Calling All Innovations – Now Accepting Applications for FinovateEurope 2017!

Calling All Innovations – Now Accepting Applications for FinovateEurope 2017!

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As we’re savoring the last few weeks of summer, the Finovate team already has the winter season in mind.

The application window for companies looking to demo their latest fintech innovations at FinovateEurope 2017 in London on 7/8 February 2017 is now open! And that’s a big deal for fintech players of all shapes and sizes looking to launch or make serious inroads in EuropeFinovate is a powerful platform to:

  • Drive product adoption of the latest and most cutting-edge solutions in fintech.
  • Showcase new technology in front of an influential audience of high-level financial and banking executives; press and industry analysts; venture capitalists; regulators; and entrepreneurs.
  • Generate press recognition, find customers, network with peers, raise capital, and discover partners.

If these sound like great ways to take your technology to the next level, then FinovateEurope is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for!

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FinovateEurope returns to Old Billingsgate Market Hall in London for two days of fintech innovation and high-quality networking on 7/8 February 2017.  Our signature seven-minute live-demo format will spotlight innovations in fields ranging from biometrics and the blockchain to mobile payments and investment management.

If making an impact in Europe fits your strategic plans, please email us at europe@finovate.com for more information about applying to present your technology at FinovateEurope. And if you’re looking to be a part of the live audience, register today and take advantage of pre-sale tickets available through September 23.

We hope to see you in London!


FinovateEurope 2017 is sponsored by: Financial Technology PartnersKPMG, and more to be announced.

FinovateEurope 2017 is partners with: SME Finance ForumVerdict Financialand more to be announced.

FinDEVr APIntelligence

FinDEVrSV16-withdateOur FinDEVr New York developer showcase was a success! FinDEVr Silicon Valley will be held 18/19 October in Santa Clara. Register today to save your spot.

On FinDEVr.com

  • Avalara Adds to Compliance Document Management Solution, CertCapture
  • GreenKey Launches Design Partner Program

The latest from FinDEVr New York 2016 presenters

  • OutsideIQ Brings Due Diligence Platform DDIQ to New
    International Markets
  • The International Swaps and Derivatives Association and Markit launch ISDA Amend 2.0.

Alumni updates

  • Kontomatik’s Konstantin Rabin shares his thoughts on successful lending in The Paypers.
  • Envestnet | Yodlee launches Transaction Data Enrichment to offer transparency into transactions.

Stay current on daily news from the fintech developer community! Follow FinDEVr on Twitter.

Automobile Title Lending Platform Finova Financial Raises $52.5 Million

Automobile Title Lending Platform Finova Financial Raises $52.5 Million

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In a round led by a host of Silicon Valley and international investors, auto-title lending-platform developer Finova Financial has raised $52.5 million in combined equity and debt. The investment is one of the largest initial investments in a fintech company and will be used to help grow what Finova calls “the industry’s first all-digital lending platform serving the auto-title loan-marketplace.”

Finova Financial CEO Gregory Keough said that his company and its technology were about more than just helping auto buyers get the funding they need while avoiding the “high interest rates, inconvenient application processes and restrictive terms” he said are all too common in the auto title lending business. “We see Finova Financial as being an advocate for consumer financial well-being through improved access to credit, better repayment terms and lower costs,” Keough said.

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Finova Financial CEO Gregory Keough demonstrated the Car Equity Line of Credit (C-LOC) at FinovateSpring 2016 in San Jose, California.

Investors participating in the round included 500 Startups, the UAE-based Al Hamra Group, Metamorphic Venture, MHS Capital, and Refractor Capital. Individual investors included Sam Hodges, co-founder and managing director of Funding Circle, and Jake Gibson, cofounder of NerdWallet. The credit facility was provided by CoVenture.

Finova Financial’s Car Equity Line of Credit enables borrowers to leverage the equity in their car to obtain affordable, same-day, emergency cash funding. Finova provides instant approval decisions with up to 12-month terms, and customers can apply for loans as well as make payments online or via mobile device. In addition, the company has partnered with 32,000 retail outlets in the U.S. to facilitate in-person payments. Finova notes that 70 million underserved Americans spend $138 billion a year in fees and interest on alternative financial products and says that auto title loans in particular charge upwards of 300% in interest. In contrast, Finova Financial’s C-LOC charges a maximum APR of 30%, and all fees, such as DMV lien fees, are rolled into the life of the loan.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, Finova Financial demonstrated its Car Equity Line of Credit (C-LOC) solution at FinovateSpring 2016.

Interactions Garners $56 Million in its Largest Funding Round Yet

Interactions Garners $56 Million in its Largest Funding Round Yet

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This blog may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance and training purposes.

Virtual customer-assistance company Interactions—the technology behind automated customer-service solutions for companies such as Hyatt, LifeLock, and Asurion—pulled in $56 million today. This is the company’s largest round since launching in 2004. It brings the company’s total funding to $167 million.

