Fiserv

Digital Conversations Platform Eltropy Integrates with Fiserv’s Portico

Digital Conversations Platform Eltropy Integrates with Fiserv’s Portico
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Eltropy, Fiserv
  • Digital conversations platform Eltropy has integrated with Fiserv’s account processing platform Portico.
  • The integration will enable credit unions using Portico to use Eltropy solutions such as advanced Text, Video, and co-browsing.
  • Eltropy most recently demoed its technology last year at FinovateFall.

Digital conversations platform for community financial institutions (CFIs) Eltropy announced an integration with Fiserv’s full-service account processing platform Portico today. The integration will enable credit unions using Portico to leverage a variety of Eltropy communications solutions. These include advanced Text, Video, Secure Chat, co-browsing, screen sharing, and chatbots. And all of this functionality is contained within a single platform.

“This partnership with Fiserv allows us to boost efficiency and improve communications capabilities and security – including two-factor authentication – for even more community financial institutions,” Eltropy VP of Strategic Partnerships Jason Smith said. “This integration has the potential to elevate member engagement across all channels, equipping credit unions with the tools they need to thrive in today’s competitive landscape.”

Eltropy’s technology empowers credit unions to sync contacts, send promotional texts, and offer personalized, one-on-one conversations with members. The Portico integration will support communications between departments, facilitating secure and efficient interactions between lending, collections, sales, marketing and other internal sources.

The ability to sync contacts was a particular highlight of the integration. Eltropy’s sync-up feature enables credit unions to integrate member data with Eltropy’s Digital Conversations Platform. Unveiled last month, the Digital Conversations Platform unifies Eltropy’s Video Banking, Enterprise Texting, and Digital Contact Center solutions, and adds AI capabilities, as well. This integration will give credit unions comprehensive member insights that can drive member segmentation and make more personalized products and services possible.

“Integrating Eltropy’s innovative messaging capabilities into our Portico core banking platform allows credit unions to streamline communication and enhance member engagement,” Fiserv VP of Product Management & Strategy for Credit Union Solutions Vanessa Stock said. “Messages can now be sent directly from the application, cutting call center wait times and building stronger member relationships.”

A Finovate alum since 2017, Eltropy made its most recent Finovate appearance last September at FinovateFall. At the event, the company demoed Eltropy One, the firm’s all-in-one omni-channel solution that enables FIs to manage both inbound and outbound communications from a universal console. Eltropy has forged a number of new credit union partnerships this year, including alliances with InRoads Credit Union and Cyprus Credit Union. The company has also partnered with a number of fintechs, including fellow Finovate alums Akuvo, Q2, and Alkami.

Photo by Alex Andrews

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Finovate Global UK: Funding Innovation in Rewards, Payments, Lending, and Crypto

Finovate Global UK: Funding Innovation in Rewards, Payments, Lending, and Crypto
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Coinbase, Finovate Global, Fiserv

London-based fintech and digital wallet HyperJar announced a partnership with digital gift card network, Tillo. The announcement makes HyperJar the first spending app to integrate instant Cashback Gift Cards. The cards enable customers to earn instant cashback of up to 15% from more than 50 top brands including Ikea and Amazon.

In a statement, HyperJar’s Nicola Longfield underscored that not only was HyperJar the first app to integrate the cashback gift cards with a spending account, but also HyperJar was the first to offer “merchant cashback.” This option enables users to choose a higher cashback rate that is specific to a given merchant.

HyperJar’s partnership news comes one month after the company secured $24 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Susquehanna Private Equity Investments. More than 500,000 individuals, including more than 100,000 child cardholders, use HyperJar’s digital wallets.

HyperJar began the year with the appointment of a new CEO, Morgan Stanley veteran Rob Rooney.

