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EyeLock’s New Launch Improves Iris Recognition Tech

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 8, 2016
Categories: EyeLock

There are plenty of reasons I stopped using my bank’s finicky iris-scanning mobile-authentication technology to log in and check my account balance. Plagued with issues caused by glasses, glare and sunlight, I switched to using a 4-digit PIN for the foreseeable future. This week iris authentication company EyeLock released a new technology to remove some of the friction associated with the technology and boost adoption rates.

The New York-based company’s new technology authenticates at a distance of 60 cm and works with glasses, contact lenses, and even in bright daylight, making EyeLock even more user-friendly. EyeLock CEO Jim Demitrieus refers to the new technology as a “significant scientific breakthrough.” In a press release, Demitrieus added that it “solves the usability and security impediments that have long been an obstacle for mass-market adoption.”

EyeLock owns and controls the entire software and algorithm stack, which helps it to create a more secure solution. Founded in 2006, the company has raised $3 million in funding. At FinovateFall 2014 the company debuted myris, a USB-powered identity authenticator that converts a user’s iris into a unique, encrypted code for secure website access.

Earlier this year, EyeLock opened an IoT Center of Excellence to further develop and expand the distribution of its iris-scanning technologies. In late 2015 the company teamed up with Diebold to create a new concept ATM that connects to the user’s smartphone instead of using a PIN pad, card reader, or screen.

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Avalara Unveils Enhanced Compliance Document Managent Solution, CertCapture

By David Penn Posted on August 8, 2016
Categories: Avalara

Seattle-based Avalara unveiled a trio of enhancements to its compliance document-management solution, CertCapture. The new features are designed to make it easier for SMEs to capture, manage, and analyze tax documents in real time.

“CertCapture’s new features simplify the ever-increasing burden of tax compliance while enabling customers to run their businesses more efficiently and with the highest level of security,” says Matt Tormollen, Avalara’s EVP and GM. The enhancements include a simplified user interface for POS systems, a single sign-on for customer exemption status management, and additional visual reporting features to better spot trends and manage compliance materials.

“Commerce happens in real time and we want to empower clients to manage more of their tax compliance in real time,” Tormollen said.

Loke Uei Tan, senior manager of developer relations for Avalara, presented “The Wacky World of Sales Tax” at FinDEVr San Francisco 2015.

Avalara specializes in APIs that enable developers to bring transactional tax computation and management to their platforms. From helping SMEs calculate sales taxes for e-commerce transactions to empowering businesses with global customers to better negotiate the complex world of VATs and import/export taxes, Avalara’s solutions support tax calculation (Avalara AvaTax), returns and filing (Avalara Returns), tax document management (Avalara CertCapture), and professional services.

In June, Avalara announced a new integration with Stripe, the same month the company was twice recognized by American Business Awards, earning a silver prize for Executive of the Year – Computer Services and a bronze for New Product or Service of the Year – Software. Earlier this year, Avalara partnered with eCommerce platform WooCommerce to help online merchants calculate sales taxes more accurately.

Founded in 2004, Avalara presented at FinDEVr San Francisco 2015, showing how its technology helps businesses deal with the complexity of sales taxes and other transactional fees. The company has raised more than $223 million in funding, and includes Arthur Ventures, Battery Ventures, Sageview Capital, Technology Crossover Ventures, and Warburg Pincus among its investors.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on August 8, 2016
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Alpine Data Labs, Avalara, BioCatch, Green Key Technologies, iSignthis, Meniga, TransferWise

On Finovate.com

Avalara Unveils Enhanced Compliance Document Management Solution, CertCapture

Alpine Data Partners with Pivotal to Bring Smart App Building Blocks to Businesses

On FinDEVr.com

GreenKey Launches Design Partner Program

Around the web

GreenKey launches Design Partner Program with interdealer brokers, Tradition and Tullett Prebon.

iSignthis inks card-acquiring and -settlement partnership with National Australia Bank.

ACI Worldwide hosts “Coding for Girls” camp.

Transfers from Brazil now live on TransferWise.

Equities.com: How Meniga is Leading the Charge in Revolutionizing Online Banking

Times of Israel features BioCatch.

