Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz), Author at Finovate

Crealogix and Meniga Create Digital Bank and PFM Solution for BNP’s Consors Bank

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 18, 2014
Categories: Cortal Consors, CREALOGIX, Meniga

Cortal Consors demonstrated at FinovateEurope 2011, when it was an online brokerage and investment company under BNP Paribas. It has since become Consors Bank, a German-based subsidiary bank of BNP Paribas.

Launching a bank comes with a long to-do list– one thatincludes providing financial planning tools for your customers– so Consors Bank has partnered with Meniga and Crealogix. Respectively, these fintech providers power spending and saving management tools, as well as a digital banking portal.

The combined solutions offer Consors Bank customers an engaging user experience that fits with the bank’s slogan, “mobile, just like you.”

Here’s a look at some of the aspects of Meniga’s PFM on Consors Bank’s web portal:

Monthly spending comparison:

Spending category overview:

Iceland-based Meniga launched in 2009 and has since brought its white-label PFM platform to 25 banks across the globe. Meniga last demonstrated at FinovateEurope 2014 and will return to London next February for FinovateEurope 2015.

Crealogix appeared on stage at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose and will also demo its new technology at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.

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Finovate Debuts: EyeLock’s Myris Device Authenticates Using Iris Identification

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 16, 2014
Categories: EyeLock, Finovate Debuts

The Finovate Debuts series introduces new Finovate alums. Today’s feature is EyeLock, which demonstrated its myris eye scanning device at FinovateFall 2014.

EyeLock links a user’s password to their iris template, enabling them to log into their computer, websites, and applications by scanning their iris on the myris device.

Stats

Headquartered in New York, NY
Founded 2006
Device cost: $280
Chance of a false iris match is 1 in 1.5 million

The device
myris is an iris-scanning device that plugs into the USB port on a user’s computer and authenticates them by taking a video of their iris. EyeLock associates the iris template with a long and complex password.

Upon first setting up their account on the device, users generate their unique iris ID, then select operating systems, websites, and applications they’d like to log into using myris. From then on, all they need to do to log into those sites is glance at the myris device.

EyeLock sells myris through different channels:

Directly to consumers (see Best Buy screenshot below)
To businesses for commercial use

Use cases
With the myris application on their computer, combined with the hand-held device, users manage login permissions for myris, as well as multiple users for a single account.

Sites, applications, and operating system

With the Sites tab, users scan their iris to log in automatically to websites such as Facebook and PayPal. The Applications tab enables users to securely log into applications such as Skype and Spotify, while the Operating System tab lets users opt to log into their computer using myris. EyeLock supports Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems.

Startup and settings

With the Startup tab, the user selects which sites and applications to launch automatically upon turning on their computer. This Autolaunch feature lets users select any number of sites they would like to open simultaneously after authenticating themselves with myris.

The Settings tab is exactly what it sounds like. Users download system updates, add and manage multiple user permissions for shared accounts, and view their account login history.

Benefits
Since the user’s iris is always with them and is exclusively theirs, myris eliminates the risk associated with lost, stolen or shared login credentials and ID cards. Additionally, scanning an iris is faster than typing in a username and password.

In addition to the digital realm, eyeLock has products that authenticate users on a commercial level to allow access into physical barriers, such as restricted buildings or conference rooms. Check out Eyeswipe-Nano, Eyeswipe-Nano TS, nano NXT and HBOX.

EyeLock demonstrated its myris authentication device at FinovateFall 2014.

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After Manilla’s Demise, Mint Launches Bill Pay and Bill Management Platform

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 16, 2014
Categories: Mint.com

Intuit’s Mint launched Mint Bills, a bill pay and management platform today, along with a new logo and fresh identity. This comes months after Manilla shuttered, and after Intuit acquired Check (formerly Pageonce).

Similar to what you may expect, the Mint Bills web platform allows users to search for and set up billers based on their zip code. The bill pay capability reminds users about upcoming bills, enables them to pay bills, or schedule a payment for the future.

The mobile app is a complete revamp of Check’s former bill pay app. Not only is the design new, but the registration process has been simplified and new bill categories were added.

Interestingly, for Mint users, the platform is separate from the legacy Mint PFM we’ve known and loved since 2006. Mint users need to create a new account for Mint Bills. Things are a bit easier for Check users, however, who login with their existing credentials.

Mint Bills is available as an iOS and Android app, as well as on the web.

Mint demonstrated at the very first Finovate in 2007.

