David Penn, Author at Finovate

FinovateEurope 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 2

By David Penn Posted on January 15, 2015
Categories: AlphaPoint, Avoka, Encap, FinovateEurope 2015 Sneak Peek, investUP, Nostrum Group, StreetShares

It’s hard to believe, but it’s true: we’re less than one month away from the first Finovate show of the year.

FinovateEurope 2015 is returning to Old Billingsgate Market Hall in London for what promises to be our biggest event in Europe yet. We hope you will be able to join us as 70 companies from across Europe and around the world demonstrate some of the latest in financial technology.

To that end, here’s the second part of our Sneak Peek series to give you a taste of what some of this year’s innovators will be showing on stage in February. (Part One available here.)

AlphaPoint’s Digital Currency Exchange Platform allows institutions to establish their own internal digital currency exchanges.

Features

24-hour run-time capabilities
Military-grade security practices
New order types, improved scalability, and an even faster processing speed

Why it’s great

AlphaPoint’s secure, scalable, and customizable exchange platform is easing the adoption of digital currencies across the globe.

Presenters

Joe Ventura, CTO

Ventura has over 15 years of software architecture experience specializing in secure, scalable, and high performance financial systems for companies such as Deutsche Bank, UBS, and Merrill Lynch.

Scott Bambacigno, VP of Sales

Bambacigno joined AlphaPoint at the start of 2014 and has led the acquisition of over a dozen global clients.

Avoka enables your omni-channel digital banking business with frictionless account openings.

Features

Fast time to market – deploy digital applications in weeks
True Omni-Channel solutions – responsive design on any device
Improve conversion with reporting and analytics – make changes and publish

Why it’s great

Create an engaging digital loan application from any device in 3 minutes or less.

Presenters

Derek Corcoran, Chief Experience Officer

Corcoran has over 20 years experience in financial services globally, delivering frictionless customer experiences for digital sales and service transactions.

Kevin Mortimer, Technical Director

Encap Security will demonstrate how financial institutions can use Touch ID and Encap’s authentication platform to provide access to and authenticate high-value financial services transactions.

Features

Easily integrate Apple Touch ID into financial services applications
Utilise smart device capabilities to improve authentication
Enable proportional security to drive adoption and use

Why it’s great

Authentication works best when a number of factors are used – and the factors used are contextually appropriate to the risk of the activity taking place.

Presenters

Thomas Bostrøm Jørgensen, CEO

Jorgensen has over 10 years experience in the mobile financial services, identity management, and mobile application security sectors.

John Burman, Sales Director, Europe

investUP is the crowdfunding supermarket, allowing you to lend & invest across all your favorite P2P, debt, and equity sites.

Features

Discover more deals – use m
ore sites and find more great deals
Saving you time – invest on all your favorite sites through UP
Keep track – have just one account and one portfolio with UP

Why it’s great

Only with UP can you enjoy one account and one portfolio, yet still lend and invest across all your favorite crowdfunding sites.

Presenters

James Tuckett, CEO and Founder

Tuckett is a full-time crowdfunding evangelical from an aerospace engineering and accountancy background. Founded UP in 2012.

Nostrum Group is pioneering digital lending – providing customers with the ability to service their own accounts where and when they want.

Features

Digital
Automated
Mobile

Why it’s great

Loan technology that re-imagines what a customer wants from banks and how they can interact with financial products.

Presenters

Richard Carter, CEO

Carter leads the organization and is responsible for setting the company. He is passionate about customer experience, innovation, and technology – inside and outside financial services.

StreetShares connects businesses with retail and institutional investors who compete to lend to businesses. Business lending meets social affinities.

Features

Blends social and affinity group loyalty with traditional bank underwriting
Small businesses pitch their loan request at no cost or obligation
Investors compete through online auction technology

Why it’s great

StreetShares borrowers get funded at competitive rates while investors get the returns they’re looking for. Everyone wins.

Presenters

Mark Rockefeller, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder

Rockefeller’s goal is to breathe new life into the American dream for a new generation of small business owners.

Tickets for FinovateEurope 2015 are on sale now. Visit our registration page today and save your seat at the show.

