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  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgVirtual Piggy grows to over a quarter million users.
  • TrustedID launches new service to help protect AARP members from identity theft.
  • Lendio launches new small business resource center to give business owners access to products and services to help grow their businesses.
  • Geezeo advances social finances by launching Friend and Feed tools.
  • FreeAgent launches Invoice-o-matic, a free online invoicing tool for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
  • EZBOB announces new, 12-month business loan with decreasing rate over term.
  • Realty Mogul featured in Herald-Tribune column on bringing real estate investing "to the masses."
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News-- June 14, 2013

  • Nomis Solutions wins patent for price sensitivity models.
  • Billeo announces acquisition of ecommerce platform, Swag.io.
  • Encap earns seven-figure investment from ProVenture Seed.
  • Money Marketing considers Narrative Science, Quantopian, Moven, MoneyDesktop and Jemstep.
  • Zopa named Most Trusted Loans Provider at the Moneywise Customer Service Awards 2013.
  • CU Broadcast interviews MoneyDesktop's Bret Skousen.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
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Exact terms of the funding were not disclosed in Encap's press release of the announcement. However, TechCrunch is reporting that the funding totaled $2 million.

This takes Encap's total funding to more than $2.8 million, courtesy of previous investment from Alliance Ventures.

Based in Oslo, Norway, Encap specializes in mobile authentication, providing in-app, banking grade security. Encap's technology eschews SMS codes, hardware tokens, and one-time, password-based authentication in favor of an approach that, in the words of ProVenture Seed Managing Partner, Herbjøm Skjervold, combines multi-factor authentication with risk profiling.

The company plans to use the capital to help expand into new regions, particularly the United States and United Kingdom, as well as to increase market share in a competitive market for security services. According to a report in SecureID News, the multi-factor authentication market itself should surpass $5 billion by 2017.

Encap demoed its technology as part of the FinovateSpring 2013 event in May. See the company's presentation here.
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgZopa Safeguard now has 15,000 users and has had £16m lent on platform. Zopa reaches £300m in money lent to borrowers in the UK.
  • Bank Innovation reports: Cardlytics Has 33 Million Active Users at 400 Banks.
  • Inc. Magazine creates infographic of how to select the right crowdfunding platform. Bolstr and SeedInvest among choices.
  • CommunityLend's FinanceIt partners with Pivotal Payments, a credit card payment processing company, to enable merchants to process loans directly at the POS.
  • Capital Access Network opens new facility in Lindora, Costa Rica to support growth.
  • Finect president Jennifer Openshaw talks networking for financial professionals on MarketWatch Radio.
  • Street Fight Mag includes Placecast among its "5 Tools for Point of Interest Geo-Targeting".
  • TransferWise launches GetPaid to make it easier to get compensated when working with international clients and partners.
  • Developer Tech features Keynote Systems' CEO Umang Gupta.
  • Point of Sale highlights Finovate alumni Flint Mobile and PayPal.
  • Social Trading Guru reviews ayondo 3.0.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
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FinovateFall 2012 alum Locaid just completed a $4.05 million Series D funding round according to VentureBeat.

Participating in the round were InterSouth Partners, H.I.G. Ventures, and Florida Growth Fund, as well as additional investors. The new funding puts Locaid's total at just north of $30 million.

Founded in 2005, and now with offices in both Boca Raton and San Francisco, Locaid specializes in Location-as-a-Service (LaaS) solutions ranging from IP and Landline location to geofencing and location analytics.
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Locaid's "footprint" extends to more than 4 billion connected devices worldwide, including more than 400 million mobile devices. The company is also the largest location gateway for major carriers such as AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon. Locaid made headlines earlier this month with the release of its Compliance API.

To see Locaid's FinovateFall 2012 presentation, visit the company's demo page here.
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgSan Diego County Credit Union launches Cardlytics' card-linked marketing platform.
  • Newfination: Bill Harris talks about Personal Capital's new funding round and the issue of continuity.
  • SecureKey's briidge.net DNA security software and authentication service have been integrated with MasterCard's MasterPass.
  • BellaDati selects Chicago as its U.S. Headquarters.
  • CEO and co-founder of OpenCoin, Chris Larsen, writes about Bitcoin and "the future of money."
  • Mint, BudgetPulse listed among budgeting options in column on digitizing your finances.
  • DigitalMailer signs technology and marketing partnership with CoreTrack.
  • Locaid closes $4 million funding round.
  • DeviceFidelity partners with Susan G. Komen Dallas County via moneto Prepaid MasterCard program.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
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ayondo's European expansion just reached another border, as the company announces that it has launched its social trading service in the UK.

