Author: David Penn

Worldpay Goes Public; Shares Rally on Trading Debut

Worldpay Goes Public; Shares Rally on Trading Debut
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: WorldPay

Worldpay_homepage_Oct2015

With a successful FinDEVr 2015 behind us, and an exciting FinovateEurope 2016 around the corner, it is hard for us to hide our excitement over the IPO of FinDEVr 2015 newcomer, Worldpay. The British payment processor went public last week on the London Stock Exchange, opening at 240 pence ($3.68) per share on Tuesday and ending the session up more than 5% at 253 pence. Later in the week, shares were trading above 260 pence.

Worldpay, which is owned by private equity firms Advent International and Bain Capital, has earned a valuation of more than $7 billion (£4.8 billion). The company offered 900 million shares, and is expected to raise more than £2 billion through the IPO, more than £947 million of which will return to WorldPay.

As the Financial Times reported, the Worldpay IPO was the biggest initial public offering in the U.K. in two years, and the largest ever of a private equity owned company in the U.K.

Worldpay_1101

Worldpay SVP and Head of Strategy Chester Ritchie demonstrated Worldpay’s Securenet API at FinDEVr 2015 in San Francisco.

Worldpay CEO Philip Jansen referred to the public offering as a milestone, but contextualized it with investments the company itself has made to build its business. “We have already invested over £1 billion in our technology, people, and capabilities,” Jansen told the FT. “(We’ve) become an advanced and sophisticated technology-led organization with great potential.”

Worldpay was created out of the Royal Bank of Scotland as a standalone entity in 2010. With revenues of more than £860 million ($974 million USD) in 2014, the company processes more than 30 million mobile, online, and card transactions daily. The company’s IPO contrasts with that of First Data, a U.S. payment processor that also went public this week in the largest pubic offering of the year (First Data sought to raise $3.7 billion). Shares of First Data failed to gain traction with investors, with the stock finishing the week slightly below its IPO price of $16.

Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley led the offering with Lazard serving as financial adviser for Worldpay.

For its FinDEVr debut earlier this month, Worldpay introduced its Securenet API. The technology enables developers to add secure payments to websites, apps, and mobile devices. Worldpay’s experience with APIs includes winning Best New Product of the Year in the SMB category of the Best in Biz Awards 2015 International for its payments-integration solutions.

Live video of Worldpay’s FinDEVr presentation will be available soon.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BBVA Compass, blooom, Cloud Lending, CurrencyFair, Expensify, Fastacash, IDology, Interactions, Kantox, Payfone, PayPal, Persistent Systems, SnoopWall, TransferWise, WorldPay

On Finovate.com

  • “IDology Announces “Significant,” Strategic Equity Investment in Payfone“
  • “Worldpay Goes Public; Shares Rally on Trading Debut”

Around the web

  • Fastacash announces strategic investment in Myanmar-focused, MyPAY.
  • American Banker interviews CEO Manolo Sanchez, BBVA Compass.
  • Persistent Systems announces technology partnership with Municipal Corporation.
  • Independent.IE features CurrencyFair, Expensify, and PayPal in a review of 20 PFM apps.
  • Fox Business interviews Blooom President Greg Smith on the future of 401(k) plans.
  • Silicon Review lists SnoopWall as 1 of 20 fastest growing security companies.
  • The Hindu features Cloud Lending Solutions’ co-founder Snehal Fulzele.
  • Interactions wins bronze Stevie Award in the Most Innovative Tech Company of the Year category. This is its fourth consecutive Stevie Award.
  • Slush.org interviews Kristo Kaarmann, TransferWise co-founder.
  • The Culture Trip highlights Kantox in its review of successful Barcelona startups.

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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Blooom Announces $4 Million Series A Round Led by QED Investors

Blooom Announces $4 Million Series A Round Led by QED Investors
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: blooom, Funding, Fundings

blooom_homepage_Oct2015

In its first outside-capital raise, personal investment-management platform Blooom has hauled in $4 million. The Series A round was led by QED Investors, a firm that has invested in a variety of fintech startups—and Finovate alums—in recent years, ranging from Braintree and Credit Karma to Prosper and LendUp.

Also participating in the round were DST Systems Inc., Commerce Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, and UMB.

Blooom_stage_FF2014

Blooom Co-Founders Chris Costello and Randy AufDerHeide demonstrated at FinovateFall 2014.

Blooom operates in one of the more interesting niches in personal investment management, 401(k) accounts. Unlike other investors, many 401(k) account holders never asked for them—they were simply a job benefit. As such, 401(k) investors represent a potentially huge market of investors who need help managing these accounts wisely.

