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#CuriosiTech – Discover the 4 Best FinTech of the week: Suade, Figo, AdviceRobo and Aqmetrics

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Team Europe
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Every week, Techfoliance highlights four promising Fintech start-ups in different part of the world in various verticals: lending, payment, investment, etc. In this weekly FinTech mapping we have Suade, Figo, AdviceRobo and Aqmetrics.

Suade

Suade is a London-based Fintech that is developing technologies for banks in order to comply with regulatory issues. In 2016, the company launched the FIRE Data Format, an open source project to create a standard for regulatory data.

Discover here: https://www.suade.org/

Figo

Figo is a Hamburg-based B2B Fintech that has developed Europe’s first ‘Banking as a Service’ platform. With its multifunctional platform technology, figo provides technical solutions for complying with XS2A, meaning banks do not have to develop this interface themselves.

Discover here: https://www.figo.io/en/

AdviceRobo

AdviceRobo is a Amsterdam-based Fintech that has developed a credit scoring technology using big data and machine learning to support lending to millennials and SME’s.

Discover here: https://www.advicerobo.com/

Aqmetrics

Aqmetrics is a Kildare-based Fintech that provides integrated compliance and risk management software to fund administrators, asset managers, investment managers and broker/dealer companies.

Discover here: http://www.aqmetrics.com/

 

[Blockchain Brazil] Interview with Bernardo Faria, Executive VP at FOXBIT – Part II

By
Isabella Carvalho
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The increasing interest in blockchain (and bitcoin) brings opportunities for Brazilian start-ups.

To better understand an entrepreneur’s perspective on market, I had the opportunity to interview Bernardo Faria, Executive VP of FOXBIT, a leading bitcoin exchange.

[divider]Interview with Bernardo Faria[/divider]

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What is the current state of the bitcoin / blockchain market in Brazil?

There are currently 3 bitcoin exchanges in the country. The market has handled BRL 360m in 2016 and is expected to handle more than BRL 1bn this year.

FOXBIT bought BitInvest last year. Does your decision shows an overall market trend towards consolidation?

We could call it consolidation, but it was more of a strategy of related to platform redundancy and bank accounts.

Internationally, financial institutions prefer to concentrate on the blockchain technology and “keep distance” from bitcoin. Do you see the same happening in Brazil?

Yes, exactly the same.

What is the level of involvement of incumbents in the bitcoin and blockchain markets?

Incumbents are not involved in the Bitcoin market. Some of them are indeed not very helpful towards bitcoin start-ups: Itaú and Santander for instance do not open bank accounts for bitcoin exchanges.

Regarding blockchain, banks are only starting to understand this technology. There are some projects and tests being rolled out by banks, but they are still in their initial stages.

COAF stated in 2015 that it would be against regulation bitcoin in Brazil so as not to “create the perception that bitcoin is a safe product”. How are regulators reacting to the development and growth of bitcoin exchanges in Brazil?

They follow it with interest. Last year, the Central Bank of Brazil asked us to participate in the Financial Inclusion Forum. Regulators are interested in the potential of bitcoin usage for financial inclusion, especially for micro-payments and remittances.

Is there any legal / regulatory definition on what bitcoin is in Brazil?

There is no regulatory definition. The Central Bank of Brazil issued a circular saying that it does not consider bitcoin as a currency, since it is not issued by any government.

What is the regulatory framework for bitcoin exchanges and which are their duties regarding customer protection and data privacy?

They are considered as financial intermediaries and must comply with KYC rules, COAF regulations and customer protection laws, as traditional businesses do, such as for example an art gallery. In FOXBIT’s case, we have advisors supporting us in order to duly operate as a Payments Institution regulated by the Central Bank of Brazil, in compliance with applicable rules (AML, Compliance, etc).

How is the dialog between regulators and the ecosystem?

The dialog is open and frank. We have no problems with regulators. Our biggest challenge is with the banks, as mentioned above.

How can the relationship between regulators and innovators become more efficient?

Innovators should have a clear agenda with regulators, an open door policy and operate based on the Central Bank of Brazil guidelines.

What are the main trends for the bitcoin and blockchain market in 2017?

For bitcoin: bitcoin established as a token of value, the approval of bitcoin ETFs (and bitcoin price appreciation if this happens), growth in the bitcoin-based remittance market.

For blockchain: hundreds of POCs running in financial institutions and the first strong use case emerging by the second half of the year.

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In short, how would describe your business model?

FOXBIT is a bitcoin exchange in Brazil, that is, it is a digital platform for exchanging bitcoin for reais and vice versa.

How does FOXBIT differentiates itself and why is it important in the current market context?

FOXBIT is a company that was born with a 21st century business model. The company was born on Facebook, already operating in a distributed fashion. FOXBIT is a company that has a strong presence in social networks and has in its quality of service and agility its greatest differential.

FOXBIT has closed several partnerships to offer products supported by its exchange – e.g. investments using bitcoin and payments. What products do you offer today?