Based in Frankfurt, Germany, ayondo is an innovator in the world of social trading. The company's platform allows average investors to share trades and investments and, more importantly, to trade and invest alongside the best performing traders and investors on the platform.

Those using ayondo can trade a variety of assets, including currencies, stock market indices, individual stocks, and commodities. Traders can begin following up to 5 top traders for a little as €100.

ayondohomepage.jpgThat ayondo would expand to the UK should probably come as little surprise. The company had already expressed its interest in the UK and Irish markets by adding spread betting to the platform earlier this year. Spread betting is available only to ayondo's clients living in Ireland or the UK.

Said ayondo managing director Thomas Winkler in a press release, "ayondo is the first social trading platform to offer spread betting with proportional following for a wide range of asset classes."

ayondo was founded in 2008, and launched its social trading platform in January 2012. The company demoed its technology as part of the FinovateEurope show a year later in London. See  the company's presentation here.
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There are many ways to describe the innovators in financial technology.

And thanks to Intellaegis, we can add "fugitive catcher" to the list.

The El Dorado Country District Attorney's office in California sought out the services of hometown technology company, Intellaegis, to help them find an elusive fugitive who had been on the run for years.

Watch the news report from the CBS Sacramento affiliate.



According to the report, masterQueue was able to track the fugitive's data footprints as she traveled across the country to states as distant as Michigan, California, and Florida. The fugitive had been on the run for three years. masterQueue was able to track her down in five minutes.

Intellaegis was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in El Dorado Hills, California. The company debuted masterQueue in 2011 as part of FinovateSpring in San Francisco. See the company's presentation here.
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  • miiCard partners with authentication company, Toopher, to help users and businesses more effectively fight fraud and secure new services online.
  • BBVA Compass deploys Mitek's Mobile Photo Bill Pay.
  • TIBCO Software acquires StreamBase Systems.
  • Kofax issued patent that covers sending receipt confirmation for a fax.
  • AU Arts Hub profiles Narrative Science's approach to journalism.
  • Cashstar announces patent for virtual gift card technology.
  • Keynote brings MITE Enterprise, DeviceAnywhere Enterprise to UFT users.
  • Green Dot to acquire Walmart's reloadable prepaid card business, MoneyCard.
  • Affinity Solutions raises more than $21 million.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
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With its latest round of funding, Affinity Solutions' total financing tops $40 million.

This latest funding round was led by Massachusetts-based private equity firm, Chestnut Hill Ventures. The firm specializes in the commercial marketing and financial services industries, and provided more than $14 million in equity financing for Affinity Solutions a year ago.

Affinity Solutions says that the $21 million will go towards helping the company bring its marketing platform to market. Affinity Solutions currently has partnerships with more than 4,000 financial institutions, and more than 25,000 brick and mortar retail outlets.

This latest round of funding was a big jump up from the company's most recent capital-raising effort: $6.75 million raised in February via a combined equity/convertible securities offering.

All told, Affinity Solutions' fundraising over the past year:

  • $14.5 million in equity financing - June 2012
  • $6.75 million in equity/convertible financing - February 2013
  • $21+ million in funding - June 2013
Headquartered in New York, Affinity Solutions presented its technology at FinovateSpring in San Francisco in 2012. See the company in action here.

