Bitbond Launches Alternative Investment Fund in Partnership with 1741 Fund Management

Bitbond Launches Alternative Investment Fund in Partnership with 1741 Fund Management
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Bitbond

Peer-to-peer small business financing platform Bitbond has entered into a partnership with 1741 Fund Management to launch an alternative investment fund.

The new investment opportunity is made possible through an open-ended investment fund from 1741 Fund Management. Through the partnership, any institutional investor will have access to a diversified portfolio of small business loans that are originated through Bitbond’s small business lending platform. The new product is set up as an Alternative Investment Fund under the E.U.’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive.

Germany-based Bitbond offers small businesses across the globe fast access to working capital. Its platform connects small business owners with individual and institutional investors and leverages the blockchain to send cross-border payments quickly and inexpensively. Because Bitbond requires less manual involvement than traditional underwriting methods, it also has the advantage of scalability.

Since it was launched in 2013, the Bitbond platform has facilitated more than 2,300 loans worth $7.4 million (€6 million), most of which is used as short-term working capital for online retailers. Bitbond, which holds its own BaFin regulatory license, boasts more than 130,000 users from 120 countries.

At FinovateFall 2016, Bitbond launched an automated SME scoring engine. The tool offers a universal, automated scoring method that provides borrowers instant funding after their application is accepted. Last spring, the company brought in $5.4 million in debt financing and an undisclosed amount of equity funding, taking Bitbond’s total equity funds to more than $2.4 million. Radko Albrecht is founder and CEO.

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FinovateMiddleEast Sneak Peek: ebankIT

FinovateMiddleEast Sneak Peek: ebankIT
By finovate Posted on
Categories: ebankIT, FinovateMiddleEast 2018

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.

ebankIT platform is the hub that enables banks to provide customer journeys with empathic experiences. The next banking revolution will demand this.

Features

  • Flexible omnichannel digital banking platform, business middleware, class-leading apps
  • Fully empathic customer interactions
  • API gateway to embrace fintechs and third parties

Presenters

Diana Winstanley, Business Developer 
Winstanley coordinated several projects on business analysis and international business development, with experience showcasing the latest technology innovation to financial institutions throughout the globe.
LinkedIn

 

Vitor Barros, Pre-Sales Director 
Project Director for R&D department of ebankIT, Barros has managed and implemented several projects over the years, ranging from middleware to mobile platforms and development of innovative applications.
LinkedIn

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Moven Enterprise Teams with SBI Holdings to Launch in Japan

Moven Enterprise Teams with SBI Holdings to Launch in Japan
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Moven

Financial engagement and digital experiences platform Moven Enterprise has partnered with Japanese financial services company SBI Holdings, which owns Softbank and is partnered with more than 60 financial institutions across Asia.

This is part of a joint venture agreement between the two in which SBI will bring Moven’s technology into Japan under the Moven brand, offering mobile banking tools to domestic and international banks. The agreement also gives SBI Holdings one of six seats on Moven’s board of directors.

Moven has already partnered with numerous financial institutions, including TD Bank and Westpac in New Zealand. Today’s agreement, however, with SBI is Moven’s first foray into Asia.

Launched at FinovateFall 2016, Moven Enterprise takes a software-as-a-service approach by allowing banks and financial services companies to white-label its financial management technology. Moven Enterprise offers tools to help banks engage with their existing customers, acquire new customers, and drive revenue through their mobile channel.

At FinovateAsia 2017, Moven Enterprise demonstrated a new credit offering, chatbot functionality, and an expansion of its wish list feature that leverages behavioral gamification.

American Banker announced today that Moven’s consumer-facing brand– a challenger bank that launched in 2011– is seeking to acquire a bank, though it has not disclosed which. The company’s founder, Brett King, said the reasoning behind a bank purchase would be to help Moven scale faster and access more services for its customers.

