Author: David Penn

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: Engage Insight

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: Engage Insight
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Engage Insight, FinovateEurope 2017, FinovateEurope 2017 Sneak Peek

EngageInsight_ModelOffice_homepage_January2017

Screen Shot 2017-01-23 at 4.27.53 PMA look at the companies demoing live at FinovateEurope on the 7 and 8 of February 2017 in London. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

Model Office by Engage Insight is a first of its kind fintech and regtech platform that benchmarks financial service firms’ professional practice against five years of research and industry regulations.

Features

  • Benchmarks professional development against five performance keys
  • Uses algorithms to produce radar charts and dynamic steers to improve scores
  • Provides strategic plans and CPD certificate via scoreboard

Why it’s great
Model Office assesses your regulatory, business, and people professional development all in one place and uses gamification to improve compliance and business development performance.

Presenter

EngageInsight_ChrisDaviesChris Davies, Managing Director
Davies has over 25 years of U.K. and international experience in retail financial services, working within private client wealth management, and developing innovative technology to improve performance.
LinkedIn

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FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: ITSector

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: ITSector
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2017, FinovateEurope 2017 Sneak Peek, ITSector

ITSector_homepage_January2017

Screen Shot 2017-01-23 at 4.27.53 PMA look at the companies demoing live at FinovateEurope on the 7 and 8 of February 2017 in London. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

ITSector, a software development company specialized in the digital transformation in financial sector, presents a new IM customer service with autonomous “bots” for its credit solutions.

Features

  • Mobile app that allows clients to get to know in-store purchase loan conditions (using AR)
  • A text contact center solution (using IM platforms)
  • An automatic answering system (using “bots”)

Why it’s great
ITSector will demonstrate a real-time and non-traditional way of accessing banking solutions and customer services through every day instant messaging bots.

Presenters

ITSector_JoaoPinto2João Pinto, CEO
LinkedIn

 

 

 

Patrícia Soares, Business DeveloperITSector_Patrícia Soares

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Aqubix, Avoka, Engage Insight, i-exceed, ITSector, Klarna, Kontomatik, modeFinance, Nomis Solutions, Sberbank, Stratumn, Temenos, Truphone, wipro, WorkFusion, WorldPay

On Finovate.com

  • WorkFusion Closes $35 Million in Funding

Around the web

  • Klarna teams up with ASOS Partners to bring “pay after delivery” to Nordics.
  • Luxembourg’s Rakuten Europe Bank goes live with core and digital banking technology from Temenos.
  • Wipro to acquire Brazilian IT banking services provider, InfoSERVER.
  • Let’s Talk Payments interviews Kontomatik CEO Marcin Truszel.
  • Financial transactions optimized using Nomis Solutions technology exceeds $1.5 trillion in 2016.
  • Finextra: Worldpay partners UnionPay for bumper Chinese New Year.
  • Truphone launches Global SMS recording solving the Blackberry migration challenge.
  • Sberbank launches a new corporate online banking platform designed together with IBM iX.
  • WISeKey partners with Stratumn to use Blockchain for real-time accountability and traceability.

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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Ripple Releases XRP Metrics in New Report

Ripple Releases XRP Metrics in New Report
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Ripple

Ripple_homepage_January2017

In the midst of all the attention over Ripple’s work helping banks make cross-border money transfers less expensive and more efficient, Ripple has released the first of its quarterly XRP Market Reports. The reports are designed to “improve the health of XRP markets globally” according to a statement and will feature “sales, commentary on price movement, and news of newly-available third party wallets, exchanges, validators, and liquidity providers.

“XRP is core to Ripple’s strategy,” the statement at the Ripple website read, “and the time is right for us to feature XRP more prominently.” The highlights include news that market participants bought $4.6 million of XRP directly from Ripple’s money service business, XRP II. And that XRP enjoyed a quarter-over-quarter average daily volume growth of 121%.

Ripple_XRP_homepage_January2017

With regard to price action in XRP, the report cited a number of factors including the uncertainty of the U.S. presidential election, India’s move to limit its cash economy, and growing demand from China as key drivers. And while XRP slightly underperformed other digital currencies toward the end of 2016, the report attributes this to both availability issues on digital exchanges and in China, as well as “XRP’s reputation as a more institutional asset” as opposed to a speculative trading instrument.

The report also noted that one of the biggest digital asset exchanges in the world, Bitstamp, has begun listing XRP/EUR and XRP/USD trading pairs, and that Ripple will launch a plan to enable “qualified market participants” to borrow XRP. This was described as “a crucial step” toward bringing XRP into the capital markets industry en route to becoming “the institutional standard bearer for international value transfer.”

