Fintech, Finance, Technology, Banking Highlights – 9 February 2018
Wirecard Offers Next Generation Consumer Touchpoints via Chatbots
Wirecard, one of the leading global specialists for digital financial technology, will soon offer innovative, fully-digital and automated consumer interaction experiences via a Chatbot handling consumer enquiries.
The fastest growing mobile payment solution in Europe, boon by Wirecard, will be the first mobile payment app to benefit from this new way of managing consumer interactions based on Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence from Astute Solutions. Boon consumers in Europe will benefit from an industry leading, first of its kind service from the Bot. Soon, Wirecard will expand this offering together with its partner Astute Solutions to more of Wirecard’s business customers.
Within the last few years, Wirecard has already gained profound experience in using AI in its risk management systems and is now implementing AI in the field of consumer interactions and support. Based on Deep Learning technology, the Chatbots interpret the individual intent of each consumer and determine the best path for resolution. The Bots will continuously improve their capabilities by analyzing consumer interactions and accessing Wirecard’s internal knowledge sources. Powered by natural language processing, Chatbots are able to provide individualized consumer support avoiding complex bureaucratic processes and waiting time by giving instant feedback.
Boon users will soon be able to get answers to their most frequent questions and support enquiries by accessing the support section managed by the Bot in natural language and receiving automated, intuitive and quick answers via the platform. In addition to meeting service and support needs, boon consumers will in the future be able to initiate basic transactions or commands within the boon ecosystem via the Astute Bot.
Autobooks Raises $10M Series A1 Round, Helps Banks Offer Integrated Receivables to Small Businesses
Fintech startup Autobooks is off to a big start this year, announcing a $10 Million Series A1 round with plans to increase hiring in support of strong demand from banks and credit unions for its integrated receivables platform.
The company recently closed a $5.5M Series A in March of 2017 and has been deployed into a new bank or credit union every month since and is on pace for 25 more deployments in 2018. The company is experiencing strong demand for its integrated receivables and cash-management products to help financial institutions become a digital destination for small businesses. The investment comes from both institutional and strategic investors, including: Draper Triangle, Baird Capital, Detroit Venture Partners, Invest Michigan and CU Solutions Group.
Autobooks recently re-located its headquarters to downtown Detroit, into the iconic Madison building but is quickly running out of space. The company also has a growing presence in Austin, TX due to its strong financial technology community. The company has added a dozen employees in 2017 and will ramp up aggressively in response to business growth.
Mash Secures Verifone Partnership to Provide New Pay Later Solutions to Merchants and Consumers Across Europe
Mash announced a new pan-European partnership with Verifone (NYSE: PAY) today to provide a “pay later” solution for use in retail stores across Europe.
The service will offer consumers an easy option to pay later for purchases while enabling merchants to immediately collect payment and grow their business.
The innovative new purchasing method allows consumers to forego payment at the time of purchase by simply selecting the Mash option from a Verifone device for instant on-boarding and credit approval. Within 14 days, the consumer will receive an invoice to pay the balance in full or choose to convert the payment into a monthly installment plan. Mash handles the consumer’s financial obligations so businesses can benefit from being paid instantly and focus on serving their customers.
“Today’s in-store financing solutions are not seen as a source of competitive advantage by business owners because they are hard to use and create a large degree of friction at the point of sale,” said James Hickson Group CEO of Mash. “We believed this needed to change. Since we launched our initial pilot with Verifone in Finland, businesses have highlighted the service’s simplicity and their ability to secure larger basket sizes. We have seen excellent traction since the pilot in November and are now up and running with hundreds of merchants across a range of market segments. We are now focused on scaling significantly in 1Q 2018 and empowering businesses across Europe.”
