Bento for Business

Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Akamai, Bento for Business, Coinbase, DefenseStorm, Finastra, OneSpan, Payoneer, Ping Identity, Quadient, Ripple, Sensory, Temenos, Twilio

On Finovate.com

  • Bento for Business Raises $9 Million in New Funding.
  • Sensory’s Biometric Technology Now Powers Security for 24 Banking Apps.
  • DefenseStorm Selected by NAFCU as Preferred Cloud-Based Cybersecurity Partner

Around the web

  • Coventry Building Society to deploy Temenos T24 core banking platform for savings and mortgage servicing.
  • Finastra partners with Indonesian data center to bring IFRS 9 compliance capabilities to regional and medium-sized FIs in the country.
  • Akamai Technologies named a leader in Web Application Firewalls in The Forrester Wave’s Q2 2018 evaluation.
  • Payoneer partners with the Republic of Estonia’s e-Residency program to make cross-border payments easier for e-residents in India.
  • Twilio introduces a new developer-first, API-first partner program, Twilio Build.
  • Ping Identity forges strategic partnership with enterprise identity governance company, SailPoint Technologies.
  • Coinbase CEO follows Ripple’s lead on philanthropy.
  • Quadient teams with Quertum for software distribution in the Nordics and U.K.

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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Startup Challenger Banks with Small Business Focus

Startup Challenger Banks with Small Business Focus
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Bento for Business, Holvi, Small Business
UK challenger, OakNorth become a financial services “unicorn” in its Nov. 2017 funding round

In the digital age, few startup banks have gained meaningful market share in what matters, revenue and profits. In the United States, only two large bank-like companies (see note 1) have emerged from 20 years of digital disruption: PayPal and Square.  There are also a handful of new online lenders that have amassed significant scale (SoFi, Lending Club, Prosper, Kabbage, Avant, On Deck).

There are still zero consumer banks started in the past 20 years that have broken the top-100 list. The possible exception was ING Direct. But as part of a large bank, it’s a stretch to call it a startup (see note 2). BofI Holdings, the public company that owns Bank of Internet, is the largest pure digital bank with $8B in assets and ranking 151 in this list posted by MX.

Why so few successes? It’s difficult for a startup bank to gain scale. First, the market is absolutely saturated. Every bankable consumer in the USA can choose from: (1) big trusted brands with a large branch networks and sophisticated digital services; (2) small community banks with deep ties to their communities (and serviceable digital banking); (3) or equally small non-profit credit unions providing bargain priced loans and deposits (and often with above average digital banking).

Second, to be successful, startups must solve a problem much better than the incumbents. For most consumers banking digitally simply is not a problem. The exceptions were in remote payments, which PayPal solved, and micro-businesses merchant accounts, which Square solved. That’s why it will likely continue to be tough for new deposit-focused banks to become big players, at least in the United States.

But there are many niches for banking startups to mine and one of the most promising is small business banking. A startup bank that solves bookkeeping and financial management problems for small businesses can be the next Square.

Here are some of the bigger efforts around the world (note 3):

UK

USA

Germany

Rest of world

  • Holvi – Finland, acquired by BBVA March 2016, Finovate alum
  • Tochka – Russia

Author: Jim Bruene (@netbanker) is Founder & Advisor at Finovate as well as Principal of BUX Certified, a financial services user-experience accreditation program. 

Notes:

  1. You can argue they are not banks, but they provide key consumer banking services, payments and credit, so I’m going to call them banks for the purposes of this post. I’m also excluding the crypto market, since it’s too soon to call the major players “bank like” though I think they are well on that path.
  2. I would probably add ING Direct to this list. Although they were technically not a startup, they built a significant deposit business from scratch, eventually selling for $9B to Capital One during the Great Recession.
  3. To make this list, the startup bank must be solely focused on small businesses and must offer, or plan to offer, a debit card to access funds held on deposit at the startup.

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Bento for Business Introduces New Solutions, Partners, and APIs

Bento for Business Introduces New Solutions, Partners, and APIs
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bento for Business

US-based expense management solution provider Bento for Business has onboarded new partners and expanded its product line, reports Tanya Andreasyan of Banking Technology (Finovate’s sister publication).

Bento now offers debit and virtual cards for companies and their employees. Its banking solutions are now supported by The Bancorp Bank and CFSB as well as processors Marketa and 12C, the company said, “making it the most robust solution of its kind”.

It has also forged co-branded partnerships with The Brink’s Company and Fleetcor to offer its solution to their small business customers.

Furthermore, Bento has opened its APIs “to simplify how companies work with their clients and customers”.

“We are building a modern banking platform for small businesses that brings everything under one umbrella,” said Farhan Ahmad, CEO of Bento (pictured). “Our approach is unique in this industry because we see value in the platform, rather than a single stand-alone product. By offering multiple products on the same platform and allowing our customers to use our APIs to develop better, more useful, and customisable experiences, we can fully address all of their pain points.

“Soon any business owner will be able to curate and access the financial products, services, and integrations they need through Bento.”

According to Bento, applicants for its services get approved online in real-time.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in San Francisco, Bento for Business demonstrated its platform at FinovateSpring 2015. Last month, the company appointed Jeff Pomeroy as Vice President of Product, and earlier this year, Bento added Lou Friedmann as Chief Revenue Officer. The company has raised more than $9 million in funding, and includes Comcast Ventures and Anthemis Group among its investors.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AutoGravity, Bento for Business, Infosys, Jumio, Kasasa, Prosper, ThreatMetrix, Tuition.io, Xero

On Finovate.com

  • With New Funding, Prosper’s Valuation stands at $550 Million.
  • Tuition.io Raises $7 Million in Series B.
  • AutoGravity Teams Up with Hyundai Capital America.

Around the web

  • Infosys Finacle partners with ToneTag to leverage sound wave technology to drive contactless authentications and transactions.
  • PYMNTS interviews Jumio CEO Stephen Stuut on the challenge of combating cybercrime in “real time.”
  • Xero teams up with TradeGecko to help Singapore’s SMEs Go-Digital.
  • Bento for Business appoints Jeff Pomeroy to the role of Vice President of Product.
  • ThreatMetrix Announces Smart Authentication Platform.

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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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bento for Business, Check Point, FinanceIt, Fiserv, Misys, Sandstone, Scalable Capital, Trizic, Tuition.io

On Finovate.com

  • Sandstone Technology Inks Digital Banking Deal with SBS Bank.
  • Financeit Receives New Funding Capacity of $85 Million.

On FinDEVr.com

Around the web

  • Misys adds Synechron to its InFusion Partner Program.
  • Fiserv leverages robo-advisory and automation technology from fellow Finovate alum Trizic to enhance its wealth management solutions.
  • Bento Chief Operations Officer Sean Anderson discusses the future of regtech and the problem of one-size-fits-all compliance programs.
  • The 2017 NSS Labs gives Check Point Software Technologies a ‘Recommended’ rating.
  • Money Marketing features Scalable Capital.
  • City of Memphis to leverage Tuition.io to offer student loan debt reduction program for employees.

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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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Algomi, BBVA, Bento for Business, Coinbase, Expensify, Featurespace, Icon Solutions, Larky, Mitek, NICE Systems, Ripple, Temenos, Walletron

On Finovate.com

  • Coinbase Launches Open Source Ethereum Wallet to Promote Financial Inclusion.

Around the web

  • Expensify partners with TravelPerk to make business travel easier.
  • Bento for Business welcomes Lou Friedmann as Chief Revenue Officer.
  • Featurespace’s ARIC platform to power fraud prevention for GoHenry.
  • BBVA and Ripple complete blockchain cross-border money transfer pilot.
  •  Larky to power location-based perks platform for Sharetec’s CU clients.
  • Icon Solutions enhances Instant Payments Framework (IPF) to connect to The Clearing House for US Real-Time Payments.
  • Walletron helps Transactis grow its electronic billing and payments service, BillerIQ.
  • NICE Actimize unveils new, cloud-based, fraud analytics optimization technology, ActimizeWatch.
  • Global financial services firm chooses Mobile Verify and Mobile Fill from Mitek.
  • IBS Sales League recognizes Temenos as “number one best-selling digital and channels solution” worldwide.
  • Algomi teams up with OpenFin to deploy software updates faster.

