Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Ayasdi, Bankjoy, BehavioSec, BLUERUSH, Crypterium, Feedzai, FixNix, identitii, IdentityMind Global, Mitek, Sberbank, Thomson Reuters, Zopa

On Finovate.com

  • Zopa Raises More than $57 Million to Support Next Generation Bank.
  • Mitek Helps Bring Mobile Deposit to Credit Unions.
  • Crypterium Releases Crypto-Fiat Solution.

Around the web

  • Sberbank Group CTO David Rafalovsky selected to lead Sberbank’s Technology Block.
  • BlueRush announces new Chief Financial Officer, Dave Badun.
  • Thomson Reuters adds Dealerweb and Icap pricing to its Reuters Capital Markets 19901 service.
  • MEDICI features Ayasdi, Feedzai, FixNix, IdentityMind Global, BehavioSec, and identitii in its roster of top RegTech startups.
  • Bankjoy to power mobile and online banking for Marshland Federal Credit Union.

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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Swych Expands Global Reach

Swych Expands Global Reach
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Swych

Blockchain-based digital gifting platform Swych has taken one more step to “gifting without borders.” The Texas-based company announced it is leveraging its recent acquisition of GiftCardsIndia to facilitate cross-border gifting.

With the new integration of the recently-purchased platform, U.S. users can now send digital gift cards to friends and family in India in real time. Swych offers gifting options for hundreds of big-name, local retailers including Big Bazaar, Flipkart, and Myntra.

This move is the company’s first foray into the international market and another step toward its goal “to facilitate mobile gifting for users across borders worldwide.” CEO and Founder of Swych, Deepak Jain, said, “By launching GiftCardsIndia.com in the U.S., we are addressing a large market demand from the Indian diaspora here. Now anyone can easily send their favorite gift card from their mobile phone to their loved one’s mobile phone in India.”

Founded in 2016, Swych leverages the blockchain to provide an instant, secure, and scalable way for individuals and corporations to send gifts and incentives in the form of a gift card. When the recipient is notified of the gift, they can use the Swych platform to change the gift card to a merchant of their choosing and in their preferred currency. In some cases, the user even benefits from a discount or reward that a merchant offers for switching their gift card over to a different brand.

“Existing cross-border gifting options are either costly or inefficient,” Jain explained. “When sending cross-border gifts, consumers and businesses need to manage liability, foreign exchange and customs, as well as regulatory and compliance issues which are complex and time consuming. We’re proud to offer our users a convenient, secure, and fee-free alternative to this emerging ecosystem, all while simultaneously working to facilitate ease of accordance with changing regulatory and compliance requirements.”

At FinovateSpring earlier this year, Swych demonstrated how it facilitates cross-border money transfers using its digital gifting platform in a presentation that won the company Best of Show. With 50+ employees, Swych boasts 50,000 registered users in the U.S., 100,000 users in India, and more than 50 corporate customers. Last fall, the company launched a new set of multi-currency, themed gifting options.

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Coinbase Makes Buying Crypto Easier, Faster for U.K. Customers

Coinbase Makes Buying Crypto Easier, Faster for U.K. Customers
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Coinbase

U.K.-based customers of Coinbase will be able to make same day deposits and withdrawals from their crypto accounts to their British bank accounts. The company has begun rolling out this support to Coinbase, Coinbase Pro, and Coinbase Prime customers, and plans to extend the service to all customers in the U.K. over the next few weeks.

“Until now, the process of converting bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum and Litecoin into euros and then into pound sterling, via international bank transfer, took several days,” Coinbase U.K. CEO Zeeshan Feroz wrote at the Coinbase blog. “Customers will now be able to transfer pound sterling and use it to directly buy and sell these cryptocurrencies.”

Feroz put the new opportunity in the context of other recent initiatives to make the company “the most trusted and compliant brand in the space.” He highlighted the securing of an e-money license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), support for the Faster Payment Scheme, and becoming the first digital currency trading platform to obtain a bank account with a major U.K. bank.

