Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Finovate Debuts: CashSentinel’s Mobile Escrow Service

Finovate Debuts: CashSentinel’s Mobile Escrow Service
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CashSentinel

CashSentinelHomepage

CashSentinel enables people who do not know or trust each other to instantly and safely exchange a large amount of money, using their mobile phones.

The Switzerland-based company’s platform works similar to an escrow service combined with a mobile wallet that transfers funds in real-time.

Major benefits

  1. Safer for both buyer and seller
    Since neither party needs to carry cash, exchanging money for a vehicle is safer.
  2. The transaction is secure
    The system has built-in accountability. The buyer cannot incorrectly claim they sent the payment and the seller cannot incorrectly claim they didn’t receive the payment.
  3. Mobile
    After both parties have registered on the web or mobile platform, the transaction can take place either on the CashSentinel mobile app (available for iOS or Android), or via SMS; there is no need for a smartphone.

How it works

In the following example, a private party sells a used car to a private buyer; however, CashSentinel also works for small, commercial sellers and is not limited to vehicles.

1) Buyer loads funds

After the buyer registers online, CashSentinel verifies their identity by mailing them a secret word, which they will use later in the transaction (see step 4). Once the potential buyer finds a vehicle they’d like to purchase, they load the required amount of money onto the CashSentinel platform. If they decide not to purchase the vehicle, they can recoup the money in full.

2) Seller verifies

After the buyer loads the funds onto CashSentinel, they enter the seller’s phone number. This prompts CashSentinel to send the seller a push notification that the funds are ready.

To ensure that the buyer is serious, CashSentinel enables the seller to verify that sufficient funds have been loaded onto the platform (see below).

CashSentinelExchangeIMG1

3) Transfer funds

When the parties meet in person to exchange the vehicle and agree on a price, they transfer the payment. They consent to the exchange by entering each others’ private, six-digit code (see below).

CashSentinelKey

4) Confirm

After the buyer and the seller exchange their 6-digit codes, both need to finalize the transaction by confirming the amount. To do so, the buyer enters the secret word received in the mail. CashSentinel transfers the funds from the buyer to the seller and the transaction is irreversible.

Because funds are transferred instantly, the buyer drives away in the vehicle with the seller knowing the funds are good.

Fees

The service is entirely free for the seller. The buyer pays a tiered flat-rate that varies by the purchase price of the item.

What’s next

CashSentinel currently works only in Switzerland, but the company plans to expand operations into the European Union later this year.

CashSentinel demonstrated at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Arxan Technologies, Bento for Business, CashSentinel, Dashlane, FreeAgent, Holvi, Kreditech, Malauzai Software, Patch of Land, PayPal, ProfitStars, Prosper

On Finovate.com

  • FreeAgent Scores $5 Million Line of Credit
  • Patch of Land Earns $23 Million Investment Led by SF Capital Group
  • Finovate Debuts: CashSentinel’s Mobile Escrow Service

Around the web

  • Nine Lives Media ranks ProfitStars’ Gladiator Technology in 6th annual MSPmentor 501 Global Edition.
  • Kreditech brings on Oliver Prill as COO.
  • PYMNTS: Prosper closes out financing round that pushes its valuation to $1.9 billion.
  • PYMNTS interviews Bento CEO and founder Farhan Ahmad. See Bento demo live at FinovateSpring in San Jose.
  • PayPal Makes Acquisition of CyActive Official.
  • TechCrunch: Dashlane’s “Inbox Scan” Tool Uncovers The Passwords You’ve Saved In Your Email.
  • Arxan expands application protection to support all major internet of things (IoT) platforms.
  • Holvi partners with identity-intelligence specialist GBGroup to ensure all customers are verified.
  • Malauzai Software announces 5 community banks to launch SmartwearApps for the Apple Watch.

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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BBVA Taps Dwolla for Real-time Money Transfers

BBVA Taps Dwolla for Real-time Money Transfers
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BBVA Compass, Dwolla

DwollaHomepage

BBVA Compass and Dwolla began their partnership in October 2014, when BBVA opened its network to the Iowa-based startup.

Today, the two disclosed the first stage of their plan. BBVA Compass is using the startup’s FiSync payments protocol for real-time money transfers. The Alabama-based bank is the largest FI customer to implement the technology.

Dwolla will implement FiSync’s authentication and tokenization processes developed jointly by the two parties. These security processes eliminate the need for customers to grant merchants direct access to their bank account, thereby disclosing account and routing numbers.

