Alumni News– January 27, 2015

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgHarland Clarke to use CUneXus’ cplXpress to enable automated, pre-approved lending to its customers.
  • With grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Social Money to pilot CorePro in India to help underbanked.
  • Spreedly crossed the $50 million credit card transactions per month milestone in December.
  • TechCrunch: Prosper purchases American Healthcare Lending for $21 million.
  • Cachet Financial’s Mobile Money Platform integrates with ApplePay.
  • Check out FinovateEurope 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 5. We’ll see you there in two weeks.
  • Hara Partners lists PayStand as one of five ecommerce solutions for SMBs.
  • Tradeshift partners with Recruit Holdings, Japan’s largest staffing company, to solidify presence in Japan.
  • Navy FCU’s Visa Buxx App, powered by Cachet Financial Solutions, named winner in Paybefore Awards.
  • Authentify’s xFA available on Samsung’s Solutions Exchange, enabling two/multi-factor authentication on Samsung devices.
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.

Themes and Presenters at FinovateEurope 2015

FE2015-buttonicon(highres).jpg

With January coming to a close this week, European fintech followers have something to look forward to: an onslaught of new financial technology solutions at FinovateEurope.

The event will take place at Old Billingsgate Market Hall in London on February 10 & 11. Get your ticket to be a part of the action.

The themes we’ll see on stage at FinovateEurope next month align with the trends predicted by analysts for this year. Significant topics include mobile, lending, small business tools, and advisor solutions. Additionally, payments and personal finance maintain footholds and there’s a resurgence of interest in rewards and digital currencies.

Click to enlarge:

FEU15ThemesWordCloudV2.jpg

FinovateEurope allows you to meet the companies behind each theme during numerous networking sessions. Here is the full list of companies that will take the stage:

For more information on these companies, check out our company info page or view our Sneak Peek series below.

We anticipate a full crowd so be sure to guarantee your seat at the show. Once you get a ticket, we’ll see you in London!

Questions? Check out our FAQ page to get some answers.


FinovateEurope 2015 is sponsored by: The BancorpBe GroupFinancial Technology PartnersKPMG LLP and Life.SREDA.

FinovateEurope 2015 is partners with: Bank Innovators Council, BankersHub, bobsguide, Breaking Banks, Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, Celent, Datamonitor Financial, The Financial Services Club, Future Finance, Harrington Starr, Hotwire, Mapa Research, Mercator Advisory Group, and The Trading Mesh (formerly HFT Review).

TransferWise Raises $58 Million in Round Led by Andreessen Horowitz

Thumbnail image for TransferwiseNewLogo.jpgTransferWise is starting off the year with a funding bang: the company has raised $58 million in a Series C round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

The investment takes TransferWise’s total capital to more than $90 million. Existing investors Richard Branson, IA Ventures, Index Ventures, Valar Ventures, and Seedcamp also participated in the round.
Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of TransferWise said: “Andreessen Horowitz’s investment in TransferWise shows how ripe financial services are for disruption.” 
“For too long, legacy providers’ dominance of the market has allowed consumers to be hoodwinked into paying huge hidden charges for services as basic as currency exchange.”
TransferWise_homepage_new2.jpg
Ben Horowitz, founder of Andreessen Horowitz, referred to this insight the discovery of “an important secret” and called TransferWise “uniquely prepared to pursue it.” 
He added: “Not only is (TransferWise’s) solution 10 times better than the old way of exchanging foreign currency, but it could not have come at a better time.” Both Hinrikus and Horowitz pointed to the lack of innovation as a “massive opportunity” for companies like TransferWise.
The company plans to use the capital to drive global expansion. TransferWise is opening an office in the United States in February according to reporting by TechCrunch, and are looking to open offices in Germany and Austria in the first half of 2015, as well. The goal for the year is to open an additional 300 “currency routes.”
TransferWise_FEU13_stageshot.jpg
(Above, left to right: Kristo Kaarmann and Taavet Hinrikus, co-founders of TransferWise at FinovateEurope 2013)

TransferWise enables money transfers between the U.S. and Canadian dollars as well as the euro, British pound, Swiss franc, and another 10 European currencies. Customers using the platform can also transfer these currencies into a number of Asian currencies including the Australian, Hong Kong and Singaporean dollars, and the Indian rupee. See the full list here.
A few metrics for TransferWise:
  • Launched in 2011
  • Headquartered in London
  • Staffs 250
  • Maintains more than 290 currency routes
  • Enabled customer transfers of £3 billion for a savings of £135 million
The company has been making headlines, as well, appearing in Motley Fool’s list of fintech startups that can help consumer handle their money in 2015, and with its peers Azimo and CurrencyFair in a recent look at disruption in traditional money exchange from Forbes.com. In December, TransferWise was named one of  KPMG’s Fintech Innovators of 2014
TransferWise demoed its technology as part of FinovateEurope 2013.

