Fintech Fundings: 30 Companies Raise $390 Million Week Ending May 13

Fintech Fundings: 30 Companies Raise $390 Million Week Ending May 13
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

money 500 eurosTotal fundings in second quarter hit $8 billion as 30 more companies raised $390 million the second week of May. Nearly half of that ($188 million) was debt earmarked for Avant’s U.K. subsidiary.

The deals were widely dispersed around the world, with only 4 of the 30 headquartered in California. London beat that this week with 5, followed by 3 in NYC, and 2 each from Chicago, Florida and Germany.

The total number of deals YTD stands at 494, nearly double last year’s 266. Total dollars raised YTD is now $14.7 billion, more than twice the $6.7 billion raised during the same period a year ago.

Notable raises included Finovate alum Tagit which brought in nearly $9 million to supercharge its mobile application development platform.

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Fintech deals by size from 7 May to 13 May, 2016:

Avant (AvantCredit U.K.)
Consumer alt-lender
Latest round: $188 million Debt (for AvantCredit U.K.)
Total raised: $1.92 billion ($654 million Equity, $1.26 billion Debt)
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Tags: Consumer, credit, loans, underwriting, lending
Source: Crunchbase

Bridge2Solutions
Incentive & rewards systems for financial institutions
Latest round: $35 million Series A
Total raised: $35 million
HQ: Daytona Beach, Florida
Tags: Consumer, enterprise, rewards, payments gamification, employees, human resources, loyalty, retention
Source: Crunchbase

Capital Float
Working capital financing
Latest round: $25 million Series B
Total raised: $41 million
HQ: Bangalore, India
Tags: SMB, lending, financing, commercial loans, invoice financing, factoring
Source: Crunchbase

Wincor Nixdorf (AEVI subsidiary)
Payments technology
Latest round: $23 million Post-IPO Equity
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Germany
Tags: Enterprise, cashless payments
Source: FT Partners

orderbird
iPad POS system for the hospitality industry
Latest round: $22.8 million Series C
Total raised: $37 million
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Tags: SMB, payments, mobile, merchants, acquiring, security, credit/debit cards
Source: Crunchbase

Simplee
Healthcare finance platform 
Latest round: $20 million
Total raised: $37.8 million
HQ: Palo Alto, California
Tags: SMB, patient finance, billing, payments, insurance, credit, underwriting, B2B2C
Source: Crunchbase

AutoFi
Auto financing platform
Latest round: $17 million
Total raised: $17 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: B2B2C, SMB, consumer, lending, auto loan, vehicle credit, underwriting, secured, captive financing, lead gen
Source: FT Partners

EuroCCP
Equities clearing  
Latest round: $16 million (from Euronext)
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Tags: B2B, enterprise, trading software, investing services, back office
Source: FT Partners

Tagit
Mobile financial applications
Latest round: $8.75 million
Total raised: $8.75 million
HQ: Singapore
Tags: Enterprise, banking, mobile application development, developers, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

TechBureau
Blockchain technology 
Latest round: $6.2 million
Total raised: $6.2 million
HQ: Osaka, Japan
Tags: SMB, blockchain, distributed database, payments, crypto-currency, bitcoin
Source: FT Partners

WealthBar
Online financial adviser
Latest round: $5.5 million
Total raised: $5.5 million
HQ: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Tags: Consumer, investing, robo-adviser, ETF, wealth management
Source: Crunchbase

Healthcare Interactive
Healthcare & insurance technology
Latest round: $3.4 million Series A
Total raised: $11.8 million
HQ: Glenwood, Maryland
Tags: Enterprise, healthcare, payments, insurance
Source: FT Partners

Tandem
Digital bank
Latest round: $3.4 million Equity Crowdfunding ($95 million valuation)
Total raised: $34.8 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, banking, payments, deposits, loans, debit card
Source: Crunchbase

AppZen
Expense report automation 
Latest round: $2.9 million
Total raised: $3.0 million
HQ: Sunnyvale, California
Tags: SMB, accounting, bookkeeping, expense reporting, compliance, fraud protection
Source: Crunchbase

