured speaker and panelist at FinovateFall 2019 last month, takes a look at the current regulatory landscape in the United States when it comes to data privacy, and why he thinks we’re a long way off from having a one-size-fits-all approach.
Steve Boms, President, Allon Advocacy sits down with David Penn, Research Analyst at Finovate to talk regtech, open banking and the intersection of two within fintech & politics.
Data breaches have dominated the headlines recently, but a federal standard is still a pipe dream in the current political environment.
Why?
The answer is as old as the country itself: the tension between state and
federal power.
In
the current context, it is Republicans, typically strident defenders of states’
rights, who want a national system. House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking
Member Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has said, “Your
privacy and security should not change depending on where you live in the
United States.” Industry advocates agree with the GOP, arguing for a national
standard because they worry compliance across 50 different state frameworks
would be impossible.
Though
several bills outlining national standards have been introduced in Congress,
including some with Democratic support, the two parties still cannot agree.
That’s because Democrats, along with consumer groups and privacy advocates,
repeatedly have said they will not support federal legislation that supplants current
and future state laws that may be stronger than a federal privacy regime.
Given
this ideological argument, federal action could still be years away.
If
you want progress fast, better to look to the states.
Data
privacy legislation has been introduced or filed in at
least 25 states. Maine and Nevada enacted significant legislation this year. Colorado and Massachusetts also did, and proponents
of data privacy legislation are active in New York. Connecticut lawmakers failed
to consider several data privacy bills, but did pass legislation to establish a
task force to examine what businesses operating in the state should have to
tell consumers about the data they collect.
This
trend – studying the issue – is evident in several states, and while such
“study bills” are sometimes viewed as bureaucratic inertia against more
powerful legislation, these mandates are quite often precursors to more
meaningful statutory changes. That certainly could be the case over the next
year.
The gold standard for state legislation is, of course, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that is set to go into effect on January 1, 2020. In arguing against a uniform federal standard, it is the CCPA that Democrats are hoping to preserve.
Even
though it will take several months, even years, to reach consensus, it is
difficult to envision an eventual federal mandate that doesn’t look a lot like
the CCPA. The CCPA addresses numerous measures that empower consumers to
protect their data privacy, a common theme lawmakers, industry, and consumer
advocates all embrace.
Specifically,
the CCPA allows consumers to opt out of the sale of their information while
embracing their right to know, access, and delete what companies know about
them. The law also includes a 45-day grace period for businesses to comply with
consumers’ requests and imposes penalties on companies for privacy violations,
including the ability for consumers to exercise private rights of action for a
security breach.
California
lawmakers have introduced numerous bills since CCPA passage to clarify the
law’s prior to implementation. Amendments include the removal of certain
categories of data – namely employee and contractor information –and the need
to protect businesses’ preferred treatment of consumers who are part of loyalty
programs.
These
changes might not be enacted, but they present debates federal lawmakers should
watch.
Even with the CCPA as a guide, federal legislation must strike an appropriate balance between supporting consumer empowerment and supporting strong protection standards for consumers and businesses alike. Additionally, a major question still lingers in Washington over who should have authority over data privacy issues, and whether they should have the authority to establish rules or enforce current practices. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report points to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as the most reasonable choice. Many in the industry agree, citing the agency’s authority to weed out “unfair or deceptive” consumer practices and the FTC’s existing authority to issue and enforce regulations on the collection of data on children under 13 years old.
In its
report, however, the GAO does question whether the FTC has the bandwidth to
oversee such an enormous issue, or if a new governing arm, similar to the
European Union’s European Data Protection Supervisor, should be established.
The most important issue facing federal lawmakers, though, is the need to protect innovation. The GAO urges Congress to consider how to “balance consumers’ need for internet privacy with the industry’s ability to provide services and innovate.” Strict privacy regulations may result in compliance costs that are too cumbersome for businesses, and consumer skepticism increases when privacy protections are too lax. Europe is starting to feel the effects of the General Data Privacy Regulation’s (GDPR) inability to balance the two (many U.S. businesses are not able to comply with the regulation’s excessively high bar or cannot pay the large fees and thus cannot offer their services).
Data
privacy is front and center on the global stage. The United States will fall
farther behind unless lawmakers focus on the common tenets of data privacy –
supporting consumer control, ensuring proper regulatory authority, and
embracing innovation – and pass a bipartisan bill.
The fintech space is filled with new players bringing to market new innovations and solutions to old business and consumer problems, as well as traditional businesses looking to develop in-house innovation teams and partner with start-ups. But what they both have in common is a desire to meet and exceed changing customer demands, make financial services more accessible and user-friendly, and keep up with the fast-paced technological advances. During FinovateFall, we sat down with the experts on the ground to ask them about what’s driving the fintech ecosystem where they work.
Andrew Boyajian, Head of Banking, North America, Transferwise on overcoming regulatory challenges to launch a global product.
Neeraj Arora, Global Head of Decision Science and Data Automation – Personal Insurance at AIG on the importance of an innovation branch in the business and why they should work hand-in-hand with start-ups.
David Snitkof, Head of Data Integration & Insights at Kabbage discusses leveraging data and why it should be more than just plugging in some numbers to get an output.
Christian Zimmerman, Co-founder & CEO, Qoins on the pain points which lead him to Qoins and what the future has in-store for crowd-funding to pay back loans.
Alyson Clarke, Principal Analyst, Forrester on the three components for a quality customer experience.
During Finovate Fall 2018, leading fintech research analysts took to the stage for 7 minutes each to present key opportunities for banks and other financial services providers. Featuring:
Jacob Jegher – Senior Vice President, Banking and Head of Strategy, Javelin Strategy & Research
Alyson Clarke – Principal Analyst, Forrester
Daniel Latimore – Senior Vice President, Banking Group, Celent
FinovateFall welcomed over 70 start-ups to demo exciting new products and ideas, and opened the stage to pioneering thought-leaders to discuss the future of finance, technology and how the two come together to solve real world problems. We sat down with leaders of inspiring start-ups to get their insight on what the recipe for success is this often overcrowded space.
Matt Armstead, Executive Director, Founding Member, Board Member, FintechAccel gives his advice to start-ups and explores why getting a great team behind the idea is critical.
Jon Zanoff, Managing Director, Techstars on knowing when a start-up is re ready to take a next step and join an accelerator.
Pini Yukeul, CEO of Optimove, on how AI helps with segmentation, prediction and optimization within marketing and how start-ups and established businesses can leverage it.
FinovateFall brought together fintech innovators from all over the world and representatives from some of the largest banks in the U.S., so naturally there were discussions around forging new partnerships and benefiting from the culture and technology shared between the different sides. We sat down with some of the key speakers to get their insights on how legacy banks and financial institutions can compete or collaborate in this new era.
Jeremy Balkin, Head of Innovation, Retail Banking & Wealth Management, HSBC USA on successful innovation projects and how to get them off the ground.
Mary Jane Ajodah, Vice President, Strategy, BNY Mellon, on how legacy banks can leapfrog start-ups – when they have the right strategy.
Steven Ramirez, CEO at Beyond the Arc, discusses the new trends he’s noticed emerging from the shadows.
Jim Marous, Publisher / Fintech Strategist, The Financial Brand/The Digital Banking Report explores why historical success can be a liability, as well as an asset for a bank.
