Finastra Acquires Malauzai

Finastra Acquires Malauzai

Global financial software provider Finastra, the combination of D+H and Misys that was forged a year ago this month, has added a new major element to its mix. The company announced today that it would acquire fellow Finovate alum Malauzai, a firm that specializes in retail and business banking solutions for community banks and credit unions. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Calling these smaller financial institutions “the fabric of American financial services,” Finastra CEO Simon Paris said bringing Malauzai into the Finastra fold will be a major boon for large and small FIs. “Together, our two companies deliver a fully integrated open core platform for payments, lending, and digital, across Finastra’s 4,500-strong U.S.-based community market customers and Malauzai’s non-core U.S.-based customers.” Paris added that Malauzai’s “leadership” and “open approach” are in “perfect alignment with our open platform vision.”

Malauzai co-founder and Chief Product Officer Robb Gaynor during a live demo of the company’s Conversational Banking for Business solution at FinovateFall 2017.

It’s also worth noting that the acquisition was the consumption of a relationship between the two companies that began years ago. Finastra and Malauzai have been collaboration partners with more than 130 shared customers since 2015. As such it was no surprise to hear Malauzai CEO Tom Shen echo Paris’ praise for the synergies between the two companies. “By combining a best-in-class core experience, backed by leading innovative mobile and Internet banking capabilities and our mobile-only design approach, community financial institutions win,” Shen said.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Malauzai has distinguished itself as a major provider of digitally-innovative products and solutions for local and community-based financial institutions. For the company’s FinovateSpring 2015 demo, co-founders Robb Gaynor and Danny Piangerelli were joined on stage by representatives from six different community banks that were offering Malauzai-powered features including P2P payments, picture bill pay, and debit card on/off to their customers and members.

Solutions like MOX Pay and Conversational Banking for Business, both demoed at recent Finovate events, further distinguished Malauzai has a partner for financial institutions looking to provide their retail and business customers with the same level of digital innovation as the larger banks.

“The acquisition creates a compelling proposition for our existing customer base and enables Finastra’s customers to deliver a seamless banking experience with a robust breadth of services, via a single provider,” Shen said. Malauzai serves more than 350 community financial institutions in the U.S. and has more than one million active users of its solutions.

Malauzai has raised more than $24 million in funding from investors including Wellington Management and Live Oak Banking Company. In May, the company teamed up with its future acquirer to help Horicon Bank launch its digital banking platform . InApril, Malauzai partnered with fellow Finovate alum Geezeo to develop a new mobile app for Axiom Bank, the second-largest community bank in Florida.

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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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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.

Colorado’s PSCU Completes MalauzaiOne Digital Banking Roll Out

Colorado’s PSCU Completes MalauzaiOne Digital Banking Roll Out

Chalk another one up for the Malauzai Monkeys.

The third largest credit union in Colorado, Public Service Credit Union (PSCU) with more than $2.3 billion in assets and 219,00 members, has completed the roll-out of its new digital banking platform – powered by Malauzai Software. PSCU CEO Todd Marksberry said the Austin, Texas digital banking solutions provider was the only company able to deliver a fully-digital banking platform that could serve both its credit unions retail and business members.

“MalauzaiOne Digital Banking was the only solution that provided a unified member experience across all digital channels on a single platform,” Marksberry explained, pointing to the platform’s “feature-rich tools” for PSCU’s business banking members. “Despite the growing number of small businesses nationwide,” he added, “there continues to be a void in terms of digital banking tools that meet their needs.”

With MalauzaiOne Digital Banking, PSCU My eBanking mobile and online banking app users can access a suite of services including online and mobile banking, electronic statements, billpay, check imaging, remote deposit capture (RDC), and text/email alerts. PSCU retail and business members alike can also take advantage of financial management and budgeting tools. And as a single, end-to-end platform, Malauzai chief product officer Robb Gaynor explained, the technology provides a number of advantages for both FIs and customers. “We are easing maintenance, lowering costs, and supporting the overall simplicity of their digital banking efforts,” Gaynor said. PSCU notes that more than 91,000 members are actively using their digital banking technology.

