https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/jpmorgans-dimon-predicts-3-5-day-work-week-for-next-generation-thanks-to-ai/

Jamie Dimon said artificial intelligence is already being used by thousands of employees at his bank, and is likely to make dramatic improvements in workers’ quality of life, even if it eliminates some jobs. “Your children are going to live to 100 and not have cancer because of technology,” Dimon said in an interview on […]

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/jpmorgans-dimon-predicts-3-5-day-work-week-for-next-generation-thanks-to-ai/

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/payments/fed-looks-to-fintechs-to-drive-fednow-adoption/

The Federal Reserve is looking to fintechs to drive the adoption of FedNow across financial institutions.   With FedNow aiming to reach ubiquity in the United States, “we don’t really want that to take 20 years to do,” Mark Gould, chief payments executive for Federal Reserve Financial Services, said last month at Sibos 2023 in Toronto.  […]

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/payments/fed-looks-to-fintechs-to-drive-fednow-adoption/

https://finovate.com/workfusion-launches-ai-digital-worker-isaac-to-enhance-transaction-monitoring-for-banks/

• AI digital workforce solution provider for banks and FIs, WorkFusion unveiled its latest digital worker, an AI transaction monitoring investigator called Isaac.
• Isaac manages transaction monitoring alerts. The technology routes alerts to human investigators or closes them if they are determined to be non-suspicious.
• WorkFusion demoed its technology at FinovateFall in 2014.

WorkFusion, an AI digital workforce solution provider for FIs, has launched its latest digital worker, an AI Transaction Monitoring Investigator called Isaac. The new offering leverages machine learning to enhance transaction monitoring alert management. By orchestrating alerts – working first-level alerts, auto-escalating alerts that might require investigation, and auto-closing non-suspicious alerts, Isaac enables anti-fraud analysts to focus on the more complex, higher risk fraud incidents.

“Our new AI Digital Worker, Isaac, reduces the alert review burden by helping to identify which alerts need to be escalated for further review and auto-closes those that it deems as non-suspicious,” WorkFusion VP of Financial Crime Art Mueller said. “Because Isaac creates an easy-to-read dossier with a supporting narrative and documentation, analysts move from authors of reports to editors – saving their time to work on higher-risk and higher value investigations.”

Isaac helps FIs manage transaction monitoring alerts. The technology automates transaction monitoring alert reviews and appropriately routes them to a human investigator, when necessary. If Isaac determines the alerts are not suspicious, it automatically closes them. Additionally, Isaac creates a dossier for each decision with a human-readable justification and supporting documentation. The technology is particularly helpful with transaction monitoring instances that produce a large number of alerts. These scenarios can include structuring, excessive fund transfers, unexpected account activity, as well as other high-risk factors. Note that Isaac is not a transaction monitoring tool itself, and does not initiate alerts on its own.

Headquartered in 2010 and founded in New York, WorkFusion demoed its Active-Learning Automation solution at FinovateFall 2014. Today, the company offers an AI-powered digital workforce that supports teams in operations such as anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions, customer onboarding, Know Your Customer (KYC), and customer service. WorkFusion’s solutions are not bots. Instead, the company’s digital workers leverage a combination of process knowledge and technologies – including AI, machine learning, intelligent document processing, and robotic process automation (RPA) – in order to complete jobs rather than merely rule-based tasks.

This summer the Bank of Asia announced that it would deploy WorkFusion’s AI Digital Worker, Evelyn, as part of its enhanced client onboarding experience. Evelyn provides negative news screening, a component of the KYC process that is especially helpful in combating money laundering, as WorkFusion CEO Adam Famularo explained.

“Adverse media monitoring is one of the most effective tools banks and financial institutions have to protect against money laundering,” Famularo said. “However, there are many news articles, most of which are irrelevant false positive, which consume a lot of time. By automating this laborious task, Bank of Asia will reduce its new client onboarding time and ensure a more positive customer experience.”

Photo by Alex Knight

The post WorkFusion Launches AI Digital Worker Isaac to Enhance Transaction Monitoring for Banks appeared first on Finovate.

https://finovate.com/workfusion-launches-ai-digital-worker-isaac-to-enhance-transaction-monitoring-for-banks/

https://finovate.com/coinbase-earns-license-from-the-monetary-authority-of-singapore/

• Coinbase has obtained a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore that allows the company to offer digital payment token services to its retail and commercial users in Singapore. 
• The official license comes a year after the Monetary Authority of Singapore granted Coinbase initial approval last October.
• Coinbase has recently invested heavily in Singapore by launching new region-specific products, boosting relationships with regional groups, and hiring and training at its Singapore tech hub.

