Finovate Fall 2015: Six Takeaways from Latest FinTech Conference

With more than 70 presenting companies and more than 1,500 attendees, Finovate Fall 2015 brought together a plethora of innovators who had seven minutes to present, educate, and pitch their latest products and services.

But what were the top talking points at Finovate, held on September 16-17 at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City? Among the topics presented across the 70 7-minute presentations, the following themes appeared most:

1. Identity and Authentication atop List of Concerns

No matter how you look at it, the idea of ensuring a user’s privacy and security with respect to his or her convenience has long been a concern.

From biometrics (iris, fingerprint, voice, facial recognition, etc.) to behavioral patterns (keystroke/button press traits) to social network analysis, vendors are putting out new ways to authenticate users, but which will provide the easiest and most intuitive solution? See the entire article, “Authentication Needs Fixing,” on American Banker.

Learn More: The Rise of Biometrics in Healthcare, Finance, and Payments

2. Superwallets: The Next Step in Mobile Payments?

Apple Pay and Android Pay are vying for attention today, but is there already something on the horizon for tomorrow? According to Finovate Best in Show winner FINANTEQ, the next mobile wallet will do even more.

Called the SuperWallet, the platform combines banking, payments, and m-commerce services like: remote bus tickets, parking fees, everyday grocery shopping, bill payments, take-out food, coupons, offers, event tickets, flower post, hotel booking, taxi, trains, flights and many other, combined with banking and payments—in a unified platform.

Learn More: The Mobile Payments Global Snapshot

3. Bitcoin Going Mainstream

Cryptocurrencies are still making their way into the mainstream, and many platforms are working to make the currency more accessible. ArcBit looks to take the bitcoin process mobile, providing an intuitive and simple interface perfect for beginners.

For more information on the mobile Bitcoin wallet ArcBit, see the recap on Finovate.

In the enterprise spectrum, Finovate Best in Show winner Blockstack.io enables financial services and other enterprises to set up and build applications on a private, hosted blockchain.

4. Face-to-Face Meets Ecommerce

Omnichannel was once assumed to mean browse online, buy in person or over the phone. Now, with technological advances, the website can act as a face-to-face platform.

Finovate Best in Show Winner SaleMove looks to combine everything on an online platform. A face-to-face engagement platform, SaleMove brings a more personal experience to the ecommerce process. This helps salespeople guide prospects more effectively through the website while answering questions as needed.

Learn More: The B2B Ecommerce Manifesto

5. A New Breed of Physical Cards

After platforms like Coin, Swyp, Plastc, and Stratos took rise as all in one card amalgamators, companies hopped aboard. Taking away from the idea that consumers are to purchase the cards, Dynamics Inc. introduced a new form of card, with fully-programmable interfaces (stripe, EMV, NFC) for use in next- generation payment cards.

These in turn work for merchants looking to incorporate innovative rewards and loyalty systems into cards, consumers looking to use a single card more easily in multiple currencies, or banks looking to provide one card with both credit and debit capabilities to users. Further, Dynamics Inc. provides a healthcare focused card to allow first responders to assess health information about a patient who may not be able to speak for him or herself.

Learn More: The Rise of the All-in-One Card Consolidator?

6. Wherever there’s a Speaker, There’s a Commerce Opportunity

Soundpays brought a new method to the mobile payments arena, eschewing the traditional methods of transmitting from phone to POS.

Touted as “first and only mobile wallet solution to enable secure transactions with nothing more than regular sound waves in noisy environments,” Soundpays also reduces one friction point some major mobile pay players like Apple Pay haven’t seemed to overcome yet. The fact that all of this can be done with no new hardware on behalf of merchants.

“Anywhere there’s a speaker, we can create a commerce experience,” said CTO of Soundpays, Jason Squire.

If a consumer is sitting on his or her couch and sees a commercial for a product they want, the inaudible sound waves are sent to the Soundpays mobile wallet and allow that consumer to make a purchase. They can also make donations and book appointments without moving off the couch. Or, do so on the go while spotting a digital video sign.

Learn more about Soundpays from the recent PYMNTS.com article.

Learn More: What does the Mobile Payments Market Look Like in 2019?

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