Data Driven Personalization in Banking

Data Driven Personalization in Banking

This is a sponsored post by Strands, Gold Sponsors of FinovateFall 2022.


Nowadays, personalization has become a must in all sectors that affect consumers’ daily lives. Companies such as Netflix and Amazon have already been able to create totally customized and customer-centric experiences thanks to advances in technology, data, and analytics. Digital Banking has also faced these expectations, demanding personalization for different user bases, needs, and underserved segments. With a focus on financial wellness, banks can generate cross-selling opportunities and create personalized journeys according to the interests of their customers.

Technology advancements have enabled companies to collect, analyze, and use data from a variety of sources, including internal and external channels, enabling banks to make better decisions, offers, and actions than ever before. Unfortunately, most banks still struggle to know their customers or to interact with them timely and relevantly – to provide the right offers at the right time to the right customers.

This is what customer centricity means, which is vastly different from product or brand centricity. When a financial institution has a deep understanding of its customers, it can provide solutions that are tailored to meet their specific needs, life stages, values, and interests beyond their typical sociodemographic information.

As part of this approach, extra data sources are tapped, such as third parties, in addition to what’s available within core banking as open banking data, surveys, social media, and other data sources consented by the customers, integrating machine learning, categorized transactional data, and other customer experience solutions that can enrich the available raw data.

How to derive and use such insights is now the question. In the first stage of data enrichment and analysis, core application data can be used to understand how the customer interacts with the bank, the recency, frequency, channels, etc. Through this information and analytical models, it is possible for financial institutions to predict proactively what the customer is likely to want or need in real time.

To learn more about personalization in the banking industry, download the full white paper Data Driven Personalization in Banking at Strands webpage.

Strands and Credolab Bring Smart Money Management to Banks

Strands and Credolab Bring Smart Money Management to Banks

Barcelona, Spain-based Strands and Singapore’s credolab announced a partnership this week that will give banks a new solution to help their customers make better decisions with their finances. The collaboration will embed credolab’s credit scoring technology into Strands personal finance management platform, giving banks the real-time ability to obtain relevant customer insights with embedded risk assessments.

“Strands’ expertise in developing customizable digital money management solutions for banks will add great value to our clients globally,” credolab founder and CEO Peter Barcak said. “We are confident that our embedded technology will help Strands develop solutions to promote a more delightful way of banking that empowers customers with meaningful interactions, and makes them happier, more loyal, and more profitable.”

In their joint statement, Strands and credolab noted that retail banks often face challenges when it comes to improving customer engagement and providing long-term value to their customers. They blame a lack of relevant data, as well as the inability to generate significant insights into customer behavior and preferences. The integrated solution will serve as a “one-stop shop” for banks to realize new potential revenue sources by helping their customers be smarter with their money.

“By partnering with credolab, Strands is in a stronger position to deliver state of the art financial management solutions to banks worldwide,” Strands CEO Erik Brieva said. “This collaboration will allow us to embed next generation scoring technology into our AI-driven product suite, meeting financial institutions’ increasing demand for smart, highly customizable, and scalable FinTech white-label solutions.”

Credolab demonstrated its CredoScore technology at FinovateAsia 2018. This spring, the company has announced a collaboration with regional credit risk and decision analytics company Qarar to help the UAE-based company enhance its credit risk scoring processes.

Strands made its most recent Finovate appearance last month at FinovateAsia Digital. Teaming up with Tearsheet to publish its guide to “Banking as a Service,” in May, Strands began the year with news that CEO Brieva had been named to Analytics Insight’s Top 10 Most Inspiring CEOs.


Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia-Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central and Eastern Europe

Middle East and Northern Africa

Central and Southern Asia

Latin American and the Caribbean

Open Banking, Customer Experience, and Crypto: Meet the Innovators of FinovateAsia

Open Banking, Customer Experience, and Crypto: Meet the Innovators of FinovateAsia

With companies hailing from Singapore, Australia, and India, as well as Europe and the U.S., FinovateAsia Digital is a great opportunity to find out more about fintech innovation in the APAC region. Our all-digital fintech conference – June 22 and June 23 – is also a good way to learn how companies outside of Asia have successfully built relationships and gained market share within the area.