Digital currency platform Coinbase announced this week that Coinbase Singapore has obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

With its MPI license in Singapore, Coinbase can now offer digital payment token services to its retail and commercial users in the country. Today’s announcement comes a year after the MAS granted Coinbase initial approval for the license last October.

As crypto tolerance and acceptance has developed across the globe in recent years, Singapore has proven an important region for expansion for Coinbase. As the company’s blog states, “… we’ve identified Singapore as a vital market for Coinbase. The nation’s progressive economic strategies and approach to regulation sync well with our global mission and objectives.”

Along with its new MPI license in the region, Coinbase has recently released products tailored specifically for Singapore, to include the addition of new funding options for users. Earlier this year, the company launched the ability for retail customers to fund their accounts using PayNow and FAST bank transfers. Coinbase also introduced no-fee USDC purchases with the Singapore dollar (SGD).

Coinbase has made other investments in Singapore, as well. The company has increased training and hiring at its Singapore tech hub and sparked relationships with industry associations including ACCESS, the Singapore Fintech Association, and the Blockchain Association of Singapore. Additionally, Coinbase’s venture arm has made 15 investments in the region.

“The newly acquired license is not only a validation of Coinbase’s operations but also represents a promise and responsibility to the growing crypto and Web3 community in Singapore,” Coinbase said in its blog post, adding, “As we look ahead, we are enthusiastic about further contributing to and growing alongside the crypto and Web3 community in Singapore.”

This positive news comes after a spate of negative press for Coinbase in recent months. In June, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the U.S.-based company for operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency; and for failing to register the offer and sale of its crypto asset staking-as-a-service program. That accusation came after company CEO Brian Armstrong petitioned the SEC for clear rules and regulations surrounding crypto.

Founded in 2012, Coinbase currently sees $92 billion in quarterly volume traded and has $128 billion in assets on its platform. The company went public in 2021 and now trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker COIN with a current market capitalization of $18 billion.

Photo by Pixabay

The post Coinbase Earns License from the Monetary Authority of Singapore appeared first on Finovate.

https://finovate.com/coinbase-earns-license-from-the-monetary-authority-of-singapore/

https://finovate.com/a-highlight-of-hispanic-founded-fintechs/

To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, we wanted to recognize some of the contributions Hispanic entrepreneurs have made in the fintech industry. From the start, Hispanic professionals have played a pivotal role in shaping fintech by using their creativity and unique perspective to build and improve solutions that truly make a difference for both retail and commercial users.

Below is a selection of Hispanic-founded fintech companies that continue to make a transformative impact in the worlds of banking and fintech. Join us in celebrating diversity, inclusion, and the achievements from these individuals during this month of recognition and reflection. Please note that this is simply a conversation starter and is not an all-inclusive list of Hispanic-founded fintechs.

Securitize

Securitize enables digital securities, which are easier to own, simpler to manage, and faster to trade.
Founders: Carlos Domingo, Jamie H. Finn, Shay Finkelstein, and Tal Elyashiv

Payjoy

PayJoy is a consumer financing company that allows consumers to buy a smartphone on credit and pay it off in installments.
Founders: Doug Ricket, Gib Lopez, Mark Heynen, and Tom Ricket

Finix

Finix develops a payment processing platform for businesses.
Founders: Richie Serna and Sean Donovan

Petal

Petal offers three Visa credit card products for underserved consumers.
Founders: Andrew Endicott, David Ehrich, Jack Arenas, and Jason Rosen

Flywire

Flywire is a global payments enablement and software company that simplifies complex payments for its clients and their customers.
Founder: Iker Marcaide

Octane

Octane offers access to instant financing to fuel their customers lifestyles.
Founders: Andre Gregori, Jason Guss, Mark Davidson, Mark Garro, and Michael Fanfant

Origin

Origin is a financial planning platform that manages compensation, benefits, and personal finances for employees.
Founders: João de Paula and Matt Watson

Oportun

Oportun is a digital banking platform that puts its 1.9 million members’ financial goals within reach.
Founders: Gabriel Manjarrez and James Gutierrez

Brex

Brex is a global spend platform with corporate cards, expense management, reimbursements, and billpay.
Founders: Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi

Camino Financial

Camino Financial is an online finance company that offers business loans and wealth-building solutions to help small businesses grow.
Founders: Kenneth Salas and Sean Salas

Ontop

Ontop offers streamlined payroll, onboarding, and smooth payments for international teams.
Founders: Julian Torres and Santiago Aparicio

Papaya

Papaya develops technology designed to simplify bill payment for consumers.
Founders: Jason Meltzer and Patrick Kann

Snowball Wealth

Snowball Wealth offers a mobile app designed to help users tackle debt and build generational wealth.
Founders: Pamela Martinez, Pearl Chan, and Tanya Menendez