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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Fintech Fundings: 23 Companies Raise $530 Million Week Ending July 8

By Jim Bruene Posted on August 5, 2016
Categories: Funding

money_key In a holiday-shortened week in the United States, 23 deals were announced that brought in a total of $527 million. Most ($449 million) went to Chinese payment and investment platform, Qufenqi.

Four Finovate alums raised a total of $18 million during the week:

Coinbase landed $10.5 million from Bank of Tokyo
P2Binvestor raised $5.1 million
StockTwits raised $2 million
Spiff raised $150,000

The total number of deals YTD stands at 760, nearly double last year’s 386. Total dollars raised YTD is $17.9 billion, more than double the $8.5 billion raised during the same period a year ago.

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Fintech deals by size from 2 July to 8 July 2016:

Qufenqi
Installment payment and investment platform
Latest round: $449 million Series F
Total raised: $874 million
HQ: Beijing, China
Tags: Consumer, investing, loans, credit, ecommerce, investing, payments
Source: Crunchbase

Neogrowth
Alt-lender to small businesses
Latest round: $35 million
Total raised: $36.6 million
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: SMB, commerical loans, credit, underwriting
Source: FT Partners

Coinbase
Bitcoin exhange and wallet
Latest round: $10.5 million
Total raised: $117.2 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, traders, payments, funds transfer, remittances, bitcoin, crypto-currency, Bank of Tokyo (investor), Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase, Finovate

P2Binvestor
Receivables financing marketplace
Latest round: $5.1 million
Total raised: $6.5 million
HQ: Denver, Colorado
Tags: SMB, trade finance, factoring, accounts receivable, working capital, commercial credit, underwriting, investing, crowdsourced, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase

Finanzchef24
Online broker
Latest round: $4.5 million
Total raised: $12.6 million
HQ: Munich, Germany
Tags: Consumer, advisers, traders, investing, wealth management, trading, person-to-person, P2P
Source: Crunchbase

Lending Works
P2P lending platform
Latest round: $3.9 million Series A
Total raised: $9.65 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, credit, loans, underwriting, person-to-person, P2P, investing
Source: Crunchbase

SmartAngels.fr
Equity crowdfunding platform
Latest round: $3.9 million
Total raised: $5.3 million
HQ: Paris, France
Tags: SMB, investing, fundraising, capital, venture capital (VC), angel investing
Source: Crunchbase

Netki
Blockchain titles
Latest round: $3.5 million Seed
Total raised: $3.5 million
HQ: Woodland Hills, California
Tags: Consumer, SMB, blockchain, digital identity
Source: Crunchbase

Airwallex
International invoice payments
Latest round: $3 million Seed
Total raised: $3 million
HQ: Melbourne, Australia
Tags: SMB, foreign exchange, billing, invoices, payments
Source: Crunchbase

EarnUp
Consumer debt management tool
Latest round: $3 million Seed
Total raised: $3 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Accelerator: Financial Solutions Lab (CFSI)
Tags: Consumer, debt/loan payments, credit, personal financial management, PFM

Source: Crunchbase

StockTwits
Stock information and communication platform
Latest round: $2 million
Total raised: $13.9 million
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Consumer, advisers, traders, investing, trading, communications, information, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

OB1 (division of OpenBazaar)
Stealth bitcoin payments
Latest round: $1.5 million
Total raised: $1.5 million
Tags: SMB, ecommerce, merchants, crypto-currency, blockchain
Source: Crunchbase

Drop
Multimerchant credit/debit card loyalty program
Latest round: $775,000
Total raised: $775,000
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tags: Consumer, rewards, cards, loyalty, payments, spending
Source: Crunchbase

Gatecoin
Crypto-currency exchange
Latest round: $500,000
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: Hong Kong
Tags: Consumer, traders, payments, funds transfer, remittances, bitcoin, crypto-currency, blockchain
Source: Crunchbase

The Oak
Financial wellness coach
Latest round: $300,000
Total raised: $300,000
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, personal financial management, PFM, service, information, advice
Source: Crunchbase

