Vaamo Acquired by Moneyfarm

Vaamo Acquired by Moneyfarm

In merger and acquisition activity this week, robodvisor startup Vaamo has been acquired by Moneyfarm, reports Antony Peyton of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

Financial details were not disclosed but Moneyfarm now has its third core market, alongside the U.K. (since 2015) and Italy (since 2012). Giovanni Daprà, CEO of Moneyfarm, said, “We see Germany as an attractive growth market with great potential for digital asset management.”

Vaamo founder Dr. Thomas Bloch and Dr. Oliver Vins join the executive committee of Moneyfarm. Dr. Bloch will be responsible for the Germany business and Moneyfarm’s Europe-wide B2B business. Dr. Vins will be responsible for product management and development at Moneyfarm groups in the future. There were no details about any job cuts due to the acquisition.

Moneyfarm was founded in 2011 and had around 30,000 private clients (double year-on-year) at the end of 2017, with a total investment of ($511 million) £400 million, as reported in May 2018. It has made some good progress as back in May it got($51 million) £40 million in a Series B funding round – meaning it has secured close to ($77 million) £60 million in capital so far.

The acquisition is subject to the approval of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority.

Vaamo was founded in 2013. Customers include German challenger bank N26 and 1822direkt. The company launched its goal saving app at FinovateEurope 2014 in London. The company has raised $3.8 million in two rounds from Route 66 Ventures.

The ABCs of FinovateEurope Innovation

The ABCs of FinovateEurope Innovation

As 2018 moves into the rearview and 2019 starts to take shape, financial services innovation shows no signs of slowing. At this rapid pace, there has to be at least one category of innovation per letter of the alphabet: A is for artificial intelligence, B is for blockchain, C is for compliance, D is for digital identity, E is for ethereum, F is for financial inclusion, and so on twenty more times. That’s a lot to keep up with.

Finovate’s mission has always been to cut to the core of innovation. We cover fintech for you by reviewing hundreds of services and solutions from across the fintech spectrum, then distilling them into 65+ demos featuring exciting technology with real-world applications. In just two days, you see what’s new, trending, accepted, and contentious.

The demoing companies that will take the stage in February at FinovateEurope reflect financial technology as of today and down the road. We hope you join us for this journey! Tickets to FinovateEurope are available online. Save £700 when you book before this Friday, November 30.

First wave of demoing companies announced

24sessions IQ allows financial services companies to have better banking conversations and maintain compliance using effortless video chat and artificial intelligence.

LEONUS blockchain-based banking digital platform supplies fast easy, modular and secure digital bank deployment without affecting legacy systems through the simplicity of a modular approach and the immutability of blockchain.

ApPello Loan Factory and ApPello Digital Lending Portal simplify the long and expensive credit process for retail, corporate banks, financial institutions and peer large industrial (non-financial) companies using a digital platform which allows 3rd party companies to develop additional features or submodules.

Aqubix‘s KYC Portal solves the operational challenge of due diligence with a state of the art end-to-end solution focused on automating the operational nightmare in such processes.

Avaloq‘s marketplace solves the innovation dilemma for fintechs, banks and bank clients using the avaloq.one ecosystem – “double marketplace.”

Blinking created a reliable, trustworthy, and secure way of creating, handling and confirming client digital identities for banks, telecoms, health providers and insurance companies by using blockchain technology and giving end-users complete control over their private data.

BlueRush, a customer-centric platform, works to address the poor engagement and conversion rates for leading financial institutions with proprietary interactive personalized video software.

Cantab Predictive Intelligence‘s loan approval engine provides profitable and quick lending to customers who are not clients of the bank, with no credit history for retail banks.

CREALOGIX‘s TimeWarp — a unique, interactive and powerful tool — addresses the lack of predictive decision making for all bank customers using cutting-edge UX design and AI technology.

CybiWealth offers a simple international investing solution for forward-thinking individuals.

