Author: David Penn

Fintech Favorites

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Chain.com, IBM, VISA

Blockchain

  • Visa (FD14) partners with blockchain innovator Chain (FD15) to develop a “near real-time,” high value, fund-transfer system between banks and corporate customers called Visa B2B Connect. The technology is expected to pilot in 2017 and could add much needed transparency and security, as well as speed, to B2B payments.
  • Five banks including Credit Suisse, Barclays, and Citi announce successful test of smart contract prototype developed by blockchain startup, Axoni. The project specifically tested ways to manage and synchronize single stock, index, and portfolio swaps.

Go East, Young Developer

  • Mizuho announces new innovation lab in Tokyo supported by Mitsubishi Estate and Dentsu. Remember that Finovate is headed to Hong Kong on 8 November for FinovateAsia 2016. Check out our FinovateAsia information page for details.

Payments

  • CVS Pharmacy launches mobile payment technology CVS Pay nationwide. The technology, part of CVS’s mobile app, incorporates payment, prescription pickup, and the pharmacy’s loyalty program.
  • Ingo Money unveils its Instant Payments, a white-label, API-based, push payments technology. According to Ingo founder and CEO Drew Edwards, the solution “makes it easy for any company to implement push payments quickly and begin originating real-time, guaranteed payments to any customer or employee within their own proprietary user flows and branded experience.”
  • Australia introduces the New Payment Platform (NPP), a version of the U.K.’s Faster Payments service. The real-time bank transfer service that works with just a phone number or an email address is expected to debut in 2017.
  • Android Pay goes live at more than 5,000 retail locations in Hong Kong, including 7-Eleven, McDonalds, and Circle K. The technology also supports gift and loyalty cards.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

SumUp Launches Air Register

SumUp Launches Air Register
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: SumUp

sumup_homepage_october2016

One year after bringing its e-commerce technology to the U.S., SumUp is launching Air Register, giving mPOS software providers an all-in-one hardware solution to offer customers. Air Register enables merchants to accept chip and magnetic stripe cards as well as contactless payments from Apple Pay and Android Pay. SumUp’s all-on-one configuration comes with an iPad mini and a thermal receipt printer enclosed in a wood case made from sustainably forested oak.

Besides “enabling our partners to offer their apps in a stunning package,” SumUp CEO Daniel Klein says the solution makes it easier for tablet-based cash-register providers to connect apps to SumUp’s open-payments platform.

Founded in 2011, SumUp demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2013. The company teamed up with fellow Finovate alum Holvi in August 2016 to provide greater payment options to small businesses in Germany. SumUp merged with Payleven this spring, creating a payment-processing powerhouse transacting more than €1 billion a year across 15 countries. Last month, SumUp announced it had reached profitability, nearing $100 million in annual revenue. “We are the world’s first company to prove that empowering small merchants with card acceptance can be a profitable business,” Klein said in a statement, “despite tight margins in the long tail.”

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Chain.com, Dwolla, Revolut, SumUp, VISA, wipro

On Finovate.com

Around the web

  • Visa builds new blockchain payments platform, Visa B2B Connect, in partnership with Chain.
  • Wipro to acquire cloud services firm, Appirio, for $500 million.
  • Open source subscription billing and payments platform, Kill Bill, integrates with Dwolla.
  • Revolut wins Best New Customer Facing Innovation at Emerging Payments Awards 2016.

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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: Euronovate

FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: Euronovate
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Euronovate, FinovateAsia 2016, FinovateAsia 2016 Sneak Peek

euronovate_homepage_october2016

FA2016-V1A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAsia on 8 November 2016 in Hong Kong. Pick up your ticket today and save your spot.

Euronovate is a Swiss company, a worldwide leader in business digital transformation solutions, that specializes in e-signature solutions. Euronovate applies a one-step software platform with an end-to-end approach.

Features:

Euronovate’s solution enhances the security levels of traditional identification methods (chip and PIN code) adding unique biometric information, collected by a special digital signature pad.

Why it’s great
Simplifying digital processes is Euronovate’s goal, and digital security its commitment. The company’s solutions are in separable modules because Euronovate believes innovation must be easy to use.

albertoguidotti_euronovatePresenters

Alberto Guidotti, Founder and CEO
Guidotti worked for seven years as head of research and development in Intesa Sanpaolo Group, gaining extensive experience in innovation programs for large corporations.
LinkedIn

 

ervinukaj_euronovateErvin Ukaj, R&D Software Director
Ukaj started at Lynx as a software engineer in 2007; in 2013 he became its IT project manager. He’s now software director for Euronovate and is currently working on his software engineering certificate from Harvard University.
LinkedIn

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: GIEOM Business Solutions

FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: GIEOM Business Solutions
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateAsia 2016, FinovateAsia 2016 Sneak Peek, GIEOM Business Solutions

gieom_homepage_october2016

FA2016-V1A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAsia on 8 November 2016 in Hong Kong. Pick up your ticket today and save your spot.

