Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Nearex Closes Series B Funding

Nearex Closes Series B Funding
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Nearex

NearexHomepage

Singapore-based Nearex, a proximity-transaction solutions company, received an undisclosed amount of funding in a Series B round today. This marks the second round of funding Nearex has received from a group of investors, led by Tata Capital Growth Fund LP. Existing investors also contributed to the new round, including Japan-based BEENOS Asia and Xinvesco.

The company, which specializes in contactless micro payments, debuted Xip at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose. Xip’s micropayments solution offers merchants a tiny mobile point-of-sale terminal, called a XipPOS, that communicates with the consumer’s Mobile Money account via a personalized NFC sticker, XipTAG, to initiate a contactless payment.

The hardware integrates with existing mobile wallets. Nearex’s target clients include financial institutions and other mobile money service providers.

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A Dash of Good Karma: Karmic Labs Raises $5 Million

A Dash of Good Karma: Karmic Labs Raises $5 Million
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Karmic Labs

KarmicLabsHomepage

Was it good karma? San Francisco-based Karmic Labs, a company whose APIs offer payment and SaaS solutions to enterprises, pulled in $5 million in a Series A funding round today.

The funds come from Greycroft Partners, who led the round, with participation from Trusted Ventures, Accelerator Ventures, Pipeline VC, Correlation Ventures and individual investor Iqram Magdon-Ismail. The new amount tops the company’s 2013 Seed round, in which it garnered $2.7 million from Draper Associates. Karmic Labs’ funding now totals $7.7 million.

The comDashCardsMobilepany debuted its Dash Prepaid MasterCard at FinovateSpring 2015 (watch the live demo below). Dash is a business-expense-management platform that supplies employees with MasterCard prepaid cards, and enables managers to view, approve and control employee spending via a mobile app. The all-in-one system facilitates budgeting and accounting by simplifying the expense-reporting process.

The company is working with FIS as a distribution partner for Dash and plans to use the $5 million to advance Dash and create product awareness.

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FinDEVr APIntelligence

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinDEVr APIntelligence

Are you building new financial technology? Be sure to register now for the only event exclusively for fintech developers, FinDEVr 2015, 6/7 October in San Francisco. Super Early-Bird tickets are on sale through this Friday, 10 July.

FinDEVr2015-SF-Logo-Stackedwdate

Before diving into company news, check out American Banker’s thoughts on why U.S. banks are opening up APIs to outsiders. It’s worth the read.

The latest from FinDEVr 2015 presenters

  • “12 New FinDEVr 2015 Presenters Announced“
  • “PayPal’s Early Valuation Tops $44 Billion”
  • PYMNTS.com takes a look at PayPal CEO Dan Schulman’s conversation with the Financial Times.
  • Rise in tech investment in the U.K. credited to companies such as Currency Cloud in London’s fintech sector.

Alumni updates

  • Xero releases payroll availability for Nevada and Illinois.
  • Dwolla’s Jordan Lampe pens American Banker article that focuses on Open Bank Project’s use of open sourced APIs.
  • Monitise to emphasize API, on-site solutions in recent strategy shift.
  • Xero to offer foreign invoice payments via new partnership with Midpoint Holdings.

Stay up to date on daily developments by following FinDEVr on Twitter.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BillGuard, Cardlytics, Karmic Labs, ThreatMetrix, Xero

On Finovate.com

  • “12 New FinDEVr 2015 Presenters Announced“
  • “A Dash of Good Karma: Karmic Labs Raises $5 Million”

Around the web

  • Cardlytics wins 2 Silver Stevies at 2015 American Business Awards.
  • Xero adds payroll availability in Nevada and Illinois.
  • ThreatMetrix wins Gold, Silver and Bronze awards in three categories at Network Products Guide 2015 Hot Companies and Best Products Awards.

