Author: David Penn

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.

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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.

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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.

 

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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!

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Alkami Brings its ORB Digital Banking Platform to Open Technology Solutions

Alkami Brings its ORB Digital Banking Platform to Open Technology Solutions
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alkami Technology

alkami_homepage_october2016

Alkami Technology is partnering with credit-union service-organization Open Technology Solutions (OTS) to bring its ORB Digital Banking Platform to member CUs in states from Colorado to Maryland. ORB from Alkami will give credit unions a “unified platform across all devices and functional offerings” including PFM and P2P payments, billpay, retail and business financial services, mobile, and more. The platform also supports the ability of CUs to develop their own apps and product extensions, as well as add new features. Credit unions can take advantage of ORB’s integrated content-management system to conduct “one-to-one” product marketing and cross-selling.

User experience and cross-channel consistency were two aspects of Alkami’s technology that were underscored by Open Technology Solutions CEO Mike Atkins: “With Alkami’s ORB platform, our member institutions can deliver the same capabilities across different platforms while optimizing user experience.” Atkins says he believes the new solution will lead to better member engagement as well as help with prospective member acquisition.

Stephen Bohanan, founder as well as chief strategy and sales officer for Alkami Technology, praised the credit unions working with OTS for recognizing the increased consumer preference for the mobile channel in banking. Citing a Javelin report that said half the U.S. adult population used smartphones and tablets to do their banking—a 29% gain over the previous year—Bohanan said growing pressure will require FIs not only to provide a digital experience for their customers, but also a “superior” experience, as well. “We look forward to supporting this journey as their digital banking partner of choice,” he said.

Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Alkami demoed at FinovateSpring 2009 as iThryv and rebranded as Alkami a year afterward. The company has been busy this fall, forging partnerships with the largest credit union in Arizona, Desert Schools FCU, in September, and teaming up with Idaho Central Credit Union earlier this month. The company earned a spot on Fintech Forward’s “20 Companies to Watch” this fall. Alkami has 196 employees, more than 60 clients, and more than three million users. Mike Hansen is CEO.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alkami Technology, Misys, Ripple, Temenos, Thomson Reuters

On Finovate.com

  • Fintech Trending: P2P, EMV, NFC, NLP … OMG
  • Alkami Brings its ORB Digital Banking Platform to Open Technology Solutions

Around the web

  • Thomson Reuters launches Thomson Reuters Labs, Capetown, the latest addition to the firm’s global network of innovation labs.
  • Islamic Finance House upgrades to latest version of Temenos T24 core banking system.
  • Ripple says Crypto Facilities will be first derivatives-exchange to list regulated XRP futures contracts.
  • Misys to provide cloud-ready corporate banking technology to Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

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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Cognitect Becomes Our Alum Number 1,000!

Cognitect Becomes Our Alum Number 1,000!
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Cognitect, FinDEVr 2016 Silicon Valley

findevr_ironsign

Like proud grandparents counting the place-settings at a big family dinner, we were thrilled to realize that with FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016 (tickets still available) we have onboarded our 1,000th alum. Durham, North Carolina-based Cognitect helped us make the milestone, and will join us next week at our upcoming developers conference in the Bay Area.

Founded in 2013, Cognitect specializes in enterprise software and data management. The company’s suite of technologies includes Datomic, a distributed database solution that leverages both traditional database functionalities with new features that enable full auditability and the ability to model future scenarios. Writing about Datomic in a blog post titled, “The New Normal: Data Leverage,” Cognitect VP Michael Nygard explained how the legacy of object-oriented programming (OOP) poorly serves developers in an era when “the majority of our work is with data.”

This is why I like working with Datomic. My transaction is data, just a vector of vectors or a vector of maps. What I get back as a result is data, a set of tuples. If I want to look at any of the built-in attributes of any of the attributes I’ve added—any of the metadata—I just do an ordinary query and get back ordinary data. My query is specified as data. Results come back as data.

cognitect_homepage_october2016

Nygard said that developers have come up against an “upper bound” when it comes to scaling with OOP. “Too many companies have created golden anchors out of their multimillion-line code-bases,” he said. “We are uncovering new ways to structure applications that enforce even stronger encapsulation and decision-hiding than object-oriented programming.”

Cognitect’s customers include a number of top 50 global companies including BBC, Verizon, Walmart, Best Buy, and more. Among FIs, Cognitect has worked with Brazilian financial services startup Nubank, using Datomic to drive the firm’s micro services platform. Cognitect has also partnered with Finovate alum Pellucid, helping scale the company’s data analysis system for investment bankers.

Join Cognitect and more than 40 other innovative companies next week at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016. Our two-day event begins on Tuesday, 18 October, and continues through Wednesday, 19 Oct, with live, 15-minute presentations, and extended, high-quality networking opportunities to enable you to get to know the talent behind the technology. So stop by our registration page and pick up your ticket today.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CaixaBank, Cognitect, Misys, Strands, Thomson Reuters, wipro

On Finovate.com

  • North Carolina Data Management Innovator Cognitect is Alum 1,000. Join Cognitect at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016 next week.

Around the web

  • Strands hires former CaixaBank veteran Oscar Sala as head of product strategy.
  • Misys earns top spot in Asia Risk Technology Rankings 2016 for overall trading systems.
  • Thomson Reuters unveils new AML solution, TRAC, specifically targeting trade-based money laundering.
  • PYMNTS.com looks at the launch of Wipro’s new cloud-based, analytics platform for corporate treasurers, Treasury DNA.

