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CashStar Raises Capital: New Investment Boosts Total to $50 Million

By David Penn Posted on August 6, 2015
Categories: CashStar, Funding

A $15 million Series D round led by FTV Capital has boosted to $50 million the total capital of prepaid solutions provider CashStar. New investor Mosaik Partners and current investors, Passport Capital, Intel Capital, and North Hill Ventures also participated. The additional capital will help CashStar invest in product innovation, sales, and “client success.”

Founder of Mosaik Partners, Miles Kilburn pointed to CashStar’s “exceptional growth potential” as one reason for his firm’s decision to support the company. “CashStar is reinventing the prepaid industry for retailers with innovative digital and mobile solutions that drive business growth,” said Kilburn, who will be joining the CashStar board of directors.

CashStar President and CEO Ben Kaplan saw the investment as part of a larger wave of momentum the company has enjoyed in recent months. The company made two executive appointments this year: Martin Hood as vice president of channel partnerships in May, and Matt Kerper as vice president of strategic business development in July. May was also the month CashStar moved into new offices in Portland, Maine, and announced that Studio Movie Grill would be launching CashStar-powered digital gift cards. In July, CashStar was named to the AlwaysOn Global 250 for the second year in a row; in March, CashStar won a 2015 PYMNTS Innovator Award in the Best Prepaid Innovator category.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Portland, Maine, CashStar demonstrated its Digital Gifting and Incentives Platform as part of FinovateFall 2011 in New York.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on August 6, 2015
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Azimo, blooom, CashStar, Currency Cloud, CurrencyFair, Dragon Wealth, FinanceIt, Lending Club, LendUp, peerTransfer, Ripple, TransferWise, Twilio, Xero, Yodlee

On Finovate.com

“Xero Launches its New Android Touch App”

“Lending Club Reports Growth in Revenues, Originations for Q2 2015″

“CashStar Raises Captal: New Investment Boosts Total to $50 Million”

Around the web

Star Tribune column on robo-advisors features blooom.

ACI Worldwide and Computop partner to provide payments and anti-fraud solution.

Yodlee adds four companies to its International Acceleration Program. Join Yodlee at FinDEVr 2015 in San Francisco in October.

BankNXT’s look at fintech in Singapore features Dragon Wealth.

Let’s Talk Payments highlights Azimo, Currency Cloud, peerTransfer, TransferWise, and Ripple in its list of “remittance startups to watch for.”

CurrencyFair signs on with global payment network, Earthport.

LendUp deploys TaskRouter from Twilio to improve its call-center customer service. See Twilio at FinDEVr 2015 in San Francisco.

The Globe and Mail highlights Financeit in a look at financing options for small businesses.

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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Five Finovate Alums Named 2015 Technology Pioneers by World Economic Forum

By David Penn Posted on August 5, 2015
Categories: Ayasdi, FutureAdvisor, Ripple, Sedicii, TransferWise

According to the World Economic Forum, whatever it takes to be a Technology Pioneer in 2015, a quintet of Finovate alums has got it.

Ayasdi, FutureAdvisor, Ripple Labs, Sedicii Innovations, and TransferWise were named as 2015 Technology Pioneers in the World Economic Forum’s Information Technology category.

The Technology Pioneers program was launched in 2000 to give recognition to early stage companies developing new technologies that will have a “significant impact on business and society.” Previous winners have included AirBnB, Google, Next, SoundCloud, and Twitter.

The World Economic Forum chooses approximately 30 companies each year out of a pool of “hundreds” of applicants. The field is winnowed by a selection committee consisting of top technology experts, academics, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists who review the applications and submit a recommendation to the World Economic Forum. Since the program began, 600 companies from five continents have been represented in the Technology Pioneer program.

Companies interested in the 2016 program should apply before February 5, 2016. Applicants will be notified by mid-July 2016. More information about the program is available here.