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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12 New FinDEVr 2015 Presenters Announced

12 New FinDEVr 2015 Presenters Announced
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinDEVr 2015 San Francisco

FinDEVrPresentation

If you haven’t been paying attention to our conference for developers, now’s a good time to start. FinDEVr is only three months away and we’ve just added 12 new speakers to an impressive roster of firms delivering 20-minute, TED-style presentations on their latest tools, APIs, platforms, techniques and case studies.

FinDEVr2015LogoV2DateSo join our audience at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco on 6/7 October 2015. We’re projecting attendance will exceed 600 fintech developers, CTOs and other builders. With ticket prices at their lowest, now is the time to pick up yours. Super Early-Bird tickets are on sale through this Friday, 10 July.

Below is a list of the presenting companies so far; we’ll reveal the full roster later this summer:

Interested in following news from these companies, along with last year’s presenting companies? Follow FinDEVr on Twitter and keep an eye out for our weekly FinDEVr APIntelligence blog posted every Wednesday.

FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 is partnered with BankersHub, BayPay Forum, California Bankers Association, Celent, CoinTelegraph, Mercator Advisory Group, and SF Fintech.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BioCatch, Open Bank Project, Ripple

Around the web

  • American Banker focuses on how Open Bank Project uses open-source APIs.
  • TechCrunch looks at BioCatch’s newest patent on user’s interaction with phone’s accelerometer and touch screen.
  • “Ripple Labs Elected to Fed Steering Committee for Faster Payments”

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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PayPal’s Early Valuation Tops $44 Billion

PayPal’s Early Valuation Tops $44 Billion
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: PayPal

PayPalHomepage

Ahead of its pending split from parent company, eBay, PayPal began trading on Nasdaq this morning on a “when issued” basis under the symbol PYPLV. So far, trades have settled around $36.50 per share, with a high of $39.75 per share.

Here are the details from the Wall Street Journal:

PYPLV

According to the Financial Times, this means that PayPal accounts for 60% of eBay’s market capitalization, which currently is sitting around $75 billion.

eBay shares are available in two separate forms, without PayPal rights (EBAY) and with PayPal rights (EBAYV), in which eBay shareholders will be given a PayPal share for each of their eBay shares. At noon eastern time, full eBay shares were trading at $61.40, and ex-PayPal eBay were trading at $25.10.

PayPal will officially split from eBay on July 20.

PayPal’s Braintree showed off at FinDEVr 2014 in San Francisco (video below) and will appear on the FinDEVr stage on 6/7 October 2015.

http://finovate.wistia.com/medias/y5r0p6kn2b?embedType=iframe&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640

The company’s last Finovate demo was at FinovateEurope 2012 in London.

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BankBazaar Scores $60 Million in Funding Led by Amazon

BankBazaar Scores $60 Million in Funding Led by Amazon
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BankBazaar, Funding

BankBazaarHomepage3

BankBazaar, an India-based company that sells financial service products on behalf of third parties, raised $60 million in Series C funding today.

The round was led by Amazon, which holds a minority stake, and marks the ecommerce giant’s second investment in BankBazaar. New investors include Fidelity Growth Partners and Mousse Partners. Existing investors Sequoia Capital and Walden International also contributed.

BankBazaar’s funding now totals $79 million, but there’s no word on a current valuation for the company.

BankBazaar has big plans for the funds. It will use the large sum to boost its technology integration, strengthen partner relationships, create an end-to-end customer experience, and expand its marketing efforts to reach a broader customer base.

The company’s technology is available to consumers on Android and iOS apps, and it currently has 23 bank partners to offer a wide portfolio of solutions to consumers.

