Finovate Alumni News– January 16, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgID Analytics names George Gelly Chief Product Officer.
  • Doxo reviews 2013: hits 1 million users mark, achieves 3 to 6x growth in every region of U.S.
  • Northeast Bank to deploy Jack Henry Banking’s SilverLake System core processing platform.
  • TSYS to launch Authorization Controls for credit and debit cardholders.
  • University Business Magazine names peerTransfer a Top Product of 2013.
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.

FinovateEurope 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 3

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To help you prepare for FinovateEurope 2014, our fourth Finovate event in London, we’ve compiled a small taste of what the companies will demo over the course of February 11 and 12. To see each company demo live, get your ticket here.

Below, you’ll find a preview of the next 6 companies in our series. If you missed the first 2 posts, check out:


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The Currency Cloud provides a transparent online service powering international payments firms. It enables businesses to move money around the world easily, quickly and securely.

Features

  • The ability to hold multi-currency balances in an ewallet
  • Faster international payments
  • Delivered though our upgraded intuitive interface
  • Why it’s great:
    Moving money should be easy. It powers next-generation companies with a transparent, fast and trusted global payments platform to transform how the world moves money.  

    TCCloudPresenter1.jpg

    Mike Laven, CEO
    Mike is a seasoned FinTech expert who has been pioneering innovation for over 30 years
    LinkedIn

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    Richard Bastin, CTO
    With a lifelong passion for technology, Richard has been leading technology departments for over ten years
    LinkedIn


    EtronikaHorizontalLogoNew.jpg

    ETRONIKA unites emerging trends and innovative techniques in IT solutions to amaze the market and create unique opportunities for clients in finance, banking and e-businesses.

    Features:

      • Holistic multichannel partnership ecosystem for banks and partners
      • Personalized service offerings enabled by smart data analysis
      • Customer loyalty platform with enhanced fraud prevention

    Why it’s great
    Its ecosystem helps banks and partners to achieve customer experience beyond expectations through upgraded smart data analysis engine and maximized fraud prevention. 


    EtronikaPresenter1.jpg

    Kestutis Gardžiulis, CEO
    Kestutis has 18 years experience in banking and e-channel development. With a background in visual arts and quantum electronics, he is a true idea generator. 
    LinkedIn

    EtronikaPresenter2.jpg

    Asta Sabaite, Head of Marketing
    Asta’s broad marketing perspective comes from years of multinational practice in FMCG and retail industries. Her creative and analytical skills are devoted to fully understand client’s needs.
    LinkedIn


    Feedzai provides payment fraud prevention at Big Data scale.

    FeedZaiLogo.jpg

    Features
      • Connect mobile bank apps to social apps such as Facebook and Yelp, privately
      • Consumers check in and post status (geolocation) to protect their transactions
      • Feedzai’s fraud software lets banks “friend” customers, offering added peace-of-mind
    Why it’s great:
    Feedzai lets consumers and Banks be Facebook friends in order to make omnichannel commerce safe.

    FeedzaiPresenter.jpg

    Nuno Moura Pires, VP of Sales
    Nuno is a senior sales executive with 15 years experience with a solid and extensive experience in technology and software companies like QlikView and SAS.
    LinkedIn

    INDGroupLogo.jpg

    IND Group is a digital banking, PFM and payments technology software innovator and vendor for financial institutions.
    Features:
      • Turns the mobile banking channel into a real-time communication platform 
      • Persona-based design
      • Revolutionary card view concept
    Why it’s great: With IND Essence, all services are only a few taps away – anytime, anywhere. Mobile banking has never been so comfortable and easy, yet secure.  

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    József NYÍRI
    József is the Co-Founder and Chief Innovator of IND Group, market leader of innovative banking front-office solutions.

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    Tamas BRAUN
    Tamas is the General Manager of IND (UK), a subsidiary of IND Group, a leading international innovative banking front end solution vendor.

