Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Bizfi Closes on $65 Million in Debt Financing

Bizfi Closes on $65 Million in Debt Financing
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Bizfi, Funding

BizfiHomepage

Merchant-finance platform Bizfi received a $65 million boost from Metropolitan Equity Partners today to help it drive money into U.S. small businesses.

The debt financing will help the New York-based company:

  • Expand its financing programs to meet the capital needs of small businesses
  • Decrease the amount of time it takes for businesses to receive financing
  • Build brand awareness

Combined with the $75 million the company received in March 2014, Bizfi’s debt financing totals $140 million. Additionally, Bizfi has raised $15 million in equity financing from various angel investors.

Since its 2005 launch, Bizfi has provided $1.3+ billion in financing to 26,000+ small businesses across the U.S. The company’s small business financing platform consists of three product silos:

  1. Aggregation silo: comprised of third-party brokers, channel partners, and Bizfi’s direct-sales force
  2. Funding silo: provides merchant cash advances and small business loans
  3. Marketplace silo: offers a participation market for institutional investors

Bizfi debuted its aggregation platform at FinovateFall 2015 in New York City.

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Tink to Test PFM App with 10,000 ABN AMRO Customers

Tink to Test PFM App with 10,000 ABN AMRO Customers
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Tink

TinkHomepage

Fresh off the announcement of the FinovateEurope 2016 lineup, we have big news from Swedish alum Tink which has partnered with ABN AMRO, a large Dutch bank widely considered digitally progressive.

As a part of the partnership, ABN AMRO has worked with Tink to launch Grip, a budgeting and expense-management app that aims to help users control their spending.

Starting today, a select 10,000 ABN AMRO customers will pilot the iOS app, offering feedback on how developers can tweak the platform. If the pilot is successful, Grip will be released to the bank’s 4.5 million customers.

Tink’s direct-to-consumer PFM app launched in 2012 and boasts 300,000 iOS and Android users in the Swedish market.

The company was listed in the Fintech 50 earlier this year and won Best of Show for its demo at FinovateEurope 2014. Check out its award-winning presentation.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Bizfi, Nous.net, On Deck Capital, Simple, Tink, Top Image Systems, TransferWise, Trustly

On Finovate.com

  • “Tink to Test PFM App with 10,000 ABN AMRO Customers”
  • “Bizfi Closes on $65 Million in Debt Financing”
  • “Nous Closes In On £350,000 Fundraising Goal” [Update: Nous Exceeds Original Goal, Raises $750,000].

Around the web

  • “TIS Closes 550,000 Euro Deal with Leading German Health Insurance Provider”
  • Trustly partners with payment solution iDEAL in the Netherlands.
  • TechCrunch looks at OnDeck and the future of alt-lending.
  • USA Today features how Simple is a different type of bank.
  • TechCrunch considers how TransferWise is a better way to send remittances.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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A Boku Win for Carrier Billing in Expanded Microsoft Partnership

A Boku Win for Carrier Billing in Expanded Microsoft Partnership
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Boku

BokuHomepage

Direct mobile billing startup Boku took home a big win last week. The San Francisco-based company expanded its partnership with Microsoft to enable direct carrier billing in the Windows store.

Sprint’s U.S. customers can now make purchases from the Windows store using their mobile phone number. Previously limited to mobile transactions, customers can now purchase applicable content on all Windows devices. Boku’s previous integration with the Windows store resulted in an 8x increase in purchase rates in emerging markets and a 3x increase in developed markets.

In a press release, Boku CEO Jon Prideaux highlighted the solution’s convenience, security, and ubiquity. He says with this new move that “[Microsoft is] creating a tremendous opportunity for developers and consumers alike.”

If you’re not familiar with direct mobile carrier billing, this graphic explains how it works:

boku_direct_how_it_works_r2 

In addition to the Windows Store, Boku can be used to make purchases at:

  • Google Play
  • PlayStation Store
  • Facebook App Center
  • League of Legends
  • Spotify

Boku works with 300+ mobile operators in 60+ countries. The company demoed its mobile payment service at FinovateEurope 2011 in London.

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Finovate Debuts: CellTrust Separates Work & Personal Communications, Even on Same Device

Finovate Debuts: CellTrust Separates Work & Personal Communications, Even on Same Device
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CellTrust, Finovate Debuts

CellTrustHomepage

In an era when BYOD is not just a fad, but a need, CellTrust SecureLine helps businesses manage their enterprise’s mobility while keeping operations secure and compliant.

Company facts:

  • Founded: 2006
  • HQ: Scottsdale, Arizona
  • Offices in Canada, London, Australia, and Singapore
  • Funding: $10.1 million

CellTrust SecureLine creates a work phone and a personal phone on the employee’s existing device by issuing a unique mobile business number for professional communications.

In 2014, CellTrust partnered with Good Technology to leverage the Good Dynamics SDK and create CellTrust SecureLine for Good, a containerized version of the solution that offers a full ecosystem of encrypted business apps.

How it works

Companies without mobility-management containers can use CellTrust SecureLine, although it will track only phone and text-message communications. The example below shows the containerized version, integrated with apps in the Good container such as email, Salesforce, and EyeVerify.