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Global Debt Registry Raises $7 Million in Series A Round

By David Penn Posted on January 15, 2015
Categories: Global Debt Registry

Global Debt Registry has secured $7 million in Series A financing. The company plans to use the new capital to help drive sales growth and expand operations. The latter includes both increased marketing as well as a move into new asset classes in the consumer debt market.

The individual investors were not immediately disclosed.

Global Debt Registry serves as a clearinghouse for the debt market, providing definitive and independent information on debt ownership. The company’s technology provides an account level “chain of title,” bringing standardization, transparency, and digitization to the market.

The company also provides a consumer solution, Debt Lookup. Consumers can use this resource to see who actually owns their debt, useful to make sure that collection agents looking for debt repayments, for example, are legitimate. Consumer Reports, in its look at the technology called Debt Lookup “promising” as a way to deal particularly with “zombie debt” that consumers often believe has already been paid off.

Recently profiled in American Banker, Global Debt Registry is – in part – fintech’s response to the world described by Jake Halpern in his book, Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld. Bad Paper describes just how perilous the unregulated consumer debt market is, and how unscrupulous characters can take advantage of unsuspecting debtors. This has led Halpern to say that a debt registry is a “very common sense idea” and that “it’s kind of mind-boggling in some ways that it hasn’t been implemented already.”

The team from Global Debt Registry agrees. Quoted in American Banker, Global Debt Registry CEO Mark Parsells expects the dollar volume of charge-offs and the number of people contacted by third-party bill collectors both to grow significantly over the next decade. “Particularly with the growing balance after insurance in medical debt,” he said.

Founded in 2009 and based in Wilmington, Delaware, Global Debt Registry made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2014 in New York. Stay tuned for our CEO interview with Global Debt Registry’s Mark Parsells coming next week.

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Alumni News– January 15, 2015

By David Penn Posted on January 15, 2015
Categories: Algomi, BehavioSec, Cloud Lending, D3 Banking, Fiserv, FreeAgent, Kiind, Kony Solutions, Market Prophit, MasterCard, Misys, Monitise, MX, TIO Networks, Yodlee

Fiserv launches its mobile card management app, CardValet.

Monitise teams up with the MoneyPass Network to offer Mobile Money services and card control functionality.

Misys adds DTCC connectivity to its Regulatory Reporting Service.

Partnership between MasterCard and Movistar brings mobile money service to Peru.

Benzinga columnist profiles Market Prophit in his look at Apple, Facebook, and JP Morgan.

Kiind rebrands to giftbit.

Yodlee now powering 80 financial solutions for smbs.

LendAcademy features Cloud Lending.

PlanetBiometrics profiles Neil Costigan, BehavioSec CEO.

D3 Banking reveals 2015 plans to release digital offering for bank’s SMB customers & launch SaaS-based offering.

Kony receives the highest scores in 3 out of 4 use cases in New Gartner Report: Critical Capabilities for Mobile Application Development Platforms.

TIO Networks partners with City of Baltimore to launch mobile phone bill payments for residents.

James Dotter, Utah Business’ 2013 CFO of the Year, joins MX as CFO.

FreeAgent offers £5k tax bill prize to ease Self Assessment woes.

Algomi reports strong growth, plans to triple U.S. staff.

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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Fiserv Launches Mobile Card Management App, CardValet

By David Penn Posted on January 14, 2015
Categories: Fiserv

The mobile card management game just got a big new player.

Fiserv launched CardValet, a turnkey mobile app that gives cardholders significant awareness of and control over how and when their cards are used.

And for financial institutions, Fiserv said the app will improve customer engagement and help reduce fraud losses.

The app is available for download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and lets cardholders turn their cards on and off, set spending limits, and monitor and receive alerts on transactions by category.

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Alumni News– January 14, 2015

By David Penn Posted on January 14, 2015
Categories: App Annie, LikeFolio, Patch of Land, PayPal, ShopKeep POS, Silanis Technology, WePay, Xero

PayPal Here to provide Windows support, previews EMV card reader.

App Annie raises $55 million in Series D round.

Andy Swan of LikeFolio quoted in Yahoo! Finance’s look at Amazon and Walmart.

Crowdfund Insider profiles Patch of Land.

Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) partners with Silanis to offer e-SignLive to its members.

WePay CEO Bill Clerico writes about the relationship between Bitcoin, ApplePay, and mobile payments in 2015.

Check out FinovateEurope 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 1.

Xero opens Payroll solution to SMBs in California, Florida, and Texas. Plans to be in all 50 states by end of 2015.

ShopKeep Pocket app launches with real-time reporting features.

Kreditech Acquires Kontomierz for “Seven Digit Amount”.

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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App Annie Raises $55 Million in Series D Round

By David Penn Posted on January 13, 2015
Categories: App Annie

FinovateAsia 2013 alum App Annie has raised $55 million in Series D funding, taking the company’s total capital to $94 million.

The round was led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), and featured participation from current investors, Greycroft Partners, IDG Capital Partners, and Sequoia Capital. App Annie plans to use the capital for product development, international expansion, and to “fund potential M&A activity.” Note that App Annie acquired Distimo last year.

In addition to the funding, App Annie will gain a new board member, Eric Liaw, General Partner at IVP. Talking about the company, Liaw said in a statement: “Before App Annie, the app ecosystem was largely flying blind. App Annie provides actionable insight into this explosive sector of technology and, as a result, they are the ubiquitous standard for the app industry.”

Added App Annie co-founder and CEO Bertrand Schmitt, “App Annie now integrates app sales, search, advertising, demographics, and usage data into one unified, standardized platform. Any company that wants to remain relevant is now an app publisher, and we’re confident they will all need App Annie to move their mobile business forward.”

Schmitt has a point. For many, when the question is app analytics and market data, the answer is App Annie. Since 2010, the company has become the one-stop-shop for business owners, technologists, and analysts looking to understand trends in the app market. To this end, a handful of metrics helps give a sense of the company’s presence in the industry:

More than 90% of the top 100 app publishers use App Annie’s technology
More than 675,000 apps use App Annie Analytics to track downloads
More than 79 billion downloads tracked, representing more than $24 billion in gross app store revenue to date
More than 75% year-over-year growth in user base to more than 350,000

App Annie’s product suite has three main offerings: Store Stats, Analytics, and Intelligence. Store Stats focuses on the app stores, tracking and recording the hour-to-hour performance of apps across categories and regardless of country. The Analytics platform helps app publishers collect and visualize important metrics such as downloads, revenue, rankings, reviews, and event tracking. The Intelligence component provides overall app market data. This can be used for everything from planning an entry into a new market, to studying the app performance of competitors, to analyzing app trends in popularity and revenue.

This leads to App Annie’s next product release: the launch of Usage Intelligence. Usage intelligence is a tool for enterprise users that provides mobile access to “active user and engagement trends” for thousands of apps around the world.

Usage Intelligence provides metrics on active users (MAU, WAU, DAU), time spent, usage frequency, and retention. Said Schmitt, “Usage data is of paramount importance to mobile app publishers and investors, particularly when you are talking about analyzing apps that monetize outside the store”.

In this way, Usage Intelligence is best viewed as an extension of the capabilities of App Annie’s Intelligence solution. The technology is currently in beta, with access limited to a few customers. The full release is scheduled for the second quarter of 2015.

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Alumni News– January 13, 2015

By David Penn Posted on January 13, 2015
Categories: AnalytixInsight, Azimo, Blackhawk Network, Cachet Financial Solutions, Forte Payment Systems, Google Cloud Platform, ID Analytics, Insuritas, iQuantifi, Nymi, peerTransfer, Taulia

Navy Federal Credit Union partners with Cachet Financial Solutions to offer Cachet’s Select Mobile Money with the its new GO Prepaid Card.

Azimo customers can now send money to the Philippines.

Pacific Marine Credit Union hires Insuritas to open and manage turnkey insurance solution.

Bezinga profiles “cloud-based virtual advisor” iQuantifi.

Deutsche Kreditbank AG and Blackhawk Network’s Retailo introduce digital gift cards to online banking programs.

ID Analytics Secures Patent for Identity Manipulation Detection System.

Taulia hires new CFO: Rik Thorbecke, former Meltwater Group CFO.

Xero introduces expense claim functionality, Receipts, for iOS (Android still in development).

