Author: David Penn

StockViews Raises $355k in Seed Funding, Adds Fidelity’s Balk as Chairman

StockViews Raises $355k in Seed Funding, Adds Fidelity’s Balk as Chairman
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Fundings, StockViews

Stockviews_homepage_March2016

Stock market research platform Stockviews has raised £250,000 ($355,000 USD) in seed funding. Participating in the round were angel network Craigie Capital, the London Co-Investment Fund, and former head of Fidelity International, Thomas Balk, who will join Stockviews’ board of directors as chairman.

Stockviews CEO Tom Beevers called Balk’s decision to join the company “a huge validation of this new approach to equity research.” Beevers praised Balk’s 25 years of experience in global asset management, including 16 years at Fidelity. “We’re delighted to have such a high-caliber executive heading up our board,” Beevers said.

Stockviews_stage_FS2015_2

Pictured: StockViews CEO and Founder Tom Beevers demonstrated his company’s technology at FinovateSpring 2015.

Balk spoke to StockViews’ ability to help improve sell-side research, which he said “has long had a poor reputation for generating results.” Focusing on the competition among fund managers as a main driver of interest in new technologies, Balk sees StockViews as becoming the “leading marketplace for high-quality, independent investment research.”

The news comes almost a year since StockViews made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015. The company’s platform connects individual stock market investors with more than 500 independent equity analysts who make their research available online. The “StockViews Signal,” launched at FinovateSpring 2015, provides a straightforward buy or sell signal for stocks based on the aggregated recommendations of the platform’s highest-rated analysts.

Founded in 2014, StockViews is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

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Capitalise.com to Join Microsoft Accelerator London

Capitalise.com to Join Microsoft Accelerator London
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Capitalise

Capitalise_homepage_Mar2016

Fresh from its launch at FinovateEurope 2016, British-based Capitalise.com announced that it will be joining the fifth cohort of Microsoft’s 16-week accelerator program in London.

Capitalise.com Founder Paul Surtees, M.D., said, “Working closely with Microsoft will enable Capitalise to more quickly develop our machine-learning capability and realize our ambition to make access to finance a reality for all small businesses.”

Capitalisecom_stage_FEU2016

Pictured (left to right): Capitalise.com co-founders Ollie Maitland, product director, and Paul Surtees, M.D., founder, demonstrated their technology at FinovateEurope 2016 in London.

One of 13 companies to participate in “Batch V,” Capitalise.com helps small businesses—and those who advise them—find financing. The company’s platform uses behavioral data to compare more than 2,500 data points to connect business borrowers with the best lender for them. Focusing on getting borrowers the financing offer with the highest likelihood of approval, Capitalise says that borrowers on its platform are twice as likely to get funded.

Microsoft Accelerator London provides startups with mentorship, technical guidance and support in order to help them scale their businesses. The accelerator does not take an equity stake in the startups that participate in the program, and companies do not have to be U.K.-based to participate in the London Accelerator, as long as the team is able to stay in London for the duration of the program.

MicrosoftAcceleratorLondon_Twitterpic

Joining Capitalise.com in the spring accelerator are:

  • Dendrite
  • FitWell
  • Apprecie Solutions
  • Altitude Angel
  • Crowdaura
  • Glisser
  • Instanda
  • Opsh
  • Pinipa
  • Furo

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in London, Capitalise.com demonstrated its platform at FinovateEurope 2016.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BBVA, BillGuard, Cachet Financial Solutions, Capitalise, CashSentinel, Financial Apps, i-exceed, Insuritas, Lendio, mBank, Mitek, Nexmo, Prosper, StockViews, Stratumn, Tradeshift, Xignite

On Finovate.com

  • “BillGuard App Changes Name to Prosper Daily”
  • “Capitalise.com to Join Microsoft Accelerator London”
  • “CashSentinel Launches in France with SFPMEI Partnership”
  • “StockViews Raises $355k in Seed Funding; Adds Fidelity’s Balk as Chairman”

