Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

LendingTree Launches CRA-Eligibility Tool

LendingTree Launches CRA-Eligibility Tool
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: LendingTree

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Online loan marketplace LendingTree launched a new tool to help lenders comply with Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations, which were enacted in 1977 to encourage banks to rebuild communities.

Banks subject to CRA evaluations can use the new tool to identify low- to moderate-income borrowers, extending credit to typically underserved individuals. Doug Lebda, founder and CEO of LendingTree, said the new capability “offers more financing opportunities to borrowers who may otherwise find difficulty in securing loans due to income requirements.”

At FinovateSpring 2015 North Carolina-based LendingTree debuted My LendingTree, an online dashboard where users view all credit-related accounts. LendingTree alerts users to money-saving and other opportunities through its recommendation engine.

Earlier this month, LendingTree partnered with the Innovative Lending Platform Association in building a small business lending disclosure model, SMART Box. The model not only offers transparency to small business borrowers, it also provides a concise way for lenders to explain the loan terms.

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D3 Banking Brings in $10 Million from West Partners

D3 Banking Brings in $10 Million from West Partners
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: D3 Banking

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Nebraska-based D3 Banking secured $10 million from West Partners this week to bolster its Data Driven Digital banking technology. As part of the deal, San Diego-based West Partners is offering D3 the ability to borrow under a 3-year credit facility.

After today’s round, D3’s funding totals just over $27 million. CEO Mark Vipond said that West Partners offered the funds in response to recognizing “the pace and direction of change in the digital landscapes and the role D3 Banking can play in arming banks and credit unions with the tools they need to competitively differentiate themselves.”

D3 will use the funds to expand its digital banking offering to keep up with demand, invest in R&D and build its team. The company works with banks such as Arvest, First Tennessee Bank, and IBERIABANK and counts more than 1.5 million end users of its personalized banking offerings.

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At FinovateFall 2015, D3 launched its small business banking offering that provides PFM tools to help entrepreneurs manage their small business. The platform analyzes transactions to generate cash flow and income statements and offer budget suggestions. In addition, banks gain visibility into the cash flow of the business, which provides insight into optimal times to extend loan offers and other banking products.

Earlier this year D3 integrated FI Navigator’s mobile banking module, furnishing the company with market intelligence on mobile banking services offered by 6,000 financial institutions. D3 was founded in 1997.

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Azimo to Launch Facebook Messenger Bot

Azimo to Launch Facebook Messenger Bot
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Azimo

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Global money transfer platform Azimo recently announced plans to make sending and receiving money more social by launching a chatbot for Facebook Messenger.

The U.K.-based company will use artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a natural, human-like conversational chat experience. At a WIRED event in London, the company’s co-founder Marta Krupinska said, “We want to get to a point where the experience is like going into a branch.” Krupinska went on to note that, in addition to simply conducting transactions, users can interact with the bot as they would a human, for example, by asking about international transfer rates.

This is the second step we’ve seen Azimo take toward integrating its money-transfer services into messaging applications. Last month the company raked in $15 million from Rakuten, the owner of messaging service Viber. Azimo says it plans to integrate the funds into messaging services.

Azimo, which is already using AI in an algorithm to detect originality of scanned documents, lets users send money to and from 204 different countries. The company debuted at FinovateEurope 2013 in London and prides itself on being a cheaper, faster, and simpler way to send money across the globe.

Founded in 2012, Azimo has raised a total of $40 million; its estimated value is $100 million.

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With Ripple, Seven Banks Test Out the Blockchain

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Ripple

RippleHomepage

Enterprise block chain solutions-provider Ripple has reached a “tipping point” as bank clients have transitioned from blockchain experimentation to deployment. This week the California-based company announced it is helping seven banks accelerate and improve their cross-border payments.

These aren’t just any seven financial institutions. The addition of the new players place 12 of the top 50 global banks as clients in the Ripple network. Here’s the list of new clients:

  • Santander
  • UniCredit
  • UBS
  • Reisebank
  • CIBC
  • ATB Financial
  • National Bank of Abu Dhabi

In a blog post, Ripple CEO Chris Larsen says, “This is a major step forward for the global financial system, and as the Ripple network grows, together we are paving the way for new connected commerce opportunities and growing demands for real-time, high-volume, low-value global payments.”