“Faster payments will benefit all U.K. customers, enabling almost immediate high-limit transfers” Feroz added. “This is essential for Coinbase Pro and Coinbase Prime customers in particular who will now be able to enter and exit their positions quickly.”

Last month Coinbase announced that it would enable its customers in Europe and Australia to buy virtual gift cards from more than 120 retailers using funds from their cryptocurrency accounts. In a busy spring for the San Francisco, California-based fintech, Coinbase launched a set of institutional grade solutions for digital currency trading in May; acquired digital payments for microtasks innovator Earn.com and added its first Chief Technology Officer in April; and acquired Memo.AI in January, bringing the chatbot builder’s engineering talent to the Coinbase team.

Coinbase demonstrated the Instant Exchange feature of its platform at FinovateSpring 2014. Instant Exchange enables merchants to accept bitcoin payments while avoiding exchange rate risk. Founded in 2012, the company has an estimated valuation of more than $1.6 billion.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Coinbase, Entersekt, MasterCard, Roostify, Segmint, Stocktwits, Swych

On Finovate.com

  • Coinbase Makes Buying Crypto Easier, Faster for U.K. Customers.

Around the web

  • NuData Security embraces EMV 3-D Secure authentication.
  • Entersekt partners with Mastercard to enhance payment options for users of the Nedbank Money app.
  • StockTwits launches Rooms, a chat platform where users create new communities based on shared interests, specific stocks, or market trends
  • COCC leverages Segmint to offer data-driven marketing solutions for bank clients.
  • Roostify announces new Chief Financial Officer Eric Amblard, formerly of EverString Technologies.

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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PayActiv Partners with ADP Marketplace

PayActiv Partners with ADP Marketplace
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: PayActiv

Courtesy of a new partnership, clients of ADP will get access to PayActiv’s Financial Wellness Platform. PayActiv announced last week that the workplace holistic financial wellness services provider will join the ADP Marketplace. This ecosystem of business apps will expose more than 600,000 employers representing 26 million workers to PayActiv’s technology.

“Companies leveraging ADP Marketplace can save as much as $50,000 annually for as few as 100 employees enrolled in PayActiv,” company CEO and founder Safwan Shah said. “Our holistic approach towards financial wellness is a win for both employers and employees.”

PayActiv provides a way for employers to help their employees better manage their financial lives. The company enables workers to get financial relief between paychecks – for example 50% of their already earned income – rather than relying on expensive payday loans or credit cards. PayActiv calls its strategy “timely earned wage access” or EWA and says the platform can be leveraged by both small businesses and larger companies to support not just timely EWA, but intelligent savings and budgeting, financial literacy, and counseling, and more. The platform is voluntary for workers, intuitive, and on-demand.

“Having timely access to earned income alleviates additional debt on already financially stressed individuals,” ADP Marketplace General Manager Craig Cohen said. “By offering PayActiv’s services via the ADP Marketplace, our customers’ employees now have on-demand access to money they’ve earned and can avoid costly alternatives.

PayActiv demonstrated its financial wellness mobile app at FinovateSpring 2016, winning Best of Show. Designed to help the underserved and working poor access quality banking services, PayActiv provides instant cash access, bill pay, bank transfer, savings and budgeting tools, and more.

Headquartered in San Jose, California, PayActiv has raised more than $17 million in funding. The company includes SoftBank Capital, Plug and Play Ventures, and RTA Capital among its investors.

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NestReady Collaborates with Alterna Savings on Home Buying Solution

NestReady Collaborates with Alterna Savings on Home Buying Solution
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: NestReady

NestReady, a startup aiming to simplify the home buying process, announced this week it has teamed up with Alterna Savings to help the credit union’s clients find their new home. The move comes about a year after NestReady finalized a partnership with Alterna Savings’ wholly-owned subsidiary, Alterna Bank.

Through the partnership, the NestReady platform will be available on Alterna Savings’ website, allowing its 158,000 members to find properties that match their search criteria. The integration of NestReady with Alterna Savings offers a holistic platform that lets users scan the real estate market, save their favorites, connect with local agents, and finance the home.