On FinDEVr.com

Around the web

  • Poland’s mBank elects to focus on HCE for mobile payments over NFC.
  • Spain’s BBVA upgrades its ATM network to enable cash recycling.
  • TechCrunch features multiple Finovate and FinDEVr alums in its recommendations of financial products for the gig economy.
  • Mitek elects CEO James B. DeBello as chairman of the board.
  • CereTel, selects Cachet Financial Solutions to develop, deploy and manage new prepaid mobile banking platform.
  • Lendio partners with SBE Council to offer its lending resources to SMB owners.
  • Tradeshift announces MetaProcure as reseller.
  • First National Bank to install Insuritas insurance agency solution for its customers.

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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Wells Fargo to Deploy Biometric Authentication Technology from EyeVerify

Wells Fargo to Deploy Biometric Authentication Technology from EyeVerify
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: EyeVerify

EyeVerify_homepage2_Mar2016

By summer, Wells Fargo will be offering Eyeprint ID from EyeVerify to its corporate clients with commercial banking accounts.

As reported earlier this year in Bank Innovation, the initiative comes in the wake of EyeVerify’s participation in Wells Fargo’s startup accelerator program. Eyeprint ID will be offered as an option along with a face- and voice-recognition system. Both biometric authentication options replace the need for usernames, passwords, corporate ID numbers, and security tokens.

Secil Watson, head of wholesale Internet solutions for Wells Fargo, told the LA. Times this week that passwords were “at the end of their useful life.” She pointed out that Wells Fargo had been studying a variety of biometric solutions for “six or seven years,” including voice-authentication technologies.

EyeVerify_stage_FEU2016

Pictured: EyeVerify Director of Marketing Tinna Hung demonstrating Eyeprint ID at FinovateEurope 2016 in London.

Eyeprint ID technology provides a biometric authentication solution that is as straightforward as taking a selfie. By leveraging the existing camera in a smartphone to image the patterns of veins in the eye, the technology can be used for opening and securing mobile devices, as well as for logins. Unlike other solutions like fingerprint readers or iris scanners, Eyeprint ID’s software-only biometric approach doesn’t require expensive hardware to provide users with 99.99% accuracy.

EyeVerify has been on a roll in recent months. The company announced a deployment of its Eyeprint ID technology at Republic Bank in Kentucky at the beginning of the year, just a few weeks after reporting EyeVerify had topped two million users of its technology. And last fall, the company’s Eyeprint ID was adopted by both Chinese smartphone maker Nubia and the First Internet Bank.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, EyeVerify won a Best of Show award at FinovateEurope 2016. Toby Rush is CEO and founder.

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Pamela Joseph Tapped as New President, COO at TSYS

Pamela Joseph Tapped as New President, COO at TSYS
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: TSYS

TSYS_homepage_Mar2016

Fintech veteran Pamela Joseph has been chosen by TSYS to serve as the company’s new president and chief operating officer. The move comes less than a year after Joseph retired from her position as vice chair of U.S. Bancorp’s payment services division.

M. Troy Woods, TSYS CEO and chairman, called Joseph “immensely respected” among payments professionals. Woods said her “deep familiarity” with TSYS would help the company “deliver people-centered innovation in this rapidly evolving payments industry.”

Joseph praised TSYS’s “best in class technology platforms” and the “blue-chip” customer roster, and says she looks forward to “driving additional client and partner benefits through product innovation and service enhancements.”

In addition, Joseph will also be a part of the TSYS board of directors.

During her 11-year tenure at U.S. Bancorp, Joseph was responsible for all of the company’s electronic product lines (consumer credit, corporate, debit, global acquiring, prepaid, purchasing and fleet card programs, and small business). She was honored as one of the Most Influential Women in Payments by Payments Source, and as one of the Most Powerful Women in Banking by American Banker.