Ayasdi made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2014 in New York. The company raised $55 million in funding this spring, taking its total to more than $100 million. FutureAdvisor recently unveiled its FutureGift solution, to make it easier for friends and family to make contributions to a child’s college savings plan. The San Francisco-based company demoed its platform at FinovateFall 2013, and has total capital of more than $20 million.

Ripple Labs picked up a $28 million investment and hired former Yahoo exec Brad Garlinghouse as its new chief operating officer in April. Irish startup Sedicii demoed its authentication solution at FinovateEurope 2015, and TransferWise, making its Finovate appearance at FinovateEurope 2013, began 2015 with a $58 million fundraising led by Andreessen Horowitz that boosted the company’s total capital to more than $90 million.

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Friday is the Final Day to Save Big on FinovateFall 2015 Tickets

By David Penn Posted on August 5, 2015
Categories: FinovateFall 2015

At Finovate, the Early Bird gets the hundred-dollar discount.

This Friday is the final day of Early Bird ticket sales for FinovateFall 2015. Our fall conference returns to New York City, 16/17 September for two days of live fintech demonstrations and high-caliber networking. The show will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown on the Avenue of the Americas. Find out more about the venue and local hotels here.

We hope you’ll join us. And we really hope you’ll take advantage of our early bird discount and save $100 off the ticket price by registering before the end of the week.

We began introducing the companies that will be presenting at FinovateFall 2015 last month. Over the next few weeks, we’ll share more information, background, and insights into the entrepreneurs and innovations that will be on stage next month in New York City. Take a peek at the current roster below, and look for the full list of presenters the first few days of September.

With 10 hours of live fintech demonstrations and another eight hours dedicated to networking among attendees, presenters, sponsors, and partners, FinovateFall 2015 is a unique opportunity to meet with some of the biggest problem-solvers and solution-builders in fintech. Come for the live demos. Stay for the Best of Show voting and celebration. And enjoy a sneak peek at what some of our industry’s most innovative entrepreneurs and organizations have to offer.

Time is running out, so we’ll let you take it from here. Early bird savings on tickets to our fall conference end on Friday. Stop by our FinovateFall 2015 page and register today.

FinovateFall is sponsored by The Bancorp, CapitalSource, Envestment, Financial Technology Partners, Hudson Cook, KPMG, and Zions SBIC.

FinovateFall is partners with Aite, American Bankers Association, Bank Innovators Council,BankersHub, bobsguide, Breaking Banks, California Bankers Association, Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, Celent, CoinTelegraph, Crowdfund Beat, Ebanking News, Hotwire, IDC Financial Insights, Javelin,Let’s Talk Payments, Mapa Research, Mercator Advisory Group, MergerMarket, The New Economy, NYPAY, The Paypers, SME Finance Forum, and World Finance.

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Finovate Debuts: Money Amigo Puts the Blockchain to Work for the Underbanked

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 5, 2015
Categories: Finovate Debuts, Money Amigo

Money Amigo’s mobile banking platform delivers traditional banking products in a nontraditional way. Its clean interface targets underserved markets by delivering simple-to-use services with a transparent fee structure.

Company facts:

$300,000 raised
7 employees
Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada

Money Amigo, which is primarily targeted toward Hispanics and students, prides itself on bringing financial services to previously ignored market segments. Its core feature is international remittances.

Cross-border remittances are expensive and time-consuming. To keep the cost low and the transfer-speed high, Money Amigo moves money using the blockchain. Because digital currencies intimidate most users, the startup insulates all players from cryptocurrency elements. The currency-transfer process runs completely and securely in the background: The sender, recipient, and back-end operational players interact only with Money Amigo’s simple user interface, unaware they are using digital currency.

When I asked the Money Amigo team for specifics on how the startup is using the blockchain, they would admit only to doing some “very very cool things” that they “just can’t talk about right now.”

