FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: Blend

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

blend_homepage_April2016

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

Blend is a Silicon Valley technology company empowering lenders to originate efficient, data-driven mortgages while offering their borrowers a compelling user experience.

Features:

  • Drive down the costs of originations
  • Maintain airtight digital compliance
  • Originate borrower-friendly mortgages from any device in just weeks

Why it’s great
Blend is empowering lenders across the country to originate efficient, data-driven mortgages.

Presenters

PranayKapadia_BlendPranay Kapadia, Head of Product Development
Kapadia is the VP of Product at Blend where he owns the vision and roadmap of the Blend product. Before Blend, he was head of product management for Intuit.
LinkedIn

 

 

AlecRoth_BlendAlec Roth, Sales
Roth is a member of the Blend sales team bringing efficient, data-driven mortgages to lenders across the country. Prior to Blend, Roth held sales positions at Atlassian and Marketron.
LinkedIn

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FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: EquityZen

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

EquityZen_homepage_April2016

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

EquityZen is a streamlined investment platform focused on offering access to proven, pre-IPO technology companies for individuals, advisers, and institutional investors.

Features:

  • Professional investors can securely execute investments for multiple clients
  • Integrated analytics allow management of all of clients’ private investments
  • Simplified research tools

Why it’s great
We’re bringing the power of our platform, which has provided access to many of the largest VC-backed U.S. companies in the U.S., seamlessly to institutional investors.

Presenters

AtishDavda_EquityZenAtish Davda, CEO
Davda is the CEO and co-founder of EquityZen. Prior to founding EquityZen, he was product lead at Ampush. He began his career as a financial engineer at AQR Capital.
LinkedIn

 

 

KetanBhalla_EquityZenKetan Bhalla, Product Lead
Bhalla leads product at EquityZen. Prior to EquityZen, he was the COO of Sliced Investing and was previously a vice president in J.P. Morgan’s Alternative Investments Group.
LinkedIn

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FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: CUneXus

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

CUneXus_homepage_April2016

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

AutoXpress by CUneXus and Edmunds.com eliminates the uncertainties and frustrations of car buying by instantly connecting a preapproved loan to real-time auto dealership inventory.

Features:

  • Seamless online and mobile banking integration
  • Access to real-time inventory at more than 13,000 auto dealerships nationwide
  • Locked-in, up-front pricing on specific vehicles

Why it’s great
An end-to-end, vehicle-purchasing solution inside online and mobile banking. Lender-approved and dealer-guaranteed. No haggling. No loan applications. Auto purchasing made easy—the way it ought to be.

Presenters: President and CEO Dave Buerger, LinkedIn; CTO John Reich, LinkedIn

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PayPal Marks U.K. Rollout of PayPal Credit with Interest-Free Financing

PayPal Marks U.K. Rollout of PayPal Credit with Interest-Free Financing
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: PayPal

PayPalHomepage4.16

Starting this week, PayPal users in the United Kingdom can now spread out the cost of larger purchases when using PayPal at an online retailer or paying with their PayPal digital wallet.

Eligible customers may now enjoy interest-free financing on purchases over £150 ($212) for four months, thanks to the launch of PayPal Credit. After that the rate is 17.9%.

PayPal has partnered with a handful of online retailers to integrate a range of financing deals within their checkout experience:

  • Blacks
  • Chain Reaction Cycles
  • Dyson
  • Millets
  • Samsung
  • Simply Games
  • Ultimate Outdoors

Interest rates start at 0% with terms of up to 24 months.

U.S. customers have used this feature since PayPal acquired Bill Me Later in 2008. In 2014, the San Jose-based company rebranded the service to PayPal Credit and began offering U.S. consumers interest-free financing on purchases over $99.

PayPal was founded in 1998 and works in 203 countries and markets. Its 179 million active accounts allow customers to get paid in more than 100 currencies, withdraw funds to their bank account in 57 currencies and hold a balance in their PayPal account in 26 currencies. Last year, 28% of the 4.9 billion payments the company processed were made on a mobile device.

PayPal’s Braintree Developer Evangelist, Justin Woo, presented at FinDEVr New York 2016 last month:

https://finovate.wistia.com/medias/q3ch6fgcm1

PayPal’s last Finovate demo was at FinovateEurope 2012 where it debuted Instant Account Creation.