Founded in 2009 and based in Austin, Texas, Malauzai Software demonstrated MOX Pay Powered by Visual App Builder at FinovateSpring 2016. Last month, Malauzai reported more than 200,000 mobile check deposit transactions per month and a monthly increase of 3% to 5% in overall RDC usage this year. In May, the company partnered with fellow Finovate alums Vantiv and OnDot to develop a youth spending solution, Family Manager: SmartKid Control. Malauzai began 2017 with the tailwind of a strong 2016, having expanded its customer base to more than 425 community FIs, grew the number of downloads of its SmartApps to more than 1.2 million, and established more than 200 points of integration, including with more than 40 core banking providers and payment processors. Malauzai has raised more than $24 million in funding and includes Live Oak Banking Company and Wellington Management among its investors.

PSCU is headquartered in Lone Tree, Colorado and was founded in 1938. The credit union has more than 28 branches in Colorado, and offers a wide range of financial products and services including savings and checking accounts, loans, mortgages, mobile banking, online billpay and more.

Finovate Alumni News

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  • Colorado’s PSCU Completes Digital Banking Roll Out Powered by Malauzai Software

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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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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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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 Earn Spots in FinTech Forward 20 “Companies to Watch”

Finovate Alums Earn Spots in FinTech Forward 20 “Companies to Watch”

fintechforward_americanbankerbai

Half of the companies in the FinTech Forward 20 “Companies to Watch” list presented by American Banker and BAI this week are Finovate/FinDEVr alums. These 10 companies range from payments innovators and security specialists to alt-lending platforms and mobile banking app builders—the list even includes a pair of alums that have earned multiple Best of Show awards.

“The following 20 companies are the standouts among a pool of companies that nominated themselves and ones familiar to our judges,” American Banker declared in an announcement accompanying a slideshow of the FinTech Forward 20. When evaluating the various companies, judges were encouraged to ask themselves questions such as: “Is this organization solving relevant problems for the banking industry?” and “Does it speak to the challenges the industry faces now.”

Below are the ten Finovate/FinDEVr alums that made the cut. The rest of the FinTechForward 20 is listed below.

  • Currency cloud (FF16)
    • Founded in 2012
    • Headquartered in London, United Kingdom
    • Michael Laven is CEO
    • $35 million raised
  • identitii (FF16)
    • Founded in 2014
    • Headquartered in Sydney, Australia
    • Nick Armstrong is co-founder and CEO
  • BehavioSec (FF15)
    • Founded in 2007
    • Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden
    • Neil Costigan is CEO
    • More than $8 million raised
    • Two-time Finovate Best of Show winner
  • InSpirAVE (FF16)
    • Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and New York City, New York
    • Om Kundu, founder, is CEO and chairman
  • Moven (FF16)
    • Founded in 2011
    • Headquartered in New York City, New York
    • Brett King, founder, is CEO
    • More than $24 million raised
    • Two-time Finovate Best of Show winner

Commenting on its spot on the list, Finovate newcomer InSpirAVE founder and CEO Om Kundu said the recognition was a “testament that our patent-pending technology enables financial institutions partnering with us to set themselves apart.” Kundu said his company’s solutions help FIs “tangibly boost deposits and payments revenues” as well as improve customer engagement and share-in-wallet in enduring ways.

Co-founder and CEO of CUneXus credited his firm’s one-click consumer-lending technology for catching the Fintech Forward judges’ attention. He said banks and credit unions were growing the size of their loan portfolios and “competing with emerging technologies” by adopting CUneXus’ solutions.

Speaking for Alkami Technology, which demoed at Finovate 2009 as iThryv, founder Stephen Bohanon, chief strategy and sales officer, pointed to his company’s flagship Alkami ORB platform and called it an example of the sort of “user experience brought about by great design and tightly coupled integration” that increasingly will set FIs apart. “ORB gives banks and credit unions a competitive advantage by placing strong emphasis on delivering the ultimate digital banking experience,” Bohanon said.

