What’s Driving the Fintech Ecosystem?

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.

Generating Value from Bank, Insurance and Fintech Partnerships

During Finovate Fall, four stages provided the chance for more focused discussions around the banking and payments, digital lending and wealth management. Here, on the Emerging Technologies stage, a panel discusses the role of partnerships in generating value. Featuring:

  • George Anderson – CEO & Founder, Ninth Wave
  • Nathalie Dore – Chief Digital and Acceleration Officer, BNP Paribas Cardif
  • Matt Ribbens – SVP Enterprise Digital Strategy, BB&T
  • Dave Mooney – President and CEO, Alliant Credit Union
  • Travis Skelly – Senior Vice President, Venture Investing, Citi Ventures
  • Michael Roberts – Chief Marketing & Digital Strategy Officer, Bank of America Merchant Services

Lights! Camera! Demo! Check Out the Action from FinovateFall!

Lights! Camera! Demo! Check Out the Action from FinovateFall!

 

We understand completely. As the nights start to get longer and the coolness of autumn takes hold, that “curl up by the fire and watch demo videos from FinovateFall” feeling becomes almost irresistible.

That makes us all the more thrilled to announce that every minute of every demo from FinovateFall is now available for viewing – free of charge – in the Finovate Video Archives. Rewatch your favorite moments or check out some of the demos you might have missed!

By way of a sampler, here are the demo videos of the five companies that won Best of Show (as voted by the audience).

Banzai!

Bond.AI

Bumped

Golden 

Meniga

 

Analyst All-Stars: What’s Hot in Fintech?

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 StrategyJavelin Strategy & Research
  • Alyson Clarke – Principal AnalystForrester
  • Daniel Latimore – Senior Vice President, Banking GroupCelent
  • Thad Peterson – Senior AnalystAite Group

Welcome to the Post-FinovateFall Summit Day

Welcome to the Post-FinovateFall Summit Day

FinovateFall may have ended yesterday, but we’re not ready for the fun (or the fintech!) to stop. New this year, we’ve implemented an exclusive, post-event day of summit sessions focusing on the two hottest topics in fintech– AI and the blockchain.

If you’re interested in attending, you can register online or stop by the front desk this morning to sign up. Registration (located on the 5th floor of the Marriott Marquis Times Square) opens at 8 am and the first session begins just before 9 am.

For those who are already on the list, check out the agenda on our website or get a quick glance of what to expect below:

  • 8:00 to 8:50 Registration, Breakfast, and Networking
  • 9:00 to 10:30 Keynotes, Panels, Case Studies
  • 10:30 to 11:10 Blockchain Morning Networking Break
  • 10:30 to 11:00 AI Morning Networking Break
  • 11:00 to 12:30 AI Case studies, Debates, and Panels
  • 11:10 to 12:30 Blockchain Case studies, Debates, and Panels
  • 12:30 to 1:30 Lunch
  • 1:30 to 3:00 Keynotes, Debates, and Showcases
  • 3:00 Closing remarks

We’re looking forward to a day packed full of content! Free coat check is available on the 5th floor of the Marriott Marquis.

If you have any questions about the event, stop by the registration desk or see our contact page for email addresses and phone numbers of our event staff.

Welcome to the Discussion Day at FinovateFall

Welcome to the Discussion Day at FinovateFall

The past two days were all about the demos. Today at FinovateFall, however, we’re shifting our focus to examine some of the trends, themes, ideas, and regulations that are prompting some of that innovation.

Doors open once again at 8am this morning, and we’ll have breakfast and networking until 9am, when the general session begins. Free coat check is available on the south side of registration.

Visit our website for a full, interactive agenda, or check out a quick preview below:

8:00 to 8:55 Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:55 Opening Remarks

9:00 to 9:40 Analyst All Stars

  • Julie Muhn – Senior Research Analyst, Finovate
  • 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
  • Thad Peterson – Senior Analyst, Aite Group

9:40 to 10:30 Kick Off Keynote: Calling the Shots in the Crypto World

  • Alex Tapscott – Author, Advisor, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency, Co-Author Blockchain Revolution

10:30 to 10:45 Connected Experiences and The Third Era of Commerce

  • Kurt Bilafer – General Manager, Americas, Amazon Pay

10:45 to 11:15 Refreshments and Networking Break

11:15 to 11:30 Short & Sharp Dueling Debate: The Future of Digital Financial Services?

