FutureAdvisor Brings RoboAdvisory to U.S. Bank Wealth Management

FutureAdvisor Brings RoboAdvisory to U.S. Bank Wealth Management

FutureAdvisor_homepage_September2016

Since its acquisition by BlackRock a year ago, online investment adviser FutureAdvisor has inked partnerships with BBVA Compass and RBC Wealth Management. Recently, we learned that the San Francisco-based robo-adviser founded by CEO Bo Lu has added another major client to its roster: U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

“Digital advice … will play a larger role as the combination of digital and human advice, packaged appropriately together, continues to improve outcomes for both financial advisers and their clients,” Lu said.

FutureAdvisor is an online investment adviser that automatically reviews and manages investment holdings to optimize asset allocation, limit hidden fees, and improve tax efficiency. The platform provides regular portfolio rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, and immediate and automatic investment of newly added cash. FutureAdvisor also gives clients access to professional licensed advisers and service specialists to ensure that investors get quick answers to their questions about investing and the FutureAdvisor platform. Clients can use the technology to plan for a variety of financial goals, and is free for those using the platform for retirement and college savings. For investment management, FutureAdvisor charges an annual fee of 0.5% of assets directly managed, with advice on managing 401(k) accounts available for free.

Mark Jordahl, president of wealth management at U.S. Bank, said FutureAdvisor’s technology would complement the work of its investment advisers and give investors greater confidence. “We are thrilled to be launching a new strategic partnership with FutureAdvisor to create an automated investing option that we believe will be highly valued by those who are in the process of growing as investors,” Jordahl said. U.S. Bank will use FutureAdvisor to build a variety of investment portfolios consisting of “cost-effective funds specifically designed to help clients work toward their goals.”

Founded in 2010 and based in San Francisco, California, FutureAdvisor demonstrated its technology at FinovateFall 2013. This summer, the company was featured in a report on automated digital wealth management from Finovate sponsor Financial Technology Partners (FTPartners), and profiled by Business Insider. FutureAdvisor picked up LPL Financial as a client in April, bringing its robo-adviser platform to the company’s 14,000 financial advisers. Prior to the company’s acquisition by BlackRock, FutureAdvisor had raised more than $21 million in funding.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Blackhawk Network Acquires Grass Roots for $118 Million
  • FutureAdvisor Brings RoboAdvisory to U.S. Bank Wealth Management

Around the web

  • Avoka reports record levels of orders for fiscal 2016. Join Avoka in New York for FinovateFall 2016 next week.
  • Financeit earns spot on the TechVibes’ Fintech Five.
  • Chain CEO Adam Ludwin warns against “blockchain hype” on Fortune.com.
  • Narrative Science teams up with Franklin Templeton Investments to bring Quill technology to their fund commentary process.
  • SmartyPig switches to Sallie Mae Bank to enable partial withdrawals, direct deposit, and to offer a higher interest rate.

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.

Boku Lands $13.75 Million in Venture Funding

Boku Lands $13.75 Million in Venture Funding

Boku_homepage_September2016

In a venture round featuring investments from new and existing investors, direct carrier billing and mobile payments leader Boku has raised $13.75 million in additional funding. The financing brings Boku’s total capital to $91 million, and will help fuel the company’s global growth. Participating in the venture round were existing investors Khosla Ventures, Benchmark Capital, NEA, Index Ventures, and DAG Ventures. Additional new and existing investors from the U.K., the U.S., and Asia were also involved.

“Carrier billing is evolving from being a niche product for phone-centric content into a mainstream payment method used by the world’s major brands for all types of digital products,” Boku CEO Jon Prideaux explained. With most customers of carrier billing traditionally coming from developing countries where access to credit and payment cards can be a challenge, Prideaux noted that the company has experienced “explosive growth” in more developed markets, thanks largely to partnerships it has forged with merchants and carriers.