Also on the Fintech Forward 20 Companies to Watch list were:

  • Autobooks
  • Kasisto
  • ClickSWITCH
  • Built
  • BookingBug
  • Lenndo
  • Supipay
  • Self Lender
  • Private Wealth Systems
  • Yantra Financial Technologies

Fintech Forward is a collaboration between American Banker and BAI that combines research, media, and event hosting into a single professional, educational enterprise. In addition to its Fintech Forward 20 “Companies to Watch” list, Fintech Forward also publishes a Top 100 Companies and Top 25 Enterprise rankings.

Malauzai Features Enhanced Card Management, Personalization in Latest SmartApps Release

Malauzai Features Enhanced Card Management, Personalization in Latest SmartApps Release

malauzai_homepage_september2016

Enhanced card management and personalized transactions are among the new features for the latest edition Malauzai Software’s mobile and online banking SmartApps. Enhanced card management improves security by giving users the ability to switch cards on and off, establish accepted merchants and dollar thresholds, and transaction categories. And the personalized-transactions feature enables users to attach a photo or image to any transaction to make it easy to record and track spending.

“The recent developments within our SmartApps enable banks and credit unions to offer truly distinct digital channels that combine custom designs and analytics to allow consumers and small businesses to better control their finances,” says Robb Gaynor, chief product officer for Malauzai, headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Bill Bunn, SVP and head of retail banking at Park Sterling Bank, praised Malauzai for being “quick to market with new products and features that positively impact our customers.” Bunn says he appreciates how Malauzai’s technology has helped banks like his—with $3.2 billion in assets—compete with its larger rivals. “We love that we can get in front of customers and show that we can provide the same, if not better, products that the big banks provide,” Bunn said, “and Malauzai helps us do that.”

In addition to enhanced card management and personalized transactions, the new features to SmartApps include a Family Financial Manager that enables users to create apps for additional users (such as family members or financial advisers) and a “View as User” feature that enables professionals at financial institutions to “see what the customer sees” from their own consoles to better respond to questions and help solve problems.

Founded in 2009, Malauzai Software demonstrated its MOX Pay Powered by Visual App Builder at FinovateSpring 2016. The company has more than 85 employees, and its solutions are live with more than 400 banks and credit unions. Earlier this summer, Malauzai announced that it was adding mobile deposit functionality to its MOX Everywhere Suite, courtesy of a new partnership with fellow Finovate alum, Cachet Financial Solutions. Malauzai teamed up with Finovate alum Geezeo in April 2016 to bring PFM tools to more community financial institutions, and in March, the company joined BizEquity (yet another Finovate alum) in earning recognition at the Bank Director’s FinXTech Awards.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Malauzai Features Enhanced Card Management, Personalization in Latest SmartApps Release
  • Check out the latest in developer news in our FinDEVr APIntelligence column.

Around the web

  • Bluefin Payment Systems brings point-to-point encryption (P2PE) to Merchant Link.
  • In less than 24 hours, Revolut signs up thousands of businesses for its beta launch.
  • Swedbank to deploy FusionBanking Loan IQ from Misys.
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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

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Around the web

  • Mashable features P2Binvestor CEO Krista Morgan for something outrageous she said at FinovateSpring 2013.
  • Institutional Investor features entrepreneurs from 4 Finovate alums in the 2016 Tech-50 list of fintech technologists.
  • More Than 25 Financial Institutions Select Malauzai’s SmartwebApps for Desktop
  • Cortera appoints Bob Maguire as chief revenue officer.
  • Zopa names Ronen Benchetrit as CTO.

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

  • Stock Gifting Platform Stockpile Acquires SparkGift.
  • Corezoid Goes AWS with its Platform-as-a-Service Core Banking Technology.
  • Cachet Financial Solutions to Power Mobile Deposit for Malauzai Software.
  • Personal Capital Brings on Former Yodlee CFO.

Around the web

  • Gartner names Cognitive Technology a 2016 Cool Vendor in Analytics for myInvenio.
  • Times Realty news looks at why Patch of Land is choosing not to adopt Title III Crowdfunding rules.
  • defi Solutions announces new Chief Technology 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.