Starting today, BBVA Compass clients can send funds in real-time to other BBVA account holders or Dwolla users.

FiSyncSecureAuthThe partnership is also good news for developers. Those with a BBVA Compass account can use Dwolla’s APIs to create their own real-time payments apps. BBVA Compass Chairman and CEO Manolo Sánchez says the FiSync payments protocol will help the bank adapt to customers who are used to getting everything on-demand and instantly. Sanchez says that by working with Dwolla, “BBVA Compass is ensuring that money is able to keep up with the speed of the instant economy. This will have a real and lasting impact on businesses and consumers alike.”

BBVA is mimicking Dwolla’s pricing structure of $0.25 for transactions above $10, with everything under $10 free. The two companies plan to roll out additional updates in the coming months.

Dwolla demonstrated FiSync at FinovateSpring 2012. You can also catch them at the upcoming FinovateSpring show in San Jose next month.

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Early Warning Acquires Authentify

Early Warning Acquires Authentify
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Authentify, Mergers & Acquisitions, Payfone

EWSAuthentifyAcquisition

Authentify, a company that offers phone-based, multifactor authentication to more than 1,200 financial institutions and e-commerce companies, today announced it will soon be acquired.

The acquirer is Chicago-based Early Warning, a company owned and governed by the largest banks in the U.S. and which provides risk-management solutions to 1,100 banks, government entities, and companies. Once the Authentify acquisition is under its belt, Early Warning will bolster its current offering with a multifactor authentication solution that integrates multiple channels and authentication methods.

The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

AuthentifyHomepage

This is not Early Warning’s first move to broaden its offerings. In 2013, the Arizona-based company partnered with Payfone to combine device and customer-identity authentication with transaction data to ensure security. Early Warning has an equity stake in Payfone.

Authentify was founded in 1999 and Peter Tapling is CEO. The company demonstrated 2CHK at FinovateFall 2011.

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FinovateSpring 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 1

FinovateSpring 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 1
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alpha Payments Cloud, CUneXus, DRAFT, FinovateSpring 2015, FinovateSpring 2015 Sneak Peek, FundAmerica, SayPay, StockViews, TrueAccord

FSBannerLogowDate

FinovateSpring 2015 launches next month on May 12 and 13. That gives us five weeks to review the 72 companies that will step up on stage in San Jose.

FS14Crowd

We’ll be featuring seven companies twice a week in our Sneak Peek series. The first set includes:

This will be Finovate’s eighth conference in the Bay Area and our second year in San Jose. Interested in being among the first to see the newest fintech this spring? Pick up your ticket here to join us.

AlphaPaymentsCloudLogoAlpha Payments Cloud’s AlphaHub consolidates the payments world onto one platform enabling banks, merchants, MSPs and ISOs to access any payment type, any solution provider, anywhere.

Features:

  • Access every transaction-centric solution vendor
  • Consolidate all integrations to one platform
  • Mitigate risks and costs by orchestrating across vendor functionality

Why it’s great
AlphaCloudPresenter1The AlphaHub gives instant access to any payment type, any solution provider, anywhere in the world.

Presenter: Oliver Rajic, CEO
Rajic is a global business development leader and payments expert whose vision is bringing the payments world into the 21st century.
LinkedIn

CUneXusLogoCUneXus is one of just ten to watch on KPMG’s report of “The Best Fintech Innovators of 2014,.” CUneXus stands at the forefront of the transition to a new era of data-driven, on-demand lending and borrowing.

Features:

  • Perpetual Loan Approval
  • “One-Click” access to preapproved loans at every touchpoint
  • Integrated into leading online- and mobile-banking platforms

Why it’s great
CUneXus brings the “one-click” convenience and mobility consumers have come to expect, helping lenders maximize the value and profitability of existing customer relationships.CUnexusPresenter1

Presenters

Dave Buerger, Co-Founder, President & CEO
Buerger is an award-winning financial services marketer and strategist with a noteworthy record of achievement, spanning a diverse array of marketing mediums and industry verticals.
LinkedInCUnexusPresenter2

Darin Chong, Co-Founder & COO
Chong draws from 17+ years of experience in consumer financial services with expertise in marketing, operations, and project management.
LinkedIn

DraftLogoDRAFT changes the way people view, think and act about investing by comparing your returns, fees and allocation to top-performing portfolios.