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FICO Unveils its Score Simulator

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FICO

myFICO_homepage_April2016

Fresh off its FinDEVr New York debut, predictive analytics pioneer FICO is making headlines on both the product and personnel fronts.  The company’s new FICO Score Simulator, unveiled this week at myFICO.com, draws on data from all three major credit bureaus to show consumers how hypothetical financial decisions or circumstances might impact their FICO score.

Vice President of Consumer Scores at FICO Geoff Smith pointed out that FICO scores are used in more than 90% of the lending decisions in the U.S.  The Simulator provides a look into 24 different financial situations including refinancing a mortgage, maxing out credit cards, and taking out a car loan. “Our mission is to empower consumers with tools and content that help them understand their financial health,” Smith said, “including decisions that could impact FICO scores.”

FICO demonstrated Decision Management Platform Streaming as part of its presentation, “Rapidly Deliver Contextually Powered Stream Processing,” at FinDEVr New York. Founded in 1956, FICO is headquartered in San Jose, California, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FICO.” The company will hold its FICO World 2016 conference in Washington, D.C. at the end of April.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Backbase, Blend, CUneXus, ebankIT, EquityZen, Featurespace, FICO, Fiserv, INETCO Systems, PayPal, Signifyd, Temenos, Top Image Systems

On Finovate.com

  • Where are they now? A look at FinovateSpring 2015 Best of Show Winner Successes.
  • “PayPal Marks U.K. Rollout of PayPal Credit with Interest-Free Financing”

On FinDEVr.com

  • “FICO Launches Score Simulator, Adds New CIO Claus Moldt”

Around the web

  • ebankIT shares top honors with Kerv at Temenos Innovation Jam.
  • Top Image Systems inks $115,000 accounts-payable deal with unnamed U.S. technology company.
  • Xceed FCU transitions to Fiserv-hosted DNA account-processing platform.
  • INETCO powers BECU’s omnichannel monitoring and analytics solutions that won the Celent Model Bank Award in the omnichannel category.
  • Red Herring Europe names Featurespace a Top 100 company.
  • Backbase powers Altyn-i, a new digital bank in Kazakhstan.
  • “Signifyd Launches Fraud Protection App for Magento Marketplace”

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: 29 Companies Raise $1.2 Billion Week Ending April 8

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Uncategorized

money_tree_newFor the 14th week in a row, the number of fintech deals worldwide surpassed 20. This week, 29 startups raised $275 million, or $1.20 billion if you count Chinese real estate giant Home Link (Lianjia).*

The total number of deals YTD stands at 363, double last year’s 186 (through April 10). Total dollars raised YTD is $7.9 billion, also double the $3.7 billion raised during the same period a year ago.

Three Finovate alums raised capital, and one, a presenter at the first FinovateSpring show in 2008, TradeKing, was acquired by Ally Financial for $275 million.

Here are the fintech deals by size from 2 April to 8 April 2016:

Home Link (Lianjia)
Online and offline real estate broker
Latest round: $926 million Series B
Total raised: Unkown
HQ: China
Tags: Consumer, investing, robo-adviser, ETFs, retirement, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase

Bright Health
Consumer health insurance plans
Latest round: $80 million Series A
Total raised: $80 million
HQ: Minnesota City, Minnesota
Tags: Consumer, insurance, healthcare
Source: Crunchbase

Meili Jinrong
P2P lending platform
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: $65+ million
HQ: Kagoshima, China
Tags: Consumer, P2P lending, peer-to-peer, credit, underwriting, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Finanz Check
Consumer loan portal
Latest round: $37.5 million Series C
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Hamburg, Germany
Tags: Consumer, loans, credit, credit cards, price comparison, discovery, lead generation, personal finance
Source: Crunchbase

Persado
Messaging technology for financial institutions and others
Latest round: $30 million Series C
Total raised: $66 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Enterprise, marketing, communications, alerts, service, Goldman Sachs, American Express, Citigroup (investors), Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Joyowo.com
SMB insurance portal
Latest round: $15 million Series B
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Zhejiang, China
Tags: SMB, insurance, lead gen, price comparison, discovery
Source: Crunchbase

Scalable Capital
Wealth-management platform
Latest round: $8.0 million
Total raised: $12.3 million
HQ: Munich, Germany
Tags: Consumer, investing, robo-adviser, ETFs, retirement, wealth management
Source: Crunchbase