Dateio solves the hassle associated with today’s loyalty programs for retail customers and banks using in-house developed technology and know-how.

Denizen — a borderless platform for banking — deals with the hassles of international banking for world travelers, expats, immigrants and other global populations using a real time, truly global bank without extra fees.

Dorsum‘s My Wealth mobile app uses a hybrid approach to answer the needs of the new type of investor for wealth managers and investment providers.

Dynamics‘ Wallet Card, an all-digital telecommunications connected loT payment device, uses edge-to-edge paper-thin flexible electronics to address lack of customer loyalty, card fraud and costs associated with physical card issuance for any issuer’s cardholder.

eurobits technologies created a single digital access point that securely connects with every online financial and fiscal data source in Spain for digital services providers that require high-quality real-time data.

FCase is a fraud orchestrator mission control fixing the fragmentation of fraud management and delivering rapid benefits, such as fraud reduction and enabling compliance.

FI.SPAN‘s cloud-based services management platform uses APIs to connect customers and fintechs for financial institutions in the U.S. and Canada.

Five Degrees, a complete end to end retail bank in the cloud, solves time to market, digitisation and operational cost challenges for banks.

Icefire‘s Modularbank aims to solve the resource-heavy challenge of setting up new financial institutions and rapidly launching new products using a module-based integration platform.

IMburse Treasury 4.0, a “transaction as a service” platform, enables financial services companies to efficiently manage and provide payments using cloud-based deployment strategies.

iGTB‘s CBX ‘Contextual Banking Experience’ resolves customer dissatisfaction with the corporate banking experience for transaction banks worldwide using ‘best next offer’ point-of-need bank product offerings.

InnoValor‘s Read ID identity document verification technology solves the lack of mobile onboarding using NFC.

iProov‘s mobile palm authentication supplies a highly usable, strong customer authentication for banks and financial institutions using unique liveness and anti-spoofing technology.

ITMAGINATION redefines the modern investment experience with our advanced financial analytics platform for individuals and institutional investors by leveraging cloud-based tools to build simple and accessible financial analysis.

ITSCREDIT is a credit platform that improves credit processes using an end-to-end product covering all steps.

Launchfire‘s Lemonade combats lagging user adoption rates of digital banking products using game-based learning, production simulations, and role-play scenarios.

LOQR uses an integrated and centralized one-stop-shop approach to manage customers’ digital identity lifecycle in the financial world.

Microblink‘s next-generation identity document scanning and data extraction software targets poor user experience in a growing number of customer onboarding processes.

Minna Technologies is a subscription management platform using open banking APIs and machine learning and integrates into banks digital channels resulting in better customer experience, retention and new revenue streams.

Modular Banking‘s API increases access to, security for, and compliance with cryptocurrency for retail banks using a decentralized network development expertise and proprietary code.

Monobank‘s Mono Pay is an app with state of the art functionality and technology that solves the lack of control of poor outdated payment solutions for modern adults with high demands.

Neo‘s cash management platform supplies access to automated multi-currency accounts for medium to large corporations using restful API code.

Nine Dynamic‘s advanced financial analytics platform redefines the modern investment analysis experience for individuals and institutional advisors by leveraging the latest cloud-based tools and architecture to build simple and accessible financial analysis tools.

Nordigen Report utilizes a transaction-based categorization platform to streamline the global credit-scoring based loan decision making process using existing user data categorization and scoring models.

Qwil Messenger is a global client chat platform that enables safe and compliant business conversations for all professional service organizations from one single app.

REACH offers a SaaS solution to solve poor customer experiences, extended onboarding, delayed transaction cycles, and KYC challenges in the digital age for financial services organizations using a completely web based platform.

Salt Edge‘s Open Banking API Hub solves the interoperability problem between different APIs identifying Payees for payment for licensed third parties (banks, lenders, fintechs) using a single API gateway.

