Author: David Penn

Roostify Teams Up with Ellie Mae to Boost Efficiency in Mortgage Lending

Roostify Teams Up with Ellie Mae to Boost Efficiency in Mortgage Lending
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Ellie Mae, Roostify

A bi-directional integration between Roostify and Ellie Mae announced last week is a boon for lenders who will be able to seamlessly pass information between the two systems. The partnership, in the words of Roostify VP of Products, Sandeep Aji, “makes it easier than ever for lenders to move loans forward faster with fewer manual touches, reducing operating costs and further improving the consumer experience.”

Applications created in Roostify will automatically appear in Ellie Mae’s Encompass platform thanks to the new integration, and documents created in Encompass can be read and signed in Roostify. Uploaded documentation such as bank statements also will be accessible on both platforms.

“We believe our customers will benefit significantly from this industry-leading integration that will improve the loan process for consumers and lenders alike,” Mark McLaughlin, SVP of Business Development for Roostify, said.

Founded in 2014, Roostify demonstrated its digital home lending platform at FinovateSpring 2018. The company’s solutions help firms from enterprise banks to independent brokerages close faster, reduce excess paperwork, and give mortgage consumers a smoother, end-to-end experience. Supporting digital customer acquisition with a self-service component that enables loan applicants themselves to fulfill much of the loan process, Roostify’s platform has transacted billions of dollars in mortgages and helped close thousands of home loans across the U.S.

This August, Roostify unveiled Adapt, a tool to help mortgage lenders with complex workflows to improve process management, and announced a new Chief Financial Officer, Eric Amblard. The previous month, Roostify partnered with Colonial National Mortgage, improving the online experience for customers of the Texas-based FI. Honored this spring at the MBA Insights 2018 Tech All-Star Awards, Roostify has raised $33 million in funding, and includes Cota Capital and USAA among their investors. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

A provider of cloud-based mortgage financing solutions, Ellie Mae processes 35% of all U.S. mortgage applications. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Pleasanton, California, the company participated in our developers conference, FinDEVr New York 2017. At the event, the company’s VP for Platform Engineering, Jeff Collins, introduced Ellie Mae Encompass Developer Connect, which enables developers to leverage RESTful APIs to access loan data, real-time web-hook notifications on the loan file, and launch Ellie Mae Network services.

In August, Ellie Mae announced a partnership with First Data to make it easier for Ellie Mae customers to securely accept payment for loan origination and other costs. In May, the company teamed up with fellow Finovate alum, Blend, which will integrate Ellie May’s electronic disclosure delivery technology. Other partnerships forged this year include pacts with Lender Price, Pacific Union, and COCC.

Ellie Mae trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “ELLI” and has a market capitalization of $2.8 billion. Jonathan Corr is CEO.

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CardFlight Launches SwipeSimple Customers to Support Card Data Management

CardFlight Launches SwipeSimple Customers to Support Card Data Management
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CardFlight

Merchants using CardFlight’s payment acceptance solution, SwipeSimple, now have an easy way to build customer databases and manage card data on file: SwipeSimple Customers.

CardFlight CEO and founder Derek Webster said the technology “reflects our team’s commitment to provide the right payment acceptance tools for an even broader range of merchants.” SwipeSimple Customers is available via both online dashboard and mobile app, and will give merchants the ability to schedule payments – including installments and subscriptions – store credit card data on file, and charge customers using that stored card on file.

John Shipley, SVP of Operations at Clearant, called the new solution “a way for us to offer even more value to existing users.” Shipley, whose firm has been a multi-year partner of CardFlight, praised the company as one that “always deliver(s) a winning product that just works.”

The release of SwipeSimple Customers follows the launch of SwipeSimple 5.0 last month, which provided features including the ability to pair cash drawers and receipt printers and a SwipeSimple Virtual Terminal with full Address Verification Service support for card not present transactions.

Founded in 2013, CardFlight demonstrated its payments acceptance technology, mobile payment infrastructure, and API/SDK at FinovateSpring 2013. The company includes 10 of the top 30 merchant acquirers in the U.S. among its clients, and more than 45,000 merchants in all 50 states use CardFlight’s solutions. CardFlight was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the top 500 fastest growing companies in the U.S., and the fifth fastest growing company in the financial sector.

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ezbob to Offer Financing for AMEX’s UK SMEs

ezbob to Offer Financing for AMEX’s UK SMEs
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: EZBOB

American Express has partnered with online financing platform ezbob to offer U.K. SMEs competitive access to finance, reports Henry Vilar of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

Through the partnership, eligible American Express business clients will receive a referral to apply for up to £300,000 in financing from ezbob at a fixed annual interest rate from 3% per year.