Paystand

Paystand is a cloud-based billing and payment platform for B2B companies.
Founders: Jeremy Almond and Scott Campbell

Listo

Listo offers insurance and loans via retail and mobile experiences.
Founders: Alan Chiu and Sam Ulloa

Ripio

Ripio is a bitcoin and digital payments company that provides electronic payment solutions for businesses in Latin America.
Founders: Luciana Gruszeczka, Mugur Marculescu, and Sebastian Serrano

InvestCloud

InvestCloud is a global company specializing in digital platforms that enable the development of financial solutions.
Founders: Colin Close, John Wise, Julian Bowden, Michael A. Smith, Vincent Sos, and Yaela Shamberg

Novel Capital

Novel Capital provides revenue-based financing to B2B companies.
Founders: Carlos Antequera and Keith Harrington

Flow

Flow offers an open architecture that connects investment managers with their limited partners and service providers.
Founders: Adrian Ortiz, Brendan Marshall

Milo

Milo is reimagining the way crypto and global consumers access credit and financial solutions.
Founder: Josip Rupena

Traive

Traive is a lending platform that connects lenders to farmers to provide financial products and services for the agricultural supply chain.
Founders: Aline Pezente and Fabricio Pezente

Finally

Finally helps small and medium-sized businesses automate their accounting and finances.
Founders: Edwin Mejia, Felix Rodriguez, and Glennys Rodriguez

Alvva

Alvva offers credit-building loans to pay for immigration expenses.
Founders: Jorge Gonzalez and Sergio Torres

Portabl

Portabl offers identity-powered user experiences via a single API. 
Founder: Nate Soffio

Onyx Private

Onyx offers a modern private bank for the new generation.
Founders: Douglas Lopes, Tiago Passinato, and Victor Santos

SMBX

SMBX is a funding portal and public marketplace for issuing and buying U.S. small business bonds.
Founders: Benjamin James Lozano, Bhavish Balhotra, Gabrielle Katsnelson, and Jackie Chan

Zoe Financial

Zoe Financial helps its clients find and hire their ideal financial advisor.
Founder: Andres Garcia Amaya

OKY

OKY is building technologies that help immigrants to improve their lives by connecting families and sending value home efficiently.
Founders: Alejandro Miron, Estuardo Figueroa, Santiago Rossi, and Victor Unda

Caplight

Caplight is a platform that enables institutional investors to buy and sell derivatives of private equity.
Founders: Javier Avalos, Justin Moore

Aeropay

Aeropay enables businesses to accept compliant, digital payments.
Founder: Daniel Muller

Flourish FI

Flourish FI is a financial wellness and engagement platform for financial institutions.
Founders: Jessica Eting, Pedro Moura

Capchase

Capchase provides financial solutions to startups by allowing access to funds as they grow.
Founders: Ignacio Moreno Pubul, Luis Basagoiti Marqués, Miguel Fernandez, and Przemek Gotfryd

Chargezoom

Chargezoom is a B2B integrated payments platform.
Founders: Matt Dubois and Miguel Avellan

Chipper

Chipper is a student loan app that helps users lower payments, qualify for forgiveness, and chip away debt faster.
Founder: Tony Aguilar

Ease

Ease is a corporate card and practice operations software for private practices.
Founders: Mario Amaro and Miles Montes

Photo by fauxels

The post A Highlight of Hispanic-Founded Fintechs appeared first on Finovate.

https://finovate.com/a-highlight-of-hispanic-founded-fintechs/

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/citizens-to-roll-out-30-commercial-banking-products-by-q2-2024/

Citizens Bank expects to roll out 30 projects in the next nine months as it ramps up generative AI, automation and virtual assistant offerings.   By the second quarter of 2024, the $222 billion, Providence, R.I.-based bank expects to introduce those projects as part of its investment in its commercial banking platform, Jo Wyper, executive […]

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/citizens-to-roll-out-30-commercial-banking-products-by-q2-2024/

https://finovate.com/finovate-global-lithuania-the-rise-of-regtech-in-one-of-the-europes-most-dynamic-fintech-hubs/

Lithuania is one of those countries that punches above its weight in terms of fintech innovation. With a population of less than three million, the country boasts more than 260 fintech companies. It is the largest fintech hub in the EU when it comes to licensed companies. These fintechs, numbering nearly 150, represent the majority of fintechs in the country and are licensed e-money institutions, payment institutions, or specialized banks.

Some of the more widely known Lithuanian fintechs include account-to-account infrastructure company kevin and e-money institution Paysera. Revolut Bank is licensed and regulated by the Bank of Lithuania, the country’s central bank.