Joseph also served as chair of U.S. Bancorp subsidiary, Elavon, the fourth-largest merchant acquirer in both the United States and Europe. Her previous experience in the industry includes stints at Visa International (director of new market development) and Wells Fargo. She is credited for implementing a solution to mitigate $300 million in revenue lost each year because of changes required by the Durbin Amendment—all without major price changes for cardholders—and for helping U.S. Bancorp become the first U.S. bank to issue a contactless EMV card back in 2011.

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, TSYS demonstrated its Spend Controls for Consumers technology at FinovateSpring 2013.

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Brunon Bartkiewicz Named New CEO at ING Bank Slaski

Brunon Bartkiewicz Named New CEO at ING Bank Slaski
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ING Bank

INGBankSlaski_homepage_Mar2016

After spending two years as ING Bank’s Chief Innovation Officer—as well as time as ING Direct’s General Manager—Brunon Bartkiewicz (circle picture) will once again be CEO of ING Bank Śląski.

Brunon_Bartkiewicz_headshotThe change comes amid a flurry of activity for the Polish division of the innovative Dutch bank. Current ING Bank Śląski CEO Małgorzata Kołakowska will be taking on new responsibilities as global head of network for wholesale banking.

And new CIO Julía Vilar not only will be taking over as chief innovation officer, but also will head ING Bank Śląski’s retail banking segment. The new position was created in order to “strengthen the overall steering and coordination of retail banking” at the firm, as well as to “give greater executional certainty to new retail innovation projects.”

The transitions are expected to take place in May.

INGBankSlaski_stage_FEU2016

Pictured (left to right): Bartosz Dobrowolski (Customer Success Director, uselab) and Adam Walendziewski (Deputy Director, Direct Distribution Channels, ING Bank) demonstrating ING Business at FinovateEurope 2016 in London.

ING Bank Śląski began the year winning a pair of awards from International Finance Magazine, earning recognition as the “Most Innovative Bank” and “Best Customer Service Bank.” And last December, the bank was named “Best Bank in Poland” by The Banker, the “global financial intelligence unit” at the Financial Times. Earlier this month, ING Bank Śląski announced plans for a 4.3 zlotys-per-share dividend, up from 4 zlotys last year.

With 7% of the total assets of the Polish banking sector, ING Bank Śląski is one of the largest banks in Poland. ING Bank Śląski was founded in 1989 and, as of September 2015, served four million clients and employed more than 8,000. The company demoed its ING Business solution in cooperation with uselab at FinovateEurope 2016.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bill.com, CardFlight, DigiByte Holdings Limited, FairCom, Fenergo, ING Bank, Insuritas, Jack Henry, Motif Investing, Nostrum Group, Payoneer, Praesidio, Solace Systems, WePay, Xignite

On Finovate.com

  • “Brunon Bartkiewicz Named New CEO at ING Bank Slaski”

On FinDEVr.com

Around the web

  • Xignite announces its XigniteGlobalCurrencies API is now available in the Oracle Cloud Marketplace. Join Xignite at FinDEVr 2016 in New York, March 29 and 30.
  • CardFlight integrates with Stripe to encourage developers to build EMV payment functionality within their mobile apps.
  • Jack Henry partners with The Clearing House to help spread “real-time payment ubiquity” among FIs.
  • Fenergo to provide Client Lifecycle Management solutions to Nikko Securities America.
  • WePay wins gold at 2016 Stevie Awards for sales and customer service.
  • Entrepreneur reports: Payoneer to enter Indian market.
  • Insuritas replaces GoogleCompare by launching new technology that provides one-stop shopping for financial products.
  • Bill.com launches the Bill.com Network to promote faster, lower-cost payments for businesses.

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 Acquires Holvi for Undisclosed Sum

BBVA Acquires Holvi for Undisclosed Sum
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Holvi, Mergers & Acquisitions

Holvi_homepage_Mar2016

Described by Wired magazine as one of the “hottest startups in Finland,” Holvi has just been acquired by Spanish bank BBVA, a fellow Finovate alum.

