Cloud Lending Solutions Unveils New Enhancements to CL Lease

Cloud Lending Solutions Unveils New Enhancements to CL Lease

Cloud Lending Solutions has just released new enhancements to CL Lease, its cloud-based, automated, end-to-end leasing solution. The advancements represent more than 45 specific product upgrades and what they company called “hundreds of smaller updates.”

“Our latest version of CL Lease continues to enable lessors to streamline operations, enhance the customer experinece, effectively leverage partner ecosystem, and achieve sustainable revenue growth,” Cloud Lending Solutions CEO and co-founder Snehal Fulzele said. Pointing to the worldwide growth in the equipment leasing market and the need for integrated solutions, Fulzele added, “Lessors can now introduce and manage a broad spectrum of leases at a fraction of traditional costs.”

Pictured: Cloud Lending Solutions co-founder and CEO Snehal Fulzele demonstrating CL Exchange at FinovateSpring 2015.

CL Lease makes it easier to service leases on service equipment and vehicles. The solution enables lessors to setup online leasing portals, originate agreements and record contracts, manage multiple assets in the same contract, and collect decisioning data from multiple sources – including from identity, credit, banking, and valuation services. “CL Lease allows lessors to stay nimble and delight borrowers while offering a comprehensive view into their business operations and systems,” Fulzele said when the product was introduced in March of last year. “Lessors can now easily scale and grow their business to remain competitive in a dynamic market.”

The primary advancements for CL Lease announced this week include criteria-based scorecards, financial statement analysis, financial statement analysis, multi-company and multi-currency support, as well as credit exposure support. Feature updates include contract restructuring, debt schedules, delinquency management, asset tracking, cash management, reporting, and more.

San Mateo, California-based Cloud Lending Solutions was founded in 2012. The company demonstrated its CL Exchange, which facilitates the exchange of consumer and business loan applications among participating online marketplaces and lenders, at FinovateSpring 2015. This week’s announcement on CL Lease comes as the company unveils a variety of upgrades to its commercial lending products including CL Loan, CL Originate, CL Collections, CL Marketplace, and Cloud Lending Solutions’ latest innovation, CL Portal. Cloud Lending Solutions had raised more than $8 million in funding – including an undisclosed investment in a Series B completed in February. The company includes SF Capital Group and Cota Capital among its investors.

 

Expensify Reaches Five Million Users Worldwide, Doubles Customer Base

Expensify Reaches Five Million Users Worldwide, Doubles Customer Base

Expensify announced reaching a pair of major milestones today. First, the expense management software specialist has doubled its customer base this year, growing its number of users to more than five million worldwide. “More and more, employees are tired of spending countless hours doing mundane tasks and instead are turning to technology to speed up those processes,” Expensify founder and CEO David Barrett said. Barrett credited workers themselves for demanding “better tools to expedite their workload” and said this demand “has really translated (into) exponential growth in new customers and partnerships.”

Second, not only has Expensify doubled its customer base, the San Francisco-based company also has doubled the number of accounting companies participating in its partnership program. This includes top 50 accounting firms such as BPM CPA, Kaufman Rossin, Rehmann, and Wipfli. Speaking for Wipfli, partner Mark Stricker called the partnership with Expensify a “crucial” difference-maker for his company.

Pictured: Expensify founder and CEO David Barrett demonstrating Expensify Invoices at FinovateSpring 2013.

“Previously we could only see the full picture of our clients’ financials after all expense reports had been submitted and reimbursed at the end of the month,” Stricker said. “Expensify allows us to track our clients’ spend in realtime, so we can advise our clients based on their current financial status, not last month’s.”

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in San Francisco, Expensify demonstrated the Expensify Invoices feature of its platform at FinovateSpring 2013. Last month, the company announced five new partners for its automation-first, ReceiptBurner platform, and teamed up with Lyft to make auto-expensing easier for the ride-sharing firm’s business travelers. In May, Expensify and fellow Finovate alum Xero partnered to bring OCR receipt scanning, next-day reimbursement, company card reconciliation, and other expense management services to workers at Xero’s 21 offices around the globe. Expensify has raised more than $27 million in funding and includes Redpoint, Barracuda Networks, and OpenView among its investors.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Expensify Reaches Five Million Users Worldwide, Doubles Customer Base.
  • Cloud Lending Solutions Unveils New Enhancements to CL Lease.

