Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Ayasdi, Bambu, CardFlight, Corezoid, ebankIT, Ellie Mae, Eltropy, Enterprise Engineering, Experian, LoanScorecard, Moxtra, Onfido, PasswordPing, Roostify, Sezzle, ThetaRay

On Finovate.com

  • CardFlight Launches SwipeSimple Customers to Support Card Data Management.
  • Roostify Teams Up with Ellie Mae to Boost Efficiency in Mortgage Lending.

Around the web

  • Experian and Close Brothers Retail Finance pilot Mobile for Credit service for U.K. gamers.
  • New Penn Financial goes live with Portfolio Underwriter from Loan Scorecard.
  • PasswordPing earns finalist spot in 2018 “Innovation Quotient” IQ Awards.
  • Ukraine’s Akhmetov Bank leverages Corezoid’s cloud-based operating system.
  • ebankIT and Enterprise Engineering forge strategic partnership for the North American market.
  • Bambu, Eltropy, Moxtra, and Onfido are among the startups selected for Plug and Play Singapore’s inaugural fintech and insurtech program.
  • TECHdotMN profiles Sezzle founder and CEO, Charlie Youakim.
  • Forbes Middle East highlights Ayasdi and ThetaRay in look at how AI is helping solve financial crime.

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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Cryptocurrency Firm Circle to Acquire SeedInvest

Cryptocurrency Firm Circle to Acquire SeedInvest
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Mergers & Acquisitions, SeedInvest

Goldman Sachs-backed cryptocurrency start-up Circle will acquire SeedInvest, an equity crowdfunding platform and broker-dealer, reports Antony Peyton of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

The firm said this acquisition will accelerate its plans for a token marketplace that enables businesses and individuals to raise capital and interact with investors using open crypto rails and infrastructure.

This acquisition and planned new offerings are subject to the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) approval. Financial details have not been disclosed.

Headquartered in New York City, SeedInvest has the “largest” equity crowdfunding platform in the country. To date, SeedInvest has helped hundreds of start-ups raise capital online and has a network of over 200,000 investors.

In addition, the company has generated triple-digit annual revenue growth while reaching profitability.

Circle said the SeedInvest product includes capabilities needed for executing regulated crowdfunding, such as start-up due diligence, securities issuance, investor accreditation, payments, and securities custody.

With the merger and approval from regulators, these capabilities will be expanded to support crypto-denominated investments including using fiat stablecoins such as USDC, as well as issuing and offering tokenised securities.

SeedInvest will add 30 team members to Circle’s New York location.

Founded in 2012 by Ryan Feit and James Han, SeedInvest demonstrated its equity-based, crowdfunding platform at FinovateSpring 2013. During the demo, Feit and Han highlighted a number of key features of the platform, including its due diligence dashboard, virtual boardroom, and its Simple Invest technology which provides an instant identity check, legal document execution, and streamlined funds transfer.

Prior to the company’s acquisition, SeedInvest had raised $11.4 million in capital. Avenue A Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Scout Ventures, and Jumpstart New Jersey Angel Network are among the firm’s previous investors.

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Lights! Camera! Demo! Check Out the Action from FinovateFall!

Lights! Camera! Demo! Check Out the Action from FinovateFall!
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateFall 2018

 

We understand completely. As the nights start to get longer and the coolness of autumn takes hold, that “curl up by the fire and watch demo videos from FinovateFall” feeling becomes almost irresistible.

That makes us all the more thrilled to announce that every minute of every demo from FinovateFall is now available for viewing – free of charge – in the Finovate Video Archives. Rewatch your favorite moments or check out some of the demos you might have missed!

By way of a sampler, here are the demo videos of the five companies that won Best of Show (as voted by the audience).

Banzai!

https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/smvpw5bl0y

Bond.AI

https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/l1annlgdi1

Bumped

https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/w1w7yxq8xt

Golden 

https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/92i7gyomzm

Meniga

https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/0oblrajkhg

 

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Mitek, NetGuardians, WorkFusion

Around the web

  • Reuters: Mitek rejects takeover offer from hedge fund Elliott Management Corp’s software company ASG Technologies.
  • NetGuardians makes the Chartis Risktech Quadrant for enterprise fraud technology 2018.