Given the country’s strength as a fintech hub, it is no surprise that Lithuania holds its own on the regtech front as well. Two of the country’s more active regtechs are AMLYZE, an automated transaction monitoring and risk assessment solution provider that raised $1 million in funding back in May, and identity verification and fraud prevention company iDenfy. Both companies made significant partnership announcements in recent days.

Lithuanian identity verification and fraud prevention company iDenfy will help ECNG Digital, a virtual currency exchange and payment services firm, enhance its onboarding process. The partnership will enable ECNG Digital to deploy a variety of customized identity verification procedures via a KYC solution that combines high accuracy and an optimized user experience. These procedures range from validating government-issued identification documents to live selfie detection to cross-referencing databases. Additionally, iDenfy’s in-house KYC specialists will provide real-time verifications to enhance the accuracy of the technology.

“In the realm of virtual currency exchange and payment services, the real challenge lies in balancing fraud prevention with swift identity verification,” iDenfy CEO Domantas Ciulde said. “Our mission is to guide ECNG Digital on this path, ensuring precision while accelerating understanding.”

ECNG Digital is not the only company turning to iDenfy for identity verification. German online marketplace Quoka and iDenfy also have announced a partnership this week. iDenfy’s verification technology will help Quoka manage its sizable volume of ID verifications, leveraging both biometrics and document recognition.

Headquartered in Kaunas, Lithuania, iDenfy was founded in 2017.

Lithuanian credit union group KREDA has selected Lithuanian regtech AMLYZ as its compliance software partner. The organization is one of the largest credit union organizations in the country and has 14 member institutions. KREDA will leverage AMLYZE’s transaction monitoring technology as part of a modernization of its compliance standards. The technology will also help KREDA with customer risk assessment, case management, and sanctions screening.

AMLYZE CEO and co-founder Gabrielius Bilkštys said the partnership represented the company’s “commitment to helping organizations like KREDA navigate the complex current regulatory landscape, detect financial crime, and ensure the highest standards of compliance.” Founded in 2018, KREDA has $528 million (€0.5 billion) in assets under management.

AMLYZE also recently announced that it was working with Estonian core banking provider Tuum. The two firms have forged a strategic partnership that will give banks and other financial institutions access to “out-of-the-box” compliance that is integrated into Tuum’s core banking, payments, and card modules. Tuum VP of Global Strategic Partnerships Jean Souto said that the collaboration would allow “banks and financial institutions to free themselves from the burden of legacy applications so they can respond quickly to market challenges and new opportunities whilst ensuring compliance with increasingly evolving stringent regulations.”

Founded in 2019, AMLYZE is headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Latin America and the Caribbean

• Mexican neobank Albo secured $40 million in Series C funding.
• Issuer-processor Paymentology teamed up with Colombia-based expense management firm Tuily to bring Apple Pay to the company’s SME customers.
• Uruguay-based digital payments company dLocal announced a pause in its expansion plans.

Asia-Pacific

• Cross-border payments infrastructure network Thunes expanded its Acceptance network to five markets in southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
• Currencycloud announced that it has more than tripled its Chinese customer growth rate across the Asia-Pacific since opening its regional headquarters in 2021.
• Wealth app Sharesies teamed up with New Zealand-based Maori fintech starup BlinkPay.

Sub-Saharan Africa

• South Africa-based Ukheshe partnered with Xion Global to enable crypto payments on its Scan to Pay app.
• Nigerian wealth management platform Risevest has acquired digital trading platform Chaka.
• Revio, a fintech headquartered in South Africa that specializes in payment orchestration, secured $5.2 million in seed funding.

Central and Eastern Europe

• Lithuanian regtech iDenfy forged a partnership with German online marketplace Quoka.
• Financial Times looked at the challenges faced by German fintech Solaris as it seeks to raise funds.
• Blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurreny infrastructure provider Binance sold its Russia business to CommEx.

Middle East and Northern Africa

• U.K.-based TangoPay partnered with Israel-based transaction monitoring specialist ThetaRay
• Israeli-fintech Earnix introduced new Chief Technology Officer Erez Barak.
• UAE’s Neopay announced a partnership with Alipay+.

Central and Southern Asia

• Indian B2B software-as-a-service fintech Perfios secured $229 million in a Series D funding round.
• Pakistan-based challenger bank HugoBank received in-principal approval for its Digital Retail Banking (DRB) license from the country’s central bank.
• Fintechs dominated the top ranks of LinkedIn’s Top 20 Indian Startups List.