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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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bento for Business, ChartIQ, Credit Karma, CSI globalVCard, Dwolla, Intuit, Jack Henry, Qumram, Softjourn, Temenos

Around the web

  • Qumram wins “Most Innovative FinTech” at 4th Annual WealthBriefing Swiss Awards for 2017.
  • Jack Henry presents newlly-resdesigned Banno website.
  • Intuit deploys VersaPay ARC for its SME customers and accountant clients.
  • ChartIQ to provide Fidessa with HTML5 charting options. See ChartIQ at FinDEVr New York next month.
  • Temenos acquires long-time partner Rubik Financial for $50 million.
  • Dwolla looks at how Bento used Access API for ACH-powered fund transfer to develop its platform.
  • Clutch recognizes Softjourn as one of the top web and software developers in the Ukraine. Join Softjourn in New York next month for our developer’s conference, FinDEVr.
  • PYMNTS.com features CSI globalVCard on the eve of its global expansion.
  • Credit Karma unveils new free tax preparation service.

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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Bento For Business Unveils New Mobile App

Bento For Business Unveils New Mobile App
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bento for Business

BentoforBusiness_homepage_August2016

Bento for Business has released its new mobile app. The solution makes it easier for employees to review their business’s debit-card balances, tag and annotate expenses for simpler reporting and reconciliation, as well as attach receipts to individual transactions using the smartphone’s camera. Optimized for use with smartphone rather than tablets, the Bento mobile app is available for free on both iOS and Android.

“Employees rejoice! Bento’s mobile app is here,” Bento for Business wrote in tweeting the news this afternoon. “Check balances on-the-go. Smart #expense #management is here.”

BentoforBusiness_mobileapp_droid

Bento for Business specializes in providing solutions to help small business owners better manage expenses. With its Bento Prepaid MasterCard, the company offers employers a way to empower their employees to make necessary, work-related purchases while ensuring employers have maximum spending visibility and control. Bento also provides businesses with an analytic dashboard that provides a wholistic view of spending, as well as per-card information as to transaction type, location, employee, etc. “We want to work with banks, with service providers,” Bento for Business CEO Farhan Ahmad said during his Finovate demonstration in the spring of 2015, “to curate and build beautiful, simple—and most of all, useful—products that are built just for small businesses.”

Founded in 2014, the San Francisco-based company demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2016. Bento for Business picked up a $7 million investment in a Series A round led by Comcast Ventures and featuring the participation of Anthemis Group, Blumberg Capita, and Lionbird. Individual investor Dan Henry, former NetSpend CEO, also participated. Read more about Bento for Business in our Finovate Debuts feature.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bento for Business, CardFlight, Compass Plus, DriveWealth, Kony, NYMBUS, Ping Identity, Tango Card, Temenos, ThetaRay, ThreatMetrix, Zooz

On Finovate.com

  • NYMBUS Raises $12 Million in Round Led by Vensure  Enterprises
  • CardFlight to Power EMV Mobile Processing for BluePay
  • Bento for Business Unveils New Mobile App

Around the web

  • Investopedia features Zooz and ThetaRay in a look at Israeli fintech startups.
  • National Bank of Kuwait goes live with Temenos Treasury Trader.
  • Compass Plus earns Faster Payments accreditation.
  • InformationWeek lists CrowdFlower in its lineup of cool machine learning startups to watch.
  • Ping Identity launches Contextual Access Management capabilities to help companies with digital transformation and cloud and mobile initiatives.
  • GeekWire features Tango Card. Watch the startup’s live demo at FinovateFall next month.
  • Kony enhances support for applications running on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and updates offerings in AWS Marketplace.
  • ThreatMetrix appoints key executives to initiate Asia Pacific expansion.
  • TradingView announces support for DriveWealth.