Alumni News– January 26, 2015

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgMIT Technology Review features Feedzai and Zumigo in a discussion on mobile authentication technologies.
  • Loan origination platform LoanLaunch (formerly Common Origination Platform) now available from Fiserv.
  • Experian partners with BillGuard to boost effectiveness of its anti-fraud solution, ProtectMyID.
  • Misys unveils FusionBanking Lending.
  • American Banker takes a look at the relationship between Google and Lending Club.
  • Kabbage named one of America’s top 100 Most Promising Companies 
  • Coinbase to open the first regulated Bitcoin exchange in the U.S. 
  • Actiance announces support for IBM Verse and IBM Connections Social Cloud.
  • Credit Sesame launches iOS app with Siri integration in its credit monitoring feature.
  • Google Wallet partners with WePay to put its Instant Buy API in 200,000 e-commerce shops.
  • TransferWise Raises $58 Million in Round Led by Andreessen Horowitz.
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.

Fintech Fundings: 13 Companies Raise Nearly $400 Million This Week

dollar_button.jpg

The new year finally blasted off this week with nearly $400 million in new money headed to the hot sector ($194 million equity, $200 million debt). The majority of the cash ($322 million or 82%) went to Finovate alums including Kreditech ($200 million), Coinbase ($75 million including money from two retail banks, USAA and BBVA), Motif Investing ($40 million from China), True Link ($3.4 million), and Kofax ($1.9 million). In addition, one Finovate alum, prepaid card white-label specialist Akimbo was acquired by Payment Data Systems.
This brings total funding for the month to more than $630 million ($430 million equity, $200 million debt), a healthy $10 billion annual run rate (see recaps from 1st week2nd week of January). 
The deals from Jan 17-23 in order of size: 
Alternative banking & lending products 
Latest round: $200 million (debt)
Total raised: $263 million (includes $215 mil debt)
Tags: Mobile, lending, underwriting, online banking, Hamburg, Germany, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate
Cryptocurrency wallet and exchange
Latest round: $75 million
Total raised: $106.7 million
Tags: Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, Investors: USAA, BBVA, NYSE, San Francisco, California, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate
Giftcard marketplace for buying and selling
Latest round: $56 million
Total raised: $82.2 million
Tags: Prepaid, gift card, merchant, POS, fee income, Chicago, Illinois
Source: Crunchbase
Automated investment advice for consumers
Latest round: $40 million
Total raised: $126 million
Tags: Consumer, investing, robo-advisor, wealth management, ETFs, Renren (investor), San Mateo, California, Finovate Best of Show alum
Source: Finovate
Mobile-first payments platform
Latest round: $9.1 million
Total raised: $14.1 million
Tags: Payments, apps, mobile, SMB, London, UK
Source: FT Partners
Italian payment network
Latest round: $6.4 million
Total raised: $6.4 million
Tags: Mobile payments, micropayments, P2P, peer-to-peer, Milan, Italy
Source: Crunchbase
Prepaid card with advanced controls for seniors
Latest round: $3.4 million
Total raised: $3.4 million
Tags: Prepaid card, credit, debit, controls, security, seniors, YC, California
Source: Finovate
Document and image capture technology
Latest round: $1.9 million
Total raised: $11.5 million (public KOFX)
Tags: Remote capture, enterprise, mobile, Irvine, California
Source: Crunchbase
Social trading network
Latest round: $1.0 million
Total raised: $1.0 million
Tags: Investing, consumer, social networks, Mountain View, California
Source: Crunchbase
Securities market technology
Latest round: $800,000
Total raised: $800,000
Tags: Trading, investment management, enterprise, Bangkok, Thailand
Source: Crunchbase
Secure mobile payments with your signature
Latest round: $700,000
Total raised: $700,000
Tags: Security, mobile payments, Antwerp, Belgium
Source: Crunchbase
Online and mobile payments
Latest round: $500,000
Total funding: $9.0 million
Tags: Payments, mobile, Palo Alto, California
Source: FT Partners
Canadian provider of blockchain-powered smart contracts
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
Tags: Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, legal, identity, security, Vancouver, Canada
Source: FT Partners
—————
Exits
White-label prepaid card solutions
Price: $3 million
Buyer: Payment Data Systems
Tags: Prepaid card, gift card, debit, San Antonio, Texas, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

