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Proptech Firm Casavo Raises $408 Million

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on July 20, 2022
Categories: Daily news, Funding

Casavo has raised $408 million in a debt and equity financing round. The round is comprised of $306 million in debt and $102 million in equity, and brings Casavo's total funding to $798 million. The company will use the funds to grow its existing operations, while expanding into France.

Casavo, a France-based fintech that seeks to make it easier for users to buy and sell their homes, has raised $408 million in combined debt and equity. The round is comprised of $306 million in debt, along with $102 million in Series D equity financing, and brings Casavo's total funding to $798 million.

The equity round was led by Exor NV, along with contributions from existing investors Greenoaks, Project A Ventures, 360 Capital, P101 SGR, Picus Capital, and Bonsai Partners; as well as new investors Neva SGR, Endeavor Catalyst, Hambro Perks, Fuse Venture Partners, and others. Casavo reports that the funds…

People Driven Credit Union Partners with Larky to Deliver Customized Push Notifications to Members

By David Penn Posted on July 20, 2022
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Larky

Customer engagement and communications innovator Larky is partnering with People Driven Credit Union (PDCU). The partnership will enable the Michigan-area credit union to deploy Larky's nudge platform to send predictive communications and customized push notifications to its members. A Finovate alum since 2014, Larky also recently teamed up with Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, which will also deploy the company's nudge solution.

People Driven Credit Union (PDCU), a full-service financial institution based in Southfield, Michigan, has teamed up with customer engagement specialist Larky. The credit union will leverage Larky's nudge solution to send predictive communications to its target audiences. The partnership also will enable PDCU to deploy customizable push notification campaigns to market branch projects and initiatives without requiring additional staff, time, or cost.

Once integrated into a financial institution's mobile banking app, Larky's nudge provides lock-screen alerts and/or location-based notifications to guide account holders toward relevant and…

MoEngage Leverages Personalization to Solve the Engagement Challenge for Brands

By David Penn Posted on July 19, 2022
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Funding, MoEngage

Insights-led customer engagement platform MoEngage made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2019 in New York. Three years later, the company returned to the Finovate stage for FinovateEurope 2022 in London. At this year's conference, MoEngage demonstrated its full-stack solution featuring customer analytics, automated cross-channel engagement, and AI-driven personalization.

"71% of banking customers expect to receive personalized digital offers yet banks fail to do so because they have data silos," MoEngage Senior Director Saket Toshniwal said during his demo at FinovateEurope in March. "We are here to solve that (problem), leveraging MoEngage."

Founded in 2014, MoEngage enables hyper-personalization at scale across multiple channels including mobile, email, SMS, web, on-site and in-app messaging, and more. The MoEngage platform leverages AI-powered automation and optimization to enable brands to analyze behavior and serve consumers with personalized communications at every stage of engagement.

"Using MoEngage technology to create effective campaigns based on customers insight will…

Mastercard Forges Multi-Year Strategic Alliance with Quantum Computing Company D-Wave Systems

By David Penn Posted on July 19, 2022
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, MasterCard

Mastercard announced a multi-year strategic alliance with quantum computing leader D-Wave. The partnership will explore applications for quantum computing technology in financial services. D-Wave builds both annealing and gate-model quantum computers, the only firm in the world to do so.

Will quantum computing take the place of crypto in terms of the fintech zeitgeist?

Mastercard announced this week that it has forged a multi-year strategic alliance with D-Wave Systems, a leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services. The goal of the collaboration will be to accelerate the adoption of quantum-based computing solutions.

Specifically the partnership will seek to develop "quantum-hybrid" solutions to solve problems in consumer loyalty and rewards, cross-border settlement, and fraud management. The two companies will use D-Wave's annealing quantum computers and quantum hybrid solvers through the Leap quantum cloud service to deliver real-time access to quantum applications powered by Mastercard's network.

"People expect hyper-personalized experiences,"…

The Conversation Continues: Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast Featuring Upstart, Alliant CU, and More!

By David Penn Posted on July 18, 2022
Categories: Podcasting

Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast have spent much of the first half of 2022 featuring Best of Show winners from FinovateEurope and FinovateSpring. Be sure to check out our podcast columns from the spring and summer for any Best of Show interviews you haven't seen yet.

You also may not have caught some of the Finovate Podcast's non-Best of Show coverage. Whether it's talking with venture capitalists on the next big thing in fintech or checking in on credit unions that are partnering with innovative fintech startups, the Finovate Podcast remains one of the best ways to keep current with what counts in the ever-changing world of fintech innovation.

To this end, here's a look at some of the recent Finovate podcasts you might have missed.

Find the Finovate podcast at Soundcloud and follow Greg Palmer on Twitter for the latest in programming news and updates.

Jeff Keltner, SVP…

Fundrise Launches $1 Billion Growth Equity Fund

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on July 18, 2022
Categories: Daily news

Fundrise is launching a $1 billion growth equity fund called the Fundrise Innovation Fund. The new VC-like fund will facilitate crowdsourced investments in private technology companies. The move is Fundrise's first significant expansion outside of private real estate.

Alternative investment firm Fundrise was originally founded to give retail investors access to invest in private real estate. Today, the Washington, D.C.-based company is expanding its horizons, adding access to another area of investing with limited access for everyday investors-- venture capital (VC).

