Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Holy Yodlee! Envestnet to Buy Yodlee for $660 Million”
  • “Artificial Intelligence Innovator Kensho Locks in $48 million Series B Round”
  • “Digital Retail Apps Raises C$1 Milllion in Round Led by Texas Ventures”

Around the web

  • Misys shortlisted in three different categories in the CIR 2015 Risk Management Awards.
  • Bloomberg TV looks at Fenergo in a discussion on investment in startups.
  • NICE Systems wins “8-figure contract” to bring call recording and incident-management technology to NYC’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT).
  • Personal Capital CEO Bill Harris writes about the rise of robo-advisors in a column for Investment News.
  • CashStar to power digital gift card offerings from Maritz Motivation Solutions.
  • KCUR 89.3 FM interviews EyeVerify CEO Toby Rush.

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.

 

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

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

Cashstar_homepage_Aug2015

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.”

CashStar_Grayscale_Logo_No_TagFounder 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.

Finovate Alumni News

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.

Finovate Alumni News

Around the web

  • Glenbrook Partners’ whitepaper features PayNearMe.
  • mBank reports that six months after launching Light Branches, basic banking product sales have tripled in Light Branches compared to traditional branches.
  • PYMNTS features comments from Blackhawk Network, CashStar, FIS, SimplyTapp, and Vantiv on social commerce.
  • MasterCard partners with Premier Bank in expansion into Somalia.
  • Nomis Solutions launches upgrade of its price-optimization suite.
  • D3 Banking announces that its solution is now available in a hosted environment.
  • Blooom CEO and co-founder Chris Costello talks about his company’s relationship with Yodlee.
  • ThinkAdvisor features eMoney Advisor, Vanguard, Wealthfront, Betterment, FutureAdvisor, and Jemstep in a column on the changing environment for financial advisors.
  • Sonavation CTO Rainer Schmitt wins award from the IEEE Technical Committee on Communications Quality & Reliability.
  • TechCrunch features PayPal’s Venmo office.
  • Verizon Ventures welcomes SimplyTapp to its portfolio.
  • On the Money Radio’s Steve Pomeranz interviews MaxMyInterest CEO and founder Gary Zimmerman.

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

  • DRAFT, Fidor US, Roostify to Present Solutions at Yodlee Ynext Incubator
  • $680 Million Raised by 29 Alums in Q1 2015

Around the web

  • BizJournals lists BancVue as one of Austin’s Best Places to Work in 2015.
  • American Banker interviews James Varga, CEO of miiCard, on sharing identity information.
  • Motif adds new trading alerts.
  • P2Binvestor selected as new network company by Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network Colorado (BENCO).
  • MaineBiz takes a look at CashStar and its new offices in downtown Portland.
  • Mountain America rolls out its new biometrics login technology courtesy of EyeVerify.
  • Fuze Networks acquires LiveMinutes’ online workspace platform.
  • Jwaalla celebrates signing its 100th credit union client, Palisades FCU.
  • Business Insider looks at how Klarna and its one-click payment technology could help save the newspaper business.
  • Reid Hislop tapped as new chief marketing officer at Avoka.
  • Inc. Magazine features ID.me CEO Blake Hall in a column on veteran entrepreneurs.
  • Equities.com talks crowdfunding and real estate with Jason Fritton, Patch of Land CEO.
  • Financial News interviews Ripple CEO, Chris Larsen on the future of the financial infrastructure.
  • SocietyOne has originated more than $30 million on its platform since launching in 2011.
  • Prosper announces record first quarter, with $595 million in loans through the platform, up 200% from Q1 2014.
  • WattzOn to help Montana residents save on energy expenses via the Bozeman Energy Smackdown.
  • Larky selected by the Kentucky Bankers Association to provide mobile local rewards program for member banks.