Ixaris
Prepaid card-payments platform
Latest round: $6 million
Total raised: $6 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, B2B2C, payments, prepaid debit cards, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

LevelUp
Mobile-payment platform for restuarants
Latest round: $5 million
Total raised: $45 million
HQ: Boston, Massechuesetts
Tags: Consumer, merchants, payments, POS, acquiring, debit/credit cards, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Tiller
Retailer point-of-sale system
Latest round: $4.6 million
Total raised: $4.7 million
HQ: Paris, France
Tags: SMB, merchants, payments, POS, acquring, debit/credit cards, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

ShareIn
Equity-crowdfunding platform
Latest round: $4.54 million Equity Crowdfunding
Total raised: $5.54 million
HQ: Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Tags: SMB, capital, P2P, investing, crowdfunding, equity
Source: Crunchbase

Vestly
Online stock-trading game
Latest round: $4 million
Total raised: $4 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, investing, gamification, trading, simulator
Source: Crunchbase

Cortera
Data for B2B analytics and risk management
Latest round: $3.48 million
Total raised: $64.18 million
HQ: Boca Raton, Florida
Tags: SMB, credit evaluation, risk, valuations, underwriting, analytics, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase

Liwwa
Marketplace lender for SMB loans
Latest round: $2.3 million Seed
Total raised: $2.3 million Seed
HQ: Amman, Jordan
Tags: SMB, lending, P2P, crowdfunding, credit, commercial loans, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Second Measure 
Consumer spending analytics
Latest round: $2 million Seed
Total raised: $2 million
HQ: San Mateo, California
Tags: Enterprise, investors, advisors, trading, analytics, valuations
Source: Crunchbase

Numerai
Global tournament to predict the stock market
Latest round: $1.5 million
Total raised: $1.5 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, investing, trading, stock market, game
Source: Crunchbase

Anedot
Payment processing system for nonprofits
Latest round: $1 million
Total raised: $2.25 million
HQ: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Tags: Nonprofits, fundraising, payements, merchants, debit/credit cards, acquiring
Source: Crunchbase

Bitwala
Bitcoin payments
Latest round: $912,000
Total raised: $912,000
HQ: Grotestraat, Netherland
Tags: Consumer, payments, crypto-currency, bitcoin,, blockchain
Source: Crunchbase

MedPilot
Medical billing and collections platform
Latest round: $750,000 Angel
Total raised: $750,000
HQ: New York City
Tags: Healthcare providers, billing, payments, collections
Source: Crunchbase

Cambridge Blockchain
Enterprise blockchain applications
Latest round: $635,000
Total raised: $635,000
HQ: Cambridge, Massechuesetts
Tags: Enterprise, SMB, blockchain, distributed database, bitcoin, cyrpto-currency
Source: Crunchbase

Future Penny
Investment information portal
Latest round: $500,000 Seed
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: Perth, Australia
Tags: Consumer, investing, robo-adviser, ETFs, retirement, information, lead gen
Source: Crunchbase, Startup Daily

Tradeworks.io
Financial trade automation technology
Latest round: $500,000 Seed
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: Singapore
Tags: Traders, investing, robo-adviser, stocks, automation
Source: Crunchbase

Vindi
Online payment platform
Latest round: $330,000 Series A
Total raised: $820,000
HQ: Sao Paulao, Brazil
Tags: Consumer, SMB, payments, online, subscription billing, billpay
Source: Crunchbase

Sphere
Point-of-sale system for food and beverage industry
Latest round: $250,000 Seed
Total raised: $250,000
HQ: Singapore
Tags: Consumer, merchants, payments, POS, acquiring, debit/credit cards
Source: Crunchbase

Tokken
Proxy banking and payments services for cash businesses
Latest round: $250,000 Debt
Total raised: $250,000
HQ: Denver, Colorado
Tags: SMB, merchants, credit/debit cards, legal cannibas industry, payments, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Internex Capital
Working capital finance
Latest round: $200,000 Debt
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, lending, trade finance, loan, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Cardtek
EMV and mobile-payments technology 
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Istanbul, Turkey
Tags: Enterprise, payments, credit/debit cards, EMV, chip & PIN, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Musoni BV
Microfinance software
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tags: Consumer, micro-finance, underbanked, unbanked
Source: Crunchbase

Tandem Bank
Digital bank
Latest round: Not dislosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, banking, lending, mobile
Source: FT Partners

—–
*We include digital consumer real estate platforms in our definition of fintech companies. Many other sources classify them elsewhere. See full methodology in the footnotes here.
**Image licensed from 123rf

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Ixaris Receives $6 Million in Funding After Spinning Off from Parent Company

Ixaris Receives $6 Million in Funding After Spinning Off from Parent Company
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Ixaris

IxarisHomepage

Payments-solutions provider Ixaris has spun off Ixaris Technologies, a dedicated B2B tech-focused arm that will support its Open Payment Ecosystem Platform, an offering that launched last June.