The company’s leadership team includes former investment banker Greg Smith who penned the notorious “Why I am Leaving Goldman Sachs” piece for the New York Times in 2012. Now president of Blooom, Smith feels he is finally with an organization that “aligns with his values” and the issues of customer service and putting clients first he wrote about in his critical NYT op-ed.

Blooom works by giving investors a short questionnaire about their current financial status, risk tolerance, and investment preferences. Consumers can take advantage of the free 401(k) comparative analysis or sign up for ongoing account management, including rebalancing and allocation adjustments. Price is either $1 a month for clients with account values below $20,000, or $15 a month for larger accounts.

Read more about Blooom in its Finovate debut feature from last fall.

Recent headlines for Blooom include winning a grant last month from LaunchKC. The company has been profiled in Forbes, highlighted as a member of the “Silicon Prairie” in Inc, and referred to as “the future of retail savings” by COOConnect.

Founded in February 2013 and headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, Blooom demonstrated its platform at FinovateFall 2014 in New York .

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Mortgagetech on the Move as Roostify Closes Series A Round Led by USAA

Mortgagetech on the Move as Roostify Closes Series A Round Led by USAA
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Fundings, Roostify

Roostify_homepage_Oct2015

While deal-terms were not disclosed, we learned late Wednesday that mortgage-transaction technology innovator Roostify has wrapped up a Series A investment round led by USAA.

“Roostify is innovating the home-buying process for consumers and lenders through a platform that brings simplicity and efficiency to something that sorely needs it,” said Michael Smith, USAA executive director for corporate development.

Roostify CEO Rajesh Bhat asserts the solution “brings a user friendliness to the process that benefits lenders and applicants by streamlining the process. (It cuts) the time to close loans and lessens errors in the applications.”

Roostify_stage_FS2014

From left: Roostify Lead Engineer Jonathan Kirst and CEO Rajesh Bhat demonstrated at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose, California.

Also participating in the funding were Colchis Capital and “two tier-1 banks.” Bhat said the funding will help grow the technology and bring more lenders to the platform.

Roostify simplifies the challenging process of buying a home for all parties involved. Home-buyers using the platform benefit from 100% transparency and greater control over the process, resulting in greater accountability and lower costs. Lenders can approve and process more loans faster using Roostify, having processed thousands of applications through the platform since its launch in early 2014.

Founded in March 2013 and headquartered in Burlingame, California, Roostify made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Arxan Technologies, Avalara, BizEquity, blooom, eMoney Advisor, Kontomatik, LOYAL3, Misys, MX, Roostify, Tradeshift, Tradier

On Finovate.com

  • “Mortgagetech on the Move as Roostify Closes Series A Round Led by USAA”
  • “Blooom Announces $4 Million Series A Round Led by QED Investors”

Around the web

  • BizEquity announces strategic partnership with eMoney Advisor.
  • Vietnam Public Joint Stock Commercial Bank (PVcomBank) deploys digital banking platform from Misys.
  • Let’s Talk Payments interviews Konstantin Rabin, Kontomatik CMO.
  • BAI Retail Delivery conference attendees select MX as the Innovation Showcase Award winner.
  • Global AutoTrading integrates with Tradier to extend brokerage services.
  • Avalara announces sales-tax accuracy guarantee.
  • LOYAL3 Securities will act as co-manager for Square’s IPO.
  • Customers of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV rollout will automatically have free access to Tradeshift’s e-invoicing solution.
  • Arxan now secures applications running on 500+ million devices.

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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Hoyos Labs Unveils 4F Smartphone Authentication Technology

Hoyos Labs Unveils 4F Smartphone Authentication Technology
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Hoyos Labs

HoyosLabs_homepage_Oct2015

When it comes to biometric touch-based authentication, Hoyos Labs believes four points are better than one.

The authentication infrastructure specialist unveiled its 4F biometric technology at the Biometrics 2015 show in London this week. The smartphone technology simultaneously captures four fingerprints and works in any environment, leveraging the mobile device’s photo flash as a light source. Company founder and CEO, Hector Hoyos says the technology is “touch-less, four-finger acquisition with 150 degrees of freedom.”

HoyosLabs_stage_FF2014

Hoyos Labs CEO Hector Hoyos demonstratied the mobile app of the Hoyos ID Identity Assertion platform at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.

Using facial, voice, and fingerprint technologies such as 4F, Hoyos specializes in mobile biometric authentication solutions, seeking to move digital asset security beyond the world of passcodes, PINs, and tokens. The company’s open protocol standard was approved by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in September, certifying the technology as an internet and mobile device-authentication global standard. Hoyos Labs joined the FIDO Alliance in March 2015.

Hoyos Labs was founded in December 2013 and is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Boston, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Bucharest, Beijing, and Oxford (U.K.). The company demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2014.