GIEOM Business Solutions will demonstrate its “Google Map for Banks” that interconnects all organizational elements, now enhanced with cognitive capability.

Features:

  • Lower operational risks
  • Improved operational efficiency
  • Enhanced customer service

Why it’s great
Artificial intelligence to enhance, not replace, human capability

johnsanthosh_gieomPresenters

John Santhosh, CEO
Santhosh is the dreamer, the innovator who always sees the future and relentlessly tries to make GIEOM bigger, better and more intelligent every single day.
LinkedIn

 

bhavanamallesh_gieomBhavana Mallesh, Director of Product Engineering
Mallesh works with new domains and technologies and builds teams to deliver intelligent solutions that make organizations run more efficiently with less.
LinkedIn

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: Peakford

FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: Peakford
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateAsia 2016, FinovateAsia 2016 Sneak Peek, Peakford

 

peakford_homepage_october2016

FA2016-V1A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAsia in Hong Kong on 8 November 2016. Pick up your ticket today and save your spot.

ExbiData from Peakford is a platform to help realtors, buyers, sellers, and investors predict the real estate market and make smart property-investment decisions using charts, analysis tools, and social networking.

Features:

  • Charts, analysis tools, maps generate real estate insights
  • Community tools help members build reputation in fast-track mode
  • Subscription-based fee structure

Why it’s great
ExbiData is the first real estate platform to integrate analytical tools, varieties of charts, customizable maps, and community in order to generate insights and facilitate more confident decision-making.

jasonmok_peakford_exbidataPresenter

Jason Mok, CEO
Mok has more than 13 years of strategic management in the information-technology industry. His professional qualities are proven by having won technology awards and received funding.
LinkedIn

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Euronovate, GIEOM Business Solutions, Modo Payments, Peakford, Realty Mogul, Roostify, WorldPay

On Finovate.com

Around the web

  • RealtyMogul.com surpasses $50 million milestone in distributing returns and principal to investors.
  • Roostify teams up with Equifax to ease and accelerate mortgage-decision processing.
  • FinDEVr alum Worldpay launches new, omnichannel payment platform, Worldpay Total.
  • Modo Payments to provide Bank of America Merrill Lynch with access to its COIN Operated Digital Payments Hub as part of new strategic relationship.

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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinDEVr Silicon Valley: Celebrating the Best of the Builders

FinDEVr Silicon Valley: Celebrating the Best of the Builders
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: 1787fp, Alloy, IBM, Lleida.net, MX, OCR Labs, WiseBanyan

img_1234

After watching two days of live presentations from fintech innovators from around the world, the attendees at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016 have made plain their preferences. So many presenters received enthusiastic praise for the way they are solving problems and developing tools/APIs to make payments more efficient, security more effective, and financial data more accessible. Although all companies impressed the audience, still a few emerged as clear favorites.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at them (all chosen by audience vote, except the press/analyst favorite):

Crowd favorite, day one:

  • MX for its heartfelt message on how it gets the necessary work done, both in fintech and in life

Crowd favorite, day two:

  • OCR Labs for its innovations in optical character recognition (OCR) and facial recognition (FR) technology and their application on web and mobile platforms.

Press/analyst favorite:

  • 1787fp for its mobile app that helps consumers track and manage their finances and investments.

Favorite FinDEVr alum:

  • Lleida.net for its registered email and registered electronic contract technology.

Favorite FinDEVr debut:

  • WiseBanyan for its free, independent, goal-based roboadviser designed to help investors reach their first $100,000.

Favorite established company:

  • IBM for its implementation of the Hyperledger Project and blockchain-as-a-service strategy.

Favorite startup company:

  • Alloy for its software solutions that help financial services companies conduct KYC/AML; develop risk-management strategies; and maintain continuous compliance.

We want to thank everyone who made FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016 possible. From our presenters to our attendees to all the staff and others who participated in this year’s event, we truly could not do this without you. So give yourselves a pat on the back, raise a toast of something tasty, and mark your calendars as we take our developers conference to the Big Apple next spring for FinDEVr New York 2017, and then across the Atlantic in June for FinDEVr London 2017.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AdviceRobo, Azimo, EVRY, FIS, Narrative Science, Smartwave, Symbiont, Thinking Capital, TickSmith

On Finovate.com

  • Welcome to Day 2 of FinDEVr Silicon Valley
  • FinDEVr Silicon Valley: Celebrating the Best of the Builders

Around the web

  • FinDEVr alum Thinking Capital launches Lucy, an AI-powered chatbot for small business borrowers.
  • Narrative Science forges strategic partnership with Deloitte to promote broader adoption of advanced NLG technology.
  • AdviceRobo launches Seedrs crowdfunding campaign as part of U.K. growth plan.
  • CME Group to deploy TickVault from TickSmith to improve access to historical data.
  • New mobile app from Azimo enables money transfers via Siri, among other enhancements.
  • FIS introduces unified mobile payments solution, BuyWay.
  • FinDEVr alum Symbiont unveils SDK for Assembly, a distributed ledger for use in institutional finance.
  • EVRY licenses G&D Convego CloudPay from Giesecke & Devrient to offer NFC, HCE mobile payments.
  • FinDEVr newcomer Smartwave announces its first banking client, Societe Generale Serbia.