A handful of U.K.-based fintechs secured funding this week. Instant payments company Lopay announced a seed investment of $7.3 million (£6 million). Participating in the round were BackedVC, Portage, The Venture Collective, and angel investors. With 20,000 SMEs signed up since launch, the company offers a app that allows small businesses to accept card payments. The app also enables instant access to cleared funds as soon as transactions are completed. Founded in 2022, Lopay plans to use the capital to expand its operations.

Fellow U.K.-based fintech Kennek was another company that locked in seed funding this week. The firm raised $12.5 million in new capital in a round led by HV Capital. Dutch Founders Fund, AlbionVC, FFVC, Plug & Play Ventures, and Syndicate One also participated. The investment follows a $4.5 million pre-seed round closed in February.

Founded in 2021 and headquartered in London, Kennek offers an operating system for lending via a platform that supports the entire lending lifecycle from loan origination to servicing. The company will use the funds to further develop its core technology and add employees.

But the big winner of the week for U.K. fintechs in terms of funding was Untangled Finance. The firm, which operates a tokenized real-world asset (RWA) marketplace, secured $13.5 million in strategic funding in a round led by Fasanara Capital. Founded in 2020, Untangled Finance plans to use the capital for product development and to fuel growth.

The London-based company offers a tokenization platform that facilitates placing traditional financial assets on a blockchain. These real-world financial assets can range from bonds to real estate. Untangled Finance is part of a growing field within the digital asset industry that specializes in asset tokenization, a field that could grow as large as $5 trillion within the next five years, according to a recent report. Note that, along with its investment, Fasanara Capital opened two private tokenized credit pools on Untangled Finance’s platform.

Speaking of DeFi, for those who believe that regulation is the path to greater acceptance of cryptocurrencies, this week’s announcement from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) could be considered good news.

Within 24 hours of its new cryptoassets regulatory regime going live, the FCA has issued 146 alerts to non-compliant companies that were promoting cryptoassets to U.K. customers in violation of the new policy, which was announced earlier this year.

In a statement, the FCA urged consumers to check its publicly available “Warning List” before investing or trading in cryptocurrencies. “We take a risk-based approach, so not alll firms of potential concern will be added straightaway,” the FCA explained. At the same time, regulators hope their Warning List will nevertheless help would-be crypto investors “understand where firms’ promotions may be breaking the law and to consider the promotion with the full information available.”

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia-Pacific

  • Coinbase secured a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
  • Packworks, a Philippines-based fintech, inked a deal to help SMEs secure microfinancing.
  • Forbes looked at the current challenges facing Chinese fintechs.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Nigerian startup Haba InsurTech raised $75,000 in pre-seed funding.
  • Kenya-based Buy Now, Pay Later fintech Lipa Later announced an investment of $3.4 million.
  • Nigeria’s Paystack announced an expansion into offline payments with the launch of virtual terminals for in-person bank transfers.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Slovakia-based online payment solutions provider TrustPay launched an instant refunds feature.
  • BlackRock secured a minority stake in German digital wealth managment platform Upvest.
  • AML prevention and compliance solutions provider Savy forged a partnership with Lithuanian regtech AMLYZE.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • MENA-based open banking platform Tarabut partnered with digital lending platform FLOOSS to bring digital loans to Bahrain.
  • Israeli fintech Stampli secured $61 million for its AI-powered accounts payable automation platform.
  • Emirates NBD launched its digital wealth platform.

Central and Southern Asia

  • India-based Axis Bank partners with Fibe to launch the country’s first numberless credit card.
  • Uzum Group, and a group of institutional investors, have pledged to invest $300 million in Uzbekistan’s digital economy.
  • Indian fintech Spice Money announced a collaboration with NSDL Payments Bank.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • U.K.-based TerraPay teamed up with Bancolombia to enhance cross-border remittances in Colombia.
  • Fiserv acquired Brazilian EFT solution Skytef.
  • Chilean fintech Galgo secured $40 million in funding led by Mexico’s Nazca fund.