The funding comes from Comcast Ventures, NewSpring Capital, and Revolution Growth. Previous investors include Sigma Partners and Softbank Capital. Interactions CEO Mike Iacobucci said he plans to use the funding to meet the “widespread, growing demand” for its speech and natural language offerings and to boost sales and marketing efforts.

The Massachusetts-based company leverages AI and voice-recognition technology to help big brands offer a more friendly, automated customer experience. At FinovateSpring 2014, Interactions launched conversational solutions for banks that enable customers to access account information, change account details, and ask complex questions about their account in real time.

Interactions processes just shy of one billion customer transactions on an annual basis for large brands in seven industries. From 2014 to 2015, the company doubled its annual revenue; it expects to grow sales by 50% in 2016.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Interactions Garners $56 Million in its Largest Funding Round Yet
  • Automobile Title Lending Platform Finova Financial Raises $52.5 Million
  • Check out this week’s FinDEVr APIntelligence.

Around the web

  • Kontomatik’s Konstantin Rabin shares his thoughts on successful lending in The Paypers.
  • Forbes features Jon Stein, Betterment CEO and cofounder.
  • San Diego Business Journal names eMoney Advisor one of the “Best Places to Work in San Diego.”
  • Envestnet | Yodlee launches Transaction Data Enrichment to offer transparency into transactions.
  • TradeRiver Finance reaches milestone of lending GBP100 million to U.K. businesses.
  • Portland Business Journal takes a look inside Simple’s new office.

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.

FinovateAsia 2016 — Save Big with a Super Early-Bird Ticket!

FinovateAsia 2016 — Save Big with a Super Early-Bird Ticket!

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Though we’re in the heat of summer, FinovateAsia 2016 in November is just around the corner. Tickets for the event are selling quickly, and we’re on pace to sell out our first event in Hong Kong.

We’ve already received an array of impressive applications from companies looking to present, so this year’s event is shaping up to be one you won’t want to miss. On November 8 in Hong Kong, we will showcase 32+ of the newest fintech innovations via our signature format that blends fast-paced demos with high-quality networking.

To give you an idea of the influential companies that attend Finovate, see below for just a few of those who joined us at previous events:

  • American Express
  • ANZ
  • Arbor Ventures
  • The Asian Banker
  • Asian Banking & Finance
  • Bangkok Bank
  • Bank of Singapore
  • Barclays
  • Citibank
  • Discover
  • Fidelity Growth Partners Asia
  • Goldman Sachs
  • JPMorgan
  • MasterCard
  • OCBC Bank
  • PayPal
  • Route 66 Ventures
  • Standard Chartered Bank
  • Thomson Reuters
  • Visa

If you’re interested in joining them to watch the future of financial and banking technology unfold live on stage, then get your ticket by this Friday to lock in your spot at the low, super early-bird rate of $300 off. That said, if you can’t wait until November for your next fix of fintech innovation, we do still have a few tickets left for FinovateFall 2016 (8/9 September, in New York City).

Hope to see you at a future event soon!


FinovateAsia 2016 is sponsored by: InvestHK/startmeup.hk and more to be announced.

FinovateAsia 2016 is partners with: BankersHub, Big Data Made Simple, CoinTelegraph,CrowdFundBeatFemTechLeaders, Finolab, Fintech FinanceHarrington StarrKorea FinTech Forum, Miss FQSME Finance ForumSwiss Finance + Technology Associationand Verdict Financial.

CUneXus Closes $5 Million Series A

CUneXus Closes $5 Million Series A

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CUneXus, creator of sales and marketing automation solutions for lenders, quietly closed a $5 million funding round late last week. Two investors contributed to the round; both prefer to remain anonymous.

The California-based company’s total raised is now $7 million. Regarding plans for the funding, CUneXus President and CEO Dave Buerger said, “The use of funds is twofold: (1) aggressive growth and the addition of key personnel, and (2) continuous product development and improvement.”

26921762650_306e7e405d_kDave Buerger, CUneXus president and cofounder, and Darin Chong, cofounder, presented at FinovateSpring 2016.

Since launching in 2011, CUneXus has built a host of solutions for online and mobile lending and cross-selling. At FinovateSpring 2016 the company announced its recent partnership with Edmunds.com and showed off AutoXpress, a vehicle purchasing experience that takes place completely online or on mobile. Prior to that, the company demoed features of its Comprehensive Prescreened Lending (CPL) engine, cplXpress, at FinovateSpring 2014 and 2015. The product suite allows banks to extend perpetual loan-approval status across multiple products to their clients.

Buerger noted that this is just the beginning and says that CUneXus has many exciting projects lined up for release in 2017 and beyond: “As enthusiastic as we are about our current product line, our development roadmap is packed with potential and additional opportunities. We’ve really just scratched the surface.”

