Placecast Acquired by Ericsson’s Emodo

Placecast Acquired by Ericsson’s Emodo
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Mergers & Acquisitions, Placecast

In a deal announced today, location-based marketing and loyalty company Placecast has been acquired by Emodo for an undisclosed amount.

Emodo is a Swedish networking and telecom company that helps telcos monetize their subscriber data. The company, which debuted just months ago in November, is an Ericsson-owned entity.

As part of today’s deal, San Francisco-based Placecast’s CEO Alistair Goodman will transition to the role of Emodo Chief Commercial Officer. Placecast’s 38 employees will join Emodo’s workforce of 27 at its headquarters in the same city.

In a blog post, Goodman said that the deal builds on the strengths of both companies. “Placecast brings its leading carrier-verified, location-based data solutions to an experienced Emodo team, backed by Ericsson’s reputation as a neutral, trusted partner for mobile operators, advertisers, and publishers,” he said. The two firms plan to complete the integration by the second quarter of this year.

Founded in 2005, Placecast offers location-based marketing and loyalty programs for mobile operators, payments companies and brands. The company maintains and scrubs location data from more than 400 million mobile user profiles, tens of millions of merchant records, IDs and addresses from around the globe. Placecast’s other location-based solutions include Mobile Data Management Platform, Mobile Demand-Side Platform, and Native Mobile Advertising, among others.

The company demoed Shop Alerts mobile wallet at FinovateSpring 2013, at the height of fintech’s mobile wallet boom. Last July, Placecast launched Location Verification, a solution that leverages data from U.S. carriers to confirm the location accuracy of mobile ads, audiences, and attribution to bring geolocation to the next level.

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Bankjoy Brings New Online and Mobile Banking System to SafeAmerica Credit Union

Bankjoy Brings New Online and Mobile Banking System to SafeAmerica Credit Union
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bankjoy

SafeAmerica Credit Union’s investment in its partnership with Bankjoy has begun paying big dividends. The 35,000+ member credit union unveiled its online and mobile banking platform last week, successfully enrolling 25% of its active users within the first day of the launch.

Steven Page, VP of Marketing and Digital Banking for SafeAmerica CU said that customer engagement is a priority for the institution, and that Bankjoy’s platform and API integration capabilities would go a long way toward this goal. “(We are) always trying to find an easier way for our members to transact with us,” Page said. “Teaming up with Bankjoy has helped give SafeAmerica that flexibility to be nimble. With the new Bankjoy online banking and mobile app, we can continue to make improvements faster from the feedback we get from our members.”

Chartered in 1953 as a credit union for Safeway employees, SafeAmerica serves the Northern California counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, as well as a number of employer groups. It has $430 million in assets.

Bankjoy demonstrated its modern REST-based banking API for developers at FinovateFall 2016. The Mountain View, California-based fintech gives community banks and credit unions the ability to offer an omnichannel banking experience including mobile and online banking, as well as financial goal management. FIs can benefit from Bankjoy’s targeted advertising platform that enables banks and credit unions to send relevant marketing and other communications to their customers and members over all digital channels.

A graduate of the Y Combinator program, Bankjoy inked a deal with Michigan-area Coca-Cola Credit Union last spring. This added to the three credit unions that partnered with the company at the beginning of the year – Indiana’s CommunityWide FCU, Idaho’s Advantage Plus FCU, and Illinois’ One Detroit CU. The company was founded in 2015 by Michael Duncan (CEO).

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Payworks Completes $14.5 Million Series B Round

Payworks Completes $14.5 Million Series B Round
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, payworks

Point of sale (POS) technology company Payworks has reeled in its second round of funding. The Germany-based company closed a $14.5 million round from CommerzVentures and Visa, with contributions from existing investors Speedinvest and Finparx. Today’s financing brings Payworks’ total funding to $19 million.

Explaining the firm’s reasoning behind the funding, Stefan Tirtey, Managing Partner of CommerzVentures said that it “invests in founders with a passion for innovation and proven ability to execute.” He added, “We back businesses that can have a significant impact on the financial services industry. We believe that Payworks has both, a great team, and an offering that can have real impact in the fast-changing world of card payments.”