Sure
Mobile on-demand insurance 
Latest round: $2.6 million Seed
Total raised: $2.6 million
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Consumer, travel insurance, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Inkassogram
Debt collection platform 
Latest round: $2.45 million
Total raised: $2.45 million
HQ: Sweden
Tags: SMB, accounting, payroll, bookkeeping, billing, payments, invoicing
Source: Crunchbase

Fluent
Blockchain B2B network 
Latest round: $1.65 million Seed
Total raised: $2.5 million
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: SMB, payments, blockchain, crypto-currency, bitcoin, payments
Source: Crunchbase

AccessPay
Online payments & cash management for small businesses
Latest round: $1.45 million Debt
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: SMB, payments, accounting, treasury management, commercial banking
Source: Crunchbase

FattMerchant
Payment processor
Latest round: $1.4 million
Total raised: $2.25 million
HQ: Orlando, Florida
Tags: SMB, payments, mobile, merchants, acquiring, security, credit/debit cards
Source: Crunchbase

StoreHub
Mobile point-of-sale solution
Latest round: $850,000 Seed
Total raised: $850,000
HQ: Petaling, Malaysia
Tags: SMB, payments, mobile, merchants, acquiring, credit/debit cards, mobile, POS
Source: Crunchbase

Bridge Financial Technology
Back-office platform for financial advisers 
Latest round: $722,000
Total raised: $722,000
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Tags: Advisors, B2B2C, investing, trading, wealth management
Source: Crunchbase

Selequity
Online commercial real estate investing platform 
Latest round: $590,000 Seed
Total raised: $590,000
HQ: St. Louis, Missouri
Tags: SMB, investors, commercial mortgage, P2P lending, credit, underwriting, real estate
Source: Crunchbase

Cushion
Financial & time management service for freelancers
Latest round: $500,000
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: Brooklyn, New York
Tags: SMB, accounting, payroll, bookkeeping, billing, payments, invoicing, PFM
Source: Crunchbase

Olivia
AI-powered financial assistant 
Latest round: $500,000 Seed
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, personal finance, mobile, artificial intelligence, customer service, chatbot
Source: Crunchbase

Shares.com
Asset crowdfunding platform
Latest round: $300,000 Angel
Total raised: $300,000
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, collectibiles, investing, asset-based lending, artwork
Source: Crunchbase

PaySur
Bitcoin exchange 
Latest round: $275,000
Total raised: $275,000
HQ: Leon, Mexico
Tags: Consumer, payments, cryptocurrency, bitcoin, blockchain, remittances
Source: Crunchbase

DebitShield
Online debit card security
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, security, payments, direct debit, online billpay
Source: Crunchbase

FairCent
Marketplace lender
Latest round: Undisclosed Series A
Total raised: $4.25 million (before the Series A)
HQ: Haryana, India
Tags: Consumer, lending, P2P, person-to-person, credit, lending, investing
Source: Crunchbase

iBondis
Marketplace lender to small businesses
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unkown
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: SMB, P2P lending, crowdfunding, commercial loans, person-to-person, credit, underwriting, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Savesta
Stealth personal finance 
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Bellevue, Washington
Tags: Consumer, personal finance, PFM
Source: Crunchbase

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Image licensed from Shutterstock

 

 

 

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Quantopian Adds Chief Investment, Compliance Officers Ahead of Opening Fund to Public

Quantopian Adds Chief Investment, Compliance Officers Ahead of Opening Fund to Public
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Quantopian

Quantopian_homepage_June2016

Two small steps for Quantopian. One giant leap toward opening its hedge fund to outside investors.

Quantopian_DerekMeisnerQuantopian announced on Friday that Derek Meisner (right) had joined the company as general counsel and chief compliance officer to help build what Quantopian CEO John Fawcett called a “compliance and operational infrastructure” as the company prepares to take its hedge fund to the public. Meisner called it a “rare opportunity” and arrives at the company after serving as chief counsel and CCO for Boston-area alternative investors, RA Capital Management and Regiment Capital Advisors. Previously, Meisner spent four years as a branch chief for the SECs Division of Enforcement. He holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Michigan and earned his law degree from the American University, Washington College of Law.