With the launch of Ixaris Technologies as a distinct company, the London-based company’s shareholders have contributed $6 million in launch funding to accelerate growth. Combined with its previous $10 million in equity funding, Ixaris’ total funding is $16.

CEO Alex Mifsud highlights the fiscal reasoning behind the spinoff: “Our B2B payment offering now accounts for 25% of Ixaris Group revenues, which exceeded $16 million in 2015.” He continues by explaining the market reason behind the separation: “The payments industry is shifting focus towards APIs and technology solutions to help drive open banking, further reinforcing that the time is right to launch a company dedicated to open payments.”

Ixaris’ sister-company EntroPay will focus on its self-service consumer and SMB virtual card business.

At FinovateEurope 2015, Ixaris launched a UI editor for its Open Payments Platform.

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Avalara, Signifyd Bring Sales Tax, Fraud Solutions to Magento E-commerce Marketplace

Avalara, Signifyd Bring Sales Tax, Fraud Solutions to Magento E-commerce Marketplace
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Avalara, Signifyd

Magento_Avalara

Customers of Magento are getting more than their usual share of love from Finovate and FinDEVr alums.

FinDEVr alum and long-time Magento partner Avalara announced that its sales-tax calculation solution, Compliance Cloud, will be a part of the Magento 2.0 e-commerce platform. In addition, customers will gain access to Avalara’s tax-prep, filing and remittance services.

Marshal Kushniruk, Avalara’s executive vice president of business development, called the latest integration a “strong proof point” of his company’s “multifaceted relationship” with Magento. Kushniruk pointed to their more than 1,000 mutual customers, adding that “we are delighted to be a vibrant part of Magento 2.0.”

Seattle-based Avalara has spent the first quarter of 2016 lining up partners. The company extended its relationship with WooCommerce in March and in Februry, Avalara unveiled its LandedCost solution to help small businesses handle overseas taxes, tariffs, and fees. The company made its FinDEVr debut at FinDEVr San Francisco 2015. Loke Uei Tan, senior manager for developer relations, presented on “The Wacky World of Sales Tax” and how Avalara’s APIs help make sales-tax calculation functionality an easy add-on for developers.

Magento_Signifyd

Meanwhile, Finovate alum Signifyd said that the fraud-prevention app it released on Monday will be the “first and only fraud-prevention app” available via Magento’s platform.

Calling the Magento platform “prestigious” and “far-reaching,” Skye Spear, Signifyd senior director of partnerships and business development, said the platform would help get Signifyd’s technology in the hands of more merchants around the world. “E-commerce companies shouldn’t have to worry about fraud,” Spear said.

Signifyd specializes in helping merchants defend themselves against CNP (card not present) fraud. The company’s Social Graph technology leverages social media, search engines, and other sources to determine the likelihood that a person online is who they say they are, and gives merchants a straightforward “Accept” or “Decline” on transactions. Moreover, Signifyd will accept full liability for any transaction that is accepted but turns out to be fraudulent.

Headquartered in San Jose, California, Signifyd demonstrated its Guaranteed Payments solution at FinovateSpring 2013. The company raised $20 million in a Series B led by Menlo Ventures in February, the same month Signifyd announced that it was extending its integration with Shopify Plus.

