Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Bitbond Gains $5.4 Million Debt Commitment and Undisclosed Equity Investment

Bitbond Gains $5.4 Million Debt Commitment and Undisclosed Equity Investment
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Bitbond, Funding

Peer-to-peer small business financing platform Bitbond announced today it has received a debt commitment from Obotritia Capital, which has agreed to fund $5.4 million worth of loans on its platform. Obotritia has also invested an undisclosed amount of equity in Bitbond, whose current funding now totals more than $2.14 million.

Headquartered in Germany, Bitbond offers small businesses across the globe fast access to working capital. It does so by connecting small business owners with individual and institutional investors. Because it leverages the blockchain, Bitbond sends cross-border payments to merchants quickly and inexpensively. Since it was founded in 2013, Bitbond has originated 1,700 loans to small businesses in 120 countries.

Above: Bitbond’s Radko Albrecht (CEO & Founder) and Jarek Nowotka (CTO) debut the company’s automated SME scoring engine at FinovateFall 2016

At FinovateFall 2016, the company launched an automated SME scoring engine. “The main challenge about creating an international lending platform is credit scoring because data is different from one country to another,” said Bitbond CEO and founder Radko Albrecht in his recent FinovateFall demo. He added, “At Bitbond we have solved this and created the most international and most scalable SME scoring mechanism.” The tool offers a universal, automated scoring method that offers borrowers instant funding after their application is accepted. Because Bitbond requires less manual involvement than traditional underwriting methods, it also has the advantage of scalability.

Earlier this year, Bitbond partnered with blockchain remittance service Bitpesa to improve access to working capital for small businesses in Africa. Last fall, the company received its BaFin license, a certification that allows it to conduct asset brokerage on its platform independent of banks.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Baker Hill, Blackhawk Network, Digilitimoney, Empyr, Geezeo, Kensho, nCino, Neener Analytics, Overbond, Thomson Reuters, Vera

On Finovate.com

  • Vera Announces $15 Million Strategic Investment from Hasso Plattner.
  • Digiliti Money Celebrates Rebrand by Ringing NASDAQ Closing Bell.

Around the web

  • San Francisco Business Times names Blackhawk Network CEO and President, Talbott Roche, an Inspire Award recipient.
  • Baker Hill NextGen to power business intelligence for iQ Credit Union.
  • CrossFirst Bank to leverage nCino’s cloud banking technology.
  • Geezeo launches digital reputation management solution.
  • Kensho launches open source Python package aims to make app configuration easier.
  • Empyr introduces CPR: Cost-Per-Revenue O2O Performance Marketing.
  • Thomson Reuters and S&P Global enter strategic transcript data agreement.
  • Overbond adds swap pricing calculator to its corporate bond intelligence suite.
  • FinovateSpring Best of Show winner Neener Analytics earns finalist spot in Citi Tech for Integrity Challenge.

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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Thoma Bravo to Acquire Lexmark’s Kofax

Thoma Bravo to Acquire Lexmark’s Kofax
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Kofax, Mergers & Acquisitions

Customer engagement and analytics company Kofax is undergoing its second acquisition in as many years this week. The company announced it will be acquired by private equity firm, Thoma Bravo.

The acquisition includes all of Lexmark’s Enterprise Software business, which is made up of three entities; Kofax, ReadSoft and Perceptive Software. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close Q3 of 2017, were not disclosed. Once the deal is finalized, Kofax and ReadSoft will be combined into a single, newly independent Thoma Bravo portfolio company. The new entity will operate under the Kofax brand and will be led by President of Lexmark Enterprise Software, Reynolds Bish.

Regarding the acquisition, Seth Boro, Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo said that he is “thrilled to partner with Reynolds and his management team under the Kofax brand as a new Thoma Bravo portfolio company.” Boro siad that Kofax’s “vision to digitally transform and simplify initial customer interactions with businesses, or what they term the First Mile” offers an opportunity for Thoma Bravo.