Quantopian_stage_FS2013

Pictured (left to right): Co-founders: CEO John Fawcett and CTO Jean Bredeche demonstrated Quantopian Live Trading at FinovateSpring 2013 in San Francisco.

The executive onboarding continued this week as Quantopian added Jonathan Larkin (circle right) as its first chief investment officer. Quantopian_JonathanLarkinLarkin comes to Quantopian after serving at Hudson Bay Capital Management as a portfolio manager, and at BlueCrest Capital Management as global co-head of equities. He also has a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. In an interview with Financial Times, Larkin compared startups like Quantopian to hedge funds in their early days and said he plans to bring growth-accelerating “institutional experience” to the company.

A platform for quantitatively oriented investors and traders who build and share trading algorithms, Quantopian announced a hedge fund it had launched back in October 2014 will be opened to outside investors. The hedge fund trades are based on algorithms created by Quantopian members and part of Larkin’s job will be to help choose which algorithms are used in the fund.

Founded in June 2011 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Quantopian demonstrated its Live Trading platform at FinovateSpring 2013. The company has raised $23.8 million in funding, most recently a $15 million Series B in October 2014. Quantopian, which went live in Australia in March, was named to the inaugural Forbes Fintech 50 in December of last year, along with 19 fellow Finovate alums.

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Ripple’s New Partnership Lets Banks Test Blockchain and Ripple Integration

Ripple’s New Partnership Lets Banks Test Blockchain and Ripple Integration
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Ripple

RippleHomepage

Distributed open source payment network Ripple has extended its partnership with Expertus Payment Platform to offer banks a way to explore use of the blockchain and Ripple’s distributed ledger for real-time payments.

The two companies originally partnered in April to provide a real-time payments product that offers lower costs, fee transparency, and better liquidity management. The combined solution has the capability to process all payment types 24 hours a day/seven days a week and is designed to support exponential growth. According to Expertus president Jacques Leblanc, “Several banks have already joined the program and have realized the benefits of blockchain.”

The testing service promises minimal process disruption and makes integration easy by plugging into a bank’s existing infrastructure. Steve Mollenkamp, head of channel sales at Ripple, says the newly launched pilot program “will contribute to the growth of the Ripple network, enabling even more financial institutions to improve their cross-border payments.”

Ripple launched in 2012 to offer banks a way to transact directly with each other without the need for a central authority. This lowers operational costs, enhances transparency, and paves the way for real-time transactions. The San Franciso-based company launched the Ripple Network at FinovateSpring 2013.

Last month, Deloitte announced a full integration with the Ripple protocol and Santander became the first U.K. bank to do blockchain-based international payments using Ripple.

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Seven Alums Make the Fortune 500 List

Seven Alums Make the Fortune 500 List
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CenturyLink, Fiserv, MasterCard, NCR Corporation, PayPal, Qualcomm, VISA

Fortune500Homescreen

Fortune Magazine released its famed list of 500 companies, a ranking of top U.S.-based companies by revenue. This year, seven Finovate and FinDEVr alums made the cut. Here are a few quick facts about these seven companies:

  • Almost half ranked in the upper half of the list
  • Combined revenues of the alums make up almost $88 million
  • Companies represent 170,000 employees
  • This is the first time on the list for both PayPal and Fiserv

Qualcomm (Firethorn)

  • Rank: #110 (up from #113 in 2015)
  • Revenues: $25.3 million
  • 17th year on the Fortune 500 list
  • 33,000 employees
  • Headquartered in San Diego, California
  • Ranked #448 on Fortune’s Global 500 list
  • FinovateFall 2009 demo

CenturyLink

Visa

  • Rank: #204 (up from #238 in 2015)
  • Revenues: $13.9 million
  • 8th year on the Fortune 500 list
  • 11,300 employees
  • Headquartered in Foster City, California
  • Ranked #47 on Fortune’s list of World’s Most Admired Companies
  • FinDEVr San Francisco 2014 demo

MasterCard

  • Rank: #294 (up from #308 in 2015)
  • Revenues: $9.7 million
  • 8th year on the Fortune 500 list
  • 11,300 employees
  • Headquartered in Purchase, New York
  • Ranked #11 on Fortune’s list of Change the World
  • FinDEVr San Francisco 2014 demo