FT Partners Publishes Post-IPO Profile of Lending Club

ftpartners_logo.jpg

Now that the dust has settled on fintech’s biggest startup IPO ever, FT Partners has put together an extensive profile of Lending Club. Lending Club’s IPO last year was one of the major events that helped put fintech in the headlines of not just technology news, but business news, as well. And FT Partners’ report so far serves as the definitive document on just how the alternative lender did it and gives clues to what comes next.

Thumbnail image for LendingClubLogo.png

The data-rich, 60-page document focuses mostly on Lending Club, though small business lender, OnDeck, is also covered. The review of Lending Club before, during, and after its public offering includes industry reaction as well as summaries of analyst coverage.
FTPartners_LendingClub1.jpg
Key milestones in the rise of Lending Club are shown graphically, from its launch in 2007, through the company’s first $25 million institutional investment five years later. An industry timeline shows Lending Club’s place in the evolution of the alternative lending market (interestingly contrasted with a graph of the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield).
The report discusses Lending Club’s competitive strengths, opportunities for growth, and includes seven pages of loan statistics and another nine pages of financial analysis focusing on revenue and revenue comparisons.
FTPartners_LendingClub3.jpg
Perhaps my favorite part is the 16-page section “Selected Alternative Lending Transactions.” Looking at the variety of financing, M&A, and other transactions in both the consumer and small business markets provides a robust sense of the history and diversity of the alternative lending space.
The full report is available here.
Financial Technology Partners is an investment banking firm dedicated to the financial technology sector. The company was founded by Steve McLaughlin and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Akimbo Financial Acquired by Payment Data Systems

Thumbnail image for akimbologo.jpg

At a purchase price of $3 million dollars, Akimbo Financial has agreed to be acquired by payments solutions provider, Payment Data Systems.

“We believe joining the Payment Data Systems family will help further our goal of reinventing the prepaid card,” Akimbo co-founder and CEO Houston Frost said. “We look forward to growing our program at FiCentive and making the Akimbo card product an industry leader and trendsetter.”

AkimboFinancial_homepage.jpg
Payment Data Systems plans to integrate Akimbo’s prepaid card technology with the backend prepaid card processing platform of its subsidiary, FiCentive. The resulting technology, per Frost, will provide consumers with “new features and functionality”, better customer service, and lower costs.
Added Louis Hoch, FiCentive president and CEO, “Not only will FiCentive have access to new and significant prepaid card front-end technology including mobile applications, but will also be acquiring significant human capital with deep prepaid card industry knowledge.
AkimboHFrost_FF2013_stage2.jpg
(above: Akimbo Financial co-founder and CEO Houston Frost at FinovateFall 2013)
Akimbo Financial specializes in white-label, prepaid card programs for banks and credit unions. The company’s technology supports social payments and prepaid card management, making it easy for consumer to share money by email or over social networks, and to automate the management of their cards and accounts. The Akimbo Visa Prepaid Card, the company’s signature solution, can be used with a mobile app (both iOS and Android) to take advantage of the budgeting, money sharing, and card management features on the go.
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Akimbo Financial demonstrated its prepaid P2P payments solution at FinovateFall 2013.

Kreditech Secures $200 Million Line of Credit

KreditechLogo.jpg

Germany-based Kreditech said, “hallo” to a $200 million line of credit yesterday. Victory Park Capital supplied the debt.

The company has served 2 million customers in 9 countries since launching in 2012. It will use this debt to “address the growing demand for loans of longer durations at fair prices.”

KreditechLocales.jpg

Kreditech CFO, Rene Griemens says, “Setting the stage for our upcoming Series C financing round, the credit facility will reaccelerate our growth well beyond the 500 percent per year mark.” According to TechCrunch, the impending Series C round will bring Kreditech to a $750 million pre-money valuation before its anticipated IPO in two to three years.

Kreditech uses its big data credit-scoring technology to better serve the world’s un and underbanked population, which accounts for four billion people. Earlier this month it acquired Kontomierz for its KYC technology and ability to get unique data in real-time.

Check out its live demo from FinovateSpring 2014.