Kofax was recently named by Forrester as a leader in ECM Transactional Content Services. Last month, the company announced the availability of ReadSoft Online R9, an automated accounts payable solution. And in March, a top 10 global bank deployed Kofax Mobile Credit and Debit Card Framework and the Kofax Mobile Capture Platform.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Loyal3 Shuts Down, Stockpile Steps Up

Loyal3 Shuts Down, Stockpile Steps Up
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: LOYAL3, Mergers & Acquisitions, Stockpile

As Tupac once said, “I don’t have no fear of death. My only fear is coming back reincarnated.” Unlike Tupac, however, Loyal3 users have nothing to be scared of. That’s because even though Loyal3 is shutting down its IPO marketplace and discount brokerage platform on May 19, stock gift card company Stockpile has stepped in to allow Loyal3 clients to transfer their shares to its platform.

Launched in 2008, Loyal3 sought to democratize capital markets by helping novice investors purchase fractional stock shares. Users could browse the company’s portfolio of 70 stocks and invest with as little as $10 per stock, with zero fees. The company’s batch trading strategy executed trades once per day. At FinovateFall 2014, the company showed off its mobile IPO marketplace where users could view the IPO status, receive IPO pricing and allocation notifications, and confirm or withdraw their IPO reservations.

To capture Loyal3 clients, Palo Alto-based Stockpile has facilitated the onboarding process for the new customers. Users just sign up for a Stockpile account, email a recent Loyal3 account statement to Stockpile’s customer support, and Stockpile returns a (mostly) pre-filled account form. Users complete, sign, and upload the form to Stockpile, which oversees the transition of assets over to its platform. The only wrinkle is that Stockpile cannot accept stocks from Frontier and Nokia; users will need to cash out those stocks.

This isn’t Stockpile’s first move to expand its user base. In 2016, the company acquired SparkGift, transferring SparkGift’s customer base to its own brokerage platform for free. In 2015 the company partnered with Blackhawk Network to offer physical gift cards in denominations of $25, $50, and $100 at select U.S. retailers. Founded in 2010, by Avi Lele and Sanj Kulkarni, Stockpile launched at FinovateSpring 2014 in a demo that won Best of Show.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Dashlane, Kofax, LOYAL3, MapD, Stockpile, Thinking Capital, Top Image Systems

On Finovate.com

  • Thoma Bravo to Acquire Lexmark’s Kofax

Around the web

  • Top Image Systems selected by CIOReview as one of the 20 Most Promising SAP Solution Providers of 2017.
  • KTLA features password management platform Dashlane.
  • MapD partners with Continuum Analytics & H2O.ai, to form the GPU Open Analytics Initiative.
  • Thinking Capital to offer SMB financing options to TouchBistro POS clients.

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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Signifyd Raises $56 Million to Fight eCommerce Chargebacks

Signifyd Raises $56 Million to Fight eCommerce Chargebacks
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Signifyd

Signifyd launched in 2011 to mitigate e-commerce chargebacks and this week landed $56 million to continue the fight. The Series C round, which brings the company’s total capital to $87 million, was led by Bain Capital Ventures with contributions from Menlo Ventures, American Express, and other existing investors.

The company will use the funds to expand its team of engineers and fraud experts. Specifically, Signifyd plans to double its current engineering team over the course of the next year. Signifyd will also scale its fraud protection technology to serve enterprise merchants in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. This will continue an already impressive growth curve. The company now protects 5,000 merchants and in the past year experienced a 20x growth in transaction volume, 4.5x YOY revenue growth, and increased its workforce to more than 100. This 50% increase in employees from the year prior prompted the expansion to a new office to accommodate the growth.

Signifyd’s Guaranteed Fraud Protection, which it debuted at FinovateSpring 2013, helps shift fraud liability away from online retailers by offering a 100% guarantee against fraud or chargebacks on every order. The company stands behind its technology by reimbursing clients for “any fraudulent transactions that slip through the cracks.” Enabling technologies such as machine learning and AI offer a scalable approach that can be implemented with large, enterprise retailers.

Among Signifyd’s recent partnerships are Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Magento, Accertify, and ThreatMetrix. The company has received multiple honors recently, including multiple wins in the American Business Awards earlier this week. It has also been recognized by Entrepreneur, Forbes, and Bloomberg, and has been named one of the Bay Area’s Best Places to Work by the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinovateSpring 2017 in the Press

FinovateSpring 2017 in the Press
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2017

FinovateSpring wrapped up last week in San Jose. This was Finovate’s 10th show in Silicon Valley and proved that new innovations in the fintech space are alive and well.

