Ping Identity Raises $35 Million in Round Led by KKR

Ping Identity Raises $35 Million in Round Led by KKR
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Cloud identity management innovator Ping Identity announced that it has taken its total capital to $110 million, courtesy of a new investment of $35 million.

The funding round was led by KKR, and featured participation from new investor, Ten Eleven Ventures. Also participating were existing investors including:

  • Appian Ventures
  • Draper Fisher Jurvetson
  • General Catalyst Partners
  • SAP Ventures
  • Triangle Peak Partners
  • Volution Capital
  • W Capital Partners
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Quoted in the Denver Post, Ping senior marketing director, Jeff Nolan said, “The cost of a data breach is far greater than the cost of replacing the old infrastructure in the first place.” Nolan pointed to research that suggested that compromised passwords were the cause of more than 75% of data breaches. Add to this the idea that the $50 billion annually invested in IT security is dwarfed by the estimated $200 billion in password-related losses each year.
“The solution here is not better passwords, but getting rid of the password altogether,” Nolan said.
Ping’s technology leverages secure, open standards like SAML, OpenID, and OAuth to provide cloud-based identity management solutions to more than 1,200 customers around the world, including half of the Fortune 100. Ping Identity provides cloud single sign-on, mobile app identity security, API security, centralized IT control of cloud access and more.
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Ping Identity has been in the fintech headlines more than once in 2014. The company acquired Accells Technologies in March. In January, the company was rated positively by Gartner’s Web Access Management Marketscope Report. Ping Identity was founded in 2004, and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Andre Durand is CEO.
Ping Identity demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2012. See the video of the company’s presentation here.

FinDEVr Preview: PayPal / Braintree and Forte Payment Systems

FinDEVr Preview: PayPal / Braintree and Forte Payment Systems
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Our preview of the upcoming FinDEVr conference continues with a look at two companies whose technologies have become synonymous with payment innovation: PayPal / Braintree and  Forte Payment Systems.

If you’ve missed our earlier previews, check out our previous features on: Yodlee Interactive, TD Ameritrade Institutional, Visa Developers, and MasterCard Developer Zone.
Remember, FinDEVr is less than two weeks away. Get your tickets today and save your spot.

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The PayPal / Braintree Developer program is the face of technology innovation for the companies. Using an open source technology stack foundation, we are constructing new breeds of payment platforms, API standards, and identity systems to support the next generation of disruptive technologies.

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Why it’s great for developers:
  • Global Payment Platform (25 currencies, 200+ markets)
  • Simple Mobile & Web SDKs, in a multitude of languages
  • Industry leaders wearable payments, identity & biometrics
Keynote: The Future of Payment Identity
In this session we are exploring how new identification techniques around wearables, biometrics, and mobile are vastly changing the payment space.
Workshop
Making Payments Fun
Whoever said payments were complicated/boring? This is a quick introduction into the world of online payments and how to make it fun and enjoyable for your customer. Whether it be on your smartphone or website, we’ll show you how you can get set up and accept payments quickly.
Presenter:
Justin Woo, Developer Evangelist
Justin Woo is a Developer Evangelist at PayPal and has been programming ever since he got his first IBM XT running DOS. He loves writing mobile applications (especially hybrid-HTML5 applications) and wishes everything could be done in LISP.

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Forte Payment Systems empowers developers to build secure and innovative electronic payment solutions for all platforms whether online, at a physical POS or on the road. Able to provide the modern, robust and powerful options that large companies demand, along with the ease of use, simplicity and affordability for the smallest of operations, Forte redefines the notion of flexibility and scalability.

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Why it’s great for developers:
  • Single API to enable Credit, Debit and Electronic Check (ACH)
  • Unlimited free support and sandbox access
  • Tokenization and PCI Compliance
Keynote: Professional Payments Made Easy: Developer to Developer
Enable payments into your application with Forte’s full range of enterprise-class services. Our modern and professional RESTful APIs have been implemented to simplify integrations, yet keep power and flexibility for developers to build massively scalable and distributed payment-enabled solutions.
Workshop
Forte Payment APIs – Deep Dive
This hands-on workshop is focusing on integration using Forte.js, Forte Checkout and Forte’s REST-based APIs. We’ll also discuss our SDKs, which make integration using today’s most popular development languages and mobile OS a snap.
Presenter:
Jeff Thorness, CEO, Founder and Coder
Originally a coder, Thorness wrote the very first line of code to launch the company. With his inspired vision and thoughtful management, Forte has evolved into one of the largest privately-held payment processors in the nation.