Photo by Marianna

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Fiserv Offers More Than 3,000 Institutions Access to Plaid’s Network

Fiserv Offers More Than 3,000 Institutions Access to Plaid’s Network
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Fiserv, Plaid
  • Fiserv has partnered with Plaid to offer its bank clients API-based connectivity to third-party applications on Plaid’s network.
  • The agreement leverages Fiserv’s AllData Connect to allow credential-free data sharing.
  • Fiserv has signed a similar consumer-permissioned data sharing agreements with Akoya, MX, and Finicity.

Digital banking and payments solutions company Fiserv has partnered with financial infrastructure fintech Plaid this week. The two have formed a data-sharing agreement that will offer Fiserv’s 3,000 bank and credit union clients API-based connectivity to the 8,000+ applications on Plaid’s network.

The data-sharing agreement, which will leverage Fiserv’s AllData Connect, will ultimately benefit the end consumer. The deal will help consumers who bank with Fiserv clients share their financial information with third-party financial apps and services such as Venmo, Chime, SoFi, and Betterment.

“Our partnership with Plaid allows banks and credit unions to empower consumers to access their financial information beyond the financial institution, while maintaining their trusted role at the center of people’s financial lives,” said Fiserv President of Digital Payments Matt Wilcox. “By facilitating access to a broad range of capabilities and experiences through third-party apps and services we are charting a course towards an open finance ecosystem that prioritizes data privacy, consumer access, and choice.”

Data sharing via API connectivity instead of an alternative such as screen-scraping offers end users a more seamless way to integrate their financial data into third-party platforms. The API connection also provides consumers more security than screen-scraping, a process that requires them to share their bank login credentials with a third party, which may not have the same level of security as a bank. The data sharing will be secure, transparent, and compliant with the anticipated regulatory guidance outlined by Dodd Frank 1033.

FDX Managing Director Don Cardinal called the relationship between Fiserv and Plaid “a leap forward for direct data sharing and great news for the ecosystem.”

Fiserv’s AllData Connect launched in 2020 and is part of the company’s AllData Aggregation product suite, a set of tools that enables credential-free data sharing. AllData Connect validates the consumer with their respective financial institution and issues a token employed by third parties to access and update that consumer’s data via the AllData Connect platform.

Fiserv signed a similar consumer-permissioned data agreement with Akoya in August and has also partnered with MX and Finicity for data sharing.

Fiserv was founded in 1984 and offers solutions that are used in nearly six million merchant locations and almost 10,000 financial institution clients. The company powers 12,000 financial transactions each second. Fiserv is listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker FI and has a market capitalization of $68.8 billion.

Plaid helps 12,000+ financial institutions offer their customers access to its network of 8,000+ third party financial services via a suite of APIs that connects consumers, financial institutions, and developers. The company also offers identity verification, balance checks, risk assessment scoring, transaction analytics, and more. Plaid was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Photo by Lukas

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Fiserv and Akoya Team Up for Consumer-Permissioned Data

Fiserv and Akoya Team Up for Consumer-Permissioned Data
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Fiserv
  • Fiserv and Akoya announced a partnership this week.
  • Fiserv will have API access to consumer data from Akoya’s network of financial organizations.
  • Akoya will utilize Fiserv’s AllData Connect to access consumer data held at financial institutions.

Digital banking and payments solutions company Fiserv has partnered with consumer-permissioned data company Akoya this week. Under the agreement, the two will facilitate financial data sharing among banks, their end customers, and the third party apps the customers engage with.

Fiserv will have API access to consumer data from Akoya’s network of financial institutions and brokerage firms, while Akoya will utilize Fiserv’s AllData Connect to access consumer data from more than 2,800 financial institutions.

“Fiserv and Akoya are empowering consumers to share their data by creating a broader and more secure data access network,” said Fiserv President of Digital Payments Matt Wilcox. “Direct access to data facilitates more integrated digital experiences for consumers and improves the security of the financial ecosystem.”