As you can see, the employee has placed all of their business apps on the right side. All work-specific apps are designated by a lock icon.

When placing a business call, the employee selects the Good for Work app to access contacts.

SecureLineforGoodWork

CellTrust is fully integrated with the device and pulls in the user’s existing contacts (see below left). No additional steps are needed; the employee proceeds with the call as they naturally would.

CellTrustSet1

The recipient receives the call normally, with no special app or additional steps; however, after answering, CellTrust plays a recorded disclosure customized by the bank.

The technology works similarly when sending and receiving text messages:

CellTrustText

 

Compliance

Because all work communication takes place under a business number, CellTrust enables corporations to dig into business conversations while offering privacy for personal ones.

CellTrust archives work communications in real time on its server. To respond quickly to compliance requests, the company partners with Actiance and GWAVA to offer:

  • Reporting
  • Audit trails
  • Traceability
  • Archiving

At the end of every business day employees receive a recap of all work conversations.

CellTrustEmail

What’s next?
CellTrust is working on tools to keep employees and clients compliant by prohibiting the sending of personally identifiable information (PII) across insecure channels. The company is also working on integrating with CRM apps.

Brian Panicko, SVP, global sales strategy, and Dragan Marceta, director, sales engineering, presented CellTrust SecureLine at FinovateFall 2015 in New York:

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: blooom, Boku, CellTrust, Check Point, MaxMyInterest, ReadyForZero, Trulioo

On Finovate.com

  • “Finovate Debuts: CellTrust Separates Work From Personal Communications, Even on Same Device”
  • “Julie Parrish Joins Check Point as New Chief Marketing Officer”
  • “Trulioo Raises $15 Million with Help from American Express Ventures”
  • “Finovate Alums Take Silver and Bronze at UBS Future of Finance”
  • “A Boku Win for Carrier Billing in Expanded Microsoft Partnership”

Around the web

  • Jeff for Banks researches the success of FinovateFall 2010 Best of Show winners.
  • Kim Komando highlights ReadyForZero as a way to manage debt.
  • Blooom featured on the cover of December’s Thinking Bigger Business magazine.
  • Michael Halloran joins MaxMyInterest as head of partnerships and business development.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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Trizic Raises $2 Million to Help Advisers Compete with Algorithms

Trizic Raises $2 Million to Help Advisers Compete with Algorithms
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Trizic

TrizicHomepageFront

Trizic, a startup that creates wealth-management solutions to help advisers keep up with advancing technology, closed $2 million in funding earlier this week.

This is the company’s third round of funding and brings its total to $5 million. Contributing investors were not disclosed. Trizic has named only one investor in past rounds, Operative Capital, which also funds AlphaClone.

The San Francisco-based company’s Accelerator is a cloud-based advisory platform that caters to both advisers and their clients. The adviser platform offers portfolio automation and management, securities trading, rebalancing, compliance reporting, and client billing services. Accelerator also provides an intuitive client-facing platform with customized portfolio insight and reporting.

Accelerator is available as an API that advisers can customize and white-label with their existing applications. Trizic’s SaaS model uses a contract-free pricing model that charges a percentage based on AUM, starting at 0.05%

Trizic demoed Accelerator at FinovateSpring 2015 in San Jose.

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Finovate Debuts: LiftForward Allows Clients to Offer Risk-free Purchase Financing

Finovate Debuts: LiftForward Allows Clients to Offer Risk-free Purchase Financing
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Finovate Debuts, LiftForward

LiftForwardHomepage

Never buy another device. Never own a computer again. While sounding like a Luddite’s mantra, these statements are the basis for LiftForward’s new platform.

LiftForward launched in 2013 as a marketplace loan platform where investors lend small businesses up to $1 million. This lending platform is the basis for the company’s TaaSLift, a technology-as-a-service platform that enables LiftForward clients to finance product purchases for their end customers.

Using this model, businesses pay a flat monthly fee and avoid tying up capital and dealing with asset depreciation schedules.

Company facts:

  • 10 employees
  • Founded 2013
  • Headquartered in New York City, New York
  • Funding:
    • $2.3 million Series A, Aug 2014
    • $2 million debt financing, Aug 2014
    • $7M million debt financing, Mar 2015
    • $250 million debt financing, July 2015

Microsoft case study

LiftForward’s recent partnership with Microsoft illustrates how business clients use TaaSLift to offer financing. While Microsoft has long offered subscription versions of Office software, the company was eager to set up a similar model with its hardware, specifically the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book.

The screenshot below shows how users select their device type, subscription term, and quantity.

LiftForwardMicrosoft-01-taas-landing-page

At the end of the term, customers return the device, exchange it for a new one, and begin a fresh term. The key benefit to Microsoft is that the technology-as-a-service, by making upgrades much easier, increases the lifetime value of the client.

LiftForward handles all financial aspects. Customers enter their information and financials on a co-branded platform. Once the information is collected, the underwriting process begins.

