Debuting for the launch of Innovate Finance 2017, Starling Bank’s Developer Portal enables third-parties to securely access customer data (with their permission, of course) and build on top of the Starling Platform using the mobile-only bank’s APIs (Application Programming Interface).

As the first UK licenced bank to launch a public API in keeping with the ambitions of PSD2 and the Open Banking initiative, the APIs enable external developers to create products and services that work together with Starling’s banking app.

Whilst integrations with money apps and technology platforms are expected in the first instance – such as money advice chatbots or spending analytics – in the future, the capabilities will extend for lifestyle, retail and wellness products that could integrate with other apps, wearables or even the Internet of Things. Products and tools integrated with Starling Bank’s APIs will have the opportunity to sit in the Marketplace where users can easily access these additional services.

Megan Caywood, Starling’s Chief Platform Officer, said: “Starling is committed to ensuring that everyone around the world has the opportunity for a healthy financial life. There are two key steps to enabling this. The first is empowerment through data. We believe that customers own their own data and should be able to use it to their benefit, rather than have it used in cross-selling or upselling situations. A second important step is enabling innovation so that the best products in market are available and accessible for everyone – whether that’s a Lifetime ISA from a traditional provider or a new fintech. This means people have real visibility over what products are out there, and consequently, much greater choice in finding the product that is right for them.” 

A comprehensive biometric enabled merchant payment acceptance system, FSS Aadhaar Pay allows merchants to accept customer payments through their Aadhaar linked bank accounts without the need for a physical payment instrument. FSS Aadhaar Pay is a highly secure solution supported with biometric data encryption, SSL Keys to prevent identity thefts and frauds.

As part of the Digital India initiative, the Aadhaar Pay platform will be soon be formally launched by the Honorable Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, to make banking accessible to the larger populace. As part of this initiative, nearly 500,000 merchants are expected to be on-boarded in the coming weeks by the Banks.

A bank friendly solution, FSS Aadhaar Pay will support this Government initiative and assist Banks to quickly onboard the Merchants with minimum time and effort. In addition to providing seamless and instant merchant onboarding the solution also offers faster refunds initiation and settlement. It runs on Google’s Android platform and works on 2G enabled basic smartphone empowering the Bank to launch the digital initiative at a lower CAPEX and scale it quickly.

The solution can be easily integrated to the Bank’s existing Financial Inclusion (FI) Gateway. FSS also offers Aadhaar Enabled Payment Systems, one of the largest FI Gateways in the country on a hosted services model.

A merchant friendly solution, it leverages the UIDAI India Stack APIs to authenticate payments, supports the merchant to accept payments using mobile channel and additionally other channels like biometric enabled POS and micro ATMs. FSS Aadhaar Pay cuts down both implementation and operational costs considerably for the merchants and allows them to generate digital invoices and offer loyalty and reward benefits to their customers.

A customer friendly solution, FSS Aadhaar Pay allows the customer to pay without the hassle of carrying a physical payment instrument or managing multiple PINs, by just using their Aadhaar number and biometric as authentication that provides added payment security. The solution will be further expanded to support UPI, Bharat QR Code, Digital Wallet and mVISA in future, to make it easy for the customer to choose any mode of payment.

Commenting on the launch Mr. Suresh Rajagopalan, President Software Products, FSS, said, “The initiatives taken by our Government to drive cashless payments can be successful only if the technology is made available and affordable to every citizen even at the farthest corner of the country.

Following the successful implementation of its Tax Engine solution at banks in Germany, Naqoda is now ready to release its ‘fast, flexible and fluid’ solution for core banking operations. Naqoda’s Core Banking Platform is set to compete with new start-ups and legacy vendors alike but unlike the legacy vendors, Naqoda believes it can offer something unique and versatile.

Founder and Managing Director Erik Bogaerts commented: “I have worked in IT and the financial industry for over 20 years now and it never fails to amaze me that banking is still stuck in the last century. “But what choice do banks have? Implementing legacy software is not going to give you the competitive edge to face today’s wave of digital disruption.”

Banks are using technology dating as far back as the 1970’s yet millennials are demanding banking services at the touch of a button on their smartphones. Naqoda’s latest software will allow banks to meet the demands of this fast paced generation.

Cloud enabled and ready for Open Banking and PSD2, Naqoda’s Core Banking Platform easily integrates with 3rd party systems for features such as accounting, payments and regulatory reporting. Its low-code framework and integrated tool set means it’s easy to extend and adapt the software to user’s needs with minimal or no programming.

Erik explained: “Naqoda Core Banking Platform has been built using the latest technology and has been designed to meet ever changing requirements for years to come. Flexibility is not something you build on top of your systems, it has to be in the core.”

