Author: David Penn

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: Mitek

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

mitek_homepage_january2017

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.

Trusted by over 5,000 organisations worldwide, Mitek will debut its unique machine-learning passport verification technology allowing service providers to onboard customers from across Europe.

Features

  • Instant verification via native and mobile web apps
  • Reduce onboarding abandonment with a 100% digital process via mobile
  • Machine and deep learning combats advanced fraud techniques

Why it’s great
Omni-channel identity verification establishes mutual trust between the individual and their institution reducing fraud, speeding onboarding, and propelling digital transformation.

mitek_sarahclarkPresenters

Sarah Clark, General Manager for Identity
Clark has worked in high growth fintech companies her entire career, helping companies bring both B2C and B2B products into blue ocean markets.
LinkedIn


Mitek_Kalle MarsalKalle Marsal, CMO
Marsal has over 20 years of marketing, technology entrepreneurship, VC, and general management experience in digital imaging, telecommunications, mobility, printing, and other high-technology industries.
LinkedIn

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FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: Horizn

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

horizn_homepage_jan2017

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.

Horizn’s mobile platform dramatically accelerates market adoption of new products and digital technology for financial services and technology companies at enterprise scale.

Features

  • Used by employees, sales forces, and customers
  • Digitizes learning, embracing micro-learning, social technologies, gamification, and robust analytics
  • Increases employee performance, drives customer adoption and sales

Why it’s great
With banks, Horizn significantly accelerates the process of taking innovations to market, resulting in 85% employee adoption and a 20% increase in mobile platform usage.

horizn_janicedinerPresenters

Janice Diner, CEO and Founder
LinkedIn

 

 

horizn_robindindayalRobin Dindayal, SVP Product Management
LinkedIn

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FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: Twisto

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

twisto_homepage_january2017

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.

Twisto is simplifying daily payments, providing customers with a flexible credit line and helping them regain control over their finances.

Features

  • Pays all non-cash daily payments with one click
  • Seven minutes to access credit line with a card delivered within 48 hours
  • One mobile app to manage all finances, save money and time

Why it’s great
Twisto is a game-changer in payments across the CEE region through simplifying daily payments with the smart use of credit and outstanding customer experience born in the mobile age.
twisto_michaelsmida

Presenters

Michal Smida, Founder and CEO
Smida founded Twisto with the vision to become the leading bank challenger in CEE. Having previously spent four years at Barlcays, he lived in the U.S., Russia, U.K., and is currently based in Prague.
LinkedIn

Lukas Janousek, Chief Strategy Officer
twisto_lukasjanousekJanousek has more than eight years of experience building start-ups. He sold his last venture to O2. He is focused on delivering products with high added value and building a brand customers love.
LinkedIn

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, AnchorID, Bambu, Check Point, DAVO Technologies, Equifax, Horizn, Infosys, Mitek, Payfone, Temenos, Twisto, Worldcore

On Finovate.com

  • AnchorID Adds Apple, SolarCity Vet Mark Roe to Board of Directors.
  • Equifax Shakes Up Mortgage Tech with Castlight Partnership
  • Payfone Lands $23.5 Million in Funding

Around the web

  • Pakistan’s Samba Bank to deploy new core banking technology from Temenos.
  • Infosys’s core banking software Finacle goes live at Nepal’s Sunrise Bank.
  • ACI Worldwide to provide fraud protection for Kuwait’s Shared Electronic Banking Services Company (KNET).
  • Mitek partners with the American Cancer Society, supporting mobile fundraising with its mobile deposit and MiSnap technology.
  • Check Point Software partners with Attivo Networks to improve fraud detection.
  • DAVO Technologies has just been approved as a Certified Electronic Return Originator (ERO) with the California State Board of Equalization.

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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NetGuardians Brings Real-Time Fraud Protection to Nigeria’s Keystone Bank

NetGuardians Brings Real-Time Fraud Protection to Nigeria’s Keystone Bank
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: NetGuardians

netguardians_homepage_jan2017

Keystone Bank in Nigeria has turned to FinovateAsia alum NetGuardians in order to meet a new anti-fraud directive from the country’s central bank. Keystone Bank ($2 billion in assets) will deploy NetGuardians’s FraudGuardian technology, which leverages Big Data and predictive analytics to enable continuous auditing across channels, IT levels, and financial transactions.