  • Jeremy Balkin – Head of Innovation, HSBC
  • Julia C. Carreon – Managing Director of Digital and Fiduciary Operations, Wells Fargo
  • Nicolas Kopp – US CEO, N26

11:30 to 11:45 Short & Sharp Dueling Debate: The Future of Digital Financial Services? Digital vs Physical Payment Methods

  • Sonia Wedrychowicz – Managing Director, Head of Technology Transformation Consumer and Community Bank, JPMorgan Chase
  • Vaduvur Bharghavan – CEO, Ondot Systems
  • Seth Harvey – President, Travelex

11:45 to 12:00 Quick & Bold Panel Discussion: Digital Transformation

  • Jo Ann Barefoot – CEO, Barefoot Innovation Group
  • Nischal Piratla – Director, Deutsche Bank Innovation Labs
  • Valentina Isakina – Managing Director of Financial Institutions, JobsOhio
  • Luvleen Sidhu – Co-Founder, President, & Chief Strategy Officer, BankMobile

12:00 to 12:30 Moderated discussion –An in-depth Look at World of Cyber Security and Risk Management

  • Sean Sposito – Analyst Cybersecurity, Javelin Strategy & Research
  • Cris Thomas – Global Strategy Lead, IBM X-Force Red, White Hat Hacker
  • Kedar Samant – Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Simility
  • Gabrielle Haddad – Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, Sigma Ratings, Inc.
  • Michael Leary – SVP – Risk Strategy, Bureau, and Third Party Execution Director, US Bank

12:30 to 1:30 Lunch and Networking

1:30 to 3:30 Summit Sessions

  • Banking & Payments
  • Digital Lending
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Wealth Management & Investing

3:30 to 4:00 Refreshments and Networking Break

4:00 to 4:50 Breaking Banks Power Hour Chat: It’s Happening! Live Podcast

  • JP Nicols – Managing Director, Fintech Forge
  • Brett King – CEO and Founder, Moven
  • Greg Palmer – VP, Strategy, Finovate

4:50 to 5:30 The Finovate Finale! Accelerator/Incubator/Lab Showcase

  • Greg Palmer – VP, Strategy, Finovate
  • Jon Zanoff – Managing Director, Techstars – Barclays Accelerator
  • Laura Spiekerman – Co-founder & CRO, Alloy
  • Perrin Quarshie – Founder & CEO, RealBlocks
  • Sunny Parikh – Senior Director, Partnership Fund for NYC, FinTech Innovation Lab
  • Liz Maida – Co-Founder & CEO, Uplevel Security
  • Benjamin Cohen – CEO & Founder, T-REX
  • Matt Armstead – Managing Director, FintechAccel
  • Travis Holoway – CEO & Co-Founder, SoLo Funds
  • Paris Benson – CEO & Founder, Wizely Finance
  • Mahati Sridhar – Investment Associate, Queen City Fintech
  • Christian Zimmerman – Co-founder & CEO, Qoins
  • Andrew Gowasack – Co-founder, Trust Stamp

Thanks to all of you for helping to make this year’s event a success! We’ll see you at FinovateFall next year, or come see us at any of our shows in between:

If you’re registered for our exclusive AI and Blockchain Summits tomorrow, the excitement continues at 8:50 tomorrow morning. If you’re interested in attending, please visit the registration desk today to add your name to the list and participate in the discussions.

FinovateFall 2018 Best of Show Winners Announced

FinovateFall 2018 Best of Show Winners Announced

Meet the Fantastic Five – the top vote-getters in this year’s Best of Show voting at FinovateFall 2018.