Around the web

  • CREALOGIX recognized by Wealth and Finance International as “leading digital financial advisory.”
  • FIS and Equifax partner to offer new identity verification solution, OnlyID.
  • Let’s Talk Payments interviews Finn.ai CEO, Jake Tyler.
  • Jumio teams up with Branddocs TrustCloud to bring its identity verification business to Spain and Latin America.
  • Avoka partnership helps Bankwest win top honors for omni-channel service, digital platform at Australian Business Banking Awards 2017.
  • Fiserv introduces its Instant Issue Advantage wireless tablet solution to support instant, in-branch card issuance.

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.

 

Mountain America CU Chooses Digital Banking Platform from Alkami Technology

Mountain America CU Chooses Digital Banking Platform from Alkami Technology

Utah-based Mountain America Credit Union (MACU), with $6.7 billion in assets, will deploy a new digital banking platform courtesy of Alkami Technology. The new platform will integrate with Mountain America CU’s existing core system and enable the 650,000 member institution to provide a variety of digital banking services including billpay and PFM. “With our growing number of account holders, Alkami’s platform will enable us to deliver unique products and features that will set us apart, giving us a true competitive edge,” Kelly Albiston, SVP of Digital Banking at Mountain America CU said. “We look forward to offering this new platform to members.”

Once deployed, Mountain America will be able to customize their new digital banking experience by creating its own apps and products. The platform includes a fully-hosted business intelligence technology with analytics and reporting, marketing, and educational content. “Mountain America Credit Union recognizes (the) shift in consumer preferences to interact digitally in a way that is convenient, straightforward and intuitive,”Stephen Bohanon, founder, chief strategy and sales officer for Alkami Technology said. Emphasizing that technology in general and Alkami’s platform in specific should “enrich the life of the user, not encumber it,” Bohanon added that the solution will enable MACU to give its members “a simple, consistent, digital banking experience that meets their needs.”

Mountain America CU maintains 88 branches in five states, thousands of shared branch locations around the country, and more than 50,000 surcharge-free ATMs. Earlier this month, MACU was named “Best Credit Union” by readers of  Provo, Utah’s Daily Herald and St. George, Utah’s The Spectrum. The credit union was also recognized by KSL Jobs as a “top workplace culture in Utah.”

MACU is the second big credit union partnership Alkami has forged this summer. In June, the company inked a deal with Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union ($2.4 billion in assets; 84,000 members), the largest credit union in New Mexico, to deploy Alkami’s ORB Digital Banking Platform. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Plano, Texas, Alkami demonstrated its technology (as iThryv) at FinovateSpring 2009. A member of the Inc. 5,000, Alkami is ranked in the top 10 of Dallas-area companies and in the top 15 of all Texas companies. With 2016 revenues of $12 million, Alkami recently reported a 38% growth in its client base, 103% growth in users, and 51% growth in contracted users since January 2016. In July, the company announced a new set of Amazon Alexa skills, including balance requests, spending tracking, money transfers, and billpay. Mike Hansen is Alkami CEO.

Ondot Systems Unveils Card Control Integration Platform

Ondot Systems Unveils Card Control Integration Platform

Card control innovator Ondot Systems released its multi-interface card control integration platform today. The San Jose, California-based company, which won Best of Show at FinovateSpring 2014, has combined a server-side API, mobile apps, and an HTML5 framework to give FIs the ability to add card control technology to their mobile banking solutions. “Much as Facebook Messenger fits completely within Facebook, Ondot’s Mobile Card Services platform can sit perfectly within any financial institutions’ mobile banking app,” Ondot Systems Senior Director of Product and Professional Services, David Golden said. “(This) drives more mobile engagement as consumers establish their own card usage preferences.”

Golden credited mobile card control services for providing banks with average revenue gains of $30 per user per year, and emphasized the importance of a friction-free experience to ensure continued – to say nothing of increased – card usage. “When it comes to delivering a great customer experience, consumers demand seamless performance from all of their banks’ mobile services,” Golden said. And seamlessness, he added, was key to enabling FIs to “benefit from increased card use, reduced card fraud, and greater digital engagement.”

Pictured: Ondot Systems Executive Vice President Rachna Ahlawat demonstrating Ondot’s Mobile Card Services at FinovateAsia 2016.

Each component of Ondot’s Card Control platform is designed to make card control services an easy feature to be added by FIs and used by consumers. The server side API gives FIs the ability to establish the look and feel of the solution, while the HTML 5 framework means that going forward banks will be able to introduce new card control features faster. And by locating the card controls app inside the FI’s mobile banking app, the services are accessible via the same single sign-on process. This ensures that bank customers enjoy a consistent UI and UX across all mobile devices. Also available as a customizable, white-label, standalone card control app, Ondot’s mobile platform provides a range of card services including on/off switching, spending limits, fraud alerts, as well as geolocation-, transaction-, and merchant-specific controls.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Jose, California, Ondot Systems demonstrated its Mobile Card Services at FinovateAsia 2016. In May, Ondot and fellow Finovate alums Malauzai Software and Vantiv teamed up to offer a youth spending solution, Family Manager: SmartKid Control. The company has raised $28 million in funding, including a $10 million venture round in 2016. Ondot shared its thoughts on the challenge of “friendly fraud” and the solution of mobile card controls in a guest post for Finovate earlier this month.

