FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: PayActiv

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: PayActiv
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2016, FinovateSpring 2016 Sneak Peek, PayActiv

PayActiv_homepage_April2016

FS2016-wdateA look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals on May 10 & 11. Register today.

PayActiv is a real alternative to small dollar, predatory loans, with no additional debt. PayActiv provides turnkey, on-demand access to earned but unpaid wages.

Features:

  • Re-imagine savings in units of time
  • Change savings mindset—make it fun, practical, and achievable

Why it’s great

End financial stress with savings, dignity, and no additional debt.

PayActiv_SafwanShahPresenter: Safwan Shah, Founder and CEO

An engineer, entrepreneur, and educator, Shah has previously founded, boostrapped, and sold a payments company to TSYS. He is now inspired every day by PayActiv’s transformative impact for society.
LinkedIn

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Ally Financial Acquires TradeKing for $275 Million

Ally Financial Acquires TradeKing for $275 Million
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Mergers & Acquisitions, TradeKing

TradeKingHomepage

TradeKing, an online brokerage firm that prides itself on straightforward, low pricing, has been acquired by Detroit-based Ally Financial (NYSE: ALLY), a publicly traded financial services company primarily known for auto-lending. The purchase price paid in cash is $275 million.

Ally is purchasing the Florida-based company for its online broker/dealer, digital portfolio-management platform; educational content; and social collaboration channels. According the the Wall Street Journal, the acquisition will serve as a stepping stone to help Ally expand its services into wealth management, mortgages, and credit cards. Ally CEO Jeffrey Brown says, “The addition of wealth management is the next key step in Ally’s digital product evolution and will create a powerful combination of segment-leading direct banking and innovative investment services in a single integrated customer experience.”

The deal is expected to close in Q3 of this year. Once it does, TradeKing’s 180 employees will join Ally Financial. TradeKing, with $4.5 billion in assets under management, will operate under the branding of Ally Financial.

In the early days of Finovate, TradeKing presented the TradeKing Community at FinovateSpring 2008. TradeKing Community is one of the first brokerages to create a social network that enables investors to share their online trades with others.

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FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: Vera

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: Vera
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2016, FinovateSpring 2016 Sneak Peek, Vera

Vera_homepage_April2016

FS2016-wdateA look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals on May 10 & 11. Register today.

Vera secures enterprise data wherever it goes, and allows IT to instantly revoke access in unmanaged domains – no agent required.

Features:

  • Secures any file type, ensuring only authorized parties can access sensitive financial information
  • Works no matter where/how the file is stored, or who has it
  • Not tied to any specific technology

Why it’s great

Vera works just as effectively with outside collaborators (clients, auditors, lawyers, banks) as internal employees, without requiring recipients to download or install special programs.

Vera_AjayAroraPresenters

Ajay Arora, Co-founder and CEO

As CEO and co-founder of Vera, Arora is a serial entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience in security and enterprise software.
LinkedIn

 

Vera_GrantShirkGrant Shirk, Senior Director of Product Marketing

As senior director of product marketing at Vera, Shirk is focused on helping global businesses secure and share their critical business information.
LinkedIn

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alpha Payments Cloud, Azimo, BaseVenture, FutureAdvisor, Kofax, Mistral Mobile, OneVisage, OutsideIQ, PayActiv, Persado, TradeKing, TransferTo, Vera

On Finovate.com

  • “Persado Pulls in $30 Million in Funding Led by Goldman Sachs”
  • “Ally Financial Acquires TradeKing for $275 Million”

Around the web

  • Mistral Mobile unveils its new, two-factor authentication solution, m-Aegis Secure OTP.
  • Azimo announces expansion within Denmark and Sweden.
  • TransferTo adds GGV Capital venture partner, Lee Kheng Nam, to its board of directors.
  • Alpha Payments Cloud teams up with WeCollect to launch China Payments Cloud.
  • Broadway Bank selects Micronotes’s cloud-based marketing automation platform to boost digital customer engagement.
  • RBC partners with BlackRock’s FutureAdvisor for robo-adviser pilot program.
  • “OutsideIQ Chosen To Participate In Brazilian Innovation Summit”

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: 21 Companies Raise $460 Million Week Ending April 1

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

money_keyFirst quarter closed with a bang as 21 companies raised a total of nearly a half-billion of new funding ($458 million), all equity as far as we know.