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American Banker’s “20 Fintech Companies to Watch” Features 11 Finovate Alums

American Banker’s “20 Fintech Companies to Watch” Features 11 Finovate Alums
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AcceptEmail, Avoka, BioCatch, Feedzai, Fenergo, Gro Solutions, Intellaegis, Ripple, Trunomi

FintechForward_AmericanBanker_BAIIn the same way that celebrities examine the memoirs of other celebrities to see if and how frequently their names are mentioned, I admit my first thought upon seeing American Banker’s roster of “20 Fintech Companies to Watch” was: “How many Finovate/FinDEVr alums?!”

American Banker’s “20 Fintech Companies to Watch” feature is a part of Fintech Forward, its collaboration with BAI. The goal of the partnership is to “identify the forces and trends that are motivating banks’ technology investment.”

Companies for the list were selected by a panel of judges from American Banker, BAI, Citi, Santander, and Rockland Trust, who focused on three criteria:

  • Does a company offer innovative technology?
  • Does it solve a real business problem?
  • Is it ready for prime time?

So with the bar set, here are the Finovate alums that made the cut.

Rounding out the top 20 were Untapt, Gigaspaces Technologies, IdentityMind Global, Addepar, Zenbanx, nCino, Moneythink, InAuth, and Iovation.

In addition to its “20 Fintech Companies to Watch,” Fintech Forward has produced its “Top 100 Companies in Fintech” and “Top 25 Enterprise Companies” rankings. Both rosters feature numerous Finovate and FinDEVr alums, as well.

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Moven Rounds Up $12 Million in Funding for International Expansion

Moven Rounds Up $12 Million in Funding for International Expansion
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Moven

Moven_homepage_Oct2015

Mobile banking innovator Moven has picked up $12 million in new funding. The investment round was led by Route 66 Ventures, and takes Moven’s total capital to more than $24 million. Anthemis Group, Atlas Asset Management, NY Angels, and Raptor Group’s Jim Palotta also participated in the series B round.

The new capital will help Moven expand internationally, particularly into Canada and New Zealand. Moven announced a partnership with TD Canada last December, and has been working with New Zealand’s Westpac since August 2014.

Moven_stage_FS2015

Moven CEO and founder Brett King demonstrated Moven Financial Health Platform at FinovateSpring 2015 in San Jose.

In addition to deals with TD Canada and Westpac, Moven inked a deal with Accenture in May, in which the two would “jointly develop next-generation digital banking solutions.” The agreement also called for building solutions that will help banks worldwide adopt digital technology faster, more efficiently, and less expensively.

Winner of a Best of Show award at FinovateSpring 2015 for its Financial Health Platform, Moven was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in New York City. The company launched its mobile-first bank to the public in March 2014, and has since partnered with MoneyDesktop (now MX), and taken its mobile technology to wearables via Motorola’s Moto 360 and Samsung Gear smartwatches. Moven’s CEO and founder Brett King is the host of Breaking Banks, a weekly radio program on disruption in banking.

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Stockpile Hauls in $15 Million in New Investment

Stockpile Hauls in $15 Million in New Investment
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Stockpile

Stockpile_homepage_Oct2015

 

Stockpile, the company that provides gift cards for stock, has raised $15 million in funding. The major investment in Stockpile comes courtesy of Sequoia Capital, Mayfield, and individual investor, Ashton Kutcher, who praised Stockpile’s “drop-dead-easy user experience and affordability to all.”

Rajeev Batra, partner at Mayfield, was equally enthusiastic, referring to Stockpile’s combination of gift card technology and fractional share ownership as a “massive paradigm shift.”

“Stockpile is bringing the stock market to where you shop, bank, and do other things in your daily life,” Batra said. “You need a seasoned team to pull this off, and these guys know how to execute.”

Stockpile_stage_FS2014

Stockpile CEO Avi Lele and CCO Dan Schatt demonstrated Stockpile Gift Cards at FinovateSpring 2014.

Added Don Kingsborough, founder and former CEO of fellow Finovate alum Blackhawk Network, “Every retailer CEO I’ve spoken with thinks Stockpile is going to be the next, multibillion-dollar gift card category.”

Setting up a Stockpile Gift Card is as easy as choosing the stock (such as Tesla), deciding on a dollar amount to spend (any whole number between $1 and $1,000), and then purchasing the gift card with a credit card. The gift recipient then logs in to their Stockpile account using a special access code in order to get their stock. Stockpile Gift Cards are available at a variety of retailers including Lowe’s, Supervalu, and Wegman’s, as well as via iOS app. Gift cards include a “gifting fee” of $2.99 per card plus 3% of the face value of the card.