Payworks will use today’s financing to fulfill demand for its solutions and fuel global growth, scale operations, and focus on increasing R&D and product teams across its offices in Munich, New York, London, and Barcelona. In the press release, Christian Deger, Payworks founder and CEO said, “We are on a great mission to build a new operating system for the Point of Sale and are very excited to have CommerzVentures and Visa join us on that journey. With the additional funding we are fully equipped to further develop our technology and product and support the demand coming from leading payment players looking to modernize their solutions.”

Founded in 2012, Payworks focuses on POS technology. The company’s payment gateway technology, Pulse, is a set of SDKs and APIs that remotely update card readers and set up in a couple of minutes to make developers and their merchants EMV certified, PCI compliant and P2PE ready. The company’s partners include First Data, TSYS, Stripe, and American Express. Additional products include Accept, a white-label mPOS solution for merchants, and Engage, a customer data and CRM platform.

At FinovateEurope 2015, the company’s CEO Christian Deger demonstrated how Payworks builds payment solutions and checkout options. Late last year, the company extended its partnership with Verifone, integrating the Verifone e355 mPOS and the VX 820 onto the Payworks platform.

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Payfone Receives $23 Million in Funding from Synchrony Financial

Payfone Receives $23 Million in Funding from Synchrony Financial
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Payfone

Digital identity authentication company, Payfone raised $23 million today. This Series F round brings the company’s total funding to $93.6 million.

Payfone will use the financing to expand its user experience by enhancing security services in retail, insurance, and healthcare. The round was led by an institutional investor with participation from Synchrony Financial, MassMutual Ventures, as well as individual investors Anil Aggarwal, Jonathan Weiner, and Andrew Prozes.

In a press release, Rodger Desai, founder and CEO of Payfone explained that consumers will increasingly expect that transactions are mobile-first, secure, and fast. He added, “The days of using quizzes, questions and one-time codes to verify identity are numbered. Payfone is ushering in a new world where authentication is instant, passive and continuous using the most advanced cybersecurity. Our mission is to help clients across the financial, retail, insurance, healthcare, and technology industries use authentication to not only thwart fraud but drive revenue.”

Payfone, which was founded in 2008 as a mobile payments company, demoed 1-Touch Checkout at FinovateFall 2012. The New York-based company has since pivoted to focus on authentication solutions.

Among Payfone’s product offerings are Instant Authentication for Mobile, a frictionless two-factor authentication solution, and Instant Authentication for Voice, an API that uses the caller’s phone number to authenticate them. The company also offers a Trust Score that provides a measurement of the reliability and risk of each mobile device.

Managing director at MassMutual Ventures, Eric Emmons, said, “Payfone enables service providers across the financial, retail, insurance, healthcare and technology sectors to offer a frictionless mobile and online experience to their customers, which substantially improves conversion rates and dramatically reduces the cost of call center operations.”

Payfone, whose technologies are currently used by six of the top 10 U.S. banks, processes millions of signals per day to authenticate and score transactions; the company currently authenticates 10 million transactions per day. Earlier this year, Payfone partnered with O2, a U.K.-based mobile network operator, in an effort to protect mobile users from digital fraud. Last spring, the company announced it would power mobile ID authentication for Zelle.

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Clinc Tops $4.5 Million in Annual Revenue; Hires Helen Yu as Chief Growth Officer

Clinc Tops $4.5 Million in Annual Revenue; Hires Helen Yu as Chief Growth Officer
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Clinc

Conversational AI platform for banks Clinc topped off a year of “explosive growth” in 2017 by generating more than $4.5 million in annual revenue. The strong revenue numbers come as the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based, Finovate Best of Show winner announces the hiring of technology executive Helen Yu (pictured) as its Chief Growth Officer.

Calling Yu’s talents “hard to find,” Clinc CEO Dr. Jason Mars praised the former Hyperion, Oracle, and Adobe executive’s “tremendous knowledge, extensive experience and track record of transforming organizations.” These, Mars said, would be “an impactful asset to our team as we execute our aggressive growth plans, expand into additional verticals and achieve our mission to revolutionize and redefine experiences through conversational AI.”