Here’s a look at the current roster of companies that will demonstrate their latest solutions at FinovateAsia next week. There’s still plenty of time to get your ticket; register today and join us next week for our two-day, deep dive into fintech in Asia.


Australia-based Amber offers a Bitcoin accumulation app that allows users to dollar cost average, and offers auto-buy-the-dip, auto-withdraw, and self-custody features.

Crayon Data, headquartered in Singapore, offers the world’s first AI-led platform that enables businesses to create highly personalized experiences for their customers.

Bangalore, India-based FinBit.io offers open banking technology that enables financial institutions to transition from outdated financial APIs to smart and compliant APIs based on open banking specifications.

Headquartered in Fairport, New York, QuickFi offers the world’s first, 100% digital equipment financing platform that enables business equipment financing in three minutes.

Strands offers white label, AI-driven fintech solutions for banks and financial institutions around the world.


Photo by Simon Stolzenbach from Pexels

FinovateAsia Digital 2021 Sneak Peek: Strands

FinovateAsia Digital 2021 Sneak Peek: Strands

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateAsia Digital on June 22, 2021. Register today and save your spot.

Strands is a fintech software company and part of the CRIF Group, which develops AI-driven solutions for banks to help increase customer engagement and generate new revenue through digital channels.

Features

  • Smarter money management for the retail banking customer
  • Improved bank-user engagement
  • Greater share of wallet for the bank

Why it’s great
Strands PFM allows banks to know how people spend and then helps them do it better. With all their accounts in one place and categorized transactions, customers are more able to plan ahead and budget.

Presenter

Bavani Meganathan, Technical Presales Consultant
Meganathan is Strands’ Technical Presales Consultant in APAC. She is based in Malaysia.
LinkedIn

FinovateEurope Digital 2021 Sneak Peek: Strands

FinovateEurope Digital 2021 Sneak Peek: Strands

As experts in big data, AI, and machine learning since 2004, Strands creates highly-customizable digital money management software for top-tier financial institutions worldwide.

Features

  • Offers financial control and wellbeing for retail banking customers
  • Helps users plan ahead and budget with all their accounts in one place
  • Provides visual insight about where every cent goes each month

Why it’s great
Strands’ PFM means smarter money management for the customer, improved bank-user engagement, and a greater share of wallet for the bank. Know how people spend, and then help them do it better.

Presenter

Claudio Cungi, Head of Product
Cungi has six years of experience in management consulting. He joined the CRIF group in 2018 as a Product and Business Development Manager for open banking.
LinkedIn

CRIF to Acquire Strands

CRIF to Acquire Strands

Credit management solutions provider CRIF has agreed to acquire PFM company Strands for an undisclosed amount. The deal will be finalized “in the coming weeks.”

The union will bring Strands’ personal financial management and business financial management solutions to CRIF’s client base that includes 6,300 banks, 55,000 businesses, and 310,000 consumers across 50 countries.

Strands’ technology will complement CRIF’s customer acquisition, portfolio management, and credit collection tools that help forecast market developments, improve business performance, reduce credit risks, and prevent fraud.

According to CRIF chairman Carlo Gherardi, the acquisition will “allow CRIF to create a worldwide digital solutions provider for open banking.” He added, “Through this deal, CRIF will combine its market knowledge and expertise with an innovative and well-positioned fintech player, creating synergies that will help our global clients to keep on growing and innovating through their digital transformation journey.”

For its part, Strands brings to the table 700 bank clients serving 100 million end customers. Strands CEO Erik Brieva said that the deal will help fuel Strands’ mission “to enable banks to anticipate customer needs and proactively suggest next-best-actions.”

Strands was founded in 2004 and has since raised more than $55 million in two rounds of funding. The company has offices in Barcelona, Spain; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and at its headquarters location in Miami, Florida. Strands’ most recent appearance on the Finovate stage was last year, where it demonstrated a cash flow solution for small businesses alongside Mastercard.

