Finovate Alumni News– January 15, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgDiginomica takes a look at Trustev and the problem of e-commerce fraud. Come see Trustev demo its new tech at FinovateEurope this February 11-12.
  • HelloWallet noted as a third-party PFM option for employers who want to help their employees with their finances.
  • The Times Money section features Nutmeg in a review of ten myths about individual savings accounts.
  • BBVA to deploy next generation touch-screen ATMs courtesy of Wincor Nixdorf.
  • Ripple debuts on “TV’s No. 1 New Show” – NBC’s The Blacklist.
  • Travis Credit Union extends 30 year partnership with Fiserv by selecting DNA account processing platform.
  • Ron Shevlin recommends using BillGuard in tandem with credit monitoring.
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.

Where Are They Now? FinovateEurope 2013 Best of Show Winners

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As we begin helping FinovateEurope 2014 presenters polish their demos for the show on February 11 and 12, we thought we’d take some time to catch up with last year’s best of show winners to see what they’ve been up to over the past 12 months.

Here are last year’s winners, in alphabetical order:

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Who they are: A retail bank leader in France and Europe, with 11,600 branches worldwide, 160,000 employees and 54M customers.

What they demoed: The Credit Agricole Store, a European app store where financial apps are co-created between clients and developers thanks to the opening bank APIs.
Demo video

What they’ve been up to:
    • Celebrated the second year of its social media bank and attracted 3k banking customers.
    • Harnessed banking and insurance expertise to support the cooperative group Agrial in its first listed private bond placement.

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Who they are: an IT company that develops complex and innovative solutions for the banking and finance industries. 

What they demoed: The BANKTRON e-channels management platform that provides front-end users elegant, safe, and secure financial products and services.
Demo video

What they’ve been up to:

  • Was recognized as Lithuania’s most advanced high-tech sector company in the elections of the Knowledge Economy Company 2013.
  • Released a mobile banking app for Medicinos Bankas.
  • One of the DNB Group’s Internet banks implemented BANKTRON and its newest adaptive interface.

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Who they are: mBank is a financial sector innovator that offers a full range of retail and SME financial products. Efigence specializes in online banking platforms, currency trading tools, PFM tools and social and financial data aggregation tools.

What they demoed: Their online banking transactional site and implementation of Facebook and real-time consumer gratification.

What they’ve been up to:
    • mBank, along with Accenture, picked up a Best of Show award at FinovateFall 2013
    • mBank announced a new transactional service, new logo, premium offer for affluent customers.
    • Efigence-powered Alior Currency Exchange awarded Innovation of the year 2012 title
    • Efigence-powered Alior Bank won the prestigious Golden Bank 2012 title

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Who they are: They offer white-label PFM and next generation online banking solutions to retail banks.
What they demoed: Their To buy or Not to buy, a white-label module for mobile banking applications. It uses PFM functionality to empower and influence consumers at the point of sale or when considering buying something.
What they’ve been up to:
    • Promsvyazbank in Russia launched Meniga-powered PFM-Service
    • Raised $6.5 Million (€5 Million) to further develop PFM and online banking
    • BRE Bank launched its “new mBank”based on Meniga´s PFM solution

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Who they are: A neobank focused on the mobile experience and aimed at both banked and underbanked consumers.
What they demoed: Their mobile banking experience along with how CredScore and their Spend, Save, Live tools will help consumers ma
nage and improve their financial health
What they’ve been up to:
    • Launched their Android app
    • Updated the iOS app
    • Received $2 million investment from Life.SREDA
    • Expanded the beta sign ups for the bank
    • Debuted Money Pulse to help users manage day-to-day finances

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Who they are: A solution that provides a platform for kids under the age of 18 to make transactions online with parental controls.
What they demoedAn e-commerce solution that enables kids to manage and spend money within a parent-controlled environment
What they’ve been up to:
  • Rebranded as Oink
  • Launched new iOS mobile app
  • Contracted with Marvelous USA to provide its payment system on their site
  • Expanded to a quarter of a million users
  • Signed its first UK partners, Toy Galaxy and Toadstool
  • Won The National Parenting Center’s 2013 Seal of Approval under the Websites category.
  • Partnered with epay
  • Received Excellence in Best Practices Award from Frost & Sullivan

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Who they are: The creator of a social payments app that helps users track and split joint expenses on-the-go.

What they demoed: Their app that helps groups manage shared finances by giving them an easy option to repay one another
What they’ve been up to:
  • Launched Android app
  • Presented their solution to the Bavarian Ministry of Economics

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Who they are: SumUp offers an easy way for small businesses and sole traders to accept card payments securely, even on-the-go. Using only a portable card reader and an app for iOS and Android, merchants can accept card payments on their mobile device.