Secfense is a cyber security solution targeting phishing problems for the banking and fintech industry using a 2FA method available on any application.

Taxnology Innovations provides an online tool supplying tax return preparation in various countries for cross-border operating companies.

UX Design Agency‘s user-interface design based on user-experience engineering addresses the complexity and lack of human-centricity in financial products.

W.UP‘s Sales.UP — a digital banking sales and engagement tool — targets financial institutions’ need of customer insights and personalized automated marketing campaigns based on transactional and non-traditional data using Insight Store, Marketing Automation and Data Universe.

Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Central and South Asia

  • Visa takes minority stake in Indian payment gateway BillDesk.
  • Swift India partners with MonetaGo to pilot blockchain-based banking.
  • India FinTech Forum (IFF) announced the 20 companies recognized at its India FinTech Awards (IFTA), including Finovate alums Hydrogen, iProov, Ocrolus, and James Finance.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Elevar Equity leads $5.25 million investment round for Uruguayan fintech, Bankingly.
  • Banco Original, a Sao Paulo, Brazil-based FI, to deploy FICO Origination Manager and FICO Application Fraud Manager.
  • First Data launches Clover Mini and Clover Flex in Argentina.

Asia-Pacific

  • Finastra gives Singapore banks top marks in its inaugural Open Banking Readiness Index.
  • FinLab accelerator introduces its smart business transformation program for Thailand small businesses.
  • SmartPesa brings its softPOS contactless card acceptance via NFC phone running Android – to Singapore and South East Asia.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • South African financial services company, Discovery, to launch “behavioral bank.”
  • Nigeria’s central bank proposes fintech licensing regime to help manage cyber risk, capital adequacy, and operational oversight issues.
  • A “hands-off” attitude toward regulation is credited for helping boost Uganda’s emergent fintech sector.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Poland’s Braintri merges with iCompass.
  • The Polish Financial Supervision Authority names the Heart as one of operators for its regulatory sandbox for companies developing fintech solutions.
  • Ingenico Group teams up with Russia’s Sberbank to enable MOIR card payments for online purchases.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Study from Mena Research Partners calls for major gains in fintech funding in the MENA region over the next ten years.
  • Egypt Innovate features ten Egyptian startups “following the world’s fintech trend.”
  • The Tehran Times looks at the “challenges and opportunities” of fintech innovation in Iran.

Top image designed by Freepik

Webinar: Turning Identity Verification Into a Competitive Advantage

Webinar: Turning Identity Verification Into a Competitive Advantage

The digital lending and finance sector has grown dramatically in the last few years but traditional banks still dominate lending and the financial services space, while digital-first challengers and fintechs are still facing an uphill battle to capture customers and take advantage of the opportunity the digital transformation has provided.

Customers are taking notice of these newcomers though, and efficient onboarding using digitized workflows, such as digital identity verification technology, are being used by both new entrants and incumbents to boost competitiveness in an era where many consumers are increasingly shifting from being digital-first to digital-only.

Watch this Finovate webinar to learn from leading experts in the digital space who will delve into how digital lenders, fintechs, and even incumbents can leverage digital to ward off inefficiency, drive the best possible customer experience, and enhance the speed and cost-effectiveness of the onboarding process.

Our experts will be covering topics including:

  • The landscape for digital lenders in Europe: Explore the rapidly-expanding digital landscape and what digital lenders are competing with incumbents.
  • The need for increased security: See methods for mitigating fraud and risk posed by financial transactions in the online world where face-to-face or traditional ways of verification aren’t possible.
  • Seamless user experience: Learn how leading companies are leveraging digital ID verification to bring on more customers, more quickly.
  • Cutting compliance costs while boosting efficiency: See how, in a supposedly digital world, mandatory KYC and AML checks are still all too often a largely manual process. Digital processes have the potential to help to reduce KYC and AML compliance costs by up to 70% – and could improve the speed of these checks by up to 80%.

