Finovate Alumni News– October 2, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBillhighway 3-peats with “Metropolitan Detroit Best and Brightest Company to Work For” 2013 win.
  • BehavioSec awarded DARPA Phase 2 contract.
  • Spend Matters interviews Tradeshift CEO, Christian Lanng.
  • ACI Worldwide embraces Experian Decision Analytics decisioning solution.
  • FIS announces partnership with Australian debit card system eftpos to build payments hub.
  • Quantopian raises $6.7 million in Series A round.
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.

Finovate Alumni News– October 1, 2013

  • Personal Capital to open Denver office.
  • Purchasing Insight reports: Taulia to bolster their presence in Europe.
  • Cardlytics announces new brand identity, including new logo and redesigned website.
  • CurrencyFair wins “Most Insightful & Intriguing Internet Innovation” at IIA Net Visionary Awards.
  • Leaf raises $20 million from Heartland Payment Systems.
  • Bright Funds announces support for PayPal.
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.

Finovate Alumni News– September 30, 2013

  • Taulia announces its Supplier Assurance Initiative, designed to provide services to customers and suppliers within Xign’s buyer network.
  • Upstart Business Journal features peerTransfer.
  • Azimo announces $1 million seed round for European expansion.
  • ACI Worldwide launches ACI Bill Presentment Services to ease adoption of electronic billing and invoicing.
  • Bank Innovation takes a look at Manila’s AOL Bill Manager.
  • eDeposit announces that it is now a fully licensed money transmitter in all 50 states.
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.

BankersLab and FICO Launch New App in Brazil: Missao Positivo

Thumbnail image for BankersLabLogo.jpg

BankersLab, the company that gamifies financial learning, unveiled a new app in Brazil in conjunction with FICO today called Missao Positivo (Portuguese for “Mission Positive”).

The goal of the app is to:

    • help players take charge of their financial life
    • create a better understanding of their financial obligations
    • understand how payment behavior affects their credit options

FICO brings 57 years of experience in understanding how a consumer’s behavior impacts their credit risk. The new app helps it bring that knowledge to consumers with insights into how to improve their financial standing.

BankersLab last demoed at FinovateAsia 2012 where it launched ScoringLab. If you’re interested in seeing the lineup of companies for FinovateAsia this year, check it out here.

Finovate Alumni News– September 27, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpg

      Real estate tech firm Tribus is integrating Planwise’s PFM to help homebuyers evaluate the affordability of listings.

    • MyBankTracker lists Check, Manilla, and Personal Capital as 3 finance apps just as good as Mint.
    • MoneyDesktop marketing video wins 2013 Telly Award.
    • PC World features 11 FinovateFall demo companies. 
    • Singapore-based MyHero earns $10M from Kleiner Perkins and others to enhance TradeHero app.
    • What’s the Next Big Thing in financial services? Ideas from FinovateFall and beyond.
    • American Banker: The cutting edge of online banking, as practiced by a Polish bank (mBank).
    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.

    What’s the Next Big Thing in Financial Services? Ideas from FinovateFall and Beyond

    Finovate conferences are all about innovation and “what’s next” in financial services. At the recent FinovateFall conference miiCard Founder and CEO, James Varga, compiled thoughts and ideas of people from all places in the industry

    The following clip is the first installment of his two-part series, detailing current trends in the fintech industry. In it, participants are asked, “What’s the next big thing in financial services?”

     

    Here is just a taste of the responses:
    • “Large-value transactions online, such as real estate transactions”
    • “Personalized financial services including social payments and social authentication”
    • “Mobile as primary interface with the customer”
    • “Shifting of lending risk away from banks and to more flexible, non-bank lenders”
    • “Giving customers a fantastic experience and capitalizing on it by making revenues from those customers”

    Watch the video for more from the presenters, sponsors, attendees of FinovateFall.

    The second piece in the series, Predictions for 2020 and Beyond will come next week so stay tuned.

    The Rumors Are True: eBay’s PayPal Acquires Braintree for $800 Million in Cash

    PayPalLogo.jpg

    After weeks of rumors, there’s no doubt you’ve heard of PayPal’s plan to acquire payments gateway, Braintree. This week, it pulled the trigger and dished out $800 million in cash for Chicago-based Braintree.

    According to PayPal CEO, David Marcus, this acquisition will help Braintree grow much faster than a normal, startup pace. In his blog post announcing the deal, Marcus states:

    BraintreeLogo2.jpg

    “Our resources will enable them to push the boundaries of innovation with ambition and confidence for consumers, merchants and developers around the world.”

    Braintree’s payment gateway, which launched in 2007, can handle 130 different currencies in more than 40 countries. It will continue operating as it normally does, servicing companies such as AirBnB, OpenTable, and Uber.

