Urban FT

Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: blooom, Expensify, Flybits, Honkio, Hyperwallet, Innofis, Misys, Narrative Science, OutsideIQ, PayStand, Prosper, Thomson Reuters, Urban FT

On Finovate.com

  • “Expensify Leverages Uber Partnership to Create the Lazy Man’s Expense Report”
  • “Finovate Debuts: Innofis Enhances the UX for Banks and Customers”
  • “Prosper Appoints USAA Exec as New CFO”

On FinDEVr.com

  • “PayStand to Power New Online Payments Service from ONE UP”

Around the web

  • Luxoft integrates P2P payment technology with connected, self-driving car.
  • Thomson Reuters teams up with Hong Kong-based accelerator, SuperCharger.
  • Misys unveils Standardized Approach for Counterparty Credit Risk (SA-CCR) module for FusionRisk.
  • PYMNTS interviews Richard Stegall, CEO and Co-founder of Urban FT.
  • NPR highlights Blooom for helping manage student-loan debt.
  • The New York Times features Narrative Science in a look at artificial intelligence.

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 Debuts: Urban FT Brings a Social PFM to Prepaid Cardholders

Finovate Debuts: Urban FT Brings a Social PFM to Prepaid Cardholders
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Finovate Debuts, Urban FT

UrbanFTHomepage

Urban FT has reimagined the traditional banking experience by enabling customers not only to track their spending, but also engage with the purchasing experience. Using the Urban FT platform, prepaid card issuers and telco companies are able to offer white-labeled digital banking services.

Company facts:

  • Founded: 2012
  • HQ: New York City, New York
  • Employees: 32
  • Registered users: 700,000

Financial tools

Urban FT offers banking features in a non-traditional way, including:

  • Prepaid card loading using remote check deposit
  • Payment capabilities, such as P2P payment and bill pay
  • Transfer methods to move money to and from external accounts
  • Aggregated account view
  • “Good to spend” remaining balance

Here’s a view of the user’s aggregated accounts as well as a plot of their monthly cash balance.

UrbanFTAccountAggregation2

The user sees account activity along with a Good to Spend amount of their remaining balance.

UrbanFTActivity2

 

Discovery tools

Urban FT offers an engaging experience that extends beyond making purchases and tracking transactions. For example, using a consumer’s purchase data, the platform serves targeted offers within the app, making for a streamlined purchasing experience.

UrbanFTOffers2

When reviewing account activity, users can click on a transaction to dig into more details about the location of the purchase. Swiping left leads to the app’s Yelp-like functionality that empowers users to leave reviews for restaurants.

UrbanFTVenue2

Social feed

Another unique feature is the feed of friends’ non-financial activity. Customers may elect to share experiences, photos and/or financial activity.

UrbanFTSocial2

By bringing together offers, ratings, and a social feed, Urban FT bridges the gap among venues, spending, and peer activity, all of which encourage regular engagement with the app.

Just prior to Urban FT’s appearance at a FinovateFall, the company acquired digital wallet solutions provider, Wipit (FinovateSpring 2014 demo). Urban FT was eager to leverage Wipit’s relationships with players in the MVNO market: Boost Mobile, Sprint, and Pinsight Media. Urban FT CEO and co-founder Richard Steggall says the acquisition will help the company serve the telco vertical with end-to-end digital banking solutions.

What’s next?

At FinovateFall 2015, Urban FT announced a partnership with Sprint, which will launch its Sprint Money Express mobile wallet in January 2016. The wallet, which uses carrier billing, will offer SKU-level data and a targeted-ad platform.