PayPal

NCR

Fiserv

*This was PayPal’s first year as a stand-alone company. The company’s CEO Daniel Schulman explains what the honor means to the company in a short video.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Blend, DoubleNet Pay, Fiserv, Kasasa, Onovative, OutsideIQ, PayActiv, Quantopian, Ripple, Temenos, UpGuard, WealthForge, Zopa

On Finovate.com

  • “Ripple’s New Partnership Lets Banks Test Blockchain and Ripple Integration”
  • “Quantopian Adds Chief Investment, Compliance Officers Ahead of Opening Fund to Public”

On FinDEVr.com

  • “UpGuard Brings Better Vulnerability Detection to ServiceNow”

Around the web

  • Kasasa partners with AudioEye to offer accessibility for community banks.
  • Zopa customers have borrowed $72 million+ this year for home improvement, a 54% increase in home improvement loans compared to the same period last year.
  • Ripple launches blockchain pilot program in partnership with Expertus.
  • Banking Technology reports that Temenos is nearing a core banking software deal with Iran’s Ayandeh Bank (Future Bank).
  • Fiserv earns a spot in Newsweek’s 2016 Green Ranking, which evaluates corporate environmental performance.
  • Google’s Economic Impact report profiles Onovative.
  • HousingWire reports: Mason-McDuffie Mortgage announces partnership with tech company Blend.
  • B2B Nation HR interviews PayActiv CEO Safwan Shah.
  • Infoworld feature on AI shares insights from OutsideIQ CEO Dan Adamson.
  • DigSouth highlights DoubleNet Pay and WealthForge in its look at fintech startups from the American South.

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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San Francisco Times Recognizes Credit Karma as Best Fintech Company

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Credit Karma

CreditKarma_homepage_Feb2016

The San Francisco Business Times last week announced winners of its Tech and Innovation Awards honoring the Bay Area’s most innovative and enterprising technology companies. Finovate alum Credit Karma was named Best Financial Technology Company, one of 25 winners.

Credit Karma was selected from an applicant pool of more than 300 companies in 11 categories who were judged based on their growth, differentiation from competitors, and how well they are revolutionizing their space.

Shortly after the awards announcement the SF Business Times published a piece about Credit Karma’s success. The article boasts that the San Francisco-based company is the third highest-valued venture-backed U.S. financial company, and has achieved this status with a business model that gives away a service for free.

In the piece, the SF Business Times notes a few key stats:

  • $3.5 billion valuation
  • Counts 50 million users in the U.S. (that’s 1 in 4 American adults)
  • $368.5 million in funding
  • 400 employees (up from 27 five years ago)
  • Founded in 2009

Credit Karma debuted its Debt Manager at FinovateSpring 2009, and has since come a long way. In addition to providing free credit scores that pull data from Equifax and TransUnion, the company helps consumers manage their financial health. The site hosts tools, such as a credit-score simulator, a debt-repayment calculator, and home affordability information, that empower users to make good decisions about their finances.

Credit Karma makes money by partnering with lenders and credit card companies to pitch tailored product suggestions based on a consumer’s financial health. Partner sites include Payoff and Upstart for loans and Chase and Barclayard for credit card offers.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Coinbase, Credit Karma, EyeVerify, Global Debt Registry, itBit, Klarna, Markit, PayActiv, Q2, Q2ebanking, Student Loan Genius, Top Image Systems, WallStreetSurvivor, wipro, Xero

On Finovate.com

  • “San Francisco Times Recognizes Credit Karma as Best Fintech Company”

Around the web

  • Markit partners with BitSight Technologies to enhance its Know Your Third Party (KY3P) platform.
  • Coinbase launches Buy widget to create a better Bitcoin buying experience.
  • Wipro open sources its big data solution, Big Data Ready Enterprise (BDRE).
  • itBit publishes its Bitcoin OTC Market Recap for March.
  • American Banker looks at the relationship between EyeVerify and Wells Fargo.
  • Money Q&A reviews Wall Street Survivor.
  • AltFi investigates how the loan-validation expertise of Global Debt Registry might help the P2p lending market.
  • Q2 subscribes to FI Navigator’s cloud-based mobile banking module.
  • Top Image Systems delivers $100,000 eFLOW project to subsidiary of a national postal service group in Asia-Pacific.
  • Barron’s features Student Loan Genius and PayActiv as employee benefits aimed at millennials.
  • Xero featured as one of first New & Notable Apps on Google Apps Marketplace.
  • SF Business Times features CEO Talbott Roche of Blackhawk.