Finovate Alumni News-- June 10, 2013

  • FinovateLOGO.jpgThe Oakland Tribune's Inside Bay Area profiles OneID founder and CTO Steve Kirsch.
  • EZBOB adds variable lengths, longer periods, lower interest, and loyalty discounts on its loans.
  • Realty Mogul co-founder and CEO Jilliene Helman talks crowdfunding and real estate investing.
  • MicroStrategy business intelligence solution, MicroStrategy Express named a finalist at 2013 American Business Awards.
  • Newfination interviews Jilliene Helman, co-founder and CEO of Realty Mogul.
  • SF Gate blog looks at Personal Capital, Wealthfront, and FutureAdvisor.
  • Newfination interviews Kristoffer Lawson, Holvi CEO, on replacing your bank with Holvi.
  • Mortgagebot launches MortgageMarvel site to help consumers shop for mortgages.
  • CNET interviews Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche on recent funding and future growth.
  • Bloomberg BusinessWeek takes a look at the business of Google Wallet.
  • Intellaegis's masterQueue technology helps catch wanted fugitive.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgXero and Stripe partner to simplify online payments for small businesses.
  • Bank Innovation reports: Mitek Launches V 2.0 of Mobile Photo Bill Pay solution.
  • Boku teams with PlayJam to bring mobile payments to smart TVs.
  • SimpleTuition partners with College Parents of America to bring student loan and loan comparison insight from SimpleTuition its members.
  • Creditnet.com ranks the Best Personal Finance Software of 2013 (So Far): 1) Personal Capital, 2) Mint.com 3) ReadyForZero.
  • Emida adds Colombia to list of operating countries.
  • Kofax launches Analytics for Capture business intelligence solution.
  • Pymnts.com interviews TransferWise co-founder Kristo Kaarmann.
  • RightStartups takes a look at Betterment as a "new concept in a very traditional industry."
  • Dynamics launches "Everything Else is Just Plastic" TV Ad.
  • TradeBox Media reviews Zooz's retail app plug-in.
  • International Business Times looks at how Arxan's technology is used to protect mobile banking apps from attacks.
  • Newfination interviews Uri Gruenbaum, co-founder and CEO of TipRanks.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
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Narrative Science, the maker of Quill, announced yesterday it has reached a partnership and technology development agreement with In-Q-Tel.

As a part of the agreement, Narrative Science will tailor a version of Quill, a system that uses big data to generate natural language reports, to meet the needs of In-Q-Tel's U.S. government intelligence customers.

The terms of the agreement were undisclosed.

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Currently, Forbes uses Quill's engine to generate earnings reports and previews. Additionally, Personal Capital recently partnered with the Chicago-based startup to generate written reports with personalized insights and advice for wealth management clients.

To learn more about Narrative Science's Quill, watch its FinovateSpring 2013 demo.

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Kofax Analytics for Capture is designed to provide business intelligence analytics for users of its signature document processing solutions Kofax Capture and Kofax Transformation Modules.

The new technology provides dashboards that streamline operations, as well as data on system performance, accuracy, and productivity. The goal is to avoid reliance on IT professionals for activities such as report-building and modifying database queries.


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Analytics for Capture provides:

  • The ability to review and filter documents and batches to avoid or eliminate bottlenecks.
  • Functionality to examine productivity statistics at the batch, document, and page level over a variety of timeframes.
  • Options to research and compare accuracy metrics at field level to improve the quality of the capture process.
Kofax has more than 20,000 customers in industries ranging from banking to healthcare, and have more than 800 partners in more than 75 countries. The company demoed its capture technology as part of the FinovateSpring show last month, earning positive reviews from Filene Research, among others. Filene included Kofax in its column on "Promising Products from Finovate."

See Kofax's presentation here.
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Double the value and 12 new rewards?

That's the news out of Dynamics, which has made significant upgrades and enhancements to its ePlate intelligent payment card. 

The company has launched its first television ad, in partnership with Visa, touting the changes, which include a "no annual fee" version of the ePlate Visa card, and rewards ranging from private jet flights to race car driving lessons.


Dynamics launched ePlate in the UK during FinovateEurope 2013. ePlate cards include a programmable magnetic stripe that limits fraud by rewriting itself with each new transaction. Additionally, users can access the Dynamics system to program the card to respond to preferred offers, rewards, and other incentives.

The generousity of the rewards available to ePlate cardholders is meant to represent a sharp distinction with industry norms. Dynamics CEO and founder, Jeff Mullen, said in a release that while traditional cards often provided rewards of 1% of each purchase back, "the ePlate card (provides) new rewards as high as 50% or more."

Finovate Alumni News-- June 6, 2013

  • FinovateLOGO.jpgCentral Intelligence Agency takes an actionable interest in Narrative Science.
  • IT operations management company Boundary touts its relationship with CurrencyFair.
  • Backbase CEO and co-founder Jouk Pleiter warns that bank customers are "no longer content to do the groundwork."
  • Mercator Advisory Group analyst takes a look at TSYS's proposed acquisition of NetSpend.
  • Mitek, LendUp, & Fuze Network dubbed runners up in 3rd Annual Core Innovators Mega Challenge.
  • TIO Networks announces strategic relationship with Aio Wireless.
  • Stockr wins Vator Splash LA startup competition, crowned most exciting company.
  • BankersLab launches Bank-it: Credit Edition.
  • Personal Capital to establish a Denver office and hire 100 financial advisers.
  • Business Insider interviews Braintree CEO, Bill Ready.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
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Online wealth management platform, Personal Capital announced it has received $25 million in Series C funding.