Ripple, which has completed 30 bank pilots, uses a distributed financial ledger technology that lowers the cost of real time payments by using algorithms to find the lowest foreign exchange rate. Many of the company’s bank partners already use Ripple’s ledger to transfer real money, and all have plans to use the ledger in commercial production. Earlier this year Santander became the first U.K. bank to use Ripple for cross-border payments and currently ten of Ripple’s bank clients are in various phases of commercial deals.

So far Ripple has received positive feedback. ATB Chief Strategy and Operations Officer Curtis Stange said, “Using blockchain technology, ATB Financial became the first financial institution in Canada to complete an overseas payment in a matter of seconds.” He added, “Without blockchain, that transaction would have taken two to six business days.”

Earlier this month, we reported a partnership between Ripple and Expertus Payment Platform that lets banks test transmittal of real-time payments using the blockchain in a safe environment with minimal disruption to a bank’s existing infrastructure. Founded in 2009, Ripple launched the Ripple Network at FinovateSpring 2013 under the name OpenCoin.

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A Score for Socure: The Digital ID Company Lands Funds from Santander

A Score for Socure: The Digital ID Company Lands Funds from Santander
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Socure

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Digital identity-verification company Socure received a strategic investment from Santander’s $100 million fintech VC firm, Santander Innoventures. The Spanish bank’s investment arm will offer Socure access to resources and an undisclosed amount of funding.

This marks the ninth investment Santander Innoventures has made since it launched in 2014. The firm has also invested in Finovate alums Ripple, Kabbage, and most recently SigFig.

Socure’s founder and CEO Sunil Madhu described Santander Innoventures as “the perfect fit as a VC partner that can help us grow globally.” The New York-based company’s online identity-verification technology works in real time by analyzing a user’s digital footprint to fight identity fraud, increase acceptance rates for online account opening, and reduce KYC and AML costs. Because it does not rely on traditional credit-reporting systems, Socure’s Social Biometrics works especially well for thin-file, unbanked, and underbanked customers. Socure customers include Finovate alums Feedzai and Kabbage.

SocureDemoAt FinovateFall 2015, Socure’s co-founders Sunil Madhu, CEO, and SVP Johnny Ayers, business development, demoed Perceive (a facial biomentrics solution).

At FinovateFall 2015, Madhu debuted Perceive, the facial biometrics solution created to reduce account takeover. The Perceive SDK can be added to a web or mobile app to identify customers by their unique facial characteristics. The key to Socure’s new technology is that it doesn’t need the user to train the system on what their face looks like. Instead, Perceive uses pictures of the applicant already available through social platforms such as Google Plus, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Prior to this week’s announcement, Socure had raised a total of $4.7 million in three rounds of funding. Last month the company expanded coverage for global watch-list compliance and earlier this year joined the FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance.

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Prosper Freshens Up the Retail Investor Experience

Prosper Freshens Up the Retail Investor Experience
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Prosper

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Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform Prosper launched a revamped user experience for its retail investors today. The San Francisco-based company’s enhanced investor dashboard offers two new tools:

  • Auto-invest: within seconds Prosper applies the user’s saved criteria to invest on their behalf
  • Portfolio customization: users select a predefined, target investment mix or create their own custom mix

Prosper

After testing it out on my own account, I can vouch for the new dashboard’s more intuitive navigation and easier view of portfolio diversification. There’s one thing still missing from the investor experience, however. Prosper still lacks a native mobile app that caters to investors; however, to the company’s credit, its site has been mobile-friendly for some time, and a native mobile app was launched for borrowers last year following its $30 million purchase of BillGuard last September.

This redesign is Prosper’s second move to attract new investors, after the company raised rates by a weighted average of 0.29% last month. The new efforts come at a time when Prosper has struggled to balance interest from investors and borrowers. Earlier this month, after experiencing waning investor interest, the company dropped relationships with LendingTree and Credit Karma, formerly leveraged to attract new borrowers.

Prosper presented at FinovateSpring 2009 as well as the inaugural Finovate in 2007.

