Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Ghana Government to Leverage Entrust Datacard to Issue National ID Cards

Ghana Government to Leverage Entrust Datacard to Issue National ID Cards
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Entrust Datacard

Identity and transaction technology solutions company Entrust Datacard has agreed to team up with the government of Ghana this week. Through a partnership with Identity Management Systems, a subsidiary of Margins Group, Entrust will help the Ghana government issue national identity cards to its citizens in real time.

The new GhanaCard meets all international requirements, including chip-embedded technology and biometric capabilities. Starting this month, the government will begin issuing the ID to 16 million citizens.

The distribution of the cards relies on Entrust Datacard’s instant issuance technology. The real-time issuance of the cards saves Ghanian citizens from having to pick up their ID in person. Furthermore, it saves the government from the administrative hassle of dealing with cards that were never picked up.

“Identity Management Systems designed a custom solution that fits Ghana’s economic and social needs, utilizing Entrust Datacard printers,” said Xavier Coemelck, regional VP for Entrust Datacard EMEA. “Entrust Datacard technologies will enable the government of Ghana to improve service to its citizens and help ensure secure access to rights and services. This project demonstrates our ability to customize our solutions to fit all customer requirements.”

Entrust Datacard was founded in 1969 and presented at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016. Jason Soroko, Security Technologies Manager, and Matt Rose, Technical Sales Consultant, spoke to the audience of developers on Safeguarding Your Banking Applications. Headquartered in Shakopee, Minnesota, Entrust Datacard has 2,000 colleagues working around the globe to serve customers in 150 countries.

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Akamai Appoints Former Verizon CIO as Chief Information Officer

Akamai Appoints Former Verizon CIO as Chief Information Officer
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Akamai

Web and mobile security company Akamai is bolstering its workforce today with the appointment of a new Chief Information Officer. Starting today, Fari Ebrahimi (pictured) will take on the role, combined with the duties and title of Senior Vice President. Ebrahimi succeeds Kumud Kalia, who will remain with Akamai in an advisory role over the next two months.

Ebrahimi will be responsible for global strategy, development, app operations, and IT infrastructure for Akamai’s customers, employees, and partners. In a press release, Ebrahimi said his goal is to “drive and scale end-to-end digital transformation across all business processes to maximize and secure our customer, partner, and employee experiences, while optimizing operations leveraging Akamai’s world-class solutions.”

Ebrahimi most recently served as SVP and Global CIO of Avaya, a California-based mobile network operator. Prior to that appointment, he spent 13 years working in multiple capacities at Verizon, including as President of Verizon Information Technologies, and as SVP and CIO of Verizon Services Operations, where he was in charge of leading a workforce of almost 4,000.

Discussing Ebrahimi’s strong background, Akamai CEO Dr. Tom Leighton said Ebrahimi “has demonstrated both significant results and cost savings in leading complex enterprise transformations, especially in the areas of cloud, mobile and security. We look forward to combining his talents with our existing strong IT team.”

Akamai was founded in 1998 and most recently presented at FinovateEurope 2015 in London where it debuted Client Reputation Service. The solution helps FIs forecast security issues and protect against DDoS attacks, web attackers, screen scrapers, and scanning tools. In November of last year, the Massachusetts-based company acquired Nominum, a DNS security solutions company. And in October, Akamai teamed up with Bell to offer a suite of web security and performance solutions for Canadian businesses.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Akamai, Daon, Fiserv, Flywire, IDology, Vera, Wealthfront

On Finovate.com

  • Vera Hires First Chief Financial Officer and Adds Technical Talent.
  • Akamai Appoints Former Verizon CIO as Chief Information Officer.
  • Wealthfront Rakes in $75 Million.
  • Daon Forges Strategic Partnership with North African Technology Innovator GEMADEC.
  • Ghana Government to Leverage Entrust Datacard to Issue National ID Cards.

Around the web

  • Fintech News names Flywire 1 of 8 promising fintechs in Singapore to watch.
  • IDology listed among 50 fastest growing tech companies in 2017.
  • Fiserv VP of Product Strategy for Card Services, Jon Rosner talks about the pace of digital wallet adoption.

