Author: David Penn

Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Azimo, blooom, Bluefin Payment Systems, GMC Software Technology, Google Cloud Platform, Mortgagebot, Nomis Solutions, Prosper, ReadyForZero, TransferWise, TSYS, Wallaby Financial, Xero

On Finovate.com

  • “Finovate Alums Win Leading Vendor Honors from MyPrivateBanking Research”
  • “Last Chance for FinovateSpring Early-Bird Tickets… Save $100″
  • “ReadyForZero Acquired by Avant in Cash and Stock Deal”
  • “Wallaby Launches Wise Bread Rewards Maximizer”

Around the web

  • Nomis Solutions announces new partnership with Tangerine.
  • blooom wins Kansas City’s InnovateHER pitch competition.
  • PYMNTS.com MPD CEO Karen Webster interviews Todd Doherty, TSYS senior director of analytics.
  • Tech City highlights TransferWise and Azimo in its look at the remittance industry.
  • GMC Software named Xplor’s Technology of the Year for its Inspire Dynamic Communications solution.
  • “D+H to Buy Payments Firm Fundtech for $1.25 Billion”
  • Google Cloud Platform launches Cloud Console for Android.
  • Bluefin Payment Systems and Phoenix Managed Networks partner to provide Bluefin’s Decryptx P2PE Solution to clients of Phoenix Managed Networks.
  • Xero reaches 200,000 customers in Australia.
  • Prosper reaches record loan originations for March, surpasses $3 billion in lending.

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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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Advanced Merchant Payments, Arxan Technologies, Azimo, Bionym, EyeVerify, Holvi, IntelliResponse, Jack Henry, Kashoo, Klarna, Quantopian, SAGE SA, Silanis Technology, Sonavation, Taulia, TIO Networks, TransferWise, Uncategorized

On Finovate.com

  • “CardFlight Unveils EMV-Ready Chip Readers for SwipeSimple”

Around the web

  • Sonavation launches its IDKEY biometric security key that uses 3D Surface Scan Ultrasound technology.
  • CMSWire interviews Michael Laurie, co-founder and VO of product strategy at Silanis Technology.
  • iExpats takes a look at Azimo in a column on the costs of foreign currency transfers.
  • Arxan Technologies Security Solutions architect Matt Clemens talks mobile app security on Federal News Radio.
  • PaymentsSource’s look at “strange mobile security methods” features EyeVerify and Bionym.
  • IntelliResponse wins bronze at 9th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.
  • Jack Henry & Associates to be honored at Cedar Falls Business & Industry Association event.
  • Now Digital Network reviews Kashoo in column on ways to streamline small business accounting.
  • Computing U.K. features TransferWise and its use of big data to drive its social media marketing.
  • The CoinFront reports on Klarna’s “experiments” with bitcoin.
  • AMP Credit Technologies wins “Highly Commended Award for Best Initiative in Financial Inclusion” at the 6th Retail Banker International Asia Trailblazer Awards in Singapore.
  • TIO Networks now has 1+ million registered members in its direct-to-consumer user base.
  •  Taulia names Cedric Bru as new CEO.

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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CardFlight Unveils EMV-Ready Chip Readers for SwipeSimple

CardFlight Unveils EMV-Ready Chip Readers for SwipeSimple
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CardFlight

CardFlight_homepage_new_full

Spring is in the air, but for merchants planning for the liability shift in October, fall is not far away.

With this in mind, mobile point of sale innovator CardFlight has announced that its EMV-ready card chip readers are now available for merchants using the company’s SwipeSimple mPOS solution.

The October EMV liability shift is an effort to reduce credit card fraud in the U.S. Specifically, it refers to issue of who will take the blame – the bank or the merchant – when credit card fraud occurs on a card with a magnetic stripe rather than an embedded EMV chip. The upshot is that banks can protect themselves in the post-October 2015 era by offering their customers cards with the EMV technology, and merchants can protect themselves by deploying technology that can read EMV-enabled cards.

The EMV standard is widespread in other parts of the world, especially Europe, where EMV card adoption stands at more than 80%.

CardFlight_FS2013_stage1

Above: CardFlight CEO Derek Webster presenting at FinovateSpring 2013.

