Author: David Penn

Bill.com’s Two-Factor Authentication Brings Security to SMBs

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bill.com

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Bill.com announced today that it has brought two-factor authentication to customers using its Bill.com Banking Platform. The company is an innovator in the field of integrating bill pay, custom invoicing, and cash flow management for small and medium-sized businesses.

Available for banks and built into the platform for small businesses, the technology is compatible with existing authentication methods, and can be readily integrated. Said CEO Rene Lacerte, “banks can offer small businesses one more reason to trust all of their business needs to one bank.”

Bill.com stresses the unobtrusive nature of their authentication solution. The technology uses a risk-based model to monitor all activity and determine when a request for further authentication from the user should be made. This, according to Bill.com, helps prevent workflow interruptions that can take place when authentication processes are triggered whenever any change is made.

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Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Bill.com won Gold at the 2013 PYMNTS.com Innovator Awards in the “Best Innovation via ACH” category. The company recently announced that it had converted more than 40% of its customers from checks to electronic ACH transactions.
Bill.com presented its technology as part of the FinovateSpring 2011 show in San Francisco. See the company’s demo here.

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FIS Brings Mobile, eBanking, Remote Capture and More to Sterling Bank

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FIS

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Sterling Bank announced this week a new, multi-year agreement with FIS to deploy the banking technology company’s Business eBanking and Mobile Banking technologies.

The FIS Business eBanking solution is geared toward small and medium sized businesses. Features include check imaging, account transfer, ACH payments including direct deposit, as well as real-time access to both personal and business accounts. Mobile Banking through FIS brings services like mobile wallets, prepaid and debit card services, and remote deposit capture.

The announcement comes in the wake of previous moves by Sterling Bank to take greater advantage of online and mobile banking. The bank has already converted its business clients to the FIS business internet platform, outsourcing its core banking to FIS two years ago.
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Sterling Bank is the principal operating subsidiary of Sterling Financial Corporation. With nearly $10 billion in assets, Sterling is based out of Spokane, Washington and has branches in California, Idaho and Oregon, as well as Washington state.
Also doing business as Sonoma Bank, the corporation serves more than 54,000 small and medium-sized businesses, and more than 280,000 retail accounts.
FIS provides mobile banking services to more than 20 million mobile users and more than three million mobile deposit customers. The company demoed its FIS Payment Manager at FinovateFall 2010 in New York. See the FIS demo here.

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Finovate Alumni News– July 30, 2013

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Akamai, Betterment, BillGuard, Cardlytics, Cartera Commerce, Credit Karma, Dynamics, edo Interactive, eToro, FIS, FutureAdvisor, Kasasa, LearnVest, Manilla, MasterCard, OpenCoin, Swipely
  • FinovateLOGO.jpgOpenCoin is among the virtual currency innovators looking to form a self-regulatory body for the industry.
  • MasterPass from MasterCard launches in the United Kingdom.
  • Bank Innovation takes a look at FIS Global’s recent remarks on the company’s technology deal with Sainsbury.
  • Yahoo Finance looks at rewards earned using Dynamics ePlate credit card.
  • StreetFight features reasons to opt in for card-linked loyalty programs from Cartera Commerce, Cardlytics, edo Interactive and Swipely.
  • Netbanker features BillGuard, Manilla, and Credit Karma as value-added apps driving mobile adoption.
  • eToro adds price alerts to eToro Trader app.
  • Bright Ideas features Noreen Hafez, senior product marketing manager at Akamai.
  • Kasasa holds sweepstakes, films big-bank breakup video, featuring CEO Gabe Krajicek.
  • Betterment joins fellow Finovate alumni FutureAdvisor and LearnVest in this NYT column on bringing “financial planning to the masses.”
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– July 29, 2013

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bazaarvoice, Finect, GoBank, ID Analytics, Lending Club, Moven, Realty Mogul, Simple, SocietyOne, Zopa
  • FinovateLOGO.jpgJilliene Helman, CEO and co-founder of Realty Mogul, talks crowdfunding and real estate in NAWRB’s N Magazine.
  • Bazaarvoice CEO Stephen Collins writes about why Big Data needs big problems.
  • Finect’s Jennifer Openshaw talks about social media and the coming deluge of hedge fund advertising.
  • Total Payments features Moven founder, Brett King, as he discusses the future of banking and payments.
  • Bank Innovation looks at Moven, Simple, GoBank, and the decline of personal checks.
  • TechPost considers the success Lending Club, SocietyOne, and Zopa have had implementing P2P lending platforms.
  • American Banker reports ID Analytics announces updated ID fraud software, ID Score.
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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Tagit Introduces Juice, Turning Mobile Phones into Smart Wallets in Mauritius

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Tagit

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Remember Tagit? 

Last year at FinovateAsia, the mobile technology innovator demoed its Mobeix Open Platform, which helps enterprises build and launch apps on their own (for info on the upcoming FinovateAsia event this November, by the way, check out our information page here.)

Well Tagit is back with more news today, announcing that it is bringing its mobile banking technology to the more than one million people living on the island nation of Mauritius.

The new app, called Juice, was the product of a partnership between Singapore-based Tagit and the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB). Juice will enable banking customers to make cardless cash withdrawals, check balances, and perform other common financial tasks without having to visit a bank branch.
Some of the features of the new Juice app include:
  • Juice Cash: Withdraw cash from Juice-enabled merchants by transferring money to them via smartphone
  • Juice ATM: Send money to others who can then pick up the cash at Juice-enabled ATMs
  • Juice Payment: Use smartphone as a credit card to make person-to-merchant payments
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Founded in 2004, Tagit provides mobile banking and commerce application platforms to financial institutions and enterprises looking to extend their online businesses through mobile channels. Tagit has customers in 10 nations in Asia, the Middle East, and North America, and won the Emerging Enterprise Award in 2012.
Mauritius has been ranked first in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report for African economies for five years in a row. With no exploitable natural resources, the country’s population is mostly employed in the service sector, including tourism and financial services. Tagit CEO Sandeep Bagaria praised the country’s “100% mobile penetration” as a primary reason for expansion into the Mauritius market.

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Kalixa Group Brings its NFC-Enabling Technology to the U.K.

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: DeviceFidelity, Kalixa

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The power to turn any smartphone into an NFC enabled phone is the promise of Kalixa Group’s prepaid mobile wallet, moneto, now available for users in the U.K.

Moneto will allow users in the U.K. to “tap and pay” (or “tap and go”) when paying for purchases using their smartphones. MicroSD technology, courtesy of DeviceFidelity, provides the phone with its NFC functionality, allowing shopping by mobile wallet at retail stores throughout the United Kingdom wherever the MasterCard PayPass logo is displayed.

Other features of the mobile wallet include:
  • Remote account access including real-time balance check
  • Merchant and ATM finder
  • Wallet-to-wallet transaction ability
Users of the mobile app also get an EMV prepaid MasterCard that will allow them to make cash withdrawals from ATMs, shop online, and pay for items where NFC is not an available option at the point of sale. ATM cash withdrawals will cost Kalixa prepaid card users £1.75 each, plus 1.95% of the value of the transfer (minimum of £10).
In addition to providing for NFC-based transactions, the microSD chip potentially adds a layer of security for the mobile wallet user. As noted in Banking Technology’s coverage of the launch, a stolen phone with a separate NFC chip means that the customer is less likely to have their account details stolen, as well.
The mobile wallet is currently available on iOS for iPhone 4 and 4S. Kalixa Group plans to add Android and iPhone 5 compatible versions later this year.
Kalixa Group demoed its mobile point-of-sale (mpos) technology at FinovateEurope 2013 in London. To see their presentation, click here. DeviceFidelity showed its In2Pay microSD chip enabling contactless transactions with the moneto wallet as part of the FinovateSpring 2012 show in San Francisco. See DeviceFidelity in action here.

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Check to Provide Mobile Bill Pay to Desert Water Agency Customers

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Check

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Just in time for those soaring water bills of summer, Check has made it easier for the 70,000 customers of Desert Water Agency (DWA) in Palm Springs, California to get those water bills paid.

In a partnership announced today, Check (formerly Pageonce) will be available as a mobile bill pay service for the customers who rely on DWA for their water service.

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Customers using Check will be able to pay their water bills in a variety of ways, including free payment via ACH. Credit card payments are also available through Check with a 4% processing fee. The company is providing an incentive to get customers onboard, offering $5 off a customer’s first water bill when they use Check.
Interested customers can download the Check mobile app – available on Android and iOS – at Google Play or the Apple App Store, as well as at the Desert Water Agency. The Check app is free.
Check, as Pageonce, appeared on the Finovate stage in 2010 as part of FinovateSpring. See the company in action here.

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FTRANS Raises More than $2 Million

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FTRANS

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According to a report from the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Finovate alum FTRANS has raised more than $2 million of its expected $2.56 million funding round. 

Participating in the round were the company’s long-time investors: Greenhill SAVP, New Atlantic Ventures, and Total Technology Ventures Capital.

At the conclusion of the current round, the company’s funding total will top $13 million.
FTRANS is an innovator in the field of accounts receivable and credit management for small and medium enterprises. The company leverages its partnerships with banks and other financial institutions, as well as its own direct funding capability, to provide lenders with the visibility they need to manage risk.
A few key metrics for FTRANS:
  • Founded in 2004 in Atlanta, Georgia
  • Serves more than 150 clients with more than 10,000 customers
  • Processed more than $600 million in accounts receivable to date
  • Launched partnership with Synovus Financial Corporation in 2007.
FTRANS demonstrated its Trade Credit Express technology at the FinovateSpring 2010 show in San Francisco. See the company’s presentation here.

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ACI Worldwide, DBS Partner to Promote Online Banking Platform in Asia

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide

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ACI Worldwide’s expansion into Asia just reached a new milestone.

The company’s ACI Universal Online Banker and Global Trade Manager will be put to work powering the regional Internet and mobile banking platform of Singapore-based, DBS.

The platform, DBS IDEAL 3.0 helps businesses better manage their cash and trade transactions. Additionally, IDEAL 3.0:
  • Is used by more than 160,000 corporate customers in more than 100,000 institutions
  • Operates in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom
  • Processes more than 40 million transactions each year

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DBS has more than 250 branches in 15 markets. With more than 4 million customers, the bank has won Global Finance’s “Safest Bank in Asia” five years in a row from 2009-2013.  The company has 18,000 employees, and was founded in 1968 as the Development Bank of Singapore.
ACI Worldwide develops payment systems products for retail and wholesale banking, as well as retail businesses. The company serves more than 2,600 financial institutions, processing $12 trillion in payments daily. This includes transactions for 16 of the world’s top retailers, and all but one of the world’s 25 biggest banks.
ACI Worldwide demonstrated its Mobile Enterprise Banker for Tablets technology at FinovateFall 2011. See the company in action here.

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PicturePay to Power Mobile Bill Pay for 3Rivers Federal Credit Union

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Allied Payment Network, Mitek

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With its decision to deploy PicturePay, 3Rivers Federal Credit Union becomes the first credit union in the U.S. to adopt Allied Payment Network’s mobile bill pay solution.

PicturePay’s approach to mobile bill pay leverages the smartphone. Users take a picture of the bill and the imaging software – powered by the technology from another Finovate alum, Mitek – reads the data. All the user needs to do is enter the amount to be paid and the date to confirm payment.

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3Rivers Federal Credit Union has more than $750 million in assets, and more than 67,000 members in northern Indiana and northern Ohio. 3Rivers was founded in 1935, and is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
In partnership with Malauzai Software, Allied Payment Network recently announced the availability of PicturePay as a standalone solution. The company has been active in fundraising this year, as well, picking up a total of more than $750,000 so far in 2013.
Allied Payment Network demoed its PicturePay technology as part of FinovateSpring 2013 in San Francisco. See the company’s presentation here.

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Finovate Alumni News– July 17, 2013

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Azimo, DeviceFidelity, Realty Mogul, Virtual Piggy
  • FinovateLOGO.jpgAzimo, Realty Mogul, Virtual Piggy reach Grand Finale of the Innotribe Startup Challenge 2013 in Dubai.
  • MoneyGram agrees to be exclusive money transfer provider for DeviceFidelity’s moneto.
  • Ping Identity Pulls in $44 Million in Series F Funding for International Expansion.
  • MoneyDesktop Signs Wilson Bank & Trust to PFM.
  • Lowcards.com lists Manilla, Mint, PayPal, and Expensify as 4 of 5 top personal finance apps of 2013.
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 and ProfitStars Team Up to Provide Small Business Financing Solutions

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Lendio, ProfitStars

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The partnership between Finovate alumni Lendio and ProfitStars provides small businesses with ProfitStars’s accounts-receivable financing solution, BusinessManager, as well as access to the company’s LendingNetwork alternative-financing referral program.

The goal is to make it easier for small businesses to obtain the capital they need to grow and expand. BusinessManager is a web-based financial program that lets businesses sell their accounts receivables to their bank at a discount on a daily basis.

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The LendingNetwork provides financing to creditworthy business customers through a network of more than 20 commercial providers. It serves as an option for those customers unable to access traditional lines of credit.
Lendio matches lenders with small businesses owners seeking financing. The company was founded by Brock Blake (CEO) and Trent Miskin (CTO) in 2006, and is based in South Jordan, Utah, near Salt Lake City. Lendio includes among its partners companies like legal zoom, Experian, and Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corporation.

        

ProfitStars is a division of Jack Henry & Associates focusing on developing products and services designed to help financial institutions control risks, minimize costs, and grow revenue.
Lendio demonstrated its lending platform as part of the FinovateSpring 2011 show in San Francisco. See the company’s presentation here. ProfitStars demoed BudgetManager at the FinovateSpring 2012 show one year later. A video of the demo is available here.

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