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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Kantox Closes Debt Financing

Kantox Closes Debt Financing
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Kantox

Currency and risk management solutions company Kantox closed a venture debt financing deal late last month. Silicon Valley Bank supplied the funds to the U.K.-based company. The amount of the funding was undisclosed.

Craig Fox, Vice President at Silicon Valley Bank’s U.K. Branch said, “At Silicon Valley Bank, we love businesses that solve real problems, create value and lead their market. Kantox is doing just that, changing the game for how companies manage their FX risk. We are excited to be a part of this amazing growth story.”

In the press release, Kantox noted that partnerships between banks and fintechs are on the rise. “Banks are approaching fintechs because their technology is attractive to them,” the company said. For more on this idea, check out Forbes’ piece The Banks Wanted to Sink this Forex Fintech: Now They’re Vying for It’s Technology.

Philippe Gelis, Kantox CEO and co-founder, said that the agreement with Silicon Valley Bank is “the first step in the process of business and product partnership projects with financial institutions which have approached us interested in our technology.” As a continuation of this trend, Kantox is currently negotiating partnerships with banks in the U.K. and across Europe, anticipating many deals will close in 2018.

Gelis demoed Kantox Peer FX at FinovateEurope 2013 in London. The company’s 2,000 clients have leveraged Kantox’s foreign exchange management solutions to trade more than $5 billion in 20 countries. In November of last year, the company boosted its currency portfolio from 35 to 92, adding markets in Latin America and Asia. Founded in 2011, Kantox has raised $27 million.

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Envestnet Finalizes Acquisition of FolioDynamix for $195 Million

Envestnet Finalizes Acquisition of FolioDynamix for $195 Million
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Envestnet, Mergers & Acquisitions

Wealth management intelligence solutions company Envestnet has finalized its acquisition of Actua Corp’s FolioDynamix, a wealth tech solutions company, this week.

The deal, which was first announced in September of last year, was closed for $195 million. The acquisition is expected to add complementary trading tools and brokerage business support to Envestnet’s existing suite of offerings.

Jud Bergman, Envestnet Chairman and CEO said, “This is the next important step in developing a financial wellness network that enables advisors and enterprises to improve their productivity and deliver better outcomes for their clients.”

The deal brings FolioDynamix clients access to Envestnet’s trading tools and commission and brokerage support, as well as integrated wealth management solutions. Joseph Mrak, Chairman and CEO of FolioDynamix said, “We are excited to see where this collaboration takes us and the wealth management industry as a whole.”

Founded in 1999 Envestnet |Yodlee recently won Best of Show for its demo of Financial Health Check at FinovateFall 2017. The new offering leverages consumer data to measure and score their financial health and offers personalized recommendations and tools to help them improve their well-being. In November, the Chicago-based company teamed up with Token to support PSD2 compliant payments in line with open banking regulations.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: AI Foundry, Envestnet, Fiserv, Kantox, nCino, Personetics

On Finovate.com

  • Envestnet Finalizes Acquisition of FolioDynamix for $195 Million.
  • In the Navy: nCino Brings its Bank Operating System to the World’s Largest Credit Union.
  • Kantox Closes Debt Financing.
  • Finovate Alums Garner $2.7 Billion in 2017; $721 Million in Q4 Alone.

Around the web

  • CIO Review names AI Foundry one of the 20 Most Promising Enterprise Information Management Solution Providers 2017.
  • nCino to power cloud-based digital platform to Navy Federal Credit Union.
  • Motor City Community Credit Union partners with Fiserv.
  • Elixirr interviews Personetics founder and CEO David Sosna.

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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Tradeshift Partners with Infosys to Help Clients Digitize Supply Chain Management

Tradeshift Partners with Infosys to Help Clients Digitize Supply Chain Management
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Infosys, Tradeshift

Software giant Infosys BPO teamed up with Tradeshift last month. The India-based company’s Business Process Outsourcing subsidiary will leverage Tradeshift’s cloud-based platform to enable clients to digitize their supply chain processes.