TechCrunch: Google Cloud Platform Opens Its Cloud Monitoring Service To All Developers On Its Platform.

Nymi CEO shows off the NymiBand to Forbes.

Let’s Talk Payments reviews multiple Finovate & FinDEVr alums’ payment APIs.

Forte’s Checkout Campaign earns Silver for the Best in Biz Marketing Campaign of the Year.

AnalytixInsight launches new mobile smart TV content licensing partnership.

PeerTransfer Secures $22 Million in a Round Led by Bain Capital.

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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PayPal Expands Repayment Options

By David Penn Posted on January 12, 2015
Categories: PayPal

PayPal announced this week that its PayPal Credit solution will now offer term and interest rate flexibility. Formerly known as “Bill Me Later,” the rebranded service is part of PayPal’s focus on its credit products.

Writing in PayPal Forward, VP/GM for Merchant & Retail Solutions, PayPal North America, Steve Alloca said that PayPal Credit was geared toward helping merchants increase “average order value” or AOV. One of the features of the new PayPal Credit, for example, allows consumers to divide large purchases into smaller ones. This makes it easier for shoppers to use PayPal for expenses typically paid for with credit cards, and can contribute toward larger purchases via PayPal.

But the main selling point of PayPal Credit is the term and interest rate flexibility. Wrote Alloca, “retailers can customize PayPal Credit to offer a monthly payment option and decide on the number of months and interest rate that works best for their customers.”

PayPal also announced new Business Consulting services to help SMBs learn best practices in fields such as increasing conversation rates and reducing card abandonment. TechCrunch’s reporting notes that these services have been available to larger PayPal merchants before the announcement. Pricing for the services has yet to be announced.

VentureBeat’s coverage of the news highlights PayPal’s growing role in payment processing and merchant services, and suggests that the kind of expansion into consumer credit PayPal has begun “could be scary for banks.”

PayPal Credit is a line of credit from Comenty Capital Bank, and can be used wherever PayPal is accepted, as well as on eBay purchases. Approval are completed in seconds after application and, once approved, customers will have a credit line of at least $250, and the APR for standard purchases and cash advances is 19.99%. There is no annual fee.

PayPal made its announcements at the National Retail Federation conference. A Finovate alum since 2011, PayPal was most recently a co-sponsor of the inaugural FinDEVr San Francisco 2014 conference last fall.

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iSignthis Raises $3 Million

By David Penn Posted on January 12, 2015
Categories: iSignthis

Less than a month away from its Finovate debut, online transaction authenticator iSignthis has announced raising more than $3 million.

iSignthis specializes in verifying online transactions for financial institutions ranging from banks to insurance groups to online betting companies. The company’s Merchant Protect solution authentications credit and debut card transactions regardless of originating card scheme and issuing bank combination. iSignthis’ technology is based on an Evidence of Identity (EOI) process that is remote, automatic, and scalable. It can also be used by institutions needing to remotely authenticate individuals for AML.KYC requirements.

Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, iSignthis has been developing solutions for online payment security and identity authentication since 2011. The company’s technology is patented in the U.S., Europe, South Africa, and Australia, and pending in China, Hong Kong, Canada, Brazil, and India. John Karantzis is CEO.

Join iSignthis in London in February for FinovateEurope 2015. Pick up your tickets today.

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Alumni News– January 12, 2015

By David Penn Posted on January 12, 2015
Categories: AdviceGames, BillGuard, blooom, Bluefin Payment Systems, Bright Funds, Cachet Financial Solutions, Fidor Bank, Financial Simplicity, Kofax, Loop, Open Bank Project, PayPal, TipRanks, Toshl, TransferWise

Financial Simplicity and T&C Consulting launch joint venture.

Bernard Lunn writes about the revolutionary “license as a service model” of Fidor Bank.

Forbes column on technology and community features Bright Funds.

ABS-CBN News highlights Toshl Finance among its “5 money moves for 2015.”

Business Insider looks to TipRanks to find top stock pickers from 2014.

BillGuard, LoopPay, and TransferWise earn spots on Motley Fool’s list of fintech startups that can help consumers handle money in 2015.