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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PayPal’s Walmart Partnership Makes a Move for the UnderBanked

PayPal’s Walmart Partnership Makes a Move for the UnderBanked
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: PayPal

While many view Walmart as simply a retailer, millions of Americans rely on the company as their main source for financial products. Walmart offers a variety of debit and credit card options, as well as services such as money transfers, remittances, check cashing, tax preparation, and billpay. So it’s no surprise to see that PayPal has joined forces with the retailer today to fortify services for their joint customers.

As part of the partnership, PayPal users will be able to withdraw and deposit cash into their PayPal account at one of Walmart’s 5,000 brick-and-mortar stores. In addition, PayPal Cash Mastercard customers can access their cash balance using Walmart service desks, ATMs, and cash registers. This is the first time PayPal users have had the flexibility to transact in cash, but it comes at a cost. Each cash transaction is priced at a flat, $3 service fee. The parties have not disclosed how that fee is divided between Walmart and PayPal.

In a press release, Dan Schulman, President and CEO of PayPal said, “We consider this a key collaboration for both PayPal and Walmart. We are committed to working together to make it simple and easy for people to use PayPal cash in and cash out money services at every Walmart location in the U.S. We look forward to working hand-in-hand to help people and families with their financial services needs.”

PayPal’s mobile app offers many of the same features as a traditional banking app, including PFM and money management tools, peer-to-peer money transfer options, and investment opportunities via its partnership with Acorns. Qualifying borrowers also have access to a line of credit. Today’s partnership with Walmart is likely a move to stave off the threat from Amazon, which has been rumored to further its lineup of alternative banking options via partnerships with traditional U.S. banks.

Tying cash into PayPal’s existing robust mobile infrastructure is a key way to target the underbanked population. Now that Walmart is serving as PayPal’s brick-and-mortar “branch,” what’s next for the payments company– mortgages?

Starting today, PayPal users are able to deposit cash at Walmart. The cash out feature will be available at all U.S. Walmart locations next month. Founded in 1998, the alternative banking provider showcased its Instant Account Creation feature at FinovateFall 2012. PayPal’s market cap sits at $90 billion.

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Fighting for Customers: Will Tech Giants or Big Banks Win the Data War?

Fighting for Customers: Will Tech Giants or Big Banks Win the Data War?
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateAsia 2018

For years, Chris Skinner, Chairman, Financial Services Club and publisher of the Finanser blog, sounded the alarm that financial institutions need to do more when it comes to winning “the data war.” This summer he wrote:

A big bank with legacy architecture can only tell customers what they’ve spent. Their back office systems are purely transactional ledgers of past payments. There is no intelligence, forecasting, predictive analytics or machine learning about customer behaviours, because the data is all fragmented across multiple, legacy, product-focused, silo-structured systems.

Skinner warned that this issue represented ” the big banks soft underbelly and a weakness that the young start-ups are clearly focused upon exploiting.”

In his keynote address at FinovateAsia later this month – If the Future is a Battle for Customer Data & Insight Will the Tech Giants Be the Victors? – Skinner will share his insights on how the market for customer data is creating opportunities for businesses across finance, technology, and fintech. To join us in Hong Kong, on October 29 and 30 for our upcoming conference, visit our registration page and save your spot.

How important is communication and engagement in winning the “hearts and minds” of customers whose data is key to both better services for consumers and bigger market share for businesses? And what does the rise of TechFin, “technology firms who happen to offer finance,” mean for both traditional banks and fintech innovators alike? We are looking forward to Chris Skinner’s insights on one of the most critical topics in our industry today – the role and power of data.

Chris Skinner is known as an independent commentator on the financial markets and fintech through his blog, the Finanser.com, and as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank and its new sequel, ValueWeb.  He is Chair of the European networking forum, The Financial Services Club, and Nordic Finance Innovation, as well as being a Non-Executive Director of the Fintech consultancy firm 11:FS.