LiftForward-Microsoft-03-business-info-form

LiftForward not only underwrites the loans using its proprietary LiftSCORE, but also funds the loan and bears the risk. The screenshot below shows a high-risk application in the underwriting platform.

LiftForward-Underwriting-Scorecard-01-high-risk

After LiftForward approves the request, the customer e-signs online documents, and Microsoft ships the devices together with a membership card, software, warranty, and accessories.

The TaaS platform flexibly scales quantity. It can service a small company in need of two computers or a school that requires two million.

What’s next?

While LiftForward’s current product targets businesses, a direct-to-consumer offering is in development.

LiftForward’s CEO Jeffrey Rogers and CTO Michael Grassotti showed TaaSLift at FinovateFall 2015:

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Arroweye Solutions, Boku, Lendio, LiftForward, MaxMyInterest, Personal Capital, Trizic, WealthForge

On Finovate.com

  • “Finovate debuts: LiftForward Allows Clients to Offer Risk-free Purchase Financing”
  • “Trizic raises $2 Million to Help Advisers Compete with Algorithms”

Around the web

  • Financial Planning speculates about Personal Capital’s future.
  • Utah Business Magazine names Lendio one of the best companies to work for in Utah for the third consecutive year.
  • Arroweye Solutions selected to provide prepaid card production and personalization services for The Members Group.
  • Microsoft partners with Boku for carrier billing.
  • Financial Times mentions MaxMyInterest (paywall).
  • Wealthforge one of three winners of the UBS Future of Finance Challenge.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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CBANC Network Garners $4 Million in Series B Funding

CBANC Network Garners $4 Million in Series B Funding
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: cbanc Network, Funding

CBANCNetworkHomepage

CBANC, a collaborative network for bank and credit union professionals, raised $4 million earlier this week. The Series B round was led by CBANC founder Hank Seale. Other investors include Texas Independent Bancshares, Mike Maples, and Adams Street Partners. When added to its previous round of $1.7 million, this brings the company’s total funding to $5.7 million.

CBANC launched its network as a platform where financial industry professionals can ask, answer, and share industry-related intelligence, specifically regarding regulation and new technology. It counts 7,000 financial institutions as members, which represent 85% of community banks and 33% of credit unions across the United States.

The company plans to use the funds to increase membership, add features and expand its base of 22 employees.  “We’re very well engaged on the compliance side of things,” CBANC CEO Bryan Koontz tells the Austin-American Statesman, “Now we want to bring the vendor community into the network, and we plan to invest in new features and new ways for the vendors to interact.”

CBANC demoed its professional network at FinovateFall 2011 in New York.

 

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Exit Stage Right: Trustev Sells to TransUnion for $44 Million

Exit Stage Right: Trustev Sells to TransUnion for $44 Million
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Acquisition, TransUnion, Trustev

TrustevHomepage2015

Today, in a blog post titled, A New Chapter, Trustev announced it has been acquired by one of its investors, TransUnion (NYSE: TRU), which went public on the NYSE earlier this year.

Pat Phelan says the exit will “allow us to deeply integrate with TransUnion and put our collective, rich-data sets and advanced technology to work in spotting fraudulent transactions even better than we already do.”

TransUnionIMGThe deal between the two companies, which have been partners since 2014, closed for $44 million. TechCrunch reports Trustev will see $21 million of the amount up front and $23 million more contingent on meeting certain targets.

TransUnion, one of the big-three U.S. credit bureaus, has recently been expanding into fraud and identity-management solutions. In a press release, TransUnion’s president and CEO Jim Peck said:

As fraud grows in volume and sophistication, TransUnion continues to invest in building our global capabilities to help companies manage their risk. Holistic information is a powerful tool to help our customers approve good transactions and prevent fraud, and Trustev’s innovative capabilities are at the forefront of technology in this increasingly critical field.

Trustev, a Cork, Ireland-based company with 15 employees spread across the globe, says its service will not change for current customers. All employees have committed to stay.

Trustev debuted its Retail Decision solution at FinovateEurope 2014 in London. The company’s Retail Decision offers brick-and-mortar retail locations real-time verification of customer identities at the point of sale. TransUnion Interactive, a consumer subsidiary of TransUnion, debuted ZenDough at FinovateSpring 2010.

 

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: cbanc Network, Credit Karma, HelloWallet, Kony, MaxMyInterest, Prosper, SayPay, Taulia, TransUnion, Trustev

On Finovate.com

  • “FinovateSpring 2016: Last Chance for presale tickets!”
  • “Exit Stage Right: Trustev sells to TransUnion for $44 Million”
  • “CBANC Network Garners $4 Million in Series B Funding”

Around the web

  • Kony launches Mobile Field Service solution to make field workers mobile.
  • Glassdoor recognizes Credit Karma as one of the Best Places to Work in 2016 in Employee Choice Awards.
  • KPMG and Taulia partner to help organizations improve supplier relations.
  • Prosper launches new investor API platform, as well as developer documentation site.
  • SayPay Technologies and MaxMyInterest win Acceleration Awards in the UBS Future of Finance Challenge.
  • Crains New York Business highlights MaxMyInterest as a New York fintech startup.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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