Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Correction: CoverHound Brings in $5.5 Million

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CoverHound

CoverHoundLogo.jpg

Earlier this month, we incorrectly reported that CoverHound raised $8.1 million, citing the San Francisco Business Times. Below is the corrected report.

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Insurance comparison tool, CoverHound recently raised $4.5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by RRE Ventures of New York. Bullpen Capital and existing investor Blumberg Capital also participated.

This funding, combined with the $750,000 in seed money raised from Blumberg Capital in 2011, brings the San Francisco-based startup’s total funding to $5.25 million.

With this release, CoverHound also disclosed that it is now manages $1 million worth of premiums.

To learn more about CoverHound, watch its FinovateSpring 2012 demo.

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Finovate Alumni News– February 7, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Affinity Solutions, Fuze Network, InComm, Kabbage, Lending Club, Moven, Movenbank, ReadyForZero, Thomson Reuters, True Office
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgMarket Watch’s Jennifer Openshaw reviews the ReadyForZero user experience.
  • Movenbank drops the “bank”, changes name to Moven. Come see the launch of its new features at FinovateEurope February 12 and 13 in London.
  • Kabbage appoints Simon Yoo, former co-head and managing director of Citigroup’s FI Group, as CFO. Come see Kabbage’s live demo at FinovateEurope.
  • Lending Club opens low-interest, fixed-rate personal loan platform to Tennessee residents.
  • Fuze Network guarantees no late fees for credit card payments made before noon CST on due date.
  • True Office partners with Thomson Reuters to develop new, ramified compliance applications.
  • Affinity Solutions raises more than $6 million in equity and convertible securities.
  • InComm wins in 4 categories in seventh annual
    Paybefore 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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Finovate Alumni News– February 6, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Acculynk, Cortera, Experian, Ignite Sales, SocietyOne, SumUp, ValidSoft
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgLend Acadamey reports: SocietyOne May Be the Most Innovative P2P Lender on the Planet.
  • American Banker reports: Experian providing prepaid card service provider Cardplatforms with its global authentication services.
  • ValidSoft’s Secure Mobile Architecture for Real-time Transactions selected to be an integral element in Spindle’s payment acceptance service.
  • Cortera’s Pulse is winner of the 2013 SIIA CODiE Award for Best Business Information Solution.
  • SumUp partners with blue solution software to integrate API into Top Reparatur.  See them demo at FinovateEurope next week.
  • Acculynk‘s PayLeap reaches strategic agreement with Spindle to integrate platforms.
  • IgniteSales reports 100% revenue growth for 2012.
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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Navigating FinovateEurope 2013: Now There’s an App for That

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2013

FEU13iPhone4App.jpg

In order to help you take full advantage of our biggest FinovateEurope show yet, we’ve launched a mobile app available for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

Attendees and followers of FinovateEurope 2013 can download the free app, which features:

    • Full event agenda
    • Short descriptions of presenting companies
    • Ability to manage your Finovate schedule with calendar integration

On February 12, the first day of the event, the app will update to unveil full demo information for all 64 presenting companies and allow users to:

    • Contact presenters with email integration
    • Search within the app
    • Take notes and save them with each company’s profile
    • Quickly register for the upcoming conferences, find Finovate alumni, follow Finovate tweets, and more 

It’s available for download in the Apple App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices. To download, use the QR codes or links below.

Apple App Store

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AndroidQRCode2.jpg

If you still haven’t registered for FinovateEurope, there’s still time. Get your ticket here.