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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FinDEVr Silicon Valley: When You’re a Dev, You’re a Dev All the Way

FinDEVr Silicon Valley: When You’re a Dev, You’re a Dev All the Way
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinDEVr 2016 Silicon Valley

findevrsv2016_attendeetitlecloud

From your first IDE to your last coding day …

As our “Hail to the Chief” themed word-cloud shows, our upcoming developers conference FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016 is dedicated to the women and men whose talents and insights drive not just the technologies we appreciate today, but also the solutions we dream about for tomorrow. (And, yes, tickets are still available!)

From serial entrepreneurs looking to power their next big thing with the brightest minds and best solutions, to startups eager to show new ways to solve old problems, FinDEVr is a unique opportunity to meet the teams behind the technology. Our two-track, 15-minute presentation format (slides allowed, code encouraged) combined with high-quality, end-of-day networking on both Tuesday and Wednesday is designed to maximize your exposure to the latest in SDKs, APIs, case studies and new integrations in the industry.

mx_findevrsv15_stage

Brandon Dewitt, MX CTO, during his presentation, How You Build Something Is More Important Than What You’re Building

Join us 18/19 October for a two-day trip inside the laboratories where fintech’s future is being made. Find out how innovators are paving the way for safer, more efficient online transactions, better mobile app security, broader financial inclusion, and more. Tickets are on sale now. So visit our registration page today and save your spot. We’ll see you next week in Silicon Valley!

FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016 is sponsored by The Bancorp.

FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016 is partnered with Acuity Market Intelligence, BankersHub, BayPay Forum, BiometricUpdate.com, Bitcoin Magazine, Bitoinist.net, Breaking Banks, Byte Academy, California Bankers Association, Celent, The Cointelegraph, Colloquy, Emerging Payments Association, Empire Startups, FIDO Alliance, Fintech Finance, Global Platform, Hack Reactor, Harrington Starr, Juniper Research, Mercator Advisory Group, Next Money, Payment Week, Payments & Cards Network, SecuritySolutionsWatch.com, SIMAlliance, Swiss Finance + Technology Association, and Women Who Code.

 

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FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: Xignite

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

xignite_homepage_october2016

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAsia on 8 November 2016 in Hong Kong. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

Xignite makes it simple to build digital financial technology. Using our cloud-based REST APIs, developers can integrate in minutes and call real-time reference and market data directly to apps.

Features:

  • Cloud-based market-data distribution platform
  • Helps banks centralize, distribute, and optimize access to data
  • Data can instantly be pulled into portals within in-house systems

Why it’s great
Cloud-based market-data APIs are transforming banking, driving innovation while reducing infrastructure costs.

stephanedubois2_xignitePresenter

Stephane Dubois, CEO and founder
Listed on Institutional Investor’s Tech 50 list of financial visionaries and nominated for FTF News fintech person of the year, Dubois founded Xignite to pioneer market data in the cloud.
LinkedIn

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DriveWealth Brings Roboadvisory to Latin America in New Partnership with Alkanza

DriveWealth Brings Roboadvisory to Latin America in New Partnership with Alkanza
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: DriveWealth

driveweath_homepage_october2016

This summer, Best of Show winner DriveWealth announced a partnership with Chinese marketplace lender and wealth manager CreditEase to bring roboadvisory to China. Today we learn the innovative broker-dealer has made a deal with Silicon Valley-based Alkanza to bring similar services to Latin America.

DriveWealth founder and CEO Robert Cortright credited his company’s platform for helping bring access to U.S. equities to “investors everywhere, at every income level.” Cortright said, “Our partnership with Alkanza makes it possible for investors in Latin America not only to gain access to the U.S. stock market, but also have their portfolios be managed by experienced professionals for an affordable cost.”

drivewealth_stage_feu2016

DriveWealth Chief Information Officer Harry Temkin demonstrated Real Time Fractional Trading with Passport 2.0 at FinovateEurope 2016.

This combination of access and advisory is what Andrés Villaquiran, founder and CEO of Alkanza, praised in his firm’s new partnership with DriveWealth. “By marrying our premium investment advisory programs with DriveWealth’s low-cost access to U.S. securities,” Villaquiran said, “our Latin American clients can now add a unique investment option to their investment plans.” Alkanza will use DriveWealth’s wealth management APIs, which were launched earlier this year. Advisers will be able to offer their clients varying levels of support: non-discretionary, blended, and fully discretionary—the latter level giving Alkanza full management, trading, and rebalancing of client portfolios. Alkanza will first offer the new services in Argentina and Chile.

DriveWealth demonstrated its Real Time Fractional Trading with Passport 2.0 at FinovateEurope 2016, winning Best of Show. In August, the company added real-time margin to its platform. DriveWealth was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Chatham, New Jersey. The company will be making its FinDEVr debut next week at FinDEVr Silicon Valley. For more information, visit our FinDEVr page. To pick up your ticket and save your spot, visit our registration page.

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FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: VENTENY

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

venteny_homepage_october2016

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAsia on 8 November 2016 in Hong Kong. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

VENTENY is an HR/fintech company that provides instant online micro-financing to employees in companies in the Philippines as a part of their benefits.

Features:

  • About 90% of loan applications go through
  • The rates change based on repay history and years of working at the company
  • Solves employees’ need for cash and also improves the turnover rate

Why it’s great
The most reliable instant micro-financing solution provider for employees that delivers “EMPLOYEE HAPPINESS.”

junichirowaide_ventenyPresenter

Junichiro Waide, CEO and Founder
Waide started his career at PwC Japan, then was assigned to the U.S. as a business consultant. After PwC, he joined several IT companies (participating in IPOs in Japan) as director or board member.
LinkedIn

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