What they demoed: Their mobile point of sale system
What they’ve been up to:
  • Expanded to Latin America with launch of m-payments service in Brazil
  • Cut its transaction fee across Europe
  • Received investment from BBVA Ventures to aid in expansion to South America
  • Launched plug-and-play POS technology
  • Received multi-million Euro investment from Amex and Groupon
  • Launched in Russia and partnered with Svyaznoy Group
  • Partnered with Revel Systems to facilitate card payments
  • Began supporting AmEx in some European markets

To be a part of the action at this year’s FinovateEurope, get your ticket here to watch a full two days of demos and vote for who you think should win Best of Show.

BankBazaar Pulls in $13 Million from Sequoia Capital & Walden International

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BankBazaar, a company that provides unbiased rate quotes on loans and insurance products, today announced that it received funding of $13 million. Investors include Sequoia Capital and existing investor, Walden International.

This newest installment, combined with the $6 million the company received from Walden in 2011, brings the India-based company’s total funding to $19 million. It plans to use the funds to enhance its mobile platform and educate consumers on the benefits of its service.

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According to Adhil Shetty, BankBazaar CEO, there is increasing demand for products in the online loan market:

“Even in the slowing market, online loan market is growing at 90%, while the overall loan market is growing at 15%.”

BankBazaar demoed at FinovateAsia 2012 where it debuted its Real Time Credit Processing Platform.

Finovate Alumni News — January 14, 2014

  • ACI Worldwide announces its point to point encryption (P2PE) solutions now supported by VeriFone, Ingenico, and Equinox.
  • New contract with Advanced Network helps Better ATM Services grow its reseller network.
  • Netbanker reports: Moven Offers Free Ride, but Only to New Uber Customers.
  • Industry analyst Ovum names Backbase a Market Leader for next generation digital banking platforms.
  • Linkable Networks partners with marketing content publishers to form The Linkable Network, its new card-linked shopper marketing network.
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.

Moven Offers Free Ride, but Only to New Uber Customers

image Despite more holiday hate over surge pricing, Uber is one of the more high-profile up-and-coming digital brands in the world. As the new year dawned (3 Jan 2014), Moven ran an eye-catching promo offering a free Uber ride (up to $30).

I flagged the email because I thought it was a great activation move. Moven appeared to be offering me $30 to get moving and complete my new account authentication (note 1). And more importantly, to get my Moven card in play in an app that offers a future stream of interchange revenues.

But unfortunately, the offer is limited to new Uber customers only (disclosed in small type at the bottom, that’s my red arrow in the  inset). And surprisingly, it appears that you can enter any credit/debit card number into the signup form as it’s not Moven-specific.

Here’s a quick rundown of the pros and cons of the promotion:

________________________________________

Analysis
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1. Offer
Good: Free Uber ride is cool and valuable and a good company to associate with the Moven brand. The $30 offer beats what Uber served me on a Google search by $10 (see second screenshot below).      
Bad: A significant number of those interested in the offer will already be Uber customers and unable to participate (note 2).      
Fix: Allow existing Uber customers to participate (perhaps with a lower dollar cap); if that’s not economically feasible, it’s time to showcase a more prominent “new Uber customers only.”

2. Fulfillment
Good: Encourages users to enter their Moven card number into the Uber app.       
Bad: The form, and offer, can be used with any credit/debit card.      
Fix: Require the ride be charged to the Moven card to qualify for the free credit.  

3. Design
Good: The email design was attractive and easy to read in a desktop browser window.
Bad: Headlines were good, but copy and fine print were not readable on a mobile (iPhone 5) without zooming (see inset above).      
Fix: Design for mobile window

Bottom line: Despite these drawbacks, it’s still a good promo. And its cost to Moven is likely zero (note 3), a very important factor for a startup. So I’d rate it a B+ overall in terms of execution, but an A for value (to Moven), assuming Uber picked up the tab. 

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Email from Moven (3 Jan 2014)
Note: Displayed in iPhone 5

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Google offer under “uber” search (2 PM from Seattle IP address, 14 Jan 2014)

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Image source: Placeit

Notes:
1. I signed up as soon as I got a Moven invite, but I got caught in the authentication loop, still needing to find those trial deposit-amounts and feed that to Moven.  
2. Also the fine print says “new users only.” Originally, I took this to mean “new Moven users” since the message came from Moven, and I was new to Moven and not new to Uber.  
3. It’s highly likely there was no cost to Moven, and it’s possible the startup is earning a commission for each new Uber customer.

FinovateEurope 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 2

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We are counting down the days and weeks to FinovateEurope 2014, our fourth Finovate event in London. On February 11 and 12, Old Billingsgate Market Hall will once again host two days of demo-only fintech presentations and high-quality networking with professionals from across the industry.