“Technology will play a key role in the future of our business, and we look to Fiserv to provide technical solutions that will help us meet our strategic goals and objectives,” said Angela Sargent, senior executive vice president, CIO, Fulton Financial Corporation. “We recognize Fiserv as a critical partner in enabling us to achieve our business needs. One of the top strategic goals of Fulton Financial Corporation is to create new efficiencies that streamline processes and translate into a better experience for its employees and customers.

“Fiserv works closely with Fulton Financial Corporation to understand and support the organization’s vision, and to help deliver the experience its customers expect,” said Byron Vielehr, group president, Depository Institution Services, Fiserv. “Our focus goes beyond delivering innovative technology to providing a high level of partnership and expert services to make people’s financial lives easier, faster and more secure.”

Fulton Financial has licensed a number of Fiserv solutions, including the Signature core account processing platform, Weiland Account Analysis™ for commercial account analysis and billing, CheckFree RXP for electronic bill pay, Popmoney for person-to-person payments, EnAct™ for relationship sales management, Aperio™ for account opening and customer/account servicing, card services and more. 

“Fintech startups around the world are designing a digital future,” said Amy Neale, Vice President, Mastercard Start Path. “They’re bringing a different approach to enhance customer choice and experience across the industry. Our work with these startups helps connect new technology with reliable, secure financial networks and processes to create an even more rewarding and seamless commerce experience.”

Three out of the five startups joining Start Path’s 2017 spring wave are focused on artificial intelligence (AI). These startups are using AI to analyze consumer behavior, enhance in-store or in-branch customer engagement, and compute bill and payment data, driving a variety of retail innovations. The other two startups have developed solutions that extend retail access to consumers through point of sale innovations.

The spring 2017 Start Path class includes:

• Divido provides merchants and lenders with an omni-channel platform that allows their consumers to spread the cost of major purchases through installments.
• Endor is the first intelligence software platform that lets business users ask any predictive question and get high-quality results with unmatched accuracy and speed in any domain.
• Fluid AI combines artificial intelligence and augmented reality to help banks and retailers create next generation user experiences in-branch and in-store.
• NetPlusDotCom enables retailers to transition from ‘bricks’ to ‘clicks’ and support their customers with digital payments capabilities.
• Regalii works with more than 30 leading banks and fintech apps to give consumers an innovative way to manage their finances and pay their bills in the U.S. and Latin America.

Putting Ideas into Action

Since 2014, the Start Path team has received interest from 5,000 startups, leading to working with 100 companies spanning 24 countries. Through the first four classes, 20 percent of the participants have worked with Mastercard in commercial engagements or pilots.

Mastercard is collaborating with DigiSEq, an IoT payment device enabler, to connect DigiSEq device manufacturer customers with Mastercard tokenization services and enable payments on wearables. Kasisto, the company that created the conversational KAI Banking AI platform, is currently piloting a bot for banks for Mastercard employees that allows consumers to transact, manage finances, receive contextual offers and learn about benefits via messaging platforms. RecargaPay, a mobile payment solution that enables Latin American consumers to top-up their prepaid mobile phones and pay for utility bills, partnered with Mastercard to launch a card-on-file marketing promotion to attract new users.

Amongst other relationships, Innovate Finance helped to identity suitable start-ups to benefit from the scheme, which sees senior Lloyds Banking Group colleagues act as mentors to help FinTech start- ups develop their business and proposition by sharing expertise. The scheme isn’t built on one-way exchange but through the value of reverse mentoring which is mutually beneficial.

The FinTech start-ups benefit from knowledge sharing of experienced Lloyds Banking Group colleagues to aid their development in the financial and technology sector. The support offered includes refining concepts, to strengthening business models within a flexible timeframe determined between the mentor and the start-up.

Diana Paredes is CEO and Co-founder of Suade, a start-up revolutionising the way financial institutions interpret and respond to financial regulations through building an open platform for financial regulation. Working with Ian Lloyd, Director, Digital Transformation & Group Design Authority, one of the Lloyds mentors, Diana said about the scheme:

“Ian is a legend, he has so much experience and knowledge as to how things work on the ‘inside’ but also about how to power through innovation in a tangible way. As an entrepreneur that kind of mentoring is very grounding and learning from him is a great opportunity!”

In return, Lloyds Banking Group gain first hand understanding of how the financial services landscape is changing, learn new ways of working and agile methodologies practiced by start-ups; along with building new connections in the wider FinTech ecosystem.

Ian added, “I wanted to be involved in the Lloyds Bank FinTech mentoring programme to get an insight into the talent, ideas and trends emerging in the Finance sector. I’m able to support Diana with the knowledge and experience I’ve gained in the sector and the collective experience of my network to help bridge challenges Suade may encounter.

I’m finding this unique mentoring relationship rewarding because it operates both ways. Sharing my experience and guidance with Diana not only reminds me of valuable lessons and insights I’ve gained over the years, but there is a lot for me to learn from her too especially through the perspective she has on the industry from a start-up / challenger viewpoint.