Photo by Natallia Photo

The post Finovate Global Lithuania: The Rise of Regtech in One of the Europe’s Most Dynamic Fintech Hubs appeared first on Finovate.

https://finovate.com/finovate-global-lithuania-the-rise-of-regtech-in-one-of-the-europes-most-dynamic-fintech-hubs/

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/ally-to-launch-a-new-gen-ai-feature-each-month/

Ally Financial is exploring close to 200 use cases in-house for generative AI as it looks to increase efficiencies at the $197 billion bank.   Ally is developing its generative AI in-house and launched beta testing in June, Sathish Muthukrishnan, chief information, data, and digital officer, told Bank Automation News.  “We have set a goal […]

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/ally-to-launch-a-new-gen-ai-feature-each-month/

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/bnp-paribas-identifies-hundreds-of-ai-use-cases/

BNP Paribas has identified hundreds of use cases for AI and is using the tech to enhance its virtual agent capabilities and automate data extraction, improving its ability to analyze unstructured data.   “The purpose of AI is to take unstructured data, access it, structure it, analyze it and to create a model around it, […]

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/bnp-paribas-identifies-hundreds-of-ai-use-cases/

https://finovate.com/global-corporate-treasury-services-provider-neo-tops-10-5-billion-in-accounts-cleared/

• Neo, an international corporate treasury services provider, has cleared more than $10.5 billion (€10 billion) in its corporate multi-currency accounts since 2020.
• Founded in 2017, the company has grown from a FX hedging platform to a one-stop-shop to help corporates better manage cross-border transactions.
• Neo made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2019.

International treasury services provider Neo announced today that it has cleared more than $10.5 billion (€10 billion) via its corporate multi-currency accounts since their launch three years ago. This includes a doubling of its cleared volume in less than a year, as its accounts for corporate treasurers reached $5.3 billion (€5 billion) already in 2023.

Neo CEO and co-founder Laurent Descout said that reaching the milestone was a testament to the scalability of the company’s core banking system technology. He called Neo’s innovation “machine-tooled to satisfy the growing complexity faced by international treasury teams.”

The new milestone also affirms Neo’s commitment to helping corporate treasurers navigate a global B2B cross-border payments market that is expected to top $250 trillion by 2027. This is based on estimates from the Bank of England. But it is not the size of the market alone that makes international corporate treasury operations a challenge. Growth into new markets also means securing different accounts for each new country or currency. For many corporate banks, opening an international bank account is a cumbersome and time-consuming process. Add to this the fact that many firms are unable to secure the international accounts they seek and those that do often deal with significant operational inefficiencies, including a lack of support from cross-border payment specialists.

“Accessing multi-currency accounts has literally become impossible for too many corporates across many different industries,” Descout said.

To this end, Neo offers a platform that enables businesses to set up an international account with their own multi-currency International Bank Account Number (IBAN). This will allow them to manage cash flows with supply chains, hedge FX exposure, and access transaction data from a single location. Companies can also leverage virtual wallets to allow them to make and receive payments in more than 25 different currencies. In addition to transparent and competitive pricing, Neo also offers professional support from a team of international payments specialists.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, Neo made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2019. From its origins as an FX hedging platform, Neo today provides treasury management services to more than 400 corporates across 28 countries. The company delivers payments in 100+ countries, and reaches 8,000+ banks via its Bank Identification Code (BIC) on the Swift network.

Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric

The post Global Corporate Treasury Services Provider Neo Tops $10.5 Billion In Accounts Cleared appeared first on Finovate.

https://finovate.com/global-corporate-treasury-services-provider-neo-tops-10-5-billion-in-accounts-cleared/

https://finovate.com/lloyds-bank-taps-visa-for-virtual-card-solution/

• Lloyds Bank has partnered with Visa to leverage the payment firm’s Visa Commercial Pay virtual card program.
• Visa Commercial Pay is available to Lloyds Bank’s business customers.
• The new tool aims to help businesses control spending, reconcile invoices, and report on expenditures.

In a world where digital banking reigns supreme, digital payment tools are king. That’s likely the motivation behind Lloyds Bank’s recent deal with Visa. The U.K.-based bank has tapped the U.S. payments giant to power its new virtual card solution.

Lloyds Bank’s is launching a new virtual card tool for businesses, Visa Commercial Pay, and is the first bank to launch Visa Commercial Pay in the U.K. The new tool aims to help small businesses to enterprises solve their purchasing and administrative challenges. For example, the solution can help them control spending, reconcile invoices, and report on expenditures.

“Visa Commercial Pay is a next generation payment platform that provides the technology to help businesses simplify and streamline the way they make payments, all in a secure and controlled way,” said Visa Managing Director, U.K. & Ireland Mandy Lamb. “We’re delighted to launch this in the U.K. in partnership with Lloyds Bank, delivering seamless payment experiences for U.K. businesses.”

Visa Commercial Pay works like most typical virtual cards in that it instantly issues virtual card numbers to businesses and their employees, allowing them to make card-not-present purchases right away. Employees can request a single or multi-use card number through their employer’s existing approval workflow and reference fields.

