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Virtual Card Platform Extend Raises $11 Million

By David Penn Posted on April 12, 2019
Categories: Extend, Funding

Virtual credit card issuance platform Extend has secured $11 million in Series A funding ahead of the company’s Finovate debut next month in San Francisco. The round, led by Point72 Ventures and FinTech Collective, featured participation from Reciprocal Ventures and strategic partner City National Bank.

The funding takes Extend’s total capital to $14 million. The company said in a statement that the financing will enable it to launch new features for both its app and API, pursue partnerships, and add talent to its engineering, marketing, and operations teams.

“Extend allows banks to keep up with the fast pace of the evolving payment landscape,” company CEO Andrew Jamison said. “Our cutting-edge capabilities sit seamlessly on top of existing bank card platforms, eliminating traditional technical hurdles to deployment.”

Extend offers two primary solutions: an app for businesses that enable them to provide their workers with a secure payment option in the form of a virtual card, and a set of APIs that incumbents and startups can use to better leverage virtual credit cards. The company’s virtual card payment option is a boon for businesses engaged in microservices or the gig economy. And Extend’s partnerships with card issuers – the company has integrated with both Mastercard and Visa – empowers those firms to provide a variety of advanced virtual card capabilities to their customers.

“We lead the way for future financial innovation by serving as the layer between fintech startups and financial institutions,” Jamison said. “(This enables) them to better integrate their services for the mutual benefit of their customers.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in New York City, Extend will demonstrate its platform next month in San Francisco at FinovateSpring. To see the company demo its technology live, visit our FinovateSpring registration page and pick up your ticket today.

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African Unicorn Jumia Opens on NYSE; UAE’s Finablr Eyes $200M IPO

By David Penn Posted on April 12, 2019
Categories: Finovate Global, Fiserv, microblink, Turnkey Lender

Finovate Global is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Middle East and Northern Africa

UAE-based payments company Finablr prepares for a $200 million IPO.
Emirates NBD launches its WhatsApp Business Solution.
Awok.com, a mass market ecommerce platform based in the UAE, raised $30 million in Series A funding.

Central and South Asia

Indian fintech BharatPe secures $15.5 million in Series A round to help provide UPI QR codes to merchants.
TechCrunch: PayU’s $70 million acquisition of Wibmo signals the company’s interest in the Indian market.
Entrepreneur India takes a look at what investors like about Indian fintech.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Brazilian SME lender Weel raises $30 million courtesy of investment from Franklin Templeton.
Mexico’s Banco BASE partners with Volante Technologies for end-to-end payment processing solutions.
PaymentsJournal reviews the surge in the number of new unicorns among Latin American fintech startups.

Asia-Pacific

TurnKey Lender receives accreditation from the Singapore government’s IMDA, a certification that enables companies to expand into international markets easier.
WeLab, a Hong Kong based mobile lender, earns virtual banking license.
Fintech Singapore features its list of the top 10 fintech firms in Thailand for 2019.

Sub-Saharan Africa

The ecommerce marketplace known as the “African Amazon,” Jumia, begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Top African finance app Branch lands $170 million in financing led by Foundation Capital and Visa.
Nigeria-based bank agent network Kudi raises $5 million in Series A.

Central and Eastern Europe

Microblink introduces new document scanning app, BlinkCard.
Estonia to bid for developing national ID system, PhilSys, in the Philippines.
Fiserv helps Hellenic Bank streamline payments.

Top image designed by Freepik

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PayTech Awards 2019: Celebrating Innovative Projects and Inspirational People

By Charlie Burgess Posted on April 12, 2019
Categories: Uncategorized

PayTech Awards, brought to you by FinTech Futures, are exciting awards in their second year that recognize excellence and innovation in the use of IT in the finance and payment industry worldwide, and the people who make it happen.

The 2019 Awards are now open for entries in the following categories:

Judged awards

Best Consumer Payments Initiative
Best Corporate Payments Initiative
Best Mobile Payments Initiative
Best Use of Biometrics in Payments
Best Prepaid Initiative
Best Cards Initiative
Top Paytech Innovation
Best E-commerce Initiative
Best Paytech Partnership
Paytech for Good

Leadership awards

Rising Paytech Star Award – free to enter
Woman in Paytech Award – free to enter
Paytech Leadership Award – free to enter
Paytech Team of the Year

OVUM Payments Innovation awards

Best Real-Time Payments Solution Provider
Best Open Banking Solution Provider
Best Solution Provider for Payment Systems in the Cloud

Think your project deserves to win this year? Or do you know someone that should receive special recognition? The deadline has now been extended to the 19th April, so get nominating >>

Last year attendees of the PayTech Awards enjoyed the hospitality of a luxurious Silver Sturgeon yacht as it cruised along the river Thames. This year the awards will be announced on 5 July, and will be hosted at the HAC (Honourable Artillery Company), a historic 18th Century mansion accompanied by a six acre garden in London’s Moorgate. Check out last year’s highlights and see what’s in-store:

For more information or to enquire about sponsorship opportunities, please visit the PayTech Awards website or get in touch with Jon Robson via email [email protected].