Moven last demoed its consumer-facing platform at FinovateFall 2016 with the launch of a daily digest feature and real-time receipt capabilities. Last June, the company’s enterprise offering, in partnership with Westpac, received the CANSTAR 2017 Innovation Excellence Award.

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nCino Reels in Investment from Salesforce Ventures

nCino Reels in Investment from Salesforce Ventures
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, nCino

The amount of the funding was undisclosed. But cloud-based banking innovator nCino has just picked up a fresh infusion of capital courtesy of a round led by Salesforce Ventures. The investment adds to the company’s known total capital of more than $81 million, which includes a $17 million private equity round back in August.

“From day one, our vision has been to be the worldwide leader in cloud banking,” nCino CEO Pierre Naude said. “We are successfully executing on that vision and empowering financial institutions around the globe to grow their business and better serve their customers. Our strong alignment with Salesforce has been a key factor in our growth and success.”

nCino will use the funds to help drive its global expansion, as well as speed innovation on its Bank Operating System technology. The solution is built on the Salesforce platform and is integrated with Salesforce Financial Services Cloud. nCino has been a Salesforce partner since it was founded in 2012.

SVP and GM of Financial Services for Salesforce, Rohit Mahna highlighted the long-term relationship between the two companies. “nCino extends the power of the Salesforce platform, enabling banks to get closer to their customers than ever before,” Mahna said. “The investment from Salesforce Ventures is the latest evolution in our strong partnership, and we’re thrilled to help fuel nCino’s global growth and innovation.”

The company’s Bank Operating System integrates with core banking and transactional systems. The technology combines CRM, deposit account opening, loan origination, workflow, enterprise content management, digital engagement, and real-time reporting to enable financial institutions to provide the kind of personalized, streamlined experience customers and bank employees alike have come to expect. nCino notes that on average its client institutions have experienced:

  • 17% reduction in operating costs
  • 19% increase in loan volume
  • 22% increase in staff efficiency
  • 34% decrease in loan closing time
  • 54% reduction in policy exceptions

nCino demonstrated its Bank Operating System at FinovateEurope 2017. Headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, the company began the year with a major new partnership with Navy Federal Credit Union, the largest credit union in the world with more than $87 billion in assets, more than seven million members, and 300 branches. 2017 was a big year for nCino, with deployments of its Bank Operating System announced with CFCU Community Credit Union in December, Iberiabank in November, and Pacific Western Bank in August – to name just a few recent wins. The cumulative result was that nCino ended the year with 10 of the 30 largest U.S. banks by asset size as customers and 180 financial clients around the world.

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FinovateMiddleEast Sneak Peek: ZagTrader

FinovateMiddleEast Sneak Peek: ZagTrader
By finovate Posted on
Categories: FinovateMiddleEast 2018, ZagTrader

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.

ZagTrader is a leading financial technology company specializing in serving the global financial services industry and licensing its proprietary technology solutions, market data, and hosting services.

Features

  • Electronic connectivity to crypto exchanges globally
  • Access to more than 200 exchanges worldwide
  • Robo-advisory and structured product capabilities

Why it’s great
ZagTrader provides the ability to handle multi-asset class instruments such as stocks, commodities, futures, FX, as well as digital crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ripple, and Ethereum ETC within the same platform.

Presenters

Shihab Khalil, CEO 
With in-depth experience in fintech and capital markets, Khalil is driving ZagTrader towards becoming a global fintech company serving the banks, brokers, asset management, and capital markets.
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FinovateMiddleEast Sneak Peek: Munnypot

FinovateMiddleEast Sneak Peek: Munnypot
By finovate Posted on
Categories: FinovateMiddleEast 2018, Munnypot

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.

Munnypot is an award-winning, easy-to-use, fully-automated, B2C and B2B online investment advice service. It provides low cost, goal-based, jargon-free advice.

Features

  • Regulated investment advice
  • Investment decisions made for the customer based on goals and appetite for risk.
  • Monitoring of investment performance in relation to the goal with actionable advice.