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Finovate Debuts: TickSmith’s TickVault and FixVault Help FIs Put Their Big Data to Use

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 13, 2014
Categories: Finovate Debuts, TickSmith

The Finovate Debuts series introduces new Finovate alums. Today’s feature is TickSimth, which demonstrated TickVault and FixVault big data platforms at FinovateFall 2014.

TickSmith’s big data platforms, TickVault and FixVault help brokerage and trading companies make sense of their massive amounts of financial data.

The Montreal-based company works with Six Financial to gather data on every trade, quote, instrument, and exchange globally. A single day of trading includes a few billion trade messages; TickSmith holds 6 years of this data and turns it into useable information.

Stats

Founded November 2012
Over a petabyte* in financial data under management

The current process financial institutions have for managing their data is slow, costly, and takes a lot of time to set up. FixVault and TickVault provide a system for stock exchanges, brokerage firms, and regulators to manage their large amounts of data.

Use cases

1) Data on exchanges
Users select which exchange they would like access to, along with the date of trades. Chi-X Canada, an ETF exchange, uses TickSmith to provide customers access to historical tick and order book trading information dating back to 2009.

2) News access
Users filter and search the accumulation of 3 years of global news (1.2 billion headlines) and social media posts.

3) Compliance
TickSmith takes in hundreds of millions of trade messages daily. In the compliance section, users generate analytical reports from the data to find transactions from across the globe.

Benefits

TickSmith offers institutions easy access to all of their data, regardless of the amount. This eliminates the need for a manual process to extract specific data, which can take weeks or months.

It also provides the ability to extract meaning and value from the data, no matter how large or small. In seconds, it deciphers trends and computes reports for individual customers.

The services are available on the web interface or via an API, as either cloud-based or a managed offering for hedge funds, exchanges, brokerage firms, and other financial institutions.

To check out the live demo, watch the FinovateFall 2014 video.

*For a better understanding of how large a petabyte is, the Financial Times offers this video.

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BehavioSec Lands $6 Million Led by Northzone and Octopus Investments

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 9, 2014
Categories: BehavioSec, Funding

In the past few years, we’ve witnessed the evolution of security beyond usernames and passwords. Founded in 2009, BehavioSec is one of the forerunners of this trend; making security invisible to the end user.

Today, the Swedish company announced $6.2 million (€5 million) round led by Northzone and Octopus Investments. Existing investors, Conor Venture Partners and Partner Invest Norr, also contributed.

A 2011 installment of $500k and a 2008 round of $1.2 million bring BehavioSec’s total funding to almost $8 million.

BehavioSec plans to use the funds to:

Accelerate international growth
Expand presence in the U.K. and U.S.
Support existing clients
Invest further in existing products

The uptick in recent security hacks has brought about increased approval for the use of biometrics. From Apple’s TouchID to Nymi’s Nymi Band, companies and customers are growing accustomed to using physical assets for authentication. BehavioSec takes a slightly different approach. Instead of authenticating using a person’s physical attributes, it verifies an identity by passively observing how they interact with their device.

This week, BehavioSec welcomes three new board members: Simon Andrews of Octopus, Bjorn Stray of Northzone and Chris Barchak of Conor Venture Partners.

BehavioSec has won awards most recently at FinovateEurope 2014 and FinDEVr. It has won Best of Show at FinovateAsia 2013 and FinovateSpring 2012.

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Finovate Debuts: SAS Games Helps Kids Save for College by Playing Games

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 5, 2014
Categories: Finovate Debuts, SAS Games

The Finovate Debuts series introduces new Finovate alums. Today’s feature is SAS Games, which demonstrated its TiViTz College $avings Game-a-thon at FinovateFall 2014.

SAS Games’ TiViTz College $avings Game-a-thon offers a way for kids to save for college tuition by playing fun, math-based games.

The game-a-thon works similar to a walk-a-thon. Kids ages 6 to 18 solicit pledges from friends and family, whose total contribution is based on the child’s performance. To redeem the pledges and add the money to their college savings account, the child is challenged with TiVitz math games online.

Aside from bolstering funds in existing accounts, the games encourage families without a college savings fund to open one.

Stats:

$5+ million in funding raised
10 employees
10,000 teachers use TiVitz
400,000 children use TiVitz
TiVitz game has won awards from:

Parent’s Choice
Dr. Toy
National Parenting
Creative Child

How it works:

1) Kids set up their TiViTz account online
The registration process requires student and parent information, along with a $10 annual registration fee.

