Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Quantopian Receives Undisclosed Amount from Steve Cohen’s Point72

On FinDEVr.com

  • Venmo Enables Payments in Merchant Apps

Around the web

  • Kontomatik introduces Financial Health Indicator for small- and medium-sized lenders.
  • Venmo’s in-app payments technology emerges from beta.
  • Kantox processed $100 million in transactions in the six months since the debut of its API.
  • Kony launches MobileFabric, which features a model-driven approach to mobile app development using microservices.
  • American Banker’s Association features results from banks using Fiserv, Buzz Points and Larky for customer loyalty and rewards.

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.

 

Check Out Who Took Home Top Honors at Last Night’s European Fintech Awards

Check Out Who Took Home Top Honors at Last Night’s European Fintech Awards
GroupPhoto(Photo credit: http://www.fintech.nl/)

Last night in Amsterdam the 2016 European Fintech Awards celebrated innovators shaping the future of finance. A total of nine awards were presented to companies selected by a panel of judges for the quality of their pitch.

Four of the winners are Finovate and FinDEVr alums, including BehavioSec, who won the overall award of Best European Fintech Company of 2016:

BehavioSec
Category: Risk, Intelligence, and Security
HQ: Stockholm, Sweden
Founded: 2009
FinovateFall 2015 demo
FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 presentation

Backbase
Category: Innovative Banking Software
HQ: The Netherlands
Founded: 2003
FinovateEurope 2016 demo

Kreditech
Category: Financial Inclusion
HQ: Hamburg, Germany
Founded: 2012
FinovateSpring 2014 demo

Xpenditure
Category: Best of Show, selected for the best pitch
HQ: Mechelen, Belgium
Founded: 2011
FinovateEurope 2016 demo

A total of 29 Finovate and FinDEVr alums were recognized in the European Fintech Top 100 list. Companies awarded on this list were selected by a combination of online public votes (weighted 25%) and a panel of judges (weighted 75%).

  • AdviceGames
  • Kantox
  • Aire.io
  • Klarna
  • AMP Credit Technologies
  • Kontomatik
  • Azimo
  • Kreditech
  • Backbase
  • Mambu
  • BehavioSec
  • mBank
  • Cloud Lending Solutions
  • Meniga
  • ebankIT
  • Nutmeg
  • eToro
  • Qumram
  • ETRONIKA
  • Scalable Capital
  • eWise
  • SmartEngine
  • Fenergo
  • TransferWise
  • Holvi
  • Trustly
  • IdeaBank
  • Zopa
  • InvoiceSharing

The European Fintech Awards are organized by Amsterdam-based publishing company Alex van Groningen BV. The company offers a great explanation of the awards: “The purpose of the FinTech awards is not to scientifically prove who are the best FinTech companies. The judging is primarily based on the judges’ individual ideas and views on the nominating companies using their expertise, knowledge and ideas.”

Finovate Alums Dominate The FinTech50’s Inaugural Hall of Fame

Finovate Alums Dominate The FinTech50’s Inaugural Hall of Fame

Fintech50_homepage_April2016

FinTechCity unveiled its new FinTech50 Hall of Fame this week at the Money 20/20 event in Copenhagen, Denmark. Finovate alums took six out of the ten spots.

The “founding ten members” of TheFinTech50 Hall of Fame are companies that “have featured on our radar since the days when they could reasonably be called startups,” say FinTech50 founders Julie Lake and Nicky Cotter, writing in The FinTech50 2016 Yearbook. “In recognition of their pioneering spirit and competitive staying power, we felt they deserved their own special place within a list of remarkable game-changers,” the founders wrote.

FinTechCity also presented The FinTech50 2016, its roster of the fifty hottest FinTech businesses in Europe. Of the 50 companies selected by the panel of more than 30 industry experts who poured over more than 1,200 candidates, a full baker’s dozen were Finovate—or FinDEVr—alums.

Read the full list.

Lake and Cotter called this year’s competition “the most hotly contested FinTech50 in its four-year history.” The founders also highlighted differences from the 2015 list, with this year’s roster featuring more companies innovating in “security, compliance, and risk.”

Also noteworthy was the number of European fintech companies from the United Kingdom (more than 30 out of the 50). The founders credited this to the U.K.’s broader access to funding, as well as the region’s local talent, and “favorable regulatory environment.” Lake and Cotter also praised other emerging European fintech communities in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Stockholm.

In addition to The FinTech50 2016 and its new Hall of Fame, FinTechCity also announced its FinTech20 India and FinTech20 Hong Kong. Finovate alums were represented here with Demystdata (FinovateAsia 2012) earning a spot in the Hong Kong 20, and Bank Bazaar (FinovateAsia 2012) getting recognition in the India 20. Lastly, The FinTech50 shared “The Hot Ten,” a roster of companies on their watch list for 2016. Here, Finovate alum, Ormsby Street (FinovateFall 2015), was recognized on that list.

Finovate’s European Alums Raised More Than $350 Million in 2015

Finovate’s European Alums Raised More Than $350 Million in 2015

Euros_purple

Nineteen Finovate alums headquartered in Europe raised $350 million in 2015.