What’s next for Money Amigo? With so many players interested, the team tells me that Money Amigo is considering selling its remittance solution as a separate white-label option.

This post would not be complete without mentioning Mr. Amigo. The furry green mascot is a crucial part of the user experience. The friendly guy greets users at multiple points to walk them through the user experience. Financial services can be quite complex, and Mr. Amigo helps make managing money more approachable.

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FinDEVr APIntelligence

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 5, 2015
Categories: Backbase, BehavioSec, Evo Snap*, FinDEVr APIntelligence, InComm, On Deck Capital, PayNearMe, PayPal, PayStand, Personal Capital, SimplyTapp, Tradier, Wallaby Financial, Yodlee

Are you building new financial technology? Be sure to register soon for the only event exclusively for fintech developers, FinDEVr 2015, 6/7 Oct, in San Francisco.

Industry news

Expensify launches new fintech investment fund.

Yodlee hosts webinar on how to build financial apps to meet evolving customer expectations.

The Full FinDEVr: “A Look at the Final Line-up for FinDEVr 2015 San Francisco”

TechCrunch: “To Expedite Innovation, Give Away Your Code”

The latest from upcoming FinDEVr 2015 presenters

Wallaby Upgrades Credit Card Optimization Solution with Spend Monitor.

Backbase-powered Touch Bank goes live in Russia.

PayPal hires new CFO John Rainey, a former United Airlines executive.

EVO Snap* to fast track EMV migration for software vendors and retailers; partners with Handpoint.

NerdWallet looks at Personal Capital in feature on how automation is disrupting investing.

BehavioSec mentioned as one “wild invention of the future” that the Pentagon is behind.

OnDeck rolls out mobile app for account management on-the-go.

PYMNTS looks at how PayPal’s Paydiant is powering Subway’s mobile payments app.

Alumni updates

Market Visual integrates with Tradier’s API to enable investors to manage stock portfolios and trade on a single platform.

Tradier announces 75+ investor platforms and advisers now integrate with its API.

Let’s Talk Payments interviews CEO Jeremy Almond of PayStand.

In its latest podcast, Payments Views talks with Doug Yeager, HCE inventor and CEO of SimplyTapp.

Mobile Payments Today looks at InComm’s drive to bring open-loop prepaid to mobile wallets.

PayNearMe partners with The California Department of Child Support Services to offer a new payment option for cash-paying customers.

Stay current on daily developments by following FinDEVr on Twitter.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on August 5, 2015
Categories: Ayasdi, Corezoid.com, Dragon Wealth, EverSafe, Flint Mobile, FutureAdvisor, Global Debt Registry, MaxMyInterest, PayNearMe, Q2, Qapital, Socure, Tradier, Xignite

On Finovate.com

“Friday is the Final Day to Save Big on FinovateFall 2015 Tickets”

“Socure Secures $2.5 Million in Debt Financing”

“Five Finovate Alums Named 2015 Technology Pioneers by World Economic Forum”

Around the web

Let’s Talk Payments interviews Stephane Dubois, Xignite CEO and founder. See Xignite at FinDEVr 2015 in San Francisco in October.

Flint Mobile upgrades its iOS mobile app to improve compatibility with Apple Wallet.

Cloud OS Corezoid is now available via the Amazon Marketplace (in Russian).

Forbes notes MaxMyInterest, Dragon Wealth, and EverSafe in a feature on the global growth of fintech accelerators.

Market Visual integrates with the Tradier API to enable investors to manage stock portfolios and trade on a single platform.

Q2 Holdings acquires Centrix Solutions for $20 million.

Ayasdi named a 2015 Technology Pioneer by World Economic Forum.

Delaware Business Times profiles Global Debt Registry.

RateFuel asks if Qapital represents the “future of banking.”

PayNearMe partners with The California Department of Child Support Services to offer a new payment option for cash-paying customers.

FutureAdvisor launches FutureGift to help friends and family easily contribute to kids’ college funds.