With more than 5,000 employees, CRIF is headquartered in Italy and was founded in 1988. Today’s deal is the company’s seventh acquisition, following its purchase of Vision-Net in 2018. CRIF demonstrated its Credit Framework solution at FinovateEurope 2014.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Financial Identity as a Service Innovator Juvo Teams Up with DOCOMO Digital
  • SheerID Lands $64 Million for Segmented Identity Verification

Around the web

  • HackerOne awards $3,500 in bounties to a pair of researchers who discovered vulnerabilities on its own platform.
  • AlphaPoint adds support for margin trading to its platform.
  • Bank of Georgia goes live with a new smart personal financial management (PFM) solution, mBank, developed by Strands.
  • Installment payment solution Splitit announces a new partnership with chiliPAD sleep system maker, Chilli.
  • Tradeshift integrates with fraud protection specialist SiS-id to reduce payments fraud.
  • Xero launches Pay with TransferWise, a new domestic bill payment solution to help U.K. customers pay and manage bills.
  • Pendo Systems teams with WSN to help customers navigate digital transformation.

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.

PayPal Goes to China; Dubai Named Top Ten Global Financial Center

Join us next week as our annual Asia-Pacific fintech conference returns to Singapore! FinovateAsia is one of the best ways for fintech startups and innovative industry veterans from the region and around the world to showcase their latest technologies before an audience of C-level decision-makers, venture capitalists, all-star analysts, and more.

FinovateAsia runs from October 14 through October 15, with an additional Summit Day on October 16. Visit our registration page and pick up your ticket today.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Finovate alums Hydrogen, Sedicii, Strands, and Wealth Migrate earn finalist spots in the South African Reserve Bank’s Fintech Demo Day.
  • Carbon CEO Chijioke Dozie offers Five Lessons Global Banks Can Learn from African Fintechs.
  • Business Tech highlights 12 of the hottest fintechs in South Africa according to the country’s biggest banks.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Alior Bank’s Alior Kantor to deploy Efigence’s EFI4 Digital Banking Platform.
  • Deloitte Romania and FintechOS partner to offer banks digital transformation and automation solutions.
  • Sberbank unveils new “Apply for Mortgage” feature on its Sberbank Online mobile app.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Dubai earns top ten ranking in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI).
  • Boubyan Bank of Kuwait and Zain Telecom team up to launch a digital Islamic bank.
  • Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) authorizes financial technology experimental permits enabling three companies to build an equity crowdfunding platform.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Khatabook, an Indian fintech that helps SMEs track and record businesses transactions, raises $25 million.
  • Varanium Capital launches $28 million venture fund focused on Indian fintech.
  • Indian fintechs await regulatory guidelines for deployment of Video KYC technology.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • OurCrowd to open its 13th global office in São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Colombian small business lender Sempli raises $8 million in Series A funding.
  • EBANX will process payments for Uber in Brazil and other countries in Latin America.

Asia-Pacific

  • PayPal’s Move into China is a Big Deal.
  • Fintech in Asia: From Payments and Lending to the Challenge of Financial Inclusion.
  • InComm partners with Mizuho Bank to expand J-Coin Pay in Japan.

Top image designed by Freepik

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • RoamHR Helps Bring Financial Wellness, Tax Preparation to Gig Economy Workers

Around the web

  • Featurespace announces strategic partnership with NatWest to deliver real-time, enterprise-wide fraud prevention, transaction monitoring.
  • Indiana-based Centier Bank ($4.5 billion in assets) leverages SmartLaunch from NYMBUS to support the launch of its mobile app, Billinero. See NYMBUS at FinovateFall in New York this week!
  • Societe Generale teams up with FIS to offer payments-as-a-service to corporate clients in Europe.
  • Piraeus Bank, the largest bank in Greece, unveils its new PFM tool powered by technology from Strands.
  • Segmint announces digital engagement expert Adam Craig as its new president.
  • Tradeshift forges partnership with privacy-enhancing technology provider QEDIT.
  • Kyckr inks reseller and integration agreement with Australian information services provider illion.

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.

Strands Partners with Spain’s Grupo Caja Rural

Strands Partners with Spain’s Grupo Caja Rural

Spain’s Grupo Caja Rural has incorporated Strands’ financial management applications into its banking platform, reports Sharon Kimathi of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

With the integration of Strands’ personal finance management (PFM) and business finance management (BFM) solutions, Grupo Caja Rural’s savings banks will make these applications available to their customers.