Akoya’s APIs can create secure, permissioned access to consumers’ account data across Fiserv’s client base of banks, fintechs, and merchants. This free flow of information across the network can help reduce risk related to account opening, funding, and account-to-account transfers. On the merchant side, consumers can opt to transact using a Pay by Bank option in which consumers link their bank account to the merchant’s wallet or app to make direct payments to the merchant.

Ultimately, the partnership will help consumers choose what financial data from their bank they want to share with third party providers.

“This will help consumers manage exactly who they give their data to and understand how their data will be accessed and used,” said Akoya CEO Paul LaRusso. “100% of Akoya’s traffic to financial institutions goes through APIs. Akoya doesn’t ask for consumers’ passwords, and it doesn’t screen-scrape. All consumers deserve this protection and control.”

In the U.S., where open banking regulations do not exist, partnerships like these are key to empowering consumers with control over their financial data. In addition to helping end customers, this open structure also creates efficiencies by empowering organizations with more data, reduces fraud by eliminating screen scraping, and reduces errors that come with manual data entry.

Founded in 1984, Fiserv’s solutions are used in nearly six million merchant locations and almost 10,000 financial insitution clients. The company powers 12,000 financial transactions each second. Fiserv is listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker FI and has a market capitalization of $73.6 billion.

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Deutsche Bank Taps Fiserv to Launch New Payments Company in Germany

Deutsche Bank Taps Fiserv to Launch New Payments Company in Germany
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Fiserv
  • Deutsche Bank and Fiserv are teaming up to launch Vert, a payment acceptance and processing company aimed to serve small businesses.
  • Unlike other tools on the market, Vert will also offer traditional banking services.
  • Deutsche Bank has a built-in client base of around 800,000 small-to-medium-sized businesses who will be able to access the new solutions.

Deutsche Bank and Fiserv announced a partnership this week that will change the landscape of payments competition in Germany. The two have teamed up to launch Vert, a payment acceptance and processing company that also offers traditional banking solutions.

Aimed to serve small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs), Vert provides a single, integrated offering that streamlines access to banking products. The new service differentiates itself by providing next-banking-day pay-outs, which enables merchants to improve their cashflow with faster access to their funds. Vert also offers acceptance of common payment types and comes with an online dashboard that helps companies analyze transaction data and view a variety of business reports.

“By combining the strength of Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank, with Fiserv, the world’s largest merchant acquirer, we can provide our Vert members with a secure, fast and technologically advanced payment acceptance solution,” said Vert Managing Director of Sales & Product Thorsten Woelfel.

Vert is launching with three products:

  • Clover Flex is a portable payment acceptance device that offers a tip function and business management apps.
  • A Go by Vert app that enables merchants to accept payments on their own Android device using secure PIN entry that allows the merchant to accept payments above contactless-only limits.
  • The PAX A50 is a small card reader device that enables merchants to accept card payments without having to carry around a heavy device.

“With a unique combination of payment and banking capabilities, Vert is already helping small and mid-sized enterprises in Germany do business more easily, with less complexity,” said Fiserv Head of EMEA John Gibbons. “We look forward to helping thousands of merchants streamline their operations and continue to delight their customers.”

Deutsche Bank comes with a merchant client base of its own. Between the bank’s retail banking division Postbank and entrepreneur-focused digital bank Fyrst, Deutsche Bank counts around 800,000 SMBs who will be able to access the new solutions. In fact, some of these merchants are already live with Vert. The bank also expects to attract business customers from outside of its own client base.

Photo by Maheshkumar Painam on Unsplash

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Fiserv Taps The Clearing House to Expand Access to Real-Time Payments

Fiserv Taps The Clearing House to Expand Access to Real-Time Payments
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Fiserv
  • Fiserv is leveraging a partnership with The Clearing House to help its bank clients offer real time payments.
  • Banks that integrate into Fiserv’s NOW Gateway will benefit from real time payments in peer-to-peer payments, interbank account transfers, billpay, and more.
  • The partnership comes as the U.S. Federal Reserve announced pilot participants of its own real time payments system, FedNow.