The total number of deals in first quarter was 334, double last year’s 171.  Total dollars raised in Q1 stands at $6.7 billion, also double the $3.3 billion raised in Q1 2015.

Three Finovate or FinDEVr alums, two of which presented at FinDEVr NYC last week (Betterment, Stratumn), brought in new investments:

Here are the fintech deals by size from 26 March to 1 April 2016:

Ceridian
Human resources, payroll and health insurance platform
Latest round: $150 million Private Equity
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tags: SMB, healthcare, insurance, payroll, benefits, HR, employees
Source: Crunchbase

Betterment
Consumer online investment platform
Latest round: $100 million Series E ($700 million valuation)
Total raised: $205 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, investing, robo-adviser, ETFs, retirement, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Real Matters
Real estate transaction management technology
Latest round: $76.7 million ($500 million valuation)
Total raised: $136.7 million
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, real estate brokers, home buying, mortgages, insurance, title insurance
Source: FT Partners

Figtree Financing
Financing solutions for energy saving improvements at commercial properties
Latest round: $30 million Series A
Total raised: $30 million
HQ: California City, California
Tags: SMB, commerical real estate, energy conservation, lending, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Splitit
PayItSimple consumer credit service
Latest round: $22.5 million ($56 million valuation)
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, payments, credit, lending, POS, merchants, in-store financing, underwriting
Source: FT Partners

Blispay
In-store financing service
Latest round: $12.75 million
Total raised: $12.75 million
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, consumer lending, loans, POS, merchants, in-store financing, P2P, peer-to-peer, underwriting, personal finance
Source: FT Partners

LoanLogics
Mortgage loan quality and performance-maagement software
Latest round: $10.03 million
Total raised: $22.46 million
HQ: Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Tags: Financial institutions, mortgage brokers, consumer lending, analytics, underwriting, compliance, regulations
Source: Crunchbase

Swanest
Consumer investing service
Latest round: $10 million Seed
Total raised: $10 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer lending, investing, portfolio management, trading, wealth management, robo-adviser, Andreessen Horowitz (investor)
Source: FT Partners

Branch
Smartphone based alt-credit and underwriting for underbanked
Latest round: $9.2 million
Total raised: $9.2 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumers, SMB, lending, loans, underbanked, unbanked, emerging markets, credit, credit score, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Bluefin Payment Systems
PayConex payment platform
Latest round: $6 million
Total raised: $6 million
HQ: Atlanta, Georgia
Tags: SMB, payments, security, merchants, acquiring, FinDEVr alum
Source: FinDEVr

Wave
Suite of small business tools for payroll, accounting, invoicing, payments
Latest round: $5.07 million
Total raised: $44.77 million
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tags: SMB, accounting, bookkeeping, accounts receivables, payables, payments, billing, billpay, invoicing
Source: Crunchbase

Veritas Finance
Banking services for the under- and non-banked
Latest round: $4.5 million Series A
Total raised: $4.5 million
HQ: Guindy, India
Tags: Consumer, lending, deposits, loans, payments, banking, underbanked, non-banked
Source: Crunchbase

Bitt
Bitcoin exchange and remittance platform
Latest round: $4 million Series A
Total raised: $5.5 million
HQ: Hastings, Barbados
Tags: Consumer, payments, bitcoin, cryptocurrency, Overstock (investor), mobile wallet, debit card, funds transfers, remittances
Source: FT Partners