From the $16,000 in seed money raised by U.K. startup, StockViews, to the €82 million investment received by Germany’s Kreditech, we’ve counted every euro, pound, and dollar that investors poured into our European alums. And whether the funding represented an initial infusion of capital or was part of a multi-stage Series E round, it is clear that investors are very interested in the fintech innovations of Europe.

Take a look for yourself at the “European Portfolio” from 2015 below, featuring Finovate alums from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

GermanFlagGermany

 

Ireland_FlagIreland

 

Netherlands_FlagThe Netherlands

 

 

Switzerland_Flag

 

Switzerland

 

 

UK_FlagUnited Kingdom


There’s still time to join us in London for FinovateEurope! Our two-day conference returns to Old Billingsgate Market Hall, February 9 and 10. Get your tickets today and save your spot.

 

 

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Lighter Capital closes $9 Million Series B Funding Round, Raises $100 Million to Lend to Tech Startups”
  • “Dwolla Helps Seamless Deploy its Mobile Wallet in the United States”

Around the web

  • PYMNTS records 2015 payment-trend insights from multiple Finovate and FinDEVr alums.
  • Arroweye featured in Credit Union Journal.
  • Kantox brings free and automatic SWIFT messages to its clients.
  • Dealstruck and Lendio release eBook.
  • The Growing Business Awards names Zopa the Growing Business of the Year in the small business category.
  • American Banker highlights how Tesobe’s Open Bank Project is working toward an API-based banking model.
  • Markit and CLS unveil new streamlined process for cross-currency-swaps settlement.
  • Let’s Talk Payments looks at Klarna and its unconventional approach to authentication.
  • FIS closes SunGard acquisition.
  • BioCatch adds Gadi Maier and Howard Edelstein to its board of directors.
  • Comarch implements Field Service Management solution for receivables management specialist, the KRUK Group.

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.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Make Mine Meniga: Santander Selects a PFM Partner”

Around the web

  • First Tennessee Bank licenses digital banking platform from D3 Banking.
  • Nutmeg goes live with new back office courtesy of Babel Systems.
  • Canadian Innovation Exchange names TIO Networks as one of Canada’s 20 hottest and most innovative public tech companies.
  • Actiance releases expanded supervisory review capabilities for Alcatraz, its cloud-based archive for a broad range of communication channels.
  • Coinbase launches bitcoin price charts, international translations, and consolidated accounts.
  • Dealflow to launch Dealflow 2.0 in webinar next week.
  • Aberdeen Asset Management selects Markit to value hard-to-price assets for positions with limited market-data.
  • Developer reviews Authy’s two-factor authentication.
  • Motif teams up with U.S. Bank’s Ascent Private Capital Management to offer new digital tools to Ascent’s advisers.
  • Kantox partners with NoviCap to offer customers a stronger financial service.
  • Central Bank of Kansas City to issue Cachet’s prepaid cards.

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.

 

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “IDology Announces “Significant,” Strategic Equity Investment in Payfone
  • “Worldpay Goes Public; Shares Rally on Trading Debut”

Around the web

  • Fastacash announces strategic investment in Myanmar-focused, MyPAY.
  • American Banker interviews CEO Manolo Sanchez, BBVA Compass.
  • Persistent Systems announces technology partnership with Municipal Corporation.
  • Independent.IE features CurrencyFair, Expensify, and PayPal in a review of 20 PFM apps.
  • Fox Business interviews Blooom President Greg Smith on the future of 401(k) plans.
  • Silicon Review lists SnoopWall as 1 of 20 fastest growing security companies.
  • The Hindu features Cloud Lending Solutions’ co-founder Snehal Fulzele.
  • Interactions wins bronze Stevie Award in the Most Innovative Tech Company of the Year category. This is its fourth consecutive Stevie Award.
  • Slush.org interviews Kristo Kaarmann, TransferWise co-founder.
  • The Culture Trip highlights Kantox in its review of successful Barcelona startups.

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.

FinDEVr APIntelligence

FinDEVr2015LogoV2DateAre you building new financial technology? Be sure to register soon for the only event exclusively for fintech developers, FinDEVr 2015, to be held on 6/7 Oct in San Francisco.

Developer news

  • Fusion, Switzerland’s first fintech accelerator, selects 10 startups for its 12-month acceleration program that starts on 5 October.

The latest from upcoming FinDEVr 2015 presenters

  • PayPal explains its recently launched API Transactions Dashboard.
  • BehavioSec joins PwC’s Accelerator Programme.
  • Personal Capital appoints Mark Goines as CMO.
  • Business Insider ranks Currency Cloud among top fintech companies in Britain.
  • Let’s Talk Payments lists 25 top alternative lending startups including OnDeck.
  • Kanto X hits $2+ billion in currency exchange transactions.
  • 7-Eleven and PayNearMe launch PayNearMe Bill Pay app, a full-service bill payment center.
  • OnDeck and Intuit join forces to launch $100 million lending fund for small businesses.