Why it’s great
Munnypot is engaging, easy-to-use, and builds customer confidence. All the complex decisions are taken away, making investment advice accessible and convenient for anyone.

Presenter

Andrew Fay, CEO
Fay is a former IFA who went on to form Cavanagh Group and worked as Head of Wealth Management at Close Brothers prior to co-founding Munnypot.
LinkedIn

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London-based Lender EZBOB Raises $21 Million in New Funding

London-based Lender EZBOB Raises $21 Million in New Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: EZBOB, Funding

Small business online lender EZBOB has raised $21 million in new funding (£15 million) courtesy of an investment from Moscow-based PE firm Da Vinci Capital Management. The funding puts the company’s total capital at more than $146 million (£103 million).

Founded in 2011, EZBOB demonstrated its lending platform at FinovateEurope 2014. The company provides small and medium-sized businesses with up to £120,000 in financing in minutes. There are no pre-payment penalties, and borrowers are offered a flexible repayment schedule of up to 24 months and an APR as low as 18%.

What will EZBOB do with the additional financing? Some clues hinted at in a Forbes interview with EZBOB co-founder and CEO Tomer Guriel from last summer suggest that new products (“such as a consumer lending platform and a mortgage platform”) may be in the offering. The idea is to model any new lending product after the company’s current SME lending platform.

So it was no surprise that when asked by interviewer Omri Barzilay what EZBOB’s advantage is in the SME lending space, Guriel answered “technology” and discussed the company’s commitment to improving the customer experience. But he segued quickly to the “fin” part of “fintech,” adding that:

“Our advantage is that we are solely focused on digital lending solutions. We live and breathe the lending space. Lending is at the heart of the bank’s business and our experience in lending has given us phenomenal insight into what works for a customer and from a lender perspective.”

So far, so good. EZBOB ended 2017 winning “Best Technology Initiative” from the Financial Innovation Awards. In November, Yorkshire Bank said that it would deploy technology from EZBOB to speed the loan application process from two weeks to less than 24 hours. Back in August, the company announced that it would extend its contract with AU10TIX for ID authentication and automating customer onboarding. The Royal Bank of Scotland has also used EZBOB’s technology to launch its automated lending platform, Esme.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Bitbond, Ephesoft, EZBOB, Klarna, Moven, MX, nCino, PayNearMe, Revolut, Ripple, TIBCO Software

On Finovate.com

  • Moven Enterprise Launches in Japan, Lands $23 Million from SBI Holdings.
  • nCino Reels in Investment from SalesForce Ventures.
  • London-based lender EZBOB Raises $21 Million in New Funding.
  • Bitbond Launches Alternative Investment Fund in Partnership with 1741 Fund Management.

Around the web

  • TIBCO appoints Matt Quinn as COO, Nelson Petracek as CTO.
  • Revolut launches ability to buy, hold, & sell Bitcoin, Litecoin, & Ethereum in just 30 seconds directly from the app.
  • KIVA Group team with MX to offer AFCU members mobile banking app.
  • UK technology retailer Maplin integrates Klarna’s pay later option.
  • Ephesoft appoints Russ Hubbard as Chief Revenue Officer.
  • PayNearMe partners with Ria to make paying for international money transfers easier.

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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TESOBE’s Open Bank Project Powering Santander’s First Hackathon

TESOBE’s Open Bank Project Powering Santander’s First Hackathon
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Open Bank Project, TESOBE

Courtesy of help from TESOBE’s Open Bank Project, Santander is hosting its first hackathon this spring. The bank will leverage the Open Bank Project’s white-labeled sandbox technology and expertise to host the competition, themed Building Banking Your Way.

Stephen Dury, Head of Customer and Innovation at Santander​, said, “​By launching a hackathon, we hope to see the future of open banking come to life through participants fresh ideas, creative new use cases and industry-changing solutions.”