Alumni News– January 23, 2015

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgInternet Retailer looks at the relationship between product reviews and revenue courtesy of a new report from Baazarvoice.
  • Xero highlighted as “our best purchase of 2014” by Business Betties.
  • MakeMoneyYourWay profiles EZBOB and its new business loan promotion, the New Year’s Revolution.
  • Zee News’ Money Guru interviews Abhishek Dwivedi, vice president operations at BankBazaar.com.
  • Liverpool Echo features Toshl Finance in its list of must-have apps for busy moms.
  • Investopedia’s guide to choosing roboadvisors spotlights nine Finovate alums: Betterment, FutureAdvisor, JemstepLearnVest, Motif Investing, Personal Capital, SigFig, TradeKing, and Wealthfront.
  • Benzinga Fintech Awards publishes its video interview with Gary Zimmerman, CEO of MaxMyInterest.
  • American Banker covers OnDeck’s small business loan marketplace for institutional investors.
  • Pymnts interviews René Lacerte, CEO and Founder of Bill.com about how to simplify B2B payments.
  • Mifos welcomes new partners: SkooliLabs and iSystems
  • Google Cloud Platform releases beta of Google Container Registry for secure hosting, sharing, and management of private container repositories.
  • BlueVine Grabs $18.5 Million to Increase Small-Business Lending.
  • Encap Security CEO Thomas Bostrom Jorgensen asks if biometrics provide a “false sense of security” in a column for Bob’s Guide.
  • Akimbo Financial acquired by Payment Data Systems.
  • Kreditech Secures $200 Million Line of Credit.
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 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 4

Thumbnail image for FE2015Banner.jpg

Will you be joining us live for FinovateEurope 2015? Following the action via the Finovate Live Blog and Twitter feed (@Finovate)? 

However you plan on participating in the first Finovate conference of the year, our Sneak Peek series helps you get to know the presenting companies before they hit the stage next month.

FEU2014_networkinglunch.jpg
We’ve already highlighted 18 out of the more than 70 companies demonstrating their latest technologies. If you missed them, you can get up to speed with Parts 1, 2 and 3 of our Sneak Peek series below.
Today we bring you another set of six presenters: Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, CPB SOFTWARE, Ixaris, JSC Delta Bank, QCR, and Topicus.Finance.


Bendigo_Adelaide_FEU15_hires_logo.jpg

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank have a long, 156-year history of innovation. Our latest innovation is redy, a mobile commerce platform.
Features
  • A mobile commerce platform that connects shoppers, businesses, and the community for a common cause
  • Fast and secure mobile payments
  • Easy, fast, and secure donations
Why it’s great
redy is a fast and secure mobile commerce platform that improves the shopping experience and connects shoppers, businesses, and communities for a common cause.
Presenters
Robert Musgrove, Executive Community Engagement
Musgrove played a pivotal role in the expansion of Community Bank. He is always on the lookout for ways to give back to his community.
Rick vanEmmerik, Mobility Manager
vanEmmerik has been with Bendigo and Adelaide Group for 7 years. He has been part of the redy team since its inception.


CPB_Software_AG_FEU15_hires_logo.jpg

CPB SOFTWARE offers profound expertise, creativity, flexibility, and high quality financial software solutions including premium ASP and BPO services.
Features
  • PROFOS is the app for bankers
  • Manage your clients anytime and anywhere
  • The best way to support your advisors and clients
Why it’s great
PROFOS – The Bank is where Clients are!
Presenters

PThomayer_CPBSoftware_FEU15.jpg

Peter Thomayer, CEO
Thomayer is founding member and since 2000 CEO of CPB Software. Areas of responsibility: strategy, human resources, marketing, and sales. Held different leading positions in some banks before.

BAigner_CPBSoftware_FEU15.jpg

Barbara Aigner, Consultant
Aigner is founder and CEO of emotion banking, a consultant company for banks and founder of victor, the main analysis and championship for banks in the German-speaking area.

MNekham_CPB_FEU15.jpg

Markus Nekham, Consultant / Advisory Board
Nekham is founder and CEO of networx business services. He is lecturer at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, and a negotiation and communication consultant and coach.



Ixaris_FEU15_hires_logo.jpg

Ixaris is a fintech company specializing in the delivery of next generation card programs.
Features
  • Extend your card programs offering with apps from our App Store
  • Reduce burden on your IT through an on-the-cloud platform
  • Reduce card program management overheads with self-service tools
Why it’s great
Card programs tailored to your customer needs by your own customers
Presenters
Patrick Abela, Product Director
Abela has 15 years experience specializing in leveraging technology to deliver innovative and competitive payment products and solutions.
Reno Scerri, Pre-sales and Solutioning Manager
Scerri has over 10 years’ experience in technology products, with special focus on design and delivery of solutions for the payments industry.