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    Meniga is the European market leader of white-label Personal Finance Management (PFM) and next-generation digital banking solutions.
    Features
      • Unique way to create value from data and analyze spending behavior
      • Anonymous and based on consent of retail banking customers
      • New revenue stream. Actionable, real-time insights into retail markets
    Why it’s great
    The Market Watch provides unprecedented, real-time, insights into consumer spending behavior, allowing banks to offer a highly valuable service to retail industry players. 

    MenigaPresenter1.jpg

    Georg Ludviksson, CEO
    Georg is an accomplished technology entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience of founding, building and managing software companies with a global perspective. 

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    Einar Gústafsson, VP Product Management at Meniga
    An interaction and information designer with a special focus on financial data and online banking. Einar has been working in the web industry since 1998 and is responsible for Meniga’s product roadmap.

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    Trustev provides real time, online identity verification to eliminate fraud and increase revenues.
    Features
      • Brings retail identity decision making in the internet age
      • Provides identity decisions in real time
      • Uses multiple independent dynamic data sources 
    Why it’s great:
    Its rigorous authentication technologies deal with fraudsters, so you can serve your real customers.

    TrustevPresenter1.jpg

    Pat Phelan, CEO & Co-founder
    One of Ireland’s best-known serial entrepreneurs, Pat Phelan is recognised across the globe as one of the most connected men in the technology industry.

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    Chris Kennedy, CTO & Co-founder 
    Kennedy is a web professional with over 10 years experience in developing state of the art web engineering solutions with a speciality in building heavy duty web platforms.


    Stay tuned over the next few weeks for more in our Sneak Peek series.

    LearnVest-Inspired Book, Financially Fearless, Tops Charts as Best Seller

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    For a fintech company to succeed outside of the digital realm in the physical world of print is not an easy feat. It makes sense, however, that a company with as much spunk as LearnVest has been able to make a splash with a book.

    Alexa Von Tobel, LearnVest Founder and CEO, has been a rising star in the personal finance realm lately. The New York-based CEO released her own book, Financially Fearless, at the end of last year, and it has recently been listed as the #5 New York Times Best Sellers list in the category of Advice, How-to, and Miscellaneous.

    Additionally, it reached:

      • Wall Street Journal Best Seller #1 hardcover in Business and #5 Hardcover in Non-Fiction categories 
      • Chicago Tribune Best Seller #5 in Hardcover Non-Fiction category 
      • Apple iBooks Best of 2013
      • Amazon Best Seller (during the weeks of December 22 and 29, 2013)
    FinanciallyFearless.jpg

    Readers who forward their book receipt to [email protected] can receive a little extra motivation:

      • Advanced access to a $50 credit to LearnVest Planning and one month of support for free ($19 value).
      • Two free tickets to attend LearnVest Live in either New York City, Boston or San Francisco.
      • Exclusive access to January’s premium live, online event – featuring Alexa and covering what you need to know to set achievable goals in 2014.
      • A 10 minute 1:1 session with Alexa (availability is limited).
      • Alexa’s money hacks “cheat sheet.”

    To learn more about LearnVest, check out its FinovateFall 2013 demo, where it debuted its Action Program.

    New OBR Published: Digital Banking Forecast Through 2023

    image Alright digital banking fans (note 1), it’s that time of year again for our annual look-back at the previous year, along with a fearless forecast for the rest of the decade and beyond.  

    The report, Digital Banking Forecast: 2014 to 2023, includes our take on future U.S. household penetration levels of online banking, mobile banking and billpay. While online banking has been relatively flat, with low-single-digit growth, mobile has exploded, expanding ten-fold in the past 5 years and now reaching about one-third of U.S. households. We are four or five years away from the tipping point where more households bank via smartphone than by desktop.

    It also includes a revised 10-year forecast for U.S. peer-to-peer lending. After growing almost eight-fold in the past two years, we expect continued strong growth of 30% compounded annual through 2023. And with the expected blockbuster IPO of Lending Club (note 2), the area will receive a LOT of attention in the press this year.

    Finally, we update our list of top-10 project priorities for 2014.

