From CEO to Deputy Mayor, Xendpay’s Rajesh Agrawal Heads to City Hall

From CEO to Deputy Mayor, Xendpay’s Rajesh Agrawal Heads to City Hall

Xendpay_homepage_June2016

The new mayor of London isn’t just pro-business. He’s pro-fintech, as well.

To help his city manage the financial ramifications of the vote this week for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, London’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, has appointed Xendpay founder and CEO Rajesh Agrawal as deputy mayor.

“I know that Rajesh is the best person for the job of protecting jobs and growth in London as we deal with the fallout of the referendum,” Khan said. The mayor credited Agrawal’s experience in creating “multi-million pound businesses from scratch” as giving the fintech entrepreneur insight into the challenges businesses face in the United Kingdom.

Xendpay_stage_FEU2013b

Xendpay founder and CEO Rajesh Agrawal demonstrated his online money-transfer technology at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.

Agrawal, who in 2012 founded international money-transfer specialist Xendpay and served as Khan’s business adviser during the mayoral campaign, added that the sense of welcome he experienced as an immigrant to the UK must be maintained even as the country’s relationship with Europe changes. “(I) found a city that welcomed me with open arms and didn’t make me feel like a stranger,” Agrawal said. “This openness to talent and enterprise must not change as a result of the referendum.”

Xendpay’s online money-transfer service allows people to send money either to bank accounts, or to the company’s partnering network of cash-collection points. Geared toward international travelers of all kinds—from tourists to students to migrant workers, and available in English, Spanish, German, French, and Polish—Xendpay offers both cash-to-cash as well as more traditional card-to-bank transfers. All payments are covered by the FSA authorization of RationalFX, the foreign-exchange services firm Agrawal founded in 2005.

Agrawal demonstrated the Xendpay platform at FinovateEurope 2013. Earlier this year, the company announced that its money-transfer service was available in Tanzania and Burkina Faso.

 

 

 

Fenergo Adds Enhanced Rules, Remediation to its CRS Compliance Solution

Fenergo Adds Enhanced Rules, Remediation to its CRS Compliance Solution

Fenergo_homepage_June2016

Client Lifecycle Management solution provider Fenergo is boosting the capabilities of its Tax Compliance suite. The enhanced version of the company’s CRS Compliance Solution is geared toward improving tax-regulation compliance through improvements to the Three Rs: Rules, Remediation, and Reporting.

“Where FATCA was the game changer in tax compliance, the Common Reporting Standard promises to go way beyond FATCA’s remit to ensure global-wide tax compliance,” said Laura Glynn, Fenergo’s global manager for regulatory affairs. This challenge has guided the improvements made to Fenergo’s technology, providing a rules-based process to identify and conduct due diligence on reportable clients and accounts. This process also includes the data-capture and -classification requirements for both CRS and FATCA.

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Fenergo CEO Marc Murphy demonstrated Deal Manager at FinovateEurope 2012 in London.

Glynn highlighted the complexity of the issue for financial institutions in areas such as Asia in particular, which often have to meet the compliance standards of more than 40 different regional regulators. It is also especially relevant for Fenergo, which announced an expansion to Singapore in February. “This is a huge operational undertaking forcing financial institutions to be able to manage each of the rules from every jurisdiction,” Glynn said. Fenergo has not only upgraded its Regulatory Rules Engine, but also enhanced the functionality of its Remediation Master Case Management and Workflow. The streamlined simplification and improved visibility will make it easier for financial professionals to track remediation cases and subcases. The company says that the platform is already being implemented with clients.

Read more about Fenergo’s work on remediation and reporting in the company’s white paper.

Recent headlines for Fenergo include the company’s move into the Middle East market in May, opening an office in Abu Dhabi. ICBC Standard Bank choose Fenergo’s client lifecycle management platform in April. And Kikko Securities America announced in March that it would deploy the company’s AML, KYC, FATCA technology.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Fenergo demonstrated its Deal Manager solution at FinovateSpring 2012. Fenergo has raised more than $80 million in funding; its most recent is a $75 million private equity infusion in July 2015 from Insight Venture Partners. The company was recognized in the European Fintech 100 in April 2016, the same month that FinTechCity featured Fenergo in its FinTech50 2016 list of the hottest fintechs in Europe.

 

Kreditech Launches Online POS Financing Solution

Kreditech Launches Online POS Financing Solution

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Consumer financing company Kreditech announced a new business line today. In an effort to empower underbanked individuals, the company launched a new POS financing solution called Monedo Now. It gives online shoppers more payment flexibility with instant financing of up to $5,550 (€5,000) for up to 36 months at rates comparable to local banks.

POS Financing_Kreditech_Monedo

The first partner to go live with the solution is PayU Global, a payment services provider who recently launched a beta test with one of its merchant clients. Kreditech plans to expand the service. Alexander Graubner-Müller, CEO and co-founder said, “We are already in talks with further clients in the e-commerce, travel and other online sectors and look forward to providing our innovative technology as an online payment method in the checkout process.”

Screen Shot 2016-06-29 at 10.42.45 AMKreditech’s Sebastian Diemer and Alexander Graubner-Müller, presenters at FinovateSpring 2014.

Monedo Now uses Kreditech’s credit-scoring technology which underwrites risk on thin-file credit clients. At FinovateSpring 2014, the company showed off its algorithm that provides a risk score of the customer by studying their financial situation at the time of their application without pulling in historical data. Kreditech uses 20,000 data points, updated every minute, to offer 24/7 access to credit decisioning for anyone in 35 seconds.

Kreditech plans further integrations with companies using its Credit-as-a-Service API which offers support for financing more than just physical goods at the POS. The company will support financing for online services and travel purchases as well as direct integrations with online wallets, prepaid cards and bank offerings.

In March, Kreditech closed a $103 million Series C funding round from contributors such as World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation, Blumberg Capital, and Peter Thiel. That round boosted the company’s total funding to $151 million.

FinDEVr APIntelligence

FinDEVrSV16-LogoV2(wdate)Our FinDEVr New York developer showcase was a success! FinDEVr Silicon Valley will be held October 18 & 19 in Santa Clara. Register today and save.

On FinDEVr.com

  • Avalara Adds New Stripe Integration, Earns Dual Honors at American Business Awards
  • Apply Now to Present at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016!

The latest from FinDEVr New York 2016 presenters

  • Canadian Government Selects OutsideIQ to Bring DDIQ to Brazil and London
  • Wired UK profiles Fidor, “the fintech bank run by its customers.”
  • OnDeck launches Accountant Advisor Program to help accountants arrange financing for their small business clients.

Alumni updates

  • Major update to Xero’s online invoicing technology to help businesses avoid phishing scams.
  • Fintech profile interviews Snehal Fulzele, Cloud Lending CEO.

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

GBG Group Agrees to Acquire IDScan Biometrics

GBG Group Agrees to Acquire IDScan Biometrics

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It was a fast turnaround for FinovateEurope 2016 Best of Show winner IDScan Biometrics, a document authentication and facial recognition company. The London-based company today announced it is being acquired by identity intelligence company GB Group.

The companies anticipate the deal will close for $50 million (£37 million), with another $10.7 million (£8 million) contingent on reaching revenue and EBITDA targets 18 months after close. The deal is expected to add to GBG Group’s earnings per share in the first 12 months after the acquisition.

24570175424_b52dadc87a_kCEO Tamlyn Thompson and Dr. Zaher Zaidan, CFO, demoed IDScan Biometrics’ facial recognition algorithm.

IDScan offers a digital onboarding suite that reduces manual data entry and offers KYC and facial recognition tools for automation, speed, and efficiency. The company’s document-scan offering uses artificial intelligence and a digital library containing thousands of documents. At FinovateEurope 2016, the company demonstrated how its facial recognition algorithm tests a user’s face against the image on their ID.

IDScan brings more than 1,000 global clients to the table, including American Express, Barclays, and Gatwick Airport. GBG CEO Richard Law said, “GBG has followed IDscan Biometrics over the years and we have seen this business grow strongly, winning significant enterprise customers.”

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • GBG Group Agrees to Acquire IDScan Biometrics
  • Check out this week’s FinDEVr APIntelligence.
  • Kreditech Launches Online POS Financing Solution
  • Fenergo Adds Enhanced Rules, Remediation to its CRS Compliance Solution
  • From CEO to Deputy Mayor, Xendpay’s Rajesh Agrawal Heads to City Hall

Around the web

  • The Paypers interviews ACI Worldwide’s Craig Saks, group president of strategic products.
  • The Media Line’s column on CyberWeek 2016 at Tel Aviv University features ThetaRay.
  • PYMNTS.com chats with Jeff Hampton, TSYS director of product marketing.
  • Greg Smith, Blooom president; Aaron David Bauer, Envestnet Executive MD; and Andy Swan of LikeFolio earn spots on Investment News’ 40 Under 40 list.
  • Matt Fellowes resigns as chief innovation officer at Morningstar—which bought HelloWallet in 2014—to build retirement software.
  • ID Analytics secures patent for systematic detection of fraud rings.
  • Fenergo enhances CRS compliance solution with enhanced rules and remediation.

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.

IBM Opens Bluemix Garage in New York City

IBM Opens Bluemix Garage in New York City

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In opening its latest Bluemix Garage in New York City, IBM continues to put money where developers, software designers and others are. The New York City location will be IBM’s sixth, with garages currently in operation in San Francisco, Toronto, London, Nice, and Tokyo. IBM is partnering with Galvanize, who will host the New York garage on its new New York campus. Other locations are said to be in the works for the second half of 2016.

Galvanize co-founder and CEO Jim Deters said that locating the Bluemix Garage in New York City, within the Galvanize community, “allows our strong network of developers and startups to leverage the power of the cloud and the expertise of IBM to competitively innovate products and apps in the growing fintech and blockchain spaces.” Galvanize runs a network for developers, coders, and technology entrepreneurs, and has more than 1,800 members across seven campuses.

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Pictured (left to right): IBM’s Alex Baghdjian, senior offering associate, financial markets & wealth management, and Rob Stanich, global wealth management offering manager, demonstrated Client Insight for Wealth Management.

IBM’s cloud-development platform, Bluemix, has more than 140 tools and technologies for developing solutions leveraging big data, mobile, analytics, Watson, IoT, and more. With more than 120,000 applications launched from the platform every month, the open standards-based platform  is one of largest public cloud deployments in the world. Within its Bluemix Garages, IBM is especially interested in blockchain-related projects such as those pursued by the Mizuho Financial Group, which is working with the IBM Bluemix Garage in Tokyo to develop settlement technology using the blockchain. Prashant Bhuyan, CEO of Alpha Modus, an investment technology firm, credited Bluemix for helping his company launch “transformational apps that leverage cognitive analytics with unbelievable time and efficiency.”

Founded in 1911, IBM made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2016, demonstrating its Client Insight for Wealth Management technology. IBM’s cloud technologies have been in New York since 2014, when IBM Cloud was deployed to power Digital.NYC—an online hub that connects more than 8,000 startups within New York City’s startup and technology community.


If you’re into fintech development, then be sure to put our upcoming developer’s conference, FinDEVr 2016 Silicon Valley, on your calendar. Join us October 18 and 19 for two days of the latest in fintech APIs, case studies, integrations, and more.

Canadian Government Selects OutsideIQ to Bring DDIQ to Brazil and London

Canadian Government Selects OutsideIQ to Bring DDIQ to Brazil and London

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Toronto-based OutsideIQ has been selected by the Canadian government to showcase their products on two Canadian fintech trade missions, one to Brazil and the other to London.

The company will meet with local financial institutions and others in the fintech industry. OutsideIQ’s CEO Dan Adamson said that the missions will enable the company “to collaborate with other fintech leaders and find partners that will adopt and implement [its] solutions.”

OutsideIQ will showcase its DDIQ platform which it debuted at FinovateSpring 2016. The product is already being used at “top, global financial institutions” to mitigate risk by generating profiles of individuals and companies. The technology uses artificial intelligence to imitate human judgement and offer auditable reports for regulators.

Screen Shot 2016-06-28 at 1.20.29 PMDan Adamson, CEO and founder of OutsideIQ, demoed the DDIQ API at FinDEVr New York 2016.

Earlier this month OutsideIQ formed a distribution partnership with Alacra, a KYC and reference data management platform. At FinDEVr New York 2016, company CEO and founder Dan Adamson showed how developers can use OutsideIQ’s API.

Lending Club Appoints Scott Sanborn as CEO

Lending Club Appoints Scott Sanborn as CEO

LendingClubHomepage

Screen Shot 2016-06-28 at 8.33.46 AMEven if you’re not a fintech fanatic, you likely know that in early May, Lending Club’s CEO resigned amid accusations of loan-documentation errors. At the time CMO Scott Sanborn and director Hans Morris stepped in as acting co-CEOs. Today the company announced the official appointment of Sanborn (pictured) as CEO and Morris as board chairman.

This bit of stability was enough to send the San Francisco-based company’s shares up 6% this morning after having tumbled 61% since the start of this year; however, with the good news, comes a flip side. Lending Club cut 179 jobs—12% of its workforce—as a reaction to lower loan volumes in the second quarter and in recognition that “fully restoring investor confidence may take time.” The company expects loan volumes for the second quarter of this year to be one-third less than its first quarter volume of $2.75 billion.

Lending Club will spend $9 million this quarter on investor incentives and $20 million on the ripple effects of job cuts—severance pay and employee-retention efforts—and advisory relationships. The company holds its annual meeting later today.

Founded in 2006, Lending Club demoed at FinovateSpring 2009 and at the inaugural Finovate in 2007.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • IBM Opens Bluemix Garage in New York City
  • Lending Club Appoints Scott Sanborn as CEO
  • Canadian Government Selects OutsideIQ to Bring DDIQ to Brazil and London

On FinDEVr.com

  • Avalara Adds New Stripe Integration, Earns Dual Honors at American Business Awards

Around the web

  • Jack Henry & Associates launches new app collaboration platform, JHA Marketplace.
  • Digital Insight gives customers pre-login look at bank balances via their mobile banking app.
  • Absa Stockbrokers and Portfolio Management has implemented the Secure Document Repository solution from Striata.
  • TSYS Named to The Civic 50 in 2016

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.

Fintech Fundings: 113 Companies Raised $1.7 Billion in May

money_pig_sunglassesTotal fundings worldwide in May were $1.7 billion across 112 deals and 1 IPO. The weekly details can be found through the following links:

The final week of the month saw 29 companies raise $592 million, including $238 in Cotiviti’s IPO. Venture funding was $354 million, of which just $100,000 was debt.

Two Finovate alums raised substantial rounds:

  • TransferWise raised $26 million, at a $1.1 billion valuation, for its international funds-transfer service
  • DashLane raised $22.5 million to fund growth of its digital password-management system

The total number of deals YTD stands at 551, 80% more than last year’s 306. Total dollars raised YTD is now $15.7 billion, more than twice the $7.2 billion raised during the same period a year ago.

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Fintech deals by size from 21 May to 27 May 2016:

Cotiviti
Healthcare payments analytics
Latest round: $238 million IPO
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Atlanta, Gerogia
Tags: SMB, enterprise, healthcare, payment, insurance, bookkeeping, analytics, cost savings
Source: FT Partners

Weidal
P2P lending platform
Latest round: $153 million Series C
Total raised: $177 million
HQ: Hangzhou, China
Tags: Consumer, lending, peer-to-peer, credit, underwriting, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Nvest
Crowdsourced investment information
Latest round: $30 million Series D
Total raised: $57.2 million
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tags: Consumer, investors, advisers, investing, trading, wealth management
Source: Crunchbase

TransferWise
International funds transfer network
Latest round: $26 million Series D
Total raised: $116.4 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, SMB, payments, remittances, foreign exchange, fx, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Carson Group
Wealth management platform
Latest round: $35 million
Total raised: $35 million
HQ: Omaha, Nebraska
Tags: Advisers, investing, wealth management, trading
Source: Crunchbase

Dashlane
Password management and secure digital wallet
Latest round: $22.5 million Series C
Total raised: $52.5 million
HQ: California
Tags: Consumer, B2B2C, password management, security, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Invest.com
Online alternative investments
Latest round: $20 million
Total raised: $20 million
HQ: Limassol, Cyprus
Tags: Consumer, investing, alt-investments, trading, wealth management, advisers
Source: Crunchbase

AutoFi
Point-of-sale system for vehicles
Latest round: $17 million
Total raised: $19.5 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, B2B2C, credit, lending, auto lending, indirect loans, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

NetWealth
Wealth management platform
Latest round: $9.6 million Angel
Total raised: $9.6 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, advisers, investing, trading, asset management
Source: FT Partners

TrueEX
Electronic execution platforms for interest rate swaps
Latest round: $9.2 million Series A
Total raised: $33.7 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Enterprise, investing, trading
Source: Crunchbase

Konfio
Alt-lender to small businesses
Latest round: $8 million Series A
Total raised: $8 million
HQ: Mexico City
Tags: SMB, credit, commercial loans, lending, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

zlien
Lien rights platform
Latest round: $5.0 million Series A
Total raised: $6.77 million
HQ: New Orleans, Louisiana
Tags: SMB, commercial lending, construction loans, security, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Syndicate Room
Equity crowdfunding platform
Latest round: $4.6 million Series A
Total raised: $8 million
HQ: Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, SMB, investing, equity, P2P, peer-to-peer
Source: Crunchbase

Jirnexu
Mobile sales and fulfillment for financial institutions
Latest round: $3 million
Total raised: $3 million
HQ: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tags: Enterprise, online marketing, account opening, marketing, lead gen
Source: FT Partners

Clarity Money
Personal finance management app
Latest round: $2.5 million
Total raised: $2.5 million
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Consumer, personal finance, PFM, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

United Mobile Technology
Mobile payments platform, iPAYst
Latest round: $2.2 million Series A
Total raised: $2.2 million
HQ: Munich, Germany
Tags: Consumer, B2B2C, payments, analytics, big data
Source: FT Partners

ClearTax
Online tax preparation
Latest round: $2 million Seed
Total raised: $15.4 million
HQ: New Delhi, India
Tags: Consumer, taxes, personal finance, tax prep
Source: Crunchbase

Penny
Personal finance coach
Latest round: $1.2 million Seed
Total raised: $1.2 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, personal finance, PFM, service, sales, chatbot
Source: Crunchbase

GoalWise
Online investment manager
Latest round: $1 million Seed
Total raised: $1 million
HQ: Bangalore, India
Tags: Consumer, investing, trading, advisers, wealth management
Source: Crunchbase

WiseAlpha
Online investment platform for secured loans
Latest round: $870,000 Equity Crowdfunding
Total raised: $1.28 million
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: Consumer, advisers, investing, commercial loans
Source: Crunchbase

LeaseOnline
Online automobile leasing service
Latest round: $725,000
Total raised: $725,000
HQ: Sweden
Tags: Consumer, credit, auto loans, lending, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Pleo
Company credit cards
Latest round: $560,000 Seed
Total raised: $560,000
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: SMB, credit cards, expense management, bookkeeping, controls, security
Source: Crunchbase

Flattr
Micropayments
Latest round: $335,000 Seed
Total raised: $2.43 million
HQ: Malmo, Sweden
Tags: SMB, B2B2C, payments
Source: Crunchbase

Accredify
Retail investor services platform
Latest round: $100,000 Debt
Total raised: $100,000
HQ: Miami, Florida
Tags: Consumer, advisers, investing, trading, deal management
Source: Crunchbase

WealthyLife
Financial literacy app
Latest round: $10,000 Grant (from JP Morgan)
Total raised: $85,000
HQ: California
Tags: Consumer, personal finance information, gamification, underbanked, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

BitOasis
Bitcoin exchange
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Dubai, UAE
Tags: Consumer, crypto-currency, bitcoin, blockchain
Source: Crunchbase

Chainlab
Blockchain-based smart contracts (aka Wings)
Latest round: Undisclosed Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Tel Aviv, Israel
Tags: SMB, blockchain, bitcoin
Source: Crunchbase

Expensya
Expense reporting
Latest round: Unknown
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Paris, France
Tags: SMB, bookkeeping, accounting, employee management
Source: Crunchbase

Pepins
Equity crowdfunding platform
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unkown
HQ: Nacka, Sweden
Tags: Consumer, SMB, equity investing, investors
Source: Crunchbase

Avoka Locks in $12 Million in New Investment

Avoka Locks in $12 Million in New Investment

Avoka_homepage_June2016

Digital customer acquisition specialist and multiple Best of Show winner Avoka has picked up $12 million in new investment. The venture round featured participation from a variety of institutions and professional fintech investors in Australia and is the first major funding for the company since 2013. Avoka CEO Phil Copeland said the new investment will be used to “accelerate our already strong organic growth prospects, expand our product capabilities … and explore new markets.”

With regard to products, Copeland highlighted Avoka Transact, saying that the investment will help the company continue to build and develop the technology, which he called “the leading single platform for driving customer-centric digital transformation.” He added that part of further developing his company’s solutions will be to integrate fraud, identity management, fund transfer, and core banking functionality into the platform.

Avoka_stage_FS2016

Avoka’s Kevin Mortimer, technical director, and Derek Corcoran, chief experience officer, demonstrated Avoka Transaction Effort Score at FinovateEurope 2016 in London.

Underscoring the importance of growth and expansion to the company’s past and future, Copeland noted that not only did 65% of Avoka’s revenue come from North American and European markets, but also that the percentage “is expected to grow substantially” in the wake of this latest funding round. Advising on the deal was Moelis & Company whose managing director, Ben Wong, called the company “a great example of an Australian technology company with a global footprint based on best-of-breed technology being adopted by global corporate customers.”

Recent headlines for Avoka include a new partnership with fellow Finovate alum Mitek to build a new mobile onboarding solution in May. In April, Beyond Bank won the Celent model bank award with a customer-engagement platform from Avoka, the same month Avoka partnered with Finovate alum eSignLive to enable 100% digital customer acquisition. Avoka was named to the Top Ten FinTech Worldwide by KPMG in March.

Founded in 2002 in Sydney, Australia, and co-headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Avoka demonstrated its Transaction Effort Score (TES) at FinovateEurope 2016. The company has more than 95 working in offices in Sydney, Denver, and London and includes 2 global banks; 5 of the top-50 banks in the U.S.; and 4 of the top-10 banks in Australia among its more than 80 customers.