PayPal in Argentina; Temenos Backs African Challenger Bank

Finovate Global is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • PayPal invests $750 million in Argentina-based e-commerce company MercadoLibre.
  • First Data to acquire Brazilian electronic funds transfer (EFT) solution provider Software Express.
  • NCR, Bluefin, and Powertranz team up to support POS card processing for Caribbean quick serve restaurants.
  • BlueRush deploys its Individeo platform with a large Colombian bank courtesy of a partnership with Bee Concept.
  • The Wall Street Journal looks at how global FIs are gaining interest in the Latin American alternative lending market.

Asia-Pacific

  • Experian launches Singapore-based incubator, Experian X Labs.
  • South Korean crypto company Kakao raises $90 million via private coin offering.
  • Thai Stock Exchange to launch a digital asset exchange next year.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Front office and core banking technology from Temenos to drive digital revamp for African challenger bank, Vista Bank.
  • Financial Software and Systems takes 46% stake in South Africa’s Ecentric Payment Systems.
  • South Africa’s second largest retail bank, Capitec, extends its partnership with ACI Worldwide.
  • ThreatMetrix teams up with Blue Turtle Technologies to help market its fraud prevention solution to customers in Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Tinkoff Bank reports 2018 highlights including launch of new mortgage app, a joint P2P money transfer offering with Sberbank, and more than 2.7 million new active credit customers.
  • iSignthis Inks Banking and Payments Deal with Ibanera.
  • Bulgaria-based Software Group scores €18 million loan from Europe Investment Bank.
  • EU Startups features lending platform Inlock its look at 10 Hungarian startups to look out for in 2019.
  • Bulgaria’s Municipal Bank to deploy new core and payments solutions from Oracle.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) launches $10 million fund for fintech startups in the MENA region.
  • Commercial Bank of Qatar joins R3.
  • Credit scoring solution provider Creditinfo opens regional hub in Muscat following new strategic partnership with the Central Bank of Oman.

Central and South Asia

  • ArthaYantra wins Fintech of the Year (India) at The Asset Triple A Digital Awards.
  • Africa’s Naspers plans to spend $1 billion on investments in Indian fintechs.
  • Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures division to launch digital platform for Indian SMEs.

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Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Fiserv Helps NationalLink Maximize Smart Safe Technology.
  • Mastercard to Acquire Digital Commerce Fraud Fighter Ethoca.

Around the web

  • Carsharing firm HyreCar leverages identity verification technology from Mitek for its mobile onboarding app.
  • PayPal invests $750 million in Argentina’s e-commerce company, MercadoLibre.
  • Tinkoff Bank reports 2018 highlights including launch of new mortgage app, a joint P2P money transfer offering with Sberbank, and more than 2.7 million new active credit customers.
  • Best of Show winner Voleo chosen to participate in Netherlands-based fintech research program.
  • ThreatMetrix teams up with Blue Turtle Technologies to help market its fraud prevention solution to customers in Africa.
  • ArthaYantra wins Fintech of the Year (India) at The Asset Triple A Digital Awards.
  • Stash launches Stock-Back, a rewards program to bridge banking and investing.
  • Jack Henry to collaborate with the Zelle Network to launch JHA PayCenter.
  • InComm expands into lottery industry with Linq3 Technologies acquisition.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Open Bank Project Collaborates with Open Source Software Company Red Hat.
  • Ondot Lands Strategic Investment from Citi Ventures.
  • Experian, FICO, and Finicity Launch the UltraFICO Score.

Around the web

  • Bloomberg TV features Best of Show winner Bumped.
  • Envestnet | Yodlee launches new suite of developer tools.
  • ThreatMetrix partners with SAS, bringing digital identity intelligence to machine learning to help creditors fight identity fraud.
  • Finastra introduces its cloud-based instant payments offering for SMEs.
  • Sberbank inks Memorandum of Understanding with SWIFT.
  • Artivest appoints new Chief Compliance Officer, Kamal Jafarnia.
  • Featurespace unveils its ARIC White Label solution for advanced fraud and risk prevention.
  • Finextra: Fidor and GFT extend partnership to the Americas markets.
  • Kony acquires innovation subsidiary of Umpqua Bank.
  • Finextra: NTT Data plans pan-Asian federated trade information platform based on blockchain.
  • SuperMoney surpasses $1 billion in financing requests
  • Bluefin and TokenEx partner to strengthen payment security with PCI-validated P2PE and omni-channel tokenization.
  • ID.me launches KYC / AML identity verification solution and ID document verification solution.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Fortytwo Data Upgrades Entity Screening Platform.

Around the web

  • Munnypot honored for Best Website DFM/WM and Most Innovative Robo Advice/Guidance Proposition at the Investment Marketing and Innovation Awards 2018.
  • ThreatMetrix announces a new 3D Secure 2.0 offering as part of its summer 2018 release.
  • CREALOGIX takes over remaining 80% of ELAXY Business Solution & Services from Fiducia & GAD.
  • Azimo enables customers in Nordic countries to transfer money to accounts in 10 new countries in Eastern Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Inverse highlights Revolut’s planned U.S. launch.
  • Jack Henry & Associates named a top workplace by The Tennessean for fourth consecutive year

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Inspire FCU to Deploy Core Banking Solutions from NYMBUS.
  • Veridium’s $16.5 Million Series B Led by Michael Spencer.

Around the web

  • NCR and Advanced Fraud Solutions team up to fight check fraud at interactive teller machines (ITMs).
  • ThreatMetrix partners with Lumin Digital to improve security for online and mobile banking.
  • Bluefin to collaborate with NCR to provide merchants with fraud fighting solutions.
  • The dream of Coinbase is alive in Portland.
  • HiddenLevers moves HQ location from NYC to Atlanta suburb.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Blockbid Partners with LexisNexis Risk Solutions and ThreatMetrix

Blockbid Partners with LexisNexis Risk Solutions and ThreatMetrix

Every gold rush needs someone to sell picks and shovels. And in the gold rush that is the cryptocurrency boom, some of the most valuable picks and shovels are tools to help cryptocurrency exchanges remain compliant with regulations regarding anti-money laundering (AML).

So it is no surprise to learn that Australian digital asset exchange Blockbid is shoring up its AML safeguards by partnering with LexisNexus Risk Solutions’ ThreatMetrix. The deal will give Blockbid the ability to leverage identity verification, authentication, and KYC/AML solutions, as well as physical and digital identity data, geolocation, and threat analysis to provide its users with the most secure trading experience possible.

“Cryptocurrency exchanges, like Blockbid, that are prioritizing security on their marketplace, face a complex set of challenges and cyberthreats,” ThreatMetrix Chief Product Officer Alisdair Faulkner said. Among these challenges is the increasingly global nature of cybercrime, Faulkner noted, which meant organizations needed “the power of a global shared network” in order to identify threats before they are able to do harm. By leveraging data from millions of daily consumer interactions, Faulkner said, “suspicious behavior can be detected and flagged for review and step-up authentication or rejection before a transaction is processed. (This creates)  a low-friction experience for trusted users.”

A market leader in the field of cloud-based digital identity and transaction authentication, ThreatMetrix was acquired by RELX at the beginning of the year in a deal worth $830 million, and was incorporated into the RELX’s Risk and Business Analytics’ LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The company, founded in 2005 and based in San Jose, California, analyzes 100 million transactions a day across 35,000 websites from 5,000 customers. This gives ThreatMetrix’s Digital Identity Network a repository of 1.4 billion unique online identities from 4.5 billion devices in 185 countries.

ThreatMetrix demonstrated its Digital Identity Graph at FinovateAsia 2016. Last month, the company won the 2018 Best Identity Verification and Authentication Solution category at the CNP Awards, and picked up top honors at both the LendIt Awards 2018 – where it won Top Enterprise Technology Company – and the Fintech Breakthrough Awards 2018 – where ThreatMetrix earned the Top Fraud Prevention Platform award.

The company released the Spring 2018 version of its ThreatMetrix ID technology in April which represented the first product integration between ThreatMetrix and LexisNexis Risk Solution since the RELX acquisition. The same month, ThreatMetrix CEO Reed Taussig was named CEO of the Year by independent strategy and research firm, One World Identity.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Envestnet | Yodlee’s AI FinCheck Takes Financial Wellness to a New Level.
  • Blockbid Partners with LexisNexis Risk Solutions and ThreatMetrix.
  • Ignite Sales and FIS Team Up on Digital Engagement.

Around the web

  • Revolut goes live in Russia courtesy of partnership with QIWI.
  • Clinc brings its conversational AI technology to Turkey’s Isbank.
  • BBVA teams up with IPsoft to enhance service at its call centers in Mexico.
  • PYMNTS.com interviews BlueVine CEO Eyal Lifshitz on the “real value of invoice factoring.”
  • CFO Tech Outlook names Urban FT a top ten fintech solution provider.
  • NF Innova powering omnichannel banking for Halkbank ad Skopje.
  • Geezeo issues fully-fledged launch of Responsive Tiles PFM feature.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Arxan Brings its App Protection Technology to Android.
  • BondIT Integrates Bond Portfolio Solution with FIIG Securities.
  • Dwolla Launches Start, a Pay-as-You-Go Payment Solution.
  • Intelligent Environments Rebrands as ieDigital.
  • Finicity Forges New Partnership with Mortgage Cadence.

Around the web

  • Low-code development specialist OutSystems launches OutSystems Sentry, a new proactive security monitoring service for the company’s PaaS clients.
  • PayPal acquires Jetlore, an AI-powered prediction engine for retailers.
  • Halma partners with OurCrowd for life protection technologies.
  • CNP Awards recognizes ThreatMetrix for ThreatMetrix ID.
  • EY names Flywire CEO Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in New England.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alums Take Top Honors at FinTech Breakthrough Awards

Dedicated to recognizing “the top companies and products in the financial services and technology industry today,” FinTech Breakthrough has announced its FinTech Breakthrough Award Winners for 2018. This marks the second year the independent organization has sponsored the fintech awards event, recognizing fintech startups and veterans from a wide variety of categories including payments, lending, investing, and regtech.

“The FinTech Breakthrough Awards serve as a testament to the passion, skill and vision of individuals and teams that are truly setting the standard for innovation in the global FinTech industry,” Managing Director for FinTech Breakthrough James Johnson said in 2017 during the Awards’ inaugural year. “We are thrilled to recognize all of the FinTech Breakthrough Award winners for their well-deserved industry recognition as they drive the global FinTech market forward.”

This year featured 20 Finovate alums earning top honors from FinTech Breakthrough. The names and Finovate demo dates for each winning alum – as well as the category they won – are featured below. For a complete list of 2018 FinTech Breakthrough Award Winners, visit the company’s awards announcement page.

Leadership

Consumer Lending

  • Innovation Award for Consumer Lending – Text for Credit by Experian (FF17)

Business Lending

Wealth Management

Payments

Investments

Consumer Banking

Financial Research and Data

Fraud Prevention and Transaction Security

This marks the second time both eMoney Advisor and ThreatMetrix have been honored by the FinTech Breakthrough Awards. Among last year’s winners were a significant number of Finovate alums including: Sindeo, BizFi, DriveWealth, Quovo, Jumio, Trulioo, Qumram, and Xero.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Ephesoft Unveils Mortgage Document Capture Solution.
  • Coinbase Acquires Earn.com; Adds Balaji Srinivasan as First CTO.

Around the web

  • ThreatMetrix introduces its first product integration with LexisNexis since the company was acquired in February.
  • Finastra makes its mortgage lending solutions available via the cloud courtesy of partnership with Microsoft.
  • Ambassador Michael Froman joins Mastercard as vice chairman and president of strategic growth.
  • Moneyhub opens its API to U.K. challenger banks Monzo and Starling.
  • Coinbase acquires Cipher Browser to support its decentralized mobile browser offering.
  • Fortytwo Data appoints Luca Primerano as chief AI officer.
  • Coindesk: Mastercard Eyes Blockchain for Fighting Fake Identities.
  • Infosys to acquire Creative and Consumer Insight Agency, WONGDOODY.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Jack Henry Marks 100 Bank Clients Using Geezeo-Powered Service.
  • Vera Partners with Canon to Enable Data Security Across Devices and Services.

Around the web

  • Moneyhub sends CTO to Europe to implement PSD2 strategy.
  • CREALOGIX, Temenos, and Thomson Reuters win in Asian Private Banker Technology Awards.
  • Alfa Bank teams with Ingenico to enable local card processing in Russia for international merchants.
  • ThreatMetrix President and CEO Reed Taussig recognized by One World Identity as one of Top 100 Influencers in Identity.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

20 Finovate Alums Earn Spots on One World Identity’s Top 100 Influencers List

20 Finovate Alums Earn Spots on One World Identity’s Top 100 Influencers List

When you think about it, what’s cooler than being named to a Who’s Who list in the world of digital identities?

One World Identity, an independent identity research and strategy company that specializes in cybersecurity, digital commerce, and risk management, published its roster of the Top 100 Influencers in Identity this week. This year, 20 Finovate alums made the cut. The individual influencers – as well as the companies they work for- are listed below.

As with last year’s roster, this year’s list was compiled by taking nominations submitted via Twitter, LinkedIn, and at oneworldidentity.com. The staff and advisory council for One World Identity whittled down the initial list of more than 1,000 nominees to a final 100.

One World Identity began as a project from a group of Google employees back in 2015. The company was officially launched the following year as a way to help spur innovation and collaboration in the field of digital identities. Travis Jarae is founder and CEO.