Fintech solutions provider Fiserv is in the fintech headlines today for its move to help its bank clients provide real time payments to their end users. The Wisconsin-based company is partnering with The Clearing House (TCH), which is allowing Fiserv’s bank customers to access its Real Time Payments (RTP) network via Fiserv’s NOW Gateway.

Banks can integrate into the NOW Gateway, which leverages the RTP network, to offer their clients a range of real time payments services, including peer-to-peer payments with Zelle, payouts for gig economy work and insurance claims, interbank account transfers, and real time bill payments. Ultimately, the move will allow financial institutions to send and receive real time payments on behalf of their customers over the RTP network, which connects to over 60% of bank accounts in the U.S.

“To remain competitive, financial institutions must offer real-time payment capabilities. That’s why we are committed to making real-time implementation easier for any financial institution, from regional bank to community bank, to credit union,” said Fiserv’s President of Digital Payments and Data Aggregation Matt Wilcox. “Our work with The Clearing House to integrate the RTP network with our NOW Gateway is the latest advancement towards this goal.”

Founded in 1853, TCH clears and settles more than $2 trillion a day through wire, ACH, check image, and real-time payments. The company’s RTP network facilitates real time payments by immediately clearing and settling payments. In the first quarter of this year, the network cleared almost 37 million transactions totaling almost $16 billion.

Today’s news comes as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s real time payments tool, FedNow, began onboarding pilot participants. Fiserv is among the first 120 pilot organizations, a list which also includes Finastra, Green Dot, Q2, Square, Temenos, and Visa. The purpose of the pilot is to establish connectivity and perform technical and operational tasks that will lay the groundwork for full-scale, end-to-end testing later this year.

Fiserv most recently demoed at FinovateWest 2020 where it showcased its Virtual Banking Assistant, a tool that helps banks deliver intelligent, AI-driven conversational experiences. With nearly 10,000 financial institution clients, the company facilitates 12,000 transactions each second. Frank Bisignano is president and CEO.

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Fintech Merger and Acquisition Activity Starts Strong in Q1 2022

Fintech Merger and Acquisition Activity Starts Strong in Q1 2022
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alkami Technology, Azimo, BeSmartee, FIS, Fiserv, HooYu, Mergers & Acquisitions, Mitek, MoneyGram, Plaid, Revolut, SecureKey, Segmint, Sezzle, StreetShares, Taulia, Trulioo, Wealthfront

While 2021 was a record year for fintech merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, 2022 is off to a great start.

According to FT Partners, there were 1,485 M&A deals in the fintech space totaling $348.5 billion in 2021. As Square’s $29 billion takeover of Afterpay demonstrated, last year’s massive volume is partially thanks to multiple large deals.

This quarter, only eight of the 21 deals initiated disclosed financial details. Of those, the deal volume added up to almost $5 billion.

January

February

March

While experts predict that 2022 M&A activity will likely see momentum from 2021, there are two aspects to watch out for this year. First, we will not see as many SPACs as we saw last year. This may decrease the number of companies choosing to exit this year. Second, fintech valuations are deflating after experiencing huge rises over the course of the past two years. While the loss in value won’t directly impact the number of M&A deals, it will decrease the deal volume.

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Fiserv Agrees to Acquire Finxact in Deal Valued at $650 Million

Fiserv Agrees to Acquire Finxact in Deal Valued at $650 Million
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Fiserv, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Fiserv has agreed to acquire Finxact in a transaction valued at $650 million.
  • The acquisition will help bolster Fiserv’s position as “partner of choice” for firms looking to add to their digital banking offerings.
  • First Data Ventures, the corporate arm of 2019 Fiserv acquisition First Data, was an early investor in Finxact.

Leading fintech and payments company Fiserv announced today that it has agreed to acquire cloud native banking solution provider Finxact. An early investor in the company, Fiserv will purchase the remaining ownership interest in Finxact for $650 million, and will leverage the acquisition to add to Fiserv’s account processing, digital, and payments solutions.