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Kabbage and Scotiabank Ink Partnership

Kabbage and Scotiabank Ink Partnership
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Kabbage

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Small business lending platform Kabbage added a big name to its list of bank partners today. The Atlanta-based company announced it has teamed up with Scotiabank, a Canadian bank that contributed to the alt-lender’s $135 million funding round last October.

The partnership licenses Kabbage’s lending technology to Scotiabank, which will co-brand loans offered to small business customers in Mexico and Canada. Through the agreement, Kabbage will automate the onboarding process, underwrite and service the loans, and provide ongoing monitoring throughout the life of the loan. Scotiabank will keep the majority of loans on its balance sheet; Kabbage will have the option to buy a minority share.

Scotiabank will pilot the new offering in Mexico with 12-month term loans, and in Canada with 6-month term loans. The bank is using a phased-in approach and will launch for current, non-borrowing small business customers starting next month.

Scotiabank is the third international bank and the first bank in Canada to select Kabbage to power its online business loans in the past six months. Kabbage CEO Rob Frohwein says that the global reach “demonstrates the scalability of Kabbage to power lending for organizations worldwide.”

At FinovateSpring 2015 Kabbage unveiled the Kabbage Card, a payment card that lets small business owners carry a financing tool in their wallet to pay for supplies needed to keep their business running. The company’s CTO Andy Badstubner presented at FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 on how to integrate into the Kabbage platform.

Founded in 2009, Kabbage maintains similar partnerships with ING and Santander. A few weeks back, the company was featured on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list and last month achieved a milestone by extending $2 billion in loans in five years.

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FinDEVr APIntelligence

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FICO, FinDEVr APIntelligence, Mambu, Markit, MX, Personal Capital, Plaid, Thomson Reuters, Trulioo, Yodlee

FinDEVrSV16-LogoV2(wdate)Our FinDEVr New York developer showcase was a success! FinDEVr Silicon Valley will be held October 18 & 19 in Santa Clara. Register today and save.

On FinDEVr.com

  • Markit Agrees to Acquire Prism Valuation.
  • Goldman Sachs Leads $44 Million Investment in Plaid.
  • Mambu Unveils FinTech Startup Program.

The latest from FinDEVr New York 2016 presenters

  • Personal Capital Brings on Former Yodlee CFO.
  • FICO acquires cybersecurity firm QuadMetrics, announces plans for “enterprise security scores.”

Alumni updates

  • Let’s Talk Payments asks if fintech startups should be able to access bank data in the wake of Plaid’s $44 million Series B.
  • MX Adds Cash Flow Feature to MoneyDesktop Platform.
  • Trulioo expands to South America as part of Canada’s Fintech Mission to Brazil.
  • Thomson Reuters named 2016 European Tax Technology Firm of the Year by International Tax Review.

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

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CustomerXPs, FIS, Kabbage, Lendio, NYMBUS, Plaid, Prosper, Rippleshot, Thomson Reuters, Toshl, Tyfone

On Finovate.com

  • In Third Deal in Four Weeks, NYMBUS Acquires Sharp BancShares.

On FinDEVr

  • Hyperwallet Expands Offerings in Partnership with Choice Bank.

Around the web

  • Operational Risk Magazine names Clari5 from CustomerXPs Best Fraud Detection Product at the 2016 OpRisk Awards.
  • Banking CIO Outlook names Tyfone a Top 10 Mobile Banking Solution Provider for second year in a row.
  • Let’s Talk Payments asks if fintech startups should be able to access bank data in the wake of Plaid’s $44 million Series B.
  • Thomson Reuters unveils compliance solution, Checkpoint State Clear Comply.
  • FIS wins Most Innovative Tech Company, Maverick of the Year, and Woman of the Year at American Business Awards.
  • The American Bankers Association endorsees Rippleshot’s Sonar card-compromise-detection tool.
  • Toshl launches Finance 2.0 app for Android.

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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MX Adds Cash Flow Feature to MoneyDesktop Platform

MX Adds Cash Flow Feature to MoneyDesktop Platform
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: MX

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Money-management solutions provider MX launched a new feature to bolster its suite of MoneyDesktop offerings, which include budgeting, account aggregation, transaction history, etc. The new addition is called Cash Flow and offers a better way for users to visualize how money moves in and out of their account throughout the month.Screen Shot 2016-06-21 at 4.11.37 PM

Cash Flow combs a user’s transaction history for deposits into and payments out of their accounts that occur on a regular basis. Both the calendar and line graph views of the tool show a future-cast of their projected balance each day and help them see the impact of additional recurring payments. The Utah-based company’s CEO Ryan Caldwell said that the new technology offers customers “the ability to not only track data, but also take action on their own financial data.”