The financing comes from existing investors:

  • Institutional Venture Partners (IVP)
  • Venrock

New investors also joined in:

    • Crosslink Capital, which led the round
    • BlackRock

All investors except BlackRock sit on Personal Capital's board.

This new installment brings Personal Capital's total funding to just over $52 million.

PersonalCap25Mil.jpg

Since the first of this year, the Redwood City-based startup has:

    • Doubled the number of users, now at 200,000
    • Doubled the amount of assets tracked, now at $20 billion
    • Doubled the number of paying clients, now at 700

Additionally, Personal Capital reports it's managing $200 million in assets from those 700 paid clients.

To learn more about Personal Capital, watch its FinovateFall 2012 demo.

Finovate Alumni News-- June 5, 2013

  • FinovateLOGO.jpgmBank announces new transactional service, new logo, premium offer for affluent customers.
  • LICUOS selected as semi-finalist for Innotribe Startup Challenge.
  • LendUp launches "Share the love" referral rewards program.
  • Locaid announces commercial availability of Compliance API.
  • Expensify offsets new pricing by allowing users to prepay and get 2 months free.
  • Cachet Financial Solutions provides mobile deposit technology for Chexar's Ingo Network.
  • Actiance enhances Social Compliance Platform Support for Lync, Jive.
  • Billhighway appoints Doug Gregory as CEO.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News-- June 4, 2013

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgTechnorati takes a look at PayMobile, the mobile payment app from Corduro.
  • Auto Rental News features AuthenticID's PictureID authentication solution.
  • Abril to use Service2Media's app development platform, M2Active.
  • Cox Business to offer Acculynk's cloud-based payment processing option, PayLeap.
  • Quartz looks at how Betterment and CEO Jon Stein are "turning financial advice into an algorithm."
  • IDentity Theft 911 announces upgrade to LifeStages Identity Management Services.
  • Former Cap One Exec, James Mendelsohn, joins Capital Access Network as CMO.
  • Actiance updates Vantage to allow organizations to manage security, retention & compliance policies.
  • Blackhawk Network & Monitise to make mobile gift card purchasing available to consumers through certain FIs in the U.S.
  • Xero announces "Xero For Dummies" book now available.
  • BBVA Compass to offer Mitek's Mobile Photo Bill Pay to its retail customers.
  • Alltel Wireless customers now able to pay bills via smartphone thanks to a new partnership with Check (formerly Pageonce).
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News-- June 3, 2013

  • FinovateLOGO.jpgGMC Software announces the availability of its Customer Service Correspondence automated platform for "point-of-need" communications.
  • Commonection reviews Check (formerly Pageonce).
  • InComm launches Cashtie, an API that links retail cash payments via existing POS to software applications.
  • TIO Networks Expands Bill Payment Services into Louisiana Through Partnership With City of Ruston.
  • Intelliresponse reflects on its experience at FinovateSpring 2103.
  • BlinkMobile signs distributors in Brazil and South Africa.
  • Linkable Networks Named Winner of 2013 Red Herring Top 100 Award.
  • Devin Miller talks about Balance Financial in this Newfination video interview.
  • Tyfone to Launch SideTap MicroSD Card Versions for Contactless Payments Market.
  • ThreatMetrix Launches Intelligence Network to Detect Malicious Web Activity.
  • Jemstep Launches Update Giving You More "Buy" Choices.
  • The Financial Brand lists 7 reasons to love GoBank.
  • Terapeak talks about how its Insights API helps EZBOB help UK merchants.
  • Temenos announces TripleA private banking and wealth management solution to work on other databases.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
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As of today, the real estate platform has crowdfunded a total of $1.2 million across its first six transactions.

"We are also the first crowdfunding company in the U.S. to my knowledge that has already returned investor capital," said Realty Mogul CEO and co-founder Jilliene Helman by e-mail. Realty Mogul has paid out more than $100,000 to its investors to date.

Added Helman, "We plan to pay out additional distributions in June."

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Realty Mogul provides a platform for accredited investors to combine their money to invest in pre-vetted real estate properties. The investments range from apartment buildings to retail centers to office buildings, and investors can invest as little as $5,000.