Open Bank Project is organizing 2 hackathons in Ireland (Dublin and Belfast) for Ulster bank. The first is in Dublin this month.

No Need to Fax: Kofax Launches E-Signature Solution, SignDoc.

Cachet Financial Solutions appoints Bruce Whitmore as New Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer.

Bluefin Payment Systems partners with Industry Retail Group (IRG) to provide PCI-Validated Point-to-Point Encryption to IRG Clients.

AdviceGames CEO Diederick van Thiel, Talks About Gamification.

Mobile Commerce Daily reviews PayPal’s new BlackBerry app.

DoughRoller interviews Blooom founder Chris Costello.

PayPal Expands Repayment Options

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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Behalf Announces Collaboration with MasterCard and Comdata

By David Penn Posted on January 9, 2015
Categories: Behalf

Just a few days ago we hinted at some “big news” coming soon from small business financing and vendor payment specialist, Behalf.

The wait is over. In a collaboration with MasterCard and Comdata, Behalf will offer SMBs alternative payment terms for merchants that accept MasterCard. Behalf will take advantage of MasterCard’s Virtual Card platform, while Comdata will provide payment processing.

“Our partnership with Comdata, coupled with MasterCard’s reach, will dramatically improve the usability, scale, and security of what is already a great product,” said Benjy Feinberg, Behalf founder and CEO. “We can’t wait to bring MasterCard-accepting merchants onto our vendor platform, making it easier for small businesses to purchase the goods, services, and supplies they need.”

Behalf’s technology helps SMBs better manage cash flow and pay vendors faster. The company lends up to $10,000 for up to 120 days, enabling small business owners to pay vendors “on Day One” and repay Behalf on terms that work for them. And with the new partnership with MasterCard, added Feinberg, SMBs using Behalf will be “earning cash incentives just by paying their bills.” Vendors benefit by receiving prompter payment, dealing with fewer collections issues, and enjoying better cash flow, as well.

Founded in 2011 and based in New York City, Behalf made its Finovate debut at the New York conference last fall, where it demonstrated its vendor platform. Get to know more about Behalf in our latest Finovate Debut feature.

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Alumni News– January 9, 2015

By David Penn Posted on January 9, 2015
Categories: Aptys Solutions, BillGuard, Cachet Financial Solutions, CAN Capital, CrowdCurity, Dwolla, Klarna, Kreditech, Mint Bills, Misys, Nymi, Receivables Exchange, Saved Plus, Taulia, TextPower, Wallaby Financial, Wealthfront, WePay, Xero_homepage

Kiplinger’s list of five great free financial apps features BillGuard, Mint Bills, Level Money, SavedPlus, and Wallaby Financial.

Aptys Solutions Announces New CEO and CTO.

Center for Financial Inclusion highlights Dwolla, Klarna, Kreditech, Receivables Exchange, and Wealthfront in its review of Australia Wealth Investor’s top 50 fintech innovators for 2014.

First Electric Cooperative deploying TextPower SmartAlerts.

WePay makes Bobs Guide’s “Fintech Startups to Watch in 2015” list.

Misys awarded SWIFT Certified Application labels for trade and supply chain management.

CrowdCurity launches newly designed website.

Time magazine lists Nymi as 1 of 5 most important things happening at CES 2015.

Forbes: Xero Wants All Small Businesses To Do Accounting In The Cloud.

Tradier releases Morningstar-sourced fundamentals APIs to beta.

Cachet Financial launches Co-Branded Option for Select Mobile Money Solution.

PYMNTS interviews CAN Capital CMO James Mendelsohn about access to alternative funding.

Taulia launches “Take Control” campaign to help companies better understand early payment solution.

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 Blog

Author: David Penn

FinovateEurope 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 2

Global Debt Registry Raises $7 Million in Series A Round

Alumni News– January 15, 2015

Fiserv Launches Mobile Card Management App, CardValet

Alumni News– January 14, 2015

App Annie Raises $55 Million in Series D Round

Alumni News– January 13, 2015

PayPal Expands Repayment Options

iSignthis Raises $3 Million

Alumni News– January 12, 2015

Behalf Announces Collaboration with MasterCard and Comdata

Alumni News– January 9, 2015