Employers have the option to issue cards individually or by batch and can manage spending via controls based on location, time, purchaser, and merchant.

“We’ve worked hard to create a solution that offers a secure, simplified process that enables businesses to pay their suppliers earlier while protecting their working capital,” said Lloyds Bank Head of Commercial Cards James Sykes.

Virtual card issuance has seen a spike amongst business users in the past few years. Not only has their utility increased with the rise of the digital economy, but the security of the cards has also proven a key benefit. That’s because many cards are issued for one-time or limited use, which reduces the risk for fraud and unauthorized transactions. Additionally, the control, visibility, and reporting capabilities the cards offer employers makes virtual cards a clear choice, especially among small businesses with limited resources.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

The post Lloyds Bank Taps Visa for Virtual Card Solution appeared first on Finovate.

https://finovate.com/lloyds-bank-taps-visa-for-virtual-card-solution/

https://finovate.com/discover-banks-36-million-fund-to-transform-financial-health-in-delawares-fintech-ecosystem/

This is a sponsored blog post by Delaware Prosperity Partnership

A new Discover Bank fund aims to increase financial health throughout Delaware while enriching the state’s innovation ecosystem and enhancing Delaware’s reputation as a hub for banking and financial services.

The Discover Financial Health Improvement Fund will support startups and early-stage technology companies that are developing solutions to improve the financial well-being of low- and moderate-income residents, communities, and small businesses statewide. Discover Bank has made an initial capital commitment of $36 million to the Fund, which was announced in June and launches this month.

“We continually explore innovative ways to support our communities in which we operate, and the initial portfolio companies in the Discover Financial Health Improvement Fund have developed technologies that improve the financial health of people with modest means and provide tools to support small businesses growth,” said Matthew Parks, Vice President of Discover Bank. “It is our expectation that these technologies can both be profitable and beneficial to the community.”

By creating a framework to drive capital investments to fintech startups, the Fund ultimately seeks to ensure that affordable and relevant financial products and services are useful and accessible to unserved and underserved individuals and small businesses. Clients for these offerings include the unbanked and the underbanked and those with low credit scores, low savings rates and/or high borrowing costs.

The mission-driven initiative is a collaboration between Discover Bank, the Financial Health Network, ResilienceVC, and Delaware-based Chartline Capital. The Financial Health Network, a leading authority in its field, will help evaluate startups for their potential impact on financial-health improvement. ResilienceVC, a seed-stage domestically focused venture firm investing in embedded fintech startups, will manage Discover’s earlier-stage investments.

Venture capital firm Chartline Capital Partners was formed under the principle that entrepreneurship and venture capital can be leveraged to improve the world. The firm invests in high-growth business-to-business technology companies serving core industries after they have started scaling their go-to-market and helps founders and management teams accelerate growth. Chartline will manage Discover’s later-stage investments.

“Throughout time, new technologies have made people’s lives better,” said Ben duPont, Chartline co-founder and Managing Director. “Chartline is honored to partner with Discover to invest in companies leveraging new financial technologies to improve the lives of low- and moderate-income people, communities and small businesses.”

The Fund has a priority focus on investing in fintech startups that are willing to operate out of the new Financial Technology Building on the STAR Campus of the University of Delaware in Newark. Fund support will then seek to spread to companies that may be located throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Companies outside the region are still eligible for funding, but the venture must be focused on materially improving financial health for consumers and small businesses throughout the State of Delaware and/or the surrounding mid-Atlantic region. Any venture focused on improving financial health – regardless of its product or service’s delivery format or specific financial topic addressed – may apply for funding.

By boosting individual startups, the Discover Financial Health Improvement Fund also will bolster Delaware’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. According to Noah Olson, Director of Innovation at statewide economic development organization Delaware Prosperity Partnership, a legacy strength in financial services, coupled with a nurturing environment for business growth, makes Delaware a great place to grow a fintech company.

“Discover, a global company with a major footprint here in Delaware, is leading by example with this new fund,” Olson said. “Adding further investment resources to a growing startup ecosystem will be beneficial for the state, as well as for the portfolio companies who are focused on financial health improvement.”