Rob Paterson, Alterna Savings president and CEO said, “Thanks to our partnership with NestReady, we’re empowering today’s homebuyers who use the internet as their primary resource to search for their dream home… Our members can now use NestReady’s new homebuying tool.”

Founded in 2012 as Navut, NestReady pivoted in 2017 to broaden its focus from neighborhood data provider to a more robust property search platform. The company has raised $2 million in funding. NestReady will showcase its newest offering for banks at FinovateFall next month. Register today to save your seat.

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Xero Buys Paperless Accounting Firm Hubdoc

Xero Buys Paperless Accounting Firm Hubdoc
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Mergers & Acquisitions, Xero

Cloud accounting platform Xero claimed today that “business has never been so beautiful.” That’s because the New Zealand-based company made its second acquisition, purchasing Hubdoc, an application that helps accountants and bookkeepers capture and maintain documents online.

Xero, which has always sought to improve the lives of accountants and bookkeepers, said the purchase helps them “focus their efforts on making sense of a small business’ financial data – not collecting it.” Hubdoc will help Xero bolster its machine learning models, serve customers who have no direct data connection, and increase its presence in Canada via Hubdoc’s Toronto roots.

Here’s how the integration of the two technologies works: first, Hubdoc automatically gathers financial documents from 700+ billers, extracts the financial data, and syncs the data into Xero. Then, Xero automatically matches data imported from Hubdoc with bank feed transactions to keep clients’ books up-to-date. All of this data is verified with the source document, which clients and accountants can easily search.

The Hubdoc team, which is located in offices across Australia, the U.K., and Canada, will work independently on a standalone basis until Xero forms an integration plan. The terms of the acquisition were undisclosed.

Xero most recently presented at FinDEVr San Francisco 2014 when the company’s Head of U.S. Partnerships David Pollock spoke about building an API-driven ecosystem for small businesses. At FinovateSpring 2011, CEO Rod Drury debuted the company’s Business Identification solution. Last month, Xero signed a strategic alliance with fellow Finovate alum Gusto, allowing Xero to provide full-service payroll in the U.S. And earlier this spring, Xero launched Connected Accounting, a set of new features designed to automate daily business tasks.

Founded in 2006, Xero listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange in 2007 and the Australian Securities Exchange in 2012. The company has raised more than $319 million (NZ$470 million) in funding, including $1.4 million pre-IPO; $10.2 million at its IPO; and follow-on rounds from investors including Peter Thiel, Matrix Capital Management, and Accel Partners. More than 1 million subscribers in 180+ countries use Xero.

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IdentityMind Global to Help ZED Network MTOs Meet KYC, AML Compliance 

IdentityMind Global to Help ZED Network MTOs Meet KYC, AML Compliance 
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: IdentityMind Global

Just weeks after announcing that it would provide KYC/AML compliance solutions for Ontology Trust Ecosystem, IdentityMind Global is back in the news. ZED Network, an international payments platform, will deploy the newly-released version 2.0 of IdentityMind Global’s solution to ensure KYC and AML compliance for its money transfer operators (MTOs) around the world.

“We are pleased to work with an innovative company like ZED Network that has created a comprehensive money transfer platform for global, small-to-medium-sized MTOs so that they can effectively compete against larger MTOs,” IdentityMind Global CEO Garrett Gafke said. “We have a successful track record of working with ‘breakthrough’ companies like ZED Network to help them grow rapidly and scale while remaining compliant.”

ZED Network specializes in small to medium sized MTOS, providing them with a distributed ledger-based platform-as-a-service solution including state of the art online and mobile apps, back office administration, and built-in compliance tools. The company calls its solution a “comprehensive remittance in a box” that enables smaller MTOs to participate in a faster, more transparent, less expensive money transfer network that does not rely on banks.

“Partnering with IdentityMind helps streamline the KYC and AML process for MTOs,” regardless of their jurisdiction, ZED Network founder and CEO Alan Safahi said.

IdentityMind Global demonstrated its platform earlier this year at FinovateSpring 2018. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the company launched version 2.0 of its technology last month. The enhanced platform leverages dynamic modeling, a transparent access framework, and contextual identity analysis to provide accurate AML compliance with fewer false positives.

