Prosper Marketplace Teams Up with HomeAdvisor to Improve Access to Home Improvement Financing

Prosper Marketplace Teams Up with HomeAdvisor to Improve Access to Home Improvement Financing
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Prosper

Prosper_homepage_Mar2016

A new partnership between Prosper Marketplace and HomeAdvisor will help homeowners get the home-improvement financing they need.

“Home-improvement projects are a great way to increase the value of a home,” Prosper Marketplace CEO Aaron Vermut said. “But not all homeowners have access to home-equity lines of credit as a financing option.” Vermut says that homeowners will be able to borrow money for home financing projects via HomeAdvisor at rates lower than those typically accompanying credit cards.

HomeAdvisor_homepage_Mar2016

Through the partnership, homeowners will be able to research the cost of home improvement projects via HomeAdvisor’s True Cost Guide, and then review monthly repayment estimates for Prosper’s fixed-term, fixed-rate loan product.

“Offering Prosper’s smart financing option strengthens HomeAdvisor’s commitment to helping homeowners achieve their home improvement goals,” said HomeAdvisor CEO Chris Terrill. A national, online marketplace for home services, HomeAdvisor helps connect homeowners with home repair, maintenance, and improvement resources. The service is free to access and has put more than 35 million homeowners in touch with its network of prescreened home service professionals. HomeAdvisor is headquartered in Golden, Colorado.

Prosper also made headlines last week with the launch of Prosper Daily, a rebranding of the BillGuard app the company acquired as part of its purchase of BillGuard last fall. Also this month, Prosper announced the appointment of its new CFO David Kimball, a former USAA executive. The company announced surpassing $4 billion in loan originations last July, and have since updated that total to more than $6 billion.

Founded in 2006 and based in San Francisco, Prosper demonstrated its technology at the very first Finovate conference in 2007.

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Dealflow Closes Million Dollar Convertible Note

Dealflow Closes Million Dollar Convertible Note
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Dealflow, Funding, Fundings

Dealflow_homepage_Mar2016

Dealflow, the multi-asset, deal sourcing and marketing platform for institutional investors and their advisers, has closed a $1 million convertible debt offering.

In a blog post announcing the funding, Dealflow founder and CEO Steven Dresner credited Rule 506(c) for helping make the financing a reality. “It’s because of Rule 506(c)—and specifically the ability to advertise the deal—that I can present our investment opportunity to an active readership of about 11,000—with astonishingly high open rates, I might add!”

Dealflow_stage_FF2015

Pictured: Dealflow Founder and CEO Steven Dresner demonstrated his company’s platform at FinovateFall 2015 in New York.

Dealflow’s technology helps buyers and sellers find deals among actively marketed private-placement opportunities. The company’s software enables investors to query Dealflow’s aggregated database, tracking deals using “recommendation-type” algorithms. The platform’s Signal technology leverages both user preferences and actual user history to provide more accurate and efficient results. Users can be alerted to changes in deals they are watching, forward deals to a colleague, read information about the management, watch video information, and so on.

During their Finovate appearance, Dealflow unveiled its Dealflow 2.0 technology including a new Dashboard feature that leverages Signal to aggregate the most relevant deals. For example, investors looking for potential fintech investments see a dashboard loaded with deals in that sector. At the same time, companies looking to raise capital are shown potential investors who have committed capital to similar projects.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in New York City, Dealflow introduced its platform at FinovateFall 2015. The company has a number of financial services firms sourcing opportunities on its platform including Cantor Fitzgerald, Societe Generale, RBS, and Goldman Sachs.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Algomi, App Annie, Blackhawk Network, Dealflow, Misys, Prosper, Temenos, Top Image Systems

On Finovate.com

  • “DealFlow Closes Million Dollar Convertible Note”
  • “Algomi Gains Investment, Strategic Advisory from Tom Glocer, former Thomson Reuters’ CEO”
  • “Prosper Marketplace Teams Up with HomeAdvisor to Improve Access to Home Improvement Financing”

Around the web

  • Misys FusionBanking Loan IQ goes live at Virtus Partners.
  • Top Image Systems launches its next-generation accounts-payable automation solution, eFLOW AP.
  • Blackhawk Network names Anil D. Aggarwal to its board of directors.
  • App Annie acquires app marketing data company, AppScotch.
  • Temenos again recognized by IBS Intelligence as best-selling core banking software provider.