Carlos Carriedo, senior vice president of Global Commercial Services at American Express, said: “We know agility is crucial for smaller businesses to help retain a competitive advantage, but accessing the financ(ing) needed to react swiftly to changing customer demands, or seize an opportunity, can be a challenge.”

Amex customers taking out a loan with ezbob will also benefit from a 40,000 Membership Reward points offer.

Ezbob will enable eligible American Express U.K.-based SME business customers to access quick and paper-free credit. The firm says companies can apply for a loan in ten minutes – and, if successful – receive funds on the same day.

The SVP continued: “We’re committed to helping U.K. businesses to ensure they can capture growth opportunities – whether that’s investing in headcount, optimizing seasonality, refurbing premises, or simply funding a large order.”

American Express and Oxford Economics recently conducted a global study of senior executives of 3,000 SMEs, which revealed that while U.K. SMEs remain confident, a significant number (24%) struggle to access finance to help grow and support their business.

The research highlighted that hidden fees, a lack of flexible repayment options and lengthy application processes are among the greatest challenges for small businesses looking to access finance or capital.

ezbob demonstrated its online application with automated lending decisioning and instant funding at FinovateEurope 2014. Founded in 2011, the company has raised more than $136 million (£103 million) in funding, including more than $50.3 million (£38.2 million) in equity funding. Tomer Guriel is founder and CEO.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Ayasdi, Bambu, CardFlight, Corezoid, ebankIT, Ellie Mae, Eltropy, Enterprise Engineering, Experian, LoanScorecard, Moxtra, Onfido, PasswordPing, Roostify, Sezzle, ThetaRay

On Finovate.com

  • CardFlight Launches SwipeSimple Customers to Support Card Data Management.
  • Roostify Teams Up with Ellie Mae to Boost Efficiency in Mortgage Lending.

Around the web

  • Experian and Close Brothers Retail Finance pilot Mobile for Credit service for U.K. gamers.
  • New Penn Financial goes live with Portfolio Underwriter from Loan Scorecard.
  • PasswordPing earns finalist spot in 2018 “Innovation Quotient” IQ Awards.
  • Ukraine’s Akhmetov Bank leverages Corezoid’s cloud-based operating system.
  • ebankIT and Enterprise Engineering forge strategic partnership for the North American market.
  • Bambu, Eltropy, Moxtra, and Onfido are among the startups selected for Plug and Play Singapore’s inaugural fintech and insurtech program.
  • TECHdotMN profiles Sezzle founder and CEO, Charlie Youakim.
  • Forbes Middle East highlights Ayasdi and ThetaRay in look at how AI is helping solve financial crime.

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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Cryptocurrency Firm Circle to Acquire SeedInvest

Cryptocurrency Firm Circle to Acquire SeedInvest
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Mergers & Acquisitions, SeedInvest

Goldman Sachs-backed cryptocurrency start-up Circle will acquire SeedInvest, an equity crowdfunding platform and broker-dealer, reports Antony Peyton of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

The firm said this acquisition will accelerate its plans for a token marketplace that enables businesses and individuals to raise capital and interact with investors using open crypto rails and infrastructure.

This acquisition and planned new offerings are subject to the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) approval. Financial details have not been disclosed.

Headquartered in New York City, SeedInvest has the “largest” equity crowdfunding platform in the country. To date, SeedInvest has helped hundreds of start-ups raise capital online and has a network of over 200,000 investors.

In addition, the company has generated triple-digit annual revenue growth while reaching profitability.

Circle said the SeedInvest product includes capabilities needed for executing regulated crowdfunding, such as start-up due diligence, securities issuance, investor accreditation, payments, and securities custody.

With the merger and approval from regulators, these capabilities will be expanded to support crypto-denominated investments including using fiat stablecoins such as USDC, as well as issuing and offering tokenised securities.

SeedInvest will add 30 team members to Circle’s New York location.

Founded in 2012 by Ryan Feit and James Han, SeedInvest demonstrated its equity-based, crowdfunding platform at FinovateSpring 2013. During the demo, Feit and Han highlighted a number of key features of the platform, including its due diligence dashboard, virtual boardroom, and its Simple Invest technology which provides an instant identity check, legal document execution, and streamlined funds transfer.

Prior to the company’s acquisition, SeedInvest had raised $11.4 million in capital. Avenue A Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Scout Ventures, and Jumpstart New Jersey Angel Network are among the firm’s previous investors.

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Lights! Camera! Demo! Check Out the Action from FinovateFall!

Lights! Camera! Demo! Check Out the Action from FinovateFall!
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateFall 2018

 

We understand completely. As the nights start to get longer and the coolness of autumn takes hold, that “curl up by the fire and watch demo videos from FinovateFall” feeling becomes almost irresistible.

That makes us all the more thrilled to announce that every minute of every demo from FinovateFall is now available for viewing – free of charge – in the Finovate Video Archives. Rewatch your favorite moments or check out some of the demos you might have missed!