The company is launching the Fundrise Innovation Fund, a $1 billion growth equity fund aimed to democratize access to investments in top private technology companies. The move is Fundrise's first significant expansion outside of private real estate.

"The proprietary systems and technology infrastructure we created to tap into private real estate are now capable of disrupting ownership of other asset classes previously inaccessible to individuals," Fundrise said…

Wealthtech Orion Advisor Solutions Acquires TownSquare Capital, Redtail Technology

By David Penn Posted on July 18, 2022
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions, Orion

Wealth management solutions provider Orion Advisor Solutions has closed two acquisitions in recent weeks. The Omaha, Nebraska-based fintech closed its acquisition of CRM company Redtail Technology in June, and finished its acquisition of investment and trading platform TownSquare Capital in July. Terms were not disclosed about either transaction. Orion Advisor Solutions made its Finovate debut in 2019 at FinovateFall, demonstrating its trading and rebalancing platform, Eclipse.

Wealthtech innovator Orion Advisor Solutions has recently closed a pair of acquisitions. Both deals are designed to help Orion expand its wealth management business and give financial advisors a "single-source solution to prospect, plan, invest, and achieve," said Orion founder and CEO Eric Clarke.

At the beginning of the month, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company announced that it has completed its acquisition of investment and trading platform TownSquare Capital (TownSquare). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the acquisition will add $6 billion…

Singapore’s TurnKey Lender Raises $10 Million in New Equity and Debt Funding

By David Penn Posted on July 15, 2022
Categories: Finovate Global, Funding, Turnkey Lender

Lending automation platform and decision management solution and services provider TurnKey Lender has secured $10 million in new funding. The amount raised represents a blend of both equity financing and debt. Led by OTB Ventures, the round featured participation from German development finance institution DEG and Vertex Ventures.

TurnKey Lender will use the additional capital to help expand its operations across North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. This will help the company take advantage of the growing embrace of embedded finance, especially embedded lending.

"We are pleased to have raised our latest level of funding and to continue partnering with great investors," TurnKey Lender CEO and co-founder Dmitry Voronenko said. "This will turbocharge the next stage of growth. We believe that embedded lending will soon be part of any customer relationship globally."

In addition to its fundraising news, TurnKey Lender announced that it had appointed a new chair for…

Digital Banking Solutions Provider Apiture Secures $29 Million Investment

By David Penn Posted on July 14, 2022
Categories: Daily news, Funding

Apiture announced an investment of $29 million to help the company meet demand for its digital banking platform. The round was led by Live Oak Bank. The platform, unveiled earlier this year, combined Apiture's Xpress and Open products into a single, API-based solution. Apiture's total funding now stands at $69 million.

Digital banking solutions provider Apiture has raised $29 million in new funding in a round led by Live Oak Bank. The company will use the capital to boost sales and marketing, accelerate product development plans, and help meet demand for its flagship solution, the Apiture Digital Banking Platform.

"Our platform is built by bankers, for bankers, which uniquely positions Apiture to deliver best-in-class solutions that help financial institutions of all sizes level the playing field with national brands," Apiture CEO Chris Babcock said. He added that much of the capital raised in this latest round has "come…

NCR’s Evolution and What’s Next

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on July 14, 2022
Categories: Interview, NCR Corporation, Speaker series

The world of banking is ever-evolving, and NCR has been part of this evolution since it was founded in 1881.

To get some insight from a firm that has had a front-row seat to industry changes-- and to get a glimpse of what's next-- we spoke with NCR Chief Product Officer Erica Pilon. She has spent more than 20 years in the fintech industry, having also spent time at FIS managing three unique digital banking platforms.

What products and technology are resonating with NCR’s 600+ institution clients?

Erica Pilon: Our clients are really responding to data enhancements, crypto, and self-service support. Consumers today expect all interactions to be hyper-personalized, which is impossible without real-time, reliable data. At NCR we are helping financial institutions personalize banking experiences for customers at scale through enriched data and analytics. For example, we recently announced that Allegacy Federal Credit Union has partnered with us and…

Klarna Integrates with Blackhawk Network Bringing Buy Now, Pay Later to Grocery Stores and Beauty Salons

By David Penn Posted on July 13, 2022
Categories: Alumni News, Blackhawk Network, Daily news, Klarna

Blackhawk Network and Klarna have teamed up to bring Klarna's alternative payment solutions to customers shopping with physical merchants. The partnership comes as consumers show greater interest in using Buy Now, Pay Later payment options at retailers such as grocery stores, as well as for services. Among Finovate's earliest alums, both companies made their Finovate debuts in 2012: Klarna at FinovateSpring, Blackhawk Network at FinovateFall.

Branded payments provider Blackhawk Network and ecommerce innovator Klarna have forged a new partnership that will make it easier for consumers to use Klarna's interest-free alternative payment offerings with brick-and-mortar merchants. Specifically, consumers will be able to use payment alternatives including Buy Now, Pay Later at physical retailers in Blackhawk's U.S. network ranging from grocery stores to electronics shops to beauty salons.

"During a time of strained budgets and increasing costs, our partnership with Klarna is a significant development for retailers and grocers who are…