John Sibley, Vice President of Global Alliances and Channels at Tradeshift, said that he looks forward to “combining Infosys’ deep domain and process expertise” with Tradeshift’s B2B commerce platform. He added that the partnership “will provide greater transparency and agility, along with a compelling value proposition to suppliers and buyers alike, on various touch points in the source to pay lifecycle.”

Anantha Radhakrishnan, CEO and Managing Director of Infosys BPO said that the partnership “will help augment our experience and expertise in transformative Business Process Management and enable us to further deliver tremendous business outcome benefits to our clients.”

According to the press release, the partnership will enable customers to take advantage of early payment discounts, remove manual paper-based processes, and build custom applications. This will not only reduce costs but also increase efficiency. Infosys plans to pilot these capabilities for clients in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and China.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in San Francisco, Tradeshift’s business commerce platform connects buyers and sellers. The company links up more than 1.5 million companies across 190 countries and is currently on track to process over half a trillion U.S. dollars in transaction value. At FinovateEurope 2012, the company’s co-founder and CEO Christian Lanng debuted Tradeshift Instant Payments, a solution that enables businesses to receive payments in real time for invoices. The company has raised a total of $182 million and was recently featured in CB Insights’ Fintech 250 list.

Infosys recently made headlines when it unveiled Finacle Trade Connect, a blockchain-based trade finance solution. Last month, the company appointed Salil Parekh as CEO and Managing Director. Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a subsidiary of Infosys, showcased EdgeVerve Blockchain Framework for Financial Services at FinovateEurope 2017.

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Passport Raises $43 Million from Bain Capital

Passport Raises $43 Million from Bain Capital
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Passport

Transportation mobile payments company Passport is starting 2018 with an extra $43 million in the bank. The North Carolina-based company closed the Series C round– an investment that brings Passport’s total capital to $60 million–  just before the holidays.

Today’s investment comes from Bain Capital, which joins previous investors Grotech Ventures, MK Capital and Relevance Capital. Bob Youakim, Passport’s founder and CEO, said that he sees the Bain Capital team as partners who “align really well with both our vision and our culture.”

In the press release, the company notes it will use the funding to evaluate strategic acquisition opportunities and bolster sales and marketing efforts. Youakim also said the investment, “gives us additional resources to expand quickly and strategically into new markets, innovate rapidly, and support our clients around the world.”

Proving its readiness for expansion, the company has already achieved notable growth. In the past three years, Passport has experienced 3.5x revenue growth and has expanded its staff to 100 employees in the past year with plans to add 50 more employees in 2018.

Founded in 2010, Passport offers mobile payment solutions for parking, transit, and tolling. To date, the company’s solutions have been adopted by more than 450 agencies in over 5,000 locations worldwide, including Chicago, London, Toronto, Boston, Vancouver, Portland, Montreal, and Miami. At FinovateEurope 2016, the company demoed its Mobile Ticketing for Transit solution. Last month, the company partnered with TransLink to develop and launch Park&Go, a free mobile payment app for Park & Ride users in Metro Vancouver.

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Quovo Launches Modular PFM Widgets

Quovo Launches Modular PFM Widgets
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Quovo

Financial data provider Quovo is getting into the PFM game by launching account aggregation modules built on its API layer. The new modules will enable end users to track spending and saving, view their net worth, improve budgeting, and make progress toward their financial goals.

Because of the modular configuration, financial institutions can completely customize how they design their PFM offerings. Banks can opt to implement the full package or individual widgets to achieve the optimal mix of build vs. buy. The modules are designed for mobile use and can easily be white-labeled to fit a bank’s branding.

Niko Karvounis, Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Quovo said that account aggregation is a “must-have centerpiece for any digital strategy in fintech,” but that firms often struggle between building on Quovo’s API or buying a front-end, turnkey solution. Karvounis added, “With the launch of Quovo PFM, we now support the full spectrum of configuration options for deploying world-class account aggregation, including directly via our API, through embeddable modules, within a full dashboard — or even a combination of our approaches.

Founded in 2010, Quovo has presented at FinDEVr New York 2016 and FinDEVr New York 2017, where it was awarded Favorite FinDEVr Alum. Earlier this year, the company was listed on CB Insights’ Fintech 250 list. This fall, the company unveiled a new account authentication solution, Autoverified Micro-deposits. Quovo serves hundreds of institutions, thousands of advisors, and millions of end-users. Lowell Putnam is co-founder and CEO.