There’s a lot to love about the companies that took home top honors at this year’s autumn event. Maybe you are a fan of financial literacy, and believe that the best way to ensure a happy financial future is to invest in financial education at an early age. Perhaps you are looking for ways to better engage the customers at your bank or credit union, providing them with more personalized, intuitive solutions to improve their financial lives.

From the challenge of helping aging parents manage their finances and avoid scams to innovative strategies to turn everyday purchases into investments in the stock market, the Best of Show winners of FinovateFall 2018 are a diverse group. And that diversity reflects the fascinating breadth of what it means to be a fintech company today.

With that, let’s meet our Fantastic Five. Four of them are Finovate newcomers and the fifth, Meniga, is both a long time alum and multiple Best of Show award winner.

Banzai for its industry-leading, turnkey, CRA eligible, experience-based learning solutions that help users master personal finance. Video.

 

Bond.AI for its human-centered AI platform, powered by the world’s first “Empathy Engine,” that helps banks better understand user behavior and encourage them to improve their financial health. Video.

 

Bumped for its technology that enables brands to give their customers free stock for their purchases, turning loyal shoppers and spenders into shareholders. Video.

 

Golden for its Financial Caregiving app and website that socializes wealth and daily money management across generations, helping 75 million baby boomers who are taking financial care of their 50 million senior parents. Video.

 

Meniga for its white-label, digital banking solutions that enable banks to build customer engagement and help customers improve their financial lives. Video.


Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The five companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from our 2015 through 2018 conferences are below:
FinovateEurope 2015
FinovateSpring 2015
FinovateFall 2015
FinovateEurope 2016
FinovateSpring 2016
FinovateFall 2016
FinovateAsia 2016
FinovateEurope 2017
FinovateSpring 2017
FinovateFall 2017
FinovateAsia 2017
FinovateMiddleEast 2018
FinovateEurope 2018
FinovateSpring 2018

 

Welcome to Day Two of FinovateFall

Welcome to Day Two of FinovateFall

The first day of FinovateFall is in the books. And a second full day of live fintech demos here at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square is about to begin!

From the very first demo on Day One, it was clear that the attendees at this year’s fall fintech conference came ready to rock. And our demoing companies were happy to oblige – with live demos of everything from tools to help financial advisors better serve their clients to cybersecurity solutions dedicated to keeping the bad guys at bay. We hope you had a great time yesterday and are rested and ready (we are in Times Square, after all!) for another round here on Day Two.

Here is what’s in store for Tuesday. If you still need a ticket, visit our registration page and save your spot.

8:00am – 8:45am Registration & Continental Breakfast

Remember registration is on the fifth floor of the Marriott Marquis.

8:45am – 10:15am Demo Session #5

10:15am – 11:00 am Intermission with Refreshments & Networking

11:00am – 12:20pm Demo Session #6

12:20pm – 1:20pm Lunch & Networking

1:20pm – 2:40pm Demo Session #7

2:40pm – 3:25pm Intermission with Refreshments & Networking

3:25pm – 4:50pm Demo Session #8

4:50pm – 6:50pm Reception & Networking with Best of Show Announcement


Questions? Shoot us an email or give us a call and we’ll get right back with the answers you need.

Welcome to Day One of FinovateFall

Welcome to Day One of FinovateFall

For many of us, there are three things that best symbolize September’s arrival: (1) the beginning of autumn, (2) the start of football season (Go Seahawks!), (3) and the return of FinovateFall.

Our annual fall fintech conference begins today here at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square. Registration, which is on the fifth floor of the hotel, begins at 8am this morning and the first demo kicks off at 8:45am. If you are planning to join us and haven’t picked up your ticket yet, don’t worry. Online registration is only a click away.

Here’s the line up for today.

8:00am -8:45am Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:45am – 10:15am Demo Session #1

10:15am – 11:00am Intermission with Refreshments & Networking

11:00am – 12:20pm Demo Session #2

12:20pm – 1:20pm Lunch

1:20pm – 2:40pm Demo Session #3

2:40pm – 3:25pm  Intermission with Refreshments & Networking

3:25pm – 4:50pm Demo Session #4

4:50pm – 6:00pm Reception & Networking

Best of Show winners will be announced tomorrow


Doors open again tomorrow at 8:00am, with the first demo session beginning at 8:45am.