“We’re excited about Holvi as we share a vision about the benefit of technology for the customer,” BBVA’s Teppo Paavola said. Paavola, chief development officer and GM of new digital business for BBVA, also praised the way Holvi leveraged technology “to bring a new approach to small business banking, where services essential to a business’s future, such as invoicing, are built into their core offer.”

Holvi_stage_FEU2013

Pictured: Holvi co-founder Tuomas Toivonen demonstrating his company’s platform at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.

“We found the ideal owner in BBVA,” Holvi CEO Johan Lorenzen added in a statement on the Holvi blog. “A bank with the understanding of the digital world to give us the necessary room to grow, and then the scale and expertise to underpin that growth with sound foundations.”

Terms of the acquisition were not immediately available.

Calling itself “Banking for Makers and Doers,” Holvi provides SMEs, freelancers, and entrepreneurs with a business current account that features its own international bank account number (IBAN), as well as a suite of banking, accounting, and invoicing tools to make it easier to manage company finances. Holvi accounts provide automatic financial statements, including a real-time update of VAT balance, and can be used to send invoices and even set up an online store. As of April 2016, Holvi customers in Germany, Austria, and Finland will also get access to a Holvi Business MasterCard.

Last December, Holvi was featured in TheNextWeb’s look at “10 Finnish startups to watch in 2016.” That same month, Let’s Talk Payments included Holvi in a roundup of top Nordic fintech startups. Business Insider also recognized the company last fall, naming it among the “12 hottest” fintech startups in the region. And in September, Holvi launched its Supercharge feature to make it easier for customers to add money to their Holvi accounts.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Holvi demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2013. The company is an authorized payment institution licensed and regulated by FIN-FSA (the Financial Supervisory Authority of Finland.)

 

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BBVA, Digital Insight, Holvi, Hyperwallet, Nomis Solutions, Swipely, TransferTo, Tuition.io, Upserve, Xero

On Finovate.com:

  • “BBVA Acquires Holvi for Undisclosed Sum”
  • “Swipely Rebrands as Upserve to Focus Exclusively on Restaurants”

Around the web

  • TransferTo forges strategic partnership with emerging markets telecom, Millicom.
  • Digital Insight adds Android Fingerprint ID to its mobile banking app.
  • Nomis Solutions hires Frank Bria as vice president and go-to-market leader for new presentment optimization and personalized pricing initiative.
  • Xero extends partnership with MidPoint to make cross-border procurement easier.
  • Hyperwallet adds two new VPs: Tomas Likar and Daniel Berardo. See Hyperwallet at FinDEVr 2016 in New York this month.
  • Kasasa accountholders can now use their institution-issued credit card to qualify for rewards.
  • USA Today interviews Brendon McQueen, CEO of Tuition.io.
  • BioCatch granted new patent to detect user ID on electronic devices.
  • Lighter Capital has funded seven new clients so far this year.

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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DoubleNet Pay, Token Earn Spots at Plug and Play Accelerator

DoubleNet Pay, Token Earn Spots at Plug and Play Accelerator
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: DoubleNet Pay, Token

PlugandPlay_homepage

Two Finovate alums – DoubleNet Pay and Token – are among the 23 startups picked for the third cohort of Plug and Play’s Financial Technology Platform of Innovation.

The companies will spend three months of mentorship, “structured deal review, pilots, investments, and even acquisitions” with Plug and Play Fintech’s “ecosystem” of corporate partners. Companies are chosen by members of the Plug and Play venture team, as well as VC and corporate judges. The 23 startups will pitch their technologies to investors and industry professionals at Plug and Play’s EXPO in May.

Scott Robinson, founder and director of Plug and Play FinTech, pointed to its new corporate sponsors as a key to the program’s continued success. “This unprecedented level of support will result in new levels of innovation from our startups.”

See a list of all 23 companies.