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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Bento for Business Banks $7 Million in New Investment

Bento for Business Banks $7 Million in New Investment
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bento for Business, Funding, Fundings

bentoforbusiness_homepage_June2016

In a round led by Comcast Ventures, Bento for Business has raised $7 million in new funding. The Series A also featured the participation of existing investors from Anthemis Group, Blumberg Capital, and Lionbird, as well as new investor Dan Henry, former CEO of NetSpend. The investment takes Bento’s total capital to $9.5 million.

The company, which has seen 170% quarter-over-quarter growth since launching 13 months ago, says the funds will be used to add management talent, develop new features, and pave the way for expansion into new verticals. Dave Zilberman, managing director at Comcast Ventures, will join Bento’s board of directors as part of the deal.

Bento_stage_FS2015

Pictured (left to right): Bento for Business co-founders Farhan Ahmad, CEO, and Sean Anderson, CPO, demonstrated their technology at FinovateSpring 2015.

Bento for Business provides small businesses with solutions to help them manage expenses better. The company’s first offering was the Bento MasterCard, a prepaid card that employers can give to their employees to make qualified purchases.  Business owners can easily set usage rules for the card based on spending amount and spending category, as well as set spending time limits. Owners also can turn the cards on or off with a single click. Bento provides a dashboard that enables the commercial card owner to see which cards are being used and how, as well as track expenses by location, employee, and type.

“Banks want to service small businesses, but it’s been profitable not to,” Ahman explained during a conversation at FinovateSpring last year. “We want to work with banks, with service providers … to curate and build beautiful, simple and most of all useful products that are built just for small businesses,” he said. Read more about the company in our Finovate Debut feature.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Bento for Business demonstrated its platform at FinovateSpring 2015. The company was profiled by Newsfactor Business Report in its look at prepaid debit cards for businesses back in December, the same month Bankless Times featured the company and its employee-spending controls solution. PYMNTS.con also took a look at Bento last fall.

 

 

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BaseVenture, Bento for Business, Betterment, Kreditech, Stocktwits, Tradeshift, Wealthfront, Zooz

On Finovate.com

  • “Bento for Business Banks $7 Million in New Investment”
  • “FT Partners New Research Report on Digital Wealth Management Features a Dozen Finovate Alums”

Around the web

  • Daily Fintech profiles Kreditech in a feature on the future of consumer banking.
  • CNN features Betterment, Wealthfront, and StockTwits in a list of the 10 best investing apps.
  • Spend Matters takes a look at the latest investment in Tradeshift and what it means for innovation in the procurement industry.
  • Oren Levy, Zooz CEO, writes in mobile payments today about the rising deployment of mobile wallets in developing markets.
  • Baseventure wins Red Herring Top 100 North America award.

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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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Azimo, Bento for Business, Braintree, Caaapital, Dwolla, Fastacash, FIS, Green Dot, Karmic Labs, Moven, PayPal, Prosper, Ripple, Silanis Technology, Toshl, TransferWise, Twilio

On Finovate.com

  • “Take Two: Toshl Launches Version 2.0 for iOS and Web”
  • “Ripple Technology Drives Invoice Trading Platform”
  • “Moven to Forgo Username, Password for 80% of Mobile Account Interactions”

Around the web

  • FIS launches new fintech accelerator in collaboration with Arkansas-based Venture Center.
  • Prosper Marketplace taps Kunal Kaul as its new EVP of Operations.
  • Newsfactor Business Report looks at prepaid debit cards for businesses offered by Green Dot, Karmic Labs, and Bento for Business.
  • eSignLive from Silanis Technology named a leader in digital transaction management by Aragon Research.
  • Azimo and TransferWise featured in The Telegraph as safe ways to give money during the holidays.
  • The Asset highlights Fastacash in a review of how fintech is changing finance in Asia.
  • Twilio Video now available to everyone in public beta.
  • PayPal’s Braintree now powers Facebook payments.
  • Dwolla introduces Dwolla.js javascript library that allows platforms to verify bank accounts and transfer funds without storing sensitive information.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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