Team8 to leverage its unique company-building methodology and expertise across data, AI, cybersecurity and privacy for the new fintech foundry
Team8, company-building venture group backed with strategic funding from Microsoft, Walmart, Barclays and Moody’s, among others, announced the launch of Team8 Fintech, a practice focused on founding and scaling transformative fintech companies. Team8 Fintech is led by former President & CEO of Israel’s largest bank, Leumi Group, Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, Founder & President of digital payments unicorn Payoneer, Yuval Tal, and Founder and Former Chief Product Officer of social trading network and multi-asset brokerage unicorn eToro, Ronen Assia. Galia Beer-Gabel, former Head of Business Development for PayPal across Eastern Europe, Israel and Africa, is also joining Team8 Fintech as part of the founding team that brings a wealth of expertise across retail banking, credit, payments, ecommerce and trading.
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COVID-19 DRIVES MAJOR FINTECH OPPORTUNITIES
COVID-19 has paved the way to hyper digitization, accelerating trends and expectations both at the business level and for consumers across all age groups. From the decline in cash usage and the decreasing relevance of brick and mortar to the recent surge in the opening of digital-only bank accounts, the pandemic is acting as a catalyst to spur a wealth of new digital experiences that offer enhanced engagement and increased personalization. The financial services sector is already undergoing major transformation, driven by multiple forces. Regulations such as “open banking” encourage competition, provide users with more control over their data, and allow them to easily migrate and adopt new financial services. Modern technology advancements and banking-as-a-service platforms make it easier than ever to repurpose and integrate different layers of the financial technology stack into new applications. From younger generations looking for solutions with their favorite brands rather than their parents’ financial institutions of choice, to a growing aging population depositing checks by phone now, COVID-19 has fast-forwarded today’s market needs by a decade.
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TEAM8 FINTECH MISSION
Team8 Fintech will create both B2B and B2B2C companies that empower industry players with new technologies and new business offerings to ensure they stay relevant and gain a competitive advantage. The foundry will build companies that enable incumbents, largely operating with legacy infrastructure, to hyperscale their digital transformation. For established fintechs, typically offering niche solutions, Team8 Fintech will create companies that enhance their value propositions with more diverse and robust capabilities and broaden their business models. The practice will also target non-financial companies with significant customer bases and relevant customer touchpoints where a financial service offering may be beneficial. Team8 Fintech will create companies providing embedded fintech solutions to address these opportunities, enabling such non-financial companies to become new fintech providers, benefiting from new revenue streams and enhanced customer engagement.
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