Features:

  • Track all of your investments in one spot
  • Side by side return, fee, and allocation comparisons
  • Obtain a blueprint showing portfolio gaps to help maximize returns and lower fees

Why it’s great
DRAFT has created a better investment benchmark by comparing real portfolios to one another. It’s simple, transparent, and community focused.DRAFTPresenter1

Presenters

Brad Lawler, President, co-founder
Lawler has 10 years’ experience in the financial services industry, including as a high-net-worth adviser at a risk-analysis software firm. He also spent time with a big-data infrastructure company.
LinkedInDRAFTPresenter2

Jason St. Peter, CEO, co-founder
St. Peter has 15 years of experience in sales, marketing, and business development in the high-tech industry. Prior to DRAFT, St. Peter created and ran the Dell For Entrepreneurs program for Dell, Inc.
LinkedIn

FundAmericaLogoFundAmerica provides API-enabled escrow, payment processing, and securities compliance to portals engaged in technology-driven capital formation via the JOBS Act (506b/c, Reg A+, 4(a)(6) crowdfunding).

Features:

  • Easy-to-implement API and “Invest Now” buttons
  • View all data and events in the control panel
  • Ensure compliance with federal and state regulations

Why it’s great
FundAmerica provides the crowdfunding industry with the best and only technology-integrated compliance and back-office solution.

PFundAmericaPresenter1resenters

Scott Purcell, CEO, founder
Purcell is a leader in the crowdfunding industry with experience in both technology and securities.
LinkedIn

FundAmericaPresenter2Jonathan Self, President, CCO
Self-served as a compliance examiner at FINRA, and was a capital markets specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Scott Andersen, General Counsel
Andersen was the deputy chief counsel at FINRA; enforcement director at the NYSE; and assistant attorney general for the state of New York.

SayPayLogoSayPay enables users to make or schedule bill payments instantly by simply speaking a one-time, secure “SayPay Code”—all without the need to sign in or remember passwords!

Features:

  • Eliminates late charges and interest expense
  • Billers get paid faster
  • Combines voice recognition, biometric voice authentication and mobile technologies into a seamless user experience

Why it’s great
SayPayPresenter1Financial institutions can re-use SayPay across the enterprise, for website sign-in, online purchases, P2P transfers, step-up authentication and more for optimal return on investment.

Presenter

Steve Hoffman, CEO, founder
Hoffman has 25+ years of experience in payments, digital banking, and authentication, and holds several patents for internet and mobile payment technologies.

StockviewsLogoStockViews is an online equity research platform that connects investors with independent analysts.

Features:

  • A meritocratic platform that pinpoints alpha generators
  • Identifies analysts with expertise relevant to the fund manager
  • Harnesses the wisdom of crowds to assist investment decisions

Why it’s great
Our product harnesses collective intelligence by identifying and isolating the opinions of analysts who consistently outperform the market.

StockViewsPresenter1Presenters

Tom Beevers, CEO, co-founder
Beevers is the CEO of StockViews. He was previously a fund manager at Newton in London. He holds a degree in natural sciences from Cambridge.
LinkedIn

TrueAccordLogoTrueAccord offers a machine-learning-based, automated, and friendly collection platform that effectively services the new age of financial services companies.

Features:

  • Adapts to consumer preference with new communication channels; increases satisfaction
  • Adapts to consumer behavior; increases recovery
  • Easy to audit and control; improves compliance

Why it’s great
Debt collection is ripe for disruption on the heels of alternative lending. TrueAccord is leading the market in rethinking this activity.

SametIMG1Presenters

Ohad Samet, CEO
Samet is head of analytics at Fraud Sciences; worked in new ventures at PayPal; founder at Analyzd; chief risk officer at Klarna; published writer, O’Reilly.
LinkedIn

SametIMG2Nadav Samet, CTO
Samet served as a senior software engineer at Google and contributed to several high-profile projects such as gmail, Google Flights, and more. Holds a masters in science in mathematics from Weizmann Institute of Science.
LinkedIn

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Backbase, Betterment, FIS, Heckyl Technologies, MX, StreetShares, Xignite

On Finovate.com

  • Finovate Debuts: StreetShares Helps Small Businesses Raise Capital
  • FinovateSpring 2015 has sprouted! Check out our first Sneak Peek, featuring 7 presenting companies.

