Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Expensfy Brings Auto Expensing to Lyft Business Riders.
  • Ephesoft Earns $15 Million Investment from Mercato Partners.
  • Summit View: What Drives Innovation in Regtech and Insurtech?

Around the web

  • LendingClub expands partnership with Opportunity Fund to help entrepreneurs access capital.
  • Gene Lockhart appointed Chairman of DemystData.
  • BioCatch receives patent for detecting the presence of remote access tools.
  • eToro launches Crypto CopyFund that includes top cryptocurrencies.
  • Segmint partners with IBM to enhance Financial Institutions’ data ACI Worldwide expands in Romania
  • FICO extends cybersecurity score to rate 4th party risks.
  • BrightFunds and Roostify named to Forbes Cloud 100.
  • GreenKey Technologies partners with Red Box Recorders to launch trading voice collaboration and compliance recording solution.
  • American National Bank selects Jack Henry Banking’s SilverLake System.
  • Hip Pocket graduates from Points of Light Civic Accelerator.
  • Financial Resources Federal Credit Union Teams with Roostify to Create Better Online Mortgage Experience.
  • Santander partners with supply chain finance startup Tradeshift.
  • Bancpass issued patent for its mobile payment 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.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

Around the web

  • Pymnts interviews Rich Aberman, WePay co-founder.
  • TradeSharp integrates with Tradier to offer brokerage services and enhanced trading strategies.
  • Gwyneth J. Gaul joins Bright Funds as the company’s new vice president of corporate partnerships.
  • Dividend.com features several alums in its discussion on how robo-advisors are changing the investment world.
  • Washington Technology Industry Association creates video about Lighter Capital.
  • InComm to expand offerings in Asda, the United Kingdom-based subsidiary of Walmart.
  • PayPal acquires mobile commerce platform Modest, its first acquisition as a standalone, public company.
  • Socure appoints Michael Hiskey as vice president of marketing. Join Socure at FinovateFall 2015 in New York.
  • Investment News quotes Hedgeable CEO Mike Kane on bitcoin’s prospects as an alternative asset class. See Hedgeable in New York at FinovateFall 2015.
  • Avidia Bank ($1.2 billion) to deploy Cardless Cash ATMs courtesy of partnership with FIS.
  • Eco-Mail names John Schloff as managing director of marketing. Catch Eco-Mail live at FinovateFall 2015 in September.
  • CardFlight’s SwipeSimple to power Integrity Mobile’s mPOS tech.
  • Pindrop Security appoints Mike Vandiver as chief financial officer.
  • Check out this week’s FinDEVr APIntelligence.
  • Australia-based SocietyOne hits $200m in applications.

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.

Bright Funds Closes Seed Round with $1.8 Million Investment

Bright Funds Closes Seed Round with $1.8 Million Investment

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Bright Funds has announced the successful closure of its Series Seed funding round. The financing was led by Aspiration Growth and featured participation from investors including 10K Investments, Bloomberg BETA, Mission & Market, and Wellspring Growth Partners. Individual investors Godfrey Sullivan and Frank Yeary were also involved.

Bright Funds CEO and co-founder Ty Walrod said that the funding would help the company “move enterprises large and small beyond the largely transactional employee giving programs in the marketplace today.” Bright Funds has developed technology, the Bright Funds Enterprise platform, that seamlessly integrates into payroll and human resource information systems (HRIS), making it easier to launch and manage charitable giving programs. From vetting potential charities and issuing payments to managing employee contributions and tracking volunteer time, the platform is designed to provide, in Walrod’s words, “a much more rewarding experience for employer and employee alike.”

The funding takes the total equity capital for Bright Funds to more than $3 million.

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From left: Bright Funds co-founders Rutul Dave, chief of products and marketing, and CEO Ty Walrod demonstrated their charitable giving platform at FinovateSpring 2013 in San Francisco.

Bright Funds serves more than 30,000 charitable givers at more than 25 different companies and organizations. Charitable givers on the platform are provided a portfolio that allows them to concentrate all of their donations within a single theme, such as education or the environment, or to divide the contribution over multiple themes (70% Global Health; 30% Anti-Poverty). More than 1.5 million pre-screened nonprofits are represented on the platform. Donations through the platform are 100% tax deductible, and there is no charge to open an account with Bright Funds.