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on April 12, 2019
Categories: Check Point, Coinbase, Extend, Featurespace, Lendio, PayStand, Sberbank

On Finovate.com

Virtual Card Platform Extend Raises $11 Million. See the company demo its technology live at FinovateSpring in San Francisco in May.

PayStand Unveils Automated Receivables Product.

Around the web

Lendio franchise opens in Phoenix.

Check Point partners with Google’s Cloud Identity to improve zero trust cloud access.

Coinbase introduces crypto Visa debit card for U.K. customers via partnership with Apto Payments.

Sberbank acquires majority stake in biometrics company Speech Technology Center.

Aite Group recognizes Featurespace as “Best in Class” in its latest report on fraud and advanced machine learning platform vendors.

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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The Evolution of the Third Era of Commerce

By Charlie Burgess Posted on April 12, 2019
Categories: FinovateEurope 2019

During FinovateEurope 2019, Giulio Montemagno – Head of Europe, Amazon Pay took to the stage to discuss the ripples of change we’re seeing in payments and e-commerce, and how voice commerce will redefine the ideal customer experience. In the third era of commerce, only early adopters win.

“Since the emergence of digital, commerce has been in a state of transformation, first with e-commerce and then with the rise of mobile came m-commerce. Today, we are in the very early stages of the third era – voice commerce – a powerful medium that will transform our day-to-day lives and how we purchase.”

Don’t miss more cutting-edge insights like this at the upcoming FinovateSpring event in San Francisco, May 7-10. Find out more >>

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FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: SheerID

By David Penn Posted on April 11, 2019
Categories: FinovateSpring 2019, FinovateSpring 2019 Sneak Peek, SheerID

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateSpring on May 8 through 10, 2019 in San Francisco, California. Register today and save your spot.

SheerID helps financial institutions acquire high-value customer segments like students, the military, and teachers, with gated, exclusive offers.

Features

Sub-second verification for 10 eligibility segments

Unparalleled coverage with 8900+ authoritative data sources

Privacy-friendly customer experience

Why it’s great

SheerID works with leading brands like Amazon, Discover, Spotify, Target and T-mobile. The solution is proven to deliver a 20:1 return.

Presenter

Sai Koppala, CMO and Head of Product

Koppala is the CMO at SheerID. Prior to this role, he led marketing and product teams at companies like Google, SAP, Proximity (acquired by Apple), and Apigee (acquired by Google).
LinkedIn

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FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: Illuma Labs

By David Penn Posted on April 11, 2019
Categories: Illuma Labs

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateAsia Digital on June 22, 2021. Register today and save your spot.

Illuma Access from Illuma Labs enables real-time voice authentication to secure inbound phone calls for call centers. It reduces call duration, improves security, and eliminates friction from customer interactions.

Features

Reduce average handle time and operating costs

Enhance security against fraudsters and social engineers

Elevate user experience with a passive and non-intrusive authentication process

Why it’s great
Illuma Access offers passive voice authentication for call centers. This reduces operating costs, enhances security against fraudsters, and elevates the user experience.

Presenters

Milind Borkar, Founder and CEO

Borkar has 10+ years of experience in R&D in digital signal processing and machine learning, 5+ years in marketing and business development, 50+ product launches, 18 patents, and 14 technical publications.
LinkedIn

Jeremy Whittington, Co-founder and CTO

Whittington has 20+ years of experience in architecting SaaS applications for Fortune 100 companies. He designed and deployed multiple enterprise systems used worldwide and founded two technology startup ventures.
LinkedIn

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FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: U.S. Bank

By David Penn Posted on April 11, 2019
Categories: FinovateSpring 2019, FinovateSpring 2019 Sneak Peek, US Bank

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateSpring on May 8 through 10, 2019 in San Francisco, California. Register today and save your spot.

U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the U.S., provides mobile and online tools that allow customers to bank how, when, and where they prefer.

Features

U.S. Bank is changing the game for corporate travel and expense management
First-to-market technology
Customer-centric approach delivers a better experience for travelers and travel managers

Why it’s great

U.S. Bank is radically changing the way organizations manage business travel and expense management through this ground-breaking technology.

Presenters

Bradley Matthews, SVP & Head of Middle Market Product, Partners and Marketing

Matthews is a seasoned financial services executive with a stellar record in strategy and new product development, and a distinct background in robotics and artificial intelligence.
LinkedIn

Tory Passons, VP & Group Product Manager

Passons is an experienced business executive with a diverse background and proven track record in developing new partnerships and product technologies.
LinkedIn

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FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: Voca AI

By David Penn Posted on April 11, 2019
Categories: FinovateSpring 2019, FinovateSpring 2019 Sneak Peek, Voca.ai

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateSpring on May 8 through 10, 2019 in San Francisco, California. Register today and save your spot.