By way of a sampler, here are the demo videos of the five companies that won Best of Show (as voted by the audience).

Banzai!

https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/smvpw5bl0y

Bond.AI

https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/l1annlgdi1

Bumped

https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/w1w7yxq8xt

Golden 

https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/92i7gyomzm

Meniga

https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/0oblrajkhg

 

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Fighting for Customers: Will Tech Giants or Big Banks Win the Data War?

Fighting for Customers: Will Tech Giants or Big Banks Win the Data War?
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateAsia 2018

For years, Chris Skinner, Chairman, Financial Services Club and publisher of the Finanser blog, sounded the alarm that financial institutions need to do more when it comes to winning “the data war.” This summer he wrote:

A big bank with legacy architecture can only tell customers what they’ve spent. Their back office systems are purely transactional ledgers of past payments. There is no intelligence, forecasting, predictive analytics or machine learning about customer behaviours, because the data is all fragmented across multiple, legacy, product-focused, silo-structured systems.

Skinner warned that this issue represented ” the big banks soft underbelly and a weakness that the young start-ups are clearly focused upon exploiting.”

In his keynote address at FinovateAsia later this month – If the Future is a Battle for Customer Data & Insight Will the Tech Giants Be the Victors? – Skinner will share his insights on how the market for customer data is creating opportunities for businesses across finance, technology, and fintech. To join us in Hong Kong, on October 29 and 30 for our upcoming conference, visit our registration page and save your spot.

How important is communication and engagement in winning the “hearts and minds” of customers whose data is key to both better services for consumers and bigger market share for businesses? And what does the rise of TechFin, “technology firms who happen to offer finance,” mean for both traditional banks and fintech innovators alike? We are looking forward to Chris Skinner’s insights on one of the most critical topics in our industry today – the role and power of data.

Chris Skinner is known as an independent commentator on the financial markets and fintech through his blog, the Finanser.com, and as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank and its new sequel, ValueWeb.  He is Chair of the European networking forum, The Financial Services Club, and Nordic Finance Innovation, as well as being a Non-Executive Director of the Fintech consultancy firm 11:FS.

Skinner is on the advisory boards of many companies including iambank, Innovate Finance, Moven, and Meniga, and has been voted one of the most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal’s Financial News.

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Priority Payment Systems to Offer Sezzle’s Shop Now, Pay Later Solution

Priority Payment Systems to Offer Sezzle’s Shop Now, Pay Later Solution
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Sezzle

Fresh of its return to the Finovate stage, alternative payment platform Sezzle announced this week that Priority Payment Systems will offer Sezzle as a payment option for its merchants. This will allow Priority Payment Systems merchants to add the e-commerce financing technology both at the product page and at checkout.

“We’re excited to offer our clients and their merchants a new alternative payment method, providing more choices for consumers and differentiation in the marketplace,” Priority Payment Systems CEO John V. Priore said. Founded in 2005, Priority Payment Systems has 174,000+ SME merchant customers, and processes 39+ billion electronic transactions a year. Sezzle founder and CEO Charlie Youakim praised the company’s “scale and breadth in e-commerce,” and called the Alpharetta, Georgia-based firm “an excellent financial services partner for Sezzle.”

Sezzle provides POS financing that enables consumers to pay for purchases in four interest-free installments over a six-week period. Sezzle pays the merchant directly, assuming all repayment risk, and has helped more than 1,800 e-commerce retailers boost average order values by an average of 20%. Sezzle is also a popular option with younger consumers who are less likely to have a credit card. The company noted that 80% of the 100,000+ shoppers on its platform are less than 35 years old.

Brent Sandor, Marketing Director at 686, a fashionable outerwear and technical apparel retailer, underscored Sezzle’s value in providing payment flexibility. “Our products are very popular with young consumers, but it’s hard for some of them to afford the full purchase price, and Sezzle enables them to budget and spread their purchase over time.”

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sezzle demonstrated its “Shop Now, Pay Later” alternative payment system for e-commerce checkouts at FinovateFall 2018 last month. Earlier this year, the company announced a partnership with fellow Minneapolis startup, CartStack, to help e-commerce merchants better engage with their customers. In May, Sezzle added former Bluestem Brands VP and U.S. Bank executive Karen Hartje as CFO.

With $10.9 million in funding, Sezzle includes E-Merge and CSC Upshot among its investors.

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The ID Co. Launches NoMo Cashflow Tracking App

The ID Co. Launches NoMo Cashflow Tracking App
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: The ID Co.

The ID Co. announced late this week that its NoMo solution is the first mobile app to leverage Open Banking to give users simple financial cashflow tracking. The solution is currently available on iOS with an Android version expected in December.