“Through this combination, Fiserv will create a streamlined path for clients to offer digital solutions to their customers,” Fiserv President and CEO Frank Bisignano said. “Finxact also enhances our ability to support a growing number of financial institutions and business clients.”

Jacksonville, Florida-based Finxact offers a core-as-a-service platform that enables financial institutions to innovate and bring new solutions to market without requiring a complete technological overhaul of existing systems. Finxact leverages open banking APIs and the cloud to help firms future-proof and add flexibility to their businesses by abstracting the critical components of core banking from other operations and services – such as mobile banking, communications, and statements. The company’s partners range from financial institutions like Live Oak Bank ($8.2 billion in assets) and Iberiabank’s Virtual Bank to fintechs like Personetics and Anchorage Digital.

Calling the acquisition a “tremendous opportunity” for his six-year old company, Finxact Chairman and CEO Frank Sanchez said, “We recognize that Finxact’s technology can serve to level up the industry’s delivery infrastructure, and crucially at a time when banking is undergoing transformative change. We will be better positioned to serve a far greater number of institutions, of all sizes, when combined with the breadth and depth of Fiserv capabilities.”

Finxact was founded in 2016 and has raised $42 million in funding. The company ended 2021 with the introduction of its no-code visual Product Launchpad, a platform enhancement that brings a visual design experience to the creation and deployment of products on the Finxact core.

The acquisition of Finxact is only the latest fintech deal by Fiserv since its big, $22 billion purchase of First Data Corporation in 2019. Last fall, Fiserv announced the completion of its acquisition of marketing and commerce platform BentoBox. The year before, Fiserv acquired digital card services platform Ondot. Other recent acquisitions include its pick-up of Bypass Mobile in 2020 and NetPay in 2021. The company’s most recent Finovate appearance was at FinovateWest 2020, an all-digital event in which Fiserv demoed its Virtual Banking Assistant. The technology brings AI-driven, conversational experiences to call center operations, boosting customer engagement and reducing costs.

Photo by Dave Colman from Pexels

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Mastercard, Fiserv Team Up with Bakkt to Bring Digital Assets to Loyalty Programs

Mastercard, Fiserv Team Up with Bakkt to Bring Digital Assets to Loyalty Programs
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Fiserv, MasterCard

A partnership between cryptocurrency exchange Bakkt and Mastercard is being heralded as a major breakthrough in bringing digital assets into the mainstream.

“Mastercard is committed to offering a wide range of payment solutions that deliver more choice, value, and impact every day,” Mastercard EVP of Digital Payments Sherri Haymond. “Together with Bakkt and grounded by our principled approach to innovation, we’ll not only empower our partners to offer a dynamic mix of digital assets options, but also deliver differentiated and relevant consumer experiences.”

The collaboration will enable Mastercard partners to leverage the company’s network and Bakkt’s trusted digital asset platform to enable consumers to buy, sell, and hold digital assets using custodial wallets powered by Bakkt’s platform. Additionally, consumers will benefit from streamlined issuance of branded crypto debit and credit cards.

Mastercard will also make cryptocurrencies a bigger part of its loyalty programs. Mastercard partners will be able to offer cryptocurrency as rewards and enable consumers to transfer value between loyalty points and digital assets. This will allow users to effectively use cryptocurrencies for everyday transactions and, perhaps even more significantly, marry cryptocurrencies to their preferred purchases.

“We’re incredibly excited to partner with Mastercard to bring crypto loyalty services to millions of consumers,” Bakkt EVP for Loyalty, Rewards, & Payments Nancy Gordon said. “As brands and merchants look to appeal to younger consumers and their transaction preferences, these new offerings represent a unique opportunity to satisfy increasing demand for crypto, payment, and rewards flexibility.”