Yu comes to Clinc most recently from Marketo, where she served as group vice president. While at the marketing software firm, Yu led the enterprise business from 5% of Marketo’s ARR (annual recurring revenue) to 50% within three and half years before the company was acquired by Vista Equity Partners in an all-cash, $1.79 billion deal. An Athena pioneer, the founder and CEO of the Tigon Advisory Corporation, as well as an advisor for Jebbit and the C-Suite Accelerator program, Yu studied at Cornell University and has a MBA from Loyola University in Chicago.

“The combination of Clinc’s market momentum, technical capabilities and diversified leadership team made this an irresistable opportunity,” Yu said. “There’s a massive opportunity ahead of us and I’m elated to help take Clinc to the next level.” Yu underscored the uniqueness of Clinc’s offering and praised the fintech’s execution, as well. “No one has accelerated from product launch to achieving 15x growth within the same year,” she said.

Founded in 2015, Clinc demonstrated its technology at FinovateFall 2016, earning a Best of Show award for its AI-enabled intelligent financial assistant. In November, the company announced that its technology was live in six countries, including Turkey, where the nation’s largest private bank signed a deal to deploy Clinc’s platform. Also last fall, Clinc announced a partnership with Enacomm to bring its AI chatbot technology to smaller, community banks and credit unions. 2017 also featured a deal with USAA  and the closing of a $6 million Series A round led by Drive Capital that took the company’s total capital to $7.75 million. Dr. Mars participated in our Finovate webinar “How to Make it In the Fintech Industry: 3 Start-Up Success Stories” last year.

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FinovateMiddleEast Sneak Peek: Efigence

FinovateMiddleEast Sneak Peek: Efigence
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Efigence, FinovateMiddleEast 2018, FinovateMiddleEast 2018 Sneak Peek

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateMiddleEast on 26 and 27 of February in Dubai, U.A.E. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

Efigence, a company specializing in implementing innovative technologies and designing UX for banks, presents a new features from the EF14 Digital Banking Platform: EF14 Analytics.

Features

  • Real-time analysis both on public and secure sites
  • Conversion of insights into recommendations with sales automation
  • On-premise solution ensures that the bank remains the sole owner of data gathered

Why it’s great
Take control with EF14 Analytics, your one-stop tool to manage all customer data securely and effectively and transform it into real-time recommendations.

Presenters

Andrzej Szewczyk, Vice President and Managing Director 
Szewczyk combines technology knowledge with experience in business management, creating innovative solutions for banks and other financial market players. He has been in the internet industry since 1999.
LinkedIn

 

Marek Lesiak, President and CTO 
A fintech evangelist specializing in innovative product development, Lesiak has almost 20 years of experience in designing web solutions.
LinkedIn

 

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Bankjoy, Clinc, eMoney Advisor, Green Key Technologies, Payfone, payworks, Placecast, TIBCO Software, TipRanks, Top Image Systems, Worldline

On Finovate.com

  • Payfone Receives $23 Million in Funding from Synchrony Financial.
  • Clinc Tops $4.5 Million in Annual Revenue; Hires Helen Yu as Chief Growth Officer.
  • Payworks Completes $14.5 Million Series B Round.
  • Bankjoy Brings New Online and Mobile Banking System to SafeAmerica Credit Union.
  • Placecast Acquired by Ericsson’s Emodo.

Around the web

  • GreenKey Technologies to release its voice API through OpenFin’s plugin architecture
  • TipRanks offers stock tracking tool to manage investments and maximize returns.
  • Worldline selects VMware to accelerate innovation and time to market.
  • Japanese personal care company selects Top Image Systems’ eFLOW Extract accounts payable solution.
  • Kestra Financial to offer eMoney Advisor’s financial planning platform to its advisors.
  • TIBCO ranked first in Dresner Advisory Services 2018 Location Intelligence Market Study.

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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Vera Partners with Canon to Enable Data Security Across Devices and Services

Vera Partners with Canon to Enable Data Security Across Devices and Services
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Vera

Courtesy of a partnership announced today, next generation data security specialist Vera will secure all information processed by Canon Solutions America’s fleet of multi-function devices, digital imaging tools, and services. Canon will access Vera’s data protection and rights management platform via its Enterprise Solutions business to enable secure data capture, detailed auditing, and data privacy.