“The world’s biggest tech companies see tremendous potential in the power of the phone as a source of funds,” Prideaux added. He said the combination of improved technology and increased awareness are two trends driving greater adoption of carrier billing as a viable payment option in both emerging and developed markets.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Boku demonstrated its mobile payment service at FinovateEurope 2011. The company announced a partnership with Google that will make carrier-billing a payment option on Google Play in Lithuania, as well as an agreement that brings direct carrier billing to Windows 10 phones in both the U.K. and Italy. Boku announced that it would power carrier billing for Spotify in Germany and Italy and do the same for Google Play with four new partners in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Boku Lands $13.75 Million in Venture Funding

Around the web

  • Tradeshift, Taulia, and GoodData earn spots on Battery Ventures/Glassdoor’s “50 Highest Rated Private Cloud Companies to Work For” roster. See GoodData next week at FinovateFall in New York.
  • Sesloc FCU picks Symitar Episys core system from Jack Henry & Associates for in-house processing.
  • Q2 announces redesign of its corporate website.
  • First Annapolis interviews Cardlytics CEO Scott Grimes, co-founder.
  • NCR honored by 2016 Industrial Design Excellence Awards.
  • NuData Security Included in Industry Analyst Reports by Gartner for Fraud Detection
  • Top Image Systems names Brendan Reidy CEO.
  • Worldpay renews Ingenico terminal contract.

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.

Payworks Unveils Next Generation Payment Gateway, Pulse

Payworks Unveils Next Generation Payment Gateway, Pulse

Payworks_Pulse_homepage_August2016

Munich, Germany-based Payworks has launched its next generation payment gateway technology, Pulse. The solution makes it easier for developers to integrate card readers into both stationary and mobile point-of-sale systems, improving and simplifying in-person card payments for consumers.

“The official launch of Pulse is a very important milestone for our company,” Payworks CEO and co-founder Christian Deger said. “Pulse will create fantastic opportunities for our partners and clients, both technically as well as commercially.” The Pulse launch is the culmination of Payworks’ corporate rebranding, including a new logo that “represents the openness and flexibility of the Pulse technology.”

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CEO Christian Deger and Head of Sales Michael Englmaier demonstrated the payworks platform at FinovateEurope 2014 in London.

Pulse-powered payment technologies will enable customers to take advantage of a wide variety of payment technologies including EMV chip & PIN cards, contactless cards, and mobile wallets. The cloud-based payment-processing platform comes pre-certified for both developers and merchants, and scales well for both large and small businesses. In addition to Pulse, Payworks is offering its white-labeled mPOS solution, Accept, geared specifically for payment providers looking for an acceptance solution for SMEs, and Engage, an analytics and customer engagement platform.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Munich, Germany, Payworks demonstrated its platform at FinovateEurope 2014. The company includes Speedinvest and Barikuta Partners among its investors, and has offices in the U.K., the U.S., and Spain. Payworks has partnered with some of the world’s largest payment processors including Barclaycard, Stripe, and Elavon. Earlier this month, Payworks announced a partnership with U.S. ticketing systems specialist, VBO Tickets. In July, the company teamed up with Swedish POS specialist, AffärsIT to bring Windows-based point-of sale technology to 5,000 merchants in Scandinavia, just one month after Payworks extended its Stripe POS integration.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Payworks Unveils Next Generation Payment Gateway, Pulse
  • Check out this week’s FinDEVr APIntelligence
  • Jumio Raises $15 Million from its New Owner, Centana Growth Partners

Around the web

  • Currency Cloud partners with Arkea Banking Services to provide faster payments and better reconciliation. Join Currency Cloud in New York next week for FinovateFall 2016.
  • PYMNTS.com looks at Behalf and its recent $27 million Series C.
  • Bluefin Payment Systems unveils PAX devices for PCI-validated, point-to-point encryption (P2PE).
  • Uber and Visa team up on local offers.

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.

EyeVerify Teams Up with BioConnect to Boost Payment Security

EyeVerify Teams Up with BioConnect to Boost Payment Security

EyeVerify_homepage_August2016

Guess who just joined BioConnect’s Quest for Rightful Identity?

Less than a week before EyeVerify returns to the Finovate stage, the company has announced that it is integrating its Eyeprint ID technology with BioConnect’s Identity Platform. The addition will give BioConnect’s platform a mobile biometric solution, with encryption comparable to a 50-character complex password. BioConnect VP Bianca Lopes said EyeVerify’s solutions had “the highest standards of mobile-friendly security” and are “built perfectly for the financial services industry: secure and frictionless.”