Bright Funds has been in the news recently with its commitment to help facilitate charitable donations to Nepal in the wake of the spring 2015 earthquakes that took the lives of thousands. The company was featured in a Forbes.com column on the relationship between technology and community, and profiled in a San Francisco Business Times article on how Bright Funds “mines tech companies and their employees for philanthropic dollars.”

Bright Funds made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2013. The company was founded in February 2012 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Bright Funds Closes Seed Round with $1.8 Million Investment
  • Zooz Launches Insights to Give Merchants Actionable Intelligence on Customer Behavior

Around the web

  • APCI Federal Credit Union to deploy core processing technology from Jack Henry & Associates’ Symitar division.
  • EU Startups interviews Sebastian Diemer, Kreditech CEO.
  • New COO David Obrand leads team of new executive hires at Radius.
  • Shell Geismar Federal Credit Union chooses account processing platform from Fiserv.
  • Mambu enhances platform to help smaller FIs manage the requirements of lending to SMEs.
  • Techli St. Louis features Hip Pocket as 1 of 3 finalists for its most promising startups award.
  • Glassdoor ranks Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche as one of the highest-rated CEOs for 2015.
  • Hedge funds can run but not hide from disruptors like HedgeCoVest and DarcMatter, according to Daily Fintech.

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

On Finovate.com

Around the web

  • Forbes column on a “$30 trillion customer service experience” features insights from Motif Investing CEO Hardeep Walia.
  • Wells Fargo funding authorizes ApproveIt Web Server from Silanis Technology as part of their approved e-signature solutions program.
  • Sun Sentinel article highlights Toshl Finance in a discussion on the eight things you should know before going to college.
  • Column on RIAs and the active ETF market quotes AlphaClone CEO Mazin Jadallah.
  • Bright Funds establishes six disaster-response funds to support Nepal disaster relief.
  • The Economist features Lending Club, Prosper, Zopa, and Kreditech in its look at P2P lending and “financial democracy.”
  • Axis Bank launches Ping Pay, a multisocial payment app, in partnership with Fastcash.
  • PYMNTS.com considers what itBit’s New York banking license and $25M funding means for the broader bitcoin community. See itBit at FinovateSpring 2015 in San Jose this week.
  • ACI Worldwide signs Letter of Commitment to support U.K. Faster Payments Scheme’s New Access Model.

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.

Alumni News– January 12, 2015

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgFinancial Simplicity and T&C Consulting launch joint venture.
  • Bernard Lunn writes about the revolutionary “license as a service model” of Fidor Bank.
  • Forbes column on technology and community features Bright Funds.
  • ABS-CBN News highlights Toshl Finance among its “5 money moves for 2015.”
  • Business Insider looks to TipRanks to find top stock pickers from 2014.
  • BillGuard, LoopPay, and TransferWise earn spots on Motley Fool’s list of fintech startups that can help consumers handle money in 2015.
  • Open Bank Project is organizing 2 hackathons in Ireland (Dublin and Belfast) for Ulster bank. The first is in Dublin this month.
  • No Need to Fax: Kofax Launches E-Signature Solution, SignDoc.
  • Cachet Financial Solutions appoints Bruce Whitmore as New Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer.
  • Bluefin Payment Systems partners with Industry Retail Group (IRG) to provide PCI-Validated Point-to-Point Encryption to IRG Clients.
  • AdviceGames CEO Diederick van Thiel, Talks About Gamification.
  • Mobile Commerce Daily reviews PayPal’s new BlackBerry app.
  • DoughRoller interviews Blooom founder Chris Costello.
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– December 16, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgMoneyDesktop to power Kasasa 360 Financial Management Platform.
  • SF Gate reports: SecondMarket allows IRA investment in Bitcoin.
  • Crowdfund Investor features SocietyOne’s P2P Lending platform.
  • Digital Journal promotes Personal Capital and FutureAdvisor.
  • Biometric Signature ID profiled in Huffington Post column on identity proofing.
  • San Francisco Business Times’ Bay Area BizTalk features Bright 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.