Urban FT’s COO Kasey Kaplan and Mark Kilpatrick, chief product and brand officer) debuted at FinovateFall 2015:

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CBW Bank, Credit Karma, Fiserv, Global Debt Registry, Radius, Urban FT, WealthForge, Zopa

On Finovate.com

  • “Credit Karma Thinks Mobile with Snowball Acquisition“
  • “Finovate Debuts: Urban FT Brings a Social PFM to Prepaid Cardholders”

Around the web

  • Let’s Talk Payments features several Finovate alums in its look at fintech in Europe. Remember FinovateEurope 2016 is just over one month away.
  • American Banker highlights Global Debt Registry in a review of companies tackling the problem of debt collection.
  • WealthForge publishes its 2015 Year in Review in infographic form.
  • American Banker recognizes CBW Bank’s Suresh Ramamurthi as Innovator of the Year.
  • Suffolk Bancorp in N.Y. Names Fiserv Core Processor (paywall).
  • Zopa reviews 2015 stats and discloses 2016 plans.

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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2015: A Year in Finovate Alumni Mergers and Acquisitions

2015: A Year in Finovate Alumni Mergers and Acquisitions
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Akimbo Financial, Aurora Financial Systems, Authentify, Blockstack.io, eMoney Advisor, Finicity, FIS, Funding, Fundings, FutureAdvisor, GoNow, Guide Financial, Kofax, Kontomatik, Kreditech, LearnVest, Mergers & Acquisitions, Q2, ReadyForZero, Red Zebra, Social Money, Stratos, Toopher, Urban FT, Wipit, Yodlee

Handshake_graphic

2015 was another big year for mergers and acquisitions in the fintech industry. And whether they were the acquirer or the acquired, Finovate alums were very much a part of the M&A action.

Because terms of many deals were undisclosed, it is difficult to get a precise number on how much money was spent acquiring some of fintech’s most promising startups this year. But looking just at those acquisitions for which figures were available, we can see that 2015 was a banner year in M&A (more than $7 billion) — and that’s just counting alums.

So from the $5 billion deal between FIS and Sungard to the “alum-acquires-alum” mergers of September 2015, let’s take a closer look at some of the major unions of the year that featured Finovate alums.

December

October

September

August

July

May

April

March

February

January

If you’re a Finovate alum whose merger we’ve missed or acquisition we’ve overlooked, let us know. Send us an email at research@finovate.com.

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Urban FT’s Digital Banking Platform

Urban FT’s Digital Banking Platform
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateFall 2015, Urban FT

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateFall 2015.

UrbanFTLogoUrban FT demonstrated how its white-labeled banking platform offers comprehensive banking features:

This is a fully white-label, self-managed platform that allows you to provide your customers with comprehensive core banking functions, personal financial management tools, targeted deals, and social sharing features. By combining these features, you are able to drive greater user engagement, increase brand touchpoints, and build customer loyalty in ways previously unavailable.

The analytics produced by the UFT Platform also drive growth in other areas of your business, such as lending or other complementary offerings. The UFT Platform connects directly to your core or third-party processor, has fully integrated analytics reporting capabilities, and plug-ins for all necessary customer care and compliance systems.

Presenters: COO Kasey Kaplan and Chief Product and Brand Officer Mark Kilpatrick

IMG_9883

IMG_9886

Product Launch: June 2014
Metrics: To date we have raised $14.5 million; currently employ 32 people throughout 3 offices; and service 700,000 registered users.
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B), through financial institutions

HQ: New York City, New York
Founded: May 2012
Website: urbanft.com

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Banking Suite Provider Urban FT Acquires Wipit

Banking Suite Provider Urban FT Acquires Wipit
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Urban FT, Wipit

UrbanFTHomepage

Urban FT, a startup that offers card issuers a digital banking suite that includes cards, a mobile app, and web interface, wants to give small card issuers a leg up on the competition.

WipitHomepageToday, the company has taken a step in achieving that goal by acquiring digital wallet solutions company, Wipit.

Urban FT states that the Wipit acquisition will help provide a more comprehensive solution-set. The New York-based company is especially keen to tap into Wipit’s telco partnerships with Boost Mobile, Sprint, and Pinsight Media.

To leverage the Wipit team’s experience, Urban FT has hired the California-based company’s key employees.