Real State Crowdfunding in Brazil – Foxbit allows the payment to be performed via bitcoin. This means that can send $1000.00 worth of bitcoins from Hong Kong and invest in Urbe.me in Brazil.
Prepaid card loaded with bitcoin (acessocard.foxbit.com.br) – this means that you send bitcoins to someone in another location and in less than 30 minutes she will receive this amount converted in reais on a prepaid card.

Bitcoin education platform – the first course was released in February and the goal is to educate those interested in bitcoin (Https://foxbiteducacao.com.br/bitcoin-em-minutos/).
Partnership with Uphold (digital money platform available in 24 currencies).

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I would like to thank bitcoin ecosystem expert Bernardo Faria for contributing to this article.

Bernardo Faria is an Executive VP at FOXBIT, a leading bitcoin exchange. He is a member of the board at Flowsense, a big data company, and Acesso, a payment solution to promote financial inclusion in Brazil. Prior to that, Bernardo launched two ventures CDI Lan S/A and Caixa da Familia. He also worked during several years at Banco Santander. He is a graduate of an MBA at Ibmec and an Executive at the Singularity University.

Interview with Mads Emil Dalsgaard, CMO at FunderBeam – Part II

By
Nathan Sexer
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Techfoliance is continuing its Road Trip to meet major players around the globe involved in Fintech related projects.

Nathan Sexer, our reporter and Fintech Analyst, had the great pleasure of meeting Mads Emil, CMO of Funderbeam, the first Blockchain-based Crowdfunding platform for SMEs.

About Mads Emil

Couple of days ago, I had the chance to meet with Mads Emil Dalsgaard who joined Funderbeam last January 2016.

He arrived in the company since the initial launch of the trading part of Funderbeam’s platform that made him discover the full potential of Blockchain.

He started his career in Berlin where he created his own company TrunkBird.

See also Interview with Mads Emil Dalsgaard, CMO at FunderBeam – Part I

What type of companies ae you targeting?

“From the beginning, we are completely agnostic in terms of industry or size. We just don’t take companies that are completely new.”

As requirements, Funderbeam wants to see at least some traction, users and some progress.
It considers companies that raise €200k-500k as their sweet spot, but as the platform matures, this amount is predicted to increase, and the goal is to do rounds of upwards one million by the end of the year.

Also, Funderbeam does both private and public rounds, enabling companies to raise from closed circles or a wider crowd.

With public rounds, products need to be easy to understand. As an example, a medical technology company struggled to raise money since their product was too complex and technical; people failed to understand the value of their product.

Funderbeam is also doing bonds, loans for later stage companies.

Risk assessment process

For every company that raises money from the platform, one lead investor has to be registered to a SPV/Syndicate.

“There is no fixed rule/hurdle but the investor needs to put at least 5-10% of the round. HE DOES the due diligence. No valuation needed because it has previously been done by the lead investor.”

The due diligence is focused on the lead investor rather than the company. The lead investor can be associated with the company but cannot be one of the founders.

How to reach and get individuals invest in the platform?

Main clients come thanks to their own content: there is an important and organic growth from searches. Funderbeam also provides free data intelligence for founders and investors. Believe it or not: Proper data is needed to invest/raise money (on competitors, traffic, activity on social medias etc.)

“We have a lot of organic traffic from press coverage and contents. It comes from advertising as well : but these “customers” are very likely to sign up without investing.”

Expected return

Nothing found about potential return on the website. Could you explain the strategy behind?

“We are intentionally not sharing any numbers when it comes to the startups on our platform. Early stage investing is inherently more risky than any other asset class, but the potential return is also much higher.”

The main differentiator is that people can exit whenever they want.

“We don’t communicate figures, because we don’t wanna give people expectations even if results have been very good until now.”

 

[Blockchain Brazil] Top blockchain initiatives in Brazil – Part I

By
Isabella Carvalho
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0

Blockchain is attracting attention from financial institutions, industry associations, regulators and entrepreneurs worldwide – Brazil is no different.

Top blockchain initiatives in Brazil

Brazil’s largest private capital banks (Itau and Bradesco) have joined the R3 consortium and are currently testing blockchain-based solutions:

Bradesco has announced a trial of a blockchain-based digital wallet in partnership with eWally, a start-up accelerated in its InnovaBra program;

Itau has created a blockchain center of excellence to map/assess use cases and develop strategic technological partnerships;

The Brazilian Banks’ Federation (FEBRABAN) is taking the lead on the development of cross-institution, sector-wise solutions:

FEBRABAN created a blockchain working group to assess the impact of distributed ledger technologies on the sector. The group assembles several institutions together to promote an inclusive dialog – 15 banks, the Central Bank of Brazil and B3 (company formed by BM&F Bovespa and CETIP).

In the first public meeting of the group (April 2017), FEBRABAN has tested exchanging client information between Itau and Bradesco using IBM’s Hyperledger technology. The group is expected to present additional results of its studies in June, at FEBRABAN’s annual banking technology fair.

