This is the last set of presentations for this afternoon. We’ve seen some great new features from established fintech companies, plus new entrants that have recently launched. One thing you can tell you from our coverage, there are a dizzying number of companies out there!
TickSmith – Francis Wenzel (CEO) and David Côté (CIO) TickSmith provides a commercial Big Data platform for financial services. Cloud infrastructure that they have built, with API access or web interface. The platform can also manage unstructured text data. There aren’t a lot of details on what sets them apart. This is the first Big Data pitch of the day. The use cases are interesting, would like to hear more about the tech! ^SR
“Managing six years of FI data” “What does Google do to attack this problem?” Used by hedge funds, brokerage firms and others. Launched in 2013. Showing a browser-based platform. They take in thousands of files a day. To me, it kind of reminds me of Google for stock data whether it is historical data or news. From BIC: This is the first commercial big data platform for financial data that is offered as a cloud-based service. I’m sure for the right person this is a pretty cool product.^WM
mCASH – Daniel Døderlein (CEO & Founder) and Anders Nicolai Bakke (COO) mCASH is a payments platform for banks. They support a number of different customer use cases, and you don’t need any new hardware with their mobile offering. It uses QR code, and you can scan from the mobile device screen. ^SR
“Pay with ease using your mobile phone in real time.” Merchants in Norway using this technology. I’m not sure if anyone is using this in the United States yet. Free app. Showing IOS app where someone selects the payee and funding source (i.e. credit card). It SEEMS like sending cash via SMS. By the way, in Kenya 90% of smart phone owners use their mobile phone for P2P payments as well as consumer to merchant payments. I’m wondering if mCash works because it MIGHT be carrier-based. I’m not sure but I’ll find out more. I think they want to reach US banks and credit unions. I suspect via white labeling their app from a FI. 80% merchant penetration in Norway. Announcing new product called mCash mobile merchant; I think like Square but does not require a card reader. Showing a demo using a QR code for a sample merchant payment. ^WM
BCSG – John Davis (Managing Director) and Andrew Garney (Commercial Manager) The company supports small businesses, and the banks that serve them. “The power to be more productive.” One service is curating a set of apps for small business (like marketing, accounting, etc.). All of the apps are integrated under a single sign-on. The apps can also share the same assets, like a scanned receipt used in accounting software or stored in a secure online vault. This is a way for banks to provide a value-add to small business customers. I do agree that it can be hard to shop for the right services for your business, I don’t know if I trust my bank to help me with that challenge. ^SR
“Partners with large FI’s to support SMB’s” Showing a browser-based app that is being using in Europe and will go live with one US bank in the year. I’m not quite sure what they do yet. They are showing business apps for SMB’s on their platform. I’m interested in hearing more as I’m having a hard time figuring out why a SMB would turn to their FI on help on choosing computer applications. Perhaps payroll or payment apps would make sense. Showing live online chat function support. I suspect they can offer lower prices for SAS with bulk buying power. Showing screen of their platform with Santander Bank. ^WM
MaxMyInterest – Gary Zimmerman (CEO & Founder) and Richard Wu (Director, Engineering) Helps consumers to earn better interest on their cash deposits. The platform moves money between accounts for you, to optimize the interest. They are not an FI, the consumer holds the accounts in their own name. They also make sure you stay below FDIC account insurance limits. Their secret sauce is the algorithm that allocates cash across the accounts. Big Data powers the offering, with simple visualization. This service is built for high-income people with a ton of cash on hand. When you need to transfer money, Max draws the money from the lowest-yielding accounts. They work with 5 top banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and American Express. ^SR
I could see how this would be of interests to a lot of people, companies and FI’s. I remember an Atlanta-based company but can’t remember the name (CD – something) that called banks daily to identify CD rates/terms for FI’s to move money around as needed to ensure FDIC coverage. This looks like a cash balancing platform designed with a 21st century design. This is the only cash management/interest rate platform that I can recall ever seeing at Finovate. Very cool stuff. I need to learn more about their business model as well who exactly they are selling to and their main reason to buy. One more time, another great looking browser-based financial technology platform. I bet there are a lot more trained artists and user experience experts employed at financial technology companies today. Up until now it was invitation only; now open to everyone. ^WM
Toopher – Josh Alexander (CEO & Co-Founder) and Evan Grim (CTO & Founder) Toopher has a solution for multi-factor authentication. They emphasize that their technology is invisible, and does not get in the way of the user experience. They now have biometrics. ^SR
Uses location-based information on your mobile phone for authentification. Josh is going so fast it’s hard to keep up with what they do but I think it’s authentication technology based on location. Invisible to the user. Now showing fingerprint ID on a newer Apple phone. Getting ready to show proof of concept with a drone. VERY CREATIVE DEMO. ^WM
SelfScore – Kalpesh Kapadia (CEO & Co-Founder) The company says credit scores are outdated, don’t predict behavior well, and don’t give good results for millions of people– particularly millennials. Their score includes a wide range of data elelments, including social media profiles. They are compliant with lending regulations. ^SR
From BIC: The app is a measure of users’ potential based on their biography, personality and activity derived from social profiles and questionnaire and provides feedback across various dimensions of life, e.g. social, intellectual, financial. I believe it is an “offers” platform based on social media networks.
EverSafe – Howard Tischler (CEO & Founder) and Elizabeth Loewy (SVP Industry Relations & General Counsel) Eversafe helps to protect seniors against financial exploitation and fraud. Desktop application with alerts that are sent via email. ^SR
“Protecting Seniors AgainstFinancial Exploitation” Boy, this is a big problem: folks exploiting senior citizens out of their savings, stealing from the elderly. The founder started this company because this happened to his own mother. There was an elderly family member in my family that convinced that she had one millions of dollars and all she had to do was to provide her DDA account number and all kinds of personal information. The scam artists used UPS instead of US mail to try to avoid mail fraud charges if ever caught. I think I’ve seen these folks before, perhaps in New York last fall. Using this system sets alerts to family members of suspicious activity that might indicate fraud. ^WM
BlueVine – Eyal Lifshitz (CEO) and Edward Castaño (VP Operations) With cashflow management for small business, Blue Vine addresses one of the biggest pain points for SMBs. They bring the age-old practice of factoring into the modern era. They evaluate each funding request, no more than 24 hours, and as quick as just a few minutes. They actually set a credit limit for each business customer. ^SR
Finovera – Purna Pareek (CEO) and Amanda Zepeda (Marketing Manager) Bill Pay can be so much more. With Finovera, it can fuel a PFM solution. They have both desktop and mobile versions.