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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EZBOB Raises £20 Million in Series C Round Led by Bank Leumi, Oaktree

EZBOB Raises £20 Million in Series C Round Led by Bank Leumi, Oaktree
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: EZBOB, Funding, Fundings

EZBOB_homepage_Mar2016

Small business lending innovator EZBOB has raised £20 million ($28.8 million USD) in a Series C investment. The round was led by Leumi Partners and Oaktree Capital Management and takes EZBOB’s total capital to more than $83 million.

EZBOB CEO Tomer Guriel, co-founder, called the investment “proof” of his company’s platform and strategy for helping small businesses get the funding they need to grow. “This latest investment will further accelerate our growth plans and enable us to continue to develop our proprietary business lending platform to address more of the U.K.’s business lending needs.”

EZBOB_stage_FEU2014

Pictured (left to right): EZBOB COO Nimrod Kaplan and CEO Tomer Guriel, co-founder, demonstrated the EZBOB platform at FinovateEurope 2014 in London.

The investment also marks the first major foray into fintech for the Israeli-based Leumi Partners. Leumi Group Deputy CEO Danny Tsiddon says that, given the strong growth of business e-lending worldwide, “it is only natural that a bank which specializes in Israeli high-tech and spearheads innovation has chosen to invest in this leading FinTech startup.”

EZBOB says that the additional funding will help the the company both increase its lending capacity as well as improve its lending technology. The company has provided more than £100 million in funding via more than 8,500 loans to SMEs in the United Kingdom. Applying for a loan from EZBOB takes only 10 minutes and businesses can get funding in as little as 30 minutes. Loans are available from between £500 and £120,000, and U.K. businesses with annual turnover of at least £10,000 that have been in operation for at least a year are eligible.

Founded in 2011 and based in London, EZBOB demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2014.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Algomi, EZBOB, Nutmeg, Scalable Capital, Thomson Reuters

On Finovate.com

  • “EZBOB raises 20 million in Series C round led by Bank Leumi, Oaktree”

Around the web

  • Quartz asks, “Should Venmo Buy a Bank?”
  • HuffPost Business features Simply Tapp and Kontomatik in its list of the five most useful APIs in the financial world.
  • Algomi adds Glocer as strategic adviser, appoints Edelstein to board.
  • CityWire U.K. looks at Nutmeg and Scalable Capital in a discussion on the robo-adviser phenomenon.
  • NAB Asset Servicing selects Thomson Reuters as its preferred data partner.

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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StockViews Raises $355k in Seed Funding, Adds Fidelity’s Balk as Chairman

StockViews Raises $355k in Seed Funding, Adds Fidelity’s Balk as Chairman
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Fundings, StockViews

Stockviews_homepage_March2016

Stock market research platform Stockviews has raised £250,000 ($355,000 USD) in seed funding. Participating in the round were angel network Craigie Capital, the London Co-Investment Fund, and former head of Fidelity International, Thomas Balk, who will join Stockviews’ board of directors as chairman.

Stockviews CEO Tom Beevers called Balk’s decision to join the company “a huge validation of this new approach to equity research.” Beevers praised Balk’s 25 years of experience in global asset management, including 16 years at Fidelity. “We’re delighted to have such a high-caliber executive heading up our board,” Beevers said.

Stockviews_stage_FS2015_2

Pictured: StockViews CEO and Founder Tom Beevers demonstrated his company’s technology at FinovateSpring 2015.

Balk spoke to StockViews’ ability to help improve sell-side research, which he said “has long had a poor reputation for generating results.” Focusing on the competition among fund managers as a main driver of interest in new technologies, Balk sees StockViews as becoming the “leading marketplace for high-quality, independent investment research.”

The news comes almost a year since StockViews made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015. The company’s platform connects individual stock market investors with more than 500 independent equity analysts who make their research available online. The “StockViews Signal,” launched at FinovateSpring 2015, provides a straightforward buy or sell signal for stocks based on the aggregated recommendations of the platform’s highest-rated analysts.

Founded in 2014, StockViews is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

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CashSentinel Launches in France with SFPMEI Partnership

CashSentinel Launches in France with SFPMEI Partnership
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CashSentinel

CashSentinelHomepage2016

Starting today, mobile payments escrow service CashSentinel is available in France. The new launch is made possible by a partnership with SFPMEI, a French electronic money-issuer. This is CashSentinel’s first expansion outside of Switzerland, where it has been operating since 2012 in partnership with pre-owned vehicle-ad platform AutoScout24 and Swissquote bank.

CashSentinel’s mobile escrow service offers a safe place for two parties to buy and sell new and used vehicles (check out our in-depth review of the platform). Since launching in Switzerland, CashSentinel has protected payments for hundreds of parties.