Using a sandbox of emulated data, the hackathon aims to find innovative solutions to business challenges and tackle issues ranging from customer interaction, security, homeownership, and money management. Prizes will be awarded to participants who create submissions that “surprise, delight, and engage with users in a way that has never been done before” and the winning team will receive $14,000 (£10,000).

Santander’s upcoming hackathon will take place from 16 through 18th March in Shoreditch.

Simon Redfern, CEO of TESOBE / Open Bank Project, ​said that this hackathon comes at a particularly exciting time given the EU’s new open banking regulations. “A hackathon is a great way of gathering and focusing fresh perspectives and we’re excited to meet and support the up-and-coming innovators who have the vision, passion, and capability to rapidly deliver compelling fintech apps and services using Open Banking APIs,” Redfern added.

The Open Bank Project has partnered with a number of global banks, including Societe Generale and The Royal Bank of Scotland, to help them organize and execute successful hackathons. With new PSD2 guidelines in place, banks may be more likely to open themselves to new opportunities and feel more pressure to create and adopt new, innovative services.

Headquartered in Germany, the Open Bank Project was founded in 2005. At FinovateSpring 2013, Redfern demonstrated a fun application of open banking– the world’s first singing bank. The point of the demo was not the singing bank itself, but rather was intended to showcase the ease of use of the Open Banking Project’s API. At FinovateEurope this March, TESOBE’s Open Bank Project will demo its newest technology from stage (register).

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BlueVine Boosts Invoice Factoring Credit Line to $5 Million

BlueVine Boosts Invoice Factoring Credit Line to $5 Million
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BlueVine

Small business lender BlueVine announced today that it would double the size of its invoice factoring solution and increase the limit for its business line of credit, Flex Credit, by more than 30%.

“In just four years, we’ve dramatically increased our invoice factoring credit line to $5 million, and our business line of credit to $200,000,” Eyal Lifshitz, BlueVine CEO and founder, said. “We continue to be fully committed to providing business owners with robust financing options to help them thrive.”

BlueVine provides two avenues for small businesses looking for funding. With Flex Credit, SMEs can get approved for a line of credit product in 24 hours. With the click of a button, borrowers are able to withdraw funds whenever they need them, with available credit replenished as the funds are repaid. No maintenance fees or prepayment penalties are charged, and interest rates as low as 4.8% are available.

Designed to help free up cash flow, BlueVine’s invoice factoring product differs from traditional factoring solutions by giving businesses flexibility in choosing which invoices they want to fund rather than having to fund all of them. Bluevine also distributes rebates on the same day instead of once a month, and syncs with accounting platforms instead of requiring mailed or faxed original invoices. Businesses can also use BlueVine’s invoice factoring without fear of being locked in to a long-term contract or having to pay sizable termination fees. BlueVine offers flat 85% to 90% advance rates, free ACH transfer, and $15 per wire.

BlueVine’s news comes just a few days after announcing its new Chief Financial Officer. After joining BlueVine as Vice President of Finance and Capital Markets in 2016 – and being named to the Women in Fintech Powerlist last November – Ana Sirbu (pictured) has been appointed CFO. Sirbu has a degree from Harvard University, a background in investment banking, and was a technology investor at both Silver Lake Partners and Google Capital before her tenure at BlueVine.

“Ana has played a critical role in BlueVine’s growth and success,” Lifshitz said. “She has done an incredible job spearheading our capital markets strategy, building out our finance and analytics functions, and strengthening our position in the online business lending market.”

BlueVine demonstrated its small business lending platform at FinovateFall 2014. The company was featured by Entrepreneur magazine earlier this month, in a look at the top 360 best entrepreneurial companies in the U.S. Last fall, BlueVine was awarded Best Business Finance Provider, North America, at the Trade Finance Global awards. BlueVine reeled in $130 million in debt financing back in October – its second in 2017. This gave the firm overall financing of $273 million, of which $68 million is equity funding.