Derek Webster, CardFlight founder and CEO, said: “By offering the EMV-ready readers today, CardFlight’s partners can be confident that they are giving their merchants future-proof technology that will last well beyond the October 2015 EMV liability shift.”

“While some providers have announced plans to offer mobile EMV card readers, CardFlight is one of the first to actually make them available for purchase and deployment in the United States.”

CardFlight also announced that it is  teaming up with POS Portal, which will serve as a launch partner for the company’s EMV POS technology. POS Portal distributes more than 1,200 POS devices a day to merchants around the U.S.

SwipeSimple_homepage_full

CardFlight has enjoyed a strong momentum in recent months. The company reported in January that it partnered with Integrity Payment Systems, an Illinois-based company that processes $3 billion in credit card volume a year. In December, Merchants Choice Payment Systems, a full-service credit and debit processor that serves more than 50,000 merchants and processes $12 billion in sales volume a year, announced its plans to provide a custom mobile POS solution for its merchants, courtesy of CardFlight.

CardFlight has presented its technology at both Finovate (FinovateSpring 2013) and FinDEVr (FinDEVr San Francisco 2014) conferences. The company was founded in February 2013 and is headquartered in New York City.

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i-exceed’s Appzillion Brings Mobile App Dev Platform to Exim Bank

i-exceed’s Appzillion Brings Mobile App Dev Platform to Exim Bank
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: i-exceed, Uncategorized

iexceed_homepage_full

When we last heard from i-exceed (FinovateAsia 2013), the company had launched a new website to better promote its flagship app development platform, Appzillion.

In the time since, the company has not been idle. In January, i-exceed announced that Indonesian ICT solutions company Telkomsigma will use Appzilllion as its mobile app development platform. This month, i-exceed reported that its Appzillion solution has been used to implement a mobile banking app for Exim Bank, Comoros, Africa.

Managing Director at i-exceed, Joseph John said the new app, which was built and deployed in three months, will help Exim Bank grow faster, increase profitability, and improve customer engagement. The app’s features include fund transfer, balance inquiry, and the ability to request a checkbook. Exim Bank, Comoros is part of Exim Bank, the sixth largest bank in Tanzania with more than one trillion Tanzanian shillings in total assets (more than $700 million USD) as of June 2013.

iexceed_FA2013_stage

Above (left to right): i-exceed Executive Director Kapil Gupta and Sudhir Babu, VP Technology, presenting at FinovateAsia 2013.

All this good work has not gone unrecognzed, i-exceed was picked to be one of 50 companies to participate in the InTech 50 2015. InTech 50 is an event that recognizes Indian startups that have shown technological innovation and achievement in the B2B space. Companies will make their five-minute pitches before a live audience, and winners in a variety of categories will be selected in an awards ceremony at the end of the second day.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Bangalore, India, i-exceed has offices in Singapore and the U.S. (New Jersey). See the company’s live demonstration of Appzillion from FinovateAsia 2013.

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LearnVest Acquired by Northwestern Mutual for More than $250 Million

LearnVest Acquired by Northwestern Mutual for More than $250 Million
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: LearnVest, Uncategorized

Learnvest_homepage_full

Three-time Finovate Best of Show-winner LearnVest has agreed to be acquired by insurance giant Northwestern Mutual. As reported in Fortune.com, the company was bought for more than $250 million in cash.

LearnVest CEO and founder Alexa von Tobel said that her company’s acquisition by Northwestern Mutual will only extend her mission to bring “affordable, accessible, and delightful … unbiased financial planning” to a broader range of American households. Von Tobel will remain Chief Executive of the company, which will serve as an independent subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual, maintaining its LearnVest brand.

LearnVest_FF2013_stage

Above (left to right): LearnVest CEO and founder Alexa von Tobel presenting at FinovateFall 2013 in New York.

LearnVest combines a free, online PFM platform with the opportunity to work with professional, human financial advisors for a one-time set-up fee of $299 and $19/month for ongoing support. Tim Schaefer, executive vice president of operations and technology at Northwestern Mutual said, “We see that from an innovation standpoint, there’s a real opportunity to bring together cutting-edge technology with that human touch.”

