BioCatch is a behavioral biometrics company that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to combat fraud; the company monitors over 5 billion transactions per month and focuses on detection through behavior as opposed to endpoint security; the round was led by Maverick Ventures; American Express Ventures, NexStar Partners, Kreos Capital, CreditEase, OurCrowd, JANVEST Capital and other existing investors also participated in the round. Source
A new report by BNY Mellon and the UN point to flaws in design and marketing that make financial products less available to women than men; the report finds financial firms are missing out on $7bn in credit card revenue, $14bn in personal loans and $4bn in housing; TearSheet sat down with a former financial services marketer in their latest Confessions series to talk about these issues; the interview covers the misconceptions in marketing to women customers, why women are still viewed as a niche customer when they are the majority and that banks don’t really understand their customers. Source.
Capital One’s chatbot Eno just turned one recently and the bank talked about what they learned this past weekend at SXSW; Carla Saavedra Kochalski, director of conversational AI products, tells TearSheet “We saw there was a huge need to build something smarter and more conversational, not only for those types of experiences but to allow customer service through texting.”; the technology is still limited and in most cases customers still interact on a simple basis like asking for an account balance or approving a questionable transaction. Source.
Forbes spoke with Bradley Strock, the company’s chief information officer to talk about how the company has transformed over the years; Strock discusses their focus on being a customer-centric company, their successful shift to mobile and other strategic priorities. Source
This week’s PeerIQ Industry Update covers the great jobs report as nonfarm payrolls rose by 313,000 in February which caused the Nasdaq to hit an all-time high; CommonBond saw their first AAA rating by Moody’s and KBRA rated the senior bonds for OneMain’s latest deal at AAA, AA and A; PeerIQ also took a deep dive into the recent Amazon checking account news; they cover the benefits of the partnership, the significance of the deal and who might be next to enter the space. Source.
The CEO and Co-founder of Varo discusses what is wrong with traditional banks and how his startup digital bank is different. Source
Speaking to American Banker fintech firms Chime, Moven, Kabbage and more say the move by Amazon is a net positive; most comments showed surprise that it took the retail giant this long to make a move like this; the overall sentiment was positive, pointing out that the entrance of Amazon will increase knowledge of fintech and validating their thoughts on the need for improved consumer experience in banking; the fear that Amazon would just take over is overblown, there is room for the giant retailer and a lot of fintechs who cater to a specific market. Source.
According to HousingWire Amazon is exploring the mortgage lending business and is actively hiring in the new division; the company is already rumored to be looking into offering a checking product. Source
In an interview in American Banker, Meiler discusses Marlette’s culture which aims to keep employees informed of the company’s goals; their strategy includes quarterly all-hands meetings with the company’s 100 employees to share what the goals are for the next 90 days; Meiler also shares how the company shifted its focus to profits given the changing environment and how this resulted in $11 million in GAAP profits last year. Source
Square’s stock is up over 200% in the past year; the run up occurred prior to news that the Square Cash app would allow users to buy and sell bitcoin; Square Cash had more than 7 million active users in December of last year; according to the Quartz article, the growth has also been fueled by recent bank partnerships; other successful lines of business include Square Capital which lent out $305 million to small businesses in the fourth quarter of 2017. Source