WiseBanyan Unveils Tax Protection Premium Package

WiseBanyan Unveils Tax Protection Premium Package

WiseBanyan_homepage_April2017

Free financial advisory platform WiseBanyan released its first premium package this week, Tax Protection. The new services – WiseHarvesting, Selective Trading, and IRA Conversions – enable investors and savers to manage the way their investments impact their taxes. The WiseHarvesting feature helps balance out investment gains with harvested investment losses. Selective Trading keeps investors from owning the same ETFs in multiple accounts. And IRA Conversions enable investors to switch from traditional to Roth IRAs.

The Tax Protection also comes at a low cost. Investors can take advantage of any one of the services for 0.02% of their average account value, with a maximum charge of $20 a month. WiseHarvesting, the company’s first premium service, is already available to WiseBanyan clients. Those currently using WiseHarvesting will be use to add the new services without additional cost.

WiseBanyan_stage_FDSV16

Pictured (left to right): Wise Banyan Co-CEO and Co-Founder Herbert Moore and Chief Science Officer Jennifer Chin during their presentation, “Data as an Advantage: Building a Data Warehouse with Open Source Tools” at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016.

In a blog post announcing the new service, WiseBanyan Manager of Content Strategy Aliza Kellerman added that the company has “a ton of other packages in the works, all designed to provide additional value to your WiseBanyan experience,” and credited feedback from its “fantastic, passionate, vocal clients” for inspiring new features like Tax Protection.

Pledging to help investors make their first $100,000, WiseBanyan is a free platform that provides automated, goal-based investing and financial planning. With a $1 minimum, investors can provide their investment time horizon, risk aversion, and amount saved, and WiseBanyan builds a portfolio designed to maximize real investment returns on an after-tax basis.  Customer funds are invested in liquid, equity and bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and WiseBanyan monitors the portfolios continuously, reinvesting dividends and tracking progress toward the pre-set goal.

Founded in 2013, WiseBanyan discussed its technology at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016 last fall, winning “Best Debut Company.” The company’s presentation, “Data as an Advantage: Building a Data Warehouse with Open Source Tools,” was led by co-CEO and co-founder Herbert Moore and Chief Science Officer Jennifer Chin. In March, WiseBanyan won the Startup Pitch competition at SXSW and was also named “judge’s favorite” – earning a $1,000 prize from LaunchKC. The company was featured in Business Insider’s 2017 roster of the 15 Best Roboadvisors and also earned a spot on Nerdwallet’s Best Robo-Advisors: 2017 Top Picks list.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • BioCatch and Experian Form Partnership.
  • Finovate Debuts: Icon Solutions’ Instant Payments Helps Keep Banks PSD2 Compliant.

Around the web

  • unblu receives European patent protection for 3rd generation co-browsing technology.
  • Bluefin Payment Systems earns EMV certification from First Data.
  • Payment solutions provider Buckaroo chooses AML solution from Fiserv.
  • Tech Loop interviews GMC Software Technology’s Michaela Rýdlová and Jan Růža.
  • Infosys recognized as “major player” in IDC MarketScape: Service Providers for EMA Utilities Vendor Assessment.
  • Quantopian to deploy order/execution management technology from FlexTrade.
  • BusinessWorld profiles BankBazaar and co-founder Rati Shetty.
  • Neener Analytics accepted into the Citibank WorldwideT4I Accelerator. Come see Neener Analytics at FinovateSpring on April 26  & 27.
  • Standard Chartered announces digital wealth advisory tool

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.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Meniga Scores $8 Million to Help Banks Leverage their Data.

Around the web

  • Visa Checkout achieves 20 million enrolled accounts milestone.
  • Kreditech adds two new independent board members.
  • Tradeshift unveils major platform update, Magellan 1.
  • Kofax launches cloud-based document capture and invoicing solution, ReadSoft Online R9.
  • Mitek announces reaching $1 trillion deposit milestone for its Mobile Deposit solution.
  • OutSystems picks up SOC 2 Type 1 attestation report affirming quality of company’s internal controls and processes. Check out the company’s presentation from FinDEVr  2017 New York.
  • NIBC Direct partners with AdviceRobo to help it pro-actively flag mortgage clients that could fall into default.
  • Blackhawk Network Launches Website for Reward Prepaid Cards in Canada

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.

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: INSTO

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: INSTO

INSTO_homepage_April2017

FS2017-Logo(rev)V1A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateSpring on April 26 & 27 in San Jose. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

INSTO is the world’s first app to bring installment payments to everyone. Bill or pay using the same app – plans are customizable and payments are automatic.

Features

  • Enables simple, real-time payment plan customization
  • Transfers payments automatically and directly from buyer to seller
  • Can protect buyer default for a small fee

Why it’s great
INSTO opens the door for everyone to buy and sell in installments. It is truly set-and-forget. Set up an installment plan in minutes, and INSTO transfers payments automatically.