FraudGuardian was singled out by Nigeria’s Central Bank (CBN) as an effective way for FIs to meet recently-issued anti-fraud reporting requirements, a point underscored by Keystone Bank CIO, Femi Aderibigbe. “The CBN recommendation naturally gave confidence in the NetGuardians solution,” Aderibigbe said before adding that the technology’s “innovative approach to fraud prevention and system features” were also major factors in choosing to deploy FraudGuardian.

netguardians_stage_fa2016

Pictured (left to right): NetGuardian’s Mine Fornerod (Digital Marketing Manager) and Eric Margaryan (Asia Regional Director) demonstrating FraudGuardian at FinovateAsia 2016.

NetGuardians founder and CEO Joël Winteregg praised Keystone Bank as a “technology savvy, service-driven institution (where) eBanking is a key part of their operations.” According to Inlaks Computers, local implementation partner for NetGuardians, the Keystone Bank deployment is part of a larger plan to bring anti-fraud solutions to the area. Precious Osegi, Director of Sales and Strategy for Inlaks said, “(We) look forward to extending FraudGuardian to more banks in the West Africa region to mitigate fraud risk.” NetGuardians announced a deployment of FraudGuardian with the National Bank of Malawi last November.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, NetGuardians made its Finovate debut at FinovateAsia 2016 in Hong Kong. A Gartner Cool Vendor for 2015, NetGuardians was recognized at the Aurexia FinTech Awards in London last fall in the category of post-trade for investment suitability. The company has raised more than $5 million in funding, and includes MoneyTime Ventures and Polytech Ventures among its investors. Co-founder Raffael Maio is COO.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BBVA, Betterment, Craft Silicon, Flybits, Leveris, NetGuardians, ScientiaMobile, Sindeo, Streamdata.io, unblu, Wealth Wizards, Wealthify

On Finovate.com

  • Finovate Debuts: Sindeo Revamps the Mortgage Application Process.
  • NetGuardians Brings Real-Time Fraud Protection to Nigeria’s Keystone Bank.

Around the web

  • Flybits CEO Hossein Rahnama interviewed in TechRepublic feature on IoT trends in 2017.
  • AFK Insider lists Craft Silicon’s Uber-challenging app, Little, in its look at major technology developments in Africa in 2016.
  • FinDEVr alum Streamdata.io joins Google Technological Partner program.
  • ScientiaMobile recognized by CIOReview as one of the most promising CDN solution providers of 2016.
  • PYMNTS: BBVA Buys Openpay To Boost Digital Business Portfolio.

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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Microsoft Marketing Vet Jeremy Korst Joins Avalara as New CMO

Microsoft Marketing Vet Jeremy Korst Joins Avalara as New CMO
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Avalara

avalara_homepage_jan17_b

Starting in 2017 former Microsoft executive Jeremy Korst will be the man driving the message at tax compliance innovator and FinDEVr alum, Avalara. The Seattle-based company announced this week that Korst will join Avalara as its new chief marketing officer and executive vice president. Coming onboard at what Korst called “an exciting inflection point” for the company, he praised Avalara’s “ideal combination (of) a terrific executive team; a cohesive, unique culture that embraces the ‘power of Orange;’ a proven platform; and a massive global market opportunity.”

avalara_jeremykorstKorst (pictured) arrives at Avalara after several years at Microsoft where he led planning and execution of the global launch of Windows 10. Previous to Microsoft, Korst served as vice president and general manager at T-Mobile, and senior product marketing manager at AT&T Wireless/Cingular. A member of the board of a number of companies including Shoelace Wireless and 9104 Studios, Korst is a mentor for Seattle-area technology accelerator, 9Mile Labs. He has a BA in Economics, Politics, and Government from the University of Puget Sound, and a MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

At Avalara, Korst will be responsible for brand, demand generation, as well as channel, international, product, and customer marketing. Avalara general manager and CRO Pascal Van Dooren said Korst’s experience in marketing “some of the most storied names in tech … make(s) him an ideal fit for Avalara.”