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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Wallaby Upgrades Credit Card Optimization Solution with Spend Monitor

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 4, 2015
Categories: Wallaby Financial

Wallaby Financial launched Spend Monitor, along with an updated dashboard and customizable widgets. The improvements to its credit card rewards maximization service give users a more complete view of their daily finances.

Spend Monitor provides a quick view of credit-card spending, making it easy to track finances and identify changes in spending behavior. It does this with three key actions:

Pinpoints increased or unusual activity in a specific category via spending alerts
Identifies suspicious activity, such as double charges and potential fraud
Depicts where and how users could have earned more rewards

The updated dashboard screen (pictured below) offers users a quick glance of their rewards, upcoming bills, and overall spending.

These upgrades are part of version 4.0 of Wallaby’s iOS mobile app, which also includes widgets such as bill-pay alerts, and a tool (pictured below) to identify the best credit card to use for each purchase.

The new Wallaby 4.0 mobile app is available for iOS devices, including the Apple Watch.

Wallaby’s most recent Finovate appearance was at FinovateSpring 2013 where it debuted Wallaby Wallet Boost (demo video below). The California-based company is slated to present at FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 this October, where it will make a specialized pitch for developers.

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Socure Secures $2.5 Million in Debt Financing

By David Penn Posted on August 4, 2015
Categories: Socure

Finovate has confirmed that ID-authentication specialist Socure has raised $2.5 million in debt financing. This supports a recent report that Socure CEO Sunil Madhu had filed a Form D with the SEC in late July.

The debt financing adds to the more than $4 million in equity capital Socure has earned. The company’s last fundraising was a $2.5 million investment Novembe 2014 that featured participation from ff Venture Capital, Founder Collective, and Two Sigma Ventures.

From left: Socure CEO Sunil Madhu and Johnny Ayers, SVP of business development, demonstrated their company’s Social Biometrics technology at FinovateFall 2013.

Socure provides a real-time identity-verification technology to help payments-remittance companies, FIs, and online merchants combat identity fraud. The company’s Social Biometrics platform is an SaaS solution that combines artificial intelligence, machine learning, and social behavior-pattern analysis to distinguish qualified logins from attempted logins by fraudsters and bots.

Socure announced last month that it had earned U.S.-EU and U.S. Switzerland Safe Harbor Certification. This assures customers that the company’s handling of sensitive data meets the privacy requirements of both the European Union and the Swiss government. In June, Socure was profiled in PYMNTS.com, which interviewed co-founder Johnny Ayers, SVP of business development, and Ken Allen, SVP operations.

Founded in August 2012 and headquartered in New York, Socure demonstrated its Social Biometrics solution at FinovateFall 2013. The company returns to the Finovate stage in September for FinovateFall 2015. To learn more about our upcoming conference in New York City, visit our FinovateFall 2015 page.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 4, 2015
Categories: Alkami Technology, Backbase, Cachet Financial Solutions, Evo Snap*, FIS, Green Dot, Handpoint, Jack Henry, PayPal, Top Image Systems, TradeHero, Wallaby Financial

On Finovate.com

“Wallaby Upgrades Credit Card Optimization Solution with Spend Monitor”; come see Wallaby at FinDEVr, San Francisco, 6/7 Oct.

Around the web

Backbase-powered Touch Bank goes live in Russia. Check out what Backbase has for developers at FinDEVr San Francisco on 6/7 October.

Top Image Systems appoints Andrew Pery as new CMO.

Campus FCU integrates Alkami Technology’s ORB Platform into its core banking system.

Green Dot launches mobile cash-processing technology.

Security First Bank picks FIS to provide core banking system.

PayPal hires John Rainey, former United Airlines executive, as new CFO.

Fox Chase Bank to deploy SilverLake core system from Jack Henry.