Presenter

INSTO_BruceChen_FS2017Bruce Chen, CEO
Prior to founding INSTO, Chen served as CSO of eBay Taiwan and was part of SINA’s founding team. Chen’s background as a visual artist inspired him to create INSTO to help him sell his art.
LinkedIn

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: Infocorp

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: Infocorp

Infocorp_homepage_April2017

FS2017-Logo(rev)V1

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateSpring on April 26 & 27 in San Jose. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

IC Campaigns from Infocorp provides true omnichannel intelligence for banks and financial institutions. Boost your activities and increase conversion rates through AI and ML.

Features

  • Segmentation for tailored marketing campaigns
  • Real-time analysis and adjustments to increment leads and conversations
  • Omnichannel administration allowing a unified communication

Why it’s great
Infocorp includes the latest innovation and technologies like AI and ML to help banks exploit the information they already hold while both increasing their selling volume and reinforcing their clients’ loyalty.

Infocorp_AnaInesEchavarren_FS2017Presenters:

Ana Ines Echavarren, CEO Infocorp Banking
Echavarren’s dedication has led the company to the number one reference in the field of omnichannel banking in Latin America, and has been a driving force in the management for the last 16 years.
LinkedIn

 

Infocorp_FelipeGil_FS2017Felipe Gil, VP of Product Development
With more than 13 years of insight at Infocorp, Gil shares his passion for financial technology, innovation, and startups with coworkers, clients, and partners.
LinkedIn

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: Neener Analytics

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: Neener Analytics

NeenerAnalytics_homepage_April2017

FS2017-Logo(rev)V1A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateSpring on April 26 & 27 in San Jose. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

Neener Analytics provides regulatory compliant social media analytics that deliver specific individual risk outcomes for thin-file, no-file, and credit-challenged consumers.

Features:

  • Highly predictive, 1-click decisioning solution
  • Application friction reduced to almost zero with NextGen underwriting provided in the same solution.
  • Implementation in 20-minutes

Why it’s great
Neener Analytics uses social media to decision people the way people used to decision trust: based on the content of their character and who they are as human beings.

Neener_JeffLoCastro_FS2017Presenters:

Jeff LoCastro, Founder/CEO
LoCastro was a member of the initial executive team of the first online social network, Classmates.com, and was extracting unique insights from social media long before it became fashionable.
LinkedIn

 

Neener_MarcTomlinson_FS2017Marc Tomlinson, Co-founder/CTO 
Tomlinson was one of the first scientists to converge psychology and computer science to build the core tech for the U.S. government in detecting terror plots online.
LinkedIn

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: SaleMove

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: SaleMove

SaleMove_homepage_April2017

FS2017-Logo(rev)V1A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateSpring on April 26 & 27 in San Jose. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

SaleMove enables companies to identify and engage their highest-value website visitors through video, audio, chat, and dual-cursor co-browsing – all without downloads or installations.

Features

  • Gain valuable insight and context about your website visitors
  • Increase online conversions through high-touch interactions
  • Improve customer support and satisfaction

Why it’s great
SaleMove breathes life into the online customer experience and enables companies to deliver an in-person experience online.

Presenter

SaleMove_DanMichaeli_FS2017Dan Michaeli, Co-Founder and CEO
Originally from Guatemala, Michaeli is the CEO and Co-Founder of SaleMove. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, his career has focused on venture capital, tech/strategy consulting, and startups.
LinkedIn

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: ID.me

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: ID.me

IDme_homepage_April2017

FS2017-Logo(rev)V1A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateSpring on April 26 & 27 in San Jose. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

The ID.me Identity Gateway provides identity federation services to federal agencies, healthcare orgs, retailers, and FIs to streamline authentication, onboarding, and attribute validation.

Features:

  • Single sign-on accredited by the federal government as a legal form of ID for authentication across domains
  • Credential broker for identity federation
  • Customized attribute validation

Why it’s great
The market is bigger for all via reduced acquisition cost for account opening, customer frustration, and fraud if consumers have agency over a federated login for easy authentication across websites.

IDme_BlakeHall_FS2017Presenters:

Blake Hall, Founder and CEO
Hall is the founder and CEO of ID.me. Prior to founding ID.me, he served in Iraq where he earned the Bronze Star with Valor for heroism. He holds degrees from Vanderbilt and HBS.
LinkedIn

 

IDme_SteveSmith_FS2017Stephen Smith, Director of Strategic Partnerships
Smith is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at ID.me. Prior to ID.me, Smith served in Iraq where he earned the Bronze Star with Valor for heroism. Smith leads ID.me’s engagements with FIs.
LinkedIn

 

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: Quantiacs

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: Quantiacs

Quantiacs_homepage_April2017

FS2017-Logo(rev)V1A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateSpring on April 26 & 27 in San Jose. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

Quantiacs is the first marketplace for quantitative trading programs. Quantiacs provides freelance quants with access to institutional capital for their trading programs. At FinovateSpring, Quantiacs will present Quantinator.

Features

  • Build quantitative trading algorithms in Matlab or Python
  • Test algorithms on historical data in the cloud
  • Analyze and optimize the results

Why it’s great
Quantiacs empowers anyone to earn a fortune coding trading programs in their spare time.

Quantiacs_MartinFroehler_FS2017Presenters

Martin Froehler, CEO
Froehler is a veteran quant on a mission to democratize quantitative finance.
LinkedIn

 

Brinkley Warren, CMO
Warren is a hypergrowth expert.

Wells Fargo and Finicity Sign Data Aggregation Partnership

Wells Fargo and Finicity Sign Data Aggregation Partnership

Finicity_homepage_April2017

With Intuit Financial Data Services leaving the data aggregation scene last spring, we knew it would be only a matter of time before former rivals rose to take advantage of the new opportunity. Today we learn that one of those companies, Finicity, has inked a major data aggregation deal with Wells Fargo that will enable its customers’ data to be shared by financial apps and services from Finicity.

The partnership is the first of its type between Wells Fargo and a data aggregation provider and is believed to be a boon for fintech app developers who will be able to access Wells Fargo “customer-permissioned data” via Finicity’s APIs. Finicity CEO Steve Smith said the agreement is part of his company’s plan to “continually implement strategies that ensure the highest levels of data quality, speed, and uptime in our industry.”

Finicity_FinDEVrNY2017_stage

Pictured (left to right): Finicity’s Jessie Morris (Director, Software Development) and Nick Thomas (EVP, Co-Founder) demonstrating Finicity Data Services at FinovateSpring 2015.

In addition to speed, quality, and uptime, enhanced security is another benefit of the agreement. By using direct authorization via Wells Fargo and tokenized access for any additional authentication, the user does not have to provide verification credentials through third-party apps. In the words of Head of Digital for Wells Fargo Virtual Channels, Brett Pitts, “(this) creates a much better experience for our customers … (allowing them) to choose where and how to use their financial data, while also maintaining the privacy of their user credentials.” Finicity says that the technology is expected to be in place over the summer.

American Banker’s Penny Crosman referred to the deal as part of a “data detente” in which banks and fintech companies are increasingly seeing each other more as potential partners than rivals to be disrupted. She noted that the current deal between Wells Fargo and Finicity “is the latest, but is likely not the last” for either firm. Finicity will access Wells Fargo’s data exchange API via the company’s Gateway Channel developer portal unveiled last year.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Finicity demonstrated its Data Services at FinovateSpring 2015. The company is also fresh off its latest FinDEVr appearance where EVP and co-founder Nick Thomas and Software Development Director Jessie Morris presented “The Frictionless Aggregation Experience” highlighting the new Finicity Connect drop-in UI widget. In December, Finicity scored a $42 million Series B led by Experian.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Wells Fargo and Finicity Sign Data Aggregation Partnership. Check out Finicity’s recent presentation from FinDEVr 2017 New York.
  • SwipeStox Lands $13 Million, Hints at Asia Expansion.

Around the web

  • Tradeshift teams up with CreditEase to provide low-cost, trade financing to Chinese SMEs.
  • FICO unveils FICO Origination Manager Essentials to accelerate loan decisioning.
  • Market EarlyBird selected to participate in HM Government’s first International Fintech Conference in London in April.
  • VASCO appoints Jeff Cole as Chief Information Officer.
  • Datanami interviews MapD CEO and Co-Founder Todd Mostak.
  • Finland-based OP Financial Group partners with Token to develop new fintech solutions.
  • Celent awards IndusInd Bank for its CustomerXPS-powered solution that has revolutionized fraud and AML management within the bank.
  • Connect JIRA with process mining software from myInvenio.

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.

New Funding for Savedroid Boosts Total Capital to More than $22 Million

New Funding for Savedroid Boosts Total Capital to More than $22 Million

savedroid_homepage_April2017

What would it take to get you to save a little more of your hard-earned money? How about automatically setting aside a dollar every time Donald Trump tweeted? Or five bucks each time your favorite sports team loses a match? If unique and atypical motivations are your idea of a savings solution, then savedroid has the app for you.

And this week we learned that the German startup had picked up funding from investment bank Rhineland-Palatinate and a group of angel investors including Debjit Chaudhuri, founder of Traxpay and former Infosys manager. The amount of the funding was not disclosed (Crunchbase reports €20 million) but savedroid says that the company’s total capital, which includes a million euro seed round, now stands at more than $22 million. Company founder Dr. Yassin Hankir says the funds will help “accelerate user growth.”

Founded in 2015, savedroid is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In its demonstration at FinovateSpring 2016, the company introduced the term “smooves” into the PFM lexicon, showing how the savedroid app makes it easy to “turn everyday activities into automated savings.” By using technology to set aside small amounts of money every time a certain event takes place – a combination of positive, negative, and even random incentives – users can improve their personal finances in ways that can improve their overall lifestyle, as well.

The company launched its savings solution in the summer of 2016 and, in February, added an AI-based, savings algorithm to the app. Profiled last fall in Frankfurter Allgemeine, we interviewed savedroid’s Hankir for our recent feature on savings technology.