Skinner is on the advisory boards of many companies including iambank, Innovate Finance, Moven, and Meniga, and has been voted one of the most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal’s Financial News.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Betterment, BLUERUSH, Flybits, PayPal, SumUp, Tradeshift

On Finovate.com

  • Fighting for Customers: Will Tech Giants or Big Banks Win the Data War?
  • PayPal’s Walmart Partnership Makes a Move for the UnderBanked

Around the web

  • UK payments startup SumUp launches a 3G-powered credit card reader.
  • Worldpay extends real-time payouts to 50+ countries.
  • TD Bank Group and Flybits expand Canadian banking technology relationship to provide TD customers enhanced, personalized mobile experiences.
  • BlueRush lands co-selling agreement with Valeyo’s network of more than 95 Canadian financial institutions.
  • Tradeshift teams with credit insurer Coface to ensure greater financial transparency between buyers and suppliers.

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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CUneXus Teams with Kasasa

CUneXus Teams with Kasasa
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CUneXus, Kasasa

Lending automation platform CUneXus announced that community banking marketing provider Kasasa has integrated with its cplXpress offering.

Under the agreement, banks can leverage CUneXus’ technology to generate and extend approved offers for multiple loan types, including the Kasasa Loan, which enables borrowers to pay off their loan ahead of time and take back a portion of the funds they’ve paid off if they need it. CUneXus’ cplXpress will allow eligible borrowers to instantly access their Kasasa Loan.

“Our goal is to enable lenders to deliver the simple, personalized, mobile-friendly experience consumers expect,” said Dave Buerger, CEO of CUneXus. “With cplXpress, lenders can let their customers shop, borrow and buy in just seconds–speeding up the process and creating a superior customer experience. We’re extending this service to now include Kasasa Loans, allowing financial institutions to expand their loan options and offer something unique.”

Kasasa showed off its new loan product at FinovateSpring earlier this year. The demo won Best of Show honors. Describing Kasasa Loans, Gabe Krajicek, CEO of Kasasa said, “Designed to meet consumers’ wants and needs, it puts the customer in control.” He added, “By partnering with CUneXus, we’re elevating that experience and providing community financial institutions with an even greater competitive edge. Not only can they talk to consumers about something completely unique – a loan with take-backs – but they can offer a more convenient shopping experience overall through cplXpress.

CUneXus also most recently demoed at FinovateSpring 2018, where Buerger showcased the newest version of cplXpress that offers a more friendly user interface and more scalable SaaS format. Earlier this year, the company was awarded Gold in the Electronic Marketing Category of the MAC Awards. Founded in 2011, CUneXus is headquartered in California.

Kasasa, which was honored on the 2018 IDC Financial Insights FinTech Rankings last month, recently unveiled a new compliance tool, RegGen. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Texas.

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PayActiv More than Doubles its Funding with Fresh $20 Million

PayActiv More than Doubles its Funding with Fresh $20 Million
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, PayActiv

Employer-provided financial wellness platform PayActiv is receiving some wellness of its own this week in the form of $20 million. The Series B financing round was led by Generation Partners, with contributions from existing investors  Ziegler Link•Age Fund II and affiliate funds of Softbank Capital.

Combined with its previous investments totaling $13.5 million, today’s round more than doubles PayActiv’s total funding, which now adds up to $33.5 million. PayActiv will use today’s investment to expand its platform, accelerate growth, and develop more financial solutions for workers across the globe.

Mark Jennings, Managing Partner at Generation Partners, said that his firm chose to invest because it believes PayActiv has “the potential to positively change the lives of millions of workers, while also growing a profitable and successful business.”

The California-based company has experienced significant growth since its launch in 2012, expanding six-fold in the past year alone. Contributing to that growth was a large-scale contract signed with Walmart in December of 2017 and an agreement with ADP in July of 2018, which makes PayActiv’s services available to more than 600,000 businesses across the U.S.

