Open banking and authentication fintechs caught the eye of attendees at Finovate Spring 2023 this week, with several voted Best of Show by the audience.
Forty-four fintech startups demonstrated their technologies and how they fit in the financial services industry. The following startups focus on data insights and security:
Data-driven fintechs:
1. 9Spokes
A dashboard that utilizes open data and open banking, 9Spokes allows financial institutions to connect with customers, said Tom Baran, head of partnerships at the New Zealand-based fintech.
The platform pulls data from a bank’s APIs to show a customer 24 months of information, providing them with insights into their accounts across multiple financial institutions on one screen, Baran said.
Founded in 2012, 9Spokes has raised $16.5 million in three funding rounds, according to Crunchbase.
2. Flybits
Customer experience platform Flybits allows banks to measure data-driven consumer experiences and market the right information to the right customers, Chris Pinkerton, chief growth officer at the fintech, said during the company’s demo session.
“We’re delivering personalization to millions of consumers on a daily basis,” he said. “You can deliver personalized experiences at scale using your own data, your own infrastructure and our predeveloped templates.”
Flybits is used by Citi Ventures, Mastercard and TD Bank, according to the fintech’s website.
Toronto-based Flybits has earned $44 million in four funding rounds, and was founded by Hossein Rahnama, according to Crunchbase.
3. Savvi AI
Machine-learning automation helps businesses turn data into actionable insights with Savvi AI’s platform.
The Chicago-based, business decisioning fintech partners with financial institutions such as Citibank to collect information from the backend of a bank and deliver information such as return on investment to aid decision making, Chief Executive Maya Mikhailov said at Finovate Spring.
The decision-as-a-service platform is a turn-key solution that requires no coding, infrastructure or vendors, according to the Savvi AI website.
Savvi AI was founded by Mikhailov and Alex Muller in 2021, per Crunchbase.
Security fintechs:
4. 1Kosmos
Providing multifactor authentication solutions, 1Kosmos allows users to protect their data and fight potential identity fraud in banking, Robert MacDonald, vice president of product marketing at 1Kosmos, said during the company’s demo session.
The Somerset, N.J.-based fintech makes login processes safer for customers and employees by integrating with a bank’s core, eliminating the need for a password, MacDonald said.
“By truly knowing who’s behind the device, you can revolutionize the user experience for customers, employees, contractors and partners alike,” he said. “Not only the user experience, but also modernize and streamline much of your back-office operations while reducing spend and reliance on a variety of legacy tools.”
The fintech was founded in 2018 by Hemen Vimadalal, Mike Engle and Rohan Pinto, according to Crunchbase.
5. Wink
Biometric security and payments platform Wink aims to enable password-free authentication and hands-free payments for consumers.
The Plano, Texas-based platform, which was founded in 2021, allows banks to use tools such as facial detection to verify a user’s identity for safer account access, founder and Chief Executive Deepak Jain said at the conference.
“What you as an institution receive is a tokenized credential that only you can validate,” Jain said. “The machine learning and AI algorithm is comparing my face, my device, with my voiceprint and can actually authenticate me using my voice.”
Other technologies today will downgrade this authentication and go into a PIN code, opening the door for a hacker to get into your account,” he said.
Wink has accrued $5.9 million in two funding rounds, according to Crunchbase.