The company has been making friends at a fast pace in 2018, helping companies like decentralized private social media platform ONe Network, Canadian blockchain technology firm, Etherparty Smart Contracts; and Mexican currency value management innovator AirTM meet KYC and AML compliance requirements, as well as conduct PEP screening and transaction monitoring.

IdentityMind Global has raised more than $20 million in funding. The company includes Benhamou Global Ventures, Lakewood & Company, and Eastern Link Capital among its investors.

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Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Experian, Finovate Global, IBM, MasterCard

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 Eastern Europe

  • Poland’s Horum Bank, a mobile bank based on blockchain technology, prepares for launch, most likely in the Baltics.
  • VTB Bank in Armenia goes live mobile banking and enhances internet banking services.
  • Emerging Europe examines the fintech industry in Romania “and beyond.”

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Turkey’s İşbank opens API portal with 14 APIs including payments plans, credit scores, and customer accounts.
  • UAE’s Trriple announces upgrades to its mobile wallet app, making top-ups easier and adding a loyalty program.
  • Growth Business UK features Dubai-based crowdfunding platform, Eurecca.

Central and South Asia

  • Mastercard launches its Simplify Commerce platform in Sri Lanka.
  • Forbes looks at how the election of Imran Khan as Pakistan’s new prime minister could impact the country’s fintech industry.
  • Paysense, a fintech based in Mumbai, India, raised $18 million in funding in a round led by PayU.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Worldline and Brazilian fintech EBANX produce new payment method for Brazilian users of Spotify.
  • Bradesco and Banco do Brasil launch urban mobility payment company, Veloe.
  • International Tax Review looks at the tax policy and the crowdfunding industry in Mexico.

Asia-Pacific

  • Experian leads $28 million investment in C88 Financial Technologies Group as part of effort to boost financial inclusion in Southeast Asia.
  • U.K.-based Online Blockchain introduces ManilaCoin, a cryptocurrency designed to promote financial inclusion in the Philippines.
  • IBM lands managed services deal with Thailand’s Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya) valued at $140 million.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Kenyan fintech Tulaa raises $627k in seed funding. The Nairobi-based company helps small farmers access credit and markets.
  • Alpha Code, an accelerator and incubator headquartered in South Africa, begins accepting applications for its AlphaCode Incubate Programme.
  • Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission encourages private and public sector IT leaders to focus on digital inclusion.

Top image designed by Freepik

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Arxan Technologies, Averon, Bluescape, CRMNEXT, Dwolla, Fenergo, IdentityMind Global, NestReady, Neustar, PayActiv, ProfitStars, Xero

On Finovate.com

  • Xero Buys Paperless Accounting Firm Hubdoc
  • NestReady Collaborates with Alterna Savings on Home Buying Solution.
  • PayActiv Partners with ADP Marketplace.
  • IdentityMind Global to Help ZED Network MTOs Meet KYC, AML Compliance.

Around the web

  • ProfitStars to automate commercial lending for Ion Bank.
  • Fenergo earns Top Performer status in the Overall Rankings of the RegTech 2018 Report.
  • One World Identity highlights Averon as a Company to Watch in its annual report on innovations in identity and authentication. See Averon at FinovateFall 2018 in September.
  • Arxan experiences double-digit revenue growth, expands global reach.
  • Flashtalking and Neustar partner to fill the void created by the removal of DoubleClick ID.
  • Insight on Business interviews Dwolla’s Stephanie Atkin.
  • Immervox features Bluescape and CRMNext in its list of Five Companies Leading the Charge in the Changing Workplace.

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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Entrust Datacard Acquires SMS Passcode

Entrust Datacard Acquires SMS Passcode
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Entrust Datacard, Mergers & Acquisitions

Identity authentication and secure card issuance company Entrust Datacard announced it purchased SMS Passcode from CensorNet, a cloud security company. Additionally, Entrust Datacard made a strategic investment of an undisclosed amount in CensorNet. Terms of both the investment and the acquisition remain undisclosed.