2) Link an existing college savings account or establish a new one
Through SAS Games’ partnership with TrustEgg, parents of children without a savings account can open one in minutes (watch TrustEgg’s debut at FinovateSpring 2013).

3) Request pledges from friends and family
Kids set up their own personalized pledge page and send the link to friends and family. They may also send donation requests via email, text, social media, and printed flyers.

4) Play the game
In the TiVitz game, kids challenge each other or a computer. The difficulty of the game scales for grade levels 1 to 12.

Players customize their avatar and choose among 7 themes, such as Safari or Baseball. Once the game has ended, they tally their score by computing the equations on the board.

5) Collect pledges
When the child finishes the required number of games, TiVitz automatically invoices the friends and family members who pledged. Occasionally, companies and financial institutions match donations to help kids reach their goals faster.

6) Track college savings
The dashboard displays the total amount raised from friends and family, along with matched charity contributions. From the home screen, kids can personalize their pledge page, view the number of pledges requested and received, and more.

The TiVitz online Game-a-thon is held once a year, around the holidays. Kids play 5 to 16 games each, depending on the amount of their pledges. Other activities around the TiVitz game include:

TiVitz Tournaments
Boeing, Lockheed, NASA, National Hockey League, SeaWorld, and Major League Baseball sponsor tournaments where kids win college scholarships

TiVitz Tuesdays
SAS Games is partnered with McDonald’s in Florida which hosts kids every Tuesday to practice for TiVitz tournaments

Benefits

For families and children:

Encourages them to open a new savings account
Helps them save more money for college
Augments math and critical thinking skills

For banks:

Provides access to new clients
Has potential to add new savings accounts for existing customers
Adds more funds to existing savings accounts
Enhances Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) efforts in local communities

SAS Games demonstrated its TiVitz College $avings Game-a-thon at FinovateFall 2014.

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SocietyOne Closes $20 Million Series B Funding Round

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 4, 2014
Categories: Funding, SocietyOne

Australian P2P lending company, SocietyOne, closed a Series B funding round this week. The amount is officially undisclosed, but according to the Australian Financial Review, the round totals $20 million ($25 million AUD). This new installment comes just 10 months after it closed an $8.5 million round.

Contributors to the new round include Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH), News Corp Australia and Australian Capital Equity. Reinventure, the Westpac-funded venture capital manager that took a $5 million equity stake in SocietyOne in February, also helped furnish the round. Reinventure contributed another $5 million to this week’s Series B round.

The funding comes amid the buzz surrounding Lending Club’s IPO. The California-based company is expected to start trading on the NYSE next week at $10 to $12 per share valuing it at more than $4 billion (see our previous coverage here).

Lending Club’s success bodes well for SocietyOne. James Packer, a representative from SocietyOne’s new investors states, “We have seen first-hand the power of technology in reshaping the media industry and I am excited about the potential of technology, led by the team at SocietyOne, to help reshape the financial services industry in Australia.”

SocietyOne’s ClearMatch technology uses risk-based pricing to offer borrowers a rate that is up to 5% lower than bank loans. It debuted ClearMatch at FinovateAsia 2012 where it won Best of Show.

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Finovate Debuts: Loyal3’s Stock Investments Democratizes Access to Stocks and IPOs

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 2, 2014
Categories: LOYAL3

The Finovate Debuts series introduces new Finovate alums. Today’s feature is Loyal3, which demonstrated its mobile IPO investment platform at FinovateFall 2014.

Loyal3’s stock marketplace makes it easy to invest in stocks and IPOs. The simple user interface and lack of fees appeal to novice investors. It can also serve as a great tool for those looking to invest in IPOs at the same time and price as institutional investors.

Stats:

Founded October 2008
130 employees
$75+ million in funding

Stock investing
Users start by browsing the 64 company stocks available on the platform.

Stocks can be purchased in $10 increments. This fractional ownership allows for more diversification at a lower buy-in. If investors are feeling bullish, they have the option to purchase as much as $2,500 of a single stock.

The portfolio below shows a total of $188 divided among eight different stocks, including Apple and Amazon, which have notoriously high share prices.

Aside from the fractional share feature, Loyal3 also has:

Zero fees to buy and sell stock

No minimum account balances

Easy-to-open brokerage account

Automatic monthly investments that prompt recurring stock purchases

One of the ways Loyal3 is able to provide fee-free stock trades is by submitting orders in a batch at the end of the day. Because of the delay, the price quoted at the time the order is placed is not always the final purchase price.

IPO investing
Loyal3 offers access to IPOs at the same price and time as large investors and institutions.

