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Finspiration
Fresh from Finovate Europe:Our favourite financial services precedents for 2015/16
February 2015
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Finovate Europe, February 2015
Finovate Europe showcases the best and most innovative new
financial and banking technologies.
This year in London, 72 handpicked companies each had 7 minutes on
stage to show their latest and greatest innovations.
A truly finspiring gathering with more lightbulb moments than a torch
factory. We’ve put together our favourite bits and top themes from this
year’s event to brighten up your thinking…
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The big themes…in a nutshell
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Go with the crowd Mobile is king Eyes on tomorrow
Loans and investments via the crowd
are getting more accessible…
Channel even more financial activity
through your mobile…
Plan your future finances with
appropriate info at your fingertips…
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Let’s get [un]physical Democratisation Payments your way
Digital cash is on the up… Break down the barriers and do
more…
More choice for more convenient
experiences…
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Go with the crowd
Gordon Moore famously noted that impressively, the power of new
computers doubles every two years. Top fact Gordon. Perhaps
more impressive is that crowdfunding currently outstrips this
growth by a factor of 10.
In the UK there are currently 100+ debt and equity based
crowdfunding platforms, which expect to facilitate £4.4bn of
funding in 2015. Finovate has shown us new companies that are
making this space more accessible. Read on for our pick of the
bunch…
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Go with the crowd
Connecting businesses with investors Investing and saving your Bitcoins Crowdfunding supermarket
• US-based StreetShares focuses on
facilitating small loan crowd lending
(<$50k) for small businesses
• StreetShares pre-approves loan
applicants within 24hrs to de-risk the
process for would be investors
• Investors bid to lend parts of the
requested sum and the lowest interest
rate wins
• Described as “Like Shark Tank meets
eBay” (Shark Tank being a US version of
the UK’s Dragon’s Den)
• Berlin-based BitBond is a global P2P
bitcoin lending platform
• Anyone with the internet can get a loan
or invest, banks aren’t necessary
• Borrowers’ creditworthiness is shown to
lenders via a score and a bidding system
assigns the lowest offered interest rate to
the borrower
• Alternatively, ‘AutoInvest’ creates a loan
portfolio for the user based on pre-
defined criteria
• With 1500 pre-registered investors,
investUP is set to make waves as a free
online service that allows you to invest
across P2P, debt & equity sites from one
place
• London-based investUP has partnered
with 10 leading crowdfunding sites, set to
rise to 15 in summer 2015
• investUP makes is possible to have just
one account and build one centralised
portfolio
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Mobile is king
A study by WorldPay estimates that global mobile payment
revenue for online purchases will reach $117bn in 2017, up from
$18bn in 2012. Phone-ominal.
We have seen mobile tech take over day-to-day cameras and
portable music players. Will mobile tech rule over banking
interactions and payments?
The quality of mobile solutions seen at Finovate would be enough
to convince even the hardiest of sceptics. See if you agree…
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Mobile is king
Mobile payments and rewards Cash register of the future Complete banking service on your mobile
• Launched summer 2014, redy provides a
mobile payments and rewards platform,
using a QR system for PoS payments
• Customers can transact with registered
redy businesses and earn a percentage of
the transaction value as a reward
• Rewards with redy can be redeemed as
vouchers, cash or donated to community
projects / charities
• redy is designed to work at a local level
and at scale
• The Russian innovation, LifePay, brings
the cash register into the digital age for
SMEs
• LifePay technology enables a user/vendor
to take chip and swipe card payments
using their phone
• Client, sales, employee and product
analytics are presented in an online portal
for the vendor
• Currently the biggest company of its type
in Russia, LifePay is now rolling out its
business solutions across Asia and Europe
• Telenor Banka provides innovative online
and mobile financial services, formed in
Jan 2014 after Telenor Group acquired
KBC Bank
• Telenor Banka has created a fully mobile
banking solution that is simple to use and
available anytime anywhere
• The service is made more accessible
through their mobile device loan offering
• The complex IT solution behind the
innovation was delivered by Asseco SEE
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Eyes on tomorrow
Lots of us wish we were a little more savvy with our money, yet
lack the right information to make the most of our finances. You
could blame those winter sun deals that grab you when in the
depths of a dreary November.
More and more fintech companies are waking up to this need and
their innovations provide customers with the information and
planning tools required to make smart decisions. There were some
crackers at Finovate Europe this year…
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Eyes on tomorrow
Personal finances simplified Optimise your spending Invest and learn
• MoneyHub places the user at the centre of
their financial world and currently tracks
over £3bn in consumer assets daily
• Users can track all spending, assets and
liabilities in one place and share chosen
parts with advisors
• Spend analytics are sophisticated and
insightful
• A user can plan for their financial future
using the portal and answer the important
question, “Do I have enough?”
• The Icelandic based Meniga offers
financial institutions a white label product
that improves customer satisfaction and
retention, as well as providing business
benefits such as data mining
• Meniga’s product helps banking customers
better manage their financial lives
• The user is able to save for goals, see their
spend analysed and compare their
progress to other users (anonymously)
• The interface includes a fun and engaging
‘Facebook-like’ feed
• The next web and mobile software will help
users to invest more effectively, save
smarter and learn how capital markets
work
• Ultimately the product helps users to
survive the everyday ups and downs of
financial markets and accomplish their
objectives
• next will distribute their product directly to
users and will to launch their Web & iOS
APP in April 2015
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Let’s get [un]physical
Physical cash and coins are clumsy. Inevitably you’re left with a
pocket or purse full of the copper ones, which weigh a ton.