And with Learnvest the second big finech acquisition of the week (Kofax being the first), it is all the more interesting to consider the take from Inc.com’s Jeremy Quittner, who suggested that acquisition may sometimes be a preferable “exit strategy” than an IPO for startups. LearnVest had raised $70 million in funding from 15 investors, according to Crunchbase, and was valued at more than a “cool quarter-billion” last spring during its most recent funding round.

LearnVest won Best of Show honors at each of its three Finovate appearances (FinovateFall 2011, FinovateFall 2012, and FinovateFall 2013). The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in New York City.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, EyeVerify, Fidor Bank, FIS, Handpoint, i-exceed, LearnVest, Malauzai Software, Mitek, Tradier

On Finovate.com:

  • LearnVest Acquired by Northwestern Mutual for More Than $250 Million.
  • Finovate Debuts: Bendigo and Adelaide’s Mobile Wallet Has a Charity Play.
  • i-exceed’s Appzillion Brings Mobile App Dev Platform to Exim Bank.
  • Handpoint’s EMV-Capable Mobile POS Comes to U.S. and Canada.

Around the Web:

  • AirWatch TV interviewed EyeVerify executive VP for Global Sales and Marketing, Chris Barnett.
  • FIS to provide fingerprint authentication to its Cardless Cash ATM application via Apple TouchID.
  • Celent names Fidor Bank its “Model Bank of the Year.”
  • American Banker highlights Mitek and Malauzai in a discussion on ID scanning and mobile account opening.
  • AlleyWatch features Tradier as a disruptor in financial services.
  • Financial News’ list of 40 leaders in fintech names multiple Finovate and FinDEVr alums.

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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Ayasdi Raises $55 Million in Series C Funding

Ayasdi Raises $55 Million in Series C Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Ayasdi, Uncategorized

Ayasdi_homepage_full

Machine learning algorithm specialist Ayasdi has raised $55 million in a new investment that doubles the company’s total capital.

The Series C round was led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), and featured participation from existing investors Citi Ventures, FLOODGATE, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), and Khosla Ventures. New investors Centerview Capital Technology and Draper Nexus were also part of the investment, which takes Ayasdi’s total funding to more than $100 million.

Ted Schlein of KPCB praised Ayasdi’s ability to make complex data analysis easier for large institutions and organizations. He cited the technology’s combination of “machine learning algorithms with topological mathematics and artificial intelligence” as a “breakthrough innovation that will drive the next information and productivity wave in the coming decade.”

Ayasdi_FF2014_stage2

Health care systems have been among the most eager adopters of the Ayasdi’s technology. But the company is working with three of the five largest financial institutions in the world to help them make smarter lending decisions, improve risk and compliance modeling, protect against fraud, and better serve private banking clients. Deborah Hopkins, Chief Innovation Officer of Citi and CEO of Citi Ventures said the technology provided insights that “enable Citi to tailor services to specific client needs, operate more efficiently, and mitigate risk.”

Learn more about Ayasdi from our November feature. The company’s CEO Gurjeet Singh has been profiled frequently in major media from Forbes to TechCrunch, as Ayasdi has forged partnerships with companies like Teradata and Cloudera to make its technology even more valuable to enterprise-level clients. In February, the company was named one of the 10 most innovative companies in Big Data by Fast Company for a second year in a row.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Ayasdi made its Finovate Debut in New York at FinovateFall 2014. See video of the company’s live demonstration of Ayasdi Finance.

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Kabbage Expands to Australia in New White-Label Collaboration with Kikka Capital

Kabbage Expands to Australia in New White-Label Collaboration with Kikka Capital
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Kabbage, Uncategorized

Kabbage_FF2014_stage_full

Above (left to right): Kabbage COO Kathryn Petralia and CEO Robert Frohwein presenting at FinovateFall 2014

Guess which small business lender will soon be launching in the Land Down Under?

Kabbage has announced plans to move into the Australian market with a white-label offering of its small business lending technology. The launch in Australia represents Kabbage’s first foray into the Asia-Pacific region, having already been in operation in both the U.K. and the U.S.

The service in Australia will be operated by Kikka Capital, which is licensing the platform and will manage marketing, funding, and loan servicing. Kabbage will handle underwriting and management of the loans.

KikkaCapital_homepage_full

Kikka Capital founder and managing director David Brennan said that the collaboration with Kabbage was a unique opportunity to bring “breakthrough lending technology” to Australia. “Launching on the Kabbage platform allows us to dramatically accelerate our entry into small business lending,” Brennan said.

For Peter Steger, head of business development for Kabbage, the collaboration is a reflection of the platform’s flexibility and an opportunity for Kabbage to access new markets. Kabbage was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company has funded more than $550 million in loans to small businesses. Kabbage Loans range from $2,000 to $100,000, terms are six months, and small businesses only need a business checking account or PayPal account to apply. Approval only takes a few minutes once all data is provided and accounts verified.

Kabbage_homepage_full

Rather than charge interest, Kabbage assess a lending fee between 1%-13.5% of the amount borrowed for the first two months of the loan, then 1% each month for the balance of the six-month term. There are no early repayment penalties.

An eight-time Finovate alum, Kabbage was last on the Finovate stage in the fall of 2014 in New York. At the show, Kabbage launched Karrot.com, a full-automated consumer marketplace lending product. See the live demo.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Acculynk, Advanced Merchant Payments, Ayasdi, CardFlight, Google Cloud Platform, HelloWallet, Innosect, Innovation Agency, Kabbage, Malauzai Software, PayStand, Roostify, TSYS, Uncategorized, Yodlee

On Finovate.com:

  • Kabbage Expands to Australia in New, White-Label Collaboration with Kikka Capital.
  • Advanced Merchant Payments Pulls in Undisclosed Amount of Funding.
  • Ayasdi Raises $55 Million in Series C Funding.

Around the Web:

  • Yodlee joins FinTech Sandbox as data partner.
  • Acculynk unveils new mobile wallet authentication service for issuers and providers.
  • Innosect (formerly Innovation Café) acquires Clientific.
  • 5+ Community FIs to launch Apple Watch offering powered by Malauzai. Come see its live demo at FinovateSpring in San Jose May 12-13.
  • CardFlight Announces Availability of EMV-Ready Chip Card Readers for SwipeSimple Mobile Point-of-Sale Solution.
  • Rajesh Bhat, Co-founder at Roostify, shares what he learned from Yodlee Interactive Incubator Boot Camp 1.
  • Google Cloud Platform introduces Google Cloud Launcher, where you can launch open source packages configured by Bitnami or Google Click to Deploy.
  • HelloWallet launches Emergency Savings Calculator.
  • Orchard Platform and Kabbage Announce Partnership to Provide Investors’ Access to Karrot Consumer Loans.
  • PayStand mobile iOS app now available to allow credit card, check and Bitcoin payments.

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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Bank Innovation’s Coolest Brands of 2015 Features Finovate Alums

Bank Innovation’s Coolest Brands of 2015 Features Finovate Alums
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Dwolla, Fastacash, Fidor Bank, Fiserv, Lending Club, Ripple, Venmo, Xignite

BankInnovation_coolbrands2015

 

As if the challenge of developing innovative technologies were not enough, fintech companies today are also busy building brand identities that will help them stand out from the pack.

Bank Innovation took a look at brand identity in banking and banking technology. The result was a list of the 10 Coolest Brands of 2015 – half of which are Finovate alums.

The list runs the gamut from innovative startups doing interesting things with alternative currencies, to banks willing to take more and smarter risks than their rivals when it comes to leveraging financial technology to better serve their customers and clients.

Writing about the selection process, Bank Innovation’s Philip Ryan acknowledged the “ethereal” nature of the project: “like all brands, our list is based on nothing less than our ‘impressions,’ ‘feelings,’ and ‘beliefs.” At the same time, Ryan noted: “Mainly, we have relied on fact – what has been done and accomplished – for in the end the most profound determinant of a brand’s worth is what it yields.”

Here are the five Finovate alums that made Bank Innovations’ Coolest Brands of 2015. The full list is available here.

Also earning commendation were three other Finovate alums: Dwolla, Fastacash, and Fiserv.