Founded in 2012, Realty Mogul demoed its technology as part of the FinovateSpring show in San Francisco. Video of the company's presentation is available here.

For more information on crowd funding, see our recently published research in the latest edition of the Online Banking Report here.

Four Finovate alumni were featured in the latest publication from Online Banking Report (OBR).

Bolstr

  • Thumbnail image for BolstrLogo.jpgDebt-based / Crowdlending
  • Headquartered in New York, New York
  • Presented at FinovateFall 2012
  • Demo Video

P2Binvestor

  • Thumbnail image for P2BiLogo.jpgReceivables-based / Crowdfactoring
  • Headquartered in Louisville, Colorado
  • Presented at FinovateSpring 2013
  • Demo Video


  • Thumbnail image for RealtyMogulLogo.jpgDebt-based / Crowdlending
  • Headquartered in Los Angeles, California
  • Presented at FinovateSpring 2013
  • Demo Video


  • Thumbnail image for SoMoLendLogo.jpgDebt-based / Crowdlending
  • Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Presented at FinovateSpring 2012
  • Demo Video

The report is an in-depth look at the emerging trends in crowdfunding and features a look at 18 up-and-coming platforms. OBR Subscribers can access the report here. It can also be purchased for US$495 here.

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgIDology launches photo ID scan & validation solution.
  • Aseanstartup reports: Big data becomes agile and beautiful with BellaDati.
  • BBC News features Nick Hungerford, Nutmeg CEO.
  • BusinessDating.com adds miiCard ID proofing for members.
  • ShopKeep POS iPad point of sale wins Red Herring Top 100 North America Award.
  • The WSJ features Personal Capital features Personal Capital and Jemstep.
  • The Economist looks at P2P lending through the eyes of Lending Club and Prosper.
  • peerTransfer adds 22 new payment methods from China and India.
  • Consumer Reports' Money Minute takes a look at EyeVerify in a report on smart phone banking security.
  • ayondo offers spread betting for UK and Irish customers.
  • Four Finovate alumni featured in OBR crowdfunding report.
  • Founder and managing director of Mozo, Rohan Gamble interviewed by The CEO Magazine.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
  • Cardlytics granted patent to deliver targeted marketing offers through its network of nearly 400 banks.
  • PYMNTS.com interviews SumUp's managing director, Stefan Jeschonnek regarding Groupon and Amex's recent investment.
  • Talkapolis interviews iQuantifi founder & CEO Tom White.
  • World's largest online shoe company deploys Taulia's cloud-based solution.
  • UK-based Nutmeg appoints Lee Cowles as its new managing director.
  • Lending Club expands offices in San Francisco.
  • TSYS signs long-term, consumer credit card payment processing agreement with KeyBank.
  • ACI Worldwide to provide online banking, bill pay, and mobile banking services.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

btn3_ov.pngWith the largest FinovateSpring to date in the books (you can check out the demo videos here), our team has switched focus to FinovateFall 2013 (September 10 & 11 in New York City). 

Last year, FinovateFall welcomed a record crowd of 1,100 innovators who watched fast-paced demonstrations of 64 new fintech innovations.

This fall, based on the early interest, we are expecting a sell-out crowd of leading bank executives, venture capitalists, industry analysts, press and entrepreneurs eager to see the cutting-edge of financial tech debut.

If you're interested in attending FinovateFall to witness the future of fintech unfold live on stage, we highly recommend that you get your tickets as soon as possible to guarantee your seat. Plus if you register by this Friday, you'll save $300 via the very early-bird discount!

We'll see you in New York in September (or Singapore in November)!

FinovateFall 2013 is sponsored by: The Bancorp, Financial Technology Partners, Hudson Cook LLP & Visa

FinovateFall 2013 is partners with: American Bankers Association, BankersHub, California Bankers Association, Celent, Filene Research Institute, Finance on Windows, Hotwire PR & IvyExec.

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Targeted advertising relies on accurately assessing consumer behavior, linking that behavior to future interests and needs, and then building an advertising campaign that consumers will actually respond to with real purchases of goods and services.

And according to Polaris Partners, it's so simple only one company may be doing it right: Cardlytics.