If you missed out on the two days of live fintech demos and energetic networking, we’ll post demo videos on Finovate’s video page in a few weeks. Also, be sure to check out the Best of Show winners, Twitter highlights, and read what impressed the press:

Asset TV

Baker Hill Blog
Parting Thoughts from Finovate Spring 2017
by Mike Horrocks

Banking Technology
Conference overview: “literally everything” from FinovateSpring 2017

Bank Innovation

Beyond the Arc Blog
Fintech 2017: Trends We Spotted at Finovate
by Steven Ramirez

Celent Banking Blog
FinovateSpring: A Focus on the Practical
by Dan Latimore

CIO
Fresh fintech companies to watch in 2017
by Andre Bourque

Enterprise Times
Fancy your own currency on a blockchain?
Charles Brett

Robo-Advisor Pros
6 New Investing and Robo-Advisor Fintech Startups from Finovate Spring 2017
by Barbara Friedberg

SpeechPro blog
SpeechPro’s Demo wins “FinovateSpring 2017 Best of Show” recognition!

Layer
5 Key Takeaways from FinovateSpring 2017
by Michael Kenny

LinkedIn blog
Key Trends from Finovate Spring 2017
by Paddy Ramanathan

Mapa Research

Members Development Company
FinovateSpring 2017—MDC Insights

Money Marketing

Principia
Finovate Spring 2017: Highlights from Day 1
by Thomas Maydon

Finovate Spring 2017: Highlights from Day 2
by Thomas Maydon

William Mills Agency Blog

VC.Ru
8 победителей битвы стартапов в сфере финтеха на Finovate Spring 2017

And that’s a wrap! Thanks to all the presenting companies, the media, press, and analysts, and to our amazing audience. We truly would not be here without you. We’ll see you all at FinovateSpring next year or at FinovateFall (September 11 through 14), where we’ve expanded the show to four days with more trends, topics, and panels.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Malauzai’s Vantiv Partnership to Leverage OnDot’s CardControl Tool

Malauzai’s Vantiv Partnership to Leverage OnDot’s CardControl Tool
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Fiserv, Malauzai, Ondot Systems, Vantiv

Community banking app company Malauzai has teamed up with payment processing giant Vantiv to launch a youth spending tool called Family Manager: SmartKid Control. Malauzai’s SmartApp users will have access to the new tool, which is offered by Vantiv and powered by OnDot.

The SmartKid Control feature offers parents oversight and control over their child’s spending via transaction monitoring and spending tools. The app generates purchase alerts and lets parents define and authorize specific merchant categories, such as grocery and gas (see image on right). While the card gives parents ultimate control by enabling them to remotely turn the card on and off, it also allows the child to begin forming their own spending habits by setting a budget and alerts.

Integrating the card control feature into a community bank or credit union’s existing app gives the financial institution a way to build loyalty among its existing users and build out its customer base of Generation Z-clients. According to Robb Gaynor, chief product officer for Malauzai, the new tool will offer “families the opportunity to include their children in the financial dialogue.”

Malauzai’s new tool leverages OnDot’s CardControl, a solution the company launched at FinovateSpring 2014 that allows consumers to control payment cards from a smartphone app. The solution, which the company later showcased at FinovateSpring 2015, won them Best of Show honors. Since then, the product was brought to market by Fiserv (under the brand name CardValet), COOP Financial Services (under the brand name CardNav), and Vantiv (under the brand name MobiMoney). OnDot most recently demoed Mobile Card Services at FinovateAsia 2016.

Founded in 2009, Malauzai last demoed at FinovateSpring 2016, where it debuted MOX Pay powered by Visual App Builder. In March of this year, the company launched Touch ID biometric authentication technology for Android users. In October 2016, Malauzai teamed up with Guardian Analytics to leverage its fraud detection solution.

Payment processing company Vantiv most recently presented at FinDEVr New York 2017 and last demoed at FinovateFall 2014, where it debuted its TriPOS solution. Earlier this week, Vantiv agreed to acquire B2B payments company Paymetric.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinDEVr APIntelligence

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Dwolla, Envestnet, Equifax, FinDEVr APIntelligence, Interxion, MasterCard, OutsideIQ, Personal Capital, Plaid, Quovo, Temenos, Trulioo, Vantiv, Xero

FDLD17_EventLogoV1_wdate(large) (1)We saw some great stuff at FinDEVr New York earlier this year. If you missed out, check out FinDEVr London on June 12 & 13 during London Tech Week. Register today and save big time.