The post Discover Bank’s $36 Million Fund to Transform Financial Health in Delaware’s Fintech Ecosystem appeared first on Finovate.

https://finovate.com/discover-banks-36-million-fund-to-transform-financial-health-in-delawares-fintech-ecosystem/

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/build-buy-both-a-hybrid-approach-to-ai/

What will artificial intelligence bring to the financial services industry? This question is becoming less crucial than how financial institutions are approaching AI implementation, development and innovation.  Seventy-three percent of C-level bank executives are interested in or already using AI tools within their institutions, according to a CCG Catalyst Consulting report that surveyed 108 C-level […]

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/build-buy-both-a-hybrid-approach-to-ai/

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/core-cloud/transactions-nomura-trust-banking-chooses-ncino-for-cloud-migration/

Nomura Trust & Banking Co. has chosen nCino to move its operations to the cloud.  The Japanese trust bank aims to remove inefficient operations, ensure data security, and integrate and centralize its data by modernizing and moving its operations to the cloud, according to nCino’s Sept. 12 release.  The $3.3 billion Nomura Trust chose nCino […]

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/core-cloud/transactions-nomura-trust-banking-chooses-ncino-for-cloud-migration/

https://finovate.com/finovatefall-2023-in-1224-photos/

FinovateFall 2023 concluded earlier this month, but that doesn’t mean that the excitement has died down. The three-day event was packed with valuable content, meaningful conversations, a reunion of familiar faces, and new connections.

And while speakers and attendees were busy talking and learning about all things fintech and banking, Finovate’s photographer was capturing the event in 1,224 pictures.

We’ve culled a handful of highlights that help summarize FinovateFall via pictures. If you’re looking for a content summary, check out David’s piece titled, FinovateFall 2023: AI, the Fintechification of Everything, and Why Boring is the New Black.

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic during his keynote: ChatGPT, Generative AI & The Future For Humanity

Jacqueline Baker, Author of The Unexpected Leader – Discovering the Leader Within You, during her book signing.

FinovateFall 2023 Best of Show Award winners (from left to right)- Mahalo Banking, Trust & Will, Wysh, Debbie, eSelf.ai, and Chimney

Women in Fintech panel conversation moderated by Michelle Tran with Akita Somani, Brandis DeSimone, Baanu Ratneswaran, Trish Costello, and Karen Yankovich

Investor All Stars panel, moderated by Ope Runseewe, with Lindsay Fitzgerald, Alexa von Tobel, Matt Harris, and Kabir Kumar

You can view the entire photo album on Finovate’s Flickr page.

The post FinovateFall 2023 in 1,224 Photos appeared first on Finovate.

https://finovate.com/finovatefall-2023-in-1224-photos/

https://finovate.com/invstr-launches-parent-permissioned-kids-investing-tool/

• Invstr launched Investr Jr., a digital bank and investing account for users under the age of 18.
• When they are ready to invest, child users can send their investment proposals to the adult on the account, who can approve or decline the request.
• The new Investr Jr. accounts cost $6.25 to $7.99 per month.

Kids want to do everything their parents do, so why not let them invest… with a little help, of course. Digital banking and investment app Invstr launched Invstr Jr. this week. Invstr Jr. is a custodial account to help users under the age of 18 learn how to earn, invest, and manage their finances.

When parents open an Invstr Jr. account for their child, they can schedule monthly deposits and set allowances for completing goals. Each account, offered by Vast Bank, features a checking and savings account, a debit card, a brokerage account with commission-free fractional investing, and a crypto account. When they are ready to invest, the child user can send investment proposals to the adult, who has the option to approve or decline the requests.

“At Invstr we believe that you’re never too young to start investing,” said Invstr CEO Kerim Derhalli. “We believe everyone can be an investor and can learn to invest in the same way that we learn to play a sport or a musical instrument. Investing is increasingly being recognized as a key life skill. We have made it fun and social for people to build experience and confidence safely and to learn good money habits.”

Invstr Jr. is also focused on bridging the financial health knowledge gap that young users face. Children can receive rewards for completing gamified learning modules in the Invstr Academy. And because many kids learn by doing, Invstr Jr. offers a Fantasy Finance game that allows users to manage a $1 million risk-free, virtual portfolio and create leagues to compete with friends. Within their league, players will see a leaderboard and statistics, and can chat or direct message other users or their adult.

Invstr Jr. accounts, which cost $6.25 to $7.99 per month, can include up to four kids and will have access to Invstr Pro. This solution offers the member tools to find the best investments and provides daily feedback on their portfolio risk and returns, their progress as an investor, and a personal Invstr Score.

The company’s new custodial investment account competes with Acorns, which offers Acorns Early at $5 per month, and with Greenlight, which offers investing tools within its account, that costs $4.99 per month.

U.K.-based Invstr was founded in 2013 to democratize finance. The company’s app has been downloaded more than one and a half million times in over 200 countries.