Here’s how it works:

1) Reserve an IPO stock
Users choose the amount of stock they would like to purchase. However, since shares are limited, investors may not receive the full amount.

2) Confirm order
After the price of the IPO is determined, Loyal3 sends SMS and email notifications to investors and gives them two hours to confirm or cancel their order. They can invest as little as $10 and as much as $10,000 per IPO.

Mobile
Loyal3 launched its mobile interface at FinovateFall 2014. It provides on-the-go access to stock trading and instant IPO notifications.

Check out the demo video of the mobile launch here.

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Finovate Debuts: iBillionaire’s Index ETF Exceeds Performance of S&P 500

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on November 26, 2014
Categories: iBillionaire

The Finovate Debuts series introduces new Finovate alums. Today’s feature is iBillionaire, which demonstrated its iBillionaire Index at FinovateFall 2014.

iBillionaire’s free mobile app gives investors insight into how the world’s top-performing billionaires, such as Warren Buffet, Carl Icahn, and George Soros, invest.

The clean user interface makes it easy to gather information on the billionaires’ trades and investments. Additionally, the iBillionaire Index, an exchange-traded fund (ETF), is an option for those looking for an alternative to the S&P 500.

Stats

Index ETF has $35+ million in AUM
Founded April 2013
150,000 mobile users

How it works
iBillionaire identifies the top 10 performing billionaire investors and translates their public SEC trade filings onto a clean user interface, identifying their top performing stocks.

The Index is a compilation of 30 company stocks where billionaire investors have allocated the most assets. When back-tested 5 years, the iBillionaire Index returns were almost double those of the S&P 500 (see right).

Methodology
iBillionaire selects the billionaires to follow based on their:

Net Worth: must be at least $1 billion
Source of Wealth: must be rooted in financial markets or investments industries
Portfolio Size: must be worth at least $1 billion
Portfolio Concentration: must contain at least 10 different positions
Turnover: must have a turnover ratio of less than 50%
Track Record: must have at least a 3-year track record

Mobile features
The user base, which consists of 80% retail investors and 20% financial advisors, accesses the information online and through the mobile app. While the web interface and mobile app have many of the same tools, the app provides on-the-go updates and alerts, such as:

1) News
Browse the billionaires’ assets under management, performance, and trading activity, as well as timely news related to their investments.

1) Portfolio comparison
Users upload their own portfolio, and see how it performs against the high profile investors’ portfolios

2) Price alerts
Optional push notifications inform users of trading activity from their preferred investors

What’s next

iBillionaire has partnered with Direxion Investments, a top ETF sponsor in the U.S., and is looking to partner with financial institutions and brokers to grow internationally.

Additionally, it is redesigning the mobile app and is working on tools to help users build their own investment strategies, as well.

The New York-based company showcased at FinovateFall 2014. Check out the live demo video here.

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Finovate Debuts: PayItSimple’s Financing Tool Gives Customers Extra Time to Pay for Goods, Interest-Free

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on November 24, 2014
Categories: PayItSimple

The Finovate Debuts series introduces new Finovate alums. Today’s feature is PayItSimple, which demonstrated its point of sale financing solution at FinovateFall 2014.

With PayItSimple, customers use their existing credit card to divide an expensive purchase into multiple, smaller payments over time.

PayItSimple automatically bills the charges to the customer’s credit card each month. Unlike most financing products, PayItSimple is interest-free and the customer does not need to wait to receive the product, as with layaway.

The PayItSimple option at checkout shows consumers the maximum number of installments allowed. In the case below, the customer pays $120 per month for 10 months instead of $1,200 up front.

Stats

12 employees
$4.3 million in funding
Founded August 2013

Secret sauce

Merchants do not take on any risk associated with allowing customers to pay over time. The initial authorization from the customer’s credit card company guarantees the full amount.

PayItSimple’s technology automatically processes the customer’s payments over time. It also handles the authorization.

Consumer use
PayItSimple is fast, with no need to apply or fill out paperwork. Users simply choose their payment schedule and then purchase just like a regular credit card transaction (see below).

Benefits for end customers:

Provides the ability to buy expensive items when they may not have cash up front

Makes purchases interest free

Does not come with layaway delays

Can pay by credit card to collect card rewards

Does not require a credit check, making the process as fast as a regular transaction

Merchant use

By listing products with a more digestible price (see below), goods are more appealing and the small installments are affordable for more customers.