Headquartered in San Francisco and founded in 2012 (as OpenCoin), Ripple demonstrated its distributed ledger technology at FinovateSpring 2013. Recent headlines for Ripple include the company’s work with India’s Axis Bank, which will use Ripple technology for cross-border payments, and the addition of a number of new members of its global network in September. The company appointed a new CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, in November, who had previous served Ripple as COO. Of the top 50 banks in the world, 15 work with Ripple, and there are nine countries with banks currently implementing Ripple technology. The company has raised more than $93 million in total funding, and includes SBI Investment, Santander InnoVentures, IDG Capital Partners, and Core Innovation Capital among its investors.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BancVue, Fenergo, Kontomatik, Kony, Monitise, NCR Corporation, Overbond, Ripple, SocietyOne, TIBCO Software

On Finovate.com

  • Ripple Releases XRP Metrics in New Report.
  • SocietyOne Appoints Former Westpac Exec as Chief Investment Officer.
  • Check out this week’s FinDEVr APIntelligence

Around the web

  • Fenergo announces new rules-based solution to better enable FIs to meet margin requirement obligations.
  • NCR unveils redesigned tablet point-of-sale app.
  • New development and support center for Monitise supported by $664,000 in business financing from Welsh government.
  • Let’s Talk Payments interviews Marcin Truszel, Founder & CEO of Kontomatik.
  • Overbond Ltd is launching a service that will allow companies to issue bonds digitally.
  • Kony powers KMC Connect Lite mobile app for KMC Controls.
  • Irish Tech News interviews BancVue’s John Waupsh on his book, Bankruption.

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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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: aixigo, Arxan Technologies, ayondo, Backbase, Bambu, Dorsum, GainX, Hip Pocket, iProov, SaleMove, SimplyTapp, Stocktwits, TransferTo, VASCO, W.UP, Wealthfront, Xignite

On Finovate.com

  • StockTwits Partners with TradeIt to Expand Beyond Robinhood’s Brokerage.

On FinDEVr.com

  • SimplyTapp Launches New Payments and E-Commerce App, Gane.

Around the web

  • TransferTo partners with Wirecard to enable mobile money operators to offer mobile-to-mobile remittance services.
  • Ayondo announces deadline for 2017 social trading championship.
  • Hellenic Bank of Cyprus to deploy new digital banking platform from Backbase. Join Backbase at FinovateEurope in London next month.
  • StockTwits teams up with TradeIt to give community members ability to execute trades with major brokerages via new iOS app.
  • Xignite adds senior sales, business development talent; unveils new offices in New York financial district.
  • Bambu wins Best Early Startup award at Next Money in Hong Kong.
  • Wealthfront revamps Selling Plan to help users sell and diversify their company stock.
  • Arxan Technologies partners with Cisco as to protect connected medical devices.
  • South by Southwest (SXSW) selects Hip Pocket to showcase Hip Money at SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event in March

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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$700 Million Raised by 26 Alums in Q4 2016

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Fundings

Finovate/FinDEVr alums raised more than $700 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. Total fourth quarter investment in Q4 2016 was more than double last year’s Q4 total, and represented a gain of more than 40% over the previous quarter’s total.

Previous Quarterly Comparisons

  • Q4 2016: More than $700 million raised by 26 alums
  • Q4 2015: More than $302 million raised by 28 alums
  • Q4 2014: More than $1.4 billion raised by 26 alums
  • Q4 2013: More than $294 million raised by 17 alums

The biggest equity deal of the final quarter of 2016 was $180 million raised by Payoneer in October. Also worthy of note was the $115 million raised by PaySimple, and the $80 million raised by NuBank. For the fourth quarter of 2016, the top 10 overall investments totaled $593 million or more than 84% of the total alum funding for the quarter.

Top 10 Overall Investments (equity only)

  1. Payoneer: $180 million
  2. PaySimple: $115 million
  3. NuBank: $80 million
  4. BlueVine: $49 million
  5. Finicity: $42 million
  6. Nutmeg: $37 million
  7. Quantopian: $25 million
  8. Personal Capital: $25 million
  9. Lendio: $20 million
  10. SecureKey: $20 million

These Q4 numbers for Finovate/FinDEVr alums suggests that the pace of investment in fintech innovation remains robust. With a $700 million Q4, the total investment in our alums for 2016 is more than $2.3 billion. This compares to a $3 billion 2015, a $2.2 billion 2014, and a $825 million 2013.

Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q4 2016.

October 2016: More than $371 million raised by eight alums

  • Aire: $2 million – post
  • DeMystData: $7 million – post
  • FinanceIt: $17 million – post
  • Lendio: $20 million – post
  • Nanopay: $10 million – post
  • Payoneer: $180 million – post
  • PaySimple: $115 million – post
  • SecureKey: $20 million – post

November 2016: More than $97 million raised by eight alums

  • Finagraph: $5 million – post
  • figo: $7 million – post
  • Five Degrees: $10 million – post
  • Nutmeg: $37 million – post
  • P2Binvestor: $7. 7 million – post
  • Sezzle: $1.85 million – post
  • TrueLink Financial: $3.6 million – post
  • Quantopian: $25 million – post

December 2016: More than $235 million raised by eleven alums

  • BlueVine: $49 million – post
  • Finicity: $42 million – post
  • Hip Pocket: $150,000 – post
  • Kreditech: $10.4 million – post
  • NuBank: $80 million – post
  • Nutmeg: $14.6 million – post
  • Personal Capital: $25 million – post
  • Socure: $13 million – post
  • Tradeshift: undisclosed – post
  • Walletron: undisclosed – post
  • Zighra: $1 million – post

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the second quarter of 2016, and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.

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CurrencyCloud Taps Former Misys Executive Ed Addario as New CTO

CurrencyCloud Taps Former Misys Executive Ed Addario as New CTO
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Currency Cloud

CurrencyCloud_homepage_January2017

Ed Addario, the new Chief Technology Officer for CurrencyCloud, brings an impressive track record as a fintech executive to the company. Addario comes to CurrencyCloud after serving as Global Head of Architecture and Integration at Misys. And previous to his tenure at Misys, Addario was SVP Technology at Monitise. At CurrencyCloud, Addario will manage a 45-member team dedicated to developing the company’s APIs that help third parties automate and enhance their payment processes.

In a statement, Addario praised CurrencyCloud’s technology for being “built by developers for developers” and referred to the company part of the “next generation” that will “realize the true potential of the digital economy.” CurrencyCloud CEO Mike CurrencyCloud_EdAddarioLaven called Addario a “perfect fit” for the task of helping create solutions that will enable companies to take advantage of “new and emerging business models” without being limited by legacy technology. “Ed will play a key role in developing the tools that we provide,” Laven said, “to allow our customers to build the best solution for their business needs.”

Addario has a B.Sc. in Computer Science, with coursework in Applied Statistics and Machine Intelligence, and a M.Sc. in Manufacturing and Quality Engineering. He is also a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in London, U.K., CurrencyCloud demonstrated its payment engine last year at FinovateEurope 2016. The company also presented at our developer’s conference, FinDEVr Silicon Valley in 2015, discussing how Currency Cloud rebuilt its market-leading API. Named to Fintech Forward’s “20 Companies to Watch” last fall, CurrencyCloud forged a partnership with Arkea Banking Services in August, and appointed a new CFO, Fiona Tee, last spring. CurrencyCloud has raised $35 million in funding – including an $18 million Series C in June 2015. Sapphire Ventures, Notion Capital, and Atlas Venture are among the company’s investors.

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Dwolla Raises Capital, Relaunches Access API

Dwolla Raises Capital, Relaunches Access API
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Dwolla, Funding, Fundings

Dwolla_homepage_January2017

Writing at the Dwolla blog, company founder and CEO Ben Milne expressed how important the goal of “building the ideal API to move money” was to him and his company. Calling this “part of our DNA,” Milne wrote that the new opportunities Dwolla’s technology has created have “come with growth and the need to finance it.”

And finance it Dwolla has. The company picked up $6.85 million in new funding in a round led by Union Square Ventures and Foundry Group. Milne wrote that the investment will be used to expand Dwolla’s sales and account management operations in Des Moines, Iowa. The round featured participation from Detroit Venture Partners, Firebrand Ventures, High Alpha, Ludlow Ventures, and Next Level Ventures, and brings Dwolla’s total capital to just over $39 million. Firebrand Ventures founder John Fein was quoted in the Kansas City Star crediting Dwolla for rekindling his interest in supporting fledgling technology companies.

Dwolla_stage_FS2015

Pictured: Dwolla Director of Communications and Policy Affairs Jordan Lampe demonstrating FiSync at FinovateSpring 2015.