Featuring:

Lex Sokolin
Global Director Fintech Strategy, Partner
Autonomous Research

Sokolin is a futurist and entrepreneur focused on the next generation of financial services. He directs Fintech Strategy at Autonomous Research, a global research firm for the financial sector, helping clients understand and leverage innovation. Covered themes include roboadvice, blockchain and cryptoeconomy, artificial intelligence, chatbots, neobanks, and banks-as-a-platform, insurtech, and regtech.

Joe Bloemendaal
VP of Identity, EMEA
Mitek

Bloemendaal has long been actively involved in online identity and risk management, with 15+ years of experience in entrepreneurship, international sales and marketing in the field of internet technology, and SAAS. In his career, Bloemendaal has successfully founded and managed two businesses which still exist to this day. As VP of Identity for EU for Mitek, Bloemendaal is responsible for setting the strategy and continually driving growth for Mitek in digital identity verification across Europe.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

Around the web

  • Jack Henry & Associates named a top workplace by The San Diego Union-Tribune.
  • Raketech partners with Trustly for in-banner Pay N Play technology.
  • First Data launches Clover Mini and Clover Flex in Argentina.
  • Banco Original chooses FICO to launch digital platform.

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.

Poland’s Braintri Merges with iCompass

Poland’s Braintri Merges with iCompass

A pair of Polish fintechs – Braintri and iCompass – have announced a merger plan that will enable both firms to grow their businesses and expand internationally. Braintri COO Wojciech Zatorski highlighted the opportunity for growth, and pointed specifically to the potential in markets in the EU, the Middle East, Asia, and the U.S. “The partnership is a step forward in Braintri’s strategy to enter global markets,” he said.

Both companies will operate under their existing brands until the merger is completed, after which there will be a rebranding.

Providing mobile banking apps for some of the largest banks in Poland, Braintri has partnered with FTSE large cap banking giant PKO BP, as well as fellow Finovate alum, mBank. The company also worked to help establish Poland’s non-card payment standard, BLIK, currently used by 94% of the country’s population. Braintri is also the developer of Jiffee, a token-based, Bluetooth-powered, mobile payment technology the company demonstrated at FinovateEurope earlier this year.

In a press release, Braintri said it will focus on three main product lines post-merger: mobile applications, big data solutions, and payments. The company also pledged to “further develop its insurtech competence.”

Braintri’s partner, iCompass, is a software provider for major European banks and global payment companies like Mastercard Payment Transaction Services. The firm is a technology provider for Poland’s first mPOS platform, and developed the universal payment gateway, Octopus Payment Hub.

Founded in 2013, Braintri demonstrated its Jiffee payments solution at FinovateFall 2017, winning Best of Show. Headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, the company was awarded the Polish Innovation Award 2018 for both Jiffee and its core banking systems offloading engine, Biffee.

Launchfire Launches StepDemo to Enhance Employee Training

Launchfire Launches StepDemo to Enhance Employee Training

Gamification expert Launchfire released a new feature this week. The new addition, StepDemo, is aimed to enhance Launchfire’s digital transformation product, Lemonade.

In the press release, Launchfire CEO John Findlay said, “With StepDemo, our clients can easily create as many product simulations as they need, and pipe them out to customers or employees — and it’s all included as part of Lemonade.”

Using StepDemo, administrators can use Lemonade’s author portal to create an unlimited number of product simulations and add them to employee training courses. With StepDemo, trainees can opt between two hands-on modes– Play and Guided Practice. The former allows users to explore the new product with guided practice while the latter is a way for them to test their understanding of the product.

Findlay said he didn’t want to create a product simulation that doesn’t stick. “It’s like when you’re driving a friend home and they give you directions — the next time you have to get there on your own, you can’t. You didn’t learn the route; you just followed instructions,” he described. StepDemo’s Play and Guided Practice modes combat that by making sure the users actually learn and are comfortable with the product.