    Braintree last demoed at FinovateSpring earlier this year where it showed off its recently acquired Venmo touch technology.

    Asia-Based Finovate Alumni Score More Than $200 Million in Financing

    As we prepare to bring FinovateAsia to Singapore November 14, we researched the funding of six Asia-based companies who demoed at FinovateAsia last year. Combined, these companies raised more than $215 million from a variety of investors:

    BankBazaar, a credit processing platform that allows banks to offer consumers 7-minute credit eApproval on retail credit products.

    CustomerXPs creates technology that proactively senses cross-sell, attrition, customer engagement and fraud in real-time.
    DemystData enables real-time analysis of big data from consumers and SMBs, allowing for improved interactions as a result of richer, more relevant information. 
      • Venture Round: undisclosed amount from VentureLab
      • Series A: undisclosed amount from Accion and Arbor Ventures
      • FinovateAsia 2012 demo
    Heckyl provides real-time financial information, news analytics, trend matrix, and heat maps for coverage of markets, companies, and businesses. 
    TradeHero, a virtual trading community where the system models trades and ranks trader performance by proven returns on investment.
    Wipro, an information technology, consulting, and outsourcing company that delivers solutions to enable its clients to do business better.
      • Total of $205 million from cMango, Gallagher Financial Systems, Science Applications International Corp., and Promax Application Group
      • FinovateAsia 2012 demo

    The funding for these companies comes from a diverse set of investors, many of whom are based in Asia. Janus recently published a piece outlining venture funding options available to Singapore companies. For the most part, Singapore’s equity financing scene is quite similar to the U.S., but there are a few significant differences:

      • The VC scene in Singapore is small compared to the U.S. and Europe
      • Singapore’s government actively pursues VC firms to invest in Singapore startups and entices them with tax and other monetary benefits
      • There are more than 100 VC firms in the city today
      • Many VC firms in Singapore focus on late-stage expansion financing, but some offer financing for early-stage startups
      • Types of VC firms in Singapore range from independent limited partnership to corporate-backed firms
      • Singapore VCs are attracted to services, manufacturing and the high-tech industry

    At this year’s FinovateAsia, while not all demoing companies are looking for funding, each will show up to the MAX Atria @ Singapore Expo stage with their newest technology. Want to learn more? Check out FinovateAsia homepage or get your ticket here to be a part of the event.

    Prosper Brings in $25 Million, Adds Blackrock as Investor

    Long-time P2P lending player Prosper announced yesterday that it raised $25 million in private equity funding.

    Existing investor Sequoia Capital and newcomer Blackrock Ventures both participated in the round.

    The new installment, combined with the $20 million in private equity it received in January from Sequoia Capital, and its previous venture rounds of $75 million, bring the San Francisco-based company’s total funding to $120 million.

    Since launching in 2006, the P2P lender has acquired almost 2 million members and has funded $630 million in personal loans. It is growing at 100% year-over-year in revenue and new loans.

    Prosper demonstrated at the first Finovate, held in 2007 in New York.

    Finovate Alumni News– September 25, 2013

    • Intuit integrates QuickBooks with Square’s POS products via an API deal.
    • Xpenditure selects miiCard certified digital bank statements for expanded and automated expense report verification.
    • SafetyPay and Paymentez partner to offer Latin American gamers a secure and seamless payment option.
    • TechCrunch reports: SumUp cuts 2.75% per transaction fee across Europe.
    • PYMNTS.com talks small business lending with MasterCard and the Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL).
    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.

    KlickEx Takes Home Top Startup Prize at Swift’s Innotribe Challenge

    KlickExLogo.jpg

    At Swift’s Innotribe last week, a group of startups pitched their latest fintech innovations to a group of banks, VCs, and tech gurus. The 14 companies, who were selected from a pool of 200 applicants, were given 6 minutes each to pitch the audience.

    Realty Mogul, P2P Cash, and recently-acquired Good April were among the companies vying for the audience’s attention and a $50,000 cash prize.

    KlickEx, who will demo at FinovateAsia in November, was selected as the top startup winner. The New Zealand-based company won the top prize for its regulated clearing house for banks and retailers.

    Homepage.jpg

    To see KlickEx demo live in Singapore, grab your ticket to FinovateAsia here.

    Finovate Alumni News– September 20, 2013

    • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgWashington-based Connection CU now providing MoneyDesktop PFM services to members.
    • TA Associates completes majority investment in Arxan Technologies. Terms not disclosed 
    • DoughMain’s new logo wins an American graphic design award.
    • NPR’s Marketplace takes a look at Manilla and the rise of automatic bill pay.
    • Wall Street Journal column on innovation in banking features Finovate alumni mBank and Ignite Sales.
    • PaySecure International from Acculynk helps solve authentication problems for merchants accepting non-US cards.
    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.