Avalara presented “The Wacky World of Sales Tax” at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2015, explaining how its API makes it easy for developers to integrate transactional tax compliance into their applications. Last fall, Avalara announced an investment of $96 million that took its total capital to more than $300 million. In August, Avalara added a set of enhancements to its CertCapture management solution for compliance documents. And in June, in addition to unveiling a new integration with Stripe, the company was recognized at the American Business Awards.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Avalara, Avoka, Bizfi, Boku, Dashlane, Kontomatik, Narrative Science, OurCrowd, Quantopian, SocietyOne, SuiteBox, Taulia, Trulioo

On Finovate.com

  • Microsoft Marketing Vet Jeremy Korst Joins Avalara as New CMO.

Around the web

  • New York-based BizFi reaches $2 billion in originations.
  • LTP: Trulioo CEO Stephen Ufford writes about the problem of gift card fraud.
  • Boku extends partnership with Microsoft to support carrier billing to France.
  • Exostar teams up with Taulia to bring supply chain finance to the aerospace and defense industry.
  • Avoka, SocietyOne, and SuiteBox named finalists for Fintech Business Awards.
  • HBR: Narrative Science CEO Stuart Frankel writes about talking chatbots.
  • Quantopian recognized by Boston Globe as a “Company to Watch in 2017.”
  • Let’s Talk Payments features Kontomatik’s successful 2016.
  • Dashlane to support Intel Software Guard Extensions to help protect your passwords with hardware-enhanced security.
  • OurCrowd marks 4 years, $320m raised, 100 startups, 9 exits.

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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BBVA Compass Announces New CEO, Onur Genc

BBVA Compass Announces New CEO, Onur Genc
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BBVA

bbva_homepage_december2016

One of the world’s most innovative, fintech-friendly banks just onboarded a new boss.

BBVA announced this week that U.S. subsidiary BBVA Compass has named former Garanti Bank deputy CEO, Onur Genç, as its new CEO. At Garanti, Turkey’s largest bank by market cap at $9 billion, Genç (pictured) was in charge of retail banking, private banking, and asset management. He was promoted to deputy CEO at Garanti in 2015. “I am thrilled to have this opportunity,” Genç said in a press release. “I onurgenccan’t wait to join the team and to work with Manolo to extend the success story of BBVA Compass.” Genç will replace Manolo Sanchez, who became CEO of BBVA Compass in 2008 and will transition into a new role of non-executive chairman.

“BBVA is a global financial group that can tap the world’s best talent, and Onur is a clear example of that. I am looking forward to helping him take BBVA Compass to the next level,” Sanchez said.

Prior to his tenure at BBVA Compass, Onur Genç was a senior partner and Turkey office manager at McKinsey & Company. Before McKinsey & Company, Genç was a financial controller at American Airlines. He has a bachelor of science degree in electrical and electronic engineering from Bogaziçi University in Istanbul, and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Founded in 1857 and headquartered in Madrid, Spain, BBVA—Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria—demonstrated its stock market sentiment solution, Stockbuzz, at FinovateEurope 2013. The second largest bank in Spain and a member of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index, BBVA held assets of more than €750 billion in 2015. Carlos Torres Vila is CEO.

BBVA Compass was founded in 1964 and has been a BBVA subsidiary since 2007. With assets of $85 billion, the firm is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and is active in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas.

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Polly Portfolio Unveils Bespoke Custom Investing Platform for Financial Advisers

Polly Portfolio Unveils Bespoke Custom Investing Platform for Financial Advisers
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Polly Portfolio

pollyportfolio_bci_homepage_december2016

With Bespoke Custom Investing (BCI), Polly Portfolio offers financial advisers a platform that makes it easier to provide personalized financial management and investment plans. The technology gives advisers the tools for better engagement by using natural language processing to transform client concerns—on issues like investment philosophy and economic outlook—into customized investment advice.

Advisers can either use their own model portfolios as a base investment strategy or select one of Polly Portfolio’s models. They engage with their clients to determine tax planning, investment preferences and risk tolerance, economic outlook, and the status of any held-away assets (assets not actively managed nor affiliated with the adviser’s firm). After any additional adviser or client customizations are factored in, the BCI investment engine builds a personalized investment strategy with natural language explanations.

bci-image-2

The release of Bespoke Custom Investing comes as the company transitions toward a B2B model. As Polly Portfolio began working with wealth managers, it became increasingly clear that the path of least resistance for its technologies was to “decouple” its signature solutions—Bespoke Custom Investing and Sophograph (demonstrated at FinovateSpring 2016)—to better target the markets that would most benefit from each technology.