DeltaBank_FEU15_hires_logo.jpg

JSC Data Bank is a Ukranian innovative universal bank that provides a wide range of products and services for all types of clients.
Features
  • Transfer money via Facebook
  • Transfer money using only the recipient’s mobile phone number
  • Service is available without registration for everyone
Why it’s great
Pay2You is a service that makes your communication channels available for transferring money.
Presenter
Stanislav Ostrovsky, Head of R&D Department


QCR_logo_FEU2015_hires.jpg

QCR has developed RiskAware, an innovative credit risk assessment technology which can add major value to existing risk management practices at financial institutions.
Features
  • Drastically improved corporate default predicting power
  • Deeper credit risk analysis and more accurate quantification of credit risk
  • Faster credit risk management, quicker SLA times
Why it’s great
Through faster and more accurate credit risk management, RiskAware can save millions of USD a year in credit losses for financial institutions.
Presenters

TVarkonyi_QCR_FEU15.jpg

Tamas Varkonyi, Founder and CEO
Varkonyi’s professional career in credit risk management spans 12 years. Before founding QCR, he managed a credit portfolio at CIT Group and underwrote loans at Barclays.

Thumbnail image for SKocso_QCR_FEU15.jpg

Sandor Kocso, CTO
Kocso is a seasoned technologist with 10 years of experience developing financial software applications at Morgan Stanley and Leonteq Securities, Switzerland.


Topicus_FEU15_hires_logo.jpg

Topicus.Finance is a flexible, process-oriented business lending platform with self-service capabilities.
Features 
With FORCE Business Lending:
  • Enable automatic loan origination
  • Achieve seamless fulfillment for all parties
  • Facilitate everything from orientation to a fully-repaid debt
Why it’s great
“Customer centric” is no longer a hollow phrase. FORCE Business Lending enables your employees to fully focus on (the business of) your customer.
Presenters

MSchipper_Topicus_FEU15.jpg

Michiel Schipper, Managing Director

Thumbnail image for JBurink_Topicus_FEU15.jpg

Jamie Burink, Head of Business Lending

FinovateEurope 2015 will be held February 10 and 11 in London. Pick up your tickets today and join us for the first Finovate conference of the year.

BlueVine Grabs $18.5 Million to Increase Small-Business Lending

BlueVineLogo2.jpg

Being a small business short on funds is never a good thing. However, with more startups tackling short-term funding headaches for small businesses, there are now more options available.

For example, BlueVine Capital raised $18.5 million in a series B round today, bringing its total funding to $24 million. The announcement comes a day after its competitor, Taulia, pulled in $15 million.

The funding was co-led by 83North (formerly Greylock Partners) and Lightspeed Ventures. Silicon Valley Bank, Correlation Ventures and private investors also contributed.

The Palo Alto-based company will use the funding to expand into new verticals and add software integration. It also plans to double its employee base this year.

BlueVineHomepage2015.jpg

In March of 2014, BlueVine beta-launched its cloud-based platform that helps small businesses smooth out their cash flow by freeing up funds stuck in unpaid invoices. Businesses can receive credit lines from $5,000 to $50,000.

Since launch, BlueVine has processed thousands of invoices and provided several million dollars to small businesses in the U.S.

Check out BlueVine’s debut at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.

Taulia’s Fresh $15 Million to Fuel International Growth

tauliaLogo.jpg

Invoice management company, Taulia, raised $40 million over the last six months, and brought in even more cash yesterday. The new, $15 million installment, which has been added to its previously-closed Series D round, comes from Zouk Capital.

Since launching in 2009, the San Francisco-based company acquired BillFLO in 2011 and has raised a total of $91 million. It operates primarily in North America and Europe and the new funds will be used to fuel international expansion.

TauliaHomepage2015.jpg

The growing funding mirrors the company’s rising success. Over the past year, Taulia has doubled the number of employees to 200. Additionally, its network of suppliers has grown by 186%.

At the start of 2015, Tauila brought Rik Thorbecke on board as CFO. In the remainder of the year, the company plans to bolster R&D efforts and expand its enhanced financing options for buyers.

Taulia demonstrated its Early Invoicing Platform at FinovateSpring 2012.