Join us Friday for more of our FinDEVr Preview featuring Silver sponsors, Financial Apps, Avoka, Xero, Incomm, EVO Snap, Xignite, Eshtapay, and the Intuit Partner Program.

TransferWise Announces Redesign, Takes on Banks in First National TV Ad

TransferWise Announces Redesign, Takes on Banks in First National TV Ad
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When we last looked at international money transfer innovator, TransferWise, the company was on the receiving end of a major investment from the likes of Sir Richard Branson, and Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures.

Today we are happy to see some of that capital put to work.

TransferWise has announced a major redesign, including a new national television ad. Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of TransferWise, noted that part of the challenge for startups like his are a “handful of major players” who dominate retail banking in the U.K. 

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This forces companies like TransferWise to come up with new, innovative ways to attract customers from the brand names they’ve grown up with.
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To this end, TransferWise’s makeover comes in three parts: web, design, and mobile. The website has been streamlined to speed customer onboarding and make the interface more intuitive. And a new logo has been designed to help distinguish the company’s brand from traditional money transfer organizations like banks and brokers.

But the most exciting part of the redesign are the changes on the mobile side. TransferWise is now optimized for iOS8 for iPhone 6, iPhone 6+, and the iPad. This includes what the company calls “deep integration” with the iPhone contact book.
“We believe that just being a little better isn’t enough,” added Hinrikus. “So we strive to offer something that’s ten times easier, faster, and better than the banks to make mainstream consumers of alternative finance providers like us.”
This leads us to what might be the most talked about aspect of TransferWise’s redesign: the company’s cheeky new TV spot. TransferWise’s first national television ad humorously features a “Wolf of Wall Street” like banker walking through his offices and lightheartedly lamenting the rise of TransferWise. 
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TransferWise was founded in March 2010 and is headquartered in London. The company demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2013. See a video of their demo here.

Who’s Who in New York Fintech Scene Features Five Finovate Alums

Who’s Who in New York Fintech Scene Features Five Finovate Alums
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With FinovateFall 2014 starting a week from today, you’ll have to forgive us if we’ve got a little New York on the brain.

But you’d have to admit that the latest roundup of the New York fintech scene’s “Need to Know” from AlleyWatch couldn’t be more timely.

Even better, not only does the lineup include five companies that have demoed at Finovate shows in the past, it also features a pair of alums that are presenting at the upcoming FinDEVr event in San Francisco, as well.
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That would be CardFlight and Thinknum. Derek Webster, founder and CEO of CardFlight, and Thinknum Co-Founder Justin Zhen were two of the five alums featured in AlleyWatch’s “21 People in the New York FinTech Scene You Need to Know About.” CardFlight specializes in mobile POS technology that enables card-present transactions. Thinknum has designed a web-based platform that helps financial analysts leverage big data to better value companies.

Both companies will be presenting at FinDEVr at the end of the month. Bronze sponsor CardFlight will host a presentation at FinDEVr on Tuesday. Thinknum will be holding its FinDEVr workshop on Wednesday. And there’s still time to get your tickets and join us for the first fintech event for developers.
Also noted in AlleyWatch’s review of New York’s Fintech Who’s Who were Betterment Product Manager Nick Gavronsky, LearnVest founder and CEO Alexa von Tobel, and Market Prophit CEO Igor Gonta.
Betterment was a Best of Show winner at FinovateFall in 2010. LearnVest won Best of Show honors for its demo at FinovateFall 2013. And Market Prophit made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose.

At the Beginning of the Apple Pay Era, FinDEVr Brings Builders Back into the Spotlight

At the Beginning of the Apple Pay Era, FinDEVr Brings Builders Back into the Spotlight
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What are fintech developers up to in the newly-christened Age of Apple Pay?

Long before anyone had a clue what was going on with payments in Cupertino, fintech developers were busy at work building on many of the innovations that have already helped put financial technology in the same conversation as the latest consumer electronics gadget and the hottest trends in social media.