Spiff
Social savings platform
Latest round: $150,000
Total raised: $150,000
HQ: Oslo, Norway
Tags: Consumer, savings accounts, investing, youth market, personal financial management, PFM, spending, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Vestvise
Investment information site
Latest round: $6,000 Angel
Total raised: $6,000
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Consumer, advisers, traders, investing, wealth management, trading, information, analytics, reporting
Source: Crunchbase

Bolanegruppen
Mortgage price negotiation service
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Stockholm, Sweden
Tags: Consumer, price comparison, mortgage
Source: Crunchbase

Crowdsurfer
Analytics on crowd finance
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised previously: $340,000
HQ: Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, traders, payments, funds transfer, remittances, bitcoin, crypto-currency, blockchain
Source: Crunchbase

OneAssist
Credit card & mobile payments fraud protection
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: $9.25 million
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Consumers, mobile payments, credit/debit cards, security, fraud protection
Source: Crunchbase

Salarium
Payroll automation platform
Latest round: Undisclosed Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Manilla, Phillipines
Tags: SMB, payroll, payments, HR, employee benefits
Source: Crunchbase

SBI Japannext
Online brokerage and trading system
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Tags: Institutions, traders, investing, trading, exchange
Source: FT Partners

Wealthtrust
Investment manager
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Consumer, advisers, traders, investing, wealth management, trading, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

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Prosper Closes in on $5 Billion Commitment for New Loans

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 5, 2016
Categories: Prosper

P2P lending platform Prosper is in talks with a group of investment firms to sell around $5 billion worth of loans over the course of the next two years.

Interested firms include Fortress Investment Group LLC, Soros Fund Management LLC, Third Point LLC, and Jefferies LLC. Some of these firms are in talks with banks about borrowing money to support the purchases. According to the Wall Street Journal, “The loans would be bought at face value, but the firms are also in discussions to receive equity warrants in Prosper as they make the purchases.”

Once finalized, this deal will help to quiet naysayers of P2P lending platforms, an industry which has faced increased scrutiny since Lending Club’s CEO was forced to resign and Prosper laid off 28% of its workforce. The loan purchase agreements are expected to be complete in the coming weeks.

News was also released that Prosper has already started selling loans to BBVA Compass, a bank whose VC arm took an equity stake in Prosper in 2015.

Aside from the aforementioned layoffs and a 12% drop in lending volume in the first quarter of this year, Prosper has issued relatively positive news over the course of the past six months. In March, the company appointed a USAA executive as its new CFO, rebranded its recently purchased BillGuard app to Prosper Daily, and teamed up with HomeAdvisor to improve access to home financing. In June, Prosper launched an all-new interface for investors, simplifying the view of portfolio diversification.

Founded in 2005, Prosper presented at FinovateSpring 2009 as well as the inaugural Finovate in 2007.

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Dashlane and Google Partner to Improve Online Security via Open YOLO

By David Penn Posted on August 5, 2016
Categories: Dashlane, Google

Dashlane and Google have teamed up to develop an open API for app developers called Open YOLO, which stands for “You Only Login Once.” The technology makes it easier for Android apps to work with password managers.

“To stay one step ahead of the market demand,” Dashlane’s Malaika Nicholas wrote on the company blog, “Google and Dashlane are helping create a seamless, universally acceptable Android app-authentication solution to increase your online security.” Nicholas added that Dashlane’s development team opted for an open source solution because it gives users a cross-platform security option. She noted that in February, Dashlane announced support for FIDO’s Alliances Universal Second Factor (U2F) authentication standard, the first password manager to do so.

Left to right: CEO Emmanuel Schalit and Nishant Mani, VP partnerships and marketing, demonstrated Dashlane at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.

While Dashlane is pioneering the Open YOLO effort, other password managers are expected to be involved in the project, and other non-Android operating systems are to be added as well. Among those other password managers expressing interest according to reporting in TechCrunch, are 1Password, LastPass, Keeper, and Keepass. “This is an important initiative for our industry and for the state of user security,” Dashlane CEO Emmanuel Schalit said, “Collectively, we are committed to increasing user security and believe that the best way to do this is to champion open source security projects.” According to a Dashlane spokesperson, more information on the project, including technical documentation and code will be made public soon.