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In a feature on the company and its co-founders, Scott Grimes (CEO) and Lynne Laube (President), Polaris Partners takes a close look at the way Cardlytics has been able to acquire larger advertisers and to sign them for the long term. Consider these metrics:

  • Cardlytics has contracts with a quarter of the top 100 advertisers
  • Cardlytics' ads drove $500 million in purchases in the fourth quarter of 2012
  • Cardlytics has partnerships with more than 400 American banks.
Founded in 2008, Cardlytics specializes in transaction-driven marketing. The company's technology helps FIs make targeted, relevant offers and rewards to their customers based on their customer's actual shopping behavior. The platform currently serves 78 million households in the U.S.

Cardlytics was highlighted here in the Finovate Alumni news blog just last week when the company announced that it had raised $40 million in funding from undisclosed, but current investors.

Cardlytics demoed its technology as part of FinovateEurope 2013 in London in February. See them in action here.
  • FinovateLOGO.jpgPaymentsSource talks with Noam Inbar, VP for product development for Zooz.
  • OneID takes a look at the "security theater" of Twitter's two-factor authentication.
  • TSYS renews payment processing arrangement with Nationwide Building Society.
  • Pizza Marketplace interviews Leaf director of sales Alex MacKenzie on mobile marketing.
  • MIT Technology Review features OpenCoin.
  • Waspit to release new UX & mobile Apps in August to coincide with the new academic year.
  • TIO Networks partners with the State of Washington Department of Social and Health Services and payment processor Paymentus to help customers make child support payments.
  • Virtual Piggy partners with ClickandBuy to Increase Customer Signups, Conversions, and Sales.
  • Mitek receives patent for signature verification and fraud detection.
  • Christian Lanng, TradeShift CEO, takes on the position of Chairman alongside the responsibilities of CEO.
  • CU Times highlights Moven, Micronotes, GoBank, Refundo, AuthenticID, MoneyDesktop, Mint, FIS, Escardgo, and GoNow as noteworthy demos at FinovateSpring 2013.
  • Silicon Prairie News features Banno and EyeVerify demos at FinovateSpring.
  • Check (formerly Pageonce) and Lending Club are among the emerging financial services companies highlighted in Mary Meeker's Internet Trends report.
  • SaveUp helps credit union members save more than $400 million.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
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We recently spoke with miiCard's Founder and CEO, James Varga, who gave us some insight into miiCard's usage, growth, and application to the financial services industry.

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It's been a busy year for miiCard. The Edinburgh-based startup has already closed deals with Bitcoin exchange platform, TradeHillPA Consulting GroupYubico, and more. It most recently demoed at FinovateEurope 2012, and has also showcased at FinovateFall 2011 and FinovateEurope 2011.

Finovate: Where do you see miiCard's role in the evolving space of security?

Varga: The current market is extremely active and now more than ever trust online, across a number of sectors and countries, is at the top of agendas. This is reflected by government initiatives such as the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) / Identity Ecosystem Steering Group (IDESG) in the U.S., the ID Assurance project in the U.K. and Trust in Digital Life in Europe.

As yet, the full market potential for identity and trust online remains unquantified, but in any one aspect it represents a huge opportunity, in aggregate it is simply enormous. Given the unique and patented approach adopted by miiCard, our geographical and industry sector coverage and the uses it supports, miiCard can become the predominant provider in this market.

Finovate: Give some specific examples of how miiCard benefits the banking industry.

Varga: By establishing trust in online identity, that a customer really is who they say they are, miiCard is directly addressing the key pains associated with selling high value and regulated products and services entirely online. Through a patented process that leverages the trust between an individual and their financial institution, miiCard establishes identity to Level of Assurance 3+ (LOA3+) and meets Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) identity guidelines, enabling the sale of regulated products and services purely online. 

This translates to three key benefits for financial services, the first being fraud related to identity theft where we can realise reduction of up to 80% in the first 30 days; significant reduction, between 50% to 70%; in dropout rates in the customer onboarding process when offline ID proofing is introduced; and our customer-driven, pay-per verified identity transaction model means the business is only charged for customers who meet the identity proofing requirements, not those who fail to verify, and removes the need for back office or outsourced verification teams.

Finovate: What's the biggest hurdle miiCard has overcome?

Varga:As a provider of trust online our biggest hurdle has been to create trust within our own core member base. As a disruptive approach we have had to establish traction in a market where there are still a great number of assumptions towards online validation, trust and real identities. We now have a single, trusted digital ID founded on the principles of Bring Your Own Identity (BYOID), it is convenient and flexible providing members complete control over their online identity and personal information. With capabilities across five continents and over 350 million people, miiCard is creating trust online across a range of industries including finance, commerce, trading, gaming, healthcare, recruitment, dating, social and professional networking.