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

  • Wallaby Financial partners with NXT-ID to bring Wocket Smart Wallet to Wallaby customers.
  • Asseco SEE teams up with UniCredit CEE to launch its fully native new generation tablet banking solution in six Eastern European countries.
  • Nomis Solutions taps Michael DeGusta as vice president and chief architect.
  • Service Credit Union offers mobile banking services with Touch ID, courtesy of pilot program run by Digital Insight.
  • Financeit partners with eOriginal Inc., bringing eSignature technology to Financeit customers.
  • Studio Movie Grill launches digital gift cards powered by CashStar.
  • Banking Exchange column on real-time payments in the U.S. features FIS, Dwolla, and Ripple.
  • Zopa to help provide financing for Uber drivers looking to buy their cars, rather than rent them.
  • American Banker features LendKey. Check them out at FinovateSpring next week in San Jose.
  • American Banker reports that partnerships fuel Lending Club’s unexpectedly fast growth.
  • BizEquity launches new ‘Adviser Office’ service.
  • Pepperi partners with Xero to extend cloud accounting with mobile sales automation.

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.

AlwaysOn’s OnFinance Top 100 Features 30 Finovate Alums

AlwaysOn’s OnFinance Top 100 Features 30 Finovate Alums

AlwaysOn_homepage

More than a quarter of the companies recognized in AlwaysOn’s first OnFinance Top 100 roster are Finovate alums.

The OnFinance Top 100 is designed to recognize the Top 100 private companies in fintech. The list was chosen by the AlwaysOn editorial team, along with several venture capital firms and industry experts. The criteria included degree of innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value, and “media buzz.”

The list is divided into six categories, and Finovate alums are well represented in each. Category winners will be announced at Always On’s event at the NASDAQ OMX in New York City at the end of April 2015.

Banking and corporate finance

Big data and analytics

Capital markets and investing

Digital currencies

Payment platforms

Personal finance management

Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, AlwaysOn was founded in 2003 by Tony Perkins, founder and editor of Red Herring magazine. The company serves as a networking and social media platform for technology professionals in variety of fields, and has a membership of more than 5,000.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • AlwaysOn’s OnFinance Top 100 Features 30 Finovate Alums
  • SaveUp Purchased by Chicago-Area Entrepreneur Paul J. Burt

Around the Web

  • Turk Ekonomi Bankasi (TEB) launches digital banking service developed by Monitise.
  • Dragon Wealth earns spot in Startupbootcamp FinTEch’s inaugural Singapore program.
  • Ayeyarwady Bank (AYA Bank) to deploy Bankworld ATM platform from CR2.
  • Virtual Piggy hires Viant Capital to provide financial advice on strategic options.
  • MasterCard presents its PFM “in-reach” benefits-platform to help issuers engage millennials.
  • iQuantifi teams up with MTSU Jones College of Business to produce inaugural Millennial Money Mindset Survey.
  • Motif updates its iPhone app to enable search-and-browse capability of motif catalogues directly from the app.
  • FreeAgent launches first iOS app to help manage invoices and expenses on the go.
  • PYMNTS features predictions from Blackhawk Network, Bluefin Payments, CashStar, Experian, FIS, Fiserv, and SimplyTapp.
  • Xero Denver named Top Workplace by Denver Post.
  • American Banker examines how Malauzai is helping small banks get a head start on Apple Watch.
  • PayPal confirms bitcoin acceptance option in SEC filing.

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

  • Finovate Debuts: mydesq Helps Wealth Managers Save Time and Boost Engagement
  • YapStone Closes $60 Million Debt Financing Deal

Around the Web

  • Xignite recognizes innovative uses of its market data API at Capital One People & Money Hackathon.
  • CashStar teams up with IDT Telecom to expand digital gift card distribution among the underbanked.
  • Ingo Money closes acquisition of Fuze Network.
  • The Guardian Business profiles CurrencyFair co-founder Brett Meyers.
  • CSI globalVCard earns two finalist spots at the 2015 SIIA Software CODiE Awards.
  • Robust Tech House takes a look at the differences and similarities between Quantopian and QuantConnect.
  • Tibco updates Live Data Mart software with embedded predictive analytics and support for the internet of things (IoT) and in-memory data-grid technology.
  • Mozido to use SimplyTapp’s HCE technology to bolster payment platform.
  • Callcredit partners with Trulioo to power AML/KYC verification services. Come see Trulioo’s live demo at FinovateSpring in San Jose.
  • Notre Dame FCU to open full-service insurance agency powered by Insuritas.
  • Forbes talks to Trulioo about solving AML/ KYC for startups. Come see Trulioo at FinovateSpring.
  • Valid Soft deploys voice biometrics solution to a large U.S.-based corporation, its first U.S.-based customer.