SuperMoney Launches Auto Loan Offer Engine

SuperMoney Launches Auto Loan Offer Engine

During the debut of their loan offer comparison tool at FinovateSpring 2017 in May, SuperMoney promised more to come. “Our goal is to extend the framework we developed into all lending-related verticals initially,” SuperMoney CEO Miron Lulic explained, “and then to other financial services where consumers can benefit from apples-to-apples comparisons and transparency.”

Last week SuperMoney embarked upon this expansion with the unveiling of its auto loan offer engine. With 20 participating auto lenders on board, SuperMoney is now able to offer comparisons between secured and unsecured loans, refinancing, and private-party auto loans all from the same platform. This means that potential auto loan borrowers can submit one online loan application and get multiple auto loan offers to choose from. Calling the traditional auto financing model “antiquated,” Lulic emphasized the ease of use of SuperMoney’s technology. “These days buying an airline ticket is fast and easy. We’ve brought that same great comparison shopping experience to the auto loan industry.”

Pictured (left to right): SuperMoney CEO Miron Lulic and Managing Partner Harry Langenberg demonstrating the SuperMoney loan offer engine at FinovateSpring 2017.

SuperMoney’s auto loan comparison engine adds a new element to the car buying experience, essentially giving car buyers the opportunity to “negotiate” over the price of financing instead of just being able to haggle over the price of the car itself. “Paying a high interest rate can cost you many times more than what you’re likely to shave off the purchase price of your vehicle, regardless of your negotiating skills,” Lulic added. He used the example of a 60-month loan with a 3% APR compared to the same loan with an APR that was twice as large. The difference over the life of the loan was more than 10% of the car price.

The problem, according to Lulic, is the lack of transparency combined with a misunderstanding of the how auto financing works. “Dealerships can hide interest hikes behind longer terms precisely because they know most borrowers focus on the monthly payment amount, not the overall cost,” Lulic noted. SuperMoney’s auto loan offer engine is free and uses a soft pull to avoid affecting the applicant’s credit. Borrowers can search and compare offers based on total cost and monthly payment, as well as get a breakdown on additional fees such as origination fees and any prepayment penalties. Among the platform’s lending partners are AutoPay, Springboard Auto, and USAA.

In a conversation with AutoFinanceNews, Lulic underscored the value of the solution to subprime consumers who have limited – and often expensive – options when it comes to financing a car. Between a lack of understanding about personal finance and their own income challenges, subprime auto buyers are those who have the most to gain from a solution that brings transparency to the financing experience. “We can bring these direct lenders to the table who give some more savings on these interest costs than if they just went to some used-car dealership and took whatever high interest-rate loan that was offered to them,” Lulic said.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Santa Ana, California, SuperMoney demonstrated its loan offer comparison tool at FinovateSpring 2017. Read our Finovate Debut post introduction to the company from earlier this year.

HotDocs Integrates with Data Management Solutions Provider, AdvoLogix

HotDocs Integrates with Data Management Solutions Provider, AdvoLogix

Document automation specialist HotDocs has announced a new integration. The company has partnered with cloud-based legal data management solutions provider, Advologix, to combine its interview, assembly, and template services with Advologix’s data, workflows, and “best of breed document automation.” The result, according to Advologix VP of Product Development Steve Stockstill, is an “end-to-end cloud-based document assembly experience.”

HotDocs COO Steve Spratt said the partnership would lead to “greater efficiency and accuracy to the law firms and legal teams using the combined solution.” He pointed to the ease of integration, courtesy of HotDocs’ APIs, which will enable legal professionals to build documents automatically as part of their business workflow.

Pictured: HotDocs Chief Technology Officer Mark Settle demonstrating new enhancements to the HotDocs platform at FinovateSpring 2017.

HotDocs’ technology enables the automatic generation of documents ranging from standard correspondence to complex contracts such as trusts and wills. Deployed in verticals ranging from banking and insurance to legal and the public sector, HotDocs’ software reduces costs, improves accuracy and efficiency, encourages standardization, and is available on site, on the desktop, or as a cloud-based service. The technology can be used as a standalone solution or integrated into a company’s workflow, document management or case management systems.