In June of last year, the Switzerland-based company closed a seed funding round of an undisclosed amount. Prior to this round, CashSentinel had raised a total of $650,000 in seed funding and grants. The company was recognized as a Regional Finalist in the 2015 UBS Future of Finance competition.

CashSentinel’s CEO Sylvain Bertolus and Board Director Michael Chaille debuted the Large Amount Payment Service at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.

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Capitalise.com to Join Microsoft Accelerator London

Capitalise.com to Join Microsoft Accelerator London
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Capitalise

Capitalise_homepage_Mar2016

Fresh from its launch at FinovateEurope 2016, British-based Capitalise.com announced that it will be joining the fifth cohort of Microsoft’s 16-week accelerator program in London.

Capitalise.com Founder Paul Surtees, M.D., said, “Working closely with Microsoft will enable Capitalise to more quickly develop our machine-learning capability and realize our ambition to make access to finance a reality for all small businesses.”

Capitalisecom_stage_FEU2016

Pictured (left to right): Capitalise.com co-founders Ollie Maitland, product director, and Paul Surtees, M.D., founder, demonstrated their technology at FinovateEurope 2016 in London.

One of 13 companies to participate in “Batch V,” Capitalise.com helps small businesses—and those who advise them—find financing. The company’s platform uses behavioral data to compare more than 2,500 data points to connect business borrowers with the best lender for them. Focusing on getting borrowers the financing offer with the highest likelihood of approval, Capitalise says that borrowers on its platform are twice as likely to get funded.

Microsoft Accelerator London provides startups with mentorship, technical guidance and support in order to help them scale their businesses. The accelerator does not take an equity stake in the startups that participate in the program, and companies do not have to be U.K.-based to participate in the London Accelerator, as long as the team is able to stay in London for the duration of the program.

MicrosoftAcceleratorLondon_Twitterpic

Joining Capitalise.com in the spring accelerator are:

  • Dendrite
  • FitWell
  • Apprecie Solutions
  • Altitude Angel
  • Crowdaura
  • Glisser
  • Instanda
  • Opsh
  • Pinipa
  • Furo

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in London, Capitalise.com demonstrated its platform at FinovateEurope 2016.

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BillGuard App Changes Name to Prosper Daily

BillGuard App Changes Name to Prosper Daily
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BillGuard, Prosper

ProsperDaily

P2P lending company Prosper, which purchased Israel-based startup BillGuard for $30 million last September, has rebranded the BillGuard app as Prosper Daily. The company offers reasoning behind the change, stating, “the security focus of ‘BillGuard’ no longer captures the essence of the app.”ProsperDaily

IMG_6212BillGuard users will be automatically migrated to the new platform automatically upon updating the app. The core of the app, which helps users flag suspicious charges, check their credit score, and track spending, is the same (aside from the rebrand). Today’s update brings added 3D Touch capability that lets users view inbox count and monthly spend from their home screen. Also new is a loan overview for Prosper borrowers.*

While there’s no word yet on loan performance overview capability for Prosper lenders, the company hints at upcoming changes, stating, “In the near future, we’ll be strengthening the app’s core with smarter ways to keep track of your spending, helping you reach your money goals and improving the reliability of the updates from your accounts.”

BillGuard last presented at FinovateSpring 2012 where it debuted BillGuard FI. Prosper presented at FinovateSpring 2009 as well as the inaugural Finovate in 2007.

*Note: While the update description touts “loan overview for Prosper borrowers” as a new feature, it doesn’t yet appear available in the app. 

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BBVA, BillGuard, Cachet Financial Solutions, Capitalise, CashSentinel, Financial Apps, i-exceed, Insuritas, Lendio, mBank, Mitek, Nexmo, Prosper, StockViews, Stratumn, Tradeshift, Xignite

On Finovate.com

  • “BillGuard App Changes Name to Prosper Daily”
  • “Capitalise.com to Join Microsoft Accelerator London”
  • “CashSentinel Launches in France with SFPMEI Partnership”
  • “StockViews Raises $355k in Seed Funding; Adds Fidelity’s Balk as Chairman”

On FinDEVr.com

Around the web

  • Poland’s mBank elects to focus on HCE for mobile payments over NFC.
  • Spain’s BBVA upgrades its ATM network to enable cash recycling.
  • TechCrunch features multiple Finovate and FinDEVr alums in its recommendations of financial products for the gig economy.
  • Mitek elects CEO James B. DeBello as chairman of the board.
  • CereTel, selects Cachet Financial Solutions to develop, deploy and manage new prepaid mobile banking platform.
  • Lendio partners with SBE Council to offer its lending resources to SMB owners.
  • Tradeshift announces MetaProcure as reseller.
  • First National Bank to install Insuritas insurance agency solution for its customers.