“Cachet Introduces Express Mobile Deposit Solution for Small Financial Institutions”

EVO Snap* to fast track EMV migration for software vendors and retailers; partners with Handpoint.

Macquarie Capital Securities and TradeHero launch Warrant Hero, a virtual warrant competition, with RM100,000 in prize money to be given away.

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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T. Rowe Price, Fidelity Lead $130 Million Investment in Twilio

By David Penn Posted on August 3, 2015
Categories: FinDEVr 2015 San Francisco, Twilio

An investment of $130 million has boosted the total capital of cloud communication innovator Twilio to more than $233 million. The Series E round was led by T. Rowe Price and Fidelity Investments, and included participation from Salesforce Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Arrowpoint Partners, Amazon.com, and Altimeter Capital.

Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson praised the way Fidelity and T. Rowe Price understood his company’s “developer-first, platform business model.” Twilio plans to use the new capital to speed up its product roadmap, particularly its Real-time Communications Suite; pursue new markets internationally; and expand its presence in the enterprise.

Twilio provides developers with APIs that make it easier to add voice, messaging, and video functionality into their mobile and web apps. The company launched its Programmable Voice solution in 2008, and now gives builders access to SMS, MMS, VoIP, authentication, video, and IP messaging. Twilio will make its FinDEVr debut at FinDEVr 2015 in San Francisco in September.

Recent headlines for Twilio include the launch of Twilio IP Messaging in May, and Twilio Video in April. In February, Twilio made its first acquisition, purchasing authentication specialist, Authy, for an undisclosed sum. Twilio counts among its customers companies as diverse as Home Depot and Uber, Box and Coca-Cola.

In May, Twilio announced a $50 million development fund. In partnership with Bessemer Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, and DFJ, the fund will kickstart companies that have built solutions based on Twilio’s technology. The first company to be funded was conference calling app, Speakeasy, to the tune of $5 million.

Twilio is headquartered in San Francisco, and has offices in New York, London, Estonia, Columbia, Germany, Hong Kong, and Ireland. Join them at FinDEVr 2015 San Francisco next month.

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Patch Of Land Adds Commercial Real Estate to Platform

By David Penn Posted on August 3, 2015
Categories: Patch of Land

Real-estate crowdlender, Patch of Land, has gone commercial.

Investors on the crowdlending platform will now be able to put their capital in commercial real estate opportunities instead of simply residential ones. Patch of Land said the addition of commercial real estate gives investors greater diversification, provides the opportunity for “consistent cash-flowing returns” and serves as a “complement” to the platform’s shorter-term residential real estate investment opportunities.

Patch of Land says investors can expect annual yields of between 6% to 10% with the commercial real estate, and terms of as few as 12 months and as many as 60 months are expected to be offered.

From left: Patch of Land CMO AdaPia d’Errico, and CTO Brian Fritton, co-founder, demonstrated the Patch of Land platform at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.

One of the largest real estate crowdfunding platforms in the United States with more than $32 million invested through the platform, Patch of Land is a peer-to-real-estate (P2RE) marketplace that connect accredited and institutional investors seeking asset-backed, high-yielding, short-term investments with borrowers looking for alternative funding sources.

Patch of Land was named to Entrepreneur magazine’s 100 Brilliant Companies to Watch 2015 earlier this year. The company raised $23 million in new funding in a round led by SF Capital Group in April.

Here are a few more metrics on Patch of Land since inception in October 2013:

Total loans funded: $40,148, 500
Number of loans funded: 134
Total funds returned to investors: $6,866,745
Average loan size: $301,110

Patch of Land has investments in 25 states including California, Texas, New York, Florida, Ohio, and Massachusetts. Just over half (56%) of the projects funded by Patch of Land have been single-family residential, with multifamily residential coming in second at 36%. It will be worth watching to see how these numbers change now that commercial real estate is available as an investment option on the platform.

Founded in February 2013 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Patch of Land demonstrated its crowdfunding platform at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.

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