Merchant benefits:

Higher conversion rates
No additional risk
Average ticket price increases
Higher customer satisfaction
Full payment received at time of purchase
No need to change payment gateway

Merchants can either embed PayItSimple’s code into their website or use its API for a seamless checkout experience.

The fine print
While the customer pays no fees or interest, there is a small fee to merchants.

Also, not all credit card holders are eligible to use PayItSimple, but the approval rate is over 95%.

PayItSimple is also available for mobile interfaces and for brick-and-mortar stores. Its official U.S. launch was at FinovateFall 2014.

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Finovate Debuts: BlueVine

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on November 21, 2014
Categories: BlueVine

The Finovate Debuts series introduces new Finovate alums. Today’s feature is BlueVine, which demonstrated its credit line for small businesses at FinovateFall 2014.

BlueVine provides small businesses (SMBs), who often have uneven cashflow, with financing to manage operations. By automatically connecting with the SMB’s accounting software, BlueVine furnishes cash for business’ unpaid invoices in as quickly as a day.

Stats

17 employees
$5.5 million in funding
Founded July 2013

Top 3 benefits

1) Fast funding
To minimize manual input, BlueVine connects to the small business’ accounting software to access unpaid invoices.

The screenshot below shows the user dashboard, which lists all invoices available for instant financing, indicated by the Get paid now button on the right.

The first time the SMB requests funds, they indicate where to send the money, which can arrive as quickly as 24 hours. Subsequent funding requests take only minutes.

2) Simple and transparent
BlueVine’s payment calculator is an example of its simplicity. It requires only two inputs, the amount of the invoice and the due date.

It also shows the advance payment, which equals 85% of the invoice, and is the maximum amount they can receive upfront, alongside the rebate, the amount the SMB receives once the invoice is paid.

BlueVine has no set up or subscription dues, and is transparent about its fees. The Funded section of the dashboard details the cash advance, repayment history, and total fees.

3) 100% online; no paperwork
The BlueVine application process requires two forms, one for business details (see below) and another with personal information.

SMBs upload additional information, such as bank statements, online.

BlueVine demonstrated at FinovateFall 2014, check out the video here.

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Alumni News– November 21, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on November 21, 2014
Categories: Actiance, Bazaarvoice, Bionym, Blockchain, CAN Capital, Fiserv, FreeAgent, Intuit, Kashoo, Oink, PayStand, Thinknum, Tuition.io, Virtual Piggy, VoiceTrust, Xero, Yodlee

Umbrella.co.uk migrates client base of 1,000+ freelancers and contractors to the FreeAgent platform.

Uber helping drivers manage and pay back their student loans by partnering with Tuition.io.

Actiance recognized in Gartner 2014 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Information Archiving.

Bloomberg: CAN Capital to weigh IPO with up to $2 billion value.

Intuit’s Quickbooks and Xero coming to Square App Marketplace.

PayStand sets flat fees for e-check payment option.

Virtual Piggy, provider of Oink, launches the Oink Discover prepaid card for teens.

Fiserv links its Popmoney P2P payment solution to charitable giving.

Yodlee wins top honors at Citi Mobile Challenge Latam 2014.

Bazaarvoice announces plans to relocated to new corporate HQ in North Austin.

Kashoo announces enhancements to its web app, including more P&L options and increased security.

VoiceTrust launches strategic partnership with German biometric cloud security company, BioID AG.

Blockchain launches PHP API library.

The Washington Post features Bionym’s Nymiband.

Accenture mentions Thinknum as an innovation that is helping to change the banking industry.

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 Blog

Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Crealogix and Meniga Create Digital Bank and PFM Solution for BNP’s Consors Bank

Finovate Debuts: EyeLock’s Myris Device Authenticates Using Iris Identification

After Manilla’s Demise, Mint Launches Bill Pay and Bill Management Platform

Finovate Debuts: TickSmith’s TickVault and FixVault Help FIs Put Their Big Data to Use

BehavioSec Lands $6 Million Led by Northzone and Octopus Investments

Finovate Debuts: SAS Games Helps Kids Save for College by Playing Games

SocietyOne Closes $20 Million Series B Funding Round

Finovate Debuts: Loyal3’s Stock Investments Democratizes Access to Stocks and IPOs

Finovate Debuts: iBillionaire’s Index ETF Exceeds Performance of S&P 500

Finovate Debuts: PayItSimple’s Financing Tool Gives Customers Extra Time to Pay for Goods, Interest-Free

Finovate Debuts: BlueVine

Alumni News– November 21, 2014