Holvi and SumUp Join Forces to Serve SMEs and the Self-Employed

Holvi and SumUp Join Forces to Serve SMEs and the Self-Employed

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SumUp helps merchants accept card payments, and Holvi provides banking services to small businesses. The just-announced partnership between the two will give small businesses and the self-employed a more complete range of financial services without having to rely on traditional banks.

“The cooperation with SumUp is the next logical step for us, because the payment (market) is moving more and more toward the card payments in Germany,” said Leah Marie Zeppos, Holvi DACH country manager. The opportunity is especially large among the self-employed, which has grown by nearly 40% in the past decade to total more than 1.3 million Germans.

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“With the Holvi business account, our customers can concentrate on the essentials,” says Maximilian Stella, SumUp’s VP of business development. “Independence has never been so easy.” SumUp and Holvi see the partnership has helping encourage entrepreneurship in way that is more cost-effective and efficient for smaller companies and individual businesses.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in London, SumUp demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2013. The company acquired payleven this spring, creating a €1 billion-a-year payment-processing giant that provides services in 15 countries including Germany and Brazil. Daniel Klein is CEO.

Holvi provides small business customers with an online business banking account, a Business MasterCard, and digital accounting and bookkeeping. Referred to by Wired magazine as one of the “hottest startups in Finland,” the company was acquired by BBVA in March. Johan Lorenzen joined Holvi as CEO in 2013, the same year the Helsinki-based startup made its most recent Finovate appearance.

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: QEData

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: QEData

Screen Shot 2016-08-08 at 12.11.10 PMFF2016-Logo-wdate-largeA look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals on 8/9 September 2016. Register today.

QEData’s Mirai is a predictive solution that enables any business to use their financial data for insights on their net-cash position for up to six months in the future.

Features:

  • Generates 6-month net-cash position-predictions with better than 80% accuracy
  • Offers suggestions for invoice payment and borrowing
  • Supports what-if sensitivity analysis to test scenarios

Why it’s great
Mirai is a collaborative solution that enhances a financial institution’s services while addressing the strategic challenges of their small business clients.

Presenter

Vibhu Bhan, Chief Innovation Officer
Bhan spearheads the innovation effort at QEData, leveraging more than 15 years of experience across IT, banking and consulting.
LinkedIn

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: SaleMove

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: SaleMove

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FF2016-Logo-wdate-largeA look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals on 8/9 September 2016. Register today.

SaleMove enables organizations to engage online visitors the same way they would in person through video, audio, chat, and co-browsing without any downloads or installations.

Features:

  • Increase conversions
  • Enhance customer experience
  • Improve contact center efficiency

Why it’s great
Businesses that use SaleMove are able to provide online customers with the same high-touch interactions that are possible face-to-face.Screen Shot 2016-08-08 at 1.17.53 PM

Presenters

Dan Michaeli, CEO, cofounder
Michaeli, CEO, is a University of Pennsylvania graduate, originally from Guatemala. His career has focused on venture capital, tech/strategy consulting and startups.
LinkedIn

Screen Shot 2016-08-08 at 1.18.46 PMJustin DiPietro, COO, cofounder
Justin is the cofounder and COO of SaleMove. He formerly was a consultant who devised growth and innovation strategies for Accenture.
LinkedIn

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Full Profile

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Full Profile

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FF2016-Logo-wdate-largeA look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals on 8/9 September 2016. Register today.

Full Profile brings transparency, efficiency, and trust to farmers and the post-farmgate ecosystem through our AgriDigital agri-blockchains and commodity-management software.

Features:

  • Help growers get paid immediately and save buyers and brokers time and money
  • De-risk financing for banks
  • Enable paddock-to-plate transparency for consumers

Why it’s great
This harvest, we are launching the first ever global pilot application of blockchain in physical agri-commodities.

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Emma Weston, Founder
Weston has extensive career experience as a lawyer, agribusiness executive, start-up mentor, and executive coach. She brings a wealth of strategic and operational expertise to the team at Full Profile.
LinkedIn

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: TransUnion

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: TransUnion

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FF2016-Logo-wdate-largeA look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals on 8/9 September 2016. Register today.

TransUnion’s Prama puts the power of big data and analytics at your fingertips to make better decisions at the speed your business demands.

Features:

  • On-demand access to seven years of depersonalized credit data
  • Easily configure metrics to answer your specific questions
  • Benchmark your performance against the market and peers

Why it’s great
Prama is an intuitive, web-based solution that provides self-service access to more than 350 billion rows of depersonalized consumer credit data, facilitating faster decisions and strategy adjustments.Screen Shot 2016-08-08 at 12.45.57 PM

Presenters

Paul Siegfried, SVP, Financial Services
Siegfried leads the financial services card vertical and is charged with product development, business development and market strategy.
LinkedIn
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Ginny Gomez, SVP, Product Management
Gomez leads U.S. product management and is responsible for delivering innovative new solutions and driving increased value for our clients across markets and verticals.
LinkedIn