“The alliance with Strands responds to our pledge to make life easier for our clients, connecting with their needs and making leading technologies available to each customer segment. Without a doubt, it is one more step in our commitment to putting technological innovation at the service of our clients,” said Manuel Pan, organization director of Grupo Caja Rural and RSI.

Erik Brieva, CEO of Strands, added: “Due to its structure, Grupo Caja Rural enjoys a differential role in Spanish banking. We are delighted that such a solid, historical bank relies on our technology to attract new customers and establish an even closer and more strategic relationship with the existing ones.”

Both Strands’ tools will incorporate an artificial intelligence engine, the exclusive engager component, which will enable savings banks to recommend to each of their customers those products and services that best suit their circumstances, offering them a personalized and enriching digital experience.

With offices in Barcelona, Spain; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Miami, Florida, Strands made its most recent Finovate appearance earlier this year at FinovateSpring 2019. At the conference, the company, in partnership with Mastercard, demonstrated its Strands SME Cash Flow Manager enhanced by Mastercard Technology solution. Strands was founded in 2004

A Look at Fintech Talent in Singapore; Mobile Money Goes Live in South Sudan

Join us in October as our annual Asia-Pacific fintech conference returns to Singapore! FinovateAsia is one of the best ways for fintech startups and innovative industry veterans from the region and around the world to showcase their latest technologies before an audience of C-level decision-makers, venture capitalists, all-star analysts, and more.

For information on how to participate in FinovateAsia as a demoing company, partner, or sponsor, send us an e-mail and we’ll tell you everything you need to know.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Business Review looks at the potential for French-Romanian cooperation on fintech innovation.
  • Relex, a cryptocurrency-based real estate development investment platform, inks agreement with Belarus Currency and Stock Exchange.
  • Austrian telecom A1 to begin accepting cryptocurrencies as payment.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Emirates NBD introduces the first graduates of its fintech sandbox.
  • Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) joins the World Alliance of International Financial Centres (WAIFC).
  • Partnership between NilePay PLC and Zain South Sudan brings the first licensed mobile money service to South Sudan.

Central and Southern Asia

  • An investment of $110 million will help power Tala’s planned expansion into India.
  • Khalti, a fintech startup based in Nepal, wins the United Nations Fintech Innovation Fund.
  • Software Technology Parks of India establishes FinBlue, a Center of Excellence in FinTech, to support emerging fintech startups.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Argentina’s largest national private bank Banco Galicia integrates PFM technology from Strands.
  • Citi enables biometric authentication for its institutional clients throughout Latin America.
  • TransferWise announces launch of international transfers from Argentina.

Asia-Pacific

  • Standard Chartered Bank partners with SAP Ariba to bring financial supply chain solutions to companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Japanese messaging platform Line teams up with Nomura to launch online brokerage firm geared toward younger, digitally-oriented traders.
  • Singapore FinTech Association and PwC Singapore look at the demand for talent in the local fintech industry.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Ghananian fintech Bezo Money is among the 11 startups to receive an $100,000 investment as part of its graduation from Pan-African incubator MEST.
  • Nigerian startup financial services startup Carbon posts its audited financial information online to promote transparency in the country’s tech market.
  • South African startup Ukheshe raises $500,000 (R7.6 million) for its app that provides payment services for the unbanked.

Top image designed by Freepik

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Prosper Launches Mobile App for Investors.
  • Identitii’s Overlay+ to Drive Intelligent Data Exchange for HSBC Bank Australia.

Around the web

  • TechCrunch highlights Lighter Capital’s revenue financing-based approach.
  • Strands celebrates 15th birthday with 700 banks in 30 countries.
  • PyraMax Bank selects Insuritas to launch a bank-owned insurance service.
  • Identitii signs new license agreement with HSBC Bank Australia Limited for its Overlay+ platform.
  • PYMNTS considers how Tuition.io helps employees pay down debt faster.
  • Norima Consulting joins the Quadient Partner Advantage Program to provide financial services companies customer journey mapping and communication management.

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.