London Study Tour – Welcome to Level 39
Juni 11, 2019
Student Nicole Egli reports on the Study Tour in London with Christina Kehl ( CAS Digital Insurance):
#Level 39 – a community of 1,250 leaders in cybersecurity, fintech and retail tech. They support start-up companies to grow by giving them access to customers, talent and infrastructure. On 23 May 2019, the contributors met in the three-floor, 80,000 square foot community space in the financial center of London (Canary Wharf).
Three pitches provided insights into what’s going on in the Fintech Hub London @Level 39:
Start-up Bambu: Fintech Solution Partner for Robo-Advisory
Nick Wakefield (responsible for business in Europe)
Bambu was founded in 2016 by Ned Phillips and Aki Ranin. These days, more than 50 people work for the company across product development, delivery, investment and data management. The headquarter is in Singapore (core market is Asia) and there’s a subsidiary in the UK. Their products are sold worldwide – their portfolio currently comprises 16 clients, all of whom are leading financial institutions across ASEAN, EMEA, and US.
But what kind of services and products does Bambu provide, and how do they differ from traditional wealth management products? Who are the customers?
The goal is to offer a tailor-made solution for all market segments (private, affluent and retail). Two types of products have been developed for this purpose: Intelligent Advisor for High Net Worth Investors and White Label Robo for Affluent and Retail Investors. In all their solutions, the benefit lies in automated, technology-augmented and algorithm-based processes. The portfolio management service is supported or rather optimised. They distinguish three types of products: Bambu App, Bambu Dashboard and Bambu API Library. The clients and investors are mainly banks and insurance companies (e.g. Refinitv, Standard Chartered Bank, FWD). Solutions are tailored to clients’ needs and specifications.
The motto is always: “Making wealth as simple as possible”
Start-up Bankable: Digital Banking Solution (founded 2010)
Juliette Marion & Maria Vieira
Supporting financial institutions to eliminate operational inefficiency, retain more customers and improving key performance metrics is their main business focus. More specifically, the platform and ecosystem capabilities are as follows: Enable banking and payment solutions, digital banking solutions, clearing, and settlement.
With their product portfolio, they serve the following customers:
- Banks: Launch banking products in new territories quickly and easily, target new categories of customers
- Corporates: Improve payroll, expenses and purchase management processes
- Governments: Facilitate national identification for simple payout of social benefits and monitor international remittance
- Insurance: Streamline processes including admin and fraud management, with real-time financial support to beneficiaries
- Fintechs: Bring innovative banking projects to life, real-time and seamless payments, expand offering easily to other regions
Nothing is off the shelf – all solutions are developed based on customers’ needs. Bankable is a technology company that does not own any data. They purposely do not cover the entire value chain of a service or product. Clients communicate what they need and Bankable plugs in best-in-class providers. Moreover, clients benefit from Bankable’s broad partner network (e.g. exclusive pricing). Another essential USP is time: they bring products to the market within 12 weeks. What makes their business unique is the focus on strong partnerships – banks, insurers, and Fintech go hand in hand!
Start-up Nimbla: Single Invoice Insurance
Is it possible to insure an invoice? Nimbla provides a unique platform that enables companies to insure their invoices. This means that non-payment risk for companies’ outstanding invoices can be mitigated. The target groups are mainly small companies within the UK (they’re currently in discussions with a new reinsurer to expand to Europe). The solution is simple, affordable and flexible. As soon as a client has signed up, Nimbla analyses their invoices and the risk of non-payment. In other words, Nimbla covers the credit risk for clients. The data is real-time. In addition, it’s a controlling and monitoring tool.
Takeaways:
All three start-up companies take advantage of new technologies to optimise processes and improve client experience. Clients’ needs are always the focus. Their solutions are tailor-made and should make life easier for customers. The employees are highly motivated and eager to revolutionise the financial industry. Let’s see what the future brings!