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Finovate Alumni News– February 5, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BillGuard, Billhighway, BrightScope, Cachet Financial Solutions, CashStar, Continuity Control, edo Interactive, Expensify, Figlo, Lendio, SafetyPay, SigFig, Simple, TSYS, Xero
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgCachet Financial Solutions integrates with CU Mobile Apps, a provider of mobile banking solutions.
  • Finextra reports SafetyPay opens up to German-speaking markets.
  • Lendio reports 2012 growth metrics.
  • Expensify listed as 1 of 4 apps to helps save and manage your money.
  • TechFaster interviews BillGuard CMO Mary Anne Keegan.
  • Business Insider interviews Josh Reich, Simple founder and CEO.
  • Xero makes Bank Reconciliation available to Android users.
  • edo Interactive’s new Marketplace platform targets small, local businesses.
  • Check out Finovate’s infographic of FinovateEurope 2013 innovation themes.
  • Billhighway named as finalist in the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.
  • SigFig-powered USA Today Money Portfolio Tracker launches
    in app store.
  • CashStar reports record holiday season; 800% increase in mobile eGift Card purchases.
  • Continuity Control partners with Community BancService Corporation.
  • TSYS technology at work in Visa’s Saral Money program in India.
  • Rabobank launches Figlo-powered widgets for online banking homepage.
  • BrightScope ranks top 25 law firms with highest-rated 401(k) plans.
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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Infographic: FinovateEurope 2013 Innovation Themes

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2013

At FinovateEurope next week, 64 companies will gather in Old Billingsgate Hall in London to show off their newest fintech innovations to an audience of bankers, VC’s, press, and fellow members of startup communities across the globe. 

To give you a better idea of what each company will demo on stage, here’s a word cloud of the main topics. As you can see, there’s a large variety, but it’s no surprise that mobile and payments are well represented.

FEU2013ThemesCloudforPost.jpg

As we inch closer to what’s shaping up to be Finovate’s largest international show so far, we thought you’d be interested in the geographic and topical distribution of the demoing companies. 

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While two-thirds of the companies are headquartered in Europe (click on the map to enlarge), there are also 21 companies from other continents. Here are the HQ locations:

  • Europe (43)
  • U.S. (14) 
  • Chile (2) 
  • Australia (1)
  • Canada (1)
  • India (1)
  • Israel (1)
  • South Africa (1)

Interested in seeing these companies demo live? There’s still time to get your ticket to FinovateEurope 2013.

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Three Finovate Alums Selected for Accenture’s FinTech Innovation Lab in London

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BehavioSec, Kiboo, Open Bank Project

Fintech-Logo-Horizontal.jpg

FinTech Innovation Lab London, a collaboration between Accenture and London-based FIs, recently selected companies to take part in its inaugural fintech mentoring course. Of the seven* fintech entrepreneurs selected, three are Finovate alums.

Industry executives selected the startups from a large pool of applicants. Finovate alums include:

The 12-week course is modelled after FinTech Innovation Lab in New York, which we covered late last year. The inaugural course in London will take place at Level39, where the startups will attend a series of panel discussions, workshops, leadership coaching and networking opportunities from mentoring financial institutions.

Some of the supporting institutions include:

    • Barclays
    • Credit Suisse
    • Deutsche Bank 
    • HSBC
    • Lloyds Banking Group 
    • UK national payments infrastructure provider
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The other five fintech companies include Calltrunk, Digital Shadows, Growth Intelligence, and Waratek.

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edo Interactive’s New Marketplace Platform Targets Small, Local Businesses

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: edo Interactive

edointeractive.jpg

Last week card-linked rewards startup, edo Interactive launched the edo Marketplace, a service that enables small, local businesses to take advantage of its rewards program.

Prior to this move, edo’s platform was tailored to larger merchants. Big-name companies such as Crate & Barrel, Home Depot, Nordstrom, Subway, and Target are a part of the 200 companies that already use the edo platform to find new customers and encourage repeat customers.

Edo counts over 150 financial institutions as partners, including Fifth Third and Ally Bank.

As a part of its coverage, TechCrunch reported some of edo’s growth metrics:

“Edo says its active card network is currently growing at 30 percent per month, and that within the next three months, it will extend 1 billion card-linked offers to consumers. Painting a picture of acceleration, the company says it took edo 4 years to reach that same level, previously.”