To help you get to know the companies presenting next month, here’s an introduction to another six innovators that are building tomorrow’s fintech today. See Part 1 for the first six. 


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Advanced Merchant Payments enables banks, merchant acquirers, and other institutional lenders to profitably offer short-term, unsecured loans to underserved small businesses in both developed and emerging markets.
Features:
  • Proven, profitable, and scalable managed solution
  • Requires minimal investment or technical development
  • Complementary, value-add, product set supports customer acquisition and retention
Why it’s great:
AMP enables banks to profitably lend to those small business customers who might otherwise be underserved for reasons of cost and efficiency.

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Thomas De Luca
Chief Executive and co-founder of AMP. Previously co-founded multi-currency payment processor Planet Payment, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLPM). Before that: Legal Affairs at American Express.

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James Phillip Lloyd
Director of Product Management at AMP. Previously Operations Delivery Manager for European payment service provider, Realex Payments. Before that: Strategy & Operations at Deloitte Consulting

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Fiserv, the world’s leading provider of digital banking and payment solutions will demonstrate the next generation version of Mobiliti.
Features:
Mobiliti, Fiserv’s mobile and tablet banking platform, focuses on completeness, intuitive design and disruptive functionality.
Why it’s great:
Fiserv’s Mobiliti is the broadest and most disruptive set of features on a mobile device, without compromising the user experience.

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Denis Zelensky
Is passionate about mobile and stays mobile himself: born in Russia, educated in the U.S., lives in London, and works with financial institutions across EMEA.

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Jonathan Atkinson
Pre Sales, Mobile Solutions

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GMC Software Technology is a leader in the field of Customer Communications Management. GMC develops innovative software applications that enable businesses to transform the customer experience.
Features:
GMC Inspire Mobile Onboarding is a game-changing innovation that allows banks to attract, retain, and grow customers through real-time, interactive communication.

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Antoine Hemon-Laurens
Is an expert in Customer Communications Management. He is Director of Mobile Product Marketing at GMC.

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Gary Jenkins
Product Manager for GMC Software Technology and has extensive experience in delivering Enterprise solutions into the financial sector.

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Luxoft‘s iStockTrack is an innovative mobile application for premium & private banking services that offers state of the art user experience.
Features:
  • Provides comprehensive customer experience for private & premium banking clients
  • Offers unlimited sales capabilities to banks
  • Reduces cost of service per client
Why it’s great:
iStockTrack is a toolkit that can be customized to fit business needs and corporate style in just four weeks.

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Przemek Berendt
Global Marketing Vice President at Luxoft (NYSE: LXFT). Previously Luxoft Poland, Managing Director. Prior to Luxoft, Przemek was Business Development Manager at Betware.

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Money On Toast is a revolutionary new service that allows clients to get fully-regulated, automated financial advice directly online.
Features:
  • Clients can access FCA-regulated advice online via an algorithm-powered virtual adviser
  • Automatically generates a suitability report
  • Provides a fully compliant audit trial
Why it’s great:
Money on Toast is the first UK-based company to drive the way financial advice is delivered into the modern digital age.

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Charlie Nicholls
Founder and managing partner of Money on Toast. Studied law at Cardiff University. Lives and works in London.

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Catharine Dodd
Manages the online advice service at Money on Toast. Based at the Chichester office on the south coast.

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Smart Engine is a pioneer in the field of customer loyalty. We are drivers of innovation and leaders in personalized target marketing.
Features:
  • Merging online and offline shopping world for retail customers
  • Closer to the customer with real-time in-store targeting
  • Increases customer lifetime value
Why it’s great:
Shopping Assistance adds an entirely new level of “big data” consumer profiling and multichannel targeting to our card-linked offer, bank loyalty platform.

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Christian Bacher
Spent more than 20 years working at different top management levels in IT solutions for the banking and payment industry in Europe and Russia.

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Anna Bacher
Has more than 15 years of international experience in designing and implementing complex IT solutions for the banking and payment industry in Europe and Russia.

Fintech Accelerator SixThirty Announces Feb 7 Deadline for Spring Class

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If you’re a fintech startup looking for a spot in SixThirtys first spring class, the clock is ticking.

The financial technology accelerator based in St. Louis has set February 7th as the deadline for applications to its upcoming program. Selections will be made in early March, and companies will need to be in St. Louis for the duration of the four-month program.

The SixThirty program is geared toward companies in their early stages of development and growth. Four months of mentoring, education, and networking end with a one month, demo/presentation program that gives startups the opportunity to present their technologies before industry professionals in both finance and technology. 