Finovate: How many people are currently using the miiCard platform and how do you plan to grow it?

Varga:miiCard has a core membership base that is quickly growing with each and every participating site that starts to accept miiCard as a trusted identity source. To support this growth we have established a channel distribution strategy to the market and gained a number of key partnerships. These include distributors; resellers; affiliates; technologies; consultancies and data providers. Key relationships include Yodlee; Call Credit Group; PA Consulting; Yubico; and Microsoft.

This market traction is driven by both marketing to our users (our C2C proposition) while selling to businesses (our B2B Identity as a Service platform). For businesses miiCard supports both full API access and a fully hosted offering for SME's called DirectID. Every participating site becomes a channel and creates context for our members in building trust online. These now include consumer finance, dating, social networking, pre-employment screening and a wide range of other use cases.

Finovate: What is something you tried that didn't work with the platform?

Varga: We are constantly iterating the product and actively engaged with our members and customers. This agile approach provides its own challenges but allows us to test, assess and deploy functionality at a rapid basis. There are always things that don't work, things that we could do better and things we shouldn't even have started - it's all part of the process.

What is most important is to build the service that our members and customers want while still changing the world.

Finovate: What is miiCard's latest news?  

Varga: We have recently announced our work with Tradehill and PA Consulting and have a number of exciting customers launching throughout the year.

To check out miiCard for yourself, go to miiCard.com or watch its FinovateEurope 2011 demo.

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According to CU Solutions Group, SaveUp has helped them help their members to the tune of nearly $450 million saved, and more than $290 million in debt retired.

The metrics are as of the end of May 2013. Together they highlight SaveUp's ability to incentivize credit union members to improve their personal finances. The SaveUp platform relies on a combination of behavioral science and technological innovation to reward users as they save money and reduce debt.

Some metrics on SaveUp:

  • More than 40 credit unions participating across the country
  • More than 45% of users connect with CU branded content at least once a week
  • More than 2,600 inquiries into new CU products and services generated by SaveUp users.
SaveUp was co-founded by Priya Haji and Sammy Shreibati, currently CEO and CTO, respectively, and is headquartered in San Francisco.

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We last wrote about SaveUp when the company announced a contest to allow users to vote for the prizes they wanted the savings and rewards platform to offer.

CU Solutions Group distributes SaveUp to credit unions as part of its business of providing marketing, technology, and other services. Among the credit unions participating in the SaveUp program are:

  • Veridian CU, Waterloo, IA, $2.4 billion in assets
  • Northeast CU, Portsmouth, NH, $878 million in assets
  • Belvoir FCU, Woodbridge, VA, $309 million in assets
  • Sir FCU, Negaunee, MI, $79 million in assets
SaveUp demonstrated its technology as part of the FinovateSpring 2012 show in San Francisco. See them in action here.

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European-based payment service, SumUp, announced a new round of funding yesterday. American Express and Groupon participated in the round.

Previous investors also contributed, including:

    • b-to-v Partners 
    • Shortcut Ventures
    • Tengelmann Ventures
    • business angels

While the Dublin-based company isn't disclosing the exact amount of the funding, it hinted that it was a multi-million Euro investment.

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The funding will be used to:

    1. Support SumUp's expansion into new territories (it recently expanded into Russia) 
    2. Further build out its payment solution  
    3. Develop new services to enhance the point-of-sale
To learn more about SumUp, watch its FinovateEurope 2013 demo.

Finovate Alumni News-- May 28, 2013

  • FinovateLOGO.jpgChris Larsen, CEO and co-founder of OpenCoin, calls Ripple, "HTTP for money" in CoinDesk feature.
  • Credit Union Times: ProfitStars' Director of Strategic Insight Lee Wetherington talks credit unions and big data.
  • Kalixa Group teams with MasterCard to test prepaid card.
  • Barron's Electronic Investor column on Quantopian now available to non-subscribers.
  • Mateo's Tech Travels reviews TransferWise.
  • Business Insider hosts Dwolla CEO Ben Milne in Startup Lab interview.
  • One of the largest financial services corporations in the world invests more than $4.6 million for software, maintenance and professional services with Kofax.
  • American Banker reports: Kabbage's Fresh Idea for Small Business Finance.
  • TIBCO announces launch of Cloud Bus, a subscription-based Integration Platform as a service (iPaaS) offering.
  • BellaDati opening partner network in Russia.
  • IP Commerce closing payment processing service on June 30.
  • M2CASH rebrands as V2PAY, now offers electronic ID verification, virtual loan solutions, virtual cards & virtual merchant services.
  • Billhighway adds Kids Kicking Cancer as client.
  • Comarch to provide reference, market data to SIX Financial Information.
  • Standard Chartered launches VISA Infinite Credit Card with chip and PIN technology.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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New York-based Dashlane released version 2.0 of its password management and digital wallet services today.