Regulators are supporting the current trials involving blockchain technology:

The Central Bank of Brazil has already conducted different tests on how the technology could potentially be applied in the Brazilian market. It mentions use cases in financial services and beyond – with focus on modernizing Brazil’s registrar network (“cartorios” – refer to video below for more information, in Portuguese)

See the video here: http://bit.ly/2rQ6ftj

 

The Open Banking revolution is getting closer and closer!

By
Team Europe
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Open banking is not just a trend anymore but a major concern for most bank executives who are expecting (waiting?) a big change on their business in the coming years.

At least two forces are currently driving open banking: technology and regulation. In Europe for example, the PSD2 directive is accelerating the trend to open banking to let third-part providers (TPPs) and Fintech access customers’ data. To make it possible, banks will have to develop open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to let any counter part access their system.

Ron Shevlin, Director of research at Cornerstone Advisory and best-seller author of Smarter Bank, recently updated the new models of banks that are emerging with the rise of open banking (see the chart before from the Financial Brand).

Open Banking: key figures

88% of banks expect PSD2 to have an impact on their business.

Despite the high perception of risk, 44% of banks plan to provide an open bank offering in the next 5 years.

64% of banks intend to integrate foreign products or functionalities into own digital offering.

In Europe, the budget to get a banking license is estimated at approximately €20 million.

Open Banking by BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas is among the most active bank in Fintech in Europe and announced last February a digital investment plan of $3 billion to ‘build the bank of tomorrow’.

To be the bank of tomorrow, BNP Paribas also has to adopt an innovative mindset, working closely with disruptors and connecting them with its employees to engage the whole group into this massive transformation. To do so, BNP Paribas hold various workshops all along the year with experts and entrepreneurs with its latest event happening in Paris next Tuesday the 30th on Open Banking.

Why you should come?

BNP Paribas opens its doors to connect the most innovative startups with BNP Paribas executives. Regtech and fintech startups will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas on how their technologies can accelerate the open banking trend and solve key regulatory matters.

Date:

Tuesday the 30th in Paris from 9:am to 2pm

Location:

Pan Piper – 2-4 impasse Lamier – 75011 Paris

Programme:

9:30 – 10:30: Fortia & BNP, a successful collaboration

10:30 – 12:00: Speed Networking Sessions with Regtech / Open banking players and BNP experts

12:00 – 12:45: Demo

12:45 – 14:00: Lunch / Networking

Techfoliance is partnering with BNP Paribas to connect decision makers with Regtech / Open Banking players.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding the event or want to partner with us to be connect with the most advanced innovators!

Madrid is on fire with Europe’s hottest Fintech event MoneyConf

By
Xavier Gomez
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Join Techfoliance next June the 6-7th in Madrid for MoneyConf, one of the most important business summits in Central and Eastern Europe addressing top trends in the fintech, insurtech and big data industries.

For this new edition 2017, MoneyConf gathered more than 100+ CEOs, 500+ Companies and coming from 65 countries. MoneyConf is an invite-only event focused on fintech and the revolution in money, payments and finance. It comes to you from the people behind Web Summit, the world’s fastest growing technology event.

Last year, MoneyConf welcomed attendees from 47 countries to an incredible two days of legendary networking. This year we’re going more international. 1,855 people from 62 countries across the world are on their way to Madrid for what’s sure to be a great event.

Fintech in Spain: key figures

The spanish Fintech sector saw an increase of 400% between 2013 and 2016.

Spain is the largest market of Fintech innovation in Ibero-America with 200+ Fintech start-ups.

The 4 largest Fintech segment in Spain are Payments & Remittances (21%), Lending (18%) and Enterprise Financial Management (11%) followed by Crowdfunding (10%).

MoneyConf At a glance

Over 1,800 of the top names in the industry, from CEOs of global institutions and brands to the founders of the world’s most disruptive startups have made it the place where those redefining the future of finance meet.

You can see All speakers here

Why you should come?

For this year’s session, the #MoneyConf / @MoneyConfHQ is expected to be even bigger with more than 1800 interntional delegates. During the two days event, +500 Fintech start-ups will have the chance to pitch in front of a room full of investors and experts.

The conferences will be conducted around key topics such as:

1/ Crowlending : The resilience of marketplace lending

2/ Insurtech : The future of insurance is in partnerships

3/ Payment : The future of payments is 165 years in the making

4/ What is the future of AI in financial services ?

5/ Competition makes you smarter: Customer centric banking

6/ Make lending smart again: Data-driven decisions

7/ How will blockchain go mainstream?

8/ Competition makes you smarter: Customer centric banking

9/ The fintech IPO in 2017

10/ European fintech: The view from Silicon Valley

See the agenda for full event details

Techfoliance is glad to come to this event as a media partner. We will forward you with daily live news so that you can follow the best of MoneyConf if you did not have the chance to come directly to Madrid to attend the event.

Do not hesitate to contact us before if you want to manage a meeting with our team to share thoughts, become a contributor or pitch your Fintech to be featured on our media!

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