Slice Labs
On-demand insurance
Latest round: $3.9 million Seed
Total raised: $3.9 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, consumer, insurance, mobile, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Homie
Peer-to-peer real estate marketplace
Latest round: $3.76 million
Total raised: $3.76 million
HQ: Salt Lake City, Utah
Tags: Consumer, home buying, residentail real estate, P2P, mortgage
Source: Crunchbase

LandBay
P2P real esate loan marketplace
Latest round: $3.57 million
Total raised: $6.72 million
HQ: London, England
Tags: Consumer, lending, loans, mortgage, investing, peer-to-peer, crowdfunding
Source: Crunchbase

HealthJoy
Consumer healthcare and payments platform
Latest round: $3 million Seed
Total raised: $3 million
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Tags: Consumer, healthcare, insurance, personal financial management, benefits, spending management, billing, payments
Source: Crunchbase

EDJ Analytics
Analytics platform for financial services and other verticals
Latest round: $2.4 million Series A
Total raised: $2.4 million
HQ: Louisville, Kentucky
Tags: SMB, enterprise, analytics, gamification, trading, investing, big data
Source: FT Partners

Stratumn
Blockchain appliction platform
Latest round: $670,000 Seed
Total raised: $670,000
HQ: Paris, France
Tags: SMB, enterprise, blockchain, bitcoin, infrastructure, developers, FinDEVr alum
Source: Crunchbase

iQapla
platform
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Madrid, Spain
Tags: Consumer, investing, trading, robo-adviser, porfolio management
Source: Crunchbase

SwitchME
Loan price comparison portal
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unkown
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Consumer, lending, loans, mortgage, personal finance, price comparison, lead gen, discovery,
Source: Crunchbase

 

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iSignthis Facilitates Instant Bitcoin Purchases on Coinify

iSignthis Facilitates Instant Bitcoin Purchases on Coinify
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: iSignthis

iSignThisHomepage

Digital identity-proofing company iSignthis announced a partnership with Coinify, whose bitcoin exchange acts as a processor and trading platform for more than 17 blockchain currencies.

Using iSignthis’ AML/CTF KYC services, customers can now use Coinify to instantly purchase bitcoin using a major credit card. To meet AML/CTF regulations for customer due diligence and KYC guidelines, iSignthis helps end users link their identity to bitcoin transactions. According to Coinify CTO Hamed Sattari:

Using iSignthis’ services, we get a strong customer authentication and a smooth KYC process that ties cards to a specific user. This provides us a secure token that can be used onwards for making instant purchases with extended security and PIN code.

Australia-based iSignthis offers a cloud-based identity- and transaction-authentication solution for payment service providers. The company dynamically generates evidence of identity by using multifactor authentication and linking transaction parameters to the form of payment.

iSignThis went public on the Australian Stock Exchange in March 2015 (ASX:ISX). The company presented its platform at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.

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Santander and Kabbage Partner to Bring Same-Day Funding to UK SMEs

Santander and Kabbage Partner to Bring Same-Day Funding to UK SMEs
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Kabbage

Kabbage_homepage_Apr2016

A new partnership between Santander U.K and Atlanta, Georgia-based small business lender, Kabbage, brings same-day funding to SMEs in the United Kingdom.

As explained during a media briefing at the Money 20/20 event in Copenhagen, Denmark, small business owners will use Kabbage’s platform to apply for Santander-financed lines of credit between £500 and £100,000. The process is 100% online, available 24/7, and interest rates range from 8% to 20%. Approval times have varied from as few as 20 minutes to as long as 13 hours.

Kabbage_stage_FS2015b

Pictured (left to right): Michelle Sirpak, director of payment operations for Kabbage, and Jason Dell, head of product, demonstrated the Kabbage Card at FinovateSpring 2015 in San Jose.

Kathryn Petralia, COO and co-founder of Kabbage, praised Santander U.K.’s “preeminent global brand” as well as the bank’s “deep financial expertise, large customer base, and a shared passion for innovation.” Sigga Sigurdardottir, chief customer and innovation officer at Santander U.K., said the collaboration between the bank and the online lender underscored the value of “secure, data-driven technologies that improve the customer experience,” and added that “we are excited to collaborate with Kabbage on this new working capital solution that allows us to provide an entirely new digital service for our small and medium-sized business customers.”