“Most people have never had an opportunity to own stock in their favorite companies because it’s too expensive and complicated to get started,” Stockpile CEO and founder Avi Lele explained in a statement. “For the first time ever, you’ll be able to walk into the supermarket and buy a gift card for, say, $25 of Apple stock right off the rack.”

Founded December 2010 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Stockpile made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Currency Cloud, Emailage, Feedzai, Malauzai Software, Misys, Moven, Ormsby Street, Stockpile, Trustly, WorldPay

On Finovate.com

  • “A View From Backstage at FinDEVr San Francisco 2015″
  • “Stockpile Hauls in $15 Million in New Investment”
  • “Emailage, Feedzai Partner to Combine Machine Learning with Email Risk Assessment”
  • “Moven Rounds Up $12 Million in Funding for International Expansion”

Around the web

  • Somerset Trust Company to deploy Retail+ for Small Business Banking solution from Malauzai Software.
  • Trustly expands into 21 new markets, now reaching 29 countries.
  • PYMNTS.com takes a look at Currency Cloud and the latest update to its API, Payment Engine Two.
  • Misys launches its dedicated-payment risk-management solution, FusionBanking Payment Insulator.
  • American Banker names 11 Finovate and FinDEVr alums in its list of 21 companies to watch.
  • Worldpay’s IPO on London Stock Exchange is the U.K.’s largest IPO of the year, at a market cap of £4.8 billion ($7.3 billion).
  • New enhancements to CreditHQ from Ormsby Street feature letter templates, new dashboard metrics.

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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Hip Pocket Introduces its New PFM Solution, Hip Money

Hip Pocket Introduces its New PFM Solution, Hip Money
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Hip Money, Hip Pocket

HipMoney_homepage_Oct2015

What do you put in a Hip Pocket?

Hip Money, of course!

Hip Money is the new PFM solution designed by the company that brought us Hip Pocket, the mortgage-rate-comparison calculator. We wrote a few weeks ago in our Finovate Debut conversation with Hip Pocket founder and CEO Mark Zmarzly that the company would be looking to expand into other related markets. With the introduction of Hip Money, that expansion has begun.

Hip Pocket debuted its new solution at the inaugural Fincon Fintech Startup Competition in Charlotte, North Carolina, last month, picking up a runners-up award of $1,500 in cash. (Note that the first prize was a tie between two other Finovate alums: FamZoo and TickerTags!)

HipPocket_stage_FS2015

From left: Todd Cramer, head of digital experience/design, and CEO Mark Zmarzly, founder, presented Version 2.0 of Hip Pocket at FinovateSpring 2015 in San Jose.

Hip Money is a personal finance-management app that seeks to complement human behavior in pursuit of higher savings rates rather than change it. According to reporting in Bank Innovation, Hip Money’s signature feature, Swipe to Save, enables users to set aside a certain amount for saving with a simple swipe when prompted. Savings goals can be personalized by target amount and date. According to Zmarzly, it works because it requires minimal user action and leaves “the math” to the app.

Those interested in Hip Money can leave their email address at the website in order to be notified when the app is ready. The solution will be available on a white-label basis, and can be included as part of a bank’s existing mobile app.

Hip Pocket, developer of Hip Money, was founded in June 2013 by Mark Zmarzly and is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. The company made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015 in San Jose.

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FinDEVr Newcomer Praesidio Rakes in $3 Million Investment

FinDEVr Newcomer Praesidio Rakes in $3 Million Investment
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Praesidio

Praesidio_homepage_Oct2015

If you were a cybersecurity startup making your first appearance at a FinDEVr event, what would you bring to your debut?

How about more than $3 million in new funding?

Seattle-based Praesidio now has total capital of more than $5 million, courtesy of a new investment of $3.1 million led by Praesidio Chairman Jeff Lunsford and Vice Chairman Harold Brewer. Also participating in the round were Citizens National Bank, Live Oak Bank, and Washington Trust, which are customers of Praesidio as well as investors.

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Praesidio Chief Technology Officer Sean Cassidy presented at FinDEVr 2015 in San Francisco.

Praesidio’s solution provides banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions with the ability to turn security-related Big Data into actionable intelligence. The technology uses machine learning to aggregate information from all of the institution’s security tools into a single, real-time management and reporting platform. This helps bridge the gap between IT and management, giving decision-makers the ability to clearly monitor and respond to potential security events wherever they appear on the network.

Talking about the company’s technology, Live Oak Bank president Neil Underwood said that deployment of Praesidio’s platform turned his bank’s security response from “reactive to proactive.” The deployment saved the bank “tens of thousands in hard expenditures instantly, averting fraud that could have had massive systemic and enterprise impact, with losses in the millions,” Underwood said.

Founded in May 2014 by CEO Edgardo Nazario, Praesidio made its FinDEVr debut last week in San Francisco. The company has 21 employees.

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