Finovate Alumni News– November 25, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgAtos to become preferred partner for one of the largest Islamic banks in the world for their solution based Backbase.
  • Yseop Artificial Intelligence Software honored as French National Champion for European Business Awards.
  • Moven, Meniga, GoBank, mBank, MoneyDesktop, BBVA Compass, and CaixaBank make Marous’ “Digital Banking Nirvana”.
  • American Banker review of new research on e-statement adoption notes role of Check and GMC Software Technology.
  • Charitable givers now able to use Square Cash to donate via Bright Funds.
  • ACI Worldwide extends ATM-powering relationship with VocaLink to 2021.
  • MasterCard now accepted for ATM cash withdrawals at Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady Bank Ltd.
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– October 1, 2013

  • Personal Capital to open Denver office.
  • Purchasing Insight reports: Taulia to bolster their presence in Europe.
  • Cardlytics announces new brand identity, including new logo and redesigned website.
  • CurrencyFair wins “Most Insightful & Intriguing Internet Innovation” at IIA Net Visionary Awards.
  • Leaf raises $20 million from Heartland Payment Systems.
  • Bright Funds announces support for PayPal.
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.

BrightFunds Brings an Investment Approach to Individual Philanthropy

Thumbnail image for BrightFundsLogoSm.jpgThis post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2013.

Our final presenter ahead of the break is BrightFunds. The company’s innovation addresses a growing need in online charitable giving.
“Bright Funds offers a simple, elegant tool to the financial services sector for effective charitable giving management. With Bright Funds, individuals create personalized giving portfolios and contribute to thoroughly researched funds of highly effective nonprofits addressing the greatest challenges of our time. Bright Funds combines the power of research, the reliability of a trusted financial service, and the convenience of centralized contributions and tax reporting.”
Product Launched: Beta November 2012; official launch May 2013
HQ Location: San Francisco, California
Company Founded: February 2012
Metrics: Raised $350,000; 4 full-time employees; thousands of members; signed enterprise partners
Twitter: @BrightFunds
Presenting Ty Walrod (CEO & Co-Founder) and Rutul Dave (Chief Products & Marketing & Co-Founder)

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FinovateSpring 2013 Sneak Peek: Part 3

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This is the third part in our continuing Sneak Peek series that gives a glimpse into what each company will demo live on stage at FinovateSpring.

Don’t miss part 1 and part 2 published earlier this month. 

See the full demos live at FinovateSpring next month. Get your ticket here

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Better ATM Services’ groundbreaking technology enables ATMs to dispense new, flexible prepaid cards just like cash, opening the world’s fleet of 2.3 million ATMs to the prepaidBetterATMLogo.jpg marketplace.

Features:

    • Visa and others are adopting this new distribution channel
    • Consumers love the 24/7 convenience of ATMs for prepaids
Why it’s great: Financial institutions can recapture 50%+ of customers now going elsewhere for prepaids, increasing their share of the $549 billion prepaid market.

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Bright Funds is a solution for effective charitable giving management, combining the sophistication of investing with the intuitive, engaging experience of modern web services.
Features:
    • The Bright Funds Charitable Giving Portfolio
    • The Bright Funds Impact Timeline
    • Bright Funds Public Profiles for Giving
Why it’s great: Bright Funds brings an investment approach to charitable giving.

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FamZoo’s online family banking system helps parents teach kids good money habits.
Features:
    • Family pack of affordable, widely accepted prepaid cards
    • Integrated family finance tools build good habits
    • Co-branded option delivers targeted offers
Why it’s great: FamZoo solves the “kids and money” problem for parents: prepaid cards that work together, not alone.

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Intuit delivers banking software and technology solutions for financial institutions.
Features:
    • Gives banks better insight to serve customers
    • Blurs lines between PFM/banking 
    • Learn what Mint has in store for personal business
Why it’s great: Intuit now offers the best PFM solution for all users – whether it is through Mint.com or financial institutions.

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LeapScore is financial advice for the rest of us.
Features:
    • Tailored help and advice for each individual
    • Empowers people to take more control over finances
    • Sets meaningful goals
Why it’s great: a comprehensive score that, for the first time, represents “who” you are financially.