With a staff of 20,000, Santander U.K. serves more than 14 million customers in its 857 branches and 70 “regional Corporate Business Centres.” The financial services provider is a subsidiary of Grupo Santander, one of the ten biggest banks in the world.

Kabbage in minutes provides fully automated financing to SMEs. The company’s real-time platform leverages business-activity data to underwrite, originate, and monitor the entire loan lifecycle, providing business owners with funding that accurately meets their business needs. Last fall, Kabbage raised $135 million in new funding, and expanded its credit facility to $900 million. Earlier in 2015,  Kabbage announced that it was powering Sage’s small business loan offering, Sage Small Business Loan powered by Kabbage.

Founded in 2009, Kabbage announced availability of its Powered by Kabbage platform for third parties and partners, and demonstrated its mobile line of credit product, Kabbage Card, at FinovateSpring 2015. Rob Frohwein is CEO.

——–

FinovateSpring 2016 is just over a month away. Join us in sunny San Jose, California May 10 & 11 for feast of fintech innovation. Tickets are on sale now.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Betterment, Envestnet, Featurespace, FutureAdvisor, iSignthis, Jumio, Kabbage, Trunomi, TSYS, Wealthfront, Xero, Yodlee

On Finovate.com

  • “Santander and Kabbage Partner to Bring Same-Day Funding to U.K. SMEs”
  • “iSignthis Facilitates Instant Bitcoin Purchases on Coinify”

On FinDEVr.com

Around the web

  • Trunomi announces partnership with InAuth, combining fraud protection with mobile customer onboarding and lifecycle management.
  • MyMoneyMobile selects real-time, ID scanning technology from Jumio.
  • Investment News looks at how Betterment and Wealthfront have added data aggregation, and considers Vanguard’s partnership with Envestnet|Yodlee.
  • InvestorDaily considers the pending release of BlackRock’s FutureAdvisor in Australia.
  • Featurespace selected as a finalist for the 2016 RedHerring Top 100 Europe Award.
  • Barlow names Xero TaxTouch most innovative at 2016 Banking Technology Awards.

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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Malauzai Launches New Version of Banking Software

Malauzai Launches New Version of Banking Software
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Malauzai

MalauzaiHomepage

Malauzai, an internet and mobile banking software provider, this week released the latest version of its SmartApps for community financial institutions. The launch includes new features which are delivered as a part of the company’s Mobile Only Experience (MOX) and offer a consistent user experience across channels for both banks and their customers.

Along with TouchID and an enhanced user interface, the Austin-based company has updated its software to include:

  • SmartwebApps™
    A mobile extension that brings the MOX to advanced browsers, allowing FIs to offer a consistent experience.
  • Enhanced Text Banking
    Allows consumers to access balances, recent history and account transfers by texting a three letter message.
  • P2P payments
    Facilitates P2P money transfers as quickly as next day.
  • Two-way secure messaging
    Allows consumers to communicate directly with their banks and to attach relevant documents and pictures to their messages in a secure environment.

Regarding the upgrades, Robb Gaynor, chief product officer for Malauzai, says, “The features and enhancements in this newest version of our solution are a direct response to our customers’ desire to provide a unique and customized experience that remains consistent in look, feel and usability across any device.”

Founded in 2009, Malauzai has raised just over $24 million in five funding rounds. At the close of 2015, 400+ community FIs were using Malauzai’s solutions. In February, the company reported the total number of end customer downloads for its mobile banking SmartApps surpassed 1 million.