Launchfire showcased Lemonade at FinovateFall earlier this year in a demo that is as entertaining as the product itself. Headquartered in Canada and founded in 1999, the company was honored on the 2018 Training Industry Top 20 Gamification List last month.

FinovateAfrica Sneak Peek: Topicus.Finance

FinovateAfrica Sneak Peek: Topicus.Finance

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateAfrica on November 27 and 28, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. Register today and save your spot.

Fyndoo, powered by Topicus, unlocks financing for the agricultural sector with automated lending processes combined with satellites providing real-time insight into crop development.

Features

  • Lending processes are accessible, efficient, and transparent
  • Investment progress can be monitored in real-time
  • Automated loan management varies with progress and quality of the crops

Why it’s great
Fyndoo bridges the financing gap for entrepreneurs as well as farmers in developing countries by combining state-of-the-art business lending technology with the ability to monitor crop progress real-time.

Presenters

Jamie Burink, Head of Business Lending
Burink is head of business lending at fintech company Topicus.Finance. He has roots in business administration and a strong passion for making banking simple, social, and transparent.
LinkedIn

Johan Stokking, Tech Lead and Co-Founder
Stokking is tech lead and co-founder of The Things Network: an open, crowdsourced, and decentralized internet of things data network. He also serves as CTO of The Things Industries.
LinkedIn

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Check out a sneak peek of Topicus.Finance’s upcoming demo at FinovateAfrica.
  • Launchfire Launches StepDemo to Enhance Employee Training.
  • Poland’s Braintri Merges with iCompass.

Around the web

  • Xero teams up with Absa Bank to improve access to financing for South African SMEs.
  • TransferWise opens its API.
  • Fenergo introduces new Client Lifecycle Management: Front to Middle Office Transformation app on Salesforce AppExchange.
  • Mortgage Cadence adds to its Enterprise Lending Center loan origination platform courtesy of a partnership with MGIC.
  • Tinkoff Bank enables its iOS-using customers to buy concert and theatre tickets via its mobile app.
  • ThetaRay CEO Mark Gazit appointed to the International Technology Advisory Panel of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
  • Klarna forges partnership with weighted blanket developer, Gravity Blanket.
  • Temenos announces Technology Partner Agreement with distributed SQL database provider, NuoDB.
  • Aqubix, Behaviosec, CustomerXPS, ElectronicID, GreenKey, IdentityMind, Jumio, NICE, Onfido, Payfone, SecuredTouch, Sedicii, Trulioo, and Trunomi honored on RegTech 100 list.

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.

Sezzle’s $100 Million Line of Credit to Fuel Delayed Payment Tool

Sezzle’s $100 Million Line of Credit to Fuel Delayed Payment Tool

Alternative ecommerce payment system Sezzle announced last week it pulled in a $100 million line of credit. The new round multiplies the Minnesota-based company’s existing funding by almost 10x, bringing its total raised to just shy of $111 million.

The funding, which comes from Connecticut-based investment firm Bastion, is being used to fuel Sezzle’s new pay-in-2019 initiative with online retailer Tobi. The promotion, which will be available throughout the holidays, gives Tobi.com shoppers interest-free purchase financing. After paying 25% of the purchase price at checkout, shoppers can wait to pay the remaining three-quarters of the purchase, interest-free, until after January 2, 2019, at which point they pay in three equal installments.

Tobi’s target market is focused on young females– a demographic which typically either has no credit or thin credit files. “Because these young consumers are credit-starved, they tend to abandon their online shopping cart instead of clicking through to purchase,” Sezzle CEO Charlie Youakim said. “With our option, those shoppers are more likely to convert to a sale. We even see them spending more and shopping more frequently.”

The pay-in-2019 payment model is a departure from Sezzle’s existing buy now, pay later offering, which typically allows users to spread the repayment of the purchase price across 6 weeks of financing. If the trial with Tobi yields increased sales results, Sezzle plans to move forward with the new financing model with other retailers, as well.