    __________________________________________________________________

    Top developments of 2013
    __________________________________________________________

    The report includes a summary of the top-10 developments during the year (in alphabetic order):

    • Bitcoin proves there is demand for a global virtual liquid asset
    • Coin’s programmable credit card is a viral hit
    • Crowdfund investing, both debt and equity, gains serious traction globally
    • Mobile-first banks such as GoBank, Moven and Numbrs arrive on the scene
    • Mobile login gets simplified at Bank of the West, Capital One, GoBank and others
    • P2P lending moves beyond a niche as Lending Club originates $2 billion
    • Photo billpay launches at US Bank and First Financial
    • Regions Bank adds time-based fees to remote mobile deposit
    • Square and Google enable true email-based peer-to-peer payments
    • Yodlee shows the power of mobile in financial collaboration with Tandem

    __________________________________________________________________

    New entrants into the OBR Hall of Fame
    __________________________________________________________________

    Each year we rank the top online/mobile innovations of all time (North America). A total of 50 achievements are listed from 51 companies:

    • 18 banks
    • 5 credit unions
    • 11 non-bank financial services companies
    • 17 fintech companies

    Two new entrants were added this year:

    • Capital One’s non-alphanumeric mobile login, SureSwipe
    • Yodlee’s mobile financial collaboration tool, Tandem 

    __________________________________________________________________

    About the report
    __________________________________________________________________

    Digital Banking (Online/Mobile) Forecast (link)
    The next 10 years: 2014 through 2023

    Author: Jim Bruene, Editor & Founder

    Published: 9 Jan 2014

    Length: 36 pages, 29 tables, 13,500 words

    Cost: No extra charge to OBR subscribers, US$495 for others here

    __________________________________________________________________

    Report excerpts:

    Left: GoBank and Moven set the mobile bar high
    Right: 10-year P2P lending forecast

    image        image

    ———————————

    Notes:
    1. Can we agree that “digital banking” equals online and/or mobile banking?
    2. Lending Club could be the biggest fintech startup IPO of all time.

    Investing Millennials Help Drive Fivefold Asset Growth at Wealthfront

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    And you thought the stock market had a great 2013.

    Online investment manageme service Wealthfront announced this week that it now manages more than $538 million in assets. Given that the company began 2013 with assets under management of approximately $100 million, it is no exaggeration to say that Wealthfront is doing a strong job of attracting investors looking for alternatives to traditional financial advisory.

    Wealthfront credits its rapid growth on two factors: the rise of passive investing and the entry of the millennial generation into their investing years.

    Some interesting metrics about Wealthfront and its clients:
    • More than 55% of the company’s users are under 35 years old
    • More than 80% of the company’s users are under 50 years old
    • The average investment with Wealthfront is between $80,000 and $100,000
    • More than 16% of Wealthfront’s users have a liquid net worth of more than $1 million
    At the same time, it is worth pointing out that Wealthfront is not just for rich guys and gals. A fifth of the company’s investors have less than $50,000 in liquid net worth.
    Wealthfront_homepage.jpg
    Growth in the online investment advisory business is a good thing for Wealthfront – not the least because the company is far from alone in the space. Among Wealthfront’s rivals are companies like Betterment, Personal Capital, and SigFig, as well as similar services with slightly different models such as FutureAdvisor, Jemstep, and LearnVest (and, yes, Finovate alums all).
    Formerly known as KaChing, Wealthfront picked up $20 million in funding in March of last year. This took the company’s total investment to $30.5 million. Wealthfront was founded by Andy Rachleff, former co-founder and general partner of Benchmark Capital, now serving as Wealthfront’s president and CEO. 
    The company was among the earliest of Finovate alumni, showcasing its technology as part of FinovateStartup in 2009.

    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

    MenigaLogo.jpg

    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

    MovenLogoNew.jpg

    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
    ________________________________________

    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. 

    —————————-

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

    image  

     

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

    image

    ————————————–

    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.

    thomas_deluca_headshot.jpg

    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.

    Denis_Zelensky_headshot.jpg

    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.

    jon_atkinson_headshot.png

    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.

    Luxoft_lo_res_logo.jpg

    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.

    Money_on_Toast_lo_res_logo.jpg

    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.

    Christian_Bacher_headshot.jpg

    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.