At FinovateSpring 2015, Malauzai launched its Virtual Banking Experience.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Arroweye Solutions, Avoka, Blackhawk Network, Braintree, FIS, Fiserv, Malauzai, Markit, PayPal, Simple, ValidSoft, Wealthfront

On Finovate.com

  • “Malauzai Launches New Version of Banking Software”

Around the web

  • Aurionpro integrates ValidSoft voice biometrics as an authentication layer.
  • Arroweye Solutions to provide digital on-demand prepaid cards for Marqeta.
  • Blackhawk Network acquires Extrameasures, a prepaid consumer promotions and incentives company.
  • PayPal’s Braintree Authorization launches to bring its payments platform to more merchants, service providers.
  • The Financial Brand looks at the breakdown of Simple’s customer numbers.
  • Avoka and eSignLive partner to enable 100% digital customer acquisition.
  • Wealthfront 3.0 features a new dashboard; software and API integrations with Coinbase, Venmo, and Lending Club.
  • Texas Dow Employees CU, Thrivent FCU, and Neighbors FCU go live with core processing platform from Fiserv.
  • FIS gains accreditation to provide access to faster payments.
  • Markit unveils new Common Reporting Standard (CRS) solution for tax residency identification and due diligence.

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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Final Day to Save Big on FinovateSpring 2016 Tickets

Final Day to Save Big on FinovateSpring 2016 Tickets
By Erika Sanchez Posted on
Categories: Finovate Marketing, FinovateSpring 2016

FS 2016 Audience

Don’t be an April fool—take advantage of early bird ticket savings for FinovateSpring 2016!

FinovateSpring is less than six weeks away, and Friday, April 1, is the final day of Early Bird ticket sales. Register before the end of the week and save $100 off the ticket price! Our spring conference returns to San Jose on May 10 & 11 for two days of live fintech demonstrations and high-caliber networking. The show will take place at San Jose’s City National Civic, and you can find out more about the venue and local hotels here.

We’ve already released an initial look at the companies that will be presenting at FinovateSpring 2016 last month. We’ve also started posting sneak peeks to give you more background and insight into the entrepreneurs and innovations that will be on stage with more to follow in the coming weeks. Take a look at the current roster below (and stay tuned for the full list of presenters, including formerly stealth companies at the end of April).

FS 2016 Presenters

Time is running out, so act now to get the best rate. Register today!

FinovateSpring 2016 is sponsored by The Bancorp, Accenture, Association for Financial Technology, Hudson Cook, and Leverage PR.

FinovateSpring 2016 is partnered with Acuity Market Intelligence, Aite Group, American Bankers Association, Bank Innovators Council, BankersHub, Bankless Times, BayPay Forum, bobsguide, Breaking Banks, Byte Academy, California Bankers Association, Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, Celent, Cointelegraph, Digital Currency Council, EbankingNews, Filene Research Institute, The Fintech Times, IDC Financial Insights, Javelin, Juniper Research, Korea FinTech Forum, Mercator Advisory Group, Payments & Cards Network, The Paypers,PitchBook, Plug and Play, SME Finance Forum, and Western Independent Bankers.

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FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: BanQu

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: BanQu
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BanQ, FinovateSpring 2016 Sneak Peek

BanQHomepage

FS2016-wdateA look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals May 10 & 11. Register today.

BanQu is an economic identity platform that enables the world’s poor to connect to the global economy to transact, trade and build a financial history to help provide users with a permanent economic future.

Features:

  • Provides identities connecting users to the global economy
  • Families and communities combine forces to build a financial future
  • Users can interact as they need to solve any financial challenge

Why it’s great
The BanQu App is a global, device-agnostic solution that removes the barriers across the world’s populations allowing them to seamlessly transact and build long-term individual economic viability.39727803_ashish-cicle

Presenters

  • Ashish Gadnis, CEO
    Ashish has 25+ years of experience in global solutions, technology deployments, startups, and social enterprise in extreme poverty/conflict zones connecting the unbanked to the global economy.
    LinkedIn
  • Hamse Warfa, co-founderhamsecicle
    Philanthropic adviser, social entrepreneur and former program officer at Margaret A. Cargill Foundation.
    LinkedIn

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