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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Dashlane Unveils Redesigned App for iPhone and iPad

Dashlane Unveils Redesigned App for iPhone and iPad
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Dashlane

Dashlane_homepage_June2016

Let’s be honest: Your password habits are miserable. You use birth years in usernames and pet names in passwords. You’ve got passcodes scribbled on Post-It notes. You’ve even been known to reuse a username and password between a website or two. Or three. Or four.

If that sounds even remotely like you, then the all new Dashlane iOS app for iPhone, iPad, and the Apple Watch might be the best news you’ve heard all day. The online- and mobile-authentication specialist has redesigned its solution to improve navigability and make it easier for users to manage passwords on multiple devices.

Dashlane_stage_FEU2013b

Pictured: Dashlane CEO Emmanuel Schalt demonstrated his password management and digital wallet technology at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.

Dashlane_iphone_1“The app combines the same convenience and functionality of the previous version,” wrote Malaika Nicholas, Dashlane community manager, on the company blog this week, “only now it’s reorganized to make all of your passwords and other important information easier to find and use anytime, anywhere.”

Dashlane’s password-management service helps remove friction from online authentication and checkout while maintaining security. New features include a redesigned menu, global search, a “Recent” screen to make it easier to find most frequently used items, a “Tools” screen to access tools such as the Password Changer and Generator, and simplified app security settings. A digital wallet as well as a password manager, Dashlane is available for free and also as a premium service, Dashlane Premium, that includes syncing with an unlimited number of devices for $39.99 a year.

Download the redesigned app from the Apple App Store. Dashlane 4.5 requires iOS 9.0 or later.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in New York City, Dashlane demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2013. The company has raised more than $52 million in funding, with its most recent—a $22.5 million round—led by TransUnion. Dashlane also includes Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark Capital, and Rho Ventures among its investors.

Recent headlines for Dashlane include the March hiring of new Chief Financial Officer David Lapter; adding support for YubiKey authentication in February; and providing Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, and Japanese language support in January. Emmanuel Schalit is CEO.

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NYMBUS Acquires R. C. Olmstead to Enhance Core Data Processing

NYMBUS Acquires R. C. Olmstead to Enhance Core Data Processing
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Mergers & Acquisitions, NYMBUS

NYMBUSHomepage

Core processing solution NYMBUS today added to its repertoire with the acquisition of  R. C. Olmstead (RCO), a core data processing solutions provider.

Negotiations of the acquisition, which closed in March, began in the fall of 2015. As part of the deal, the Miami-based company will bring on RCO’s client base of 46 Midwest-based credit unions. NYMBUS has also acquired some of RCO’s talent, including “the team responsible for RCO’s conversions and implementations, as well as other RCO team members.”

RCO’s Founder Bob Olmstead, who launched the company in 1978, said the sale will both allow him to retire and help RCO to “not only survive, but be given the best chance to thrive in a continually changing and rapidly evolving marketplace.” Olmstead said the move assures him that RCO will “remain focused on its vision of marrying superior customer service with a cutting-edge, forward-facing product I feel will grow into the industry standard.”

NYMBUS CEO Alex Lopatine said the experience of combining the two companies has been “seamless” and “positive.”

NYMBUS debuted its modern approach to core processing at FinovateSpring 2016. Mario Garcia, the company’s chief experience officer, demonstrated how its bank-in-a-box offers a full-stack banking platform to help smaller financial institutions gain a competitive edge against big banks.

Launched in 2015, NYMBUS has accumulated $12 million in self-funded investment from company stakeholders and received $10 million in funding from outside investors. The company employs 60 people across the United States and counts 130 financial institutions as clients (including those from RCO).