With the acquisition of Copenhagen-based SMS Passcode, an adaptive multi-factor authentication technology solution, Entrust Datacard hopes to further establish itself in the authentication space while expanding its global footprint throughout DACH/Benelux and The Nordics. The company will integrate the new technology with its IntelliTrust SaaS authentication tool, a solution launched last year that removes friction for users and provides strong protection for data, apps, and networks.

Regarding the purchase, Ed Macnair, CensorNet CEO said, “The acquisition of SMS Passcode will benefit the broader IAM market as well as SMS Passcode customers, and this new relationship will continue serving customers as Entrust Datacard builds upon existing partnerships and enhances our USS offering.”

Collaborating with CensorNet on its USS platform, which offers a cloud access security broker, multi-factor authentication, and web and email security, will help Entrust Datacard bolster new offerings across authentication, PKI and SSL. Specifically, Entrust Datacard will leverage the strategic partnership to enhance its Authentication Insight Engine by providing faster authentication decisioning.

“Identity-centric data analysis is in CensorNet’s DNA, and identity assurance capabilities in ours,” said Todd Wilkinson, president and CEO for Entrust Datacard. “This new relationship and investment in CensorNet presents opportunities for collaboration to enhance both companies’ offerings and re-shape the market together.”

Entrust Datacard was founded in 1969 and presented at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016. Jason Soroko, Security Technologies Manager, and Matt Rose, Technical Sales Consultant, spoke to the audience of developers on Safeguarding Your Banking Applications. Earlier this week, Entrust Datacard unveiled TruCredential 7.5, software that enables tablet and mobile-based capture and issuance of ID cards.

With 2,200 employees in 34 locations across the globe, Entrust Datacard is a privately held company headquartered in Shakopee, Minnesota. The company issues 10 million+ identity and payment credentials daily and manages billions of transactions on an annual basis.

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Tavant Technologies Powers New Personalized Mortgage POS System from Ditech

Tavant Technologies Powers New Personalized Mortgage POS System from Ditech
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Tavant

Technology from Tavant is playing a role in the comeback of mortgage lender Ditech.

Having completed a financial restructuring that helped bring it out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, Ditech has unveiled a mortgage point of sale solution geared toward Millennial and Generation Z borrowers. The new technology was developed as part of a joint effort between Ditech’s own in-house team and Tavant Technologies, with its digital lending platform, VELOX.

“Tavant is excited to partner with Ditech in an effort to provide a game-changing experience to customers and partners,” Tavant Chief Revenue Officer Hassan Rashid said. “The collaboration brought to life a system that is powered by VELOX and customized for Ditech’s needs based on customer journeys and workflows created by its Innovation Lab.”

Founded in 1958, Ditech Holdings is a Fort Washington, Pennsylvania-based independent servicer and originator of mortgage loans, as well as a reverse mortgage loan servicer. With 3,700 employees, the company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “DHCP” and has a market capitalization of $27 million.

“We have been extremely focused on transforming our organization’s customer experience through the adaption of digital solutions that entice the next generation of borrowers, including Millennials and Generation Z.” Ditech Chief Operating Officer Ritesh Chaturbedi said. “Our new system, built on the Tavant VELO platform, is expected to allow for a harmonious, omni-channel experience that will drive trust with customers.”

Tavant’s partnership news comes just days after the company announced another collaboration, this time working with ComplianceEase, an automated compliance solutions provider. The company will integrate with Tavant’s VELOX technology to improve the digital experience for borrowers and make it easier for lenders to close loans. Tavant teamed up with Freddie Mac in May to enable one-click submission of loan data to Freddie Mac’s automated underwriting system. That same month, Factual Data, a major U.S. credit and data validation services provider to the mortgage industry, announced credit integration with Tavant’s VELOX solution.

Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Tavant Technologies demonstrated its VELOX at FinovateSpring 2017. The VELOX product suite consists of four elements: FinXperience, a suite of portals and companion mobile apps; FinCapture, an autonomous document ingestion platform; FinConnect, a modern mortgage data and services hub; and FinSight, an analytics engine for predictive insights.

Tavant Technologies was founded in 2000. Sarvesh Mahesh is CEO.

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