2015 marked the fourth year in a row Bank Innovation has published its Coolest Brands in banking roundup (take a peek at their 2014 list here). Special congratulations to Venmo for making the list both this year and last.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BancVue, Betterment, Billhighway, Equifax, Financial Guard, Fiserv, FutureAdvisor, Insuritas, Intuit, Kofax, Lending Club, Lendio, Monitise, Motif Investing, On Deck Capital, PayPal, Rippleshot, ShopKeep POS, SocietyOne, TD Ameritrade, TD Bank, Zumigo

On Finovate.com:

  • Lendio Raises $20 Million in New Funding to Help Finance Small Businesses
  • Motif Investing Partners with Pacific Life to Offer Cause-Based Investing.
  • Bank Innovation’s Coolest Brands of 2015 Features Finovate Alums.
  • Printer Giant Lexmark to Acquire Kofax for $1 Billion.

Around the Web:

  • ShopKeep POS acquires payment processing startup, Payment Revolution.
  • Financial Guard and FutureAdvisor are featured as alternatives in a Bloomberg column on “breaking up with your expensive adviser.”
  • Bank Innovation column on “InsuranceTech” and Fintech 1,000 lists Insuritas.
  • Opentabs integrates with PayPal to power its mobile app order-ahead services.
  • PYMNTS: Monitise takes itself off the market. CEO steps down.
  • Billhighway awarded Silver Stevie Award for Innovation in Customer Service in the Financial Services Industry category. It is the second win for Billhighway since 2013.
  • Dexterity Ventures (Place2Give) bolsters team with new CMO, Product Manager, Developer, and Office Assistant.
  • The FinTech Blog interviews Eli Broverman, Co-Founder and COO of Betterment.
  • Fiserv, TD Bank Group, Intuit, and PayPal rank among Forbes’ list of Americas’ Best employers.
  • SocietyOne appoints former Investec Group chief lending officer, Simon Schwarz, as new COO.
  • Ad Age highlights how BancVue seeks to level the playing field for community banks.
  • Rippleshot joined fellow winners of the Chicago Innovation Awards in ringing the closing bell at the Nasdaq on Monday.
  • BankNXT looks at the rise of marketplace lending platforms including Finovate alums Lending Club and OnDeck.

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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Lendio Raises $20 Million in New Funding to Help Finance Small Businesses

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Lendio, Uncategorized

Small business lender Lendio announced today that it has raised $20.5 million in new funding. The round was led by Napier Park’s Financial Partners Group, and included participation by:

  • Blumberg Capital
  • Highway 12 Ventures
  • North Hill Ventures
  • Pivot Investment Partners
  • Runa Capital
  • Tribeca Venture Partners

The new investment takes Lendio’s total funding to more than $30 million. As part of the agreement, Dan Kittredge from Napier Park and Chris Gottschalk of Blumberg Capital will join Lendio’s board of directors. Lendio plans to use the capital to expand its partnership program, help grow its team of loan advisors, and fuel continued innovation of the platform.

Lendio_homepage_full

Kittredge praised Lendio’s recent growth and partnerships with companies like Staples in explaining his firm’s commitment to the company. “Lendio’s leadership team has proven its ability to drive innovation and deliver an incredible platform that helps both small business owners and small business lenders alike,” he said.

Lendio believes that a big reason why small businesses get turned down when applying for loans is a matter of proper matchmaking. Whether the small business is pursuing the wrong type of loan product, or has found the right loan but at the wrong bank or credit union, the result is the same. Lendio’s platform makes it easier for qualified borrowers to find the loan that best suits their needs from the financial institution best able (and willing) to service it. Businesses are able to make these loan inquiries without penalty to their credit rating due to Lendio’s “soft pull” of personal and business credit data.

“Our focus is to provide three essential benefits for the business owner – offer a wide variety of loan options, speed up the process, and reduce the time and effort it requires to get funded, and provide a white-glove, trusted experience, Lendio CEO Brock Blake said.

Lendio_FS2011_stage_full

 Above (Left to right): Trent Miskin (CTO) and Brock Blake (CEO) presenting at FinovateSpring 2011.

For banks and credit unions the reward is lower customer acquisition costs, more qualified leads, and a  significantly larger potential market for new customers.

Lendio demoed its technology at FinovateSpring 2011. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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