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EyeVerify Director of Marketing Tinna Hung demonstrated Eyeprint ID at FinovateEurope 2016 in London.

EyeVerify’s Eyeprint ID works by scanning the unique pattern of veins and “micro features” in and around the eye. The 1+MP camera on most smartphones is powerful enough to do the scanning, which was likened to taking a selfie in the company’s Best of Show-winning demonstration at FinovateEurope earlier this year. Eyeprints are scrambled and encrypted locally on the user’s device so they can never be lost, stolen, or intercepted.

With origins in security and physical access management, BioConnect has developed into a hardware and device-agnostic platform that provides biometric authentication in both physical and digital environments. Its Identity Platform gives large businesses the ability to leverage multiple biometric authentication strategies without having to abandon or alter their incumbent systems.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, EyeVerify made headlines this spring when Wells Fargo announced that it would deploy Eyeprint ID with its corporate clients with commercial banking accounts. Also this spring, EyeVerify announced that its biometric authentication solution would be integrated into the Biometric Security Suite of HYPR Corporation. A member of the FIDO Alliance and the International Biometrics & Identification Association, EyeVerify has raised $9.8 million in funding. Toby Rush is CEO.

Join us in New York for FinovateFall next week, September 8 & 9. See EyeVerify and more than 70 other fintech innovators as they demonstrate their latest technologies live on stage. Tickets are on sale now, so visit our registration page and save your spot.

Behalf Raises $27 Million

Behalf Raises $27 Million

Behalf_homepage_August2016

In a round led by new investor Viola Growth, small business financing innovator Behalf has raised $27 million in Series C funding. The investment will support the company’s increased investment in business development as well as further innovation in its purchase-financing platform.

Calling small businesses the “unsung heroes of the U.S. economy,” Behalf CEO and co-founder Benjy Feinberg pointed to his company’s platform as a solution to help them get the necessary financing to grow. “Behalf has a simple solution, driven by data and technology, that allows us to provide well-priced and flexible credit tools to help SMBs and their suppliers grow profitably,” he said. Also participating in the round were previous investors Sequoia Capital, Spark Capital, MissionOG, and Vintage. The Series C takes Behalf’s total capital to $156 million.

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CEO Benjy Feinberg presented Behalf’s Vendor Platform at FinovateFall 2014.

Behalf pays vendors directly on their small client’s behalf—hence, the name. This approach, which relies on Behalf’s proprietary credit scoring technology, helps bring short-term purchase financing to small businesses faster and more efficiently: Small businesses can buy up to $50,000 in inventory on the Behalf platform, with terms ranging from $10 to $30 for every $1,000 per month borrowed.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in New York City, Behalf demonstrated its Vendor Platform at FinovateFall 2014. The company has doubled revenues every six months since inception, and recently added Jorgen Bocklage as CFO. Bocklage founded 118 118 Money and is a former VP of finance at Dashlane, a fellow Finovate alum.

Harel Beit-On, Viola Growth founder and general partner who will be joining the Behalf board of directors, praised the company’s team and its growth, saying the company had targeted a “fast growing market” that was “valued by analysts in the trillions, that is underserved by banks.” Behalf says over the next twelve months it will be adding talent in a variety of roles ranging from marketing to engineering.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Behalf Raises $27 Million in New Funding
  • Backbase Partners with Entersekt to Deliver Authentication Technology
  • EyeVerify Teams Up with BioConnect to Boost Payment Security.

Around the web

  • PittsburghPost-Gazette feature on local fintech incubator SteelBridge Laboratories quotes Om Kundu, CEO of InSpirAVE. See InSpirAVE at FinovateFall in New York next week.
  • Massachusetts-based Randolph Savings Bank re-ups with Fiserv for front- and back-office technology.
  • Wipro announces partnership with Stibo Systems to offer Master Data Management (MDM) solutions.
  • PYMNTS.com looks at TransferWise and its growing independence from bank partners.
  • Jack Henry & Associates Awarded by Aite Group for Core Processing.

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.

Coinbase Offers Mobile Card Payment Option to European Bitcoin Buyers

Coinbase Offers Mobile Card Payment Option to European Bitcoin Buyers

Coinbase_homepage_August2016

European customers of Coinbase have been able to buy bitcoin and ethereum using debit and credit cards for a little over a year. Now, they can do it on mobile, too.