So it is no surprise to find these developers bringing many of the same themes that dominant tech headlines to FinDEVr: the first event for fintech developers.
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FinDEVr is a unique opportunity for software architects, product engineers, and other builders to meet, network with, and learn from the professionals whose technology is behind some of the most widely deployed financial goods and services in the world. 
With presentations and workshops from industry veterans ranging from Avoka to Yodlee (see the full line up here), FinDEVr is an ideal setting for developers to make key contacts, discover new tools and technologies, and jumpstart their own projects.
Coming to San Francisco’s UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center, FinDEVr begins Tuesday, September 30 and continues through Wednesday, October 1. To get your tickets and save your spot, visit our registration page.
And be sure to join the FinDEVr community while you’re at it. We’ve partnered with Bizzabo to make it even easier to find, meet, and get to know your fellow attendees before, during, and after the event.
If you’ve registered to attend FinDEVr, then you’re set. Just download the Bizzabo app (available for both iOS and Android) and use the same email address you used to register for the conference to log in to Bizzabo. Search for “FinDEVr” and you’re ready to go.
Questions? Send us an email at SanFran@FinDEVr.com.


Alumni News– September 15, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgMoven CEO Brett King says Apple Pay anticipates the end of physical bank cards.
  • United Way Worldwide now accepts bitcoin courtesy of Coinbase.
  • Monitise releases fiscal year 2014 financial results; announces new strategic partnership with Santander.
  • Business Spectator looks at how Apple, Google, Lending Club, and SocietyOne are part of “banking’s double disruption.”
  • Allied Payment Network announces integration of FlexPay with PicturePay.
  • Feedzai teams up with Azul Systems to speed its real-time data analysis.
  • The Washington Post features Betterment and HelloWallet.
  • Millicom and Kalixa partner to offer payment acceptance services for businesses and consumers in Africa and Latin America.
  • ProfitStars introduces Gladiator Hosted Network Solutions to enable FIs to move their IT infrastructures to the cloud.
  • Rippleshot, Braintree highlighted in Chicago Tribune column as examples of local contributors to the commerce infrastructure.
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.

Tink Raises $4 Million in Series A Round

Tink Raises $4 Million in Series A Round

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In a round led by Sunstone Capital, Swedish personal finance management innovator Tink raised $4 million in new funding. 

The capital will help fuel the company’s expansion internationally, as well as help grow the team and continue product development.

Also participating in the round was entrepreneur Sven Hagströmer, along with additional existing investors. The investment brings the company’s total capital to $4.8 million.

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The investment also brings Christian Lindegård Jepsen, Sunstone Capital general partner and co-founder, to Tink’s board of directors, Jepsen specifically referenced the “beautiful UI” of Tink’s PFM app, as well as the degree of automation, which he said would help speed adoption.
Tink CEO and founder Daniel Kjellén echoed this point, saying “the fact that Tink is fully automated and everything is presented in a feed format makes it useful even if you only have two minutes to spare.”
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Tink has more than 200,000 users, with the average “Tinker” being a 23 year old female who uses the app two to three times a week, according to the company. The app is available for both iOS and Android.
Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Tink demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2014 in London, where it won Best of Show. See the company in action here.

Alumni News– September 12, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgmiiCard launches DirectID to enable verification for high value transactions online.
  • FinovateFall 2014: Meet the People in Your Fintech Neighborhood.
  • First Trade Union Bank (+$700M in assets) deploys Q2platform from Q2.
  • TSYS and iMobile3 partner to Provide Apple Pay Integration.
  • Payfone announces release of new Mobile Identity as an Experience Platform.
  • Kony wins first place at 2014 CTIA MobITs Awards.
  • Tink raises $4 million in Series A round.
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.

miiCard Launches DirectID to Enable Verification for High Value Transactions Online

miiCard Launches DirectID to Enable Verification for High Value Transactions Online

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Online Identity as a Service (IDaaS) innovator miiCard announced the launch of DirectID, a technology that provides an embedded, integrated verification solution that makes it easier for financial services providers to securely and swiftly process high value transactions online.

miiCard CEO James Varga said, “DirectID allows business to unlock the incredible potential of new consumer finance offerings by eliminating fraud, meeting complex new regulatory requirements, and saving time and money.”