Commenting on the growth, John Hawkins, Managing Partner at Generation Partners, said, “PayActiv has created a massive positive impact on the relationship between employees and employers. Already, they are settling more than $100 million in earned wage access transactions each month, and the company estimates that employees are avoiding an estimated $10 million each month in eliminated late charges, overdraft fees, and interest charges.”

As part of the deal, Hawkins will join the PayActiv Board of Directors.

At FinovateSpring 2016, PayActiv CEO and Founder Safwan Shah demonstrated how the PayActiv app encourages saving by helping users approach saving in units of time vs. percent of income. Earlier this fall, NPR featured PayActiv as Walmart’s payday loan alternative and in May the company was highlighted in the Wall Street Journal as a better alternative to payday loans.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Adobe, Braintree, IdentityMind Global, Meniga, PayActiv, PayPal

On Finovate.com

  • PayActiv More than Doubles its Funding with Fresh $20 Million.

Around the web

  • IdentityMind Global selects Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to host its trusted digital identities regtech platform
  • Adobe launching Magento Payments with PayPal’s Braintree for payment processing.
  • Tangerine partners with Meniga for digital banking.

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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Klarna Rakes in $20 Million in Fall Funding Round

Klarna Rakes in $20 Million in Fall Funding Round
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Klarna

Online payments innovator Klarna landed a strategic partnership along with a new round of funding this week. The Sweden-based company has partnered with fashion retailer H&M, which has invested $20 million in Klarna, bringing its total funding to almost $682 million.

Klarna, which is already partnering with retailers such as Ikea and ASOS, will work together with H&M to offer omni-channel payments, provide an in-app post-purchase service, and power payments for H&M’s digital loyalty program, H&M Club. As a result, millions of H&M customers across 14 countries will benefit from a simplified and more personalized payment experience. The retailer will go live with the U.K. and Sweden markets in 2019.

In the press release, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder of Klarna said, “Customers will no longer be forgiving of unnecessary complexity or when their retail experience does not leverage the insight available to make their engagement smart, personal and easy. This partnership is rooted in a shared obsession about just how good that shopping experience should be. Together we have worked hard on developing a unique solution for instore and online that will delight customers, drive economic value, and build loyalty.”

According to TechCrunch, today’s round values Klarna “north of $2.5 billion.” The publication also seeded a rumor that Klarna has been considering going public to gain liquidity.

Founded in 2005, Klarna offers shoppers a range of options– pay at the point of sale, pay over time, or pay later. In addition to offering consumers more options, the payment variety helps businesses improve sales and Klarna’s online merchant portal helps them manage all of their payment and marketing tools from a single platform.

At FinovateSpring 2012, the company demonstrated its online payment-processing service. Klarna has formed a variety of merchant partnerships this year, and the company began 2018 with a partnership with ACI, in which the electronic payment solutions provider will enable online businesses to integrate Klarna’s payment products.

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FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: Top Image Systems

FinovateAsia Sneak Peek: Top Image Systems
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateAsia 2018, FinovateAsia 2018 Sneak Peek, Top Image Systems

FinovateAsiaA look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAsia on October 29 and 30, 2018 in Hong Kong. Register today and save your spot.

Top Image Systems (TIS)’s eFLOW Intelligent Capture is designed to operate in high-volume situations, regardless the scale of most companies’ non-structured data capture challenges.

TIS’ eFLOW Intelligent Capture provides data extraction with machine learning, a branch of AI, and dynamic redaction – it helps companies thrive in the digital age.

Why it’s great
TIS’ eFLOW Intelligent Capture is able to manage the broadest collection of content formats and sources. Its configurable platform is able to address ever-changing business needs over time.

Presenters

Wei Hao Goh, Head, Technical Account Manager
Providing thought leadership to operation leaders across various industries, Goh leverages his expertise in intelligent document content capture and processing to help firms succeed on a global scale.
LinkedIn

Jimmy Chim, Technical Account Manager
With over seven years’ experience improving operational processes for firms across industries, Chim excels in planning strategic directions, while managing the implementation of complex solutions.
LinkedIn

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