Photo by Julia M Cameron

The post Invstr Launches Parent-Permissioned Kids Investing Tool appeared first on Finovate.

https://finovate.com/invstr-launches-parent-permissioned-kids-investing-tool/

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/bank-automation-news-executives-to-watch-in-2024/

Financial institutions have kept their noses to the grindstone this year amid industry turbulence and technological disruption.  To cut costs and streamline operations, banks looked to AI to enhance self-service consumer capabilities, improve backend operations and boost developer productivity. Similarly, banks looked to third-party vendors to advance their tech stacks.  As banks balanced rate hikes, […]

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/bank-automation-news-executives-to-watch-in-2024/

https://finovate.com/credibly-teams-up-with-green-dot-to-bring-better-banking-services-to-smes/

• SME lending platform Credibly has partnered with Green Dot to add small business banking services to its offering.
• The new solution, Credibly Business Banking, will help SMEs improve cash flow and secure capital easier and faster.
• Green Dot made its Finovate debut in 2013. The company has managed more than 67 million accounts to date.

SME lending platform Credibly is adding small business banking services to its offering. Powered by Green Dot’s banking-as-a-service platform, Credibly Business Banking will enhance the banking experience for small and medium-sized businesses with improved cash flow management and faster access to financing.

Access to capital and better managing cash flow are two critical challenges for small businesses. The number of new small businesses continues to rebound in the wake of the pandemic, with small business applications in the U.S. up more than 40% from pre-pandemic levels. Unfortunately, many of these small businesses struggle to secure the financing they need to grow. Goldman Sachs revealed that more than 75% of small business owners surveyed in their 10,000 Small Businesses Voices Initiative cited access to capital as a main concern.

The hurdles are greater for those small businesses that do not have a business bank account. A Nav survey discovered that 70% of small business owners without a business bank account were rejected for loans within the past two years.

Credibly Business Banking is a response to these challenges, according to Credibly founder and co-CEO Ryan Rosett. “With a business checking account, customers will have faster and easier access to the cash, credit, and capital they need to run and grow their business,” Rosett said. The new account also features online mobile banking, fast account set-up, overdraft protection, no fees for eligible deposits, and access to a nationwide ATM network.

Founded in 2010, Credibly has facilitated more than $2 billion in financing to 30,000+ small and medium-sized businesses. Headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, the company has raised more than $82 million in total funding. Credibly Business Banking is one of a number of new products for small businesses the company has on its roadmap.

“The demand for seamless, accessible and intuitive financial tools for businesses remains on the rise,” Rosett said, “and we are thrilled to partner with Green Dot to add small business banking to complement our lending solutions.”

Founded in 1999, Green Dot has been a Finovate alum since 2013. The firm has managed 67 million accounts to date, providing banking services such as online bank accounts, debit cards, and credit solutions, as well as deposits and transfers. Green Dot has leveraged its embedded finance capabilities to enable partners from Apple to Walmart to embed scalable banking solutions into their offerings.

Newsweek named Green Dot one of its “Most Trustworthy Companies in America” earlier this year. Publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker GDOT, the Austin, Texas-based company has a market capitalization of $719 million.

Photo by Trac Vu

The post Credibly Teams Up with Green Dot to Bring Better Banking Services to SMEs appeared first on Finovate.

https://finovate.com/credibly-teams-up-with-green-dot-to-bring-better-banking-services-to-smes/

https://finovate.com/optimize-onboarding-to-maximize-revenue/

Upcoming Finovate webinar, in collaboration with Trulioo, on Tue 31 Oct, 2023, 3pm GMT / 10am ET

Markets around the world have shifted from a growth-at-all-costs mentality to a more targeted approach that emphasizes onboarding the right customers while decreasing acquisition costs. But costs alone don’t tell the whole story. Successful customer onboarding strategies take into account risk tolerance, user experience, abandonment rates, operational costs, and the lifetime value of a good customer.

In this webinar, we’ll share how some of the world’s leading fintechs have optimized their onboarding to realize double-digit verification rate increases in key markets, improve onboarding rates, and gain significant operational savings.

Zac Cohen from Trulioo will share firsthand insights, including:

• Key strategies to immediately optimize onboarding
• How analytics changes the game for consumer and business verification
• Real-world examples of how optimization can improve performance, speed, and the customer experience

Efficiencies deployed only during lean times can lead to short-term gains. But optimization with an eye toward the future can drive a long-term competitive advantage. Join us to learn how – register now >>

In collaboration with

Can’t join us live? Register now, and we’ll send you the recording. 

The post Optimize Onboarding to Maximize Revenue appeared first on Finovate.

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https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/five-questions-with-lloyds-bank-group-head-of-data-and-ai-ethics-paul-dongha/

Lloyds Bank Head of Data and AI Ethics Paul Dongha is focused on developing AI use cases to generate trustworthy and responsible outcomes for the bank’s customers.  In March, the Edinburgh, U.K.-based bank invested an undisclosed amount into Ocula Technologies, an AI-driven e-commerce company, to help improve customer experience and drive sales. Meanwhile, the $1.7 […]

https://bankautomationnews.com/allposts/ai/five-questions-with-lloyds-bank-group-head-of-data-and-ai-ethics-paul-dongha/