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FinDEVr APIntelligence

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BehavioSec, CardFlight, Cloud Lending, Envestnet, FinDEVr APIntelligence, Google, Google Cloud Platform, On Deck Capital, OutsideIQ, PayNearMe, Praesidio, Stratumn, Streamdata.io, Thinking Capital, VIX Verify, Yodlee

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

On FinDEVr.com

  • “Envestnet | Yodlee Unveils its Risk Insight API”
  • “Google’s Guide: New Book Explains How Google Manages its Cloud Infrastructure”

The latest from FinDEVr New York 2015 presenters

  • OutsideIQ joins fintech accelerator, Bank Innovation INV, as an API partner. See OutsideIQ at FinovateSpring in San Jose next month.
  • Vix Verify opens new offices in Atlanta, Georgia’s Transaction Alley as part of American expansion.
  • Chase launches OnDeck-powered SMB loan platform.
  • Praesidio ranks top 10 most-promising cloud-banking-solution providers of 2015.
  • API report covers Streamdata.io.
  • CryptoCoinNews takes a look at the recent funding for blockchain-development platform, Stratumn.

Alumni updates

  • “CardFlight and Miura Systems Partner to Offer EMV and NFC Mobile POS Solution to the U.S Market”
  • PayNearMe facilitates users to pay for their taxes in cash.
  • “BehavioSec, Nationwide, Unisys Team Up on Biometrics”
  • Crowdfund Insider interviews Snehal Fulzele, Cloud Lending CEO.

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

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Algomi, authenticID, Avalara, CardFlight, cbanc Network, FutureAdvisor, Ixaris, On Deck Capital, OutsideIQ, Praesidio, Ripple, SayPay, Signifyd, VIX Verify

On Finovate.com

  • Check out this week’s FinDEVr APIntelligence.
  • “Avalara, Signifyd Bring Sales Tax, Fraud Solutions to Magento E-Commerce Marketplace”
  • “Ixaris Receives $6 Million in Funding After Spinning Off from Parent Company”

Around the web

  • BankNxt’s BIGcast interviews CEO Steve Hoffman of SayPay Technologies.
  • OutsideIQ joins fintech accelerator, Bank Innovation INV, as an API partner. See OutsideIQ at FinovateSpring in San Jose next month.
  • Vix Verify opens new offices in Atlanta, Georgia’s Transaction Alley as part of American expansion.
  • Algomi partners with IPC Systems to support buy-side users of its Honeycomb network.
  • Bank Innovation takes a look at CBANC and its effort to make social media work for banks.
  • “AuthenticID Wins All Payments Expo Shark Tank with CatfishAIR Identity Verification Solution”
  • Chase launches OnDeck-powered SMB Loan platform.
  • “CardFlight and Miura Systems Partner to Offer EMV and NFC Mobile POS Solution to the U.S Market”
  • MIT adopts Ripple validator to advance consensus and blockchain research.
  • “LPL Selects BlackRock’s FutureAdvisor as Robo Platform”
  • CIOReview names Praesidio in list of top 20 Most Promising Banking Technology Solution Providers for 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.

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Malauzai to Offer Geezeo-Powered PFM Tools

Malauzai to Offer Geezeo-Powered PFM Tools
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Geezeo, Malauzai

MalauzaiHomepage

Finovate alums Malauzai Software and Geezeo have teamed up this week to bring Geezeo’s PFM tools to community financial institutions using Malauzai’s SmartApps technology solutions. Six Malauzai clients, including Indiana-based Fort Financial Credit Union, have signed contracts to deploy Malauzai’s solution with the new PFM offering.

The partnership enables financial institutions using Malauzai’s online banking platform to offer consumers and small businesses a view of their assets, bills, overall cash flow, goals and budgets. With such a comprehensive view into their customers’ financial lives, banks have an opportunity to cross-sell relevant products and services.

GeezeoPFMCentral to the partnership is a passion to serve community financial institutions. Shawn Ward, CEO and co-founder of Geezeo, says, “We are really excited about this partnership with Malauzai because we share a commitment to provide innovative financial tools to credit unions and community banks.”

The integration will work on both web:

cportweb

… and mobile:

cPort PFM4

Prior to today’s partnership, Malauzai’s apps were focused on the transactional aspect of money management. According to Rob Gaynor, chief product officer for the Austin-based company, the addition of financial management tools boosts the value of the two apps. He says the apps “allow banks and credit unions to better cement their roles as trusted financial partners to those they serve.”

Malauzai, which launched in 2009, recently revamped its banking software. At FinovateSpring 2015, Malauzai launched its Virtual Banking Experience.

Geezeo was the first-ever company to demo at a Finovate conference (check out their retro video from 2007). The company last demoed at FinovateFall 2014 where it debuted TruBusiness business financial management software. Geezeo’s other recent partnerships include NYMBUS and Backbase.

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