“We have been working on building a consumer app that allows customers to answer one very simple, but important question, and we’re confident that this premise means NoMo will be a great success with customers,” James Varga, CEO of The ID Co., said. He noted the new offering, combined with its DirectID solution for FIs, adds a significant dimension to the company and would “broaden (its) appeal within the market.”

“We look forward to the reception NoMo will receive now it has been launched,” Varga said.

NoMo provides cash-flow averaging, spending recommendations, personalized updates, and a financial performance overview that tracks your performance and progress in growing your cash account, specifically. Just in time for the trend toward rising short-term interest rates, view of the user’s account is “read-only,” adding to its security and privacy. NoMo is free to download and only available for U.K. users.

Two years into its rebrand from miiCard, The ID Co. continues to help banks and financial services companies onboard customers faster and more efficiently while meeting compliance standards and requirements. In August, The ID Co. partnered with CYBG (Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank), integrating its DirectID user verification technology into CYBG’s mobile banking app. The previous month, the company launched its Open Banking API platform, making it easier for businesses to use DirectID to access open banking services with major U.K. banks.

With customers including OakNorth Bank, Navient, and fellow Finovate alum, Prosper, The ID Co. has raised more than $9 million in funding. The company is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Anorak, HackerOne, Meniga, Sezzle, The ID Co.

On Finovate.com

  • Priority Payment Systems to Offer Sezzle’s Shop Now, Pay Later Solution.
  • The ID Co. Launches NoMo Cashflow Tracking App.

Around the web

  • IDG’s Techworld features U.K.-based insurtech innovator, Anorak. The company was also selected to participate in the Plug and Play Insurtech innovation platform in November.
  • Silicon Republic highlights Meniga in its roundup of “cool start-ups from Reykjavik.”
  • In partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, HackerOne uncovers 150 cybersecurity vulnerabilities during Hack the Marine Corps challenge.

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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Daon Inks Deal with South Africa’s Capitec Bank

Daon Inks Deal with South Africa’s Capitec Bank
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daon

Finovate is not the only company looking forward to doing more business in South Africa. Biometric identity technology solutions provider Daon has partnered with Stellenbosch South Africa’s Capitec Bank in a multi-year agreement that will leverage Daon’s IdentityX platform to develop new authentication solutions. Capitec initially will use the technology to enhance its onboarding process.

“Daon is excited to partner with Capitec to deliver digital onboarding and authentication to its clients,” Daon CEO Tom Grissen said. “We share in Capitec’s mission for simplicity and client empowerment through convenient and secure choices for mobile banking.”

With more than 10 million active clients, Capitec Bank is the fastest growing full service retail bank in South Africa. The bank has more than 820 branches and 4,600 ATMs across the country, and has more than three million customers using its banking app to access account information, as well as make payments, transfers, and pre-paid purchases.

“Capitec remains committed to providing an all-inclusive banking solution and harnessing the power of technology to make interactions easier and simpler,” Wim de Bruyn, Executive Information Technology at Capitec said. “We are eager to work with Daon to bring new and innovative solutions to our clients so we can continue to keep their banking experience affordable and secure.”

Daon demonstrated its universal mobile biometric authentication platform, IdentityX, at FinovateFall 2016. The platform leverages multiple authentication methodologies – from biometrics to geolocation and device binding – to enable firms to build the most appropriate authentication experience for their customers. This approach also future-proofs the platform, making it easy for companies to integrate new technologies and biometric modalities as they come to market.

Founded in 2002, the Reston, Virginia-based company has deployed its technology in a wide variety of verticals including digital banking, payments verification, employee credentialing, and cloud authentication. An authentication innovator with a broad, global reach, Daon teamed up with Tradelink to bring biometric authentication technology to Hong Kong’s Dah Sing Bank this summer, and began the year announcing a strategic partnership with North African security and document dematerialization specialist, GEMADEC.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Arxan Technologies, Daon, Lighter Capital, Outsystems, Ping Identity, Plaid, RightCapital, Ripple, Sberbank, Student Loan Genius, Temenos, Vault

On Finovate.com

  • Daon Inks Deal with South Africa’s Capitec Bank.
  • Lighter Capital Launches Capital Client Perks Program.

Around the web

  • Ping Identity integrates its multi-factor authentication solution, PingID, with Microsoft Azure Active Directory.
  • MoneyTap, DLT-based payment app developed by SBI and Ripple goes live in Japan.
  • OutSystems appoints Tim MacCarrick as new Chief Financial Officer.
  • Baltic International Bank finishes upgrade of its private, corporate, and retail banking offerings courtesy of a partnership with Temenos.
  • Sberbank customers can now add “cash postcards” – automated images with sound – to their money transfers.
  • CNBC features Plaid: the startup you’ve never heard of.
  • Arxan begins a month-long initiative to raise awareness for improved application security and threat intelligence.
  • RightCapital launches white-labeled, native mobile app.

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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