The Final Countdown to FinovateFall

The Final Countdown to FinovateFall

The kickoff to FinovateFall has almost arrived, and we’re just hours away from the first demo. That can only mean one thing– we’re busy watching companies rehearse each demo they will showcase over the first two days.

If you still don’t have your ticket, register online or pick one up tomorrow morning after 8 am when the registration desk opens. As a reminder, here are all of the details you need to know for FinovateFall this week:

Where

We’re changing this up this year, and FinovateFall will be held at the Marriott Marquis Times Square1535 Broadway, New York, NY 10036.

When

The first demo begins at 8:45 am tomorrow but be sure to come early– registration opens at 8:00 am and we’ll have coffee and a continental breakfast for you to enjoy before you take your seat in the auditorium. For a full look at the schedule, here is the agenda.

Who

Over the course of Monday and Tuesday, we’ll host 79 companies on stage as they each show off a live demo of their newest product. Check out our full list of demoing companies and don’t miss our Sneak Peek series that gives you an inside look. On Wednesday, you’ll listen to and interact with industry analysts and experts as they discuss the latest fintech trends. For more information, take a look at our full speaker roster. And if you’re registered for our exclusive Blockchain and AI Summit Day, get ready to hear in-depth analyses about these emerging trends and how they apply to your industry, and how you can implement them into your strategy.

Still have questions? Feel free to reach out to our staff to get some answers. We’re looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

FinovateFall 2018: Be There … In Times Square

FinovateFall 2018: Be There … In Times Square

FinovateFall 2018 is only a few days away! The curtain will rise on the Finovate stage next week on Monday, September 24, and the conference will continue over the next three days with live fintech demonstrations, in-depth panel discussions, and illuminating keynote addresses.

We’ve spent a good chunk of the summer working with our demoing companies and talking with industry experts in preparation for what we think could be our most amazing FinovateFall to date. And as the attendee registrations have rolled in, we’ve managed to get a clearer picture of the kind of professionals you’ll be rubbing elbows with in the main hall and during our networking sessions. Check them out below.

To help everyone get ready for next week’s event, here’s a quick run-down of need-to-knows to ensure you make the most of this year’s FinovateFall. And if you’ve been on the fence about attending, don’t worry. There’s still time to pick up a ticket and join us. So visit our registration page and save your spot today.

Who?

Nearly 80 demoing companies, 100+ expert speakers and panelists, 1500+ professional attendees including – as shown above – CEOs and founders, CTOs and engineers, Directors, VPs, and more.

What?

Two days of live fintech demonstrations. Two days of fascinating keynotes, panel discussions and debates on some of the critical topics in fintech today. And four days of top quality networking with the founders and funders, developers and directors who are making sure that the best technologies find valuable and insightful use cases within fintech.

Our partnership with networking app Brella was a huge success at FinovateSpring in helping attendees meet and mingle. So we’re thrilled to bring Brella to New York for FinovateFall. Visit our Brella page to learn more.

Where?

FinovateFall returns to New York City next week, setting up shop for the first time in historic Times Square. Join us on the fifth and sixth floors of the New York Marriott Marquis at 1535 Broadway, New York, NY, 10036.

When?

The conference begins on Monday, September 24, with registration opening at 8am and the first demo kicking things off at 8:45am. We’ll have a second day of live demos on Tuesday with the same start times before transitioning to our Discussion Day conversations on Wednesday. And remember our special summit day on Thursday focusing on AI and blockchain technology. To help plan your week, check out our conference agenda.

Why?

To see and hear about tomorrow’s fintech today, that’s why! FinovateFall provides attendees with the unique opportunity to watch some of the most cutting edge financial technology demonstrated live on stage. And with our new expanded format, attendees will have the opportunity to dive deeper into the trends and themes that are driving fintech innovation.

We’re excited for this year’s FinovateFall conference. If you have questions about the conference or your visit, please reach out to our staff who will be happy to help. See you bright and early Monday morning!