Urban FT will present its latest offering at FinovateFall in New York in two weeks. Tickets are still available, but going fast.

Wipit last demoed at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose where it showed off its Boost Mobile Wallet.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: AnalytixInsight, Avalara, Clarify, Flint Mobile, FutureAdvisor, Klarna, Moven, Nous.net, ShopKeep POS, SnoopWall, Spreedly, StockViews, The Beast Apps, Trulioo, Urban FT, Wallaby Financial, Wipit, Xignite, Yodlee

On Finovate.com

  • “Banking Suite Provider Urban FT Acquires Wipit” Come see Urban FT at FinovateFall September 16 & 17.

Around the web

  • Niklas Adalberth steps down as Klarna’s deputy CEO.
  • ShopKeep to offer discounts to members of the MasterCard Easy Savings program.
  • Yodlee partners with Salesforce to offer advisers a comprehensive view of their clients’ financial accounts. Come see Yodlee’s presentation at FinDEVr, 6/7 October.
  • Monex to incorporate corporate-actions data from Markit. See Markit at FinDEVr 2015 in San Francisco.
  • Bank Innovation takes note of the Moven approach to displaying transaction histories.
  • Tech Vibes features Trulioo in a look at Vancouver, British Columbia, as a home for fintech innovation. See Trulioo at FinovateFall 2015 in New York.
  • Investment News looks for the next robo-adviser acquisition in the wake of BlackRock’s deal with FutureAdvisor.
  • Waters Technology highlights Nous, StockViews, AnalytixInsight, and Xignite in a review of how innovators are using market data. See Xignite at FinDEVr 2015 in San Francisco.
  • Flint enhances Android app to include immediate electronic receipts via SMS.

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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FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Urban FT

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Urban FT
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateFall 2015 Sneak Peek, Urban FT

UrbanFTHomepage

The Sneak Peek series looks at the innovators demoing live on stage at FinovateFall 2015. Be sure to pick up your tickets to our annual autumn conference, and we’ll see you in New York!

UrbanFTLogoUrban FT (UFT) delivers an enterprise-grade platform to both financial and non-financial issuers to give their customers industry-leading digital banking products.

Features:

  • Comprehensive financial tools, local discovery, and social features
  • Increased revenue through featured ad space and targeted deals
  • Powerful management tools for custom branding and functionality

Why it’s great

The UFT platform drives customer loyalty through profound digital experiences that combine the social and financial life of the customer into a meaningful lifestyle product.

UrbanFTPresenter1Presenters

Kasey Kaplan, Chief Operating Officer
Kaplan oversees all company operations at Urban FT. He has a strong passion for product, technology, and innovation.
LinkedIn

UrbanFTPresenter2Mark Kilpatrick, Chief Product and Brand Officer
Kilpatrick oversees all design, UI, and UX initiatives. He applies his creative and design background to technology and product development.
LinkedIn

 

FF2015BannerNoDate

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: AcceptEmail, Akamai, Alfa-Bank, Bleu, D3 Banking, Dwolla, IDmission, Ldger, Lending Club, Market Prophit, PsychSignal, Revolut, Sedicii, Segmint, SizeUp, Token, Top Image Systems, Tradeshift, Tranwall, Trustly, Urban FT, Yodlee

On Finovate.com

Around the web

  • Yodlee’s startup incubator contributes to “Startup Fever.”
  • Revolut, Sedicii, SizeUp, & Token named Innotribe Startup finalists.
  • TIS signs deal to process school exams in Chile.
  • Trustly appoints Jonas Palmquist as chief financial officer.
  • FT.com features PsychSignal and Market Prophit in a discussion on market signals and social media.
  • Dwolla launches its white-label service to make it easier for FIs to use its FiSync transfer platform.
  • Segmint launches new marketing solution, Segmint Reach.
  • RetailWeek features TradeShift as startup of the week.
  • Lending Club celebrates surpassing $11 billion in loans.

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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