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Finovate Debuts: Fintonic’s Mobile Banking Offers Products that Matter

Finovate Debuts: Fintonic’s Mobile Banking Offers Products that Matter
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Finovate Debuts, Fintonic

FintonicHomepage

FintonicMobileFintonic’s mobile PFM app not only looks good, but also serves as an advocate to help consumers manage their financial health. The app combines big data and machine learning to provide a personalized experience and relevant offers for loan and insurance products.

At FinovateSpring 2016, Fintonic introduced an alert and inbox system that delivers recommendations, product suggestions, and notifications about financial health. The company also showed its simple loan and insurance underwriting process that enables users to set up a contract in just a single click.

Fintonic was founded in the midst of the recent recession in Spain where consumer confidence in banks has dropped significantly. Therefore, Fintonic launched with a goal to be transparent and unbiased.

The app currently offers only loans, but insurance products will also be available soon; Fintonic already provides access to 50 insurance companies. The app has launched in Spain and is being tested in Chile with plans to launch in the U.K. and the U.S. in the future.

Company facts:

  • Around 400,000 users
  • Founded in 2012
  • Based in Madrid, Spain
FintonicPresenterCEO Sergio Chalbaud demoing Fintonic at FinovateSpring 2016 in San Jose

FintonicPresenterWe interviewed CEO Sergio Chalbaud for more insight into the Madrid-based company. Chalbaud, who speaks three languages, has served as CEO of Fintonic since it launched in 2012. Prior to starting Fintonic, he was founder of Ideon (FinovateSpring 2011 alum), which launched in 2002, and also worked as VP of Chase Manhattan Bank.

Finovate: What problem does Fintonic solve?

Chalbaud: The traditional banking model is not suited to solve the financial needs of today’s digital generations. They demand a customized experience, a relationship based on trust, and a fully mobile platform.

  • Trust: Millenials and Gen-Xers don’t trust banks and would rather go to the dentist than listen to what banks have to say. Fintonic provides these generations with a trustworthy app that gives them unbiased advice and timely alerts.
  • Full mobile experience: Fintonic offers a fully mobile experience, and the best example of this is with Fintonic’s loan process. Fintonic customers can contract a loan without paperwork, without a FICO score and with immediate approval. Funding of the loan takes less than 24 hours.
  • Competitive products: Fintonic’s algorithm determines the best moment in time when a user may be in the market for particular services (e.g., loans, insurance renewals) and offers easy comparison to cheaper/better coverage options that would benefit the user more than blindly renewing their policy.
  • Convenience: It’s important to know what the customer wants before they do. Fintonic uses more than 1,000 data points per user to understand the specific needs of each customer and their inclination to contract any financial product at a given period in time, providing a very customized experience. The customer can relax and Fintonic will anticipate its needs and provide a solution.

Finovate: Who are your primary customers?

Chalbaud: Millennials and Gen-Xers.

Finovate: Tell us about your favorite implementation of your solution.

Chalbaud: I really love Fintonic’s loan-contracting process, as it removes all the hurdles that typically exist when applying for a loan:

  • From the beginning of the process, you know how much money you will be able to borrow. The process is also very straightforward and transparent for the customer.
  • Fintonic solves KYC with a simple ID picture, which is validated again with information in their bank accounts.

FintonicMultichannel

Finovate: What in your background gave you the confidence to tackle this challenge?

Chalbaud: With more than 15 years of experience in banking, I have always been very technical about the banking experience in general. As a certified CFA and FRM, I graduated with an MBA from Chicago Booth School of Business.

One day I realized that banking was not just about numbers and instead, it’s about relationships and anticipating how fast the banking industry is changing and getting ahead of those changes. The banking sector has been slow to adapt, so together with my co-founders I decided to take action and create Fintonic. We knew we were well prepared with the skills to make it happen, but it was just a matter of pulling everything together to make it a reality.

Finovate: What are some upcoming initiatives from Fintonic that we can look forward to over the next few months?

Chalbaud: Fintonic’s platform is providing customers with a more efficient and friendlier way to take care of their money and solve their financial needs. Most recently, we implemented the loan process into Fintonic’s app, which streamlines the process for customers to apply and get accepted for loans. This was our most recent addition, but we are always looking for new and improved ways to help our customers better understand the impact of their financial behaviors.