“Canon’s products are at the center of how businesses around the world work, and we’re inspired by their philosophy of working together for the common good,” CEO and co-founder of Vera, Ajay Arora said. “By taking a data-centric approach to security, Canon Solutions America is laying the foundation for the most impenetrable walls of the Information Age.”

Left to right: Carlos Fernandes (CEO, Agile Cybersecurity Solutions), Peter Kowalczuk (President, Canon Solutions America), and Ajay Arora (CEO and co-founder, Vera) during the One Canon Event 2018.

Vera’s platform empowers its customers to encrypt, monitor, and manage how digital content is accessed regardless of how or where it is stored. Control over data is maintained whether the data is at rest, in use, or in transit, giving users a unique ability to protect critical information from data breaches and loss. Canon Solutions America will deploy Vera’s technology to secure content and file sharing for both local storage and cloud content; provide dynamic, multi-factor authentication for highly-classified or sensitive data; and ensure compliance with EU regulations with regard to GDPR via a “360-degree audit trail and chain of custody.”

“By partnering with Vera,” Canon Solutions America president Peter Kowalczuk said, “we can ensure security and confidentiality for any information captured by a Canon device, and help secure workflows across a complex organization. Vera’s seamless user experience and powerful platform will make it one of our hallmark solution offerings nationally, and worldwide,” he said.

Vera demonstrated its zero-touch, zero-friction data protection technology at FinovateSpring 2016. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Vera began the year with a set of new hires, bringing on board its first chief financial officer, Sam Wolff, and adding technical talent in the form of Wesley Yeremenko, who will serve as the company’s SVP for Engineering.

Last fall, the company launched its Vera for Mail solution, which provides enterprise-grade encryption for email as well as the ability to dynamically change access rights in real-time. Vera announced a new partnership with GE in September, protecting the company’s product designs, intellectual property, and proprietary data. Winner of the 2017 CyberSecurity Breakthrough Award, the company has raised $50 million in funding, and includes Hasso Plattner Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures, and Battery Ventures among its investors.

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Forbes Names 17 Finovate Alums on the Forbes Fintech 50

Forbes Names 17 Finovate Alums on the Forbes Fintech 50
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Ayasdi, Betterment, Blend, Blockchain, Chain.com, Coinbase, Credit Karma, Feedzai, Gusto, Kabbage, Kensho, Plaid, Qapital, Ripple, Symbiont, Symphony Software Foundation, TransferWise

Forbes has released the third* Fintech 50 list, which this year features 17 Finovate alums, many of which have made the list for the third time. The Fintech 50 list highlights the top private fintechs that have operations, customers or impact in the U.S. The list excludes public companies and divisions of public companies.

Here are the alums honored in this year’s compilation:

Ayasdi

Among 22 newcomers to this year’s list.

Betterment

The company’s third time making the list.

Blend

Among 22 newcomers to this year’s list.

Blockchain

Among 22 newcomers to this year’s list.

Chain

The company’s third time making the list.

Coinbase

The company’s second time making the list.

Credit Karma

The company’s third time making the list.

Feedzai

Among 22 newcomers to this year’s list.

Gusto (formerly ZenPayroll)

The company’s second time making the list.

Kabbage

The company’s second time making the list.

Kensho

The company’s third time making the list.

Plaid

The company’s third time making the list.

Qapital

The company’s second time making the list.

Ripple

The company’s third time making the list.

Symbiont

Among 22 newcomers to this year’s list.

Symphony

The company’s second time making the list.

TransferWise

The company’s third time making the list.

In 2016, the list contained 20 Finovate alums, including Betterment, Chain, Coinbase, Credit Karma, Gusto, Kabbage, Kensho, Klarna, Motif, Personal Capital, Plaid, Qapital, Quantopian, Ripple, Signifyd, SoFi, Symphony, TransferWise, TrueAccord, and Xignite.

The list from three years back also contained 20 Finovate alums. Algomi, Betterment, Braintree, Chain, Credit Karma, HelloWallet, Kensho, LearnVest, Motif, Personal Capital, Plaid, Prosper, Quantopian, Ripple, Simple, TransferWise, TrueAccord, Vouch, Wealthfront, and Xignite made the list.