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Ripple Establishes Infrastructure Innovation Initiative

Ripple Establishes Infrastructure Innovation Initiative
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Ripple

Blockchain solutions company Ripple announced yesterday it is establishing an Infrastructure Innovation Initiative in an effort to take “the next logical step to help build the Internet of Value.”

The goal of the initiative is to help central banks, regulators, and market infrastructures pilot real-world blockchain solutions by leveraging the Ripple team’s expertise in payment systems and distributed ledger technology (DLT). Potential blockchain solutions include creating regional networks, reducing the cost of payments, and opening up networks to new participants while managing risks.

Dilip Rao, who has led the business development in the APAC/MENA region and worked closely with banks and market infrastructures, will lead the initiative. Rao has worked for Ripple since 2014 and brings more than 30 years of experience working with banking technology. “My first priority will be piloting interoperability between payment systems, the use of DLT for domestic clearing and settlement and novel applications of xCurrent as well as our digital asset XRP,” said Rao. “I look forward to exciting new initiatives in building the Internet of Value in 2018!”

Company co-founder Chris Larsen debuted Ripple (originally known as OpenCoin) at FinovateSpring 2013. Brad Garlinghouse took the reins as Ripple CEO last fall. Last month, Ripple teamed with AmEx and Santander to support blockchain-powered international B2B payments. Earlier this month, the company’s XRP digital currency overtook Bitcoin Cash as the third largest cryptocurrency.

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CashStar Launches Digital Gifting Program with Belk Department Store

CashStar Launches Digital Gifting Program with Belk Department Store
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Blackhawk Network, CashStar

If you’ve been waiting to send a digital gift card for southern clothing styles, you’re in luck today. Digital gifting and incentives platform CashStar has teamed up with Belk, a North Carolina-based department store.

The agreement is two-fold. First, CashStar will offer Belk shoppers a personalized digital gift card experience with its CashStar Consumer platform. This platform enables Belk to offer a branded gift card experience for the purchaser and the recipient. Additionally, end clients can tailor their gift by selecting a design and adding a personalized message.

CashStar will also leverage its CashStar Product eGifting to help shoppers digitally send physical gifts. Product eGifting enables Belk shoppers to gift a product from Belk’s ecommerce site without knowing specific details such as the recipient’s preferred size, color and shipping address. Once the recipient receives an email with the gift information, they can personalize the gift or opt to receive an eGift card instead.

Founded in 2007, CashStar serves major brands such as SEPHORA, Starbucks, The Home Depot, Uber, and Walmart. At FinovateFall 2011, the company’s co-founder David Stone debuted a geolocation-based iPhone app that enables consumers to walk into a store and redeem credit card loyalty points in real-time in the form of a mobile gift card. Before it was acquired by Blackhawk Network for $175 million in October, CashStar had raised a total of $44 million.

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Azimo Brings Faster Money Transfers to Nigeria

Azimo Brings Faster Money Transfers to Nigeria
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Azimo

International remittance service Azimo has sped up money transfers in Nigeria. Just shy of a year after launching its service in the African country, the U.K.-based company announced last week it has enhanced that service.

The revamped money transfers empower users to receive cash at all major Nigerian banks 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, depending on the availability of the payout partners. Additionally, the service ensures that money sent from 22 European countries to the Nigerian market will reach recipients within 30 minutes, including on weekends.

Faster money service to Nigeria has the potential to make a real difference in the country. According to the press release, “64% of transfers to the country [are] sent for family support – including to pay for hospital and food bills – a speedy service every day of the week is essential.” Azimo also leverages its own network to offer money transfers at a lower rate than traditional, brick-and-mortar services.

Azimo was launched in 2012 to serve as a better way to send funds around the world. Its digital network enables customers to send money to more than 190 countries from any internet-connected device. The company debuted its global money transfer platform at FinovateEurope 2013 in London. Earlier this year, Azimo updated its service to add instant transfers to the Philippines.

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