DoubleNetPay_logo_box_snaggit_resizeDoubleNet Pay helps people better manage their finances by focusing on cash flow, or what the company calls “the problem of having ‘too much month’ at the end of the money.” The company’s technology tracks expenses and due dates, and schedules payments around payday cycles so that users know exactly how much discretionary spending they really have. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, DoubleNet Pay was highlighted in Human Resource Executive Online last fall in a look at workplace wellness. The company, led by co-founders Brian Cosgray and Cody Laird, demonstrated its platform at FinovateSpring 2015. Check out our Finovate Debut feature from last August.

Token-LogoToken also made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015 (read our debut profile of Token), and followed up with an appearance at FinDEVr 2015 in San Francisco later in the year.  The company offers an end-to-end, secure payment system that uses digital signatures to authorize transactions instead of both “shared secrets” like passwords and account numbers, as well as traditional tokenization. Launched in 2015, Token was a winner at Innotribe 2015 New York last summer (along with fellow alums, SizeUp and Pendo Systems), and was a finalist in the BBVA Open Talent competition in August.  The company is based in Palo Alto, California.

Update: An earlier version stated the duration of the program at three weeks.

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WorkFusion Raises $14 Million Series C Round Led by Nokia Growth Partners

WorkFusion Raises $14 Million Series C Round Led by Nokia Growth Partners
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Fundings, WorkFusion

WorkFusion_homepage_Mar2015

Here’s some investment news we missed when it broke in late December: WorkFusion, a company that combines machine learning and crowdsourcing to automate business processes, raised $14 million in Series C investment. The round was led by Nokia Growth Partners, and featured participation from existing investors Greycroft Partners, iNovia Capital, Mohr Davidow Ventures, and RTP Ventures.

The investment takes WorkFusion’s total capital to more than $36 million. The company says the new funding will help fuel its business development initiatives around the world.  

WorkFusion_stage_FF2014

Pictured: WorkFusion CEO Max Yankelvich demonstrating his company’s Active-Learning Automation technology at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.

Calling 2016 “the year of automation,” Yankelvich pointed out that WorkFusion’s customers have reduced operational costs by 60% and gained what he called “business agility.” For financial services companies, WorkFusion’s SaaS technology is deployed for customer onboarding, claims processing, and compliance, among other processes.

Among the more recent financial services companies to deploy WorkFusion’s technology is fellow Finovate alum, Markit, which announced its partnership with the machine learning specialist in February. The company has been profiled recently in the New York Business Journal, as well as in  AlleyWatch, which features a Q&A with WorkFusion VP of Marketing, Adam Devine.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in New York City, WorkFusion demonstrated its Active-Learning Automation platform at FinovateFall 2014. Eighteen out of the top 20 information services businesses use WorkFusion’s technology, as do leading financial, global commerce, and business process outsourcing providers. Check out our Finovate Debut post featuring WorkFusion.

 

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Avoka, DoubleNet Pay, FinanceIt, Micronotes, Payoneer, Personal Capital, Ripple, SocietyOne, Token, TSYS, WorkFusion

On Finovate.com

  • “Personal Capital Exceeds $2 Billion AUM”
  • “WorkFusion Raises $14 Million Series C Round Led by Nokia Growth Partners”
  • “DoubleNet Pay, Token Earn Spots at Plug and Play Accelerator”
  • “SocietyOne Appoints Former WestPac Exec as CEO”

Around the web

  • Payoneer powers international payments for South American e-commerce merchant, Linio.
  • TSYS certifies the new mobile EMV solution from Handpoint.
  • Global Retail Banker interviews Dilip Rao, head of business development and operations for Ripple in the Asia-Pacific region.
  • “Micronotes Names Artificial Intelligence Innovator and MIT Expert Dr. Luis Perez-Breva to Board of Advisors”
  • “Avoka Named Top Ten FinTech Worldwide by KPMG”
  • Notable features Financeit’s COO, Casper Wong.

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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