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MicroStrategy provides online banking without usernames or passwords, instant identity validation over the phone: Usher radically changes the way IDs, cards, and keys are issued and carried.
Features:
    • Mobile phone-based digital credentials
    • Multi-factor verification including voiceprints
    • Secure out-of-band authentication
Why it’s great: Usher: an extraordinary array of identity-management services that reduce fraud, protect identities and improve customer experience.
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MoneyDesktop redefines the way millions of people interact with their finances by developing technologies that drive financial engagement between account holders and financial institutions.
Features:
    • Leverage aggregated PFM user data 
    • Segment and target your user base
    • Increase conversion rates and loan volume
Why it’s great: Insight and Target provide financial institutions with a groundbreaking new way to market and drive adoption of their most valuable services.
OneID eliminates the need for usernames and 

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passwords, while delivering a secure, compliant identity system that’s easy for your customers to use.

Features:
    • Secure, one-click login with no password
    • Customizable two-factor authentication
    • Easy cross-selling with automatic form-fill
Why it’s great: Convenience of one-click login. Security of public key cryptography. Flexibility to meet financial institutions’
needs. Identity as it should be.

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Quantopian is the world’s only browser-based algorithmic trading platform, democratizing finance by reducing barriers to entry and providing quants the tools and support needed to profit from their ideas
Feature:
    • Combines historical data, algo simulation, live market data, brokerage integration and algo development into a simple workflow
Why it’s great: Allows quants to put their ideas and algorithms to work and profit from them with the click of a button

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Refundo is designed to revolutionize the way people do banking and extend mainstream banking advantages to underbanked and unbanked communities across the nation.
Features:
    • Open an FDIC-insured bank account in seconds using your smartphone. 
    • Send money to your friends and family quickly and securely.
Why it’s great: Finally a new way to manage your money. And by new, we mean better.


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Yandex.Money’s Twym is a quick and convenient way to send money via Twitter.
Features:
    • Easy-to-use interface for collecting money
    • You don’t have to leave Twitter
    • Other users can repeat payments in one click
Why it’s great: Twym makes transferring money simple and fun.

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Yseop’s artificial intelligence software writes just like a human being, but at a speed of over a thousand pages per second and in multiple languages.
Feature:
    • Yseop boosts the productivity of your business teams by automating the delivery of best practices and personalized expertise.
Why it’s great: Yseop creates a new age where financial services delivered to customers are driven by artificial intelligence and human collaboration.
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For more information on being a part of FinovateSpring 2013, see our FAQ. To register, visit out FinovateSpring page here.

Finovate Alumni News– April 23, 2013

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  • Executive Magazine profiles TransferWise and talks Middle East expansion.
  • Reference Data Review takes a look at Fenergo’s efforts to make compliance easier and more efficient.
  • ACI Worldwide announces Universal Payments Platform.
  • TransferWise wins Estonia’s “Best E-Service” contest.
  • Joe Brancucci, CEO of GTE Financial joins Mortgage Harmony Advisory Board.
  • Keith Kelly, Mortgage Harmony CEO, awarded a Tech All-Star Award by Mortgage Banking Magazine. Check out Mortgage Harmony’s live demo at FinovateSpring.
  • Ping Identity named 2013 Top Workplace by The Denver Post for second consecutive year.
  • SecureKey named Top Growth Company in 2013 Branham300 list of Top 10 Growth Companies.
  • Global Security Services Company selects Kofax to automate accounts payable operations in Latin America. Check out Kofax at FinovateSpring.
  • ProfitStars wins 2013 Payments System Awards from NACHA – the Electronic Payments Association.
  • ACI Worldwide’s Architech Mobile Banking provides PFM, integrated bill payment and account-to-account transfers to iOS, Android smartphones.
  • Azimo wins SWIFT Innotribe challenge; advances to finals at Sibos 2013 in Dubai.
  • peerTransfer now serving more than 300 colleges and universities, has partnered with 48 new educational institutions during the first quarter of 2013.
  • Zooz closes $2 million Series A round led by XSeed Capital. See Zooz in action at FinovateSpring in May.
  • GeoComply and Locaid team up to bring geolocation services to mobile and Internet gaming industry. See Locaid demo at FinovateSpring in May.
  • Innov8social interviews Julia Streuli, head of communications for Bright Funds. Join Bright Funds in San Francisco for FinovateSpring.
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.