With more than five million users of its technology, Dashlane provides a free consumer app for use on a single device and a premium service for use on an unlimited number of devices for $39.99 a year. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in New York City, Dashlane demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2013. The company launched its Spaces for Mobile solution in July and introduced its redesigned app for iPhone and iPad in June. In May, Dashlane raised $22.5 million in a round led by TransUnion that took the company’s total capital to more than $52 million. And in March, the company announced that former Fab.com executive David Lapter was joining Dashlane as its new CFO.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Mountain View, California, Google demonstrated its Google Advisor technology at FinovateFall 2011. The company also participated in the inaugural FinDEVr New York developers conference this spring with a presentation titled “TensorFlow Machine Learning with Financial Data on the Google Cloud Platform.”

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on August 5, 2016
Categories: CustomerXPs, Dashlane, FIS, Google, Green Dot, ID Analytics, Narrative Science, Prosper, Revolut, WorthFM, Zopa

On Finovate.com

Dashlane and Google Partner to Improve Online Security via Open YOLO

Prosper Closes in on $5 Billion Commitment for New Loans

Around the web

FIS and Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson extend VC FinTech Accelerator program to 2018.

Revolut app tops 250,000 users.

Narrative Science launches Solution Provider program.

Oprah Winfrey Network names WorthFM founder and CEO Amanda Steinberg to the inaugural Opray Winfrey Network SuperSoul 100.

Banking technology interviews Rivi Varghese, CEO of CustomerXPs Software.

American Banker: Profits, Revenue Forecast Rise at Green Dot

LifeLock Promotes CEO of ID Analytics

Zopa gives a rundown of its four-year history.

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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Azimo Launches Money Transfers on Facebook Messenger

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 4, 2016
Categories: Azimo

With its new launch today, Azimo is making global money transfers as easy as sending a message. The London-based company now lets customers send money to 190+ countries via Facebook Messenger, which counts one billion users.

Azimo’s integration with Facebook Messenger reaches customers in the channel they’re already using. It makes transferring money easy: No IBAN number, contact details, or other info is required.

Azimo’s users (iOS or Android) simply select who they want to pay, how much to send, and request the recipient’s details on Facebook Messenger. Within the Facebook app, the recipient enters their details to complete the transfer. Azimo offers the option of transferring the money to their bank or to one of its 290,000 brick-and-mortar pick-up locations.

Here’s a video tutorial from Azimo:

https://youtu.be/LN8U_28-uEw

This news comes just over a month after the company launched its Facebook Messenger chatbot, which uses AI and machine learning to create a natural, human-like conversational chat experience.

Founded in 2012, Azimo has raised a total of $40 million; its estimated value is $100 million. The company debuted its global money transfer platform at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.

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Dwolla Launches New Dashboard for White-Label Partners

By David Penn Posted on August 4, 2016
Categories: Dwolla

Dwolla’s got a brand new Dash.

Designed to help companies to better manage customer and transaction data, Dwolla’s new dashboard and administrative interface will save its white-label partners time and money while providing actionable insights into business activity and trends. The company hinted at its plans for the new interface in July 2016 when Product Manager James Eliason said that with the “ever-increasing adoption of our white-label bank-transfer API, we understood the need to build a dashboard that accurately reflects the power of that product.” And he noted that partners “need a way to manage the customers they are onboarding, as well as a simple way to view the health of their business from a volume and transactional perspective.”

The new dashboard makes it easier to view transactions, reconcile payments, deliver more specific customer support, and to monitor the overall payments integration. Charts and graphs of the data from their own integration with Dwolla’s white-label ACH API provide a clearer, more visually compelling view of each company’s KPIs and overall financial health. Dwolla partner GOAT says it reduced cashout-related support tickets by 80% after its integration with Dwolla’s technology.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, Dwolla demonstrated its FiSync technology at FinovateSpring 2015. In May, the company announced it was adding banks to its instant account-verification flow, and in February, CoinDesk took a look at how Dwolla was turning its attention to the blockchain. The company was featured in Inc. magazine earlier this year in an article looking at Dwolla’s potential to “disrupt the payments industry.”