EdoLocal.jpg

To learn more about edo, watch its FinovateSpring 2012 demo.

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Finovate Alumni News– February 1, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, BankersLab, Bazaarvoice, CurrencyFair, eDeposit, Locaid, PayTap, Ping Identity, Taulia
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgDallas Business Journal reports PayTap helps split bills among friends, family.
  • Taulia to provide e-invoicing and supplier self-services to real estate market.
  • Ping Identity announces annual bookings grew more than 50% for the third consecutive year, cites other growth metrics.
  • Locaid to provide geofencing, location authentication for GTECH.
  • Nationwide shares pointers on how to use eDeposit.
  • ACI Worldwide announces winners of its 2013 Excellence Award.
  • Bazaarvoice to help UK furniture retailer Harveys execute social media strategy.
  • CurrencyFair wins “Start up of the Year” in The Next Web’s Irish Startup Awards competition.  See them demo at FinovateEurope in London!
  • In this Forbes piece, BankersLab CEO and Co-Founder Michelle Katics gives a crash course on what it’s like to take a startup global.
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– January 31, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Backbase, BehavioSec, Boku, Braintree, FIS, Flint Mobile, mFoundry, Mitek, Online Resources, Xero
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgTechCrunch reports Braintree’s New Payments Layer Lets Users Sign Up For Apps Without Re-Entering Their Credit Card Data.
  • Mitek and Allied Payment Network Expand Availability of Mobile Photo Bill Pay.
  • Backbase and iQStore sign partnership agreement for Russian market.
  • Xero integrates with Harvest, a time tracking and invoicing software company.
  • CNBC’s Squawk on the Street features BOKU.
  • HID Global partners with BehavioSec to improve fraud detection system.
  • FIS acquires mFoundry for $120 million.
  • Facebook integration, customer management features added to Flint mobile app.
  • ACI Worldwide to buy Online Resources for more than $120 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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SocietyOne Reaches $1 Million in Loan Originations on ClearMatch Lending Platform

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Lending Club, SocietyOne

Thumbnail image for SocietyOneLogo.jpg

SocietyOne, a FinovateAsia Best of Show winner, announced last week that it has reached $1 million in loan originations on its P2P lending platform, ClearMatch.

The Australia-based startup launched the ClearMatch platform, which allows investors to bid together at different interest rates and amounts against a single loan, six months ago in August of 2012.

In the six months since its launch:

    • Has originated over $1.1 million in loans
    • Borrowers faced an average interest rate of 14.4%
    • Investors earned average interest rate of 11.3% per annum
    • Investors have received $15,600 in interest payments

The following graph charts the growth of the loan amount originated since its inception.

SOGrowthChart.jpg

For comparison, SocietyOne charted the growth of LendingClub’s originations over time.

SOLendingClubGrowth.jpg

Matt Symons, SocietyOne CEO, states that he plans to replicate the success of Lending Club in Australia.

To check out SocietyOne’s award-winning platform, watch its FinovateAsia 2012 demo.

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Finovate Alumni News– January 28, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BankersLab, Braintree, Dwolla, eToro, Jingit, Locaid, Q2ebanking, TradeKing
  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgSaveUp begins Stamp Card rewards program. Collect 10 stamps and redeem card for reward.
  • Chargebee blog features Braintree as a payment gateway integration optionin the U.K.
  • Firmology reports on new Dwolla features: Send Money to Non-Dwolla Users and Split Payments for Multiple Facilitators.
  • eToro launches YouTube channel for free trading lessons.
  • The M Report features BankersLab’s Banc-it: Scoring Edition app.
  • Dexter Credit Union implements Q2ebanking’s full suite of eBanking solutions.
  • Locaid partners with CAMS to provide solutions for mobile gaming industry.
  • Jingit chooses Direct Source as its preferred systems integration partner.
  • Compare Broker reviews the latest developments in the Zecco/TradeKing merger.
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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