Around the web

  • Backbase adds Payveris’ suite of payment APIs to the Backbase Open Banking Marketplace.
  • Evans Bank to deploy core banking technology from FIS.
  • Xignite teams up with ChartIQ to launch new market-data widgets.
  • Heckyl Technologies featured in e27’s list of 10 ‘need-to-know startups’ in Singapore and India.
  • Backbase adds MX’s PFM and account aggregation to the Backbase Open Banking Marketplace.
  • Wharton Fintech blog: How Betterment is Redefining the Retail Investment Landscape.

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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Finovate Debuts: Pirean’s “Access: One” Keeps Access Management Simple

Finovate Debuts: Pirean’s “Access: One” Keeps Access Management Simple
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Pirean, Security

PireanHomepage

Pirean is an identity- and access-management as-a-service company. It addresses both employee and end-user needs, offering access to online banking apps in a secure environment. The company helps banks improve security practices in a low-cost way.

Pirean facts:

  • 55 employees
  • Privately held
  • Self-funded
  • Founded 2002
  • Headquartered in London

At FinovateEurope 2015, Pirean debuted Access: One, its flagship product. With Access: One, financial institutions offer a platform that matches their branding and makes interaction easy for both employees and customers.

Financial institution employees

The employee portal (pictured below) offers access to a variety of management functions and enables the administrator to generate and customize users’ application dashboards. The administrator can also create and edit identity access-management (IAM) workflows and view security performance data.

Access: One enables the administrator to determine the level of security required for each user-facing app. For example, if they would like a trading account to be more secure, they can require two-factor authentication. Pirean offers the option to use either Google Authenticator or SMS as the second-factor challenge.

PireanAdmin

This screenshot below shows how the administrator adds, edits and removes banking applications from an application dashboard.

In this example, the administrator is adding a cash account, a trading account, and a user-identity application that allows users to change their password, set preferences, and reset security questions.

The easy-to-edit nature helps banks quickly adapt to changing business needs and customer relationships.

PireanAdminApplications

End customers

While the example below shows a customer’s view of bank applications on the Access: One dashboard, Pirean also offers banks the option to integrate Access: One APIs directly with their website.

To create a unified banking experience, banks customize the user-facing platform to match their brand and promote special offers. The clean interface provides access to cash and trading accounts, as well as account settings, user information, and links to partner services.

PireanUserInterface

What’s next

Pirean will have two major partners going live in the next couple of months.

Pirean debuted Access: One at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.

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CAN Capital Locks in $650 Million Credit Facility

CAN Capital Locks in $650 Million Credit Facility
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CAN Capital, Small Business

CANHomepage2015

Alternative small business loan provider CAN Capital announced this week that it secured a $650 million credit facility from twelve banks. Seven are first-time participants:

  • Wells Fargo Capital Finance
  • Morgan Stanley
  • Barclays
  • UBS
  • J.P. Morgan
  • SunTrust Bank
  • First Tennessee Bank

Five existing banks recommitted funds:

  • Fifth Third Bank*
  • Regions Bank*
  • AloStar Bank of Commerce*
  • CapitalSource (a division of Pacific Western Bank)
  • Amalgamated Bank

*increased commitments

CAN Capital provides loans and merchant cash-advances to small- and medium-sized businesses. Since launching in 1998, the company has extended a total of 150,000 finance transactions to small businesses, providing access to $5 billion.

CANBusinessLoanCalculator

The New York-based company is best known for its Daily Remittance Platform. The underwriting technology evaluates business risk based on recent performance, which generally enables it to approve financing for more businesses.

CAN Capital debuted its Mobile Funder on the FinovateFall 2013 stage in New York.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Asseco, ayondo, BioCatch, blooom, CAN Capital, Dream Payments, EZBOB, PayPal, Rippleshot, Striata, Tradier, TransferWise

On Finovate

  • Dream Payments Raises $6 Million in Funding for mPOS Technology
  • Finovate Debuts: Asseco SEE Brings Real-Time Big Data to Processing to Multichannel Banking
  • EZBOB Raises 3 Million in Private Equity Investment
  • Finovate Debuts: Telenor Banka’s Synergy of Telco and Banking Brings Financial Innovation to Serbia
  • CAN Capital Locks in $650 Million Credit Facility

Around the web

  • Striata acquires Mass Transmit for undisclosed amount.
  • PayPal closes acquisition of Paydiant.
  • Blooom participates in InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum.
  • ayondo wins “Best Social Trading Program” honors at ADVFN International Financial Awards 2015.
  • Francepertise reviews TransferWise.
  • BioCatch and RippleShot earn 2015 METAwards from the Merchant Risk Council.
  • Tradier sees 35 million+ API calls in March. That’s 47k transactions per hour.