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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

SecureKey Raises $20 Million in New Funding

SecureKey Raises $20 Million in New Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Fundings, SecureKey

securekey_homepage_october2016

Q. If you are Toronto-based identity and authentication specialist, SecureKey Technologies, what’s a nine-letter word for Canadian FIs commited to improving online security?

A. Investors.

SecureKey announced this week that it picked up $20.6 million ($27 million CAD) in new capital from BMO Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, CIBC, Desjardins, Royal Bank of Canada, and TD. The investment brings SecureKey’s total funding to $89 million and serves as growth capital to support the introduction of SecureKey’s digital identity network.

Greg Wolfond, SecureKey founder and chairman, said the support from “Canada’s largest financial institutions” would help his firm “develop and deliver a national ecosystem that puts consumers first.” Rizwan Khalfan, EVP and chief digital officer for TD, echoed this point and credited SecureKey for leading the way in making it easier for customers to manage their digital assets, as well as for the company’s willingness to work with and receive “substantial input from TD and other banks.” Khalfan added that TD was “uniquely positioned to help shape [SecureKey’s] offering” due to TD’s commitment to security and privacy.

Along with its collaborators, SecureKey anticipates launching its digital identity network in 2017. And with Wolfhound’s return as CEO, the company plans to further drive development of its SecureKey Concierge service, as well. “We want to help put the consumer back in the middle and let them take control of their digital assets, to share what they want, with whom they want, and always with informed consent,” Wolfond said.

Founded in 2008, SecureKey last demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2012. A Best of Show winner from its demo at FinovateFall 2010, SecureKey announced in September that CBIC had joined its authentication service, SecureKey Concierge. In 2015, SecureKey was named to KPMG and H2 Ventures’ Fintech 100.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Forte Payment Systems, Gradatim IT Ventures India, Kony, Lleida.net, Misys, Moneytree, Roostify, SecureKey, Xero

On Finovate.com

  • SecureKey Raises $20 Million in New Funding

Around the web

  • Roostify teams up with Optimal Blue to improve the online experience for borrowers.
  • Partners FCU to deploy Kony Mobility Platform.
  • Forte Payment Systems to serve as the single premier gateway provider for Acryness Inc.
  • Portugal’s Banco CTT chooses FusionBanking Essence from Misys.
  • International payments provider, OFX, integrates with cloud accounting-software innovator, Xero.

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.

 

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Welcome to Day 1 of FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016

Welcome to Day 1 of FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinDEVr 2016 Silicon Valley

findevr_sf2015_modo_stage

We’re back! After taking FinDEVr on the road for a very successful inaugural New York show this spring, our fintech developers conference has returned to the Left Coast for two days of APIs, SDKs, and enough case studies, integrations, and code to choke a Python (see what I did there?). If you haven’t picked up your tickets yet, there’s still time to swing by our registration page and save your spot.

FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016 begins Tuesday morning with registration at 9:00 a.m. and the first pair of presentations starting at 10:05 a.m. Our dual-track event continues into the afternoon, with the final pair of presentations beginning at 3:25 p.m., followed by an hour-long networking session with open bar and appetizers lasting until 4:30 p.m. For more information, check our event agenda and schedule.

findevr_siliconvalley_audience

So what else do you need to know about getting your FinDEVr experience off to a great start? Here are a few last-minute details:

What? FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016, a conference for fintech developers, CTOs, and technologists

When? Tuesday and Wednesday, 18/19 October, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Where? Santa Clara Convention Center; 5001 Great American Parkway, Santa Clara, CA 95054

Why? Because from the blockchain and chatbot technology to artificial intelligence and machine learning, the innovations in fintech are among the most ambitious in all of technology. Not only that, but fintech innovations are built for real-world use by everyone from soccer moms and dads to corporate treasurers and data scientists.

How (to make the most of your FinDEVr experience)? Once you’ve got your ticket, the first thing to do is to let the FinDEVr world you’re coming via our event app on Bizzabo. Just download the app (iOS or Android), search for “Finovate,” and register using the same email information used when you bought your ticket. And that’s it—you’ve just joined FinDEVr’s community on Bizzabo!

In addition, you can follow all of the action in both tracks by following us @FinDEVr. This way you can check out the presentations you like most, without being afraid that you’ll miss something cool in the presentation around the corner. Please tag your tweets #FinDEVr so everyone will hear what you’ve got to say.

As always, if you’ve got questions, take a look at our FAQ or email us at siliconvalley@findevr.com for answers. We’ll see you at FinDEVr!

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook