BillFloat Raises $21 Million in New Funding

Thumbnail image for BillFloatLogo.jpgBillFloat announced that it has raised $21 million courtesy of Investor Growth Capital, which led the financing round along with previous investors Venrock, First Round Capital, and Baseline Ventures. New investor Bronze Investments also participated in the round.

The new funding comes as the company focuses on its More-Time-to-Pay (MTP) platform, which provides customers with real-time payment flexibility. Consumers can access MTP online, in stores, and through mobile thanks to the company’s partnership with more than 2,500 billers – from cable companies to utilities.

Founded in 2009, BillFloat has raised more than $36 million. On the agenda for 2013 according to CEO and co-founder Ryan Gilbert, are the following:

  • Expand team by two-thirds, mostly through new developers
  • Drive more than $400 million in loans 
  • Raise up to $100 million in debt financing to fund loans

BillFloat offers loans up to $200 to its more than 700,000 registered users. See BillFloat in action at its most recent Finovate demo here.

Finovate Alumni News– January 17, 2013

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBillFloat announces $21 million in new funding.
  • Jack Henry & Associates launches retail and commercial lending platform.
  • Compass Plus completes benchmark testing on HP servers.
  • ImpulseSave releases Google Chrome e-commerce plug-in.
  • Dashlane partners with Pwnedlist to enhance security alerts. Check out Dashlane’s live demo at FinovateEurope next month.
  • Mitek to launch Mobile Deposit Alliance, allowing participant banks to share deposit data.
  • TechCrunch reports: eBay And PayPal Expect To Do $20 Billion Each In 2013 Mobile Commerce.
  • El Paso Electric Company partners with TIO Networks Corp to launch EPE MobilePay.
  • Dwolla introduces Guest Send to help developers building bank software make payments from one account to another.
  • Bill.com wins Best Software as a Service category of the 2012-2013 Cloud Awards Program.
  • Clearstream chooses Standard Chartered Bank as its clearing and settlement agent for its investments in South Africa.
  • Payments.com profiles MasterCard Worldwide’s initiatives in Africa.
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.

eDeposit Launches First Mobile App

Thumbnail image for eDepositLogo.jpgWhat’s new in finance apps for iOS? Now businesses can use their iPhones to manage their eDeposit accounts.

The new mobile app from eDeposit allows merchants (and their customers) to send and accept payments, as well as conduct other banking business such as checking balances and monitoring account activity.

Here’s a screenshot.

edeposit_mobile.jpg

Version 1.2.1 is available for free on iTunes.

Watch eDeposit in action at their most recent Finovate demo here.

Compass Plus Helps Zapsibcombank Launch Loyalty Program

Thumbnail image for CompassPlusLogo.jpgRussian bank Zapsibcombank will be offering customers a new loyalty program called PLUSES, courtesy of Compass Plus.

The deal will allow bank customers to participate in a discount program that is not tied to a specific retailer. By designating categories such as “My car” and “My supermarket”, customers in the program will have significant flexibility in the way that discounts are applied. Full integration between the loyalty program and the bank’s Internet service means that customers will be able to access the program remotely.

The bank will be relying on Compass Plus’s TranzWare CMS, which handles payment card issuance and circulation, as well as merchant and corporate account management.

Zapsibcombank is one of the TOP-100 largest Russian banks since 2009, with more than 500,000 cards in circulation and an ATM network of more than 400. The bank has more than 60 branches, and specializes in both consumer and SME lending.

Watch Compass Plus’s most recent Finovate demo here.

DeviceFidelity Deal Helps Bring NFC to iPhones

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for DeviceFidelityLogo.jpgU.S. Bank has announced that they would be using technology from both DeviceFidelity and Datacard Group in its new smart card and mobile payment program.

The new Go Mobile service will leverage DeviceFidelity’s near field communications (NFC) technology to create a contactless mobile payment application. Datacard Group will be responsible for cardholder personalization.

Cardholders participating in the program can further opt-in for a case that will NFC-enable their iPhone 4 or 4S. The case uses a microNFC card and is built by DeviceFidelity.

U.S. Bank is the 5th largest commercial bank in the United States based on assets. With more than 3,000 bank offices and more than 5,000 ATMs, the bank is the fourth largest in the U.S. in total branches.

Watch DeviceFidelity’s most recent Finovate demo here.

Finovate Alumni News– January 14, 2013

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgElmer’s, Dr Pepper Snapple adopt Jingit engagement and offer platform and mobile app.
  • U.S. Bank to deploy mobile payments technology from DeviceFidelity.
  • Jingit announces partnership with Direct Source.
  • TIBCO Software partners with Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
  • Credit.com lists Mint, LearnVest, and ReadyForZero as 3 of 5 must-have apps for 2013.
  • BehavioSec mentioned in Forrester’s report: Building Next-Gen Mobile Banking.
  • The Washington Post mentions doxo and StockTwits as 2 tools for keeping track of your finances, stocks, and global markets.
  • Innovation Excellence features BillGuard.
  • Management Today names TransferWise “start-up of the month.”
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.

ACI Worldwide Launches New Money Transfer System

Thumbnail image for ACIWorldwide.jpgCalling the latest version a collaborative effort between the company and customers, ACI Worldwide this week announced the release of Money Transfer System 5.0.

MTS 5.0 features include repair reporting, network validation tools, and the addition of global clearing channel such as KASSIP and SAIRE. KASSIP is the Kuwait Automated Settlement System for Inter-Participant Payments. SAIRE is the Saudi Arabian Riyal Interbank Express.

Additionally, the issues that financial institutions face with regard to sanctions checking have been addressed in MTS 5.0. The Enhanced Sanctions Filter provides SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) list storage and enrichment, real-time scanning, exception processing, and other services.

See ACI Worldwide’s most recent Finovate demo here.

Finovate Alumni News– January 11, 2013

  • iOSnoops reviews TradeHero Mobile.
  • Netbanker considers how Prosper, Zopa, and Lending Club have disrupted lending.
  • American Banker reports on NICE Systems’ launch of voice authentication technology. Watch its live demo at FinovateEurope Feb. 12 and 13.
  • P2P Lending News: Zopa CEO talks to BBC Radio.
  • BostInno talks with ImpulseSave CEO on how it can help with all kinds of New Year’s resolutions.
  • Equifax partners with DocuSign for easy e-sign and submission of Transcript of Tax Return form.
  • Fiserv enhances TradeFlow, its post-trade processing solution. Come to FinovateEurope in London to see the live demo of its new technology.
  • ZDNet looks at how miiCard is solving identity verification headaches.
  • Digital Journal reports on EZBOB’s battle with Amazon in the small business financing space.  See them at FinovateEurope in February.
  • Leadfusion collaborates with McCulluy Design Lab to get a new look.
  • Happy birthday, TSYS!  Company celebrates 30th anniversary on Friday.
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.

Thomson Reuters Helps FFIs with FATCA Compliance

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for ThomsonReutersLogo.jpgAre you a FFI (foreign financial institution) worried about the new FATCA regulations that went into effect on the first day of January 2013?

If so, Thomson Reuters has an app for that.

The company has unveiled a FATCA compliance kit to help financial institutions comply with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA. This legislation mandates that FFIs identify individual US tax liability among their customers, and report it to the Internal Revenue Service.

According to the European Banking Federation, FATCA will cost those FFIs with more than 25 million accounts $250 million or more to implement. The Thomson Reuters for FATCA Solution allows banks to take advantage of established regulatory and tax problem-solving technologies to ensure compliance, proper reporting, and documentation.

See Thomson Reuters in their most recent Finovate demo here.

Finovate Alumni News– January 10, 2013

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgIBM developerWorks features Rich Killmar from Keynote DeviceAnywhere.
  • Thomson Reuters unveils FATCA compliance toolkit.
  • Temenos is one of the most significant global banking platform vendors according to Forrester Research.
  • Check out Toshl Finance’s cool infographic on how people around the world earn and spend their money.
  • Money Smart Life blog reviews Personal Capital.
  • TIBCO Software announces partnership with University of Chicago Medicine.
  • Credit Union Journal reports: Congressional FCU Chooses Geezeo.
  • PlayMoolah launches Moolah It, a new iOS App.
  • Central Bank of Myanmar grants license to Standard Chartered Bank.
  • EZBOB to partner with ChannelGrabber.
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.

Suncorp Selects FIS for ATM and POS Switching

FISLogo.jpgThe ability to manage both POS and ATM networks on a single platform has won FIS a deal with Australia’s Suncorp bank. In addition to managing the bank’s POS and ATM networks, FIS’s CONNEX will also be used to help the bank’s ongoing EMV rollout efforts.<

CONNEX helps financial institutions facilitate terminal driving, transaction acquiring, switching and authorization. The migration of Suncorp’s ATM transactions is planned for the first half of 2013.

A few interesting facts about Suncorp:

  • The fifth largest bank in Australia with more than $60 billion in assets
  • One of the top 25 companies in the Australian Stock Exchange
  • Has 450 offices and branches in Australia and New Zealand, and 2200 ATM access points

FIS has relationships with more than 14,000 institutions in more than 100 countries. See FIS’s most recent Finovate demos here and here.