MXCashFlow

Highlights of Cash Flow include:

  • Quickly capture recurring debits and credits (rent, mortgage, utility bills, paychecks)
  • Match transactions to specific events to help predict account behavior
  • View transactions on a line graph or calendar
  • View financial trajectory on a monthly or yearly basis

Founded in 2010, MX is a five-time Best of Show winner at Finovate. The company most recently demoed at FinovateFall 2014 where it launched Helios, a cross-platform framework for fintech. The company partners with 650 financial institutions and 35 digital, online, and mobile banking providers.

MX has also been successful in presenting at the FinDEVr developers conference. At FinDEVr San Francisco 2015, the company’s CTO Brandon Dewitt gave a presentation titled, How You Build Something Is More Important Than What You’re Building.

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Reverse Takeover IPO Places ayondo on the Singapore Exchange

Reverse Takeover IPO Places ayondo on the Singapore Exchange
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: ayondo, Mergers & Acquisitions

AyondoHomepageIn a $117 million (S$158 million) reverse takeover (RTO) deal, brokerage and social trading platform ayondo will be listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) after finalizing an agreement with Starland Holdings, a Singapore-based property developer.

A reverse takeover occurs when a private company acquires a public company in order to bypass the complicated IPO process. Frankfurt-based ayondo stated that it opted for a reverse takeover because of “volatility in financial markets.” The company’s press release says, “In such market conditions, an RTO provides greater certainty as key terms such as funds raised and valuation are agreed between buyer and seller, and not necessarily subject to prevailing market conditions as is always the case in an IPO. The RTO route also offers ayondo other advantages, such as lower listing costs.”

Starland anticipates the deal will help the company “expand its business in line with its diversification strategy into the fintech business” and will offer “more consistent and sustainable financial growth.” The purchase will be completed through the issuance of new shares of Starland. The finalization of the takeover is conditional, pending approval of shareholders.

AyondoDemoayondo debuts ayondo 3.0 at FinovateEurope 2013 in London

ayondo was founded in 2008 with a mission to revolutionize retail trading. The company’s brokerage platform lets users copy the moves of top traders to optimize returns. At FinovateEurope 2013, ayondo unveiled the newest version of its service, its London brokerage, and a trader career training curriculum. Last month, the company brought on Rick Fulton as CFO.

According to Singapore news site e27, ayondo is the first fintech company (and third tech company) to IPO via the SGX.

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ThetaRay Signs with ING Netherlands to Detect SME Lending Fraud

ThetaRay Signs with ING Netherlands to Detect SME Lending Fraud
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: ING Bank, ThetaRay

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Big-data analytics company ThetaRay inked an agreement today with ING Netherlands that combines its Advanced Analytics solution for fraud detection with ING’s existing risk engine.

The partnership will empower ING to uncover new SME lending fraud by detecting anomalies through its transactional and organizational data. Beate Zwijnenberg, director of fraud and cybersecurity for ING Netherlands, says that ThetaRay impressed the company by “rapidly identifying a number of transactional anomalies.” She describes the company’s precision in detecting fraudulent activity as “truly innovative.”

ThetaRay’s algorithms help financial services organizations protect against cybersecurity threats, enhance operational efficiency, and detect risk. At FinovateFall 2015, Theta Ray’s fraud and credit risk algorithms were demoed. Udi Solomon, VP of product, began the demo saying, “We are able to take any type of structured or semi-structured data source to automatically and in just a few seconds… to detect the first signs of anomalous activity.” He continued by showing how the algorithms help banks leverage their big data.

thetaraydemoUdi Solomon (VP, Product) demoes ThetaRay at FinovateFall 2015.

ThetaRay, headquartered in Israel and the United States, has raised a total of $25 million from investors including Alibaba and General Electric. Mark Gazit is CEO. Last fall, the company was named Most Innovative Industrial Internet Technology at GE’s Minds + Machines 2015.

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