In addition to its partnership with Mastercard, Bakkt also announced that it had entered a strategic relationship with Fiserv that will also help support mainstream adoption and use of cryptocurrencies. A major feature of the collaboration will be the integration of Bakkt into Fiserv’s Carat omnichannel ecosystem. This will enable businesses to offer both B2B and B2C cryptocurrency payouts, loyalty programs, and transactions. Fiserv and Bakkt also announced plans to introduce Bakkt technology that enables customers to store and transact with digital assets to Fiserv’s financial institution clients.

Founded in 2018 and based in Alpharetta, Georgia, Bakkt became a publicly traded company only a few days ago, launching on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BKKT. The listing came courtesy of a SPAC sponsored by Chicago investment firm Victory Park Capital. In the weeks leading up to the company’s debut as a public company, Bakkt had announced partnerships with other Finovate alums including Finastra, Google, and, earlier this year, Blackhawk Network.

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Winning Top-of-Wallet with a Digital-First Strategy

Winning Top-of-Wallet with a Digital-First Strategy
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Fiserv, Sponsored

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Amanda Glincher, Director of Marketing, Fiserv

It’s no surprise that a digitally issued card shortens the time frame between when a consumer receives a new card and when they begin using it for spend. Yet, digital issuance is just one step on a digital-first journey and without a full strategy, that newly issued card might not bring with it the added spend issuers are expecting.

Yes, consumers want digital-first cards, but they are also in search of digital-first options when it comes to all of their other banking activities. From the first engagement someone has with a new financial institution, each traditional activity should have a digital counterpart.

Applications that win

The beginning of a banking relationship often begins with a consumer applying for an account. Creating an application process that is seamless and reduces barriers is the best way to start the cardholder’s digital experience. As noted in The Financial Brand, when an application takes more than five minutes to complete, abandonment rates increase to as high as 60%. To reduce abandonment and improve the customer experience, applications can be limited to the necessary data.

Add to the convenience by allowing applicants to switch between devices to complete an application without losing their place in the application flow, especially in situations where any documentation or uploads are being requested.

Immediate access

Once you’ve approved a new account, increase usage rates by providing immediate access to a new card. In a world where our groceries are delivered within the hour and the world’s library of movies and music is available to stream in seconds, time really is of the essence with today’s consumer.

70% of digitally issued cards are used within five days, compared to a physical card that won’t even be delivered for 7-10 business days.

Make usage a breeze

“Manually entering my card details and verifying my identity is so fun” is a statement that has never been uttered. Once a card has been digitally issued, make using the card simple by enabling push-to-wallet. There are many benefits to giving cardholders this ability and it is among the most essential parts of a successful digital-first strategy. In addition to the seamless experience for the cardholder, push-to-wallet provides more opportunity for you to capture top-of-wallet for both the physical and digital wallet, as well as bypassing the marketing of competing cards.

Top-of-wallet opportunity

When a card is pushed directly into a Google or Apple Wallet from your app, it provides immediate access and the ability to spend in-person, online, and in-app. With over 85% of U.S. retailers accepting Apply Pay, a digitally issued card that is pushed to wallet is available for use nearly everywhere.

In addition to the availability of the card, the ease-of-use enables consumers to go about their regular spending and utilize your card without missing a beat.

Bypassing the competition

While push-to-wallet is the more convenient way to add a card for a consumer, it’s also the simplest way for an issuer to avoid competition. A customer who chooses to manually add a card to Apple Wallet will be greeted by an offer to apply for an Apple Card. When a card is directly provisioned to a digital wallet, the cardholder bypasses the manual entry point at which they would be offered another product.

Sweetening the deal with offers and rewards

A list of retail discounts, benefits pamphlets, and APR offer checks are among the many mailings we receive from financial institutions. These offers are more accessible and beneficial to digitally savvy cardholders when they are offered, visible, and available in-app.

Not only is this a preferred way for customers to access offers, but a digital-first model allows financial institutions to make personalized offers in the moment – special financing opportunities and location-based discounts – enhancing the cardholder experience and capturing even more spend.

Give insight into all the places a card is stored

For existing cardholders, instant issuance of a replacement card can be made even more valuable by providing information on all the places the old card was stored. A list of existing retailers where their card is on file or is being used for recurring purchases allows cardholders to make sure the card is updated everywhere it needs to be – providing a smoother journey with uninterrupted spend.

Control in the palm of their hands

While card controls and alerts are a standard today, they are also an essential part of a digital journey. Allowing individuals to set limits on transaction types, locations, and amounts – and receive alerts – reduces fraud, minimizes inbound call center activity, and gives cardholders the security of managing their cards 24 hours a day. Controls can include the ability to turn cards on and off, set spending limits, create location boundaries, and report a missing card. Alerts allow cardholders to create notifications for a variety of scenarios, and to keep a close eye on the transactions charged to their account.

The importance of a fully digital journey

While all of these features are beneficial on their own, it is when they come together as part of a full digital strategy that they provide the most value to both the cardholder and the financial institution. Digital issuance is a key part of going digital-first, but it is the combination of this suite of digital-first tools that provide the best cardholder experience.

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Fiserv Launches QR Code Payments at the Point of Sale

Fiserv Launches QR Code Payments at the Point of Sale
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Fiserv

Today brings yet another indication that QR codes are back in style. Fiserv announced it is partnering with PayPal to enable businesses to use QR codes to offer touch-free payments at the point of sale.

Through the partnership, small and mid-sized businesses using Fiserv’s Clover point of sale and large enterprises leveraging the company’s Carat commerce ecosystem will be able to accept payment via PayPal and Venmo through QR codes at the point of sale.

“With consumer preference shifting towards touch-free interactions, it’s critical that businesses are able to connect physical and digital commerce,” said Fiserv’s Head of Global Business Solutions Devin McGranahan. “By enabling consumers to pay digitally via a QR code and popular digital wallets like PayPal and Venmo, businesses are providing added convenience and choice as in-person shopping, dining and entertainment experiences resume.”

As shown in the video above, the QR codes make the touch-free payment process relatively frictionless. Nonetheless, there is one catch– users must have a PayPal or Venmo account and mobile app.

Consumers may be willing to endure the extra friction, however, as people have become more likely to try out new digital technologies in the wake of the pandemic.

Fiserv’s announcement comes about a month after the company agreed to acquire payment processing and payment acceptance startup Pineapple Payments.

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Wisconsin, Fiserv’s technologies serve nearly six million merchants across the globe. Frank Bisignano is president and CEO.

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Fiserv Buys Pineapple Payments

Fiserv Buys Pineapple Payments
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Fiserv, Mergers & Acquisitions

Financial services technology provider Fiserv made its latest acquisition this week. The Wisconsin-based company has agreed to purchase payment processing and payment acceptance startup Pineapple Payments.

Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close next quarter, were not disclosed.

Under the agreement, Fiserv will continue to provide processing services to Pineapple’s 25,000 merchants. Fiserv anticipates the purchase will expand the reach of its own payment solutions, including the CoPilot partner platform, Clover, and Clover Connect.

“With Pineapple Payments already operating as a key distribution partner of Fiserv, we expect to accelerate the delivery of new and innovative capabilities to a host of new merchant clients,” said Fiserv President and CEO Frank Bisignano. “Together, we will provide omni-channel payments technology and services to enable merchants to maximize the potential of electronic payment processing. We look forward to welcoming Pineapple Payments to the Fiserv family and continuing to provide the best-in-class solutions and service that merchants and their customers expect.”

Headquartered in Wisconsin and founded in 2016, Pineapple Payments provides payment processing and omni-channel payment acceptance solutions for integrated software vendors and SMBs.

Today’s deal is Fiserv’s 35th acquisition. Prior to today, the company most recently bought up digital card services platform Ondot in a deal announced last December.

Photo by Any Lane from Pexels

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