Keeping things digital means no more digging awkwardly for that
20p piece at the counter and it should save that poor tenner from
another cycle in the washer with your jeans.
There are some great platforms appearing which can facilitate this
shift. See what you think to these ones coming up...
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Let’s get [un]physical
No more cash or cards Efficient worldwide payments Accessible digital currency
• Silicon Valley based startup Quisk partners
with banks and merchants to enable
anyone to use their money without needing
cash or cards
• Quisk enables banks to create a new type
of all-digital account, accessed by a phone
number and a secure PIN
• Digital payments can be made mobile to
mobile, PoS (phone no. & code entered),
online and bill pay
• The platform enables merchants to offer
digital loyalty programs
• Swiss company Mobino operate a global
payment service for P2P, PoS and e-
commerce
• Users carry Mobino cash on their phone
which can be topped up from bank
accounts or via agents in underbanked
economies
• International remittances are cheap and
efficient
• Merchants can accept payments via the
app or via integration in existing cash
registers and vending machines
• CoinJar provides a platform for managing
traditional and digital currencies in one
place
• Users can effortlessly convert between
currencies (crypto and traditional), store
money, buy/sell and send/receive
• The solution is multi-platform and a cash
card is available for PoS transactions
• Being able to transact Bitcoin makes
international travel and remittances quicker
and cheaper
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Democratisation
Kanye West once sang “power to the people” [Power Remix]. We
don’t know if he’d been reading up on his fintech or if it was just
coincidence, because we are seeing a shift toward the
democratisation of several financial services, such as credit
scoring.
We’re not saying you’ll be installing a vault in your basement
anytime soon, but there are certain services that rather suit this
movement. Here are a few featured at Finovate that will make you
think…
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Democratisation
Social investment network Alternative credit score for people Business valuation at your fingertips
• eToro seeks to provide a trading platform
for users to trade in a simple, transparent
and social way
• Described as a “Facebook meets Twitter”-
like approach to trading
• Users build communities to share and
discuss trades, while sites rank top players
and offer the chance to duplicate the
trades of the most successful peers
• The platform can be accessed on the go
by mobile
• Aire is a TechStars company offering an
alternative credit score for people
• Individuals can build and take control of
their credit score
• The mission is to help thin-file customers
qualify for essential financial products via
their Aire score
• Their API will enable lenders to leverage
the score in their decisions and it enables
a credit check when no traditional data
exists on their credit bureau file
• BizEquity democratises business valuation
for small businesses
• By completing 7 simple steps, the service
generates a full valuation report and
industrial comparison of 40 KPI’s, using
their patented valuation engine combined
with the cloud
• Online tools allow a user to monitor and
compare real-time (updated daily)
• Useful business advice and alerts are
streamed to the user during the valuation
process
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Payments your way
Chip and pin is good, but it’s not a scratch on what we’ve seen this
year at Finovate. PoS payments are getting an adrenaline shot.
More choice, smart solutions and glasses that probably won’t be
sold in Specsavers.
We’ve already seen contactless payment usage surge from £635m
in 2013 to £2.32bn last year. September will see the transactional
spend limit increased from £20 to £30 to meet the demands of the
popular payment method. How do you think the following
solutions will do in the coming years?...
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Payments your way
Social banking solutions Innovative remittance Purchase online without bank accounts
• Portuguese Ebankit provides Facebook,
wearable, mobile and augmented reality
channels to financial institutions
• Traditional channels also covered
• The Facebook channel allows the user to
split and share payments with friends, pay
friends and request money (among other
functions)
• The aim is to move the industry closer to
the seamless embedding of financial
services into daily life
• Transfer To allows the user to transfer
money to others’ mobile wallets
• In addition, the company works directly
with service providers to enable remote
payment for services
• It is quick and safe to even the most
remote locations, ideal for foreign nationals
and migrant workers
• The solution is white label and available for
FI’s and Telco’s
• German Cash Payment Solutions replaces
traditional banking branches by enabling
customers to transact cash-in/cash-out at
local participating shops with better
opening hours
• Their product, Barzahlen, enables physical
cash purchases online: A ticket/SMS is
generated upon purchase, which is taken
to a kiosk and paid up in cash, releasing
the goods
• Barzahlen can be accepted at more than
70,000 cashiers
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Mark
et G
ravity
About Market Gravity
Market Gravity is a specialist innovation and service design consultancy.
We work with the world’s leading companies to liberate big ideas, turning them into new,
innovative services – helping to build tomorrow’s economy.
Accelerating great ideas from Post-it® to prototype, our unique combination of insight,
commercial and prototyping expertise puts customers at the heart of the design process and our
hands-on method builds momentum to launch.
Together with our clients, we've launched big ideas in electric vehicles, next-generation financial
advice, renewable energy and digital commerce.
www.marketgravity.com
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For further information or to have a
chat about how Market Gravity can
help your business, get in touch:
Phil Clarke
www.marketgravity.com
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