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 Alums Take Gold, Silver and Bronze at PYMNTS Innovation Awards 2015

Finovate Alums Take Gold, Silver and Bronze at PYMNTS Innovation Awards 2015

Sixteen Finovate and FinDEVr alums have been recognized by the PYMNTS Innovation Awards 2015. Three alums, MasterCard , Clover Network and OnDeck took home top honors in their categories, winning gold in “Best New Technology,” “Best POS Innovation,” and “Best Small Business Innovation,” respectively. The rest of the alum field earned silver and bronze in 13 additional categories, including LoopPay, which earned Silver for Best New Technology and a Bronze for “Most Innovative.”

InnovationProject2015_homepage

More than 600 companies competed for the awards, with more than 10,000 votes tallied. Finalists were selected by an expert panel, and the top five companies in each category were submitted to the “PYMNTS community” for voting. In addition to the Innovation Awards, the event recognized Phil Tomlinson of TSYS (also a Finovate alum) and Michael Joseph of Safaricom, inducting both into the PYMNTS Hall of Fame. Two women, Carey Kolaja, VP of Global Consumer Products for PayPal and Perse Faily, CEO of Tillster, were also recognized at the event. Apple took home the Innovation Award’s Catalyst Award for what MPD CEO Karen Webster called during the award ceremony, “creating a roadmap for the industry” with its ApplePay innovation.

The full list of winning alums is below. For more information about the Innovation Awards 2015, including the full list of all finalists, visit their page here.

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Alumni News– January 6, 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.jpgAccounts Receivable Management takes a look at Global Debt Registry.
  • Moven launches budgeting app on Motorola Moto 360 and Samsung Gear smartwatches.
  • TSYS names Thomas Boyer president of TSS Merchant Solutions.
  • Paymentandbanking.com recognizes Kreditech as FinTech Startup of 2014.
  • St. Louis Biz Talk quotes Malauzai Software’s Robby Ganer in a column on what to expect from mobile banking this year.
  • Gift cards from CashStar to be integrated into eBay Marketplace and PayPal Digital Gift store.
  • Fidor Bank plans for U.S. launch with undisclosed local bank partner.
  • Silicon Republic profiles senior Java developer at Fenergo, Sheila Fernandez.
  • FinovateEurope early bird deadline extended through this Friday, January 9. Lock in your spot and we’ll see you in London.
  • Ukraine-based Settle launches restaurant pre-order app in San Francisco.
  • Personal Capital now manages $1+ billion in investments for clients. It tracks $120 billion for 700k registered users.
  • Northpointe Bank hires Insuritas to power its insurance agency.
  • P2Binvestor names Krista Morgan CEO.
  • Bluefin Payment Systems announces its PCI-validated, point-to-point encryption solution, PayConex, is now certified for mobile payments.
  • Jilliene Helman, founder and CEO of Realty Mogul, earns a spot on Forbes’ list of “30 Under 30 Rising Stars of Enterprise 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.

Alumni News– December 23, 2014

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  • The Tech Bulletin profiles Heckyl Technologies.
  • Sonavation announces acquisition of assets of Arkami.
  • Chelsea State Bank launches Larky-powered mobile app.
  • EVRY announces a four-bank, $160 million payments partnership.
  • Kashoo unveils version 4.1 of its cloud accounting and bookkeeping app for iOS. 
  • Walmart to distribute GreenDot prepaid products in 2015.
  • BMO Financial Group’s deployment of Xignite Enterprise wins American Financial Technology Award.
  • IT Qlick takes a look at Jwaala Personal Financial Manager and roomMaster.
  • CashStar teams up with Spafinder Wellness.
  • NY Times DealBook looks at disruptive startups in fintech including Lending Club, On Deck, and TradeKing.
  • Forbes.com column on how companies stand out from the crowd features Silanis Technology.
  • Jemstep to power Redhawk Online Advisor.
  • Continuity Control taps Peter Rawlinson as Chief Marketing Officer.
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.