Portfolio companies also receive $100,000 in equity investment.
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SixThirty is run by Managing Director Jim McKelvey, who co-founded Square in 2009. McKelvey is a General Partner at Cultivation Capital, and a spirited defender of the St. Louis area as a good one for financial innovation. 
“We saw a real opportunity to leverage our regional strengths as a financial hub,” McKelvey said in a Techli St. Louis feature last November. ” It’s obvious that St. Louis has certain advantages compared to other cities, namely a concentration of financial services … St. Louis is a customer and partner-rich environment for any financial tech startup.”
We reported on SixThirty’s inaugural graduating class back in October, a quartet that included Finovate alum, miiCard (FinovateFall 2013). For more information about SixThirty, including instructions on how to apply for the upcoming spring program, click here.

IDology Launches ExpectID Global

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IDology announced today that its ExpectID Enterprise real-time age and identity verification technology will be soon available in the UK as ExpectID Global.

The first step in what the company plans as a global rollout, the launch of ExpectID Global will give more companies “a secure way to do business internationally” in the words of IDology CEO John Dancu. ExpectID Global, he says, will help companies “prevent fraud, drive revenue, and meet compliance.”

IDology provides merchants doing business in card-not-present environments with the ability to do real-time age and identity verification. The on-demand technology allows businesses to control and customize the entire verification process, helping merchants keep up with changes in the security and regulatory landscape.
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ExpectID Global also includes the ability to validate domestic and international drivers licenses and passports, a key feature for merchants doing global e-commerce.
The Atlanta-based company is an alum of FinovateFall 2012. See their demonstration of ExpectID Enterprise here.

Finovate Alumni News — January 13, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgeToro to allow its members to invest and trade in bitcoin.
  • CaixaBank enables cardholders to make transaction-based, charitable micro-donations.
  • PhotoPay wins spot in this year’s FinTech Innovation Lab London. See them in action at FinovateEurope.
  • Flint Mobile, BillGuard both featured in Forbes column on companies “moving global commerce forward.”
  • Daily Mail takes a look at Zopa and the Zopa Rate Promise.
  • miiCard and Axiomatika partner to power identity verification solutions for the Russian financial industry.
  • CoverHound grows 533% Year over Year in 2013 and Promotes Keith Moore to CEO.
  • ShopKeep POS launches ShopKeep Mobile for iPod Touch.

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.

Trustly Providing Direct Account Payment Solution for Groupon Users

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Paying for your daily deal in Sweden is about to become easier. Payment-services company Trustly announced this week that it has partnered with Groupon to provide direct bank payment options to its end customers that have an account at a Swedish bank.

U.S.-based Groupon works with companies in 48 different countries to help businesses offer deals and incentives to potential customers.

The daily-deal giant is Trustly’s largestTrustlyHomepage.jpg customer to date in the ecommerce sector. It will directly provide convenient and secure payment methods online for customers of seven banks:

    • Swedbank
    • Nordea
    • Handelsbanken
    • SEB
    • Danske Bank
    • Skandiabanken
    • Länsförsäkringar Bank

Groupon anticipates the direct payment method to be popular with consumers both online and on mobile devices.

To learn more about Trustly, check out its demo video from FinovateEurope 2013.

KBC Bank Ireland Embraces Temenos T24 Core Banking

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Temenos has just picked up another bank: KBC Bank Ireland has signed up for both the company’s core banking system, T24, as well as Temenos’ Insight Business Intelligence Suite.

Deployment of T24 will help the bank focus on more personalized customer service and on delivering innovative banking products, according to KBC Bank Ireland Chief Executive Wim Verbraeken. The move is part of a broader rollout that includes providing full online and mobile banking capability to its retail customers.

Among the selling points of T24 was the platform’s “product-building capability.” In the words of Jean-Michel Hilsenkopf, Temenos Regional Director for Europe, this will allow KBC Bank Ireland to bring new financial products to market quickly “without the need to write bespoke code.”

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KBC Bank Ireland is one of the largest banks in Ireland. The bank reported total retail deposits of €2.9 billion – a year over year increase of €0.8 billion – and added more than 7,000 new customer accounts in the last three months of Q3 (quarter ending September 2013). KBC Bank Ireland has more than 700 employees and is headquartered in Dublin. New branches were opened recently in Limerick and Galway.
Temenos was founded in 1993 and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The company has more than 1,500 customer deployments in 125 countries around the world. Temenos is among the companies that will be presenting at FinovateEurope 2014 in February. To learn more about our upcoming event in London, visit our information page here.

Finovate Alumni News — January 10, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgKBC Bank Ireland embraces Temenos T24 core banking.
  • Accounting Technology takes a look at Bill.com and its integration with Tax1099.com.
  • Google Play Editor’s Choice features the Manilla Android app.
  • BellaDati adds four new features.
  • Trustly providing direct account payment solution for Groupon users.
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.