Two Finovate alums will be among the 12 startups selected to participate in Mastercard’s Start Path program. Thought Machine, a core banking technology provider, and Enveil, a data security firm specializing in protecting Data-in-Use, will join 10 fellow tech startups for the six-month virtual accelerator program.

Amy Neal, SVP, Start Path and Fintech, Mastercard, suggested that the current public health crisis will have an impact on the environment in which these startups compete. “This global pandemic has strengthened collaboration between corporates and startups,” Neal said, “and we look forward to co-creating with our newest Start Path members and providing them access to a powerful network and tailored programming on their mission to scale.”

Joining Thought Machine and Enveil are:

• Hoolah
• mx51
• ryd
• SmartPesa
• Ukheshe
• Worldcoo
• Goalsetteris
• Zinobe
• ConnexPay
• Mylo

The goal of the program is to help companies scale their business with the support of a Mastercard sponsor. Startups are able to develop relationships with a curated, global network of established financial services and e-commerce firms, as well as with technology and marketing professionals within Mastercard’s network. Since its inception in 2014, the program has worked with 230 startups.

“We’re delighted to announce we’ve joined @MAstartpath! An industry-wide collaboration of banks, merchants and startups building the future of commerce,” Thought Machine’s Twitter feed read when the news was announced. The company demonstrated its core banking solution, Vault, and FinovateEurope 2018. The U.K.-based company made fintech headlines this spring when it announced receiving an investment of $83 million to fuel the company’s growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

Enveil made its Finovate debut one year earlier, demonstrating its point-to-point, Data-in-Use security solution at FinovateFall. Picking up $10 million in funding in February, Enveil was highlighted in an Alumni Profile in March.

“Proud to be selected to join Mastercard Start Path!” the company’s Twitter feed read late last week. “Of the more than 1,500 applications evaluated per year, Start Path selects about 40 companies that offer the most promising technologies and demonstrate a readiness to scale.”

Finovate Podcast Interviews Amber Labs’ Aleks Svetski

This week on the Finovate Podcast, host Greg Palmer talks with writer, researcher, and keynote speaker Aleks Svetski on Bitcoin in 2020, the halving event, and the importance of understanding the root of money’s functionality.

Svetski is the founder of Amber, an app designed to make it easier for individuals to invest in Bitcoin. He also launched one of the world’s premier publications on Bitcoin, The Bitcoin Times.

Amber Labs demonstrated its technology at FinovateMiddleEast in Dubai last year. The company won Best of Show for its all-in-one Bitcoin exchange, wallet, and micro-investment app.

Here is our weekly roundup of news from our Finovate alums.

• Fiserv details CEO succession plan, electing Frank Bisignano to succeed Jeffery Yabuki as Chief Executive Officer effective July 1.
• Samsung to launch new Samsung Pay debit card courtesy of new partnership with SoFi.
• linked2pay launches CustomerConnect to help businesses eliminate late B2B invoice payments.
• Tradeshift teams up with the Danish Export Credit Agency to launch a program to free up liquidity for businesses.
• Taulia now offering customers 3 cash analytics solutions for free.

• Addition Financial partners with Backbase.
• Citizens Bank partners with Teslar Software.
• Truist selects TSYS for credit card processing.
• Blackhawk Network creates digital version of its One4all gift cards with Dejamobile.
• Microblink offers free access to its BlinkID solution to organizations fighting the coronavius pandemic.

• BHD Leon, a bank based in the Dominican Republic, partners with Temenos to power its digital banking.
• PostFinance goes live with its new digital investment platform powered by Additiv.
• Finantix’s latest Digital Collaboration Hub helps banks drive advisor-client collaboration.
• Visions FCU taps Zogo Finance to promote financial literacy.
• Winvesta teams up with DriveWealth to offer investors in India access to U.S. securities.

• The Financial Times ranks Payfone among America’s fastest growing companies.
• FIS adds GooglePay to its Hosted Payment Page product for online merchants.
• Avaloq’s SaaS solution to help Bank of the Philippine Islands boost business.
• Wyndham Capital Mortgage puts AI Foundry’s Agile Mortgages solution to work.
• PointCheckout takes top prize in hackathon for its app that helps deliver funds quickly amid the global health pandemic.

• Regtech innovator Keepabl launches its Privacy Kitchen to help businesses learn about GDPR, the role of a data protection officer, and all things privacy-related.
• Persistent Systems earns recognition as a “Top 15 Sourcing Standout” from IT advisory firm ISG.
• Orion Advisor Technology launches automated marketing platform Market*r. automated marketing platform Market*r.
• Wise Banking announces rebranding: “our look evolves, but our mission remains the same.”
• BlueRush’s IndiVideo platform approved for 2020 USPS postage rebate program.

• CollegeBacker introduces Backer Bucks program to help parents save for college while shopping with major online retailers.
• Norway’s Boost.ai launches self-learning system for conversational AI.
• Adlumin integrates automated cybersecurity examination tool (ACET) into its SIEM (security information and event management) platform for financial institutions.
• FIS unveils simplified pricing and contracts model

Finovate Alumni Features and Profiles

Post-Compromise Fraud Specialist Breach Clarity Partners with Xtensifi – A collaboration between fraud prevention and detection company Breach Clarity and digital consulting firm Xtensifi will bring additional machine learning technology to bear in the battle against cybercrime in financial services.

Bento for Business Names New CEO; Partners with San Francisco Achievers – Small business expense management platform Bento for Business has a new man at the top. 

TransUnion Launches Fraud and Identity Unit – The new unit, Global Fraud & Identity Solutions Group, will tie together TransUnion’s identity verification and authentication tools that help businesses do everything from fight originations fraud to target consumers in their risk profile. 

How Skiptracers Can Help Solve a Key Challenge in the COVID-19 Crisis – If auto manufacturers can make ventilators, and whiskey distilleries churn out hand sanitizer, then why can’t skiptracers be deployed to help put the “trace” in “contact tracing”?

Emailage Acquired by LexisNexis – Fraud prevention solutions provider Emailage recently announced it has been acquired. LexisNexis Risk Solutions, owned by parent company RELX, closed the deal for $480 million.

Currencycloud and Carta Worldwide Power Real-Time FX at the Point of Sale – B2B cross-border solutions provider Currencycloud is teaming up with Canadian transaction processor Carta Worldwide to bring transparency, accuracy, and cost-competitiveness to international transactions.

Samsung and SoFi Team Up to Offer Debit Card – Alternative finance solutions provider SoFi and Samsung’s Samsung Pay joined forces this week to launch a debit card.