Finovate: Where do you see Fintonic a year or two from now?

Chalbaud: In two years, we hope to prove that Fintonic is one of the most efficient banking models out there and one that gives the highest satisfaction to customers. We hope to become the preferred banking platform for people all over the world.

Sergio Chalbaud presenting Fintonic at FinovateSpring 2016 in San Jose:

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Finovate Alums Earn Top Honors at 2016 Benzinga Financial Awards

Finovate Alums Earn Top Honors at 2016 Benzinga Financial Awards
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: DriveWealth, LOYAL3, PsychSignal, SmartAsset, TickerTags, TipRanks, Trunomi, WealthForge

Trunomi_homepage_June2016

Finovate alum Trunomi took home two awards at the 2016 Benzinga Fintech Awards this week. The KYC and data-sharing solution provider won first place in the Proprietary Technology & APIs and Most Promising Startup categories.

Also winning top honors were Loyal3, which took first place in the Leveling The Playing Field category, and SmartAsset, which won first place in the Best Educational Tools & Services category.

BenzingaFintechAwards2016

This year was the second for the Benzinga Fintech Awards. More than 250 companies from five countries competed for this year’s awards, including Founder of the Year which was awarded to TickerTags founder, Chris Camillo.

Other alums earning recognition were runners up PsychSignal (Finding Alpha category) and WealthForge (Lending & Alternative Investments category). TipRanks picked up a runners up spot in the Research Platforms, Apps & Tools category, as well as third place overall. DriveWealth earned an honorable mention in the Innovation in Mobile category for its Passport solution.

See the full list of 2016 finalists.

Jason Raznick, founder and CEO of Benzinga, congratulated this year’s winners and praised their “forward thinking and product development.” This year marked the second strong performance at the Awards from Finovate alums in general and TipRanks in particular, which in 2015 took top honors in Trade Recommendations category in 2015. Other alum winners from 2015 include Betterment, EquityZen, LikeFolio, Market Prophit, Motif Investing, Personal Capital, and HedgeCoVest, which won runners up in the Most Disruptive category, Best in Class in the Robo Advisor Tools category, and first place overall.

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Robo-advisor blooom Reaches $300 Million in Assets

Robo-advisor blooom Reaches $300 Million in Assets
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: blooom

blooom_homepage_June2016

Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Which robo-advisor is the fastest growing one of all?

According to monthly SEC filings, no independent robo-advisor had made it to $300 million in assets managed faster than blooom. That the company reached this milestone 20 months after launching—and with less than a fifth of the outside capital raised by its competitors—is all the more impressive. “Most of our growth has been organic, through word of mouth, because our clients—everyday, regular Americans in all 50 states—see how meaningfully we can improve their 401(k)s, cut their hidden fees, and potentially add years in retirement,” said bloom CEO Chris Costello, co-founder.

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From left: Co-founders Chris Costello and Randy AufDerHeide demonstrated the blooom platform at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, blooom demonstrated its technology at FinovateFall 2014, picking up a Best of Show award. The company distinguishes itself from the rest of the robo-advisor pack by focusing on helping investors manage their 401(k)s and other employee-sponsored, defined-contribution pension plans. The platform makes suggestions on asset allocation and portfolio building and steers investors toward lower-cost index funds when practical. For subscribers, the service automatically reviews the portfolio every 90 days to make sure allocations remain in balance and will reduce stock exposure as investors near retirement age. The platform provides free portfolio analysis, and charges $5 a month for accounts under $20,000; $19 a month for accounts between $20,000 and $49,999, and $99 a month for accounts above $500,000.

The company has raised $4 million in funding and includes QED Investors, Commerce Ventures, DST Systems, Gibraltar Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, and UMB Banks among its investors. Named “one in a million” in the Kauffamn Foundation Startup competition last fall, blooom was honored by Employee Benefits News as a Top 50 Benefit Technology Innovator in April. And in March, NPR profiled the robo-advisor as part of a feature on how to help millennials plan for their financial futures when dealing with student debt. Read our Finovate Debut feature on blooom.

Post updated to reflect Blooom’s new pricing.

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