*Forbes skipped this compilation for 2017.

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Jack Henry Marks 100 Bank Clients Using Geezeo-Powered Service

Jack Henry Marks 100 Bank Clients Using Geezeo-Powered Service
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Geezeo, Jack Henry

Banking technology services provider Jack Henry has reached a milestone today, marking more than 100 bank clients using JHA Online Financial Management powered by digital banking company Geezeo.

This comes after the two formed a partnership last March in which Jack Henry’s JHA Online Financial Management began integrating the Geezeo platform. Leveraging transaction data from Jack Henry’s core systems, Geezeo presents a seamless user experience through the Missouri-based company’s NetTeller Online Banking, goDough mobile banking, and Banno digital banking solutions (Jack Henry acquired Banno for an undisclosed sum in 2014). Geezeo’s transaction categorization, budgeting, alerts, cash flow calendars, and data aggregation tools help consumers manage their finances.

In the press release, president of Jack Henry Banking Stacey Zengel said, “Creating a rich, rewarding digital experience is paramount for any financial institution’s growth. JHA Online Financial Management offers a modern, engaging experience for the end user while acting as a business driver for the financial institution. It’s that combination of added service and revenue drivers that create compelling industry trends.”

Founded in 2006, Geezeo offers white-label financial management solutions. The company processes and stores billions of transactions to deliver relevant insights that help banks enhance the user experience. The Connecticut-based company demonstrated its business financial management at FinovateFall 2014.

Jack Henry is a division of Jack Henry and Associates, a public company that was founded in 1976. It is one of 49 fintech companies that the NASDAQ tracks on its Fintech Index. Jack Henry and Associates serves more than 9,000 banking clients nationwide. At FinovateFall 2015, the company demonstrated the Banno platform.

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FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: 3rd-eyes

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: 3rd-eyes
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: 3rd-eyes, FinovateEurope 2018, FinovateEurope 2018 Sneak Peek

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateEurope on the 6 through 9 of March 2018 in London. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

3rd-eyes offers the best goal-based advisory and wealth planning solution. It enables wealth managers to advise clients holistically and helps them achieve their financial goals. Wealth managers can reach clients’ goals through a holistic optimisation of their financial situation which includes non-bankable assets and suitable, belief-based portfolio construction.

Why it’s great
With its modular and easy-to-integrate solution, 3rd-eyes brings your wealth planning quality and efficiency to a new level.

Presenters

Stephanie Feigt, Founder & CEO
Feight has 20+ years of experience in asset management and sustainable investing. She has experience as founder of Contrast-Capital, co-CEO and CIO of RobecoSAM, head of investment strategy at Clariden Leu, and a pensions manager at Siemens.
LinkedIn

Marc Mettler, Partner, Head Business Development
Mettler has 18 years of transformation experience in the wealth management industry. He is former managing director, senior advisor and programme manager in the Bank Julius Bär (et al.).
LinkedIn

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FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: CREALOGIX

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: CREALOGIX
By finovate Posted on
Categories: CREALOGIX, FinovateEurope 2018, FinovateEurope 2018 Sneak Peek

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateEurope on the 6 through 9 of March 2018 in London. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

The CREALOGIX Group’s focus is on consistently meeting evolving customer needs for digital, security, and personalised advice through a customisable and comprehensive user experience.

Features

  • Advanced API aggregation empowers users to control every aspect of their financial lives on one platform
  • Improved user experience
  • Intuitive, user-friendly, self-service insights platform

Why it’s great:
CREALOGIX Gravity – the new force in improving user experience – gives a whole view of customers’ finances via one intuitive, user-friendly, self-service insights platform.

Presenters

Jo Howes, Commercial Director
With more than 20 years’ experience of retail banking and financial services, Howes has an outstanding track record of developing & driving digital strategy and delivering innovative technology.
LinkedIn

Eszter Vass, Senior Product Strategist and Head of Presales
With over 7 years of experience in digitalising the financial services, Vass is strongly focused on continuously improving the services and experience offered, and evolving how people engage with their banks.
LinkedIn

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