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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Dream Payments Raises $6 Million in Funding for mPOS Technology

Dream Payments Raises $6 Million in Funding for mPOS Technology
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Dream Payments

DreamPaymentsHomepage

Toronto-based Dream Payments pulled in its first round of funding late last month. The $6 million comes from Canada’s early stage fintech venture capital and private equity firms, as well as institutional investors Blue Sky Capital, Real Ventures, and Rouge River Capital.

With Dream Payments, merchants use the Dream mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) terminal that works with iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. It can also integrate with a retailer’s traditional POS terminal. The startup aims to help merchants adapt to new payment acceptance methods, such as EMV and Apple Pay, and accommodates magstripe debit and credit card payments.

In addition to the payments capability, the company offers merchants a dashboard with sales and inventory metrics, customer insights, and business analytics. The solution is available for both merchants and merchant acquirers.

Dream Payments CEO, Brent Ho-Young stated that the startup will use the funding to launch the business and roll out its solutions to merchants across North America.

The startup also announced it will open its SDK to third-party developers.

Dream Payments will be demoing live on the FinovateSpring stage in San Jose on 12/13 May 2015. The early bird ticket deadline is this Friday, so be sure to pick up your ticket before then.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Check Point, Concur, Currency Cloud, CurrencyFair, HedgeCoVest, Kantox, Misys, Moven, Quantopian, Taulia, Telenor banka, Toopher, TransferWise, Venmo, Xero, Yodlee

On Finovate.com

  • Multi-Factor Authentication Specialist Toopher Acquired by Salesforce

Around the web:

  • Moven updates iOS and Android apps for easier views of balance and spending.
  • Concur surpasses 30-million-user milestone.
  • Multi-factor authentication now available for Venmo users on both iOS and Android.
  • Mobile World Live interviews VP of Telenor Financial Services and CEO of Valyou, Viktoria Erngard.
  • FT.com Business & Economy feature on P2P foreign exchange highlights TransferWise, CurrencyFair, Currency Cloud, and Kantox.
  • Misys wins honors in three categories at FStech Awards 2015.
  • HedgeCoVest adds 14 new models to its platform.
  • Business Insider Australia features Xero.
  • Yodlee announces 100% revenue growth in Australia and New Zealand.
  • Check Point to acquire Lacoon Mobile Security for a reported $100 million.

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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Finovate Debuts: CPB Software’s PROFOS Helps Advisers Connect with Clients

Finovate Debuts: CPB Software’s PROFOS Helps Advisers Connect with Clients
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CPB Software AG

CPBHomepage

CPB Software began in 1996 as a spinoff from a private bank in Austria. The company has created numerous products for financial services companies across Europe. At FinovateEurope 2015, CPB debuted PROFOS, a product to help advisers overcome hurdles in customer relationships.

Company facts:

  • $3.8 million in equity
  • $18.3 million in revenue for 2014
  • 130+ employees
  • 700+ customers in 7 countries
  • Founded 1996

The PROFOS platform, which works with any existing core banking system, integrates client data and combines it with consulting features. The result is an all-in-one tool to help advisers prepare for client meetings and connect with the client throughout the meeting.

To prepare for client meetings, the home screen shows daily appointments and financial market activity, and serves as a digital file cabinet that stores important documents.

It also contains a toolbox that houses both informational videos that explain complex topics, as well as negotiation tutorials, to assist advisers during the negotiation process.

Screenshots below show a sample of features an adviser may use during a client meeting:

Client dashboard

On the tablet app, the clean interface provides an overview of the client’s portfolio performance, asset allocation, and key financial information.

CPBClientDashboard

 

Investment strategy

Since clients have different learning methods, PROFOS uses both pictures and graphs to aid advisers in explaining how decisions will affect a portfolio.

The example below uses a picture to depict how risk and time could affect the client’s earnings.

CPBInvestmentStrategy

 

Current events performance

PROFOS generates stress tests that simulate the effect(s) resulting from a major event, such as the recent Ukrainian crisis, on a client’s portfolio. The snapshot enables clients to understand the impact of both positive and negative historical events.

CPBPerformanceRelevantEvents

 

Goal tracking

PROFOS helps advisers track multiple financial goals for clients. The graphs make it easy for the adviser to show clients their progress and the projected possibility for achieving each goal.

CPBPersonalGoalsRealization

CPB Software debuted PROFOS at FinovateEurope 2015 in London. Check out the live demo video.

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