In addition to its Redwood City, California headquarters, BlueVine has offices in New Orleans and Tel Aviv, Israel. The company also today announced a new office in Jersey City, New Jersey, which it believes will help grow its customer base on the east coast of the U.S.

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French PFM Innovator Linxo Partners with Raisin

French PFM Innovator Linxo Partners with Raisin
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: linxo

A Franco-German alliance has formed with Linxo and Raisin teaming up to target the European savings sector, reports Antony Peyton of Fintech Futures (sister publication of Finovate).

Linxo, a smart financial assistant from France, and Berlin-based financial marketplace Raisin said via their collaboration 1.6 million Linxo users will get access to a choice of savings accounts across the continent.

Bruno Van Haetsdaele, co-founder of Linxo, said with the “impetus of the Payment Services Directive (PSD2), we will now be able to create a harmonised approach in Europe” and the partnership “reflects our desire to create an open European ecosystem of financial services directly accessible from Linxo whatever the European country you live in”.

Tamaz Georgadze, founder of Raisin, said with Linxo, a French citizen can open a term savings account in Austria, Portugal or the Czech Republic “while benefiting” from the respective national deposit guarantee scheme in all EU countries that covers invested capital of up to €100,000 per customer and per bank.

Established in 2013, Raisin said it works with more than 40 banks and financial institutions. To date, more than 100,000 European customers have invested over €5 billion via its platform. It said it operates country-specific platforms in Germany, France, Spain and Austria, as well as its European platform.

Linxo is available on mobile devices and the internet. The start-up was launched in 2010 by Van Haetsdaele, an engineer at Stanford Research Institute and former CTO and co-founder of Wimba, a start-up devoted to on-line education, and Hugues Pisapia (formerly of Wimba and the initiator of the Linxo project). Based in Aix-en-Provence, Linxo demonstrated its PFM platform at FinovateEurope 2011. The company has raised more than $26 million in funding (€23.2 million) and includes Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa and MAIF among its investors.

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Kabbage to Serve Larger Businesses by Expanding Line of Credit to $250k

Kabbage to Serve Larger Businesses by Expanding Line of Credit to $250k
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Kabbage

Alternative lending startup Kabbage is broadening its focus today. The Atlanta-based company has expanded its line of credit to $250,000 to offer more purchasing power to larger businesses for longer term loans.

This credit increase will not only serve existing Kabbage clients looking to borrow more, but will also add to the company’s customer base to include larger businesses. In a recent survey of 800 small businesses, Kabbage found that more than 73% of businesses expect to increase their revenue by more than 20% this year. Among the top investments businesses plan to make are:

  • Mobile technologies, such as apps, advertising or text automation for customer relationship management
  • Technologies to reduce manual process and paperwork
  • Social advertising
  • Cybersecurity tools and software to protect company and customer data

“Giving small businesses the peace of mind and security to focus less on their finances and more on their passions is a key tenet at Kabbage,” said Bob Sharpe, COO of Kabbage. “Increasing our lines of credit to $250,000 significantly enhances our ability to solve financial hurdles for larger and more specialized businesses that may otherwise be unachievable, which we see in the market today.”

Once they’re approved, businesses can draw on the $250,000 line of credit at any time, without having to reapply for each loan they take. Kabbage is not charging additional fees for the larger amount, has no annual withdrawal requirements, and no origination costs. Businesses can access the funds online, via the Kabbage mobile app, or on the Kabbage Card, which the company launched at FinovateSpring 2015. The Kabbage Card allows users to withdrawal from their line of credit at any point-of-sale where VISA is accepted.

Last month, the company released 2017 growth figures, stating it has extended $4+ billion to more than 130,000 small businesses since it was founded in 2009. In November of 2017, Kabbage made headlines when it brought in a $200 million credit facility. Check out our video interview with Kabbage’s President and Co-Founder Kathryn Petralia at FinovateFall 2017.

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