The initial challenge for Polly Portfolio was figuring out how to maintain the customization, natural language processing, and portfolio-building of BCI without plugging in to Sophograph. The answer was to pollyportfoliobci_image3leverage the model portfolios offered by the financial adviser. “Many advisers use very basic model portfolios,” says Tom McCosker, Polly Portfolio’s COO and CFO. “We built BCI to plug into model portfolios. Then customize around (their) model, using basic risk exposure, and then customize for taxes, headway assets, views on the economy, and so on.” The integration is API-driven, so there is no need for full stack integration.

BCI’s ability to increase and deepen customer engagement is another worthwhile feature of the platform. “Engagement calls are a trick for advisers,” McCosker points out. “What do you talk about on the investment side? You’re in a model portfolio, so that’s it.” By making it easy to translate client preferences into customized investing ideas that are explained in natural language, the platform can be a significant engagement solution for advisers, as well.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in New York, Polly Portfolio demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2016. This summer, the company launched a free, investment chatbot for Facebook Messenger, Polly Chat, that develops personalized trading and investment ideas through interaction with the user. Jasen Yang is founder and CEO.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CashStar, Gusto, Moven, Passport, PayPal, Polly Portfolio, Xero

On Finovate.com

  • “Polly Portfolio Unveils Bespoke Custom Investing Platform for Financial Advisers”
  • “Top Direct-to-Consumer Wealth Tech Plays”

Around the web

  • CashStar announces digital gift card agreements with online marketplace OpenSky and Marcus Theatres.
  • Nasdaq.com profiles Moven, “the future of banking.”
  • Charlotte Business Journal names Passport among its Fast 50 award winners for its more than 475% revenue growth from 2013 to 2015.
  • Inc. lists Xero, Gusto, and PayPal among 8 business apps that will crush it in 2017.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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Roots Rock: eMoney Advisor Reports Breakout Revenue Metrics for 2016

Roots Rock: eMoney Advisor Reports Breakout Revenue Metrics for 2016
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: eMoney Advisor

emoneyadvisor_homepage_december2016

How did 2016 become the “most successful year to date” for wealth management platform developer, eMoney Advisor? According to CEO Ed O’Brien, it was all about getting back to basics.

“This year we returned to our roots with an innovative product strategy that broadens the availability and quality of advice delivered through advisors,” O’Brien explained. This week O’Brien’s company announced record growth in 2016 including a more than 30% increase in revenue since the end of 2015, and a nearly 59% gain in revenue since eMoney Advisor was acquired by Fidelity Investments in early 2015.

Some of the 2016 highlights for eMoney Advisor include:

  • Released more than 80 updates and enhancements to its emX Suite
  • Unveiled a new advanced analytics product
  • Launched the Fiduciary Framework initiative

“For this past year in particular, we worked hard to implement a strategy that creates more opportunity for advisers to experience the value of eMoney and benefit from the unique and varied ways our technology can set them apart,” said O’Brien.

emoneyadvisor_stage_ff14

From left: Chad Porche, SVP, head of design, and Kyle Wharton, SVP, business development, demonstrated EMX, the eMoney Advisor platform, at FinovateFall 2014.

Recently featured in our look at top trends in Wealth Tech, eMoney Advisor serves wealth management firms who have concluded that it is easier and more efficient to partner with an established specialist rather than “go it alone” when it comes to providing their wealth managers with the technology they need to best serve their clients. “Firms are realizing the cost to build and maintain the type of streamlined, technology-enabled experience required to compete today is prohibitively high,” O’Brien said. Adding that companies must be mindful of technology expenses as well, he points out that the solution “in the long-term” is a balancing act. “It’s about a technology partner, not a technology provider,” he said.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, eMoney Advisor demonstrated its platform at FinovateFall 2014. Earlier this year, the company announced a partnership with Waddell & Reed Advisors that will make emX Pro platform available to the firm’s network of more than 1,800 financial advisers. A winner at the 2016 Wealth Management Awards this fall, and one of the best places to work in Philadelphia according to the Philadelphia Business Journal, eMoney Advisor also shared a preview of what it has in store for 2017. New products and services from the company include a digital advice platform, developed in partnership with Fidelity, a new lead-generation solution, a “robust API strategy,” and a service for 401(k) plan participants. The company says it plans to add 100 new workers by the end of 2017 to help accommodate growth.

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