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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Revealed: The Full Presenter Roster and Schedule for FinDEVr New York

By Heather Stowell Posted on
Categories: FinDEVr 2016 New York, FinDEVr Marketing

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As we approach the home stretch with only 18 days to FinDEVr New York, we’re thrilled to announce the full presenter roster and schedule for the event. Combined, this roster includes 49 companies, 50 technologists, 80 presenters, and 735 minutes of technical content—all in just two days.

The full presenter roster is on our website and below:

As night owls, many developers prefer a later start so the event kicks off at 10:00 AM on both March 29 & 30. With dual-synced auditoriums and a 5-minute passing period, attendees choose precisely which 15-minute presentations are most relevant. A happy-hour networking session will conclude both days.

To get a jump on planning your FinDEVr experience, take a look at the schedule below or on our website:

————
Tuesday, March 29
————
Morning
10:05  Flybits or Markit
10:25  Avoka or The Beast Apps
10:40  Intermission
11:10  Google Cloud Platform or Praesidio
11:30  Sayula or Aerospike
11:50  Financial Apps or TokBox
Afternoon
1:00  Mambu or Braintree
1:20  Nostrum Group or FairCom
1:40  Stealth Company or Finicity
2:00  Thinking Capital or Nexmo
2:15  Intermission
2:45  Hyperwallet or Xignite
3:05  Solinea or Forte
3:25  Stratumn or OnDeck
3:40  Networking
————
Wednesday, March 30
————
Morning
10:05  DigiByte or Quovo & Betterment
10:25  Fidor Bank or OutsideIQ
10:40  Intermission
11:10   i-exceed or VIX Verify
11:30  Honkio or Nubank
11:50  Solace Systems or Prevoty
Afternoon
1:00  Mobeam or Craft Silicon
1:20  ZeroDB or FICO
1:40  Green Key Technologies or ScientiaMobile
2:00  Accusoft or PokitDok
2:15  Intermission
2:45  Magnet or NYMBUS
3:05  SpeechPro or Streamdata.io
3:25  Smart Token Chain or Symbiont
3:45  EdgeVerve Systems
4:00  Networking
We hope you’ll join us as we launch FinDEVr’s first East Coast event. Tickets are on sale at findevrnewyork2016.eventbrite.com. Space is limited, so get your ticket soon.

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Wells Fargo to Deploy Biometric Authentication Technology from EyeVerify

Wells Fargo to Deploy Biometric Authentication Technology from EyeVerify
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: EyeVerify

EyeVerify_homepage2_Mar2016

By summer, Wells Fargo will be offering Eyeprint ID from EyeVerify to its corporate clients with commercial banking accounts.

As reported earlier this year in Bank Innovation, the initiative comes in the wake of EyeVerify’s participation in Wells Fargo’s startup accelerator program. Eyeprint ID will be offered as an option along with a face- and voice-recognition system. Both biometric authentication options replace the need for usernames, passwords, corporate ID numbers, and security tokens.

Secil Watson, head of wholesale Internet solutions for Wells Fargo, told the LA. Times this week that passwords were “at the end of their useful life.” She pointed out that Wells Fargo had been studying a variety of biometric solutions for “six or seven years,” including voice-authentication technologies.

EyeVerify_stage_FEU2016

Pictured: EyeVerify Director of Marketing Tinna Hung demonstrating Eyeprint ID at FinovateEurope 2016 in London.

Eyeprint ID technology provides a biometric authentication solution that is as straightforward as taking a selfie. By leveraging the existing camera in a smartphone to image the patterns of veins in the eye, the technology can be used for opening and securing mobile devices, as well as for logins. Unlike other solutions like fingerprint readers or iris scanners, Eyeprint ID’s software-only biometric approach doesn’t require expensive hardware to provide users with 99.99% accuracy.

EyeVerify has been on a roll in recent months. The company announced a deployment of its Eyeprint ID technology at Republic Bank in Kentucky at the beginning of the year, just a few weeks after reporting EyeVerify had topped two million users of its technology. And last fall, the company’s Eyeprint ID was adopted by both Chinese smartphone maker Nubia and the First Internet Bank.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, EyeVerify won a Best of Show award at FinovateEurope 2016. Toby Rush is CEO and founder.

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