Upgrades include:

    • New design for both PC and Mac, with a streamlined UX
    • Full overhaul of the Android app
    • A brand new security dashboard that analyzes the security level of passwords
    • 2-factor authentication via Google Authenticator
    • New intuitive onboarding experience
I downloaded the Dashlane app this morning. Here are a few screenshots from the onboarding process:

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Amazon sign-in process

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Payments dashboard

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Navigation bar

To learn more about Dashlane, watch its demo from FinovateEurope 2013.

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Fresh off their integration with Worksoft Certif, and the decision by BBVA Compass to deploy their app testing technology earlier this year, Keynote has announced a pair of new features for its DeviceAnywhere Enterprise platform: ScriptObjects and Recorder.

ScriptObjects:

  • Lets customers build object-level test scripts
  • Ability to work across multiple devices for faster test automation
  • Deploy test scripts with native, Web, and hybrid applications
Recorder:
  • Scripting tool with intuitive UI, requires no training to use
  • Develop scripts with precise validation checks
  • Add scripts quickly to test site to comply with demands for shorter test cycles
Keynote DeviceAnywhere's Enterprise platform provides fast, flexible test automation. The new enhancements are geared tower providing more intuitive testing tools for quality assurance professionals.

Keynote demonstrated their testing technology as part of the FinovateSpring 2012 show in San Francisco. Watch the presentation here.

Finovate Alumni News-- May 24, 2013

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgMainStreet features "stock tip truth-o-meter" and FinovateSpring 2013 Best of Show winner TipRanks.
  • GMC Software Technology enters partnership with PostConnect to deploy Inspire technology.
  • AppScout takes a look at Flint's mobile app for iPad and iPhone.
  • Yandex.Money integrates with Еuropean payment provider Skrill.
  • Banking Business Review reports: Handpoint introduces Chip and PIN MPOS systems.
  • Newfination visits the Personal Capital offices, interviews Head Of Advisory Services, Kyle Ryan.
  • American Banker mentions how Lendio and Lighter Capital are changing the face of small business lending.
  • Internet Retailer reports: ThreatMetrix helps EMerchantPay reduce its clients' chargeback rates.
  • Klarna named "most innovative company" at annual Media Momentum Awards arranged by GP Bullhound.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

After attending FinovateSpring last week David Brebner, Principal Consultant at Mindful Insights, considered the question:

"As a financial services executive, where would you invest your e-commerce budget based on the products on show at FinovateSpring 2013"

To answer this question, he "invested" $100 of play money in 12 different technologies featured at the show. The infographic below summarizes how he allocated the funds:

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If you missed FinovateSpring last week, check out all 72 demos here.

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  • CMS Wire reports: Linkable Networks: Improving the Customer's Path to Purchase.
  • Lighter Capital appoints Jeff Seely to board of directors.
  • Pymnts.com reports: BillGuard Acts As Antivirus For The Disease Of Fraud.
  • Expensify to begin new pricing structure.
  • Global Finance magazine names Taulia the best worldwide invoice discount management solution.
  • Expensify will soon be made available to over 250,000 Citrix enterprise customers.
  • BillFloat extends SmartPay pilot program with Radio Shack partnership.
  • Newfination interviews Mitch Fox, co-founder of GoodApril.
  • Wired's Beyond the Beyond column features OpenCoin in a report from the Bitcoin 2013 business convention.
  • ProfitStar's iPay Solutions named among best places to work in Kentucky.
  • Billhighway adds the Friends of Birmingham Historical Museum & Park as new client.
  • TransferWise wins a spot on Mashable's list of "20 Hot London Startups You Need to Watch."
  • Yodlee and Check (formerly Pageonce) are among the companies highlighted in American Banker column on reimagining PFM for mobile.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
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