BankBazaar demoed at FinovateAsia 2012 in Singapore.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: ayondo, BankBazaar, eWise, i-exceed, Kony Solutions, Monitise

On Finovate.com:

  • Bankbazaar Scores $60 Million in Funding Led by Amazon.
  • i-exceed Teams Up with Kris FinSoftware to Promote the Mobile Internet in the Philippines

Around the web:

  • Wealth Help to launch advanced PFM tool using the eWise Money Manager solution.
  • Lufthansa Industry Solutions to use Kony to enhance its mobile portfolio.
  • ayondo purchases additional insurance for clients from the Lloyd’s insurance marketplace totaling up to $728k per client.
  • ReadyForZero completely redesigns mobile app.
  • Silicon Prairie News interviews Hip Pocket’s Mark Zmarzly.
  • Banco Santander and Monitise form a $31 million joint venture that will invest in and build fintech 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.

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FinDEVr APIntelligence

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinDEVr APIntelligence

Are you building new financial technology? Be sure to register now for the only event exclusively for fintech developers, FinDEVr 2015, 6/7 October in San Francisco.

FinDEVr2015-SF-Logo-StackedwdateThe latest from FinDEVr 2015 presenters

  • Money Under 30 features personal finance apps from Personal Capital and Credit Karma.
  • Bank Investment Consultant mentions Personal Capital in its look at how traditional advisers can compete against robo-advisors.
  • Backbase adds Geezeo’s PFM to its Open Banking Marketplace.
  • Yodlee Brings “Sense” to Forward-Looking Bank Balances.

Alumni updates

  • PayPal and Uber extend their partnership to an additional 9 countries, now 19 in total.

Stay up to date on daily developments by following FinDEVr on Twitter.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Bionym, Cardlytics, FutureAdvisor, Jack Henry, Kofax, Lighter Capital, Numbrs, Nutmeg, PayPal, planwise, ProfitStars, QuantConnect, Tradeshift, TransferWise, Trulioo, Yodlee

Around the web

  • Seeking Alpha explains why a merger between Yodlee and FutureAdvisor makes sense.
  • Xconomy features Vince Turner’s Planwise.
  • American Banker features how Seattle-based Lighter Capital loans money to tech startups.
  • Cardlytics Wins 2 Silver Stevie Awards at 2015 American Business Awards.
  • Tradeshift to partner with C2FO to expand dynamic discounting solutions to a broader network of suppliers and buyers.
  • Financial Conduct Authority mentions how Nutmeg explains its fees and charges graphically.
  • Jack Henry acquires Bayside Business Solutions.
  • Fox News features Trulioo, Bionym, TransferWise, Kofax, and Numbrs in its column on “10 CEOs who are disrupting finance with technology.”
  • ProfitStars introduces Call Report Pro CU, a solution for meeting regulatory reporting requirements.
  • Hedgeweek takes a look at how QuantConnect enables quantitative traders to operate at a low cost.
  • PayPal acquires money-transfer provider Xoom.

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 Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Backbase, BancVue, Credit Sesame, DriveWealth, Feedzai, FIS, Geezeo, Insuritas, Kasasa, Lendio, PayPal, SeedInvest, Silanis Technology, Tradier, Yodlee

On Finovate.com

  • Yodlee Brings “Sense” to Forward-Looking Bank Balances
  • BancVue’s Kasasa Spreads to 1,800+ Client Branch Locations Across 46 U.S. States.

Around the web

  • NerdWallet lists Lendio as 1 of 7 great small-business loan options for women-owned businesses.
  • Credit Sesame wins Gold Stevie Award in 2015’s American Business Awards.
  • PayPal and Uber extend their partnership to additional 9 countries, now in 19 total.
  • Backbase adds Geezeo’s PFM to its Open Banking Marketplace.
  • Partnership between Feedzai and Azul Systems yields first deployment with “leading payment technology provider.”
  • Insuritas wins NAFCU 2015 Services Innovation Award.
  • DriveWealth helps trading software technology company, KnowVera, develop video course on pattern recognition.
  • e-SignLive by Silanis to develop joint, cloud-based solution for digital transactions in new partnership with Australia’s Nuvola.
  • Jim Cramer of CNBC’s Mad Money interviews SeedInvest CEO Ryan Feit.

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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