On FinDEVr.com

  • FinDEVr Veteran OutsideIQ Acquired by Exiger

Alumni updates

  • Plaid and Dwolla partner to provide fully-tokenized ACH payment integration.
  • Xero features its partnership with Equifax.
  • London Metal Exchange locates LMEselect Platform at Interxion’s Data Center
  • Envestnet unveils expanded data analytics portfolio for wealth management.
  • FinDEVr Alum Quovo Raises $10 Million
  • Prival Bank of Panama to deploy Temenos’ core banking solution, T24.
  • Trulioo adds new Canadian data sources to its GlobalGateway verification technology.
  • Jay Shah promoted to CEO of Personal Capital
  • Xero awarded the Best Overall Fintech Platform by the Fintech Breakthrough Awards.

Stay current on daily news from the fintech developer community! Follow FinDEVr on Twitter.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Equifax, Interxion, Jack Henry, Leondrino Exchange, MasterCard, OutsideIQ, WeInvest, Xero

On Finovate.com

  • OutsideIQ Acquired by Global Compliance Specialist, Exiger.

Around the web

  • Jack Henry & Associates named a Best Place to Work in Kentucky.
  • Xero features its partnership with Equifax.
  • London Metal Exchange locates LMEselect Platform at Interxion’s Data Center
  • Envestnet unveils expanded data analytics portfolio for wealth management.
  • Leondrino Exchange announces the first two branded currencies for startups.

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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinDEVr Alum Quovo Raises $10 Million

FinDEVr Alum Quovo Raises $10 Million
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Quovo

Financial data provider Quovo landed some serious cash last week in a Series B funding round. The New York-based company received $10 million from Napier Park Global Capital and F-Prime Capital Partners, who led the round. They were joined by existing investors, FinTech Collective and Long Light Capital. The company now boasts $15.2 million in total funding.

Lowell Putnam, CEO and co-founder of Quovo said that the capital will enable the company further its “mission to help firms build strong, data-driven client relationships, ” and that it will “enable [it] to build upon [its] success and help anyone trying to innovate or disrupt within financial services.”

Quovo will use the investment to “accelerate the growth of its suite of data analytics offerings,” which include Quovo Connect, a module that enables companies to pull transaction data from a user’s financial accounts. Quovo also offers a Bank Authentication API, which the company’s CTO & Co-Founder, Michael Del Monte, along with Stephen Sikes, Head of Strategy for SoFi Wealth, showcased at FinDEVr New York. SoFi, along with Finovate alums Wealthfront and Betterment leverage Quovo’s Authentication API to offer end users a smooth way to authenticate their financial accounts securely.

Stephen Sikes, Head of Strategy for SoFi Wealth (left) and Michael Del Monte, Quovo CTO & Co-Founder (right)

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 announced that its Bank Authentication API now covers 215 financial institutions, a growth of 10x since it was launched in November 2016.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Welcome to Day Two of FinovateSpring 2017!

Welcome to Day Two of FinovateSpring 2017!
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2017

After a full day of fintech on what proved to be a great first day of FinovateSpring 2017, we’re ready to watch even more demos today. The day starts off this morning at 8:45 a.m. when the first presenter hits the stage. If you need a bit of a warm up, come as early as 8:00 a.m. to save your seat in the demo hall and enjoy coffee and a continental breakfast with a side of networking.

Here’s what to expect today:

>> 8:45 to 10:15: Demo session 1<<

>>10:15 to 10:45: Intermission & refreshments<<

>>10:45 to 12:05: Demo session 2<<

>> 12:05 to 1:00 Buffet lunch <<

>> 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Demo Session 3 <<

>> 2:00 to 3:00: Discussion panel moderated by Ranjit Palkar, Partner at Capco <<

Panelists include: 

  • Marc Chalifoux, TD Bank VP, Fintech Intelligence & Innovation
  • Lawrence Tang, Head of Investment Promotion InvestHK
  • Oded Shoshany, CEO of Celeriti FinTech
  • Valentina Isakina, Managing Director of JobsOhio
  • Illya Shell, VP New Product Development and Innovation at MasterCard

>> 3:00 to 5:00: Open bar and networking <<

  • Best of Show Awards Ceremony will be held at 4:15 

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook