FinovateEurope 2016 Best of Show Winners Announced

FinovateEurope 2016 Best of Show Winners Announced

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With winter winds whipping up white caps on the typically mild-mannered Thames, another FinovateEurope is officially in the books.

We could not be more grateful to all those who demonstrated their latest fintech innovations live on stage in front of our record-setting audience here at Old Billingsgate Market Hall. After two days of demos, our attendees have weighed in on which technologies will earn the coveted title of Best of Show.

So with no further ado, let’s take a look at what our 1,500+ fintech fans feel are the innovations that are getting us that much closer to a world of better engagement, friction-free and secure payments and e-commerce, and broader financial opportunities for all.

Here are the Best of Show winners of FinovateEurope 2016 (in alphabetic order):


Capitalise-(capitali Capitali.se 
for its technology that uses natural language to enable trade automation, turning investment ideas into auto-managed investment portfolios.

 

drivewealth-logo DriveWealth for its cloud-based/API technologies that enable real-time, fractional share investing and trading in U.S. equities for mass retail investors around the world.

 

Eyeverify---Hi-Res EyeVerify for its biometric authentication, Eyeprint ID technology that turns an ordinary selfie into a key that protects your digital life.

 

IDscan---Hi-Res IDscan Biometrics for its market-leading, digital, onboarding suite with a powerful, state-of-the-art facial  recognition algorithm.

 

SwipeStox---Hi-Res SwipeStox for its mobile social trading app that allows anyone to trade forex, market indicies, and CFDs by copying single trades.

 

Valuto---Hi-Res Valuto for its multi-currency account powered by an open API that enables seamless integration with SaaS accounting, e-invoicing, B2B marketplace, and e-commerce platforms.

FinovateEurope 2016 was a blast, and we hope you enjoyed the conference as much as we enjoyed hosting it. As always, a thousand thanks to everyone who attended, sponsored, partnered with, and demonstrated their latest fintech innovations at FinovateEurope 2016. We’ll see you next year!


Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The six companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballot were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from FinovateEurope 2015 are here. Best of Show winners from FinovateSpring 2015 are here. Best of Show winners from FinovateFall 2015 are here.

 

Welcome to FinovateEurope 2016: Day 2

Welcome to FinovateEurope 2016: Day 2

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Are you ready for day two of FinovateEurope 2016?

Our first conference of the year began Tuesday with 40 demonstrations of the latest in fintech innovation. Day two begins Wednesday morning with registration opening at 8:00 AM and the first demo starting at 8:45 AM.

Here is the lineup for Wednesday. Be sure to follow us on Twitter for our live coverage of FinovateEurope 2016.

Demo session 5: 8:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

Demo session 6: 10:45 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.

Demo session 7: 1:00 p.m. – 2:40 p.m.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter for our live coverage of FinovateEurope 2016.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com:

  • Welcome to FinovateEurope 2016, Day Two.
  • FinovateEurope 2016 Best of Show Winners Announced.

Around the web:

  • Betterment and Wealthfront featured in Bloomberg column on the disruptive power of roboadvisors.
  • Reduced costs for Nutmeg yield lower fees for investors using the platform.
  • Markit acquires systems-integration technology from JP Morgan.
  • VISA launches Consumer Transaction Controls for card-issuing FIs.
  • PYMNTS.com takes a look at Expensify and its expansion into Europe.

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.

 

Xignite Raises $20 Million in New Partnership with Tokyo’s QUICK Corporation

Xignite Raises $20 Million in New Partnership with Tokyo’s QUICK Corporation

Xignite_homepage_Feb2016

Go east, young provider of cloud-based market data solutions.

A $20.5 million Series C investment led by Tokyo’s QUICK Corporation has boosted Xignite’s total funding to more than $37 million, and signaled the company’s intention to expand into the Asian market.

Pointing to the “hyper-growth” in Asia and calling the region “the world’s largest fintech frontier,” QUICK president and CEO Noboru Yoshioka said the partnership between his company and Xignite will yield a “unique opportunity to capture growth in this market.” Xignite CEO and founder Stephane Dubois, whose company is demonstrating its latest technologies at FinovateEurope this week, referred to both the flexibility and the openness of his company’s solution as key to providing financial services customers with the data they need.

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Pictured: Stephane Dubois, Xignite CEO and founder, demonstrated Xignite Cloud Streaming at FinovateFall 2015 in New York.

“Financial institutions can no longer afford to operate rigid and proprietary data infrastructures,” Dubois said in a statement. “These legacy institutions must innovate and simultaneously cut costs if they want to survive and thrive in this new paradigm.”

Also participating in the funding round were Altos Ventures, Startup Capital Ventures, and StarVest Partners.

The investment will enable Xignite to increase its sales, marketing, and production capacities in order to keep up with the company’s growth. As part of the deal, QUICK managing director, Atsuyuki Nakajima will join Xignite’s board of directors. QUICK Corporation is a part of the Nikkei Group, and is the largest financial information provider in Japan.

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, Xignite demonstrated its Cloud Streaming technology at FinovateFall 2015. The company’s solution is scalable, based on open standards, and has “zero footprint” for clients. Helping power some of fintech’s most innovative companies, e.g., Betterment and Currency Cloud, Xignite has more than 1,000 customers in fields ranging from investing and trading to wealth management. Xignite grew its bookings by more than 50% in 2015, serving more than 455 billion API calls.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com:

  • Xignite Raises $20 Million in New Partnership with Tokyo’s QUICK Corporation.

Around the web:

  • Tandem, a British banking startup launched by Azimo co-founder Ricky Knox, selects the Agility platform from Fiserv.
  • Barclays and Xero forge strategic partnership.
  • Indiana’s Old National Bank completes online and mobile-banking transition to Digital Insight.
  • Let’s Talk Payments features Ayasdi, Context Relevant, and WorkFusion in a roundup of startups helping companies innovate with artificial intelligence.

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.

 

 

Welcome to FinovateEurope 2016: Day 1

Welcome to FinovateEurope 2016: Day 1

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FinovateEurope is finally here, and if you’ll be sitting in the audience today, you’re part of the largest FinovateEurope audience in history!

The first demo session kicks off at 8:45, so grab a cup of coffee and find a seat in the auditorium.

Here are a few key things to remember:

  • Wifi network is FinovateEurope 2016 (no password required)
  • We’ll be live-tweeting throughout the event. Follow @Finovate and tag your tweets #Finovate.
  • Download our event app (search Finovate in the Bizzabo app) to connect with other attendees, view information about the presenters, and more.
  • Lunch is at noon. Buffet tables are downstairs. If you’re looking for a quick option, grab a boxed lunch on the mezzanine level.

Here is the demo lineup for today:

Demo session 1: 8:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

Demo session 2: 10:45 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.

Demo session 3: 1:00 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.

Demo session 4: 2:50 p.m. – 4:10 p.m.

Stay tuned to Twitter for more live coverage. We’ll see you all tomorrow at 8:45 a.m. when the first demo session begins.

FinovateEurope 2016 Begins Tomorrow (Update SOLD OUT)

FinovateEurope 2016 Begins Tomorrow (Update SOLD OUT)

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FinovateEurope 2016 starts tomorrow at 8:00 AM so we’re spending the day rehearsing the demos with the 71 presenting companies. This will be our largest European event to-date and will be packed with new technologies and plenty of networking opportunities.

Here’s what you need to know:

  1. Arrive early to get the perfect seat.
  2. Registration opens at 8:00 AM and the first demo will begin at 8:45 AM in the demo hall at the Old Billingsgate Market (directions).
  3. Download our event app (search Finovate in the Bizzabo app) to connect with other attendees, view information about the presenters, and more. 
  4. Regular tickets are sold out, but a few tickets for the second day only are available here

Agenda

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For specific questions, visit our FAQ at the bottom of the event site or email [email protected].

Finovate Alumni News

Around the web:

  • ACI Worldwide helps deliver Domino’s secure, seamless payment experience during SuperBowl Sunday.
  • Britain’s One Financial Markets announces partnership with Swipestox to enable mobile trading. See Swipestox at FinovateEurope 2016.
  • Let’s Talk Payments features Sureify and BankBazaar in a look at insurancetech startups.
  • Wipro wins five-year, IT infrastructure transformation contract with Sweden’s ASSA ABLOY Group.
  • Trade Bank of Iraq forges strategic partnership with Misys.
  • CR2 unveils new logo, new corporate identity.
  • The Telegraph highlights Yoyo, Nutmeg, and True Potential in a column on calculating risk with facial scans.

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: 21 Companies Raise $260 Million Week Ending Feb 5

money_treePrivate capital continued to flow into the fintech sector this week with 21 companies raising $257 million. The total included at least $85 million in debt. One Finovate alum raised new cash: London’s Revolut brought in $4.8 million for its global funds-transfer app.

Just five weeks into the new year, fintech companies have raised $4.25 billion in equity and debt worldwide, more than three times the $1.3 billion in the same period last year. And the number of deals is up 70% (125 compared to 74 in 2015).

Here are the fintech deals by size from 30 Jan to 5 Feb 2016:

Credibly 
Small business alt-lender 
Latest round: $70 million Debt
Total raised: $70 million
HQ: Troy, Michigan
Tags: SMB, small biz loans, credit, lending, commercial lending, capital
Source: Crunchbase

Blockstream
Sidechain technology
Latest round: $55 million Series A
Total raised: $76 million
HQ: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Tags: SMB, consumer, enterprise, blockchain, cryptocurrency, security, ledger, bitcoin
Source: Crunchbase

Spotcap
Alt-lender for small businesses (Rocket Internet)
Latest round: $35 million Series B
Total raised: $56.1 million
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Tags: SMB, credit, underwriting, loans, lending, peer-to-peer, marketplace
Source: Crunchbase

Lamudi
Real estate platform for emerging markets
Latest round: $31.4 million
Total raised: $56.4 million
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Tags: Consumer, mortgage, home buying, property search, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Sonovate
Contract financing and management services for professional recruitment firms
Latest round: $16.5 million Debt
Total raised: $22 million (includes $16.5 million debt)
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: SMB, credit, receivables financing, management
Source: Crunchbase

Digital Asset
Distributed ledger technology for financial services
Latest round: $10 million
Total raised: $60 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Enterprise, blockchain, bitcoin, crypto-currency, database, securities trading, custody
FI investors: JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, ABN AMRO, Santander, PNC, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs
Source: Crunchbase

Receipt Bank
Receipt extraction technology
Latest round: $10 million
Total raised: $10 million
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: Consumer, SMB, accounting, personal financial management, PFM, spending, payments
Source: Crunchbase

Simplex
Credit card acquiring for bitcoin exchanges & wallets
Latest round: $7 million Series A
Total raised: $8 million
HQ: Israel
Tags: B2B, SMB, payments, security, acquiring, credit/debit cards
Source: Coindesk, Crunchbase

Bitcoin Group
Blockchain technology
Latest round: $4.9 million IPO
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Victoria, Australia
Tags: Consumer, SMB, blockchain, bitcoin, crypto-currency, mining
Source: FT Partners

Revolut
Global person-to-person payments app
Latest round: $4.8 million
Total raised: $7.6 million
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: Consumer, payments, P2P, remittances, fx, peer-to-peer, mobile, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

OOO Fit (PayQR)
Mobile payments
Latest round: $3.9 million Seed
Total raised: $5.4 million
HQ: Moscow, Russia
Tags: Consumer, payments, mobile, QR codes
Source: Crunchbase

Quantescent
Trading tools
Latest round: $3.5 million Angel
Total raised: $3.5 million
HQ: Saint Helena, California
Tags: Consumer, traders, advisors, investing, stock trading
Source: Crunchbase

Thumzap
Mobile payments for teens
Latest round: $3 million Seed
Total raised: $3 million
HQ: Wilmington, Deleware
Tags: Consumer, parental controls, payments, mobile, youth market
Source: Crunchbase

Instant Financial
Real-time payroll platform 
Latest round: $1.2 million Seed
Total raised: $1.2 million
HQ: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Tags: Consumer, employer, SMB, human resources, payments, benefits
Source: Crunchbase

Property Moose
Real estate crowdfunding platform
Latest round: $630,000
Total raised: $1.5 million
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: Consumer, credit, mortgage, underwriting, loans, lending, peer-to-peer, marketplace, crowdfunding, property
Source: Crunchbase

DisputeBills
Consumer healthcare bill & debt management
Latest round: $400,000 Seed
Total raised: $400,000
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Tags: Consumer, credit, healthcare, debt management, bills, billpay, health insurance
Source: Crunchbase

Birch
Personal finance tool for maximizing credit card rewards
Latest round: $100,000 Seed
Total raised: $100,000
HQ: Gainesville, Florida
Tags: Consumer, spending, personal financial management, PFM, rewards, loyalty
Source: Crunchbase

Moneytis
Money transfer comparison site
Latest round: $55,000
Total raised: $55,000
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, remittances, P2P transfers, fx, person-to-person
Source: Crunchbase

Invertions Plus
Investment tools
Latest round: $10,000 Seed
Total raised: $10,000
HQ: Spain
Tags: Consumer, advisors, investing, trading
Source: Crunchbase

Kraken
Bitcoin exchange
Latest round: Undisclosed Series B
Total raised: $5 million (prior to the Series B)
HQ: Emeryville, California
Tags: Consumer, SMB, blockchain, bitcoin, crypto-currency, payments
Source: FT Partners

Skuchain
Distributed ledger technology
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Mountain View, California
Tags: SMB, consumer, enterprise, blockchain, cryptocurrency, security, ledger, trade finance
Source: Crunchbase

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Image licensed from 123rf.com

Revolut Pulls in $4.8 Million

Revolut Pulls in $4.8 Million

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London-based Revolut launched in 2014 under the premise that people should not be charged for spending and transferring their own money in a different currency. This week, the startup closed a $4.8 million round of funding.

The round was led by Balderton Capital. Additional contributors include: Index Ventures, Point Nine Capital, Seedcamp, and Venrex Investment Management.

Combined with the startup’s previous investments, this round brings its total funding to $7.6 million.

In January, Revolut launched version 2.0 of its personal money cloud. Its redesigned app is focused on offering transparency while maintaining an intuitive user experience.

The company’s CEO and Founder Nikolay Storonsky, and CTO Vlad Yatsenko debuted Revolut at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.

Advisor Software Launches Robo-advisor Platform, ASI Digital Advisor

Advisor Software Launches Robo-advisor Platform, ASI Digital Advisor

ASI_Digital_Adviso_homepage_Feb2016

Advisor Software this week introduced its white-label, robo-advisor platform, ASI Digital Advisor. The technology, announced at the TD Ameritrade National LINC conference in Florida, makes it easier for wealth managers and financial advisors to begin providing their clients with automated digital investment advice.

“By building our application in a modular fashion using APIs,” said company VP of Product Management Kevin Kraus, “we were able to develop a digital advice solution that is the most flexible and scalable on the market today.”

AdvisorSoftware_FinDEVrSF2015_stage

Pictured: Advisor Software VP of Product Management Kevin Kraus and VP of Engineering Archana Rao demonstrating their Wealth Management Cloud at FinDEVr San Francisco 2015.

ASI Digital Advisor gives wealth managers the ability to generate model portfolios, build risk- and goal-based portfolios, and automate processes such as client onboarding and rebalancing, all with a responsive design to a state-of-the-art user experience.

Chairman and CEO of Advisor Software Andrew Rudd said that the new technology was a standard-setter in terms of “usability, scalability, and flexibility in the digital advice space.”

“Competitive platforms often ask advisors to make too many compromises,” Rudd said. “With our solution, advisors can easily modernize the user experience for their clients without having to alter the way they do business.”

Advisor Software’s new solution arrives just a few weeks after the company announced major hires for the position of Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Sales. David Cooper, a former senior executive at Fiserv and Greendot, will take the helm as CTO, and Tom Flint, co-founder of Tiburon Wealth Management, will become Advisor Software’s next VP of Sales.

Founded in June 1995 and headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Advisor Software demonstrated its Wealth Management Cloud platform at FinovateFall 2015. In its FinDEVr debut a month later, Advisor Software showed how the more than 100 APIs on its platform help developers build and deploy a wide variety of wealth management apps.

Finovate Alumni News

Around the web:

  • Blackhawk Network acquires NimbleCommerce, a digital commerce platform and network.
  • Wipro wins seven-year, IT-infrastructure contract with international insurer RSA.
  • Visa unveils its new Visa Developer Program, giving developers API-based access to many of Visa’s payment technologies.

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.