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Lendio by the Numbers: $250 Million in Loans to 10,000+ Small Businesses

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 4, 2016
Categories: Lendio

Small business lending marketplace Lendio released its second quarter financial results this week. The Utah-based company reached a milestone, having matched 10,000 small businesses with $250 million in loans since its 2011 launch.

In Q2 ending 30 June 2016, Lendio facilitated $55+ million in loans, $4+ million of which came through Lendio’s partnership with Staples. The $55 million represents an 86% increase over the $30 million in loans it facilitated in Q2 2015. Lendio CEO Brock Blake noted that despite “pessimism in the market” Lendio’s growth remains “strong and steady.”

Additional Q2 ’16 highlights include:

2,400 new businesses funded, a 2.3X increase over Q1 ’16
Record number and volume of loan renewals
Loans funded in all 50 states
Top 10 states: California, Florida, Texas, New York, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia and Colorado
Top industries: construction, transportation, retail, healthcare, restaurant, manufacturing and automotive
Lendio was certified by Great Place to Work

Lendio works on behalf of small business borrowers to match them with the right loan, helping the 75 lenders on its platform reach qualified borrowers. The company partnered with American Express in April to power its merchant financing offering. In 2015, the Utah-based company facilitated $128+ million in financing to more than 5,100 businesses. Lendio debuted at FinovateSpring 2011.

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PayNearMe Powering Cash Payments for Comcast

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 4, 2016
Categories: PayNearMe

Starting today, you can pay your Comcast bill in cash thanks to digital cash transaction network PayNearMe.

As an added feature on Comcast’s XFINITY My Account mobile app, PayNearMe increases the number of brick-and-mortar locations where Comcast consumers can pay their bills. The 5% of Comcast customers who prefer to pay in cash can still do so at 500 XFINITY stores and now have the option to pay at 7,700+ participating 7-Eleven stores, most of which stay open 24/7. There is no word yet when payments can be made at PayNearMe’s other partnering franchises, Family Dollar and Ace Cash Express.

Users simply select the Cash via PayNearMe option in the mobile app, which presents them with a barcode to scan in-store at 7-Eleven and XFINITY for a $1.25 fee. Payment is credited to the user’s account within 48 hours of the transaction.

The new partnership adds to the 17,000 billers, including AAA, AT&T, and Toyota Financial Services, that accept cash payments via PayNearMe.

Founded in 2009, PayNearMe enables consumers to pay bills using cash at 17,000+ 7-Eleven, Ace Cash Express, and Family Dollar retail stores across the U.S. by scanning a barcode on their smartphone. Most recently, the company acquired financial management and billpay app Prism Money to empower enterprise clients with a customized bill presentment app. In April, the company partnered with the Internal Revenue Service to allow underbanked consumers to pay their taxes in cash. It also struck a deal with Dallas Area Rapid Transit to facilitate bus fare purchases on its platform.

PayNearMe presented at FinovateSpring 2013 and at FinDEVr San Francisco 2014. The company plans to continue expanding its flagship cash-payment service by increasing retail partnerships.

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FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Daon

By David Penn Posted on August 4, 2016
Categories: Daon, FinovateFall 2016, FinovateFall 2016 Sneak Peek

A look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals on 8/9 September 2016. Register today.

Daon’s IdentityX Platform provides convenient, fast, secure, multifactor authentication in any channel using biometrics, verifying users in less than three seconds and improving the customer experience.

Features:

Omnichannel authentication with a mobile-first approach
Device binding, geolocation, liveness detection
Platform future-proofs customers, allows for new technologies as they become available

Why it’s great
IdentityX allows FIs to move away from passwords by authenticating the person with biometrics for a fast and frictionless user experience that enables customers to securely bank and shop online.

Presenter

Conor White, President, Americas
White brings more than 18 years of experience innovating and leading identification-management technologies such as biometrics, smart cards, electronic payments, PKI, and information security.
LinkedIn

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