Strong numbers from the U.S. seem to support the move. Announcing the new functionality on the its blog, Coinbase noted that 40% of its credit and debit card purchases of digital currencies in the U.S. are coming from mobile devices. “Our mission at Coinbase is to create an open financial system for the world,” the post read, “and enabling easy access to digital currencies like bitcoin and ether in as many countries as possible gets us one step closer to that goal.”

Indeed. Coinbase last month added Australia, Canada, and Singapore to the list of countries where Coinbase customers can use payment cards to buy digital currencies. The company added support for ethereum earlier this year, and enabled PayPal and credit cards for bitcoin sales and purchases, respectively, in June. Coinbase launched the U.S. beta of its instant bitcoin purchase via debit card in March and expanded the service to all U.S. customers later in the spring.

Coinbase’s free mobile wallet works for both Android and iOS (in addition to online). Customers can create a digital wallet, connect a bank account, debit, or credit card, and then begin buying both bitcoin and ether on the Coinbase exchange.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Coinbase demonstrated its Instant Exchange technology at FinovateSpring 2014. The company has raised more than $117 million in funding, including a strategic investment of $10.5 million from Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ in July. Coinbase has exchanged more than $4 billion in digital currency and served more than four million customers in 33 countries.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • ID.me Lands $3.7 Million Grant
  • Coinbase Offers Mobile Card Payment Option to European Bitcoin Buyers

Around the web

  • RightCapital announces new partnership with Alliance of Comprehensive Planners (ACP). See Right Capital at FinovateFall 2016 in New York next week.
  • Intuit unveils personalized app recommendations for QuickBooks Online.
  • Business News Daily names BlueVine Best B2B Factoring Service.
  • Top Image Systems increases footprint in Asia.

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.

DriveWealth Adds Real-Time Margin

DriveWealth Adds Real-Time Margin

DriveWealth_homepage_August2016

Margin calls—the “friendly” shoulder-tap from your brokerage that means you’re in a losing investment position and your broker needs more capital to cover it—are the bane of every trader and investor who uses leverage. But for those on the DriveWealth platform, the technology’s new real-time margin feature all but makes traditional margin calls a thing of the past.

Instead of calculating margin requirements only once a day like most traditional brokerages, DriveWealth’s real-time margin will recalculate and update margin requirements over the course of the trading day. This intra-day limiting of purchasing power makes it less likely that an investor will be forced to liquidate holdings or come up with additional capital to satisfy a margin call. Robert Cortright, founder and CEO of DriveWealth said, “With the release of real-time margin, we are now giving investors who want to trade on leverage a way to increase control and decrease risk relative to traditional margin accounts.”

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From left: CIO Harry Temkin with Michael Fitzgerald, head of corporate strategy, demonstrated DriveWealth’s real-time fractional trading with Passport 2.0 at FinovateEurope 2016.

Using margin is admittedly a strategy for experienced investors: Even seasoned professionals often find themselves suddenly forced to sell other positions or raise cash to defend a losing leveraged investment. In addition to giving investors greater protection against intra-day market risk, real-time margin also promotes a more efficient market, limiting buying power intra-day when volatility rises rather than waiting for an urgent, late-in-the-trading-day phone call from the brokerage. Real-time margin is available via API for DriveWealth’s partners as well as a feature on the app.

Founded in May 2012 and headquartered in Chatham, New Jersey, DriveWealth pioneered the use of APIs and cloud-based technologies as a way to provide international investors and traders access to the U.S. equities market. The company’s mobile-first, full-stack platform includes real-time fractional share trading, which it demonstrated earlier this year at FinovateEurope, winning Best of Show.

In what has been a busy year for DriveWealth, the company expanded its APIs to support investment advisers in August, teamed up with CreditEase to bring robo-advisery to China in June, and partnered with Australian fintech company Stoxs to provide Australian investors with access to U.S. stocks in February. DriveWealth has raised more than $8 million in funding, and includes Fenway Summer Ventures, Route 66 Ventures, and SenaHill Partners among its investors.

Find out more about how companies like DriveWealth are building APIs that help connect investors and markets at our upcoming developers conference, 18/19 October, FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016.