Milne also announced his company’s API Suite, Access API, will now contain all of Dwolla’s white label solutions. “Nothing changes for current customers,” he noted, “but additional features will be rolled into the Access API to make building software that connects to the banking infrastructure easier.” These features, according to TechCrunch, include same-day transfer and a new dashboard for managing transactions. Fortune.com notes that Access API “has attracted more than 100 customers in its first year.”

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, Dwolla demonstrated its FiSync technology at FinovateSpring 2015. The company partnered with open source subscription billing and payments platform, Kill Bill, last October and, in August, introduced a new dashboard and administrative interface for its white-label partners. Dwolla added more FIs to its instant account-verification flow back in May.

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NatWest, RBS to Offer Clients Business Banking Solutions from FreeAgent

NatWest, RBS to Offer Clients Business Banking Solutions from FreeAgent
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FreeAgent

FreeAgent_homepage_January2017

This week marks two big wins for online accounting system provider FreeAgent. NatWest has agreed to provide FreeAgent’s SaaS business banking solution to its small business clients this year. FreeAgent also signed an agreement with The Royal Bank of Scotland that will put its cloud-based accounting solution in the hands of RBS’s small business customers.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have been chosen from over 30 vendors to help and support Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest’s business customers,” FreeAgent CEO Ed Molyneux wrote on the company blog. “By moving onto the FreeAgent platform, we hope life will become easier for these small businesses (who in many cases have to do their accounting themselves) by allowing them to concentrate on running their businesses.”

FreeAgent_stage_FEU2013

Pictured: Ed Molyneux, founder and CEO of FreeAgent, demonstrating his company’s SaaS accounting solution at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.

As part of the partnership, FreeAgent’s technology will be connected to the business bank accounts of RBS and NatWest customers. The company’s platform – already used by 50,000 businesses – helps small businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelancers manage invoices, expenses, taxes, projects, and more. In December, FreeAgent launched a variety of new features for its mobile app, FreeAgent Mobile, including a tax timeline and notifications, a profit & loss screen, and a cashflow screen. FreeAgent Mobile is available on both iOS and Android platforms.

Founded in 2007 and based in Edinburgh, U.K., FreeAgent demonstrated its platform at FinovateEurope 2013. The company raised more than $10 million in funding from investors including IRIS Software Group, SaaS Capital, and Seedrs, before going public last November. FreeAgent trades on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol “FREE” and has a market capitalization of $54 million (£44 million). The company’s technology was listed in Creative Boom’s roundup of “must-have apps for freelancers” last year.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Capriza, Dwolla, edo Interactive, Fiserv, FreeAgent, Kensho, Narrative Science, Temenos

On Finovate.com

  • NatWest, RBS to Offer Clients Business Banking Solutions from FreeAgent.
  • Card-Linked Offers Consolidates: Edo Interactive Acquired by Augeo.
  • Dwolla Raises Capital, Relaunches Access API.

Around the web

  • Persia International Bank chooses core banking technology from Temenos.
  • Kensho Technologies CEO Daniel Nadler weighs in on cybersecurity in the Age of Trump.
  • Rabobank to deploy UP Immediate Payments from ACI Worldwide.
  • Asset manager Schroders picks Capriza to help drive digital transformation.
  • Stuart Frankel of Narrative Science writes about bots and advanced natural language generation technology in Harvard Business Review.
  • De Surinaamsche Bank expands relationship with Fiserv to deepen core banking

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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FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: ICAR

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: ICAR
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2017, FinovateEurope 2017 Sneak Peek, ICAR

IcarVisionBanner

FE2017-V2-wdateA look at the companies demoing live at FinovateEurope on the 7 and 8 of February 2017 in London. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

With more than 20 million ID validations per year, ICAR is based on fully-automatic technology which validates customer identity and incorporates the necessary features to be the best, easiest-to-use tool.

Features

  • Omni-channel and immediate: ICAR makes sure that it is a real user at the time of onboarding
  • Liveness test and biometric technology to prevent ID fraud
  • Big Data analysis for a Digital Me check.

Why it’s great
ICAR’s online automatic solution processes and authenticates the customer ID in less than 20 seconds. ICAR not only verifies the identity document, but builds the Digital Identity Profile, also.

ICAR_XavierCodoPresenters

Xavier Codó, CEO
Codó has more than 15 years of experience in the information technology and software sectors. Today, he leads the ICAR team with the vision of offering market solutions of high technology value.
LinkedIn

 

ICAR_MarionaCampmanyMariona Campmany, CMO
Campmany has extensive experience in the digital transformation of markets across multiple domains including corporate and commercial strategy, customer-orientation and product development.
LinkedIn

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