Founded in 2016, Sezzle demoed its alternative payment platform at FinovateFall earlier this year. Last month, the company teamed up with Priority Payment Systems which will offer Sezzle as an option to its merchant clients.

Five Degrees Teams Up with ieDigital to Launch Digital Banking Portfolio

Five Degrees Teams Up with ieDigital to Launch Digital Banking Portfolio

A new partnership between U.K.-based ieDigital and Dutch fintech Five Degrees will pave the way for the launch of a new premier digital banking portfolio. The new solution marries ieDigital’s Interact digital engagement platform with Five Degrees’ digital core banking platform, Matrix, to help FIs develop end-to-end banking products that will help them spot and capitalize on revenue-generating opportunities.

“Our joint partnership strengthens the ability to help financial institutions transform progressively in order to meet future market needs, while ensuring a superior customer experience,” ieDigital CEO Jerry Young said. He called the collaboration with Five Degrees both “strategic and timely” and pointed to potential opportunities to help banks in Europe and around the world successfully execute their digital transformations.

Young joined the company as CEO at the beginning of the year. He brings more than 20 years of experience to ieDigital, including a tenure as VP of EMEA at Fiserv, and time spent as head of retail banking and insurance at Oracle.

Five Degrees CEO Martijn Hohmann said that the joint venture “provides financial institutions with the tools to offer a better experience for consumers when managing their finances on a daily basis.” He added that the partnership would add “world-class consumer oriented solutions” to its platform and help the company fulfill its goal of making it easier and more convenient for consumers to choose and interact with financial products.

In their press release, ieDigital and Five Degrees cited a Forrester study that indicated that too many financial services firms are focusing on making changes to their digital front end without paying similar attention to the core system. Referring to this as the “Potemkin Effect,” the companies noted that by offering a solution that combines the core with the engagement platform resolves this problem by providing a “seamless, digital, end-to-end experience that customers require.”

Founded in 1984, ieDigital demonstrated its Money Fitness solution at FinovateFall 2018. Money Fitness is a personalized, forward-looking PFM tool that helps consumers make better financial decisions while helping credit unions build their brands and strengthen their presence in their local communities. Formerly known as Intelligent Environments, ieDigital has partnered with four of the five largest banks in the U.K. and has deployed its Interact customer engagement platform in more than 28 countries.

With more than $11.4 million (€10 million) in funding, Five Degrees made its most recent Finovate appearance earlier this year at FinovateEurope. At the conference, the company demonstrated an implementation of its Matrix core banking technology with the wealth management platform, Prospery, developed by ABN AMRO.

Since then, Five Degrees purchased core banking IT systems provider, Libra, and teamed up with international business payments specialist, BillPro, to launch a new European cross-border banking service. The company was founded in 2009, and is headquartered in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, the Netherlands.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Five Degrees Teams Up with ieDigital to Launch Digital Banking Portfolio.
  • Sezzle’s $100 Million Line of Credit to Fuel Delayed Payment Tool.

Around the web

  • LoanScorecard unveils SimpleCECL, its solution for loan-level analyses for Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL).
  • Onfido wins 7th place in Deloitte’s 11 fastest growing tech companies in the U.K. roster.
  • OutSystems earns recognition in two categories of the 2018 Gartner Peer Insights Customers Choice reviews: Mobile App Development Platforms and Enterprise High-Productivity Application Platform as a Service (HPaPaaS).
  • Payment Ninja introduces new invoice management feature of its platform.
  • Diebold Nixdorf inks Memorandum of Understanding with Europol to boost cybersecurity knowledge sharing.
  • Entersekt announces plans to expand to Nordic region.
  • RightCapital partners with Commonwealth.
  • Onfido, Azimo, TransferWise, and Kantox earn spots on Deloitte U.K.’s Fast 50.

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.