Voca.ai has created a smart, human and empathetic virtual call-center agent for financial institutions that helps banks, lenders and insurers increase revenue while reducing operational costs.

Features

Human-like speech
AI and Machine Learning-based optimization
Emotional and intent detection that is instantly scalable

Why it’s great

Voca is the call-center agent you’ve always dreamed of. Voca can handle over 80% of all call and contact center interactions so your agents can focus on what’s really important to your business.

Presenters

Einav Itamar, Co-founder and CEO
Itamar is a serial tech entrepreneur with vast experience in AI and Big Data. He is founder of Corrigon, which was acquired by eBay.
LinkedIn

Danny Ruchman, VP of R&D
Ruchman has 20 years of experience in R&D. He is a former director at eXelate, which was acquired by Nielsen.
LinkedIn

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FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: Responsive AI

By David Penn Posted on April 11, 2019
Categories: FinovateSpring 2019, FinovateSpring 2019 Sneak Peek, Responsive AI

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateSpring on May 8 through 10, 2019 in San Francisco, California. Register today and save your spot.

RESPONSIVE helps wealth managers work faster and smarter with advisor Next Best Actions. Private managers and banks use our human-centric AI to grow client wealth and loyalty.

Features

Aggregate client data to provide holistic wealth view

Detect client financial events based on behavioral analytics

Give advisors Next Best Actions to capture revenue and mitigate risk

Why it’s great

Responsive evolves enterprise wealth team performance with proven innovation roadmaps and human-centric AI.

Presenters

Davyde Wachell, CEO and Co-founder

Wachell earned a Symbolic Systems Bsc in AI from Stanford University. He has 15+ years in fintech.
LinkedIn

Logan Grosenick, VP of Research

Grosenick has a MSc in Statistics, and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Stanford University. With 40+ scientific publications with 5000+ citations, he has 12+ years in machine learning and animal behavior prediction.
LinkedIn

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FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: MSTS

By David Penn Posted on April 11, 2019
Categories: FinovateSpring 2019, FinovateSpring 2019 Sneak Peek, MSTS

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateSpring on May 8 through 10, 2019 in San Francisco, California. Register today and save your spot.

MSTS is a B2B payments and credit leader. Banks can use MSTS’ Credit as a Service to offer direct billing (terms) to their merchants’ buyers.

Features

Provides a solution for banks to offer direct billing options for its merchants

Enables banks to capture nearly all B2B spend

Creates new lending activity

Why it’s great

Credit as a Service is a valuable tool for FIs to offer additional merchant services and alternative lending options to strengthen relationships with SMB clients.

Presenters

Brandon Spear, President

With experience leading entrepreneurial startup companies in the SaaS and Internet space, Spear helps companies navigate through the early years to become scalable businesses.
LinkedIn

Dan Zimmerman, Chief Product and Information Officer

Zimmerman has over 20 years of experience leading technology, product, and software engineering teams concentrated in the card and payment processing industry.
LinkedIn

Michelle Faul, Senior Director of Global Marketing

Faul leads marketing strategies and initiatives to increase global thought leadership eminence and brand awareness to drive business results.
LinkedIn

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Signicat Acquired by Nordic Capital

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on April 11, 2019
Categories: Mergers & Acquisitions, Signicat

Identity assurance provider Signicat has been acquired by private equity investor Nordic Capital, which hopes to accelerate the company’s international expansion. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Fredrik Näslund, Partner at the Advisor to the Nordic Capital Funds, said Signicat “has shown consistent high growth since inception, driven both by a rapidly increasing number of customers and strong volume growth among existing customers.” He added that the company’s “highly experienced management team is well positioned to capitalize on enormous growth opportunities across geographies, customer verticals and products, as the digital transformation of the economy continues.”

Nordic Capital acquired Signicat from Secure Identity Holding, Viking Venture III, and other shareholders. Viking will re-invest proceeds from the deal, making it a minority owner.

Signicat’s digital identity solutions make customer onboarding faster, more secure, and compliant with privacy and data protection regulations by replacing paper-based processes. At FinovateEurope 2017, the company showcased Signicat Assure, a digital identity verification product; and Signicat Sign, an e-signature offering.

Gunnar Nordseth, CEO and Co-Founder of Signicat, referred to Nordic Capital as “the most prominent and experienced investors” in fintech and said that the company is the “perfect partner” to support Signicat’s international expansion strategy.

Founded in 2007, Signicat’s 115 employees across offices in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands, and Portugal serve 500 clients including Klarna, Rabobank, Santander, Société Générale and Western Union, BMW, and Konica Minolta. Prior to today’s announcement, Signicat had raised almost $9 million.

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