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DirectID is a single-use sign-on that leverages the customer’s bank credentials and credit bureau data to verify both identity and transaction data. What’s key is the fact that DirectID provides what Varga referred to as an “all-in-one solution”  that is especially helpful for the kind of affordability and other testing often involved in high value online transactions.
And many of those high value transactions are likely to come from alternative lenders, which helps explain why Landbay and eMoneyUnion.com, a pair of P2P lenders, are among DirectID’s early adopters. DirectID is available as a white label solution, as well. Read more about the technology here.
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miiCard also announced on Thursday that the company was opening an office in St. Louis, Missouri, and appointing Peter Esparrago as President of North America. Esparrago is a former Accenture Partner, as well as Co-Founder and General Partner of venture capital firm, Cultivation Capital.
miiCard was founded in September 2011, and is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. See the company’s FinovateFall 2013 demo here. And get to know miiCard CEO James Varga in our Finovate Interview.
And for developers and other fans of enabling technologies like this, remember that FinDEVr less than a month away on September 30 and October 1. Find out more here.

FinovateFall 2014: Meet the People in Your Fintech Neighborhood

FinovateFall 2014: Meet the People in Your Fintech Neighborhood
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FinovateFall 2014 is only a few weeks away. And if you are still among those who have not yet picked up your tickets, here’s a reminder of the kinds of folks who have already registered to be in attendance at what promises to be our largest FinovateFall to date.

As always we’ll have the Presidents, CEOs, Directors, and SVPs, the key deciders at innovators and enterprises large and small. But take a closer look below. 

Chief Creative Officers, Innovation Strategists, and Software Architects will also be on hand … to say nothing of the managers, analysts and partners who handle everything from acquiring talent to coordinating strategy to investing capital.

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Lights go up at FinovateFall 2014 on Tuesday, September 23, and the conference continues through Wednesday. 72 companies. 300 minutes of high-quality networking. 500 minutes of live demos. And an audience likely to top 1,200. What’s not to look forward to about FinovateFall 2014?
There’s no better way to meet the people in your fintech neighborhood than being a part of FinovateFall. To pick up your tickets today, visit our registration page here. And if you’ve already registered, be sure to join the FinovateFall 2014 community on Bizzabo.


From API to POS: The Themes of FinovateFall 2014

From API to POS: The Themes of FinovateFall 2014
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It’s hard to believe that FinovateFall 2014 is only two weeks away. And if the pre-event buzz is any indication, conference attendees and presenters alike are in store for quite a show.

As always, our presenters are a fascinating mix of new startups and industry veterans, and the innovations they will be demonstrating on stage later this month are no less diverse and interesting.

Take a look for yourself courtesy of our FinovateFall 2014 Theme Word Cloud. From authentication and biometrics to machine-learning algorithms and self-service banking, FinovateFall has something for everyone.

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If you like what you see then you’ll love what we’ve got in store for you at FinovateFall 2014. This year, FinovateFall is moving to the New York Hilton Midtown. Located on the Avenue of the Americas, our new venue is centrally located, convenient to public transportation, and fully-equipped to serve as the center of the fintech universe for two days in late September. 
We hope to see you there! Click here to get your tickets today.

Heartland Financial USA Announces 10-Bank Deployment of Q2platform

Heartland Financial USA Announces 10-Bank Deployment of Q2platform

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Ten of Heartland Financial USA’s banks have implemented the online banking platform developed by Q2 Holdings according to an announcement Tuesday morning.

The implementation of the Q2platform took place over the five months between April and August. Matt Flake, Q2 CEO and president, said, “Everyone at Heartland has an outstanding commitment to simplifying the online banking process and creating a seamless user experience for account holders.”

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A full list of the banks that have deployed the technology is below:
  • Arizona Bank & Trust
  • Dubuque Bank and Trust Company
  • Galena State Bank & Trust Co.
  • The Morrill & Janes Bank and Trust Company
  • Minnesota Bank & Trust
  • New Mexico Bank & Trust
  • Riverside Community Bank
  • Rocky Mountain Bank
  • Summit Bank & Trust
  • Wisconsin Bank & Trust
An innovator in the field of cloud-based, virtual banking, Q2’s solutions are particularly sought after by community banks, regional banks, and credit unions looking to provide new mobile and online services to their customers while keeping costs low. Q2 was recently in the news, announcing partnerships with Easy Solutions in July, and First Financial Bank in June. The company went public in March, trades under the ticker symbol “QTWO” on the New York Stock Exchange, and is currently valued at $500 million. 
Founded in 2005 and based in Austin, Texas, Q2 demoed its Risk and Fraud Analytics technology as part of FinovateSpring 2011 in San Francisco. See the company’s presentation here.