Alumni updates

  • Dynamic Trend integrates with Tradier Brokerage API.
  • Xero previews two new features—billable expenses and invoice reminders—for small-business users of its platform.

Stay up to date on daily developments by following FinDEVr on Twitter.

More Than 30 Alums Make Hot Topics 100 Most Influential People in Fintech

More Than 30 Alums Make Hot Topics 100 Most Influential People in Fintech

HotTopics_Fintech100_2015

If you drew up a list of the 100 most influential men and women in fintech, how many of them would be alumni of our Finovate/FinDEVr conferences?

The answer is about a third, according to Hot Topics, which released its list of the top 100 fintech influencers this week.

“More transactions taking place online mean more opportunities to help consumers manage their money in digital form: enter the fintech platforms,” wrote Joel Watson for Hot Topics. “Whether it be securing mortgagees, getting a loan, transferring money abroad, spending money in an ecommerce store, or one of a thousand other applications, the marketplace is fiercely competitive and growing all the time.”

See if you agree with who made the cut, who was overlooked, and who deserves at least an honorable mention.

Hot Topics is an online community of more than 300 entrepreneurs, corporate executives, venture capitalists, journalists, bloggers and other professionals interested and involved with technology.

 

Kantox Picks Up $11 Million in Series B, Doubling Total Capital

Kantox Picks Up $11 Million in Series B, Doubling Total Capital

Kantox_homepage_May2015

 

International currency-transfer specialist Kantox has doubled its total capital, courtesy of an $11 million investment from a set of long-time financial supporters.

Leading the round were Partech Venture and IDinvest Partners, with Cabiedes & Partners and business angel investors also participating. The Series B round takes Kantox’s total capital to more than $21 million. The additional funding will be used to help the company expand outside of Europe.

Kantox CEO Philippe Gelis shared his thoughts on the investment at the company blog, reminding us of one thing we’ve always appreciated about the man: a love of metrics. In a post titled, “How Kantox Raised 11 Million Dollars By Focusing on Real Numbers,” Gelis shared “the numbers that matter” including:

  • 35 currencies available to clients
  • 75 countries in which clients have made payments
  • 1,500 corporate clients served
  • $2 million in total platform trade volume projected by end of 2015
  • $33 million as the largest single trade on the platform
  • $1.5 billion as the total dollar value of the transactions processed on the platform since launch

“Relentless focus on our clients’ needs,” he added. “No fear. No superficial hokum.”

That said, the most interesting number may be 250: the number of bankers and brokers Gelis suggests are on the platform in order to learn how Kantox works from the inside out. “Yes, we know who you are,” Gelis teased, “and we enjoy your snooping around.”

Kantox_FEU2013_stage_Gelis

Kantox founder and CEO Philippe Gelis demonstrated Kantox Peer FX at FinovateEurope 2013.

Gelis also wrote about the potential for growing the company. While admitting “we may never be able to extend in a significant way in markets beyond Europe,” he believes his company’s technology will make the difference.

“If we are able to build the alternative FX market—thanks to sophisticated matching technology—the company valuation will be in the billions in the long run,” Gelis said.

Founded in June 2011 and headquartered in London, Kantox demonstrated its Peer FX technology at FinovateEurope 2013. The company surpassed a billion dollars in foreign exchange volume in February, shortly after raising $9 million in new funding.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Kantox Picks Up $11 Million in Series B, Doubling Total Capital
  • Guide Financial Acquired by John Hancock Financial

Around the Web

  • Misys unveils its in-memory analytics engine, FusionBanking Insight.
  • True Potential launches its Apple Watch app.
  • Commonwealth Bank of Australia begins testing Ripple as intra-bank transfer solution.
  • Michigan-based Isabella Bank to deploy workflow suite from Jack Henry & Associates.
  • Lending Club CEO talks about the brand-building benefits of going public.
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory partners with eSignLive from Silanis Technology for end-to-end digital e-contracting.
  • Bankless Times features Avoka and its friction-minimizing, customer-onboarding technology.
  • PayPal to provide Touch ID support for its iOS app.
  • Gold Bullion International announces expansion into Asia.
  • eBay partners with Taulia to launch Preferred Supplier 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.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Multi-Factor Authentication Specialist Toopher Acquired by Salesforce

Around the web:

  • Moven updates iOS and Android apps for easier views of balance and spending.
  • Concur surpasses 30-million-user milestone.
  • Multi-factor authentication now available for Venmo users on both iOS and Android.
  • Mobile World Live interviews VP of Telenor Financial Services and CEO of Valyou, Viktoria Erngard.
  • FT.com Business & Economy feature on P2P foreign exchange highlights TransferWise, CurrencyFair, Currency Cloud, and Kantox.
  • Misys wins honors in three categories at FStech Awards 2015.
  • HedgeCoVest adds 14 new models to its platform.
  • Business Insider Australia features Xero.
  • Yodlee announces 100% revenue growth in Australia and New Zealand.
  • Check Point to acquire Lacoon Mobile Security for a reported $100 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.