During HotDocs’ demo this spring, Mark Settle and Julie Rotz presented the example of a document processor at a large global bank who produces financial agreements for bank customers. On a good day, Settle said, this processor could generate three or four of such agreements. “These agreements require a long and tedious process that ends only when everyone agrees that most of the errors are probably gone,” Settle explained, “and that the risk of a customer receiving a document with errors in it is low.” In contrast, HotDocs enables document processors to select from a variety of document templates and then rely on a dynamic questionaire (“interview”) to add the necessary elements. Using the processor’s answers and the business rules embedded in the template, HotDocs is able to generate an accurate, perfectly-formatted, Microsoft Word document “in just a fraction of the time” it takes to complete similar documents manually. Templates can be modified by the document processor to add business rules and logic. Settle showed this by adding a conditional region to the template that will include certain language in the output document if the individual reading the document responds in a certain way. Completed templates can be shared with colleagues via the HotDocs Hub.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Edinburgh, U.K., HotDocs demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2017. The company, which also maintains a U.S. office in Lindon, Utah, has more than a million end users across more than 11,000 client companies in more than 60 countries. In a very busy June, HotDocs teamed up with technology consulting and ECM solution provider, General Networks Corporation, enjoyed the “biggest and best global user conference” in its history, and appointed Mark Settle, who led the company’s FinovateSpring 2017 presentation earlier this year, to Chief Technology Officer. This spring, HotDocs was honored at the Digital Technology Awards, picking up Company of the Year and International Technology Star awards. Russell Shepherd is founder and CEO.

LendingRobot and NSR Invest to Form Biggest Robo Advisor in Marketplace Lending

LendingRobot and NSR Invest to Form Biggest Robo Advisor in Marketplace Lending

P2P lending robo advisor LendingRobot will join NSR Invest, creating what the company called in a statement “the largest independent robo advisor in the alternative lending space.” LendingRobot explained in its blog that the “websites, operating, and trading systems” of each platform will continue to function as usual for the time being as the companies prepare to combine the two businesses. Formally, the acquisition involves Lend Core, the parent company of NSR Invest, acquiring Algorithmic Inc. and its assets, which include LendingRobot.

The new entity is expected to bring a variety of new innovations to the P2P alternative lending space, and LendingRobot pointed to its Lending Robot Series Fund, as an example of the types of products customers will see more of in the future. As reported in LendAcademy, the combined company will have more than 8,000 clients and $150 million in assets under management. NSR Invest co-founder and CEO Bo Brustkern will serve as CEO, with LendingRobot CEO and co-founder Emmanuel Marot remaining as a special advisor.

“We have long respected the work of the LendingRobot team and recognize that our companies are pursuing a common goal,” Brustkern explained. He added that the combination of the two companies will deliver “enhanced capabilities to our combined client bases today, and big plans for the future.” Marot highlighted the fact that the two companies had “taken different tracts to provide similar services” and that the time had come to marry “complimentary strengths.”

LendingRobot provides investors with the opportunity to invest in P2P loans as an asset class. The company’s platform uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to spot loans with risk and return profiles that suit individual investor preferences. LendingRobot automates loan selection to ensure that investor portfolios remain diversified and can be configured to continually-invest sidelined cash. Alternative lending platforms accessible through LendingRobot include fellow Finovate alums, Lending Club and Prosper.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, LendingRobot demonstrated its LendingRobot Dashboard at FinovateSpring 2016. Prior to its acquisition by NSR Invest, the company had raised $3 million in funding from investors including Runa Capital and Club Italia Investimenti.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • 12 Alums Earn Their Place on Inc. 5000 List
  • LendingRobot and NSR Invest to Form Biggest Robo Advisor in Marketplace Lending

Around the web

  • Arxan Technologies takes home the bronze in 9th Annual 2017 Golden Bridge Awards for Innovation in Technology.
  • The American Genius profiles Checkbook.io.
  • TSYS enters agreement to become official payment processor of the National Golf Course Owners Association.
  • Tyfone joins JLR incubator to boost its involvement in the auto industry
  • Actiance announces general availability of Vantage 2017.

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.

KeyBank to Implement Jemstep Advisor Pro

KeyBank to Implement Jemstep Advisor Pro

When Jemstep was acquired by Invesco a year and a half ago, Invesco CEO Martin Flanagan highlighted the importance of combining technology and human insight to produce better investment outcomes for customers. Today’s news that Jemstep has partnered with KeyBank’s Key Investment Services (KIS), provides another opportunity for Invesco’s roboadvisor to prove Flanagan right.

Marc Vosen, Key Investment Services president, called Jemstep “a clear choice” for the firm, underscoring the company’s “proven, cost-effective platform” and integrations with a number of KeyBank partners. “And as a subsidiary of Invesco,” Vosen added, “I know they will be there tomorrow.” As part of the deal, Key Investment Services will deploy Jemstep Advisor Pro, a white-label, robo advisor that provides tiered investment services and advisor access levels to enable financial professionals to work with a variety of different customer segments. The platform guides investors toward appropriate investments by analyzing responses to a customizable risk tolerance survey, and provides both integrated trading and portfolio rebalancing.

Today’s partnership comes a month after Jemstep announced a deal with independent financial advisory firm network, Advisor Group. Phoenix, Arizona-based Advisor Group serves more than 5,000 advisors and oversees $160 billion in client assets. In February, Jemstep partnered with SSG in a deal that would give more than 1,500 RIA client firms access to its Advisor Pro platform. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Los Altos, California, Jemstep demonstrated its Portfolio Manager at FinovateSpring 2013. The company had raised $15 million in funding previous to its acquisition in January 2016.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Urban FT Bids to Acquire Digiliti Money.

Around the web

  • First Tennessee Bank goes live with mobile banking app from D3 Banking.
  • Alpha Payments Cloud partners with Australia Post to launch Alpha Commerce Hub.
  • IBM Singapore inks memorandum of understanding with Pacific International Lines to trial blockchain-based, supply chain solutions for businesses.
  • Trulioo’s Global Gateway earns first place in the Verification/Identity Checks category of Market Fintech Limited’s 2017 RegTech Performance Report.
  • FICO Customer Communications Services helps China Guangfa Bank Credit Card Center lower collection costs.
  • Liferay launches initiative to provide new resources for its open source developer community.
  • Featurespace selected by IATA to provide leading fraud protection solution.
  • Bluefin Payment Systems and ACEware Systems Partner for PCI-Validated P2PE.

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.

Behalf Teams Up with FinWise Bank to Boost Small Business Lending Options

Behalf Teams Up with FinWise Bank to Boost Small Business Lending Options

Utah-based FinWise Bank, a subsidiary of All West Bancorp, is partnering with alternative small business lender Behalf. Together the companies hope to provide a broader range of financing solutions to a greater number of SME clients. “We founded Behalf in advocacy of small businesses and solving their working capital needs with innovative technology solutions is our central focus,” company co-founder and CEO Benjy Feinberg said. “Partnering with FinWise allows us to expand our product offering and serve more customers with financial tools that help them grow,” he added.

Behalf enables its merchant partners to offer business clients instant credit and flexible payment terms at the point of sale.  In fact, term flexibility is the key area of focus for Behalf, especially because it is a key pain point for many small businesses. By paying vendors directly “on behalf” of small businesses – as well as managing repayment and collections – Behalf gives small businesses the ability to match financing terms with the needs and timetable of their business, not the other way around. “Now she has the time to grow her business, and the credit to grow her business because she now has the terms that she needs,” Feinberg said, explaining how the platform worked for small business owners during his company’s FinovateFall demo. At the same time, he added, vendors enjoy working with Behalf because they get paid on day one as opposed to day 29 or day 89.

Behalf produces credit decisions in real-time. Business clients provide personal and business addresses, as well as a social security number, and Behalf tells them what size credit line the business qualifies for. Businesses can use the line of credit for both online and offline purchases, and the size of the client’s available line of credit increases each time the client pays off Behalf. Rather than negotiating terms with multiple vendors, Behalf Director of Product Andrew Abshere explained, the Behalf client now has flexible terms with a single payee. “She can take these terms with her anywhere, to any vendor,” Abshere said. He then showed how clients set up vendor payments directly through the Behalf platform, adjust the length and frequency of repayment, and add bank details to enable automatic repayment. Once the bank information is authorized, Behalf contacts the client’s vendors by e-mail, notifying them that Behalf will be paying “on behalf” of the client. The process takes less than five minutes.

David Tillis, VP of Specialty Lending at FinWise Bank praised Behalf’s “talented people, technology, and acquisition channel” which he said would “change the landscape of business lending.” A self-described, “financial tech bank with a community heart,” FinWise Bank was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Sandy, Utah. Also known as Utah Community Bank, FinWise Bank has teamed up with fintechs in the lending space before, most recently partnering with direct loan provider, LendingPoint, in March

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in New York City, Behalf demonstrated its vendor platform at FinovateFall 2014. A member of CB Insights’ Fintech 250, Behalf has raised $156 million in funding, including a $27 million Series C a year ago this month. MissionOG, Spark Capital, and Viola Growth are among the company’s investors.